"Keep your eyes closed," Axl repeated. A grin was apparent in his voice. "No peeking."
"I won't," Marcy giggled. "I promise."
Axl had found her backstage before the big show in Florida. He had been building up this surprise for a while now. Although she had no idea what he had in store for her, Marcy's hopes were high. Axl seemed confident Marcy was going to like what he had for her.
She waited patiently, with her eyes squeezed shut, for Axl to give her the go ahead to look. There was some rustling as he moved around. Marcy couldn't fight the smile off her face. Axl wasn't often in a good mood, but when he was it was infectious.
She never understood what it was that made him so happy that day. Maybe he liked the weather, it was hot for the first time in weeks. Maybe he liked being in an unfamiliar place, Axl had never been to Orlando before. Maybe he just liked surprises.
"Okay, open your eyes." Axl's smooth voice broke the quiet.
Marcy did as she was told and found herself about three feet away from a very proud Axl. He was positively beaming, it was the happiest she'd seen him in a long time. Axl had a camera in his hands, held out in front of himself like an offering.
Marcy immediately recognized it as the Canon T90 she'd been drooling over in the store when they had been in town the other day. Axl must have gone back and bought it without Marcy noticing.
It was such a beautiful camera. She'd wanted one since it was released but it had always been way out of her price range. The T90 wasn't by any means a new camera. It had been introduced to the public three years ago but still managed to stay on top of the game.
"Do you like it?" Axl asked, once he'd noticed her gawking. The expression on his face was ecstatic as he handed March the camera.
"Thank you." Marcy breathed. She was almost in disbelief. It fit perfectly in her hands and while bulky, was sleek and smooth under her touch.
Marcy popped open the film compartment and grinned joyfully to see it was full. She held the power button and watched the screen flicker on. After a moment of examining all the different buttons and options and what they did, she lifted the camera and took a quick shot of Axl in all his glee. She just knew she'd be spending the next few days clicking away at everything and everyone. Marcy was already trying to figure out how long it would be before she could get any images developed.
"What do you think? I saw you looking at it in the store the other day and I figured you might want it." The answer to Axl's question was pretty obvious, judging by the look on Marcy's face. Of all the gifts that could have been given, this was the best.
Marcy was at a kind of loss for words. She certainly hadn't been expecting anything as wonderful (or expensive) as this when Axl said he had a surprise for her. "I love it." Was all Marcy could manage to say.
.
Duff had never been more upset or disappointed with himself in his life. He'd been so careless. He had forgotten. Now his best friend was crying and Duff wanted to die.
They had been in the empty dressing room before the show, just messing around. Duff, being the idiot that he was, had taken his shirt off. He hadn't realized the mistake he'd made until he had noticed Steven staring in shock at the healing scars all over his body.
Neither of them had said anything for a very long time before Duff whispered 'I'm sorry'. That had broken Steven out of his daze and turned him into a sobbing, hiccuping mess.
Steven couldn't do anything else. All he could think about was how much Duff must have been hurting inside to want to damage himself. He had always heard about people who did this but had never thought it would happen to someone he knew, let alone Duff, who was his best friend and partner in crime.
"Why did you do it?" Steven choked through a screen of tears. Duff just stared past him, into space. He looked completely emotionless but Steven knew that was just what Duff did when he was breaking down inside. He hid behind a facade because Duff didn't want people to know how scared he really was. Duff was always so afraid. Steven was the only person who seemed to be able to understand that.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Steven's chest hurt. Duff just kept staring. It made Steven want to punch him. He just want him to say something. Anything. Steven needed to know he was okay. That he didn't hate himself. That he didn't hurt himself. That he didn't want to throw himself off a bridge.
Steven balled his hand up into a fist and hit Duff's bare chest. He made sure he didn't hurt him. Steven never wanted to see Duff in pain. Never.
"Why," He shouted, over the sound of his own erratic heartbeat. "Why, why, why, why," Steven pounded his fists on Duff's chest, in time with his words. His voice shook and wavered and cracked and did anything it could to work against him. Steven didn't care. He just wanted Duff to be okay.
Duff shoved Steven's shoulder with just enough force to push him away. Steven stumbled back a few steps and let out a low, guttural whine. He paused a moment to wipe his eyes and tuck his hair behind his ears, only to have it bounce back moments later. His eyes caught on Duff's. Tears continued to flow freely down his face. Had Steven been with anybody else he would have been embarrassed. But this was Duff and they had both seen each other in their most vulnerable state on multiple occasions.
Steven took a deep breath and flew at Duff. He knocked them both to the ground. Duff's head hit the hard floor with a loud thud and he couldn't help but let out a muted yelp. Steven straddled Duff, pinning him down, like Axl had done to him not so long ago. He looked down at the man beneath him. His friend. His poor, broken friend who didn't deserve anything but to be happy. Duff just stared right back up at him.
Steven's bottom lip quivered as he trailed his fingers over Duff's body. Neither of them noticed the goosebumps that rose in his wake. His skin was smooth, save for the rough patches of scar tissue. There was so much of it. Steven's touch never had to travel far before it ran into some more.
The scarring wasn't all from scratches. He recognized bite marks on Duff's forearms and deeper, healing cuts where he'd literally carved into himself with a sharp object of some sort.
Duff flinched a little as warm tears began to patter onto his chest. He couldn't look Steven in the eye. Duff was so ashamed with himself, all he wanted to do was curl up in a corner and die because that was the only thing he felt he was deserving of.
But despite how wrong he knew it was, Steven's tears were comforting. His little hiccups almost made Duff want to smile and his closeness made Duff's insides warm and fuzzy.
All this time he had been lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed much what Steven was doing. Duff could have sworn his heart nearly jumped out of his chest when Steven all of a sudden leaned in very close. Their noses bumped together and their breath mingled in the air between them.
Duff froze for a heartbeat as he tried to process the situation. Was something wrong with him? Because Steven's position felt incredibly good. God, Duff really needed to get laid.
He craned his neck a little, trying to get closer, although he didn't really know why. Tears continued to fall from Steven's face onto his but the sobbing had ceased. Duff didn't think, he just grabbed at Steven's shirt and pulled him down. Their cheeks pressed together but Duff didn't dare move, no matter how good of an idea it seemed like to kiss his best friend in that moment. He just wanted to tasted his lips, an urge Duff had never had before. But now the curiosity was nearly overwhelming.
Duff didn't really know why he'd grabbed Steven like that. He had always been an impulsive person, Marcy had told him that once. Sometimes it was a good thing. Most of the time it wasn't. Duff decided he really, really needed to get laid.
"How could you do this to yourself Duff?" Steven murmured, his lips moving against Duff's cheek.
What the fuck was wrong with him? His best friend was in literal tears and all he could think about was how fucking good it felt to be so close.
