FicWad

The days turned into weeks with Izzy forever keeping his daylight vigil in the window. The wings lost their fresh, sweet smell. Instead they seemed to take on the musty, damp smell of the apartment.

After much experimentation, he and Slash had figured a way for him to wear shirts. They'd made long slits in the back of the clothes, fastened together above each wing with crudely sewn on buttons. Not that it made a lot of difference to Izzy; he still needed Slash to help him struggle the wings through the holes. He felt like such an invalid, having to rely on someone else to help him with the most trivial things.

The nights were fun and gave Izzy something to look forward to throughout the long days of isolation. They'd spend the long hours of darkness tangled together on the bed, fucking, giggling and smoking pot. In the afterglow of sex they'd lie, wrapped in the warmth of the wings, and talk the night away. They pondered the intricacies of life, love and music. Behind the thick curls, Slash's eyes would soften and his lips would curl into a smile as he uttered the four words that made Izzy's heart jump. I love you Iz. And deep down, as he drifted off to sleep, Izzy knew that he meant it.

But come daylight, Izzy was left alone with his thoughts and the curse of the wings. The days were spent in the window, watching and strumming on the guitar. Over time, a drift of scrap paper had gathered below the window as Izzy scrawled down ideas for songs and stories. From time to time Slash would bring him something home. A new notebook, a cheap paperback novel or new guitar strings. Whether they were stolen or paid for, Izzy didn't know. He didn't dare ask as Slash could just as easily put him back out on the street. It was a thought Izzy dreaded. The uncertain future of a circus freak angel.

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Night had fallen and Izzy was in his usual position in the window. Slash had come back, picked up his guitar and gone to play a gig. Izzy had wanted to go. He wanted to watch Slash tear it up in front of a crowd instead of just in the dingy apartment.

A cheap clock, rescued from a dumpster, clicked round to 2am. As if by magic, Izzy heard the sound of feet creaking along the corridor. A click and the door swung open to reveal a swaying Slash. Izzy watched as he stumbled into the room, dumped his guitar and kicked the door shut.

"Hey Iz." A bottle of JD swung Slash's fingers. "I've brought someone back from the club."

Izzy slid from the window, folding the wings behind him as he did.

"Okay. But how are you going to explain these?" Izzy flicked one of the wings, whipping up a small cloud of dust as he did.

Slash shrugged. "He's drunk. He won't notice."

"Right," Izzy sighed. "Even a drunk guy is going to notice someone with fuckin' wings."

"Come on Iz." Slash flicked the hair away from his eyes. "I don't get to meet anyone any more. All I do is work and fuck you."

Izzy felt his jaw drop and eyes widen. "Excuse me? At least you get to leave this fuckin' shit hole. Don't you think I'd like to go out and meet people?"

"Look, just meet this guy, okay? He says he wants to form a band and I want your opinion on him." A mischievous glint entered Slash's eyes and his voice softened. "And if he rats you out we'll kill him and dump his body in the sea."

Grinning, Izzy flopped onto the bed and picked up the book he'd been reading.

"Okay, let him in." He cracked the spine and began reading from where he'd left off.

He heard the door open and footsteps creak across the floorboards.

"Well, well, well. Jeffrey fuckin' Isbell."

Izzy's eyes snapped away from the book only to focus on a slender man with poker straight red hair.

"Bill," Izzy's voice faltered.

"Actually, it's Axl now." The redhead stuck out a bony hip, resting a hand on it. "Why are you wearing fuckin' wings? Is it some new fag trend of yours?"

Tentatively Izzy got to his feet, his whole body shaking with fear. His eyes flicked to Slash who was standing, staring.

"You two... know each other?" Slash stuttered.

Axl turned to him, flicking hair over his shoulder.

"Know each other?" he snorted. "I've known Izzy since he was a kid."

Axl slowly turned back to Izzy, his eyes narrowing, attention turned back to the wings.

"Where the fuck did they come from?"

Sweat beaded on Izzy's forehead, trickling down between his eyes. Reaching up, he brushed it away.

"They just appeared." Izzy was trying to remain calm but it was difficult. The one person he'd really been trying to hide from had just turned up.

The floorboards creaked as Axl stepped up to him. His face was set in its usual pissed off mask. Standing as still as he could, he let Axl walk around him, examining him.

Suddenly pain shot through his back as Axl grabbed the right wing and wrenched at it, pulling it open. Crying out, Izzy moved the muscles as he tried to get the wing out of Axl's hands. The other wing thrashed around, desperately trying to free its mate. But Axl had stepped to one side, clear of the thrashing wing. He stretched the wing to an uncomfortable angle, fingers poking and prodding. Falling to his knees, Izzy stretched the wing in a desperate attempt to ease the agony. Tears of pain prickled his eyes he tried to bring the left one under control.

"Where did they come from?" Axl growled.

Izzy choked, trying to hold back the tears. "I can't tell you."

There was another yank on the wing and Izzy screamed as muscles and bones cracked.

"Wrong fuckin answer Izzy!" Axl yanked again, contorting the wing into an uncomfortable position. "Tell me!"

The trapped wing was desperately trying to straighten out and ease the pain. But Axl was stronger than Izzy remembered. Fingers were tangled in the feathers, holding on as Izzy's body tried to throw off its attacker.

"Just fuckin tell me Iz! Tell me and I'll let you go."

"They came when he was a kid." Izzy looked up and, through tear filled eyes, could see a shocked Slash watching them. "Now let him go."

The painful grip was released and Izzy sat back on his heels, stretching the wing and catching his breath. He looked up and saw Axl standing in front of him, a handful of feathers clutched in one hand. Axl's face hadn't changed. It was still set into the arrogant, permanently annoyed expression that he always seemed to hide behind.

"Is this true?" Axl's voice had quietened but the threat of violence still lingered in the air.

Izzy nodded and swallowed around the lump in his throat.

"I never saw them," Axl said curtly.

"They disappeared when I didn't need them any more," Izzy quietly replied. "Besides, you'd have only dragged me to your minister."

Axl cocked his head to one side, ignoring his last statement, still staring at the wings.

"Then why are they here now?"

Izzy shrugged. "I don't know."

Turning on his heel, Axl swung round and walked to the other side of the room before swinging round to face him. Izzy felt the piercing green eyes rake over him, still taking in the sight.

"Who did you fuck Iz?"

With his bones clicking back into place, Izzy slowly got to his feet, the wings automatically folding behind him. A cold knot of fear formed in his stomach.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, head on one side.

Axl stepped towards him and, with trepidation, Izzy took a step back. The room seemed to be getting smaller, closing in around him as Axl slowly stalked him.

"You must have fucked someone," the red-head exclaimed, "otherwise those wings wouldn't still be here."

Izzy sighed and straightened up.

"Axl, I have no fuckin' clue what you're talking about." He took another step back only to find the wall in the way.

Axl carried on until he was nose to nose with Izzy, warm breath washing over the brunette's face.

"You're a fallen angel Iz. You fucked someone and the wings are your punishment. And seeing as you could never get any pussy I can only think that you fucked that curly-haired bastard you've shacked up with." Anger flashed through Axl's eyes and his mouth twisted into a sneer. "I always knew you were a fuckin' fag and now you're a fuckin' fag with wings."

Izzy's eyes momentarily flicked from Axl to Slash. He watched as Slash's shoulders stiffened and he took a step towards them. Izzy shook his head slightly, signalling to Slash to stay where he was. If there was any battle to be fought with Axl, he wanted to go it alone. There was no need to drag Slash into it.

Izzy screwed his face up. "'Fallen angel'? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're a rebellious angel Iz, cast out from heaven for sticking your dick where you shouldn't. This is your punishment." Axl gestured around himself. "The wings and this shit hole."

Izzy snorted and stared straight into Axl's eyes.

"Stop with the Biblical bullshit Axl. There's got to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for /these/." He rustled the wings gently.

"'A reasonable explanation'?" Axl laughed. "Izzy, have you looked in a mirror recently? You're a fuckin' freak show!"

Izzy tried to pull back as Axl pressed his face against his, crushing their noses together, eyes staring deep into the others. But there was nowhere to go, nowhere to run to. Just backed up against a wall, facing off with Axl.

"You're damned Izzy," Axl hissed. "Damned for one moment of pleasure."

Izzy bit his lip, nervous. He knew that Axl was picking up on his nerves and playing with it, taunting him.

"Okay," Izzy sighed. "I'll confess shall I? I did sleep with someone. But how do you know that it was a guy?"

Axl laughed in his face. "Because I know you better than you know yourself Isbelle. I know you didn't fuckin' get any when we were kids. You were too fuckin' shy. No girl would ever touch you anyway. But you come here and someone offers you what you've been fuckin' dying for and you take it."

Defeated, Izzy let his head loll back, refusing to look at Axl. He, Bill, Axl had always known what has happening deep in Izzy's mind. It was almost as if those piercing green eyes could see straight through him and into his soul. Every secret Izzy held was there for Axl to see, laid bare and exposed.

A hand wrapped around Izzy's throat stroking and squeezing slightly, causing him to shiver. Opening his eyes, he looked straight into Axl's. Even now, as Axl contemplated his latest discovery, Izzy could still see him searching for more nuggets of information.

Pain suddenly raced through him as Axl connected a knee to his crotch. Curled up on the floor and groaning, Izzy looked up to see Axl standing over him, hands on hips and a glare on his face. Axl pulled back and added the final insult by spitting on him, before swinging round and leaving.

"FAG!" he screamed, flipping the bird as the door slammed behind him.

In a moment, Slash was on the floor with him, wiping phlegm from his hair.

"What the fuck...?" Slash's voice was shaky.

Izzy shrugged, crumpled and broken.

"He's a fuckin' head case," he replied. "Brought up by raving mad religious nuts. He hates anyone who's even slightly strange." Izzy got to his feet, dusting himself off and rearranging clothes and wings. "And I'm currently the strangest of the strange."

He gave Slash a weak grin as he walked across the room and stepped back into his window.