Work Text:
It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, birds chirping, and teachers not yelling, yet Ajax's heart was pounding.
It was Valentine’s Day, and he wanted to confess to his lover, the only problem being that his lover happened to be his own teacher. He glanced over at Zhongli, who was diligently working at his sizable desk in the corner of the classroom, reviewing and assessing the students' recent test papers while wearing his reading glasses, which Ajax thought looked utterly adorable on him.
Ajax sighed. "There’s no way he’d ever like me." he thought to himself. Ajax began to zone out once again, staring at Zhongli in awe. "He’s so pretty and so gentle. I bet his handwriting is just as lovely as him - simply perfect." Despite his desire to admire Zhongli all day, he knew there were more urgent tasks at hand, such as the red construction paper, small decorations, and colored crayons sitting in front of him on his desk.
Recently, Zhongli had distributed these items for the students to create Valentine's cards, offering additional decorations at his desk if needed. They seemed a bit displeased, thinking the activity was childish, but ended up enjoying it.
Ajax took his scissors and began to cut the paper.
Snip, snip, snip, snip, snip….snip, snip, snip, snip, snip, sn- OUCH! snip, snip, snip, snip…
About 15 minutes and a few paper cuts later, Ajax had finished making the card with a sense of satisfaction. "It almost looks store-bought!" He thought to himself as he looked at it proudly. Believing it would be a nice addition to the flowers he had bought for Zhongli, Ajax carefully placed the card inside his backpack.
Zhongli sighed heavily before standing up with the test papers, passing them out to all the students and whispering something to each and every one of them.
"Try harder next time, okay, sweetie?" Zhongli kindly addressed Ajax as he handed him his test with a smile. Ajax responded with a nod, appearing slightly embarrassed by his test score and the nickname given. Zhongli giggled softly before he continued to distribute the rest of the tests.
As the class came to an end, Childe was preparing to give his gifts to Zhongli. He hoped that his gesture would be perceived as more than just a token of appreciation for his teacher, unlike the Valentine's cards and flowers that other students had given right when Zhongli had walked into the classroom, which Zhongli had falsely assumed were solely expressions of gratitude.
Childe couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as he sat at his desk, thinking about what he would do if any of the students even laid one finger on Zhongli.
"Ajax? Is there something that you need?" Zhongli asked, taking off his reading glasses and wiping them clean. Ajax’s eyes widened, looking over at Zhongli quickly as soon as he spoke.
"Oh, n-no," Ajax replied nervously, overthinking his plan.
"Hm. Very well then," Zhongli responded calmly, donning his glasses once more and organizing a stack of papers. "In that case, perhaps you should proceed to your next class."
"Yeah…" Ajax rose from his desk and headed towards the door, Zhongli’s voice stopping him for a moment. "Oh! Remember to grab your backpack before you leave! Hold on…" Ajax turned around, seeing Zhongli walking briskly towards his desk, taking his backpack to bring to Ajax. "Oh, you didn’t have to-"
"Here you go," Zhongli said, holding out Ajax’s backpack in front of him with his two hands, slightly looking up at him with a bright smile on his face. "That smile…such a beautiful smile." Ajax thought, wanting to kiss him right then and there. He’d do anything for that smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhongli," Ajax said politely, picking up his backpack and smiling in gratitude. Zhongli turned around and gave a small nod before heading back to his desk. "Actually…" Ajax began hesitantly, prompting Zhongli to turn back towards him. "I wanted to give you something." Zhongli tilted his head curiously, making Ajax smile a bit as he rummaged through his backpack. After a brief moment, Ajax presented a stunning bouquet of fresh glaze lilies, and Zhongli looked at the flowers with admiration.
"Oh, Ajax… They’re beautiful." Zhongli said, taking them from Ajax’s hands with a warm smile, gently touching the petals. "How did you know these were my favorite?" Ajax let out a nervous laugh.
"Uh... lucky guess?" Zhongli giggled as he set the flowers on the small table beside them. Before Zhongli could thank him for the flowers, Ajax began to pull something else out of his backpack. "I made this card for you too... here you go," he handed the card to Zhongli along with a cute, medium sized teddy bear. Zhongli’s smile widened as he read the card carefully.
"I know it doesn’t really compare to what the other students gave you, but-" Ajax was immediately cut off by the sudden tight hug Zhongli had given, making his eyes widen and his face cherry red.
"Any gift from you is perfect." Zhongli whispered softly, nuzzling Ajax's neck. Overwhelmed with emotion, Ajax was rendered speechless.
"Aww.." Ajax began to caress Zhongli’s hair. "Gods, I love you." He then sat down at one of the chairs as he pulled Zhongli along with him, making him land on Ajax’s lap. Zhongli’s face reddened, and they continued to snuggle, completely forgetting about school.