PeaceMaker

"There we go," Dominic chuckled, "the sass is back."

"Huh?" Axel muttered. 'What's going on? Is he trying to find more reasons as to why I should be gotten rid of?' Axel thought to himself, 'but… he doesn't need to do that, he can always just dismiss me as much as he wants too and wouldn't get questioned… besides… I don't deserve to be alive.'

"Why do you always seem like you're overthinking what I say?" Dominic asked.

"Overthinking?

"Yes. There always seems to be a time difference between the words that I say and your reply. Almost like you're overdramatizing what I say," Dominic sighed.

"Overdramatizing?" Axel muttered again. 'Was I wrong?' He thought to himself.

"Sigh… I like the fact that you're a deep thinker. You're able to notice things many would have missed and able to relate with others on a level that's so personal that it's basically a skill," Dominic continued, taking a break in between his sentences in order to get a feel of how Axel might react, "You're wildly good at medicine which adds to your ability to get along with people and being able to read them. But. You think too deep into things that don't need that much thoughts at times and then you act hurt at things that aren't even happening."

"I'm not that bad your highness, I'd like to think that I don't go that far. Please forgive me if my idea contradicts yours," Axel replied.

"See, you did it again," Dominic shook his head, "you act like I'm going to eat you or throw you into the depths of a sea."

"...you don't?" Axel asked reluctantly.

"I mean sometimes I want to…" Dominic shrugged, "but you're too good of a resource to just throw away. And although your sass makes me reconsider who is the king-to-be here, I'm more glad that you're able to express yourself to me."

Axel stayed quiet, having not found the right words to speak with yet.

"Don't act all shy now, I know very well that you're sharp-tongued," Dominic huffed playfully.

Axel's face twisted into a scowl before he burst into laughter, "guilty as accused."

"That's better, I like it better when you speak your mind. You can always say it politely but don't you dare quiet your entire idea just because you're scared of how I'll react," Dominic warned, "I WANT to hear your ideas so don't think I'm going to kill you over a few words of suggestions."

"Yes your highness," Axel nodded.

Dominic waited a moment before continuing, "why are you even like this? I wouldn't think that you could have worked with that many suppressive bosses...have you?"

Axel twitched, feeling the need to dodge the question but knew he wouldn't be able to. "As I said, my line of work has given me the chance to be around many kinds of people but most of the people I was exposed to weren't the best to be around with," Axel explained reluctantly, "From super-wealthy employers to rich commoners, they all had a certain level of arrogance that made me unable to even speak in their presence at times because they said I wasn't at their level."

"Hmm," Dominic mumbled.

"I guess from there on, whenever I serve someone from a considerably higher level, I'm used to just walking behind them and being quiet while they work so I guess I do it unconsciously now," Axel chuckled weakly.

Axel looked at Dominic who laid in silence for a second before anxiety flowed through his body again.

"Um… I'm not saying you're one of those horrible people, I-I I'm just saying that I automatically follow people and you're the most important person I have met and will ever meet w-which makes me all the more nervous since you can literally order a dea-" Axel began explaining, fidgeting with his hand anxiously.

"Ha…" Dominic let out a shaky breath.

"Have I annoyed you, your highness?" Axl asked, "I deeply apologize, please forgive my incompetence-"

"I want to see your face," Dominic muttered.

"Huh?" Axel cocked his head in confusion.

"You sound so flustered and anxious right now and I'd love to see it since most of my memories of you are just a face with a stoic face and moments of scowls on your face," Dominic grinned, "I want to see what a flustered Axel looks like."

"...." Axel was speechless for a second before frowning, "Is that really what you want to see in this moment? After hurting your eyes from forcing them open, you'd like to look at my flustered face?"

"Of course, it will heal the pain," Dominic teased.

"Really now?" Axel growled, slowly making his way to Dominic.

"Yup," Dominic nodded, flinching slightly at the slow, soft thumps on the ground fromAxel approaching him.

"Here you go then," Axel leaned over Dominic and helped pry Dominic's eyes open with one of his hands, the other then pulled his face closer to Dominic's eyes, "happy?"

Dominic twitched, a flustered blush forming on his face for a second when he realized Axel was on top of him. His body tensed up and he was about to raise his hand in defense when he noticed the emotion on Axel's face.

His cheeks were slightly pink and his handsome face looked pretty much the same as he did when he last saw him, except with some dark circles and nothing about that was surprising. But… his eyes were gleaming with some emotion that Dominic was unable to understand and his eyebrows were furrowed deeply into frustration, anger, and… restraint?

Axel's grip on Dominic's hand increased and his mind blanked when he locked eyes with Dominic. 'So… bewitching and beguiling… almost makes me want to…' Axel thought again, his grip tightening again and the brakes in his mind slowly went loose as he leaned in closer to Dominic's face.

"Axel…" Dominic called out, flinching from the tightness of Vixen's grip on his hand..

The words went through Axel's left ear and came out through the other and his grip continued to tighten as he pulled in to Dominic, his long locks of hair, falling off his shoulder and acting as a curtain for him to hide behind.

'So.. mesmerizing…' Axel thought to himself as he drowned in Dominic's eyes., 'if I can just get a bit closer…'

"AXEL!" Dominic yelled, tightly shutting his eye and clenching his fist, "AXEL STOP! IT HURTS!!"