Chapter Text
Today was an important day for Childe (or Ajax, for close friends only), which made him incredibly nervous. He was never the type of guy to be on edge, but right now the only thing this sleep-deprived and high on caffeine mess could think about was meeting with him.
The man in question is beautiful, graceful, and delicate. He’s quick on his feet, a social butterfly, and somebody who always lights up the room with his presence. The name of the man Childe was head-over-heels in love with is Kaeya, Kaeya Alberich.
His navy blue hair reminds Childe of the clear night sky when you can see all the tiny white pecks of stars and sometimes even other galaxies and worlds. Whenever he and Kaeya would stand next to each other in a cramped up university elevator (they had some classes overlap), it was so hard for Childe to fight the urge of running fingers through Alberich’s hair. It looked so soft, enticing, and luscious, and usually, it smelled like peppermint.
Ajax was barely brave enough to spark a real dialogue, let alone ask about Kaeya's eyepatch (which he thought was adding mystery to him). But the eye that Childe could see and never get enough off made his heart stop. The eye that would look back at him while they were having meaningless talks tagged at Childe's heartstrings. It captivated him. The blue-lilac orb often brought Childe’s memories of home back. Specifically the flower field full of blue pansies he used to visit every weekend.
Childe still recalls the first time they’ve met, with teenage-like embarrassment. It was his first day at the M. University, and he was rather cranky from the lack of sleep — flying from Z. to M. took him over a day because of stupid layovers, so he didn’t sleep at all before classes started. Ajax was sitting in a food court, all alone, aggressively gobbling up the sandwich and an energy drink. His eyes were staring into nothingness, and furrowed brows didn’t necessarily add any charm. He looked like a mess, he felt like a mess, so Childe was thankful that nobody decided to sit next to him. But then he walked up.
“Hey, may I sit here?”
Childe didn’t even bother looking up. He sighed, clearly annoyed, “Sure, do whatever.”
Smells like peppermint, Ajax thought to himself as the person was sitting down; he likes that scent.
The guy next to him didn’t strike up the conversation between them — and Childe was thankful for that — but he would say hellos and his to nearly every person passing their table. It was driving Ajax up the wall. Could he just move to another table? Yes, he could. Did he do it? No, he did not. Childe was not disturbed by the stranger, quite the opposite. He was really… interested in him. So instead, he just sat there, entranced by the sound of that guy’s voice; so smooth yet so smoky, alluring.
The person next to him giggled in response to some dumb joke, and Childe flinched — he never knew that a guy’s laugh can be so cute and charming. All of Ajax's male friends laughed like hyenas, and he was not the exception, but the person next to him was different. I bet he has dimples when he smiles, a thought ran through Childe’s mind and left him blushing while his fingers restless picked at a napkin.
His heart skipped a beat when the peppermint-smelling guy by accident touched his hand. Childe was trying his absolute best to not look at him — he wasn’t looking exactly presentable right now — but he desperately needed to know what this softly-spoken person looks like.
His heart skipped another beat, did a flip in his chest, and almost stopped when they locked eyes. He was a pleasure to behold. Picture perfect, breathtaking, gorgeous.
“Oh, my bad. I just wanted to get the napkin.”
Almost midnight-colored hair complimented his sepia skin. He was slim and exquisite but not weak-looking. The hand that was still covering Childe’s was a bit cold to the touch.
“Femme fatale,” Childe whispered under the breath, swallowing a bundle of nerves down his throat, eyes still staring at the bluenette.
The guy next to him cocked his head on the side, still looking directly at Childe, “Did you say something?”
“Ah, no! No, I didn’t,” Ajax, all flustered and red as hot coal, held out a bunch of crumpled up napkins he picked at before. “H-here,” he couldn’t hold the embarrassment as he averted his eyes.
“Thanks,” he took one napkin and quickly wiped his hands. He probably also had lunch. I wonder what he likes, Ajax wondered. “Kaeya,” the guy held his hand out. “And you?”
If Childe was daring (or crazy) enough, he would kiss Kaeya’s hand right this second but he settled down on a gentle handshake for now. “Childe. You can call me Childe.”
“Glad to meet you, Childe,” the bluenette’s lips parted in a foxy manner, which made Ajax’s breath too sporadic to control. “I assume you’re a first-year, right?” Kaeya waited for a nod before he continued, “Lovely. Mind if we exchange numbers? I’d love to show you around,” Kaeya’s hand moved to Childe’s shoulder.
When did he get so close?
Childe cleared his throat, “S-sure.”
His new acquaintance smiled as a thank-you once again taking Ajax’s phone and promptly adding himself to the contact list. “Text me whenever. I know the first week is daunting, so don’t hesitate to message me if you’re feeling overwhelmed.”
“Yeah, thanks… I’ll see you around,” Childe was about to ask him more questions but Kaeya was already walking away, waving and looking at him over the shoulder. Ajax just deeply sighed, cursing himself for this adolescent-like awkwardness.
It took Childe a hot second to find the bluenette’s phone number in the contacts. When he sorted the list by “Recently Added”, his face turned bright red and he bit his bottom lip — Kaeya’s name on the list was Femme Fatale.