rough fingers scrub at the last layer of soap on the male’s exploited frame, letting every sud mask the scent constructed from the weeks he’s spent out of state -- yet amber irises stay laced with carmine veins & sable bags remain underneath drooping lids. sage climbs out the bath, movements slow as he silently dries himself off to slip on a pair of both a clean tee and sweats; unbothered by the consequences of wearing such without boxers. plans for a quiet night are disrupted with the sudden self awareness of the mess he’s allowed his bedroom to become: clothes and shoes s t r e w n on the floor, a pile of magazines that had toppled off the chest of drawers that he’d never bothered to pick up. the bedside table is littered with empty pill bottles and overlapping ring stains from his regular nightcap. he's motivated in a sense that being cooped in his home isn't what he's after, keys & wallet already in hand as he exits the front, cool liquid still dripping over clear features. it’s nearly been three weeks, sage realizes, since he’s seen the platinum punk usually caught beside him, reverently delving into whatever schematics the older had domineered. soon enough he finds himself in front of jackson’s newly purchased complex, padding up the stairs until uneven, ragged knuckles are rapping against the doorframe. impatient & RESTLESS. his chest R I S E Sand f a l l s with each passing second, the outside temperature dropping and inked fingers unconsciously removing the cigarette perched behind his ear until he’s got it lit between chapped lips -- taking in any heat produced, his aroma now a mixture of nicotine and pine. exhaustion overcomes his ability to enter jax’s home without permission, smoke billowing from the cig that’s undoubtedly combing through a clean buzzcut, freshly dyed to accompany such an infamous composition.