Chapter Text
“— And he’s beautiful , and—”
“Is that all he is?”
Ajax, immediately , is stunned silent by Arlecchino’s response as she doesn’t even look at him, instead scrolling on her phone, checking her texts. He was just in the middle of describing Kaeya to her, and she just smacks him in the face with that . He tries to drum up what he knows about Kaeya, only to realize he knows basically nothing.
“He,” Ajax begins, and adds somewhat thoughtfully, “Likes cats.”
“Him and half the population. Tell me, what do you really know about him?”
It takes Ajax a minute to think of something, and that minute is stretched out ad infinitum as he snaps his fingers trying to remember things from their date. “He has a bad relationship with his brother!”
“Riveting.”
“He doesn’t like it when birds swoop down on him, also.”
“Tartaglia, are you done.”
Arlecchino is one of the higher ranking Harbingers, and as such, her time is money. She doesn’t have the time to be babysitting an upstart that recently made Harbinger as he talks about his not-boyfriend, she’s in Teyvat City for a reason . Ajax realizes he’s been chatting up his coworker about something that she both doesn’t care about and doesn’t want to help with.
“Y- yeah, I’m done.”
Ugh, he looks like a kicked puppy when he says it like that… rolling her eyes, she locks her phone.
“I would suggest you learn more about him before committing to him.” She tucks her phone back into her coat pocket, her heels clicking against the floor as she walks away. It’s good advice, advice that Ajax should really be taking. It’s not good to build someone up in your head to be something they’re not, after all.
Even so, Ajax has never felt this way about someone before, so he desperately wants it to work out… he should think of big questions to ask Kaeya about himself on their next (possibly final , if he screws it up) date.
Just as he starts to walk away from the water cooler, he bumps into a girl with seemingly no presence at all— a girl with fair brown hair and her hair pulled back into a bun. He knows this girl— she’s Arlecchino’s adoptive daughter. Nepotism does get you far within the Fatui, after all.
“Sorry… ” Ajax says, turning to leave, but Lynette stops him before he goes.
“You were looking to impress someone…?” She asks, tentatively. He pauses, wondering what advice she might have to offer, if any.
“Yeah. A guy I like,” He responds, curiosity in his tone. He’s usually much more open with the coworkers on his level, wanting to maintain an air of authority with everyone else— though that typically means he doesn’t have many friends within the Fatui’s ranks. “I met him at a host club— bought him out of debt from the place, but I don’t know him all too well, as you… probably heard.”
“Oh…” She begins, resting her knuckle against her chin in thought. “… Why don’t you try a grand gesture?”
“… Huh?”
“A grand gesture. My brother is always reading about them in his romance novels, a gesture that shows your affection that you can manage— maybe he’ll open up to you then? He’ll know how serious you are about him, at least.”
… Ajax isn’t sure if that’s the best idea. He might stick that one in his pocket for later, though. “Thanks… I’ll give it some thought. By the way—”
“Yes?”
“How’d you conceal your presence like that? I didn’t even notice you.”
“Being out of sight and out of mind is what I’m paid to do.” She answers simply, and that frankly raises more questions than it answers them. “Maybe also try showing some interest in his friends… it’ll help you in the long run.”
That advice seems better than the grand gesture, so Ajax will file it away. He’ll pause for a moment, before he realizes he’s being given the time of day by someone who will hear him out about this sort of thing, as opposed to his fellow harbinger’s opinions.
“So like—” He begins, walking with her down the various walls of cubicles, the sound of ringing phones and tapping keys all around them. “He’s a little bit aloof, a bit distant— he’s… kind of hard for me to read, but I can tell he’s got a good heart. You can tell a lot about someone just by how they treat animals, after all.”
“What exactly are you looking to learn about him…?” Lynette asks, with a slight tilt of her head.
“Anything that would gain his trust…?”
“Hmm. That typically comes after you volunteer information, though. He needs to know more about you in order to trust you, after all.”
“So… talk about myself?”
“Think of it this way,” She responds, dropping off some papers at someone’s desk without them even noticing her at first. “If you make it all about him, he’ll think you’re prying for information, and he’ll guard it more closely. You’ll catch more flies with honey, or however the saying goes.”
Ajax doesn’t think there’s too much about himself that would interest Kaeya, but… he’ll look for an opening to talk about it, if Lynette is so sure it will work.
He’ll bid her farewell, getting out his phone and texting Kaeya a few things before he heads back to his office.
🦊: Hey Kaeya…?
🦊: I was wondering if you’d have time to talk.
🦊: Nothing serious, of course!
🦊: I just want to get to know you better.
…
He doesn’t get a response, before he realizes he’s at work. They’re both at work, and Ajax should also be working if he wants to keep his rank. With a sigh, he’ll plop down into his chair and rub his forehead…
What does he know about Kaeya Alberich?
Well… unless there’s an artful story behind the scars on his chest, he’s likely trans— which Ajax has no problem with, and doesn’t intend on bringing up. He has a bad relationship with his brother… and he likes cats. He’s got a touch of sass to him, and seems rather playful… wow, Ajax really does know nothing. He went full thinking-with-his-dick-and-heart and not his goddamn brain .
Even so, it’s hard to regret helping him the way he did.
He could tell Kaeya was desperate for an escape, but… Ajax could be getting played right now. It’s funny that it occurs to him now of all times. Or maybe, more accurately, he played himself. Maybe he should just count saving him from that Host Club as a good deed and expect nothing more from it.
… There is a part of Ajax that’s truly selfish, though, and hopes that it will go somewhere. He just hopes that his instincts didn’t lead him astray about Kaeya Alberich, and that his gut was right.
… the same gut that made him throw up at the sight of him.
… … he’s doomed.
Kaeya handles the morning rush of a coffee shop with a certain grace.
He works well under pressure, and frankly, this is far easier than entertaining people at the Host Club. He has to work fast, but all you do is measure and mix. As long as he holds onto that fact, he can handle any seven-pumps-of-caramel, five-pumps-vanilla, almond-milk-or-I’ll-die order that comes his way.
Even so, after a few hours of working, he’s glad to hang up his apron and go home. He’s still looking for a more suitable job— something in the private sector, something that will pay well and actually make his degree worth something.
He made himself a drink on the way out, a sweet but not too sweet latte that he tips to his lips as he checks his phone— ah, a text from Ajax. And… he’s already launching into ‘we need to talk’ language? Kaeya feels a bit of dread hit his stomach— he wants to learn more about Kaeya…? What is there to say?
(A lot. So much it could fill an encyclopedia, annotated with a glossary of terms at the back.)
He’ll walk to his apartment as he texts him back.
🦚 : Trust me when I say there’s not much to learn.
🦚: Adopted into a rich family, dad died, bad terms with my brother, got a useless degree and now I live here.
🦚: Why the sudden interest?
Kaeya asks that, knowing that the sudden interest isn’t so sudden— Ajax wants to date him, after all, and Kaeya is hesitant on letting anyone into his life. Even to the tune of two million and a half mora. Ajax likely came to the conclusion that Kaeya’s been mulling over for the past week: they know nothing about one another.
He gets home before he gets a call from Ajax, startling him. He rarely hears his phone ring, after all. As he sits down on the sofa, he holds it to his ear while swiping the green answer button.
“Hello…?”
“Hey— um, just got off work.” Ajax sucks in a breath, knowing that what he’s about to ask is against the rules. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the grocery store with me?”
“…” Kaeya pauses. “As a date?”
“N— okay, yeah, it’s cheating to call it a date, huh…?” He laughs a little. “I want to take you on a proper date next time, with all the bells and whistles, but I’d also like to make you dinner, if you’ll let me…? Please, let me take you on date 1.5 rather than just the second.”
Kaeya pauses, before he stands up and walks over to his refrigerator. There’s hardly anything inside, unless he feels like eating a kale salad with absolutely zero dressing.
“Date 1.5 sounds fine,” He relents.
“Good! I’ll be there soon.”
Kaeya tries telling himself it’s just so that he’ll eat well, but part of it is also born of curiosity. Maybe the Fatuus can actually cook— and maybe, he’ll divulge more about himself in the process.
Only one way to find out.
“Hmm… What are you feeling tonight? I can make food from all over.”
They walk through the aisles of the bougie grocery store together, Kaeya trying to consult his stomach on what he wants to eat, but all he gets as an answer is a slight nervousness that churns his gut.
“Maybe beef…?” Kaeya suggests. “Something meaty.”
Ajax will get a few steaks from the meat section and set them down in the cart, not even blinking at the fact that he picked the most expensive ones. Kaeya wonders if he’s trying to impress, or if he naturally just goes for the best ingredients.
“So,” Kaeya begins, walking alongside his cart. “You.. wanted to know more about me?”
“… maybe I phrased it wrong,” Ajax says, picking out a few fresh vegetables to go into the cart. “I… wanted to talk to you about me.”
“What about?”
“…” He’ll weigh the bundles of asparagus in his hands, as if trying to figure out which one has more heft to it. “I realized you know nothing about me, so— is it okay if I talk for a bit?”
“Sure.”
Ajax will walk with him through the aisles of groceries, stopping to get some fresh potatoes to mash.
“I’m actually from a poor fishing family. Morepesok, on the coast of Snezhnaya.”
“Ah, yeah. You said you had six siblings.”
Ajax smiles a little at that, glad that Kaeya remembered. “Mmhm. That’s right. As a kid, I was a bit of a troublemaker… but I had really rough teenage years. My parents sent me to a boarding school, and— from there, I could either join the military or join the Fatui.”
Kaeya listens quietly… a problem child, maybe?
“Doesn’t take a genius to figure out which you chose.” Kaeya murmurs, stopping at the ice cream section to pick something out for them. Some vanilla ice cream sandwiches sound pretty good…
“Haha, yeah…” Ajax laughs, leaning on the cart in front of him with crossed arms. “I don’t have the best relationship with my parents— my siblings, absolutely I do. So… I guess I relate to things being strained in your family, too.”
Kaeya pauses, wondering if he should really reveal this as they walk to the checkout.
“… Do you know the Ragnvindr family? The one that owns Dawn Winery?”
“Hmm? Yeah, doesn’t everyone? Most famous family in Mondstadt.”
“I was the second son. Adopted into the family.”
Ajax pauses, wincing a bit at that. Ah… so he went from riches and a promised easy life to… working in a host club. No wonder he doesn’t trust easily— if you fall out with a family like that, it would have to take a pretty big schism to want to turn your back on them. After a moment, he wonders if he should ask what separated them.
“And not anymore, huh?”
“Nope,” Kaeya hums, not volunteering any more information than that, though he adds, “I know the Fatui tried to acquire Dawn Winery. Know anything about that?”
“Not really— that was before my time as Harbinger.”
“Hmm…” Kaeya will start putting things onto the checkout conveyor, content to let Ajax pay for it all. He’s the one who invited him out, after all. “In any case— my brother’s a bit hard to talk to, these days.”
“I can imagine…”
Kaeya pauses as Ajax walks forward to scan his card. That’s a lot more information than he intended to volunteer, as paltry as it was. Maybe Ajax talking about himself made the avenue a bit easier to open up. He could have just— lied, he could have said anything he wanted. But he didn’t.
Weird.
They go to Ajax’s apartment after, in the good neighborhoods, in the best apartment building. His building overlooks the ocean, and the floor-to-ceiling windows probably provide the best alarm clock one could ask for in the form of the sun rising over the horizon.
Kaeya grimaces a bit the moment he sees his furniture.
All gray. Minimalist in nature. On top of that, the gray furniture is decorated with various Snezhnayan-style quilts and things from his home, but the rest of the apartment is stark as hell, feeling empty and quiet. The only place inside that feels homey is the kitchen, which clearly sees a lot of use.
Ajax puts the plastic bags on the counter, and Kaeya sits on the stool by the kitchen island as he watches him work.
He chops the asparagus, drenches it in seasoning and oil before he puts it in a glass pan and roasts them in the oven. He cooks the steaks to perfection, he heats and mashes the potatoes, he makes a sauce with wine that smells so good and Kaeya’s stomach is actually growling, but not to the point where it distracts him.
“Why me?” Kaeya asks as Ajax smashes the potatoes like they owe him money.
“Huh?”
“Why’d you single me out and buy me out of the host club? There were cuter guys and girls there. Kokomi, for example.”
None as cute as you, Ajax thinks to himself, but instead of saying anything, he just smiles a bit.
“I have a bad habit of listening to my heart.”
Kaeya wrinkles his nose. That was… a bit corny. Ajax quickly picks up on that, and elaborates.
“I-I mean— I just saw you at the grocery store and… talked to you at the host club, and…” He sighs, setting down the bowl of potatoes to mix in a bit of cream. “I couldn’t leave it alone. I know you don’t feel the same way—” He wants to add ‘yet’, but doesn’t. “But I couldn’t ignore myself, and my own instincts… that’s a little weird, huh?”
“A little. We don’t even know each other.”
Ajax’s smile turns a bit sad. “I would like to.”
Kaeya pauses at that, standing up to help him prepare the rest of the food.
“… Adelinde taught me a little bit about cooking.” He says, plating their food as soon as the steaks are done. “Not a lot stuck, but I learned the basics of survival from her. I wish I could thank her for everything she taught me, but I don’t know if I’ll ever show my face at the winery again.”
“… Adelinde?”
“The head maid. We grew up in practically opposite situations, after all,” And Kaeya’s subtle volunteer of information is everything to Ajax. “You started out poor and became rich— I started out rich and became poor. A prince and a pauper.”
Wow… Kaeya grew up with maids? It really is a polar opposite life they have— but… Ajax feels certain warmth from that, from the idea that Kaeya is sharing more about himself with him as they walk to the living room and sit down on the sofa, Ajax turning on the Great Fontanian Bake-Off on TV while they eat, rather than sitting at the dinner table.
He watches Kaeya’s reaction to his food carefully, desperate to add another point in his favor. Kaeya cuts into the steak, and…
Even Ajax can see how the star in his eye lights up at the flavor, how he immediately goes to the side dishes to see if they’re just as good. Ajax feels relief wash over him, his heart calming down as he cuts into his own food. It really did turn out great, but good company always enhances the flavor.
“S’good,” Kaeya says between bites. “I wonder why you’re a Harbinger and not a chef.”
“… I only cook for those I care about,” Ajax says, and decides to lay his intentions bare, “Or those I want to impress, of course.”
Kaeya’s expression turns from hesitant to playful as he talks— no wonder he invited him out. Cheating the rules , sure, but with a meal like this? He hardly minds.
“Hmm… I wonder if you succeeded,” He responds, a light, mysterious air to his tone.
“…” Ajax gets just a bit cocky with him. “I doubt you would be enjoying the food as much as you are if I didn’t.”
“Touche.”
With that, they sit back, watching the TV as they eat the fruits of Ajax’s labor, a home cooked meal and idle conversation. Kaeya thinks he’s starting to understand Ajax, and Ajax— well, he’s got a little bit of an idea as to what makes Kaeya tick.
… he still has a ways to go, though.