Bargain Wedding

Sleeping Bag And The Beauty

Jona sped up, peering at Axel looking back at him, and giggling as she saw him closing the distance with each agile step. "Jona, I think it's slippery up here. You should slow down!" She yelled.

"Really?" Jona chuckled. "Or you are afraid I'd beat you?"

"Huh! In your dreams, Jona. In your dreams," Axel's tongue didn't compliment her body when she tripped over a rock with a groan as she fell.

Jona's face paled into white color as he lurked ahead. "Are you hurt?" He grabbed Axel's leg while crouching but found no sign of any scratch. "This is what I meant when I said I have something I don't like about you. Such a careless girl."

Axel was on her way to blush, but her sneeze beat her to it.

"Oh, for f**k's sake!" Jona slid off his windbreaker and he began to wrap it around her.

Axel pushed it back. "What are you doing?" She asked questionably.

"You can't afford to fall sick, Axel. You are leaving for LA in two days and I won't endure anything less than a healthy Axel." Jona stated, pushing the windbreaker's zipper sharply until her neck, and pulling the hood cap on her head.

"I was referring to the cuss words you used in front of a girl. Do you want the girl to learn bad things?" Axel's eyes had a mischievous gleam that didn't fail to make Jona smile.

"On your feet," straightening up, Jona offered his hand for Axel to grab.

"I told you at the airport that I will tell you if I want anything on this trip on one condition... Do you remember?" Axel spoke suddenly, not taking the hand and just looking up at the man with eyes that were bedazzled and watching Jona nod. The cap attached to the windbreaker slid off her silky hair, setting them free. "Stop me from going to LA."

"Yah!" Coco yelled at a distance.

☘

Shivering, Axel flashed Jona a knowing smile before grabbing a coat from her backpack. It was dark, and they had set up three tents on the mountain peak. Axel shrugged into a coat and wandered out, getting a little away from the sleeping tent. The crescent moon had emerged from behind the clouds, but it was doing a poor job of illuminating more than the basic shapes of the murky trees and mountains.

As Axel stood, struggling to pee with pain in her ass because of falling, it seemed eerily quiet. Besides the hushed noise from the creek, the only other sound was the faint whisper of wind twisting through the pines. A gust of icy wind rustled through the nearby trees before cascading over her. Goosebumps pricked up on the back of Axel's exposed neck while an involuntary shiver ran through her as she pulled out a bottle of sanitizer for her hands.

On hearing the brittle grass crunching faintly under her foot, she looked back and found Jona flinging a couple of sleeping bags on his one shoulder and a lantern in the other hand.

He kept hopping in the cold night air gallantly. Jona was staring at Axel, and even though she could only see the outline of his face, the faint glimmer of the moon was visible in the reflection of his eyes. A rush of stimuli accosted Axel's senses. The indistinct gurgle of running water tickled her ears, signaling the presence of a nearby stream.

Breathing deeply, she inhaled the scent of moist earth, pine, and faint roses from Jona, letting all of them swirl in her nostrils while her eyes focused on the murky silhouettes of the surrounding trees, rising like ghosts out of the colorless ground.

Jona leveled up, his lantern now shining brighter between them. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Axel was only dreamily smiling when Jona smirked. "But there are ghosts, you should come back with me."

Axel comically glared at Jona, bemused. "I thought I saw a wolf down there."

"You probably did. There are wild animals in the mountains up here, you know," Jona said, keeping an arrogant smirk. "Just stick close to me." He slipped an arm around Axel's waist and yanked her closer, whispering in a little seductive voice, "I'll protect you."

Axel broke out a grin. "I don't need to be protected. I am a strong woman myself. Daddy taught me to fight."

Suddenly, they heard the rustle behind them along with Coco's exaggerated yells before sparks emerged and turned into a full-lit bonfire near their tents.

Slowly, they strolled away from the pee area towards the tent. Jona initially was confined, but when he recollected that Axel used to hike a lot, he knew that his cutesy wife must be used to the bathroom crisis. If it was someone having an issue with an open arrangement for the bio break, he would have canceled the plan altogether. "What're you thinking about?" He asked as he handed the lantern to Axel and opened the bag that was on his shoulder to make the two sleeping bags, zipping them together so they would sit close to each other.

"Can the answer be everything and nothing at the same time?" Axel sat down on the bag, looking at the burning flame.

Jona chuckled, joining Axel and pulling a blanket that Coco tossed over. His fingers were dancing lightly across Axel's upper leg as they got into one big sleeping bag. "The more you think, the crazier the world will seem," he answered. "Everything and nothing are a lot to consider. We might be here for a long time or leave too soon." Turning around, he planted a soft kiss on Axel's temple.

The spot where his lips touched, smoldered, burning like a hot brand against Axel's skin. A smile tugged at her lips. "We have all night, don't we?" Jona's hand was dangerously close to Axel's inner thigh. As his fingers rubbed softly through the fabric of her pants, Axel's insides began to tingle, and she was certain that Jona was wishing for the same thing.

"Tetsuo... Can you hand me the blow torch?" Coco's hand brushed against Axel's knee as he lunged over and the daze between the two split in the air.

Standing up, Tetsuo handed the fire blower to the younger male and Axel sneezed.

"That's our cue," Jona soughed, bending over to hold his knees and bringing up his wife with him.

"Jona, I am fine," Axel protested.

"I know you are, but I still want you to take some rest. Out of us all, you were the one racing ahead." Jona replied, and Axel heard Tetsuo chuckling lowly.

"Go on, you two should spend some time alone," Coco affirmed, causing Axel's cheeks to burn hotter than they did near the bonfire.

Picking the now oversized bag, they walked into the tent. Axel looked around at the arrangement. There were small, elegant lamps hung over the ceiling and Jona had put a few small light trails around the cushion and sleeping area. "Come on, into the sleeping bag, you," Jona's voice commanded lovingly .

Axel jostled back to peer at the bag. She was smiling brightly and anticipation was getting the best of her. Rushing and tucking her head into the crook of Jona's neck, she breathed out, shivering.

"You are cold," Jona's hand reached up and down his wife's back.

She chattered her teeth voluntarily to affirm. "Take off your clothes," Jona asked.

Axel would have barked out coughing if it wasn't for Jona suddenly stripping. She took off her upper layers without any question. The caramel skin of her husband tempted Axel, but her senses were obliterated as goosebumps exploded down her back the moment air filtered through the thin top on her skin.

With a loud huff, she dropped into the sleeping bag and Jona got inside in the next jiffy.

Latching onto Jona with both arms and legs, Axel tucked her head around his shoulder, feeling his hair brushing over her neck. Warmth slowly spread back through her limbs as she leached off Jona's profuse body heat. "Hang tight, it will be okay in a minute."

Axel peered at Jona yanking his hand around to turn on the small heater. "Why did you carry all of this? I thought we were supposed to carry only essentials," she asked, looking at the decorative lamps and lights.

Jona turned to face Axel with a very soft smile on his lips. His hand moved above her side of the face, soothing her skin in compliment to her honeyed voice as he spoke. "I wanted your experience to be worth remembering. I couldn't risk you saying no to me when I asked you out on a trip next time," Jona spoke slowly, playing with the shell of her ear. Axel's eyes closed as she breathed slowly. "Alone."

The closed eyes fluttered open on the last word and Jona's smile guided her to reciprocate.

Coco and Tetsuo noticed the lights in the tent went dim. "Wanna take a small walk?" Tetsuo suggested as if snatching Coco's thoughts from his mind.

The younger smiled.

☘

"Who are you and how do you know Axel?" As the young man sat in a corner of a restaurant, he couldn't help but feel his heart throbbing inside his chest. He wanted to walk away from the past as far as he could, but his reasons couldn't help but betray him when he got determined to investigate the matter, and here he was.

"Minhaj, isn't it?" The lady with red hair asked the boy who sat across from her, peering at him with a tentative smile.

"You already know who I am. This flimflam is supposed to what? Ease me?" The boy looked around, reassuring himself that he hadn't put himself in any danger.

"You and I want something and we both can get what we want if you do as I say."

"I won't do anything you say," the handsome boy replied. "I need to know how you are related to Axel, so I can warn her about you."

A smirk spread across Mihanj's lips that momentarily caused the red-haired woman to pause and sigh. "I mean no harm to Axel. Were your feelings worth nothing? You let her go like that?"

"It's none of your business," Minhaj replied rather angrily. "Besides, she is a married woman now. I am sure you are aware of that."

"I am well aware, and I also know that that marriage means nothing to her or her husband," the lady saw Minhaj looking away as if to revisit certain thoughts that went through his mind over and over. Axel suddenly disappeared and got married out of the blue. When he asked her if she loved her husband, she didn't answer and ran away. He had established that the reason mustn't be love behind the marriage, but did he really have any chance with Axel now? "Whatever, I am not getting involved in it," He sat straight, locking eyes with the lady, almost threateningly, and it caused the woman to chuckle.

"You are going to LA. Aren't you? I heard you got placed in the dance academy. Guess who else is going to LA?" The nefarious smirk ensured Minhaj that she was talking about Axel.

He didn't know. He didn't want to know anything about her because it hurt, and he wanted to move on.

"I am not an enemy here. Think about it. You might be able to bring that spark back to her heart when she is away from here, her so-called husband. Think about it."

Minhaj stood up and started slowly walking away. "I will be in touch." He heard the woman say, and a cold trickle ran down his spine.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Axel?" The boy huffed out, feeling scared for the girl he loved.

☘

Up against the chapped wood of the large tree bark, Tetsuo leaned as his eyes tried not to pry away from Coco. The nervous, young man lifted his head, the icy cold caused him to shudder even more. "We should talk about us," Tetsuo spoke, his voice calm, slow, and heavy with a rasp.

"Yeah," Coco breathed, nodding his head as he stepped to stand in front of the older and smaller man.

"I know people don't think of labeling things these days," as Tetsuo chuckled, Coco felt a pinprick in his heart somewhere. He wanted to stop him, but he had to hear him out. "If you want something like that too, then tell me."

"Would you be okay if I said I want an open relationship?" Coco asked unsurely.

Tetsuo nodded, thinking over the words and developing a picture of what it would look like if he said yes. "I want you to be happy. Is it sappy?"

"No," Coco also leaned against the tree. He had begun to ghost Tetsuo lately, thinking that the older male might not understand what he was doing, but he did. "It's kinda sweet. Have you been in open relationships before?"

"I never have," the man replied softly in a whisper, the vapors of cold from their mouths mingled together as they continued to talk.

"I am sorry, I do like you a lot. I want us to be something, but I am also worried about Axel. Wouldn't it be weird for her if we were non-platonic friends?" Coco stared deeply into the forest across the peak, the silhouettes moved as he did, and he slid closer to Tetsuo.

"She might. But don't tell me that you have ignored my phone calls over that. Whatever we might become... f**k buddies? Friends with benefits? What do you guys call it these days?" Tetsuo inquired under the weight on his chest that he couldn't stir off.

"You talk like you are from another decade. You and I are only a few years apart," Coco replied, grateful for the blush and burn that relieved him a little from the cold. "But no," he moved around and encased the smaller male between his hands against the tree. Tetsuo could feel Coco's breath ghosting over his lips as the latter continued. "When we met in the club that night, I didn't think we were going to f**k. I didn't feel that I had to rush it. I knew it was a date even though you never said it was. I have been in a relationship before and it suffocated me. I love being single, on my own... It feels like I have control over what I can be. I cannot think of binding myself to the cost of my feelings again. But trust me, I like you a lot."

Tetsuo derived satisfaction from Coco talking about his feelings at last. "Control is only a myth, darling... I might not be a decade old, but I lived my life very differently. I see a lot of Axel in you and Jona in me. I have suffered a heartache, but I will face one more head-on if you are willing to give us a chance. That's what I owe to my life, to make it feel the pain, the content, and everything in between. And the same in between made me say yes to your suggestion of an open relationship. I am not afraid of pain, I will face it. For you. What would life be without it?" When he'd flirted with Coco and left his office after giving him his number, he knew that things might not go well. They were both considerate of Axel's opinion about their affinity.

Their first meeting was mostly about a menial conversation about what they liked or didn't like. The second meeting made Coco want to back out because he panicked, and the anxiety set in from his past. When they met in a club the third time, they were drunk, and they ended up sleeping together at Tetsuo's place.

There was only the sound of leaves swaying when Coco couldn't say anything. His eyes were gleaming with shimmering moistness as he leaned in and Tetsuo traced his finger onto his lips. "I need words, babe."

"Can we..." Coco's voice wavered a little. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Can we start with a kiss tonight and see what the night brings us? I won't disappoint you when the morning comes. I promise."

Tetsuo smiled, flipping their positions and tucking his gloved hand behind Coco's head to cushion it from scraping against the wood as his lips lay onto Coco's. The younger accepted the kiss with an open mouth. Not a jiffy passed and Tetsuo was able to deepen the kiss, slowly, tenderly, pulling the younger man's body closer and letting his hands curl around his shoulders as he dominated.

The gentleness of the kiss caused Coco's eyes to close, and his weak knees daunted him to lose his footing, but he didn't stop. Never before had he been kissed like that. It was more than romance. It was respectful.

When Tetsuo discerned Coco's condition, he pulled away as gently as the kiss itself. "I don't want us to catch a cold."

"Sleep in my tent?" Coco asked cutely.

"You will have to wake up early if you sleep with me. I don't want Axel and Jona to see us yet." The man smiled.

"No... I get that," Coco replied, thinking about what he was going to say to the man in the morning, but he already knew the answer. Whether it was labeled an open relationship or an unlabeled non-platonic one, he was all in for it and head over heels for the man.

Meanwhile, Jona kept his prolonged gaze on Axel as she snored softly. He had forgotten how to smile before Axel. Amidst mountains, he thought of winter, sunshine, a warm hug from his mother, a dog's wagging tail, or a particular voice. The things that never failed to make him smile were as though not serving their purpose anymore after he lost his parents.

The hope revived in his heart that things would be better, but he still couldn't shake off a bad feeling. When he heard the rustling outside followed by the sound of zippers, he knew that Coco and Tetsuo must have returned to their tents. Touching Axel's forehead, he checked for the temperature but was relieved that his beauty was safe in the sleeping bag with him.

It was the sleep of a few hours that Jona experienced before a beaming Coco called him from outside. With a soft groan, he got out of the bag and Axel squirmed, turning to the other side.

Getting into clothes, Jona opened the tent and stepped out to see his friend stretching his muscles and doing jumping jacks. "Is Axel asleep?"

Jona nodded, brushing up his tousled hair together with fingers, and sneezed. "If I am not wrong, Axel was the one who caught a cold. But, you are sneezing. Hmm... Interesting."

Jona yawned before he yanked Coco's cap to the ground and turned away to wake up his wife for the surprise he had planned.