Slide To Open

Part Thirty-One

     Axel hadn't actually ever fallen asleep.

   With the stress of the storm, Sam's betrayal, and the human mixed together, The little borrower figured it would take more than a few hours to manage unconsciousness. Instead, he accepted the fact that he could at least pretend to relax, and used Elijah's hands as a temporary nest.

   Sam was right about one thing; humans did feel like a giant pillow.

   The warmth Axel felt was completely indescribable. Whether that was due to his previous perception that the hands would be uncomfortable, or the fact that Eli was doing his best to make him feel comfortable given the circumstances, Axel didn't know. What he did understand was, at the moment, the last thing he wanted to do was leave. As if a secondary pulse was pushing him into bliss, he felt more relaxed by the minute with the heated surface.

   Not to mention the loose fingers that acted as a shield from the slowing storm. Those enormous, elongated barriers served as a protective guard that he might normally fear, but at the moment, all he could think about was how they weren't even touching him. Instead, he could focus on the intricate details of Elijah's palm lines, and how they managed to map out a giant landscape for him to lay upon. Who knew a human's hold could be so enjoyable?

   And then Elijah kissed Axel's forehead, and time seemed to stop.

   A deep, virtuous red spread from his head to his toes at the quiet peck that left the tips of his hairs slightly damp from the hydrated lips. As if two giant pillars of feathers came down from above and blessed his forehead, Axel blushed at the comfort. Nobody, not even his parents, had given him such a solid form of affection in his life, and he had no courage to speak up about it to the human anyways.

   Instead, Axel lay there, nearly huffing with his beating heart, a warm and pleasant feeling in his soul. It was the opposite of what the borrower expected from his first meeting with the human, yet he wouldn't change it for the world.

   This was a freedom he never experienced before. Someone was there to take care of him, and yet, they weren't overbearing with the implied responsibilities of every borrower. Axel loved his parents more than anything, but this...this was different.

   "Goodnight, Axel," He felt Elijah whisper down, and then the arms holding him shifted ever so slightly so as not to disturb his apparent sleep. For some reason or another, Axel could forget that Eli was human for a moment, and just revel in the fact that someone cared for him that much.

  

   The storm fell quiet, and the lightning seized to shoot through the house as it once did. It was calm enough for Elijah to take a deep breath, relax, and ponder at the curious little being that had fallen asleep in his hands. So much trust in less than an hour, but he wasn't going to complain. In fact, had there not been precious cargo aboard, Elijah would've broken through his sickness to throw a party as a celebration.

   Until, as all things do in the end, he was interrupted by the handle of his bedroom door turning sideways, and the door itself creaked open.

   "I don't hear any screams of terror," Eli managed to hear Leo whisper from inside the crack. "Maybe that's a good sign."

   He couldn't hear what Sam's little voice was saying, but could tell it was something accusatory from his tone alone.

   "Are you spying on me?" Elijah asked into the night, causing something resembling a crash to break through and the door to fly open. It seemed the visitors hadn't expected anyone to catch their obvious commotion.

   In turn, Axel squirmed around in his palms, and Elijah lifted a finger to brush against his back in a useless attempt to settle him back down. Axel's tail flicked; a sure sign that he was awake, yet wasn't ready to share it.