Post by mystifyingoracle on Oct 7, 2020 16:49:57 GMT -5
While he knew, eventually, the listlessness and hollow feeling in him would pass with time, Silvio couldn’t help but feel Kohaku’s absence. He’d see something and want to share it or think of some new joke to laugh about, but when he went to look for his partner, there was no one there. It reminded Silvio of the feeling you got when you thought there was one more step on a staircase than there actually was, or reaching for something but finding it just beyond your grasp. Sitting behind his front desk, he sketched an abstract design made with brilliant shades of vermillion; that special color momiji turned in the Fall. The color of the Kyoto he longed for.
He was glad of Adrienne and Axton coming over. Even though he was certain difficult topics were going to be broached, it was better than being alone right now.
The bell over the door gave a ring as Axton shouldered his way inside; he was dressed down and plain in a t-shirt, jeans and loose flannel top left unbuttoned, the sleeves cuffed to his elbows. He shot Silvio a thin smile as he approached the desk, hands in his pockets. He seemed a lot more subdued than usual.
“Hey… How’s it goin’, Sil? Ms. Levi’s not here yet, I take it?”
Silvio looked up at the sound of the bell chiming and smiled at his visitor.
“Hey, Ax. I’m...hanging in there, I guess. I take it you saw the video segment I did for Chaos?”
“Yeah.”
Axton leaned on the desk, folding his arms underneath him and allowing his shoulders to lift toward his ears. It was hard to maintain the smile, so he stopped bothering.
“I didn’t mean to mess things up when I came up here. I just wanted to be part of it. Guess I got my wish in some monkey’s paw shitty way.”
“It was the confluence of a lot of things,” Silvio assured him. “But...I think it’s for the best right now; for all of us.” He gave a wan smile. “Medicine can be bitter, I guess. But it’s not forever, at least.”
“Like I said. Monkey’s paw shit.”
Sighing, Axton turned himself around, resting his elbows on the desk so he was facing the door. He watched the cars roll by past Silvio’s window displays. Everything about this place radiated his personality; it had been easy to find, when he’d been searching blind for it.
“Sil… I’m not… feeling great about all of this. I’m sure you figured that out. I came up here to play a game, for shits and giggles, you know? And it looks like I accidentally kicked a wasp nest on my way in. Now everybody’s stung and screaming and I’m just standing here like the dude with the pizzas in that one scene from Community… everybody yellin’ at me for kicking the nest I didn’t see.”
“I know,” Silvio said, getting to his feet. “And I’m sorry for everything I did...or didn’t do... that contributed to that.” He hesitated before reaching out and touching the tense line of Axton’s shoulder. “But I think talking with Adrienne will help set the record straight.” There was a little snort and he shook his head. “You all had a helluva match, by the way. Congrats on your first win; that fight wasn’t easy.”
“Thanks.”
Axton glanced over said tense shoulder to look at him, forcing another thin smile. “I tried to play it clean… tried to prove something, I guess. But it doesn’t matter. Some people don’t wanna change their minds about you, or believe you no matter what you say. I just decided to lean into it. Let people think what they wanna think. I tried to get away from that kinda thing in LA but I guess it just followed me here.”
He sighed and shook his head, loosely crossing his arms.
“Anyway, sorry for bitching. Thanks for hosting this thing. I don’t want Ms. Levi to think I’m that kind of person. Most people I don’t care if they wanna make me their bad guy, but she’s different.”
“She admires you,” Silvio said. “And I do, too. I never got to see this side of your passions.” He started around the counter to come to Axton’s side. “It suits you.”
He wasn’t exaggerating about that, either. Axton took to all of this naturally. Some people were just like that, though. The light inside of them just couldn’t help but spill over no matter what they did. Silvio knew Axton was catching heat now, but he also knew time would change things. You couldn’t ignore the way Ax shone, and people would take him lightly at their own peril.
Axton’s shoulders softened a bit, looking at Silvio sidelong. The tattoo artist had always had a way of talking to him that just made him want to fall apart in the best way. Tell him anything. Do anything to hear him say those sweet things… that much hadn’t changed.
“It’s fun. Really, it’s fun. I love this sport, I have since high school. I guess I just don’t… I don’t take it as seriously as some people. But I don’t take anything that seriously, y’know?”
Grinning, Silvio gave him a little nudge with his elbow. “Oh, I know, Mr. Cool Patrol,” he teased. “And I don’t think that’s a bad thing, necessarily. I just get the feeling not everyone will get the joke sometimes. Still, I really mean it. You look good out there. It won’t take long for people to respond to it. But that’s the way you are; you make things fall into your orbit without even trying.”
The bell over the front door sounded once more. To anyone that knew her, it was just Ade. But with her knock off Jackie O sunglasses, her grey and purple Baltimore Ravens hoodie drawn over her head, black leggings, and sneakers - she looked far from anonymous. Adrienne remembered when Axton had asked for the address of Sil’s shop. She didn’t know and after a cursory glance, she wished she had visited earlier. Tucking her phone back into the oversized pocket of her sweater, she looked forward and saw that like aways, she was late. Alas, the perks of public transportations. Axton and Silvio were already there conversing amongst themselves.
“Hi,” she said quietly. “Sorry for interrupting.”
Mouth still open about to reply to Silvio, Axton’s attention shifted forward, and he immediately felt his gut twist uncomfortably. He wasn’t looking forward to this--it was too open, too personal, too raw. He’d never been good at this sort of thing… but he knew a good person when he met them, and the last thing he wanted to do was give Adrienne the impression he didn’t deserve all the time and energy she’d already given him. Even if it was… parasocial time and energy.
“Hey.” Once again he attempted a smile, shoving both hands into his pockets to shrink his presence in the room. “You’re not, don’t worry about it. I was prob’ly about to say something dumb anyhow.”
Silvio smiled at Adrienne, gesturing her in. “I’m glad you could make it. Did you want a soda or anything? I’m kind of a sugar fiend, but you’re welcome to any snacks I got, too.”
“Water’s fine.” she said with a curt smile. Adrienne stepped into the room. The shades came off and she did her best to conceal that she hadn’t slept well in the last few days. With no one to talk to lately in that apartment, she’d unintentionally invited over less savory elements. She turned to Axton, doing her best to keep her fandom in check, “So I know this is weird considering this actually is not the first time we’ve met - but I’m Adrienne.”
It took Axton a second to shut off the part of his mind that was busy dwelling on what he already knew--that she was a fan, her name, that they’d squared off in the ring before, even. That exchanges had been made that had upset them both. This was supposed to be about clearing the air… making a fresh start. Swallowing the tight feeling in his throat, he extended a hand, tattoo peeking out from under a leather strap bracelet, his palms still a bit rough from the ring ropes.
“Axton,” he said, clearing his throat. “Just ‘Ax’ is fine, everybody calls me that... You gave Sebastian and I a hell of a fight.”
Adrienne nodded politely. She had already given her thoughts on her efforts. They were unsatisfactory to her standards. Sometimes it felt as if she was on the outside looking in as The Dragon Lady battled it out with her latest grudges. With that compounded with Kohaku’s decision and other incidents, her reaction could be considered insincere.
“Thanks, Ax.”
There wasn’t much else to say about that. This wasn’t a conversation to talk shop. Or as much as she wanted to, how much Axton’s music meant to her. Those sort of things could be done over Twitter.
“Is there somewhere where we can all sit down?” she asked Silvio with a bit of hesitation.
Silvio nodded as he rounded the corner of his front counter, striding over to a mini fridge in a little alcove behind the work area, and getting out a bottle of water for Adrienne. “We can do this in the waiting area, but I also have my, uh...work table,” he said, nodding toward the part of the studio where he typically filmed his tarot readings.
“I’ll take a root beer if you got any.”
As curious as he was to see the space where Silvio shot his legendarily creepy-accurate promos, the couch in the waiting area looked a lot more comfortable. The young musician made his way over to it, pulling his jacket off over his head and slumping into a seat with a sigh that belonged to a man a couple decades his senior.
Honestly, he was sort of relieved Adrienne didn’t seem to want to talk about the match. He didn’t really want to think about it.
“I’m supposed to be watching my sugar intake but fuck it.”
Adrienne took the bottle of water and thanked Silvio, “Here’s fine.” And she sat down on the end of the couch closest to the door. Taking a deep breath, she concluded that since she wanted this meeting, that she should just come out and say what needed to be said.
“I guess it would be safe to say that none of us have had a good time recently. I’m sorry if I made you two mad.”
“Mad?” Silvio echoed in surprise, offering a root beer to Axton. “Adrienne, I’m not mad; I never was. But I get how all of this has been...confusing. Frustrating, probably.” He glanced between Axton and Adrienne before sinking into a seat across from her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had some questions.”
“Yeah…” Axton was rubbing his face with one hand, palm pressing into his eye as he scratched at his hairline. He lowered it to open the root beer with a pop and hiss. “Not mad about anything. I was pretty offended when you sort of implied I would, you know, ever hit one of my partners with a serious... intent, I guess. I figured that even peripherally you knew me better than that, or would have a bit more faith in me.” He sighed, looking down at his knees. “But after what you said on Twits about your history in the ring, I get it. You’ve been through some stuff and that kind of experience sort of overshadows everything, especially since you aren’t exactly used to my bullshit the way Sil is.”
Adrienne listened to them both, squeezing the water bottle reflexively. She didn’t want to get into rehashing the event. She had it done enough and she figured that they had, too. Looking forward at nothing in particular, she spoke just audibly enough for them to hear. “I didn’t want all of that to matter anymore. Wanted to be above it all but I just can’t seem to shake it.”
She knew how that could possibly sound naive. She knew little what these two had been through. Silvio seemed to possess some skills that implied that he’d had it tough, too. And Axton’s art seemed so raw and personal that Adrienne thought that she knew him. Struggling with her own troubles, all she could see were mirrors into her past everywhere she went. Like no one else existed. Sometimes she felt selfish.
“I try my best to smile through all of this. Scared of what happens when I don’t.”
“Adrienne,” Silvio murmured, “you don’t have to be on anybody’s schedule but your own. Nobody gets to dictate how long something impacts them or anyone else. You’re not weak or pathetic if something that wounded you in the past still hurts or isn’t completely healed. And if you don’t feel like smiling, then don’t. You don’t owe the world a more palatable lie because it doesn’t like the taste of the truth.”
With his hands folded over his mouth, the drink set down on the low table, Axton nodded. He looked a lot more serious and sombre than he usually did. Meadowgreen eyes flickered upward to Adrienne and his tone was soft when he spoke.
“Second that… I know it sucks to think about but, that stuff doesn’t just go away, and nobody expects it to. Anyone who does is a dick with no empathy who doesn’t deserve you and who’s never been there.”
He hesitated, drawing a breath; he let it out on a tremulous laugh.
“You don’t have to smile through it. Shit, you can even write three albums about it, and nobody ever has to know all the rage and melancholy and loneliness is coming from a real place. You just have to get it out somehow. You’ll find people who are willing to stick by you even when these things make you hard to be around sometimes.”
The musician shot a sidelong look at Silvio, the corner of his mouth pulling up a bit.
“And maybe you’ll fly across the country to be near those people… or maybe you’ll just move from Clearwater to Baltimore.”
Uncapping the water finally, she took a swig. She smiled back nervously at Axton. “Yeah. There was nothing left for me back there.” It clicked for Adrienne there. Most of if not all of that ugly first impression washed away. She didn’t want to lecture. She didn’t want to implicate anyone. Pausing, she considered her words here. “I can’t speak for anyone else. But, I’d like to start over. I know you aren’t too fond of Baltimore. I kind of miss the beaches myself. But there’s a lot of special people here.”
Silvio smiled at them. “I’d like nothing better. I think we’d all be a lot happier if we give this another try now.” He’d hated how all of this had overshadowed the person Axton was. All they’d seen was him planting Silvio’s face into the mat. They hadn’t understood everything that had come before it or why Axton had chosen to try and resolve things the way he did. “If you’re okay with that, too, Ax.”
“I can’t promise I won’t stop dunking on Baltimore. That’s part of my brand now, basically,” Axton noted, drumming his fingers on the can that had found its way back into his hands. He cocked his head, looking between them. Truth was, they’d both given him a lot, in different ways--different kinds of support and trust at different times when he needed it. He’d never done well alone.
“But you’re right, there’s some special people here… the kind who are willing to give a dumbass punk a second chance. I know I can be a lot sometimes, but… it’d be cool to be part of all this. It’d be cool to get away from LA, just be a dude for a year, you know? Just a guy, throwin’ another guy for the glory, or maybe getting suplexed by a guy, then hanging out with a girl and a guy and maybe some other guys… I’m doing the thing again, huh.”
“It’s okay, I like it.” She replied. This was the sort of personality she had seen in public. She felt better that it was really how he seemed when in better spirits. Her gaze wandered to Silvio’s fantastic shop, all of the splendid displays of art on showcase. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit earlier. I’m still learning the city and it's either buses or Uber for me.”
“Ah, that’s alright!” Silvio said with a smile. “Visiting a tattoo parlor when you’re not going to get a tattoo isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. I’m glad you swung by, though. My apartment’s actually just upstairs.”
And currently houses one gigantic man who escaped from horrific experimentation that left his mind splintered and body broken and yeah he also stepped on your neck at one point and--
“It’s a total mess right now, but maybe you can come up sometime later. I got tea, books, and sweets for days.”
“I bet it looks exactly the same as your place in LA,” Axton teased.
Silvio took a moment to look affronted, batting his eyelashes and placing a hand on his chest. “Excuse me, is that a slight about my interior design sensibilities, Mr. Gunn?”
“Bitch it might be.”
“Slings and arrows! You wound me,” Silvio gasped as he wilted over his chair.
Watching the two banter, Adrienne felt immensely better. Still a little exhausted from that previous endeavor. With people, she didn’t think about that much. About him.
“I’ve got a few other commitments today.” She said. Standing up, she took back out her shades and put them on. “But I wanted to talk to you guys first. I’ll be the first to admit, Ax. I still don’t get why things happened the way they did.” Looking at him directly, she continued, “But it’s okay. I get it enough to understand where you’re coming from. I don’t like being alone either. Maybe while you’re here, we can all make sure it won’t be a thing anymore.”
“That'd be cool,” Ax replied, his shoulders relaxing. He managed a bit of a smile without straining. “Thanks for hearing me out… it's more than I could've asked. Also, forgot to say so earlier--the shades are dope.”
He was glad of Adrienne and Axton coming over. Even though he was certain difficult topics were going to be broached, it was better than being alone right now.
The bell over the door gave a ring as Axton shouldered his way inside; he was dressed down and plain in a t-shirt, jeans and loose flannel top left unbuttoned, the sleeves cuffed to his elbows. He shot Silvio a thin smile as he approached the desk, hands in his pockets. He seemed a lot more subdued than usual.
“Hey… How’s it goin’, Sil? Ms. Levi’s not here yet, I take it?”
Silvio looked up at the sound of the bell chiming and smiled at his visitor.
“Hey, Ax. I’m...hanging in there, I guess. I take it you saw the video segment I did for Chaos?”
“Yeah.”
Axton leaned on the desk, folding his arms underneath him and allowing his shoulders to lift toward his ears. It was hard to maintain the smile, so he stopped bothering.
“I didn’t mean to mess things up when I came up here. I just wanted to be part of it. Guess I got my wish in some monkey’s paw shitty way.”
“It was the confluence of a lot of things,” Silvio assured him. “But...I think it’s for the best right now; for all of us.” He gave a wan smile. “Medicine can be bitter, I guess. But it’s not forever, at least.”
“Like I said. Monkey’s paw shit.”
Sighing, Axton turned himself around, resting his elbows on the desk so he was facing the door. He watched the cars roll by past Silvio’s window displays. Everything about this place radiated his personality; it had been easy to find, when he’d been searching blind for it.
“Sil… I’m not… feeling great about all of this. I’m sure you figured that out. I came up here to play a game, for shits and giggles, you know? And it looks like I accidentally kicked a wasp nest on my way in. Now everybody’s stung and screaming and I’m just standing here like the dude with the pizzas in that one scene from Community… everybody yellin’ at me for kicking the nest I didn’t see.”
“I know,” Silvio said, getting to his feet. “And I’m sorry for everything I did...or didn’t do... that contributed to that.” He hesitated before reaching out and touching the tense line of Axton’s shoulder. “But I think talking with Adrienne will help set the record straight.” There was a little snort and he shook his head. “You all had a helluva match, by the way. Congrats on your first win; that fight wasn’t easy.”
“Thanks.”
Axton glanced over said tense shoulder to look at him, forcing another thin smile. “I tried to play it clean… tried to prove something, I guess. But it doesn’t matter. Some people don’t wanna change their minds about you, or believe you no matter what you say. I just decided to lean into it. Let people think what they wanna think. I tried to get away from that kinda thing in LA but I guess it just followed me here.”
He sighed and shook his head, loosely crossing his arms.
“Anyway, sorry for bitching. Thanks for hosting this thing. I don’t want Ms. Levi to think I’m that kind of person. Most people I don’t care if they wanna make me their bad guy, but she’s different.”
“She admires you,” Silvio said. “And I do, too. I never got to see this side of your passions.” He started around the counter to come to Axton’s side. “It suits you.”
He wasn’t exaggerating about that, either. Axton took to all of this naturally. Some people were just like that, though. The light inside of them just couldn’t help but spill over no matter what they did. Silvio knew Axton was catching heat now, but he also knew time would change things. You couldn’t ignore the way Ax shone, and people would take him lightly at their own peril.
Axton’s shoulders softened a bit, looking at Silvio sidelong. The tattoo artist had always had a way of talking to him that just made him want to fall apart in the best way. Tell him anything. Do anything to hear him say those sweet things… that much hadn’t changed.
“It’s fun. Really, it’s fun. I love this sport, I have since high school. I guess I just don’t… I don’t take it as seriously as some people. But I don’t take anything that seriously, y’know?”
Grinning, Silvio gave him a little nudge with his elbow. “Oh, I know, Mr. Cool Patrol,” he teased. “And I don’t think that’s a bad thing, necessarily. I just get the feeling not everyone will get the joke sometimes. Still, I really mean it. You look good out there. It won’t take long for people to respond to it. But that’s the way you are; you make things fall into your orbit without even trying.”
The bell over the front door sounded once more. To anyone that knew her, it was just Ade. But with her knock off Jackie O sunglasses, her grey and purple Baltimore Ravens hoodie drawn over her head, black leggings, and sneakers - she looked far from anonymous. Adrienne remembered when Axton had asked for the address of Sil’s shop. She didn’t know and after a cursory glance, she wished she had visited earlier. Tucking her phone back into the oversized pocket of her sweater, she looked forward and saw that like aways, she was late. Alas, the perks of public transportations. Axton and Silvio were already there conversing amongst themselves.
“Hi,” she said quietly. “Sorry for interrupting.”
Mouth still open about to reply to Silvio, Axton’s attention shifted forward, and he immediately felt his gut twist uncomfortably. He wasn’t looking forward to this--it was too open, too personal, too raw. He’d never been good at this sort of thing… but he knew a good person when he met them, and the last thing he wanted to do was give Adrienne the impression he didn’t deserve all the time and energy she’d already given him. Even if it was… parasocial time and energy.
“Hey.” Once again he attempted a smile, shoving both hands into his pockets to shrink his presence in the room. “You’re not, don’t worry about it. I was prob’ly about to say something dumb anyhow.”
Silvio smiled at Adrienne, gesturing her in. “I’m glad you could make it. Did you want a soda or anything? I’m kind of a sugar fiend, but you’re welcome to any snacks I got, too.”
“Water’s fine.” she said with a curt smile. Adrienne stepped into the room. The shades came off and she did her best to conceal that she hadn’t slept well in the last few days. With no one to talk to lately in that apartment, she’d unintentionally invited over less savory elements. She turned to Axton, doing her best to keep her fandom in check, “So I know this is weird considering this actually is not the first time we’ve met - but I’m Adrienne.”
It took Axton a second to shut off the part of his mind that was busy dwelling on what he already knew--that she was a fan, her name, that they’d squared off in the ring before, even. That exchanges had been made that had upset them both. This was supposed to be about clearing the air… making a fresh start. Swallowing the tight feeling in his throat, he extended a hand, tattoo peeking out from under a leather strap bracelet, his palms still a bit rough from the ring ropes.
“Axton,” he said, clearing his throat. “Just ‘Ax’ is fine, everybody calls me that... You gave Sebastian and I a hell of a fight.”
Adrienne nodded politely. She had already given her thoughts on her efforts. They were unsatisfactory to her standards. Sometimes it felt as if she was on the outside looking in as The Dragon Lady battled it out with her latest grudges. With that compounded with Kohaku’s decision and other incidents, her reaction could be considered insincere.
“Thanks, Ax.”
There wasn’t much else to say about that. This wasn’t a conversation to talk shop. Or as much as she wanted to, how much Axton’s music meant to her. Those sort of things could be done over Twitter.
“Is there somewhere where we can all sit down?” she asked Silvio with a bit of hesitation.
Silvio nodded as he rounded the corner of his front counter, striding over to a mini fridge in a little alcove behind the work area, and getting out a bottle of water for Adrienne. “We can do this in the waiting area, but I also have my, uh...work table,” he said, nodding toward the part of the studio where he typically filmed his tarot readings.
“I’ll take a root beer if you got any.”
As curious as he was to see the space where Silvio shot his legendarily creepy-accurate promos, the couch in the waiting area looked a lot more comfortable. The young musician made his way over to it, pulling his jacket off over his head and slumping into a seat with a sigh that belonged to a man a couple decades his senior.
Honestly, he was sort of relieved Adrienne didn’t seem to want to talk about the match. He didn’t really want to think about it.
“I’m supposed to be watching my sugar intake but fuck it.”
Adrienne took the bottle of water and thanked Silvio, “Here’s fine.” And she sat down on the end of the couch closest to the door. Taking a deep breath, she concluded that since she wanted this meeting, that she should just come out and say what needed to be said.
“I guess it would be safe to say that none of us have had a good time recently. I’m sorry if I made you two mad.”
“Mad?” Silvio echoed in surprise, offering a root beer to Axton. “Adrienne, I’m not mad; I never was. But I get how all of this has been...confusing. Frustrating, probably.” He glanced between Axton and Adrienne before sinking into a seat across from her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had some questions.”
“Yeah…” Axton was rubbing his face with one hand, palm pressing into his eye as he scratched at his hairline. He lowered it to open the root beer with a pop and hiss. “Not mad about anything. I was pretty offended when you sort of implied I would, you know, ever hit one of my partners with a serious... intent, I guess. I figured that even peripherally you knew me better than that, or would have a bit more faith in me.” He sighed, looking down at his knees. “But after what you said on Twits about your history in the ring, I get it. You’ve been through some stuff and that kind of experience sort of overshadows everything, especially since you aren’t exactly used to my bullshit the way Sil is.”
Adrienne listened to them both, squeezing the water bottle reflexively. She didn’t want to get into rehashing the event. She had it done enough and she figured that they had, too. Looking forward at nothing in particular, she spoke just audibly enough for them to hear. “I didn’t want all of that to matter anymore. Wanted to be above it all but I just can’t seem to shake it.”
She knew how that could possibly sound naive. She knew little what these two had been through. Silvio seemed to possess some skills that implied that he’d had it tough, too. And Axton’s art seemed so raw and personal that Adrienne thought that she knew him. Struggling with her own troubles, all she could see were mirrors into her past everywhere she went. Like no one else existed. Sometimes she felt selfish.
“I try my best to smile through all of this. Scared of what happens when I don’t.”
“Adrienne,” Silvio murmured, “you don’t have to be on anybody’s schedule but your own. Nobody gets to dictate how long something impacts them or anyone else. You’re not weak or pathetic if something that wounded you in the past still hurts or isn’t completely healed. And if you don’t feel like smiling, then don’t. You don’t owe the world a more palatable lie because it doesn’t like the taste of the truth.”
With his hands folded over his mouth, the drink set down on the low table, Axton nodded. He looked a lot more serious and sombre than he usually did. Meadowgreen eyes flickered upward to Adrienne and his tone was soft when he spoke.
“Second that… I know it sucks to think about but, that stuff doesn’t just go away, and nobody expects it to. Anyone who does is a dick with no empathy who doesn’t deserve you and who’s never been there.”
He hesitated, drawing a breath; he let it out on a tremulous laugh.
“You don’t have to smile through it. Shit, you can even write three albums about it, and nobody ever has to know all the rage and melancholy and loneliness is coming from a real place. You just have to get it out somehow. You’ll find people who are willing to stick by you even when these things make you hard to be around sometimes.”
The musician shot a sidelong look at Silvio, the corner of his mouth pulling up a bit.
“And maybe you’ll fly across the country to be near those people… or maybe you’ll just move from Clearwater to Baltimore.”
Uncapping the water finally, she took a swig. She smiled back nervously at Axton. “Yeah. There was nothing left for me back there.” It clicked for Adrienne there. Most of if not all of that ugly first impression washed away. She didn’t want to lecture. She didn’t want to implicate anyone. Pausing, she considered her words here. “I can’t speak for anyone else. But, I’d like to start over. I know you aren’t too fond of Baltimore. I kind of miss the beaches myself. But there’s a lot of special people here.”
Silvio smiled at them. “I’d like nothing better. I think we’d all be a lot happier if we give this another try now.” He’d hated how all of this had overshadowed the person Axton was. All they’d seen was him planting Silvio’s face into the mat. They hadn’t understood everything that had come before it or why Axton had chosen to try and resolve things the way he did. “If you’re okay with that, too, Ax.”
“I can’t promise I won’t stop dunking on Baltimore. That’s part of my brand now, basically,” Axton noted, drumming his fingers on the can that had found its way back into his hands. He cocked his head, looking between them. Truth was, they’d both given him a lot, in different ways--different kinds of support and trust at different times when he needed it. He’d never done well alone.
“But you’re right, there’s some special people here… the kind who are willing to give a dumbass punk a second chance. I know I can be a lot sometimes, but… it’d be cool to be part of all this. It’d be cool to get away from LA, just be a dude for a year, you know? Just a guy, throwin’ another guy for the glory, or maybe getting suplexed by a guy, then hanging out with a girl and a guy and maybe some other guys… I’m doing the thing again, huh.”
“It’s okay, I like it.” She replied. This was the sort of personality she had seen in public. She felt better that it was really how he seemed when in better spirits. Her gaze wandered to Silvio’s fantastic shop, all of the splendid displays of art on showcase. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit earlier. I’m still learning the city and it's either buses or Uber for me.”
“Ah, that’s alright!” Silvio said with a smile. “Visiting a tattoo parlor when you’re not going to get a tattoo isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. I’m glad you swung by, though. My apartment’s actually just upstairs.”
And currently houses one gigantic man who escaped from horrific experimentation that left his mind splintered and body broken and yeah he also stepped on your neck at one point and--
“It’s a total mess right now, but maybe you can come up sometime later. I got tea, books, and sweets for days.”
“I bet it looks exactly the same as your place in LA,” Axton teased.
Silvio took a moment to look affronted, batting his eyelashes and placing a hand on his chest. “Excuse me, is that a slight about my interior design sensibilities, Mr. Gunn?”
“Bitch it might be.”
“Slings and arrows! You wound me,” Silvio gasped as he wilted over his chair.
Watching the two banter, Adrienne felt immensely better. Still a little exhausted from that previous endeavor. With people, she didn’t think about that much. About him.
“I’ve got a few other commitments today.” She said. Standing up, she took back out her shades and put them on. “But I wanted to talk to you guys first. I’ll be the first to admit, Ax. I still don’t get why things happened the way they did.” Looking at him directly, she continued, “But it’s okay. I get it enough to understand where you’re coming from. I don’t like being alone either. Maybe while you’re here, we can all make sure it won’t be a thing anymore.”
“That'd be cool,” Ax replied, his shoulders relaxing. He managed a bit of a smile without straining. “Thanks for hearing me out… it's more than I could've asked. Also, forgot to say so earlier--the shades are dope.”