#001: dae x axel

[daeyangs]

Nari appeared to gain a new talent for pressing the buttons that caused knee-jerk reactions. Dae hadn’t intended for himself to be warped into a new man amid an engagement and he would have been content to fall into his usual routine that allowed his siblings to take reign on socialising. Dae remained where Nari had left him, his eyes trailing from the door to the invitations that she had placed on the desk, half a mind to shred them but he kept his hands to himself. Axel had been a shadow in his life for long enough that Dae had forgotten his presence until his voice filled the void that Nari had created by exiting. “I’m reconsidering begging Queen Ahri for forgiveness.” Dae tossed his head back, viewing Axel in an upside-down blur before fully shutting his eyes, falling back into silence as he weighed his options. Any other day he’d have returned to his book yet today he couldn’t turn to his simplicities. “There will be no need to reorganise shifts.” He spoke after several minutes, tipping his head back into an upright position and straightening onto his feet, kicking up the few invitations at his feet. “You’ll be coming with me to Strife, I will need you to bring someone else to watch Nari.” Dae circled the pile of invitations that now carpeted the floor, many options that he should have considered with care and if his mother had been present would have meticulously read each one. Rather than delving in at the shallow end, he bent down and seized the first envelope his fingers brushed. The seal of Altruist was pressed into pink wax with a waft of rhubarb pressing on his senses as he popped it open and extended it to Axel without peering inside. “Please have an acceptance to this invitation returned for me, don’t make me sound too excited about it though.” 

Axel mounted his post, hands linked together in the front as his attention fell over the engaged couple with curiosity; Lowering his gaze at the millions of invitations that his employer had received with a soft chuckle. He remembered vividly the day that Nari threw a tantrum in her quarters while Dae attended important house meetings, she had forced him to sit at the edge of the bed and listen to how she hadn't been asked. He thought about expressing this, but it would only end the same way it did a moment ago. Axel noticed a couple of things while working for Dae, it was rare that he would change his mind and he was possibly one of the only royals who focused properly on the politics of each house. He was silent since the moment he was employed, strategically intelligent, and completely clueless when it came to emotional reflection. The dynamic between these two raised questions because Axel realized quickly how emotional and openly expressive Nari can be while Dae prefers short and simple. He didn't understand what she saw in him, but throughout these months, Axel did begin to see a change in Dae. "What are you planning to do?" He asked the minute Nari stormed out of the room with a letter in her hand. "As a man, I think we both know that you don't like the idea of her going with another man that isn't you." These words were short, Axel had no reason to attempt to change his mind when he knew the answer. "I can always work detail for her while she's inside Strife. I'll have one of my men take over my shift here to watch you."