Chapter Text
Heat exchanged within the distance of their lips, parted slightly as soft exhales fogged in the air between them.
Their hips ghosted by soft fingertips, agonizingly slow and cautious.
Raw emotion bubbled deep in their stomach, a temperate lake that swirled with longing.
They’d imagined this for so long, his hands on theirs, fingers laced together and held there, their thigh between Ajax’s legs as their lips intertwined, a desperation and burning held within their embrace.
Yet, unlike their daydream, Ajax held them like an unattainable rarity, as if a single breath would lead to the shatter of their very being.
His hands traced the curve of their stomach, the swell of their thigh, as his palm slid from their shin to their waist.
Ajax’s palms were calloused and warm, if not mildly sweaty, likely due to his nervousness. They brushed against their chilled skin, raising goosebumps on their flesh.
He lay on his side beside them, eyes evidently focused on his task of scanning their entire body.
Not in a calculating way, of course, Diluc doubted he held the capability to judge any individual in a clinical way.
Ajax’s bangs hung over his forehead and spilled into his eyes, and his expression was unintelligible, but they could assume his cobalt eyes swirled with the overwhelming range of emotions they usually held.
At that moment, Ajax used his free hand to push his copper hair back from his forehead, glancing up to meet Diluc’s gaze with a shy smile.
Their throat tightened with an unexplainable urge to grab his face and squeeze.
Preferably until his head exploded.
Their face promptly turned a bright shade of crimson, immediately scanning Ajax’s face for any sign of mockery, though Diluc knew he would never feel that way about their reaction.
Instead, Ajax’s ears flushed pink in turn, spreading to his cheekbones and the side of his neck.
Diluc’s eyes narrowed slightly as they realized their flustered reaction was no doubt feeding their boyfriend’s insufferable ego.
They lashed out with their leg, assaulting his shoulder with their socked foot.
Ajax exhaled loudly, almost a reverse gasp, as he instinctively grabbed their ankle, yanking their sock off unintentionally.
Diluc frowned.
“Give me my sock back.”
Ajax laughed, before waving the piece of fabric in front of their face.
“Oh my gosh.. The dogs are out and barking.”
They sat up, before pulling the sock out of his hand and sliding it back on.
“I need my sock… You can’t kiss the homies without socks on.”
A small smile made its way onto Ajax’s face, his crooked smile revealing his dimples.
“You’re right, that would be gay.”
Diluc sighed, before leaning towards him to plant an abrupt kiss on his lips.
As they pulled away, Ajax still had his eyes closed, lips puckered in an expression that made Diluc laugh softly.
“You’re such a doofus.”
They mused idly, before scooching closer, leaning against his chest, fingers brushing against his chin as they looked up at him.
His face tilted down to look at them, and his eyes glittered with a smile as he tapped their nose.
“I’m not a doofus, I’m actually pretty smart, I just get considered-“
Diluc groaned, before sitting up to press their lips against his.
As they pulled away, his expression was stunned, eyelashes fluttering open, ears burning a soft shade of rose. His voice stuttered, before faltering.
Diluc brushed his bottom lip with their thumb, shutting his agape jaw.
“Has anyone told you, that you talk too much?”
Ajax’s cheeky grin returned, before his eyes darted down to their lips before glancing back up at their eyes.
“If it makes you kiss me like that again, I would talk until my voice stopped working.”
Diluc reached up to palm his face, rolling their eyes as they covered his face with their hand.
“Gah, you’re so corny…”
Ajax promptly licked their palm, resulting in a noise of surprise from Diluc, and an unexpected kick right to Ajax’s stomach.
He let out a muffled huff, before tumbling backwards off of the mattress.
His elbow hit the floor shortly after, a loud thumb as the rest of his body collided with the carpet.
“Ow…”
He grumbled, accusatory from his sprawled position on the floor.
Diluc sat up, extending their hand to help him from the floor, shoulders shaking with poorly hidden laughter.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to kick you that hard!”
Ajax’s expression was dumbfounded as his copper eyebrows raised high above his wide eyes.
“Not that hard? I’m fatally wounded from that fall…”
His voice took on a dramatic and whiny tone, as he fell into Diluc’s lap.
“If only there were a cure to my terminal disease, but alas, the kiss antidote has been withheld from me!”
Diluc rolled their eyes, their lips twisting up in a smile.
“Oh you big drama queen, give me your arm, I'll kiss it better.”
Immediately, Ajax extended his arm, and they pulled it towards their lips, breath ghosting faintly along his skin.
And bit down on his forearm.
Ajax made a choking noise, a strangled gasp as he twisted away from them.
Diluc shrugged dismissively.
“Impulsive thoughts won.”
He rubbed his forearm, narrowing his eyes at them.
“I’m going to contract rabies…”
They scoffed at him, before moving closer and inspecting his arm.
“Oh come on, you hypochondriac, I didn’t even break the skin.”
As they looked up to meet his eyes, Diluc realized how close they’d actually moved.
The pair sat face to face, and an agonizingly slow second ticked by, before Ajax cupped the side of their face, close enough that his eyelashes fluttered against their cheek.
His voice was just above a whisper, as his eyes darted from their slightly parted lips to their eyes, in an obvious motion.
“May I kiss you?”
The question struck a chord deep inside of Diluc, stomach fluttering as butterflies soared within their chest.
Dear Archons, they felt like a schoolgirl, with a face aching grin.
“You may, oh courteous gentleman.”
Tucking a loose strand of crimson hair behind their ear, Ajax met their lips with his, exhaling softly as he did.
Diluc reached to tangle their hands in his hair, pulling him closer as they rested their fingers against the back of his neck.
His palms moved naturally into the grooves of their waist, warm through the thin fabric of their camisole.
Ajax’s wandering hands seemed drawn to Diluc’s back, tracing the dips of their shoulder blades, running down their spine in a way that sent chills across their skin.
Surely, the scars would cause him to pull away, poorly healed, bumpy and ridged due to their constant picking.
Yet his hands remained, rubbing circular patterns into the small of their back, warmth that gradually drove away the hardened knot in Diluc’s stomach.
Their lips pulled apart, and Diluc felt a small tug on their lower lip, before gasping for the air they’d lacked.
Ajax leaned forward, burying his head into the crook of their shoulder, before murmuring softly into their collarbone.
“I love you.”
Diluc faltered, their heart and stomach surging with butterflies yet again, a feeling that skyrocketed them upwards, a giddy feeling that made them grin like an idiot.
“I love you too.”