Axel's expression changed from amused to bemused as Jace walked past him, wresting the towel from his already-loose grip. It wasn't until Jace was safely behind the door of the washroom did Axel allow the frown to sweep across his considerably softer features. He folded his arms and stared intently at what he knew was behind the white door. It had been quite a while, nearly half a year, since he'd been glued to Jace's hip as a Purity. If he were to be quite honest with himself, it's been quite the interesting term. When he had first met Jace, he thought the same thing as most: the Power was not someone to cross. Well, it went without saying. Jace was an entire rank above him after all. Rumors had it that Jace was well on his way to becoming a Throne, completely skipping the two ranks of Virtue and Dominion. But he had spurned the promotions: he'd felt more useful to the Courts on the battlefield and not delegating duties to other Angels.

Axel just thought Jace didn't want to live a boring existence and loved the thrill of battle and frankly, he didn't blame the perpetually silent bastard.

With a sigh, he began divesting himself of his armor. His hair moved at a single thought from him, shucking the blades and extending to place them on top of the drawer that sat next to the hanging axe. He removed the hair tie from around his hair and let the tendrils roam freely about the room, brushing against almost any and everything as he moved about the room to place the armor where they belonged. It was late and so he would just have to be up early to clean their battle equipment. With another sigh he looked around the room. He felt more like a Squire than a partner to Jace, but he'd just have to live with it until he can find a way to get the man to at least deign to have something of friendly conversation with him.

It doesn't help that you do everything he doesn't like, his mind supplied unhelpfully.

"It's the only way to get a response out of him," he reasoned with himself, mumbling. He sighed, again, frustrated. Then he smirked. Jace's reactions sometimes were truly unpredictable. Like when Axel is able to make the man pause in whatever he's dong. Jace doesn't look at him, no, but the acknowledgement of whatever it is Axel said to capture his attention seems like a step in the right direction. The Principality's smile dropped around a weary yawn. His eyes became half lidded as he was finally undressed and he brought his life-like hair under control, confining it to its hair tie once more. Red eyes glanced at the large bed, covered with fresh white linens. It was tempting but he was still dirty and Jace was still in the bath. The water was nearly only just lukewarm when Axel ran the bath. He knew there would only be cold water left when his superior emerged, but a clean body was a clean body.

With a soft grunt, Axel sat on the floor at the foot of the bed and yawned again, prepared to wait for his turn to clean himself up. He didn't know when Jace was finished until something waterlogged and cold smacked him square in the face and fell into the groove where his hips met his legs. The Principality jerked awake with a startled yelp before sleepily glaring at the back-turned Power.

"Could have just said you were done," he grumbled, expecting the silence in place of the never coming reply.

When Axel emerged from the cold bath, Jace was already asleep, as close to the edge of his side of the bed without actually being precariously balanced. Axel simply took in a breath and held it, not wanting to sigh too loudly and be on the receiving end of another lecture about being noisy. He was tired, and just wanted to sleep. Even if Jace's deliberate distance would torment the back of his mind while he rested.

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