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Capitano was a man who always seemed to be busy. His nose was always buried in the endless work he would sacrifice his sleep for. Ajax always watched the man with starry eyes while that man plowed away at his work, and he often wondered how he and the Captain ended up together? Were they in it for the long run or just were in it for a joyride? Nonetheless, his time with the Captain never went wasted and taken for granted; he remembers endlessly ranting about the Captain to himself in his head. How desperately he wished that Capitano would look at him. But to Capitano’s endless devotion to finishing his infinite amount of duties, Ajax was left alone and stranded for most nights and days. The couple would barely talk even during working hours, and it wasn’t like the Captain went on missions outside the Motherland like Childe did.
One night, they settled down over a cup of tea and talked about what seemed to bother the young harbinger. Capitano agreed that he will make more time for his boyfriend, as odd it sounded to the man to call his co-worker his boyfriend, he recognized what very little attention and care he gave the eleventh. Since then, things have improved and the couple had their happy joyous moments together huddled up on the bed that was five times bigger than Ajax’s.
But for the past few days, it fell back into the same routine. Defeated, Ajax curls up in his bed in his own room, far from the Captain’s quarters from the opposite side of the stronghold for the Harbingers. Whenever Ajax attempts to speak to the older man, he is brushed off after a few sentences of conversation. They exchange glances when they pass each other, a brief brush of the shoulder. It was agony for the eleventh, torture, even. But the fear of being too needy struck fear in him that paralyzed the young man.
Ajax wakes up to the sun shining through his wide open curtains, groaning and squinting. Ajax holds himself up to the expectation that today will be the same as yesterday— and the day before that. Ajax pushes himself through the day, promptly ignoring the other Harbingers and Pulcinella’s attempt to try and get the boy to talk to him. As much as Ajax saw Pulcinella as his own Father, he couldn’t tell him; Harbingers weren’t supposed to date at all, heaven forbid that they dated each other.
Ajax stands at the door of his room, staring at the intricate hand carved wooden door, his mind is blank and he hesitates to go in. His hand grasps the knob, twisting–
“Ajax,” The voice frightens Ajax and he swings around and his face is met with the broad chest of his boyfriend. His eye rises until he sees the masked face of the man, and he feels just a little happy to see him here. “Oh, Capitano! I didn’t.. Expect you to be here.” The man chuckles bashfully, fingers mindlessly lightly scratching and brushing against the angle of his mandible. His cheeks become painfully red, the heating sensation burning his freckled cheeks.
A large hand rests itself gently on his shoulder, “Come. I have a surprise for you.” A surprise? What was the special occasion? Ajax’s azurite eye lights up with curiosity and interest, eager, the eleventh harbinger trots beside the masked figure that dwarfed the six foot tall ginger as they make their mini journey to the Captain’s quarters. As they arrive at the corridor leading down to the entrance to the quarters, Capitano hands Ajax a blindfold and Ajax gives him a look, “What am I supposed to do with this?” A brow arches, and he eyes the Captain, his reply is a deep laugh and a few pats on his back. “Put it on, I will guide you down. Didn’t I say I had a surprise? If you saw it earlier than intended to, then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise then.” Capitano explains, patiently for the other to wrap the fabric around his head. “Ookay, if you say so.. Catch me if I trip and fall!” Ajax comments with a lighthearted chuckle, tying the cloth snug over his eye, despite his other eye being covered by an eyepatch, he was sure that Capitano didn’t want to risk him peeking through the gaps of his fingers.
When they come to a stop after what felt like an eternity of walking down the hall and through the living space in Capitano’s quarters, Capitano unties the blindfold and lets it fall from the bridge of Ajax’s nose. At the sight of a dimly lit bedroom and heart shaped chocolate boxes, atop of the stack of chocolate boxes was a card purchased from the gift shops far from the stronghold that Ajax has seen briefly every year during Valentines day. His head swings to the side and up at Capitano, “Yes, it’s for you.” Capitano says, removing the helmet that he had worn all day and settled it onto the dresser with the blindfold. Ajax, on the other hand, was busy trotting over to the small display of chocolate boxes and a card. “But, why? I never thought of you to be the sort of guy to—” “Because I am not.” The voice rumbles from the depth of Capitano’s throat, silently walking over and sitting as the mattress sank under his weight.
Ajax’s brows tense together, pursed lips almost forming a pout of some kind. The evident look of confusion makes the Captain clear his throat and gesture at the card that Ajax held in his hand, “Read.” A man of few words he was, but he didn’t need to tell Ajax twice to read the card.
His eye skims through the neatly and beautifully written sentences that took up all the space on the card, but Ajax only seems to become even more confused, rereading the card three more times. “I don’t…” He speaks meekly, hesitant like Capitano would get mad at him for not understanding what was written. “I know that I’ve been neglecting you for a few days, and I never intended to. I never do. This is our first Valentine’s Day together, so I came to the conclusion that perhaps this day might be special to you because of our relationship. I took these past few days to prepare, but I… Did not know how to go about it. I don’t celebrate holidays, as you know.” Capitano pauses, sighing as he pushes himself up to his feet, leading him closer, his large and scarred hands holding Ajax’s equally scarred hands into his own. “I don’t say it much, and I don’t know how to properly express how I feel, but I love you, Ajax. And I’m sorry for all the times that I’ve made you feel neglected. Let’s enjoy the night and tomorrow together.” His thumb and index pinched the fabric of the eyepatch and removed it. Ajax’s electro infused eye that seemed severely wounded, (although barely functional but didn’t pose a threat to the man’s life.) it looked at the Captain with the same amount of love and admiration just as the other eye did once the harbinger had came to a realization: Ajax was so busy worrying about himself that he hadn't noticed the small sense that Capitano was nervous. Nervous about preparing a small Valentine's celebration with his lover. The giddy feeling gave the shine in Ajax’s eyes that normally was absent, his heart beats to life and he giggles childishly. The red tint compliments the golden copper color of the eleventh’s hair, feeling like a child receiving a gift from their puppy crush.
“I love you too, [redacted].”