RUNAWAY

RUNAWAY

Escaping.

Something that felt all too familiar to Axl. Whenever the world pressed too hard, when voices rose or feelings tangled like storm clouds in his chest, Axl escaped.

He always found somewhere, somewhere desolate and cold. Where his own thoughts could be drowned out, where he didn’t need to feel. It wasn’t fear, exactly; it was the only language he trusted when emotions swelled beyond what words could convey.

However, You didn’t have as much faith in this language as he did. There had been countless nights where you’d woken up to nothing but a dent in the mattress beside you late at dusk, with not a clue on where he was, simply having to find the trust deep in your heart that he knew how to handle himself and he’d be back okay. Axl’s life was loud and crowded, two things he struggled to handle, which reflected onto his brain, making him lose himself far too easily. And you knew that. You knew him through and through, so all you were ever left to do was wait.

Tonight was one of those nights. It was the middle of November, 2:03 am. However, instead of laying on your back in an empty bed, staring up at the ceiling with your mind rushing god knows how many scenarios and possibilities on where he could be, you were looking right at him.

Axl sat on the edge of the old apartment roof, knees tucked to his chest, the city sprawled out below in a web of flickering lights and distant sirens. The cold bit through the leather of his jacket, the one he always wore, but he barely noticed—his thoughts were louder than the wind. Up there, above the mess of streets and noise, things felt still, like time had paused just long enough for him to breathe. He stared out over the skyline, wondering how everything could feel so vast and yet so close to crumbling. The smoke from the cigarette between his two fingers clouded around him, his gaze stuck on the world below him.

You stood there for a moment, simply observing with your arms crossed over your chest. Almost as if you were trying to detect every last thought rushing through him, you knew when he wasn’t himself. You knew your Axl. You silently made your way over, not uttering a word. No words—just the soft thud of footsteps as you settled beside him, close but not pressing. It was only once you’d perched down that your presence registered in Axl’s crowded mind. Once he saw you out the corner of his eye it was almost as though he’d been snapped out of a deep trance. He didn't look at her, though. He just kept staring ahead. His eyes tracing the faint city lights as if they were somewhere far away.

You sat there for a while, the chill creeping into your bones as you mirrored his silence, feeling the weight of the night settle over both of you. The cigarette in his hand was almost burnt out now, the ember barely flickering, and you couldn't help but wonder if he was waiting for it to disappear, just like everything else he couldn’t hold onto. You knew better than to ask right away—sometimes he needed to feel like the words had time to find their way out of him.

“Found me, huh?”

Axl finally broke the silence, his voice sounding distant, almost numb, as if it lacked everything she’d gotten used to.

Neither of you looked at each other, both gazes occupied by the sight of the dimmed street lamps and barren roads.

“What are you hiding from, Ax’?”

You responded, your question blunt yet genuine. Your curiosity was clear, although you mirrored his emotionless exterior. You didn’t want it to come across as antagonising or accusatory, you just worried.

“Who says I’m hiding?”

Axl countered after a moment of silence, the question hitting a little too close to the core for his liking as he finally flicked his burnt-out cigarette butt over the edge of the roof, observing as it landed on the pavement below.

“You always go up high when you need to escape.”

You stated with certainty, the pattern was becoming all too familiar for you. Your tone remained calm, despite wanting to peer into his brain and unleash everything that could possibly be burdening him.

Axl sighed quietly to himself and leaned back on his palms, letting the wind bite harder at his cheeks. His eyes followed the path the cigarette would’ve taken if he could still see it—just another thing fading into the shadows below.

“You ever think maybe I don’t want to be found?” he said, voice barely above the breeze. “Maybe I come up here hoping no one will.”

You didn’t flinch. You didn’t push. You just breathed, slow and steady.

“Then why don’t you go somewhere I can’t find you?”

That made him glance your way—only for a second, but it was something. The corner of his mouth twitched like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked down at his hands like they were foreign. Like they’d done something he couldn’t remember.

“’Cause I think part of me still wants to be,” he muttered. “Found, I mean.”

The weight of those words lingered in the air like fog from his breath. You felt it wrap around the space between you. It didn’t sting, didn’t cut. It just... existed. Heavy and honest.

“You don’t have to say what’s going on,” you said softly, turning your body slightly toward him. “But you do have to stop pretending you’re the only one who can feel the ground shifting.”

Axl laughed—dry, short, more like a release of air than anything else. He ran a hand through his straight hair, fingers shaking slightly, though he tried to hide it.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Axl questioned, coming out more like a confession than anything. As if it stung as the words fell from his lips.

Your heart clenched at the question—not because you didn’t know the answer, but because you knew exactly why he was asking. Because you’d seen him carry that guilt in the curve of his shoulders, in the way his eyes never quite rested. Like he was constantly preparing for a verdict he believed he’d already earned.

"Should I?"

You questioned, not because you were genuinely debating it, but purely because you wanted to see him through his view, even for just a moment. Just to see through him.

"Maybe."

He shrugged, chewing the inside of his left cheek.

"No. I don't."

You responded almost immediately without a hint of hesitation. You'd seen the social pressure the media had forced him to deal with, no matter how unaffected and unbothered he came across. He was Axl Rose, after all.

“I think you’re a person who feels too much, yet still tries to act like they're above emotion."

You responded with certainty.

Axl looked down again, jaw tightening, lips twitching like he wanted to say something, but didn’t trust himself to. The quiet between you wasn’t sharp—it was soft now, like the world had shrunk to just this rooftop, just this moment.

You sighed at his silent response. your expression softening. The kind of softness that comes when you're too tired to fight, but still too full of care to leave things unsaid.

You leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on your knees as your eyes followed the same horizon he was locked into.

“I’m heading back down,” you said quietly, the words gentle and without pressure. “

Axl didn’t answer right away. He didn’t have to. The way his body stilled told you he heard every word.

You stood slowly, brushing off the dust from the back of your sleep shorts, pausing only when you reached the edge of the roof’s old gravel. Your hand hovered by your side like it wanted to reach out again, but you didn’t.

"Promise me you'll come back to bed soon. I worry about you."

Axl’s shoulders tensed at your words—just slightly—but you caught it. You always did. He didn’t look at you, but his jaw shifted, like he was working through a response, even if he wasn’t ready to say it yet.

The wind pressed a little harder now, curling between the buildings and whipping past the rooftop with a low, hollow whistle. You pulled your jacket tighter around yourself, eyes lingering on him.

“I will,” he finally said, voice almost swallowed by the wind. “Just... not yet.”

You let out a soft breath at his words, almost in relief, the cold winter months causing a cloud of smoke to float from your lips as you did so.

With that, you turned to go, your steps slow as you crossed the roof and pushed open the rusted metal door. It creaked, as always, but you didn’t glance back—because you knew he would.

And he did.

Once you were gone, the door easing shut behind you, Axl finally looked over his shoulder. The space where you’d been sitting still held the heat of your presence, like a shadow that hadn’t faded yet. It never did. And he never wanted it to.

He sat in it a moment longer. The wind had teeth now, and the sky above was bruising at the edges—stars swallowed by thick clouds. He pulled his jacket tighter, the collar brushing his cheek, and reached into his pocket for another cigarette.

But he didn’t light it.

Instead, he stared at the unlit stick in his fingers, thinking about your voice. Your softness. The way you never asked him to be anything other than what he was, even when what he was didn’t make sense.

He stood, finally, the gravel crunching beneath his boots as he walked toward the door. He hesitated once—looking back over the city again. It was still flickering, still broken, still alive.

Just like him.

And then he disappeared down the stairwell, the door shutting behind him with a metallic clink.

You felt the shift before you heard anything. The apartment was still dark, but warmer now—like something had returned. A shadow in the hallway, a breath not your own. And when you turned over, there he was, standing in the doorway to your room, hands in his pockets, head slightly bowed.

You didn’t say anything. You just lifted the blanket.

And Axl—quiet, guarded, worn down to the bone—crossed the room and slipped in beside you.

Neither of you spoke. You didn’t need to. The only sound being the rustle of bedsheets as his arm wrapped loosely around your waist, his chin resting on the top of your head.

His breath slowed beside yours, and for the first time that night, he let the weight go. Just a little. Just enough.

Enough to finally rest.

(GUESS WHO GOT TICKETS FOR GNR IN JUNE RAAAAAAA)

(anyway I have no idea what this is and nobody asked for it, but hope you enjoy : ))