I've never been a morning person. Not even when I was still in school. My mom used to come in and wake me up, and it was like poking a hornet's nest. So, if you want to have a peaceful relationship with me, don't fucking wake me up if I'm trying to sleep. Period.
We were en route from L.A. to a Motley Crue opening gig on the bus, and it was noisy enough without the rest of them laughing and slamming down bottles while they played Texas Hold 'Em and argued over whose girlfriend was hotter and put out more. I, meanwhile, had slept like shit the night before and was trying to make up for it, because I knew we wouldn't have time later. And I was cranky.
The only thing that was keeping me from beating my best friends over the heads with a bottle of Absolut was the absolutely beautiful, soft and warm red-head who had his arms wrapped around me...
We were laying on the sofa at the back of our lounge area, sort of out of the way of the guys' view. They knew we'd been together since the before the band came to be, but...I liked my privacy. Hell, we both did. And right now, I just wanted to lay against him, surrounded by his warmth and the feeling of safety that went with it. It was the only place I ever felt relaxed. I settled into him further, and he squeezed my shoulders comfortingly. God, this was amazing...
"Yeah, but Steven, you had Diane, you don't get a say in this." I heard Duff saying, louder than was fucking necessary. Guys...just shut the fuck up...I'm tired and I'm trying to sleep...
"So what? She was lumpy and she smelled awful. Plus her hair was ugly!"
"That's true, her hair was fucking ugly..." Slash piped up, accidentally knocking over what sounded like a JD bottle. "Oops..."
I groaned softly so that only Axl could hear me. He rubbed my shoulders gently.
"Shhh...try and ignore them, baby. You know how they are." I nodded, my cheek rubbing against the silken fabric of his shirt.
"At least she didn't have Hepatitis or AIDS or some shit."
"Yeah, but she did have gonorrhea while I was dating her. How do you think that happened?"
"No comment."
"Nope, no comment from me either. That's fucking nasty, man."
"Was she the one with the red hair or the black hair?"
"I think she had black hair."
"No way, it was red, I swear!"
"Slash, you don't remember shit. She did NOT have red hair."
Good GOD, it was like listening to some stupid talkshow! What the fuck?
"Axl! Did Katja have red or black hair?" Steven yelled.
"Ummm..." I felt his voice vibrate inside his chest. I loved his deep, slightly scratchy voice. He always sounded like he had a mild sore throat, but there was depth and wisdom in there too. He really did have an amazing voice...I was so drawn in everytime he sang on stage, screaming his heart out for the world to hear. Even when we were alone, and he would sing me to sleep sometimes, I was just struck by how amazing it was..."She had red hair."
"Ha! Told you!"
I shoved my fists into my eyes. This was hopeless.
"I bet Izzy would have vouched for me." Yeah right, Duff.
Then I felt Axl move underneath me.
"I'm going to shut the door." He said softly. I shifted so that he could get up. Without opening my eyes, I heard the door close with a snap, drowning out all of the pointless noise. Axl climbed back on the couch behind me and I settled back into his body. He wrapped his arms around me again.
"Much better." I murmured into his shirt, laying between his legs.
"Good. I'm glad."
Silence, sweet, amazing silence. I settled in closer, like I couldn’t get close enough to him. He started stroking my hair gently. It felt wonderful...
"I can hear your heartbeat." I felt the blush creep up his face without even seeing it. Even though he could be psychotic sometimes, he was also extremely adorable.
"Sorry...do you want me to leave? Or you could lay in my lap or something..." He mumbled, clearly embarassed. I laughed sleepily.
"No, it's ok. It's...nice. Soothing." I muzzled his chest. "Don't apologize for being alive, Ax."
"Ok." He laughed. God, it had been too long since we shared any kind of alone time. Touring was a real bitch. I didn't even want to go to the show yonight; I just wanted to stay here, laying against him, feeling him breathe and being lulled away into Paradise. He sighed contentedly; I felt it.
"Izz?"
"Yeah?" I said sleepily, on the verge of nodding off.
"I missed having time alone with you. Even though you're falling asleep, I'm glad I got to have this with you now. I love you."
My heart glowed. and all of my worries and fears just melted away. He played absently with my hair.
"Me too, Ax...I love you too."
Hopefully we can continue this later...when I'm not so tired.
