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When Dainsleif wakes up, and blinks the morning sun away, he expects to see a head full of ginger hair clinging to him. Instead, he finds brown hair peeking out from under his chin. For a moment, he’s close to panic—but he quickly realises it’s Amber. She’s wrapped her arm around his chest, nestling her head in the crook of his neck, and has a leg thrown over his. Just like Ajax would.
And even though they’re just two people dating the same guy, Dainsleif can’t help but smile softly. He leaves a feather light kiss on Amber’s hair, and then he closes his eyes again. He’s in no rush. So, he might as well relish in the warmth of the body beside him.
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It doesn’t become a common occurrence because Dainsleif hardly ever sleeps that long, but Ajax always makes them breakfast, and if it’s one of the rare nights that allow Dainsleif to get the sleep he needs, he wakes up in Amber’s arms. It’s nice, he thinks. She’s not as boney as Ajax, and always comfortably warm.
Even though it’s been centuries, the nightmares about his people haunt him, and while Ajax holding him usually helps, sometimes nothing does. Sometimes he wakes himself up in the middle of the night with a scream, and another one caught inside his dry throat. Ajax holds him. He assures that everything is okay, and Amber slips out of bed, quickly making a cup of chamomile tea with some honey. It softens his sore throat, and it makes him feel a little safer, a little more loved. After all, they only share the same bed because they both love Ajax.
He drinks more tea these days. Dainsleif’s found that they calm him down, and make him sleep more soundly. He shares with Ajax, who also suffers from nightmares, and with Amber because he doesn’t want her to feel left out.
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Snezhnaya is cold. It’s beautiful with all the snow, the trees, and the light shining through, and Dainsleif knows to dress in a jacket, a hood, thick boots, and gloves. There’s not much to eat, but Ajax is determined to fetch food for themselves. His cabin is out nowhere anyway, with kilometers between them and the next house.
Dainsleif isn’t skilled at hunting, used to a collecting-and-mora-based diet. He watches in awe as Amber shoots down a boar, and is fascinated by the way Ajax fishes on top of a frozen lake. He helps them skin the boar, prepare it, helps them cook the fishes, and collects the scarce berries, leaves, and roots he finds.
It’s the first time in centuries he somewhat feels at home again. Throughout the years, he’s somehow never realised how much he’s needed a break. It’s so peaceful and calming to just live for once, to enjoy life as it is in its simplest form without trying to reach for the stars all the time. His bones are old, and so is his heart. He’s got time. Time to rest.
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Winter comes and goes, and Amber can’t take holidays forever. She’s still Mondstadt’s outrider, and with that comes a duty. They contemplate. Amber likes this, likes Ajax, but she wants to go back to her hometown to continue working. Ajax likes this, likes Amber, likes Dainsleif, and Dainsleif doesn’t have a duty to attend or a home to return to. He’s always been a dog. A dog following the person he loves, chasing after them when they run away. Ajax welcomed him with open arms, and maybe, to him, he’s a person himself.
Amber goes back to Mondstadt, and Ajax goes with her. Dainsleif follows, of course. They take him by his hands, and walk side by side. They sleep in the same hotel rooms. Ajax kisses him, and Amber hugs him, and it’s the first time in centuries he feels he truly belongs. Thinking about the traveler leaves him with a sting in his heart, and he will always believe those five hundered years were worth it, even in vain—but he belongs into Ajax’ hands, and Amber’s gaze.
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Mondstadt is warm. It almost reminds him of Khaenri’ah. Amber flourishes as she meets all her friends again, and she’s so excited to introduce them to Ajax and him. ,,That’s my boyfriend, Ajax’’, she says, ,,And that’s his boyfriend, Dainsleif!’’ She laughs like the morning sun, and Dainsleif is glad he gets so many hugs.
Amber spends her savings on a bed for two—they’re all rather short on mora, but it fits all three of them no problem. It’s a flat they share this time, with neighbors with kids and pets, busy and noisy, but Dainsleif hardly cares. Ajax is there, and Amber is there, and he wakes up in her warm arms to his favorite pancakes every day.
Ajax and him cook, do their groceries, go on walks. They join Amber on her duties. Once, they even sneak into the favonius headquarters, and nearly get caught. Dainsleif picks up reading again, there’s a ton of books in Mondstadt’s library. He discusses the language of Hilichurls with Ella, and he’s glad to see a kid so fascinated by said creatures. He doesn’t have the capability to care for them anymore, but he’s got to admit that his heart feels a little less heavy knowing she does.
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Summer comes and goes, and they contemplate wether to go to Snezhnaya again. Traveling has seeped deep into Dainsleif’s bones, into the very core of his being, and when Ajax says he wants to stay, for a moment he’s not sure this is the right place for him. But when he gets nightmares the night after, and Ajax and Amber comfort him so readily, he knows he can lay those tired legs to rest.
There’s hardly any snow in Mondstadt’s winter, so they visit Dragonspine a lot. Amber gives Dainsleif a Kamera for his birthday, and he starts taking pictures of Ajax and her. Of their every day life, and of many of their smiles. (In the very beginning, Dainsleif had counted the times he managed to make them smile, thinking their smiles would be as rare as the traveler’s. He gave up less than a month in because they kept grinning, and smiling, and smirking, and giggling, and laughing.)
He’s got a picture of Ajax kissing Amber, and one of Ajax kissing him, and after looking at them every evening for most of the winter he comes to the conclusion that there should be a third one, of Amber kissing him, too. Dainsleif’s not sure for other people, but he figures he can only share a life with someone for so long until he falls for them.
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Winter comes and goes, and the temperatures change from cool to warm. One sleepless night, Dainsleif realises that he hasn’t had a nightmare in months. He’s been dreaming of blue skies, sunny days, warm weather, breakfast pancakes, fishes for lunch, and dinners with friends. No Khaenri’ah, no traveler, no Halfdan—no centuries past that he should have been able to let go ages ago. He holds Ajax a little closer, and he falls asleep with a content smile on his lips.
One day, when the three of them are watching the sunset on Starsnatch Cliff, Dainsleif asks Amber if he can kiss her. She excitedly says yes, and Ajax grins. Dainsleif kisses her. She asks if that means that they’re dating too now, and Dainsleif says yes. They fall asleep under the stars that night, holding each other’s hands.
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Life is nice, Dainsleif supposes. It feels like his century long journey has finally come to an end. He’d bever could have fanthomed feeling so complete without the traveler by his side, and while it still stings a little whenever he thinks about them, he’s glad he could settle down. He can wake up in Amber’s arms every morning, and he can fall asleep in Ajax’ hold every night.
Sometimes, his heart yearns for travel, and his muscles ache with the weight of being bound to someone. But Dainsleif is bound to two people he loves, two people who love him back, and if that’s the case, he’d rather stay. He’s found a home, and he’s happy, and he wouldn’t trade getting to kiss Ajax and Amber for anything in the world.