The night is dense and silent, broken only by Dave's hurried footsteps echoing through the deserted streets.
He's been searching for hours. Axel is never easy to find in this dimension. But Dave is resolute. He needs to talk to him, needs him to listen—just once.
Dim streetlamps cast a pale, flickering light as he moves forward, scanning his surroundings. Then he sees it: an old building with tall, narrow windows, strikingly familiar. In his own dimension, this is where Axel used to live. Could it be the same here?
Dave takes the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding—not from excitement, but from uncertainty. When he reaches the door, he hesitates for a moment. What if Axel doesn't want to see him? What if he's not even there?
But he can't turn back now. He knocks firmly.
A few eternal seconds pass before the door creaks open, revealing Axel, his silver hair immaculately in place, eyes as cold as ever. He's wearing a black shirt and dark trousers, not the slightest trace of surprise on his face.
"What do you want?" Axel asks flatly, not bothering to mask his irritation.
Dave leans on the doorframe, trying to appear calm, though inside he's a mess.
"I need to talk to you."
Axel lets out a dry laugh, narrowing his eyes.
"What for? To tell me another one of your lies?"
Dave clenches his jaw, forcing himself to stay composed.
"I'm not lying, Axel. You have to hear me out."
"I don't have to do anything," Axel snaps, folding his arms across his chest. "Especially if this has anything to do with Heinz."
The disdain in his voice hits Dave like a punch to the gut.
"This isn't about Heinz…"
Axel lets out an ironic chuckle.
"Of course it is. Ever since you came back, you've done nothing but hang around with him. A pathetic creature hiding behind books and pretty words. What did he do—whisper poetry into your ears to win you over?"
"Hey, Axel…" Dave raises his voice, anger beginning to bubble up. "I didn't come to talk about Heinz. I came to talk to you."
Axel steps forward, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Why? Because you got bored of your new pet?"
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Dave mutters, barely containing his fury.
Axel smirks, a cruel curve on his lips.
"All I know is, I don't trust you, Dave. Not now, not ever."
Dave exhales deeply, closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them again, they're full of sorrow.
"I just… wanted you to know… I'm not the Dave you know. I'm someone else. Yes, you heard right—I'm from another dimension."
"Stop making up nonsense… That's what happens when you start hanging out with scum."
"I'm telling the truth. I know it sounds insane, but it's real."
"I don't know what kind of mess you're involved in, but I want no part of it. I don't trust you. And once again—stop looking for me. I want nothing to do with you."
Axel steps back, ready to shut the door.
"And don't come back."
The door closes in his face, leaving Dave in the night's darkness, with a void that not even shadows can fill.
He wanders aimlessly through the empty streets, the cold night breeze stinging his face, Axel's words playing on a loop in his mind:
"I don't trust you... Don't come back."
Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Dave's crimson eyes shine with pain and suppressed rage. How can he make Axel understand he isn't the same Dave—that all he wants is to find a connection, a spark of what he lost in his own world?
When he finally looks up, he sees him.
Heinz, leaning casually against a lamppost a few meters away, wrapped in his black coat, arms crossed, his expression unreadable—almost like he's been studying him.
"Are you spying on me?" Dave asks, his tone a mix of irritation and sarcasm, though deep down he knows it's not that.
Heinz gives a soft, slightly mocking smile.
"I knew you'd come this way," he replies in that low, velvety voice that always seems to slide over Dave's skin like a pleasurable chill. "It's not spying… it's anticipating."
Dave snorts, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.
"If you knew, then you already know how it went."
Heinz steps closer—slow, measured, eyes locked onto Dave's with unsettling intensity.
"I'd rather hear it from you," he whispers, tilting his head slightly.
Dave lets out a bitter laugh, glancing sideways at him.
"I tried. I told him the truth… that I'm not the Dave he knows, that I came from another dimension. And guess what? He didn't believe me. Thinks I'm lying, that I'm toying with him... and on top of that, he couldn't stop talking shit about you."
Heinz sighs softly, stepping a little closer—just enough for Dave to catch that familiar scent of old books, ink, and something else… something inexplicably addictive.
"I wouldn't expect any less from Axel," he murmurs, eyes still fixed on Dave. "He's always been… difficult."
Dave holds his gaze, feeling something unspoken hanging in the air.
"Why do you always show up exactly when I need you?" he asks, trying to sound casual, but the vulnerability is unmistakable.
Heinz smiles gently, leaning in just slightly, his face mere inches from Dave's.
"Maybe… because I care."
Dave swallows hard, caught in those eyes that seem to peel away every layer of him.
"You don't say it… but I feel it."
Heinz lifts a hand and brushes Dave's cheek with his fingers—barely a touch, but it crackles with electricity.
"Not all of us speak with words. Some of us… show what we feel in other ways," he murmurs, his lips curling into a mysterious smile.
Dave closes his eyes for a moment, sinking into that delicate touch, into the magnetic pull Heinz exudes without even trying.
And he feels it—deep, raw, undeniable.