Chapter Text
Cramming during an all-nighter isn’t Ajax’s usual style. When he graduated with his master’s degree, he swore he’d never do it again. He’s broken that promise. The end of the spring semester has given him a big stack of papers to grade. He knows he shouldn’t have left it up to the last minute. The rush of adrenaline the pressure gives him does feel good. He quickly submits the grades, not truly reading what his students wrote. It’s not like his students will care about it. His marine biology 101 class is a joke compared to his future job in advanced deep-sea biology next semester.
“Okay, Ajax, just a few more people, and you’re done,’’ he mumbles to himself while reading a paper from a student named Xinqiu, “Xiansheng should be home soon. C’mon, get this shit done.’’ He keeps encouraging himself out loud while he skims over the last paragraphs when he notices his laptop doesn’t seem to have a connection to the internet. He puts the essay back on the pile and checks his phone. The same thing appears on it. Ajax groans frustrated. Just what he needed, his Wi-Fi deciding to not work. He rubs his eyes and passes a hand through his messy hair. “For Celestia’s sake…’’
After a sip from his iced coffee, he gets up in a small fit of rage and heads to Zhongli’s office next to his on the second floor of the apartment. The router for this floor is sitting on top of a small pile of books on the furthest bookshelf. “Piece of shit,’’ Ajax exclaims when he notices that it needs to be reset. He really should tell Zhongli that they need to get a new one. This isn’t the first time the router pulls the rug from under them. He makes a mental note of that as he pulls the plug off the router and connects it again. His waiting eyes scan the lights of the stupid machine for any sign of a problem. Thankfully they all light up. Their green shine makes Ajax feel relieved.
Grabbing the phone in his pocket, he double-checks if it’s working properly. It all seems good to him. Although the speed could be improved, Ajax can finally go back and get his work done. He puts the phone back in his pocket and takes a last good look at the router. Still shining bright green. “Stay that way,” his furrowed brow gets ignored by the apparatus. Because of course it would. He still keeps an eye on the machine as he backs away slowly, making sure it’s still good to go. “Stay… Stay… Good router, good router…” His nonsensical comments stop when his back crashes against the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Ajax’s reflexes kick in when he feels some books tumbling down their spots.
“Oh no!” He turns around and catches a few trinkets just in time before they hit the ground. others managed to stay in their place. Ajax looks around at the ground to check if any other things fell. By some sort of miracle, it seems that only a couple of books hit the ground. For the second time in the last 5 minutes, he feels relieved. Everything in this room is Zhongli’s. He’d be mortified if he damaged or completely broke his lover’s possessions. Many of the knick-knacks and small treasures are irreplaceable, such as an authentic chunk of cor lapis or a crystal Glaze Lily that Ajax himself gifted Zhongli for his birthday last year.
Ajax temporarily puts the things he caught on the desk so he can place the books back in their spots. “You little shits almost gave me a heart attack.” The books are safe and sound now. He puts the rock sample from Qingyun Peak next to some books talking about the history of the mountain top. “Okay. One more thing.” He couldn’t take a good look at the other thing he caught. It’s a fairly beautiful box. Golden accents adorn the outside. Ajax isn’t sure if he’s ever seen this box before. Its beauty would be enough for him to remember it exists. “Is this one of your secrets, xiansheng?”
Over the 2 years he’s known and dated Zhongli, he’s always had a feeling the older man is keeping something to himself. Ajax would wonder to himself what those things could be. Could he possibly be hiding a previous life? Was he married? Does he have secret children? Is he a secret spy? All could be true. None of them seem like something Zhongli would do or be though. Still, there are a couple of things that don’t make sense about him. This box is now suspect #1. “Hm...let’s see.” Ajax puts the box back down on the desk after picking it up to examine it. It doesn’t have a lock or anything preventing him from opening it. His heart feels heavy as he slowly opens it. The curiosity is too much to bear. It’s better for him to ask for forgiveness after opening it than asking his partner for permission to do so.
His fingers feel a velvet material covering the inside of the box. Ajax’s eyes catch a glimpse of a shiny glass and metal object. He tilts his head in confusion, much like a dog would. “What?” he asks, a part of him hoping Zhongli would explain what’s in front of him right now. The object looks...familiar. Like Ajax has seen it before. Maybe in a dream, maybe in another life. He recognizes the shape. The design is reminiscent of Snezhnaya Visions. He has vague memories of his boyfriend practicing a lecture on Visions for his classes with Ajax months ago. This looks like how the pictures and drawings of Visions from his homeland looked like. It’s been so long since anyone has received the favor of the Archons. This has to be a relic. “What on Teyvat are you doing with a Snezhnayan Vision, Zhongli?!”
Something about it turns his stomach upside down. A few hairs on the back of his neck stand upright as he tries to reach for the Vision. Chills run down his entire body. “What the…” Ajax bites the inside of his cheek. This Vision is messing with him, but how? It’s just a stupid piece of metal. Whoever was its owner was long dead. “You’re imagining things. Take it already, coward,” he says to psych himself up, “What’s the worst that can happen? This thing probably doesn’t even work anymore.”
While he speaks, his right-hand reaches for the Vision. He swears he can feel some sort of electric shock on the tips of his fingers. It’s nothing like the shocks he’s had before. It doesn’t hurt. It’s so familiar. “So weird.” Ajax finally grasps the Vision while still feeling the zap on his whole hand. “I wonder who used to own this.”
The words barely escape his lips before his eyes start to unfocus, his breathing gets slower and heavier. Nausea takes over him. He puts his left arm on the desk for support. At any moment he could hit the ground and pass out. “What the fuck is going on?!” His protests fall on silent ears as his body seems to shut down and reawaken at the same time. All sorts of scenes go through his mind. He can’t die. Not here. Not now. He has so much he wants to do, so much he needs to do. Tears swell up in his eyes, yet they don’t go anywhere. Petrified like a statue, he’s terrified. Death is terrifying. That’s what he’s going through, right? Never did he ever think he’d breathe his last breath in such a way. Alone, scared...cold. His heart aches. A pain hits his abdomen like a sharp knife. Ajax knows he’s not bleeding, but is he? It certainly feels like that. He swears there must be a pool of his blood staining the floorboards.
Ajax can’t keep his body weight on the desk anymore. He’s falling, agony and pain filling up his senses. Zhongli will be home soon. He can’t find Ajax like this. He’ll be heartbroken. How horrible must it be to find your boyfriend dead in your office? The man wouldn’t be able to take it. Ajax could vomit if he had the ability to. Zhongli will have enough to deal with when cleaning up the blood. He doesn’t want to add his breakfast to the mix.
Ajax is inches away from hitting the floor, the golden, soft rug won’t make it less painful. His eyes close, a clear image of the love of his life appearing in his mind. Every single hair in his body stands up when he hears his name being called out.
“Ajax?”