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Part Twenty-Eight

   Elijah looked over his shoulder to see Axel staring up at him with wide eyes, and they made eye contact for the first time. Almost immediately, Axel was the first to look away, watching his feet as if they were more interesting. It seemed his body betrayed him, because Elijah couldn't help but notice the tail swishing behind his back.

   Eli turned his head back to its original spot, thinking for a moment, and then outright laughed at the experience he just encountered. After a while, he thought he heard a giggle from behind.

   "Did I hear a laugh?" Elijah teased. Instead of a response, the laughter increased by a tiny percentage. "Oh wow, I think there's a ghost in my room. Who could be laughing when I'm here all by myself?"

   Axel wasn't sure about chuckling along with the human, but the more he did, the more comfortable he was able to feel. It was a way to communicate with Elijah without needing to speak, and reveal his speech patterns in the process. The last thing he wanted was to look weak in front of the giant.

   "Can I turn around?" Said Elijah, eagerly waiting for a response. When he didn't receive one, he figured he might need to take a different route of action. "How about this; stay silent if I can, and tap on the ground if I can't."

   It was silent for a good minute and a half before Eli seemed it appropriate to turn back around on his bed and faced the bedside table once more.

   The little borrower was looking up at him with a lot more bravery than he was able to witness before. If it weren't for Sam trying to speed the process up, Elijah knew their first meeting definitely could've started that way, but he figured the worst of it was over.

   The rain was coming down in sheets now, casting constant moving beads of shadows over everything in the room.

   "Don't blame Sam," he started off. "He's just a little trigger happy when it comes to Leo. He didn't abandon you, okay?"

   It was as if the human knew exactly what was going on in Axel's head, and he felt about ready to cry again at his words.

   A sudden burst of thunder broke through the silence, not loud enough to scare Axel, but enough to threaten the possibility of more to accompany the rain outside.

   "He is really stupid for doing that to you though, and I'm gonna have a long talk with him about that."

   "No!" Axel screamed out, immediately recoiling back into himself when he realized what he had done.

   "...okay, if you don't want me to I won't."

   Eli didn't even seem phased by the outburst, or the fact that Axel had spoken to him for the first time. His voice was so quiet and distinctive from anything he heard before, and Elijah would do whatever it took to get him speaking once again.

   "Can I ask why?"

   Axel shook his head. He didn't want to vent his problems out to the human on their first meeting.

   "That's alright. Why don't we just forget we both said anything, okay?"

   The borrower nodded along, bringing his tail up to the front and wringing it out of stress with both hands. A sudden light flashed within the windows of the room.

   "Nervous?" Elijah asked, and Axel nodded again in response. "You don't have to be. Like I said, I know it's scary, but I won't do anything you don't want me-"

   Thunder broke through the house, shaking the very tabletop Axel was standing on, and he fell with a shriek.

   "It's okay!" Eli attempted to calm him down after the little one fell down. "It's just a little thunder! It'll be okay-"

   As if on cue with his timing, another strike of lightning shone through the windows and Elijah prepared himself for a louder burst of thunder next.

   "Can I hold you?" He asked the borrower, and to his surprise, Axel frantically nodded.

   Before the next spurt of thunder could shake Axel once more, Elijah reached his slender fingers and snaked them around to scoop Axel up, setting him firm in the middle of his hand, where he barely covered a portion. Once safe and secured, he brought Axel back up to his chest and held him tight, just in time for the storm to cry out.

   The boom that shook the house could only mean the lightning was closer than before. Eli could've sworn it was right beside him, but didn't want to say anything that might've scared Axel even more. He could feel the tiny one shaking in his hands and gripping the soft material on his shirt, and The human did his absolute best to shield him from the loud thunder.

   "It's okay, you're okay..." Eli repeated over and over to the little form in his hands, whispering down to him in a soothing tone.

   And Axel, the scared little borrower who's ears hurt and who's heart sped up, believed him.
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A/N: We're nearing the final chapters of this story! Don't worry, there's still a few left, but I can't wait to see how everyone feels about the ending.

   How do y'all feel about Elijah and Axel's relationship? Does it remind you of Leo and Sam? Let me know!

   As always, thank you very much for reading, and leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this new update :) ❤️