Axel leaned on the bars outside the cell, not moving in until he was told, a force of habit that extended to most, even those not technically above him. Not that he and Hartley were on the same level these days. Hartley had an empire slowly forming, he was hooked up with a lot of the higher end people and Axel was still Axel. Still trying to survive in a crappy environment. Alone.
"Can I come in?" See, look, manners and everything. That should earn him points. "I brought something."
"Not overly." Hartley had a room for himself, which wasn't that surprising, given that he was doing well. Not just where his behaviour was concerned, but also and most especially in less obvious ways. It showed in how comparatively comfortable he had it here. He was currently sanding the edges off a very small metal device with sandpaper. Safe enough. His real work had to be done at the workshop, but at least he could get things ready while in here.
"I told you to come, so yeah. Come in." He sat up on the bed and looked at Axel, keeping his face as blank as he could. "What do you have?"
Hartley had way more swag that he thought he had. Way more. He hadn't been here in a while so to look around and see how well he was doing, suddenly the thing he had to trade seemed kind of crappy and less like the holy grail he thought it was. Still, things like that never kept Axel down. When he first started here, he just decided to keep going no matter what. No matter how many times he got hurt, no matter how many people betrayed him or he had to betray. And here he was, trying to trade with one of the people he screwed over.
He pulled an item from the waistband of his trousers and presented it to Hartley. A broken three gens old ipod and some very manky looking headphones but hey, tech was so rare to come by here and Axel still considered this a lucky find. "It's broken but if anyone can fix it, you can fix it."
"Probably can." It wasn't just arrogance, Hartley had some experience with things like this. At the very least he'd be able to salvage some of the material, but he might even be able to make it work. Maybe there was music on it. It was pathetic that this excited him at all, but music meant to much to Hartley. He missed it, hell, yearned for it. It wasn't something that he let people know and he showed nothing much yet either. He'd not want to seem eager in any way. "What do you want for it?"
"Your help." Axel pulled the device back because he'd been burned before, he'd been robbed and he knew that Hartley was a lot more heartless these days, there was a chance he'd try and take it. "Remember the guy I pissed off the other day? Well, he'd trying to stake a claim now and the guy I was rolling with is getting transferred in two days so as soon as he's gone, I'm alone." And Axel didn't need to go back to that. He was okay right now, he was set. He dealt for the guy and sometimes sucked his dick and mostly he went untouched. This new guy? He definitely wanted to fuck him up. "I'll trade you this for your protection. You're hooked up now, you can help me."
And while protection usually cost more, Axel was kind of hoping he'd get a discount with Hartley.
"What a sad story." See if he cared. Hartley licked his upper lip in a quick flick of his tongue and picked up what he'd been working on again, lying down on the bed. This was how it worked. He'd liked Axel, really liked him, and Axel had had to screw him over and so it had happened. Now he could keep Axel from getting screwed over and here he was. Hartley felt sick more than gratified, hearing a guy he'd liked so much be this desperate for his help... Man, if he asked for it, Axel would give him anything, just throw him right into the same category as those other guys.
"You're trouble, Axel. That little iPod isn't worth it."
Shit. "Oh, come on. It's all I have, I don't get my own shit, people take from me." Axel knew he was screwed, he was kind of hoping Hartley was still new and naive enough to fall for it. With a sigh, he fumbled around in his pockets and pulled out the half packet of cigarettes he had, holding them up. It was pathetic, most people would have laughed him out by now. "That's my total lot, okay? I don't have a stash like most people, Max called dibs before he left. You can even ask Barry, our room is fucking bare."
Axel knew Hartley had the ideal situation here, the chance to screw him over like he'd screwed him over. All he had to do was hope Hartley was still a total bleeding heart. He licked his lips and tried to catch his eyes. "I know I'm sometimes trouble but I can make it worth your while to have my back."
"You want to use me and you think I'm weak, so you can get me for cheap. Do you think you're the only one that wants me? I can have my pick and you're nowhere near the top." It was both a blatant lie and painfully true. "You're in this mess because you pissed the wrong guy off. You want me to risk my own neck for a broken iPod and your worn out ass? That's the issue, Axel. You should have tried me when I couldn't afford to have standards."
Hartley wished the words wouldn't hurt to say. But at least he had gotten better at hiding his heart. If Axel knew how much he just wanted to hold him and keep him safe from everything, he'd never do anything but use him again.
Usually insults didn't get to Axel, not these days. He had a pretty thick skin and was used to people calling him stuff like this but Hartley? Someone who once looked at him with such affection before he missed it up. Axel closed his eyes for a few moments, unsure why his chest felt tight. He guessed he could still be hurt. Who knew? He shoved the ipod back into his pocket with his cigarettes and bit down hard, gritting his teeth together. No, he refused to get sad. It was easier to get angry.
"You think you're better than me? You know what, fuck you." Axel knew Hartley was but hell, he didn't need it rubbed in his face. "I don't need your help anyway, I was just offering you a chance to be with me. Not like a pathetic little fucker like you could ever get any real company but whatever. I don't need this bullshit. Enjoy jacking yourself off like a lonely pervert."
It was not satisfying to see Axel hurt like this, but it was... It was good, in a way. A sign that Axel wasn't completely dead inside. Hartley sighed and held his hand out. He wanted to hold Axel. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to kiss all along his face and tell him how beautiful he was, all that sappy stuff. He still wasn't over that crush, but the only way he could keep Axel's respect was by hiding it. "Give me the iPod and I'll look out for you until you find someone else."
It was a pity offer. A pity offer by someone who just kicked him down like that and most of the time, Axel could deal, he was used to being spoken to like he was nothing but from Hartley? He didn't even remember he had pride until it was wounded now. "I need it to get real protection. Fuck your pity and fuck you." Yeah, he'd regret this later but right now, he was too hurt to even consider taking that hand. He scowled at Hartley and moved out of his cell.
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Axel leaned on the bars outside the cell, not moving in until he was told, a force of habit that extended to most, even those not technically above him. Not that he and Hartley were on the same level these days. Hartley had an empire slowly forming, he was hooked up with a lot of the higher end people and Axel was still Axel. Still trying to survive in a crappy environment. Alone.
"Can I come in?" See, look, manners and everything. That should earn him points. "I brought something."
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"I told you to come, so yeah. Come in." He sat up on the bed and looked at Axel, keeping his face as blank as he could. "What do you have?"
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He pulled an item from the waistband of his trousers and presented it to Hartley. A broken three gens old ipod and some very manky looking headphones but hey, tech was so rare to come by here and Axel still considered this a lucky find. "It's broken but if anyone can fix it, you can fix it."
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And while protection usually cost more, Axel was kind of hoping he'd get a discount with Hartley.
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"You're trouble, Axel. That little iPod isn't worth it."
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Axel knew Hartley had the ideal situation here, the chance to screw him over like he'd screwed him over. All he had to do was hope Hartley was still a total bleeding heart. He licked his lips and tried to catch his eyes. "I know I'm sometimes trouble but I can make it worth your while to have my back."
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Hartley wished the words wouldn't hurt to say. But at least he had gotten better at hiding his heart. If Axel knew how much he just wanted to hold him and keep him safe from everything, he'd never do anything but use him again.
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"You think you're better than me? You know what, fuck you." Axel knew Hartley was but hell, he didn't need it rubbed in his face. "I don't need your help anyway, I was just offering you a chance to be with me. Not like a pathetic little fucker like you could ever get any real company but whatever. I don't need this bullshit. Enjoy jacking yourself off like a lonely pervert."
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