later alligator / axel&wolf

He had considered the fact that Axel wouldn't want him to visit.

For like a moment, in the seconds after he'd brazenly said he was coming to Four. The line had been silent for just a breath too long and then Axel's voice had come crackling through the line, "Dude!" And any fear he had about it was brutally curb stomped.

So Wolf stood there, fingers in the chain link fence and watched as the train with Pollux on it went East. Patricia Valfierno had argued them all a ride home. Wolf was meant to be on that train too until he'd pulled his victor sibling privilege card. He'd made up some lie about going there on behalf of Lysander to see Annie.

He caught a train just an hour later going West, towards the sea.

He's never seen the ocean, not in person at least. That's the story for most, it's rare to be in a District with access to the sea. Weather's more fickle and its harder to police movement on water. Wolf's never been to the ocean but Lys has. He remembers watching her in Four on her victory tour.

And they don't have a relationship, haven't spoken in months, but after today Wolfgang will have seen the edge of the land too. He'll never admit it, but that's precious to him, sharing that tiny thing with his older sister.

But it's pathetic to love someone who's indifferent to you. Though it's all he seems capable of doing.

The train begins to slow as it pulls into Four. Wolfgang starts to wonder how much Axel has changed since he last saw him. Wolf's been two different hair colours since and he's gained an inch in height. There's a new broadness to his shoulders, that boyish softness has been peeled off of him, revealing sharp features and hard lines.

And there's a coldness to his look. His smile's become more a mask than anything else. In the last year, Wolf's spent more time with his father in the underbelly of the Mae's fortune than he'll ever admit to. There's a darkness behind his gaze to match the bitterness that was planted after Lysander volunteered.

Wolfgang Mae isn't a child anymore, he hasn't been for a long time.

Still, as the train rolls slowly onto the platform, Wolfgang's eyes light up. Axel's standing there, a couple windows down from his. The corner of his mouth tugs up despite his general bad mood. It's been lonely, being in quarantine for so long. When Pollux left, he spent another maddening week all alone, it's just a relief to see someone he knows.

The train comes to a halt and Wolfgang is almost directly in front of his friend. He kneels on the seat and presses his palms against the glass. Then he balls one hand up into a fist and hits the side of it against the window to get Axel's attention. "Axel!" he calls out. The glass is thick but he still manages to rattle the window.

A whistle blows and he grabs the strap of his backpack, sliding over the arm rest and slipping down the center aisle before the few other passengers have time to move.

Wolf breaches the doors and lands with both feet on the platform. The air here is different, not like six, sterile and cold, not like five either, aways smelling of smoke. Four smells like salt and rotting wood, like damp and rain and wind.

He turns to the left, then a moment later, the right, but now that Wolf doesn't have the advantage of being on the train for added height, it's near impossible to see through the crowd.

People move past him, exiting out the same doors he just came out of himself, but Wolfgang doesn't move out of the way. He waits right there, like a rock in a stream, the current of people slide off of him and move off to meet their various connections.

"Bro!"

It's Axel's voice calling for him but Wolf still can't see him. He rocks back on his heels and then forwards onto his toes, just trying to get a little more height. "Hey!" he calls out, "Axel! Over here!"

"Buddy!" Axel's face appears and Wolf's fading grin lifts again at the sight of him. His stomach flips, that same bright feeling that made his hands shake last year during Young Love slips back in despite all of the guards he's put up since then. It's no wonder Axel's career in front of the camera has only gotten busier. In the year since the game show, he's lost almost all traces of childhood from his features.

"Dude!" Wolfgang shouts back gleefully and opens his arms to catch Axel as the taller boy comes barrelling into him. The force of him still sends him rocking backwards but then Axel is pulling him back into a tight hug and Wolfgang is laughing while trying to catch his breath and there was this weird hole getting deeper and deeper in his chest but like this, wrapped up in Axel's arms, it's filling.

Then Axel's stepping back and Wolf is too and the wind cuts between them and the train lets out this long sigh as it gets ready to move on to it's next stop. Attendants shuffle Wolf away from the tracks and some lady is scream crying like ten feet away and hugging a child that's doing the same. Past them, there's a guy down on one knee proposing to a copper statue of some poor tribute who never made it past eighth place and Axel is staring down a spot on Wolfgang's forehead like he can drill a hole through him instead of looking him in the eyes.

It's all a little awkward. Yeah, they did spend some time together during Young Love but Wolfgang isn't as stupid as he looks. People are always different when they know that a camera's watching them. Maybe Axel's a better actor than Wolf thought and maybe this was an insane decision. Maybe this was really inconvenient of him and Axel's just too sweet to send him aw-

“I-uh, got you this.”

Wolf looks down at Axel's outstretched hand and the little newspaper bundle in it. He stares at it numbly for a moment, trying to remember if there's a holiday he's missed or if it's customary to exchange gifts after making out for a bit and then not seeing each other for a year.

"It's a welcome present."

"Oh!" Wolf says, relief flooding him. He takes the little package. It's so light it feels as if it could just be a paper wrapped around paper. Axel's still looking at him oddly so Wolfgang pulls on a little piece that's already popped up and unfolds the rest of it.

Nestled in the newsprint is this little curved, thin stone, painted with a tiny landscape of a perfect blue sky with whispy little clouds. Wolf picks it up reverently and cups it in his palm, then turns it over and runs his thumb across the soft underbelly of the stone. The shape seems too perfect, as if it was carved specifically to be that way.

"Thanks," he says, "This is cool." He turns it over again and then slips it into the pocket of his hoodie. Wolf looks back up at him and then frowns a little, "Hey, did you get even taller?" he asks as they start walking down the platform, "Thought I was catching up."

He wraps his hands around the straps of his backpack and stares straight ahead at the entrance to the station. The platform is emptying fast as people filter out onto the streets of Four to join the midday foot traffic. It's a clear day, something that even after weeks in Six Wolfgang can't quite get used to after growing up in Five and all its smog.

The wind gusts between them again, carrying the scent of brine and something else that he can't quite place.

"Can we go to the ocean?"

After what feels like a month of silence, it's weirdly calming to just stand there and let Axel's chatter flood the space between them, as if it doesn't even exist.

It's kind of there though, invisible, unspoken, like they're experiencing this weirdly long morning after. Except all they ever did was kiss for some cameras and the only thing that happened is Wolfgang chose Axel at that first coupling and maybe he shouldn't have done that. Things feel kind of weird between them, kind of jumpy and maybe it's his fault. Or maybe he's just reading too much into things because he wants that weirdness.

What the fuck am I even on about?

Wolf stares at Axel, half-listening to the stream of information from his friend's mouth, half just studying him. There's a smile nailed to his face like a quick fix but it doesn't quite reach his eyes and his hands are too excited about the words coming out of him, like there's a giant hand in his back, working his body just enough to make him seem alive.

But Wolf knows what that's like and how it feels and part of him wants to just reach out and press a finger against Axel's lips, do a hard reset and reboot him. Something's changed, some piece of him that seemed so strong must have broken and this is what the aftermath is.

"Yeah I dunno how to swim but we've got the reservoir from the hydro damn? Everyone knows it's probably full of like... radio waves or some shit though."

"Woah, hey!" he protests as Axel suddenly starts pushing him down to the docks by the shoulders but then he laughs as people near jump out of their way. "Dude, you should start giving tours like this," Wolf says. Then he sees a sliver of water between the buildings and curiosity makes him pause. How big could the ocean really be? Wolf cranes his neck for a better look but then a hand slides over his eyes. He makes a little sound of annoyance, "What're you doing?"

He reaches up with both hands to try and pluck at Axel's but it's useless and he's only half-trying anyway. He's learned at this point in their brief history to just let the other boy make his experiences the littlest bit more magical.