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For as long as he lives, mountain is the only constant in Zhongli’s ever-changing life.
He was born on a mountain, raised on a mountain, and plan to die buried in a mountain. He got his life and death figured out by age 30. It’s something he takes immense pride in. The earth is his home and mountain its pillars.
In his darkest time, he would gaze at the towering earth; how tall and proud it stands, how it never bows down to the harshest wind. Then, he takes its benevolent lesson for himself to tread through the most arduous path in his life. The mountain is his philosophy, and by extension, his life.
And then one day he takes a stroll around Liyue Harbor and nearly died drowning.
Seaweed on his hair, coughing up water out of his lung as strangers crowded around, Zhongli thinks it’s time to invite water as part of him. Mountain might be his life, but at this rate ocean will be his death.
At the age of 35, Zhongli learns to swim for the first time.
Zhongli is a firm believer that there is no shame in learning no matter what stage of life you are currently in. Life is about learning, so without any preamble he google the nearest facility for adult swimming class and sign up for their earliest program next week.
But the class never happens.
He has an urgent meeting for the first one, and then he has overtime, and then an inspection, and then Zhongli just forget about the class until the day he nearly drowns at a godforsaken fish pond.
He doesn’t understand why their office building need a two meters deep pond. Who design this.
“Not that I’ve seen a lot of people drowning, but you are the most dignified drowning person I’ve ever seen,” Ajax comments as he helps a small goldfish out of Zhongli’s jacket. His previously panicked expression now transitions to a terribly hidden amusement. At least one of them is having fun. “Your face didn’t change at all. At all. And you were not flopping around, just going down like a rock.”
The irony isn’t lost on him.
“I am as steady as a rock, they say,” Zhongli answers simply. Steady, strong, and very much sinkable.
Ajax laughs. His fingers busy getting rid of some weeds on Zhongli’s hair before moving to rub a spot on his cheek. Probably some dirt Zhongli couldn’t see. Ajax himself is drenched to the bones, consequence of diving after Zhongli and saving the man from dying. He presents better. No stray weeds on his hair, although his neck is smeared in dirt. Zhongli isn’t sure if it’s polite to touch him there. Probably not.
Does politeness even matter in a matter of death.
“Seriously Zhongli-xiansheng, you need to learn swimming,” a firm hand offered to help the older man stand up. “There are classes for adults.”
“I registered for one, but I just don’t have enough free time.”
So really, it’s not a lack of effort. He gave plenty. It’s just his work take so much of his time that there is barely any space for anything else. He doesn’t even remember the last time he takes a vacation. In his college days, he thinks.
“There are private classes, too,” Ajax informs as they walk to the parking lot. Both looking as though they just fight the nastiest storm. At least there isn’t many people on this side of the building, although he is sure the CCTV caught every second of their water adventure. That pond truly is a hazard. Something need to be done before it takes another victim. “Madam Ping hired one.”
It takes a questionably large effort to process the information. “She did?”
“Yeah. She is prepping for triathlon at 80. Cool, isn’t it? It didn’t work out with her instructor tho, so I kinda help her with the swimming bits.”
That’s new. He didn’t know Ajax is a swimming instructor. “You got a lot of gigs.”
A blink before a look of realization crosses over. “No, no. I am not a swimming instructor. I just help her, that’s all. Couldn’t afford side gigs in this blood sucking corporation. No free time.”
Fair enough. That was a foolish assumption.
It’s just— In his five years of knowing Ajax, the younger man never ceases to surprise him. He is… multitalented, to say the least. He is good at his job, is a remarkable chef, surprisingly strong fighter, and somehow always has time for other things. Like how he has time to manage his watersport youtube channel that amass quite a following. Zhongli figures that with such astounding time management, Ajax could probably slip one, two gigs in between, as impossible as it may sound.
He wonders if despite the bright grin, Ajax is dissatisfied with his professional life. If he is such a busy body to distract himself from the bleak reality. That he sits in the dark room sometimes, fantasizing of quitting his job dramatically and run somewhere else doing what his heart desire. Zhongli is content with his job, but even he can’t deny the temptation of an early retirement.
He also wonders if Ajax thinks of him as stupid what’s with the drowning bit, but he is not self-hating enough to dwell on that thought.
“It’s not embarrassing, you know. Not knowing how to swim,” Ajax adds as if reading Zhongli’s erratic mind. His bright grin is tone down to a faint, almost invisible smile. “I couldn’t swim either until I was in my early twenties.”
That can’t be is Zhongli’s first thought. He decides against voicing it, instead settling at “I appreciate the encouragement.”
The laugh his statement incites is care free. “You don’t believe me.”
“Surely you jest.”
Because Ajax is the water guy. He is obsessed with marine creature, especially whales. He loves fishing. He goes diving in his spare time. Beaches is his yard and ocean is his home, much like how Zhongli finds comfort in the mountain. Ajax being incapable of swimming is just blasphemous.
“I am not,” Ajax laughs some more. “You can ask Signora. I nearly drowned at a frozen lake when I was a kid, so big body of water in general used to scare me. Got me hypothermic. My heart stopped for some minutes, actually,” he recounts the story in a way that much more suited for a parody, rather than a traumatizing event.
Zhongli opens his mouth, then close it again.
Here’s the thing about Ajax. The younger man likes to jokes about something serious, but looks serious when he tells a joke. It’s easy to confuse the two when people barely know him, but Zhongli is close enough to the man to know that they are currently talking a serious event. Ajax is not lying despite the childish snicker.
“That’s horrifying,” the thought of Ajax dying (no matter how long it has been, no matter that Ajax is okay now) is not something he would laugh at. He would start his long speech on it if Ajax doesn’t cut him with a dismissive wave.
“It’s been so long,” Ajax shrugs. He gives a playful jab on Zhongli’s cheek to smooth his frown. “It’s okay. All I am saying is that, learning to swim could be a fun experience for you.”
Ajax gives another lazy wave as he gets into his car, the grin back in place. Zhongli didn’t even notice that they’ve reached the parking lot. Water trails darkened under the path they followed. He watches Ajax’s gray range rover starts to move. The younger man sends him a short, loud honk before finally pulling out of the parking lot into the busy road.
Fun experience.
Hm.
He simply regards it as a learning experience, but maybe— maybe there could be some more in it.
He shakes his head to get his bearing, sliding down into his car and exhaling a tired breath as the water from his drench clothes seep into the car seat. It’s okay. It can be taken care of later.
As he drives home, Zhongli realizes he hasn’t said his thanks.
.
.
.
“What’s the occasion?” Ajax beams.
“For saving a drowning man occasion,” Zhongli nods. “A thank you.”
It’s just a pair of chopsticks. Maybe a little bit expensive pair of chopsticks, but it’s just a chopstick. Just wooden stick. It doesn’t matter. It got some phoenix and dragon craving that he belatedly notices could mean something else, but it’s still just wooden stick. It’s not the equivalent of Snezhnayan Ajax unknowingly give him a ring, because it’s more like a wedding gift and not a proposal. It’s not a proposal. Anyway, it’s just chopstick. It doesn’t matter.
“Whoa, for real? They are so pretty,” Ajax gushes, even though they are just— wooden stick. “Look expensive, too. You sure giving this for me? You are kinda stingy with money.”
??????
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, that comes out wrong. No, no. It’s just, you have incredible obsession over retirement and has been holding your money tight. You sure giving me this and not saving for your old age?”
It’s true that he might have borderline fixation on retirement, but he wasn’t aware that it’s so obvious. Certainly not to the extent that his co-worker might question his relationship with money.
“Don’t you worry. It doesn’t cost very much,” and even if it’s, let it be him and God to know.
Ajax sends him a knowing smile. Like he knows Zhongli is lying, but he lets him off the hook easily, distracted by Ningguang who just passed by his desk with a bunch of folders in her arms.
“Ningguang! Look what Zhongli-xiansheng bought me!” he waves the chopstick in the air. Several head turn at the beacon at once and Zhongli nearly died. “Dragon and phoenix chopstick…!”
“It’s just chopstick,” Zhongli mumbles to Ajax’s deaf ears.
“Happy for you both,” she says in a tone suspiciously close to a laugh. Thankfully she doesn’t stop and just walk straight to her desk.
“Ah, what do I do with you, Zhongli-xiansheng,” Ajax sighs dramatically. “Shall I buy you a ring?”
“You are making fun of me.”
He gets a snicker for that. “No, really. This is easily the most expensive gift I’ve ever got. I am happy but also, ah how do I put this. It cost around 200k mora, isn’t it?”
For a terrifying moment, Zhongli’s throat closes up. How does his innocent thank you gift turns into this? How Ajax is even familiar with high end chopstick price? He can’t even hold chopstick properly. Still eating mostly with spoon and fork after working in Liyue for years.
“How do you know?” Zhongli spells between dry lips.
“The price tag is still in the box.”
What on god’s green earth—
Ajax’s one second serious look turns to a full-blown laughter. “Oh hell— your face— I was just kidding. You look worse than when you drowned!”
Amber eyes stare unblinking as Ajax’s laugh turn to a mere giggle. The younger man brings a hand to wipe a stray tear, the other hand clutching the box to his chest and Zhongli follows the movement intently. It really is an innocent gift. Zhongli means it. He doesn’t understand why he has such a strong reaction to it. If it was Ajax, the Snezhnayan would gift a random man in an alleyway a ring pop and disappear into the night, still giggling. Nothing matters if you don’t make it matters.
(Why Zhongli makes it matters?)
“I apologize,” he probably has been clearing his throat for a thousand times. “Leaving a price tag is a horrific gift giving manner. I was surprise, that’s all.”
“Why so formal all of a sudden,” Ajax teases, but it’s subdued. His smile is almost fond. Zhongli needs to reign himself not to analyze what that quirk imply. If Ajax is going on another chain of jokes or if he is genuinely— genuinely fond of him.
That doesn’t matter.
“Well, I suppose that’s it,” Zhongli announces. “I’ll go back to my desk.”
“No, wait—” the hand on his arm prevents him from leaving. Ajax let go as soon as Zhongli turns. “What if I teach you how to swim?”
That sudden.
He is aware that this offer most probably come from Ajax’s uneasiness for receiving such an expensive gift from a desperate retirement seeker. But he can’t deny the temptation of it. Ajax and he share almost identical schedule. They could find free time easier. He knows Ajax, so it would be less awkward. And mostly importantly Ajax has seen him at his worst (the infamous fish pond drowning incident), so he most definitely knows where to start.
Is it ethical to exploit such situation though?
Hm.
“Okay. I will pay you,” fair and simple. That should solve the problem.
Ajax cringes. “Don’t say that. You are creeping me out. You are supposed to be stingy.”
“That’s incorrect. I am not stingy. I am just economically conscious to save for my—”
“Yes, yes. The retirement. How about next Tuesday? 7 PM at Luhua Indoor Pool. I am free.”
Ah. The wonder of nearly identical schedule.
See? This is why it’s absolutely fabulous. Zhongli is free, too.
The universe is finally working in his favor. What was so hard few weeks ago, now find its solution in just mere seconds. The problem of his packed schedule solves itself easily. Zhongli can just slip in whenever he wants and when their schedule crashes, they can inform each other without any hesitance. The new schedule will appear just as easily. It’s good.
He nods sagely to affirm Ajax’s offer. They shake hands to seal the deal, both standing upright as if they are signing the most important treaty known to world, and that’s basically how Zhongli scores a personal swimming instructor.
.
.
.
“Why am I learning how to sink?” Zhongli questions.
“If you don’t shut up, I will sink you myself.”
Goodness gracious.
Zhongli assumes his position without further comment.
He met Madam Ping a few days ago. When he told her about his plan with Ajax, the lady practically raves over the Snezhnayan man. 10/10 review. The only thing preventing her from posting thousands of Ajax edit on TikTok is her inability to navigate the online space. He figured, if Ajax was good enough to have a senior lady that happy under his tutelage, surely Zhongli would have around the same pleasant experience.
Turns out he is not.
Ajax teaches him as though Zhongli would join the hardest triathlon known to man and maybe that’s where the difference between him and Madam Ping lies. Madam Ping was preparing for triathlon so of course she would be happy, while Zhongli on the other hand just doesn’t want his cause of death to be listed as drowning. He is a simple man.
“Bend your knee and exhale. Bend your fucking knee, Zhongli. What’s so hard about bending your knee. Do you want me to bend for you instead.”
Bend for you.
Zhongli chokes around a mouthful of water, failing around like untrained dog until his arms crash on Ajax and nearly sending them both to the bottom of the pool. After some time, he finally gets his footing and he emerges back up, gasping for air.
Ajax is staring at him wide eyed.
“You whacked me across the face,” he says.
That was purely an accident and the blame does not solely placed on Zhongli, but he supposed it’s wiser to keep the thought in his mind. “I apologize.”
“No, it’s okay. I was being too harsh,” Ajax mutters. “That’s how I trained myself, so it carries over.”
“You told yourself to bend?”
“To bend my knees, yes. What of it?”
“Never mind.”
There is a lot of safety issue on a recovered drowning man doing a self-taught swimming lesson, but maybe Ajax is just built different. Built different as in not knowing how to ask for help. It’s a severe pitfall that Zhongli feels he needs to address, but he is not going to voice his opinion here as they are still in the water, in case Ajax snaps and drown him for real. Having people around wouldn’t stop him. Zhongli honestly feels that Ajax is the type that doesn’t mind having witnesses and going straight to prison.
That’s another pitfall he needs to address.
“You sink down so you can get comfortable in the water. So, you can get yourself oriented,” Ajax finally explains. A bit late, but better than never. His expression smooth back to his usual cheerfulness, leaving all of the previous violence behind.
Maybe Zhongli should slip dr. Baizhu’s business card in Ajax desk sometimes. He is a good therapist.
Zhongli nods and adjust his goggles. It aids him seeing under water, but as he emerges, the goggle just bothers him immensely. On the other hand, he dislikes getting water into his eye. He just has to persevere.
“Bend down and sink. I see,” Zhongli says.
“Until you touch the bottom of the pool, then resurface. Do it a few times.”
Being the master of sinking, Zhongli does the reps without any issue. As Ajax claimed, it does help him getting comfortable around water. He doesn’t think he is traumatized by water or anything of the sort, but it helps him orient himself, getting him familiarize with the feeling of being under water.
Satisfied with Zhongli’s undefeatable sinking prowess, Ajax move them to the next part.
Learning to float.
Finally.
“Kinda shitty that human’s body is factory set to sink when we are alive, and dead bodies can just float,” Ajax mumbles somewhere from his right side. “Horrendous design flaw.”
Zhongli hums his agreement. He might say something, but he is too concerned that saying something might trigger him into letting out a lot of air and end up sinking. Is he even floating now? He thinks he is, but he is not so sure. Ajax palm is somewhere on his back, just a ghost of touch to Zhongli’s starfish form. Spreading one’s limbs make it easier to float, apparently.
“That’s great. You are floating,” Ajax grins.
Curious, Zhongli tries lifting his head to check. He mourns as his body start to sink. Ajax hand’s find his back to re-adjust him into his previous star shaped position.
“I thought I was floating.”
“You were,” the younger man insists. “And you are still floating now. You shouldn’t lift your head. If you do, your legs will automatically come down. You are floating, trust me.”
The indoor lighting is making Ajax glow somehow. It looks like a halo, especially from Zhongli’s floating position. Ajax forever cheerful expression is garnished with a touch of pride –he is happy for Zhongli. Proud of him from the simple fact that Zhongli can float like a cardboard. Zhongli averts his gaze, feeling a little bit embarrassed at such open endearment only to find his eyes fall down on Ajax’s chest. He everts his eyes again. This time lands on Ajax’s slim waist.
Something in him stirs.
Somewhere in his mind, he is glad the water is cold.
They move to learn to float face down, and then the real swimming lesson begins. By the end of the hour Zhongli can swim one lap around the pool safely. Ajax is waiting for him on the poolside, cheering like a cheerleader would to a football player. Some people join him just from the sheer joy of his chant alone and Zhongli emerges from the pool with his ears bright red.
“Now if the ship ever sinks, I can take the plank and you can swim around it. Hm. You can float around it,” Ajax teases.
He takes Ajax’s offered hand, shaking his head. His lips curling slightly. “They did an experiment actually, and apparently both Rose and Jack can fit on that plank.”
“The real question is, can Zhongli and Ajax both fit on that plank?”
Most probably can, but that’s not an exciting answer. “We can drown together.”
Ajax gasps, scandalized. “And who will take care of our children?”
Our children.
His eyes shine with mirth. That’s how Ajax is. Playful, a jester, unassuming flirt. They sit beside each other on the poolside. Legs down in the water. He remembers all of Ajax’s jokes. Ajax’s strong reaction to anything Zhongli did. Zhongli’s own overreaction to whatever antic Ajax pulls. He mulls over it, consider it, and just has to ask.
“Ajax, are we boyfriends?”
In case he missed.
Ajax gapes, surprise.
That reaction alone is an obvious answer for Zhongli. It’s no.
He nods his understanding, assuming that’s the only answer he’ll get from Ajax. It’s clear enough, after all. Instead, Ajax mumbles a shaky “I don’t think so?” as if he is not so sure himself.
Zhongli frowns. “Why that sound like a question.”
“Because I am not so certain?” Ajax blinks. He looks… lost. Looks cute, really. “But we can be, I guess? Can be boyfriends, I mean.”
Zhongli nods. He reaches out to intertwine their hands. They look out into the pool, as though it’s a magnificent sunset with mind-blowing beautiful scenery and not just chlorine water under fluorescent light—
and that’s how Zhongli scores a boyfriend.
.
.
.
Ajax is his boyfriend.
It doesn’t hit him until the next day.
“Well damn you both annoying. Go suck face somewhere else,” Retuo barks before scampering off to his desk, the bitter frown deeply etched on his face.
“What was that?” Zhongli asks, confuse by the reaction. Not that he expected a showering gift for the announcement of their sacred and holy relationship, but that outburst was uncalled for.
His boyfriend (boyfriend!) giggles. “Oceanid rejected him again. He is salty over happy people.”
“Who is Oceanid?”
“The girl from Qingce Branch. I don’t know her real name.”
“You mean Rhodeia.”
Wow. That still going on? It’s pitiful at this point. Retuo has been crushing on her since their college days. If they had children, the kids would’ve gone to secondary school by now. Even Ningguang and Beidou already got together. He is surprised Retuo hasn’t killed somebody considering how crazy he is over the whole thing. Oh well, anyways—
“Ajax and I are in a serious relationship,” he announces to the nearest person who happens to pass them. It’s Xiangling, a young intern from University of Liyue assigned to their office along with two others. She is a bit too energetic for Zhongli to hang out with, which is funny because Ajax is the most energetic person he knows and also the person he loves to be together with always. Love is illogical, they say.
“Ohhhhhh. Why the re-announcement?” Xiangling stops on her track. “What is it? One year anniversary?”
Ajax waves. “Not anniversary. We just made it official yesterday.”
Her eyes go as wide as a saucer at the words. “Official as in— oh my god oh my god oh my god.” She lowers her voice to a whisper, but it’s tinged with heavy excitement. “I am sad I didn’t get to see the wedding, but happy for you both! Oh my god. Just running away to elope… That’s so romantic!”
There is a second of silence. Zhongli thinks he can see multiple question marks floating all over Ajax’s head. They share a look before the younger man burst out laughing. So loud and free, wheezing, holding onto Zhongli’s arm for support as he topples over gripping his stomach. Zhongli watches him; the tears at the corner of Ajax’s eyes and the endless laugher still flowing, and he feels his own chuckles rising to the surface.
So apparently, the whole office thinks they are in a relationship for the longest time. It’s comical that they are the last two to notice.
In the afternoon, Ajax drops by his desk with a box in hand.
“Homemade lunch for my hard-working husband,” he jests, Xiangling words still stuck in his mind. He leans to give Zhongli’s cheek a loving peck. His smile etched onto Zhongli’s skin and Zhongli own smile blooms in return. It’s happiness in its truest form.
“Aren’t I a lucky husband?” he says to the growing flushes on Ajax’s face. He gets a playful swat on his arm for his teasing. It’s endearing that for all his playfulness, Ajax is still shy when he gets teased back. Can serve it but couldn’t take it, huh? Adorable.
As he watches Ajax struggles with his chopstick, Zhongli’s mind automatically starts drafting a long-term plan for both of them. There are a lot of matters to discuss, from finances to family planning. He thinks he and Ajax matches to their deepest core, but it wouldn’t hurt to talk about roles and responsibilities. About anything, really. Just to get it out of the way.
But first thing first—
He should buy a ring.