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He misses him in the morning.
The quiet warmth of waking beside someone, of the plush covers pulled over both of them, limbs tangled, the way Ajax always lies on his left side so he can watch the door even in sleep — obstensibly protecting Zhongli, who has never needed any protection but is certainly not going to protest it. The way Ajax is awake first - but too content to rise, forgoing his usual sparring practices just to contemplate Zhongli in the gentleness of Liyue's sunrise. He'll lean to kiss Zhongli oh so softly the moment the ex-Archon starts to stir, and Zhongli does not understand how one simple gesture can now be such a cornerstone to his entire existence. The kiss, and then the soft greeting, and the check in with each other - to make sure the other is okay, that they slept well, that their dreams were sweet, and even then they are lazy and languid, until they really should get up and address their different duties.
He misses him at the Parlour.
That bold brash confidence of a Harbinger out of place yet still charming a nation with his exquisite manners, his enthusiasm for every single Liyue ritual, his determination to know every resident by name, and deed, and story, and connection. How he saunters into the Funeral Parlour with some type of glamour that Zhongli finds intoxicating - easy smiles, warm tones, and absolute respect for the Director. How he bows before Zhongli as if they are strangers, and yet his eyes light up when he catches the other's golden gaze, and how he flirts so shamelessly to win Zhongli's heart all over again. Ajax pretends it is a battlefield to be won, and Zhongli pretends not to enjoy the fight.
He misses him at lunchtime.
Ajax is never one to let Zhongli become lost in his work - and lost in his work, Zhongli most certainly can be, the habits of someone with two thousand years and a few centuries more of godhood to his name and carved into his soul. Ajax is there to provide lunch, or to escort the other by the arm to a picnic he has brought, or just to perch upon Zhongli's worktable until Zhongli can ignore him no longer. Ajax will have been doing many things of course. Being a Harbinger comes with a huge list of charges and tasks, but somehow he always has the time to come to Zhongli, to make sure that Zhongli is the one who stops, to make sure that Zhongli is cared for. When Zhongli questions this, Ajax always smiles - he smiles so much around Zhongli - and says that perhaps it is time Zhongli learns how it is to be cared for.
He misses him in the afternoon.
Sometimes they go for a walk, in the afternoon. Ajax might appear by chance, or it is pre-arranged as Zhongli has rounds to make. If Zhongli is delivering sobering news, Ajax is solid as Geo itself as presence - careful, softly spoken, aware. If Zhongli is merely wandering, Ajax wanders with him - listening to Zhongli's commentary of Liyue, asking excellent questions, remembering so much of what Zhongli has said. Zhongli is used to his commands and his divinations being recorded and respected, but there are so few left among the land of the living who listen to all of the innocuous observations and preferences that he offers or conjectures. Ajax gathers them all as if they will bring him strength on the battlefield, and Zhongli is still surprised when his lover recalls something from weeks before with such casualness. To be so devoted is quality less and less seen in Teyvat, and Zhongli does not feel deserving of it.
He misses him at dinner.
Wanmin. Liuli. Zhongli's apartment. Ajax's lodgings. It matters not where they meet, as long as they meet. Conversation over dinner, conversation over food, conversation over beverages. Zhongli tells more dramatic stories once Ajax has offered him some wine or even baiju, and Zhongli is only too happy to oblige such a captive audience. He is careful of course not to speak too loudly - they do attract observers, sometimes, when Ajax becomes ever the involved listener and claps triumphantly at the victory of an Archon who is not his own. He compliments too Ajax's ever improving prowess with the chopsticks, and Ajax will swear that it is only one set of chopsticks that he demonstrates such proficiency with. They stay long into the night and then they walk wherever they are walking together, hand in hand, until Ajax tugs him away from the paths so they can duck into the woodland around Liyue, looking out over the Harbour, far from anyone and anything, even the composure of the Rex Lapis statues. There, they kiss - and the words are the softest and most tender yet, from both of them, as if they are operating on both borrowed time and too much time. The gestures are soft, too. A caress, or a cupping, or a thumb brushing beneath a sparkling eye. Neither of them expect this, and neither of them hoped for this, and yet here they are, permitted to be in love by whatever the fates have wrapped around them.
He misses him at home.
Demands of a rematch over chess because he will not tolerate defeat, again. Demands of a rematch over poker because he is having too much fun. Demands of any game at all, because Ajax loves to play, and he loves to learn - Go, mahjong, it matters not. They read, too; Zhongli sat on his most comfortable sofa, Ajax's head in his lap, and sometimes they are reading their own material, and sometimes Zhongli reads aloud, and every time it is perfectly prosaic. Yet prosaic could never be enough for Zhongli to describe how simple their evenings are, how they fall into each other's arms, how they fall into each other's embrace, and how they fall into each other's kiss.
He misses how easy it is.
How easy it is, to be them, just them, just Zhongli and Ajax. How they fit together like they were designed for each other, and he has never held true with the idea of soul mates even across 6,000 years, and yet when Ajax is with him, Zhongli cannot help but notice how his soul does indeed settle into something happy. How naturally they fall into each other's rhythms, how naturally they find each other, time and time and time again —
"Xiansheng?"
He misses Ajax's voice.
"Xiansheng!"
He misses…
"Xiansheng, what is with that yearning expression!?"
"I missed you, Ajax."
"…..I was only gone for the day!"