Paradise City Chapter The Eleventh
Title: Paradise City Chapter The Eleventh.
Author: Screamer06
Characters: Axl Rose/Izzy Stradlin/OC
Disclaimer: Don’t own, never happened, no money made.
Warnings: getting a bit angsty.
Notes: Thank you to my beta.
The next morning Axcelise woke cold and alone, the sun streaking across the bare floorboards and highlighting the rainbow colours of the rag rug at the end of the bed told him it wasn’t all that late. He huffed loudly before leading over the side of the bed to find some socks or something. With his head still dangling over the edge his hand groped amongst the dust bunnies and came back up clutching a pair well-worn socks. His favourite, fleece lined with grips on the bottom. He still remembered his father bringing them him for him when he was in hospital. With a sneeze he shuffled into them and vowed to clean his room. For the time being in wriggled into his dressing gown and opened the window a crack to clear the air of staleness.
He could hear his Dad in the kitchen with Izzy. The kitchen being centre of the home. He heard them laughing, Axls voice more gravely than usual. He entered as Axl sneezed into a tissue. Axcelise merely looked at him pointedly.
“What the hell was that look for?”
“Never mind.”
“Have a nice time last night?”
“You did.”
“’Lessy,” Axl began with a hand on his hip, but was interrupted when the phone rang. Axcelise just poured himself a coffee, one sugar, a splash of cream...
“Less, it’s for you.” The phone was put in his open hand. Axcelise didn’t look up but stirred his coffee.
“What’s up with him?” Axl whispered to Izzy, indicating with his thumb.
“Axl...he...ugh...” Izzy was saved from answering by the tone of Axcelises voice...
“...now?....but I...okay I’ll come right now.” Without a word he took the cup back to his room. Luckily Axl had forgotten what he was about to ask Izzy, much to Izzys relief. Instead he joined Axl, slumped on the sofa. Axl clearly feeling the worse for wear.
Axcelise came in and stood directly in front of Izzy.
“Iz that was my Auntie, can you drive me over there?” Izzy looked up, he was tired and just wanted to sit and do nothing, but the look on Axcelises face told him something wasn’t right.
“Sure, everything okay ‘Lessy?”
“I won’t know until I get over there, she wouldn’t tell me over the phone.” Axcelise slipped his coat on but didn’t wait to see if Izzy followed, sure that he would.
X X X
They didn’t even bother knocking instead just walked in, to see the family sitting together in the front room. All heads turned in their direction and everything seemed to stop. The air held, poised, the scent of doom and time slowed. He reached instinctively for his father’s arm and found instead Izzys. He’d forgotten he was snubbing his father’s behaviour of the night before and had asked Izzy to take him. Now he wished he wasn’t so head strong.
“What’s happened?” he spoke with numb lips.
“Ax, come and sit.” His cousin, Ian said patting the space beside him. His eyes were pink with shed tears. Axcelise hesitated, until the voice of his uncle broke through the suddenly stifling air;
“You need to sit for this my boy, so come on.”
The kind command broke through and Axcelise moved to sit delicately on the very edge of the sofa.
He repeated his question to his cousin, more quite as if unsure he wanted now to know. His auntie came to kneel at his feet her little hands with long, painted nails rested on his lap seeming unsure of whether or not to clasp his own hands.
“We had word this morning,” she began then looked desperately to her husband;
“We heard this morning from the hospital.” He said in his most reassuring tone, “That your Mother...your Mother has died.” He finished with a sigh that spoke of getting a weight off his chest.
The world spiralled around him; Axcelise gasped for breath and reached out for his cousin, more a brother to him. Ian clasped his hand tightly, Axcelises phone rang. Axl asking him to come home right away, his father had important news. Axcelise surprised himself by his calm reply;
“I know Daddy, thank you, I’ll be home soon.”
Unable to read him Axcelises Auntie asked in her soft voice; “How do you feel my love?”
After a moment he answered, “I don’t know.”
Sick. Tired. Confused.
“We’re going to get some paper work, do you want to come?” Ian asked.
“No, no I don’t think I do.” Axcelise’s face was blank, unreadable, just like his father. He had inherited the ability to close himself off until there was a more convenient time to deal with intense emotions...or he just was unable to process what was happening, maybe give it a couple of hours. Izzy mused as he watched on silently.
“’Lessy, do you want a cup of tea dear?” His auntie asked again,
“No, no I have things to do at home...you know...with dad...and stuff.” He rubbed his forehead before Izzy whisked him back home. The car hummed along quietly. Emotion rippled the air, threatening the spill out any moment.
Axl was waiting for him on the steps, sitting there in jeans a tee-shirt. He stood on his sons arrival, his arms open. Axcelise was allowed to break down. The shock had hit him and he cried bitterly, his screams of emotional agony muffled by the cotton shirt. Izzy made motions that he was going to leave, Axl gave him a thumbs up and a small wave.
Axcelise hiccupped and sniffed and blurted, ”I think I’m going to be sick.” He vomited practically nothing on the drive way. Axl held his hair back with one hand and rubbed his back with the other.
“It's okay son, I’ll clean it.” Axcelise retched one more time before standing straight. His lip and chin wobbled, his eyes were red and salt streaked down his face. Axl wanted so badly to take it away, make the pain stop for him. No matter how bad of a Mother she was, she was still his Mother.
“I want to go back to bed.” Axcelise whimpered.
Axl took him, tucked him in, and bought him something to sooth his rolling stomach. Then simply sat, stroking his hair, his hands, and listening as Axcelise repeated over and over, “I don’t understand, I just don’t get it, she was my Mum.” Exhausted and emotional Axcelise finally drifted back to sleep in the early afternoon. Despite being tired himself from his sons onslaught of tears, Axl drove to Axcelises Aunt and Uncles house to try and piece some things together.
X X X
Axcelises aunt opened the door, with a bright smile she beckoned Axl in, it was rare visit.
“Janet.” Axl smiled pleasantly, putting his sunglasses on top of his head. Axcelises uncle Joe stood up to shake Axls hand; “Mr. Rose nice of you to drop by! What can we do for you?”
“First don’t be so formal, it’s Axl to family and friends, Mr. Rose to the prosecution.”
“Well then, come on in, can I get you a coffee?”
“Sure, yeah, coffee would be great, with cream if you don’t mind.”
Uncle Joe wobbled off to fetch refreshments while Janet offered a seat and took the one opposite Axl. Axl outlined the reasons he was here out of the blue. He wanted to know why he wasn’t contacted first, being Axcelises father and legal guardian.
“But you’re not.” Janet said quietly, her hands wrung nervously on her lap.
“Excuse me?” Axl said not believing his own ears.
“You’re not his legal guardian Mr. Rose we still are.”
“How the hell did that happen?!” Axl squeaked, come to think of it everything had been too easy. Axcelise had just kind of moved in, there was no paper work, no lawyers. But Axl had been too blown away by his own emotions, by Axcelises daily battle to recovery, by being a father.
“Well we are still his registered carers, since we are his family and he was registered...”
“Wait, wait, I’m his father here.” Axl put his hand on his chest bewildered.
“Well we understand that Mr. Rose but we didn’t know how it would turn out.”
“Why? Because I’m such a flake? Because I’m unreliable because of my job?” Axl was deathly offended by the perceived slight.
“No because ‘Lessy didn’t know you and we didn’t know you and the boy at least deserved somebody who will take proper care of him and keep him safe, we swore we would do that and over my dead body was I going to let him hurt himself again by becoming too involved.”
The impassioned correction flawed Axl, “Oh.”
Axl wanted to avoid a court battle over Axcelise, any normal young man would be making his own way in the world by now, maybe have a girlfriend, an apartment. Axcelise wasn’t a regular young man. He was brain damaged therefore registered disabled and under court care, the courts awarded care to Axcelises auntie and uncle. Axl wanted to talk to his son and let him make the choice if he felt able to do so...it would be a big decision especially under the current circumstance. Next to him on the car seat was a precious bundle of photo albums and general paper work he hoped they could go through them together and Axl could gain and insight into Axcelises early life.
X X X
“I think I was three then, that was the first house I remember.” Axcelise talked his father though a photo album. There was a picture of a smiling toddler in a diaper covered in ice cream. “That’s mum holding me...she looks really happy doesn’t she?” Axcelise looked thoughtful for a moment, his fingers lingered on the picture for a moment before snuggling into his dads side a bit more and turning the page. Before he could say anything Axl kissed him on top of his head prompting him to look up. It hurt so bad to see his sons eyes well up again,
“Do you think she’s happy where she is now?” Axcelise asked, his voice was barely above a whisper.
“I think she is.” Axl answered as honestly as he knew how.
“She loved me once you know.” Axcelises chin wobbled, his voice shook.
“Oh she always...” Axl was cut off as he was kissed firecly by his son. He was kissed twice more before Axcelise wrapped his arms round Axls neck, half on and half off his lap Axcelise was clinging desperately. The crying often happened like this, in fits and starts. He was screaming at night again and walking about, hardly eating.
“Your all I’ve got now, please don’t leave me.” He whispered through the tears.
“Hey hey, now that’s just not true is it?” he held his son to him, his son, his own, “First and foremost you are mine and I love, look at me ‘Lessy.” He managed to peel his son away to look at him, “I love you always okay, and you got Beta, and Bas and Izzy and your auntie and uncle and your cousin, and Betas kids and the rest of the family.”
Axl wiped Axcelises face with a tissue.
“Lessy I need to talk to you okay...” he told Axcelise, in terms he would understand, about the problem at hand. Always business minded he wanted to get it sorted right away.