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Over the millennia he had lived, Rex Lapis had taken many a form. Legend has it that he once adopted the form of a young woman, falling in love with a mere farmer. Of course, this romance was not fated to last, for a god was destined to outlive a mortal. Thus, he changed his form again to a young laborer, and found himself falling in love with a fisherman in Liyue Harbor. This, too, was not fated to last, for Rex Lapis’ long life was a blessing and a curse. He had fallen in love with a fellow god, once, but then was forced to slay him. Never again would Rex Lapis fall in love with a god.
Dragons are possessive creatures, mating for life, clinging to a certain person. Much like their beloved treasures, a dragon will keep their mate close, not letting it fall to harm. Rex Lapis was like no ordinary dragon, per say, for he consistently found his one destined partner in each of their lives. This destined partner went by many names during his time, but the one we shall be using today is Ajax, the name of his current incarnation.
“But sir,” you may be asking, “what is so special about Ajax? Why was he the destined partner to a god?”
Fate is a tricky thing, that much is true, but this Ajax was like no other mortal. He was both blessed and cursed in the incarnation we shall be discussing to live longer than the ordinary person, however that came at a price. That price was giving up his humanity.
When Rex Lapis first saw the current incarnation of his beloved, his heart was pulsating faster than normal, inner dragon purring at the sight and the scent –oh, the scent that never changed– of his mate. But alas, like every other incarnation of Ajax, this one did not know of him.
This didn’t change the fact that he rejoiced at having his beloved back with him again. As the young man departed the ship that had pulled into Liyue harbor, the only thing he could think was that Ajax was pretty –so pretty, with hair like gleaming copper and ocean blue eyes and beautiful freckles plastering his soft cheeks– beyond compare. Then again, Rex Lapis could be biased, for he will always find his partner beautiful.
But when he got a good look at the eyes of his beloved, they looked hollow. He had no idea what had happened to Ajax over the last century or so since he last saw him, but he could tell that this incarnation has had a greater deal of a hard time than his previous incarnations.
“Ah, you must be the consultant that we hired to guide me around! A pleasure to meet you! My name is Tartaglia, Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, but you can just call me Childe.”
Rex Lapis purred again internally at the sound of his partner’s voice, never growing tired of it. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Childe. My name is Zhongli, consultant at the Wangsheng funeral parlor. I was indeed put in charge of guiding you around. If you are ready, we may begin at your leisure.”
“Oho, how kind of you, Mr. Zhongli, you’re quite the charmer. If you’ll give me a minute to finish some things up here, I’d love to join you!”
The dragon in the god preened at his mate complimenting him (he thought. He was going to take it that way anyway.) He knew he would never grow tired of hearing words like that from him.
“Of course. Take your time, we have all the time in the world.” That wasn’t true, Rex Lapis knew that. All mortals were bound to pass eventually, but at least he would be able to find Ajax again in his next life.
Soon enough, the ginger had returned to Rex Lapis. They walked side by side, with the god pointing things out and telling the tales behind them. Ajax listened attentively, asking questions every now and again. It made the god happy, having his partner listen to his knowledge without complaining, and actually engaging with him.
Sure, Ajax might be doing this only for diplomatic reasons –Archons, he hoped it wasn’t true– but it felt nice, to just be in his company again. Even if the love of his long life didn’t return his affections, the god was just going to enjoy the presence of his beloved. They soon went to Wanmin Restaurant, allowing the consultant to spoil his partner –Give him your everything, make sure he stays– by treating him to Xiangling’s special dishes, and gifting a pair of phoenix and dragon chopsticks. (Sure, Ajax wouldn’t know they were typically a betrothal gift, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.)
The Geo Archon led the Fatui Harbinger to the bank, where he would meet with his assistant, and learn how to actually run the place. “Thank you for a wonderful time, Mr. Zhongli,” Ajax said, flashing him a pretty smile. Zhongli felt his heart skip a beat, and his face warm. –Mine mine mine mine mine…–
“Of course, Mr. Childe. I wish you a wonderful evening.” Just as the archon was about to retreat, Ajax stopped him with his next words.
“Would you like to have a meal with me for lunch tomorrow? My treat.”
“A kind offer indeed. I would love to.”
–I love you–