Chapter Text
If there’s one place that Wangsheng Funeral Parlour never offer its paranormal services to, it’s the City of Mondstadt. Liyue had its fair amount of ghosts, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine with their evil spirits. Natlan and Snezhnaya had all of their different fables and myths that ‘come true’. But if there was one region that has never asked for paranormal help, it was Mondstadt. He wasn’t sure if Lord Barbatos somehow just had special powers over the paranormal or something, but never in the whole of Wangsheng Funeral Parlour’s history has there ever been a call from Mondstadt about paranormal activity. Until now, that is. It wasn’t even recent activity, more so an old report Zhongli had found on a quaint little café in the city, rumoured to have once been haunted by a ghost. It seems by now that the rumours have dispersed, as the café is still being frequented by regulars, but nevertheless, Hu Tao has asked for him to chase down this ghost. Just in case they need help to cross that border between life and death.
Ajax isn’t sure what to expect from Mondstadt. The paranormal activities varied from region to region. Liyue had a plethora of ghosts, Inazuma’s evil spirits differed from Sumeru’s. Fontaine’s was a mixture of ghosts and demons haunting their lands. The only thing that really plagued Mondstadt was the Abyss Order and the Fatui, neither of which you could label ‘paranormal’, meaning that Ajax would likely have to do all of the investigation work by himself. He would ask Zhongli for his expertise on Mondstadt paranormal activity, but the simple truth was that there was almost none. Perhaps the freedom that is granted in Mondstadt allows them to pass on? Then what was so different about this ghost?
Ajax wasn’t the best at investigation work. He can do it, but his ways of investigation aren’t very… Subtle. He would ask Zhongli to accompany him to Mondstadt but one, both of them agreed they can’t leave Hu Tao alone, lest she starts pestering the Adventurer’s Guild again or worse, starts hunting down Qiqi, and two, he does not want to hear this man drone on and on about how ‘Osmanthus Wine tastes the same as blah blah blah’. Ajax would rather take that dumbbell that constantly floats around him and wack him in the head the next time he opens his mouth about Osmanthus Wine. So, in short, Ajax was on his lonesome for the entirety of his time in Mondstadt. Perfect.
His first impression of the City of Freedom is that it’s cramped. Tall, sky-high apartments seem to make up a wall around the city, shops and markets squeezed in between homes. It’s a tight fit as his hands brush by the flower boxes down the middle of the path, but it’s a comfortable and homey feeling. He can see it in the way the locals greet one another cheerfully and welcome him with open arms. The city was carefully planned out with the Favonius Police on higher ground to overlook the city and with the market closely packed together to avoid creating alleyways for thieves to hide in.
The Church of Favonius is laid at the very top of the city, highlighted by the enormous statue of Barbatos, a popular attraction for tourists. Beneath the overhead shelter were little signs supplying information on the rich history of Mondstadt and how their Archon came to be. Ajax didn’t have time to read the details, he wasn’t here on vacation after all. He only stops by for a bit to give a short prayer for a relatively short case before swiftly making his way towards the café he was to investigate. It just so happens that the weather takes a turn for the worst as he slowly walks back down towards the quaint little café that he was investigating. Umbrellas pop up around him as people continue on their day without a care. Meanwhile, Ajax is frantically running down the bitumen steps, racing around the City of Freedom to find the café.
His breath condenses in the air as he finally slows, the sign of ‘Regentag Café’ hanging overhead and an LED ‘OPEN’ sign pressed against the glass window drawing closer. His breath escapes into his cold hand, seeking warmth as his heart beats rapidly against his chest, complaining at the sudden burst of energy he had just expended. There isn’t much time to regain your breath when you’re out in the pouring rain, so Ajax pushes open the glass door, a small chime announcing his presence to the workers inside.
“Welcome to Regentag Café! May I please take your order?” the cashier asks with a practised customer service smile. Ajax politely smiles back at the cheery tone. Even if it’s fake, at least Mondstadt is welcoming to its foreigners, even those that are clearly Snezhnayan. He had expected at least a few odd looks from the City of Freedom, especially with how Mondstadt doesn’t try very hard to hide its disdain for the Fatui.
“Just a Venti Hot Chocolate Vienna, please,” Ajax says in a polite tone. The cashier nods as they tap away at their touchscreen, his total appearing on the screen facing towards him. He can see the way she pauses and looks up at him.
“Do you mean a large?” she asks, brow furrowed in confusion. Did Mondstadt not use those terms? Ajax just nods wordlessly as she gives him his total. “Order for?”
“Tart – Ajax.” He’s too used to using Tartaglia for business, so much so that Hu Tao often calls him ‘Tartajax’ as a joke since he often seems to fail to distinguish when or when not to use Tartaglia (he knows when! He just forgets.)
He sits at a random spot and surveys his surroundings. The traces of paranormal activity are faint, probably since it has been years since the so-called ‘haunting’ took place. Ajax starts to wonder whether or not the rumours were just that – rumours. There have been multiple cases, after all, where paranormal activity has been recorded but was just paranoia. Then again, considering the little to no cases of paranormal activity, he isn’t even sure if Mondstadt believes in ghosts. Otherwise, he suspects Wangsheng Funeral Parlour would’ve had a lot more clients from Mondstadt. It only added to the mystery of this case.
“Pardon me, I was here first,” a smooth, saccharine voice calls out softly. Ajax blinks as he looks up, and by the Archons he hopes the sound of his breath hitching wasn’t audible.
He’s gorgeous.
“Thank you,” the stranger replies with an easy smile. Ajax comes to the quick realisation that he had said that out loud. He can’t find it in himself to apologise for saying that out of nowhere. It’s true, he was gorgeous. A plain, cream-coloured turtleneck paired with sinfully tight black leggings that seemed to bring out the curve of… Ahem. A black eyepatch covers half of the gorgeously sculpted face, perhaps crafted by Celestia itself. It doesn’t matter that the eyepatch leaves Ajax wondering what he has to hide, it adds to his air of mystery and brings out the sole lilac-blue eye, a spark of mischief in that lonesome iris. The warm lighting of the café made his bronze skin shine that much brighter, and in short, Ajax was captivated. Archons, he probably sounds like he’s down bad.
“Ah, right, your seat,” Ajax says, his brain finally registering what the stranger had told him earlier. He quickly stands up and moves out of the way, the loud call of ‘Tartajax’ giving him an excuse to leave the awkward situation silently. As he goes to pick up his drink, frowning at the label, he swears he can feel someone’s gaze on him. He turns around and the stranger isn’t even trying to hide the fact he is staring at him. He motions to the seat opposite him, and Ajax doesn’t hesitate to walk over and take the gestured seat. “Thank you.”
“No worries, Tartajax,” he says with an easy smile. Ajax has to refrain himself from rolling his eyes.
“It’s just Ajax,” he corrects. The stranger just gives a small grin and nods in understanding.
“Tartajax.”
“Ajax.”
“Tartajax,” the stranger says with an amused smile. Ajax pretends to groan in annoyance, the stranger giving a small chuckle. In truth, he doesn’t mind the teasing the stranger gives him. He gives a short huff and leans onto the palm of his hand."
“Fine, and who might you be?” Tartaglia asks with a small smile. The stranger returns the polite smile and taps his fingers silently against the table. A nervous habit, or perhaps he’s just a fidgeter. Ajax understands; he finds it difficult to sit still, so much so that he often gets glares from across the table from Zhongli whenever they have meetings with clients. Ajax notes that his nails are painted black.
“You listening, pretty boy?” the stranger asks with a furrowed brow, though his lips are graced into a teasing smirk. Ajax smiles sheepishly. “I know I can be rather distracting but you’re the one who asked the question.”
“Haha, sorry,” Ajax mutters with a sheepish smile. “Got distracted by your beauty.” He doesn’t hesitate to wink here. “I’m listening this time – who might you be, gorgeous?” The stranger smiles, though obviously not all that flattered with Ajax’s words. That probably meant he’d heard those words many times in the past. Looks like he’d just have to get more creative with his compliments next time."
Next time. He was already thinking about next time, huh?
“Kaeya,” the stranger answers sweetly. Ajax thinks it’s a beautiful name for an even more beautiful person. In other words, the name suits the other customer quite well. “What brings you to Mondstadt, Tartajax?” Kaeya asks with a tilt of his head, showing his curiosity. He thinks it’s an adorable habit of his.
“Work, sadly,” the Snezhnayan answers, followed by a long sigh. “Maybe I can sneak in some vacation days for you.” Kaeya chuckles at his flirts, amused by Ajax’s slight desperation (just slight). Ajax can’t help but smile back, the other’s smiles were rather contagious, even if they were mostly covered with one of his hands.
“Really now? I bet your boss would hate me,” Kaeya teases. Ajax laughs, thinking about the massive scolding he’d likely get from Director Hu if he tried to skip work to flirt with someone he just met (and then later find said director sneaking around and trying to play cupid).
“I bet almost everyone’s boss hates you if you keep distracting their employees like this,” he says, joining in on the joke. Each melodious chuckle of his fellow customer makes Ajax smile warmly. He enjoys making people happy – ironic considering the fact he works at a funeral parlour, but life is always filled with expectations, most of which people are never able to (and sometimes even happy to never) meet.
Ajax doesn’t want to admit it, but he quickly loses track of time talking to Kaeya. Multitasking is something humans don’t like to admit but are unable to do. Especially when they have someone as distracting as Kaeya to help them procrastinate on their assignment from their boss. At least Kaeya was able to distinguish when he had to leave, otherwise, Ajax felt as if he would be whisked away to another world, one where he and Kaeya could just talk forever.
“I have to go, sorry,” Kaeya apologized as he began gathering the small amount of things he had. Ajax realised that his cup of coffee had been empty ages ago as he went to take the final sip. He quickly checks his watch and realises that he should probably go and check in at the nearest hotel that wasn’t filled to the brim with Fatui. The Snezhnayan gives him a reassuring grin.
“Don’t worry about it, I should probably also go check into my hotel,” he says with an easy smile. Kaeya nods in understanding as he hands over an umbrella to Ajax. “What’s this for?” It’s a childish-looking umbrella, orange with a fox face on one side and an outline of a tail on the other with small flaps for the ears on top. Ajax can’t tell if Kaeya was trying to make fun of him or if he was genuinely offering the umbrella.
“I just noticed you didn’t have one on you,” Kaeya explains with a small shrug. “Don’t want you to get caught in the downpour.” The paranormal expert couldn’t help but smile at the kind gesture, accepting the umbrella from Kaeya, no matter how childish it looked.
“Thanks. I’ll return it to you the next time I bump into you,” Ajax reassures, gathering all of his items and heading towards the door. Kaeya follows him outside, opening his own umbrella. Ajax can’t help but notice it was peacock-themed. So, it wasn’t just his one. It was kind of cute. “It was nice meeting you,” he says politely. It had been. It’s been a while since he’s talked to someone with mutual interests as him and is around the same age. Zhongli was nice but there was an obvious generational gap between the two.
“The pleasure was mine,” Kaeya says with a slight bow of his head and a smile. Ajax can’t help but smile back, the other’s joy contagious. With a small wave, the two of them went in their separate directions, continuing with life. The Snezhnayan walks back to his stay with a smile on his face, eager to see the other once more.