Chapter Text
Being covered in each other’s bodily fluids was much less fun the morning after. Once the excitement wears off, one becomes all-too-aware of how gross they feel and how much everything smells.
Rei groaned as he pried himself out of Ajax’s arms, grimacing as his sticky skin peeled away from his. “…ow…ow…” he mumbled as he pulled himself free. He cursed himself internally for letting himself make such a mess. He’s a grown adult with centuries of life experience under his belt! He should’ve known better than to let himself doze off like that.
Ajax mumbled in weak protest as Rei escaped the sticky, foul-smelling embrace. His hair was matted into clumps and he couldn’t even lift his face out of the pillow it was buried in. If Rei hadn’t known any better, he would’ve assumed the man was hungover instead of fucked into oblivion.
“Ajax,” Rei nudged him, “get up. You need a bath, and these sheets need to be changed.”
Ajax mumbled something that was probably an attempt at saying “five more minutes”, but Rei wasn’t sure.
“…” He sighed, unable to help but take pity on his exhausted partner. Glancing at the window, he saw that the sun was still putting distance between itself and the horizon. “…fine. I’ll go bathe first. You can sleep in a bit longer.”
All he received was another mumble in response, this time completely incomparable to any known language. Rei sighed again and hobbled out of bed, grabbing a blanket to wrap around his waist before he limped to the bathroom.
He was very, very grateful that Hayato had stayed at his friend’s house overnight. He needed to recover before he could do any parenting.
He couldn’t help but wince when he saw himself in the mirror. His hair was tangled into clumps, his neck and shoulders were marred with hickeys, and his face was crusted with all manner of fluids. Gross. He hoped his complete loss of self-control was just a result of making up for lost time, and not the start of a regular occurrence between himself and Ajax.
(But… would anything be a regular occurrence with Ajax? After all… surely he would be returning to Sneznhaya before long, wouldn’t he?)
He pushed the painful thought out of his mind and stepped into the shower, feeling the fresh water turn from faintly lukewarm to pleasantly hot against his skin. He let out a sigh of relief as he felt last night’s grime wash off of his body, flowing off of him and swirling down the drain.
He paused for a moment, glancing down at his stomach. Somehow, he already knew that nothing had occurred inside of him last night. Realistically, Hayato was a one-in-a-million miracle that wasn’t about to happen again any time soon, if at all. However, the thought didn’t sting nearly as much as he thought it would. The idea of a large family, especially shared with Ajax, did fill him with a sense of longing… but if all fate would give him was Hayato, then he was perfectly content with that.
…besides, in the sobering light of day, he was a bit less keen on going through pregnancy and childbirth again. Maybe he could consider adoption, though that would be much later down the line.
A knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts. The door cracked open slightly, revealing Ajax’s tired smile on the other side. “Got room for two in here?”
“Yes,” Rei replied, “get in here before you stink up my whole house.”
Ajax stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself before joining Rei in the shower. He stuck his head under the stream of water, letting it soak through his hair.
“I hope you’re not expecting another round,” Rei mumbled, crossing his arms. “I’m too sore.”
Ajax laughed lightly. “Are you kidding? I’ve got nothing left. If you made me cum, nothing would come out of my dick besides just a little puff of dust.” To further drive home his point, he made a little ‘poof’ sound, complete with a similar gesture.
Despite himself, that made Rei chuckle softly. Ajax looked at him with the delight of a child opening up a new toy. “Was that a laugh? Did I just make you laugh?”
Rei stubbornly flicked water into his face. “No, you didn’t. You’re the least funny person in Teyvat and I hate you.”
“I totally did.” Ajax snickered. “Here, lemme wash your hair.”
“Huh?” Rei blinked. “Why? I can reach it myself. I’m not that sore.”
Ajax was already grabbing the bottle of soap. “Aw, come on, it’s nice and domestic to wash each other, isn’t it?”
Domestic? The idea made Rei’s cheeks feel a bit warm, but he chose to blame that on the water. “…fine. But don’t expect me to do the same.”
“It’s fine, I know you can’t reach.”
“…brave of you to make comments like that when I could so easily grab your dick and rip it off.”
Ajax, ever the bastard, only laughed at that instead of being properly threatened by it. “Alright, alright, sorry… but you did kind of walk into that one, admit it.” Once his hands were appropriately sudsy, he held them up. “Now, turn around.”
Rei rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Ajax’s touch was tender as he massaged the shampoo into Rei’s scalp, working through all of the matted clumps of hair with ease. He whistled as he worked away at his task, while Rei felt his entire body relax. Were he not standing under the running water, he could’ve easily fallen asleep under Ajax’s gentle hands. If he were a cat, certainly he’d have started purring.
And then Ajax ruined it by collecting water in his hands to then unceremoniously dump on top of Rei’s head.
He sputtered and spit the soapy water out of his mouth, wiping his wet fringe out of his face as he glared at Ajax. “Hey, what the hell!?”
Ajax laughed without the decency to look guilty at all. “Whoops, couldn’t help it!”
Rei’s anger boiled over and he lunged at Ajax, causing the two of them to go down in a heavy thud of slippery limbs.
—
It took a bit to recover from the shower incident.
Once they had both managed to get off the floor without slipping (and were able to verify that no, Ajax did not crack his head open on the tile) they finished up washing and set about starting their day. For his crimes, Ajax was sentenced to laundry duties, while Rei stepped into the kitchen to make breakfast.
Thanks to Hayato’s presence, Rei had gotten in the habit of eating every day. It became a source of routine comfort for him, even if his body had no physical need for food. Sometimes, when he forgot to make himself his own portion of food, he even found himself feeling what must be what humans describe as ‘hunger’. That was the power of habit-forming, he supposed.
Besides, even if he didn’t get into the habit of eating in the morning, it just felt right to make Ajax something for breakfast. After all, Abyssal influences aside, he was still mostly human. Even if Rei had no appetite or hunger, Ajax surely would.
“Something smells good.” Rei heard Ajax approach behind him. He placed his chin on top of the smaller man’s head as he cooked, wrapping his arms around his waist.
“Don’t make me mess up the food,” he scolded.
Ajax continued, unbothered. “What are you making?”
“Rice and tamagoyaki.” He put a lid on the pot of rice to let it sit off the heat for a moment. “And I’m warming up some pita bread to go with it.” He had gotten in the habit of cooking a blend of Inazuman and Sumerian food for Hayato, and figured that would do just fine for Ajax as well.
“Perfect, because I’m starving.” He let out a dramatic groan of pain. “Hurry up, Scara, or I’m gonna waste away…!”
“Starve, then.”
“…hey.” Ajax’s pout was clear in his tone, Rei didn’t even have to see him to know it was there. “You’re so mean to me.”
He folded the tamagoyaki without a care in the world for Ajax’s plight. “Apparently you like that about me, so you only have yourself to blame.”
“Well, true, but still.”
Rei huffed in amusement. “Stop whining and go set the table. It’ll be ready in a minute.”
Ajax reluctantly pried himself off of Rei. “Fine, fine… I’ll be right back.”
Once the food was finished and the table was set, Rei settled into a seat beside Ajax. The other man made no effort to seem polite as he devoured his share of the food like a wild animal, with an appetite that could’ve put ten Hayatos to shame.
(Well, he must’ve gotten it from somewhere.)
“This is delicious!” Ajax exclaimed when he emerged for air.
Rei gave him a disgusted look. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“Oh, gods.” He swallowed, wiping off his mouth with a napkin. “You really are a dad now.”
A bit flustered by the accuracy of the accusation, Rei crossed his arms and looked away. “What, did it take you this long to notice?”
Ajax laughed softly, pausing to take a sip of his juice before piping up again. “Oh yeah, speaking of which, when are we picking up Hayato?”
The use of ‘we’ made something suspiciously emotion-like flutter inside of Rei’s chest. “We didn’t agree on a time, but probably soon. Can’t have the old married couple thinking I abandoned the kid with them.”
“Are they actually old, or…?”
“No, they’re barely in their thirties. They just argue like they’ve been married sixty years instead of six.”
Ajax laughed again. “Reminds me of someone.”
“Oh, trust me,” Rei scoffed, “we are not as bad as them.”
“Really? Then I’m surprised they haven’t killed each other yet, then. Hopefully they wait until after we pick up Hayato.” He smiled, amusement shining in his usually dull eyes, before he let out a sigh. “…man, I still can’t believe I’ve got a kid.” His tone was wistful, yet had a tinge of guilt in it.
Rei frowned. “Ajax, it’s not your fault. If anything, it’s mine. I’m the one who went and got erased from memory.”
“I know, I know.” He raised a hand defensively. “Still… I can’t help but feel like I missed out, y’know?”
Despite everything, Rei felt a touch of warmth at Ajax’s clear desire to be a part of his son’s life. “Look at it this way,” he tried to lighten the mood, “you didn’t have to be around for the diaper-changing era.”
His words did little to ease Ajax’s melancholy. “I guess… but I still rather have been there.”
“Well…” Rei looked down at his plate, then back up at Ajax. “I’ve never taken him fishing before, so he doesn’t know how to.”
That worked. Ajax’s expression lit up. “He hasn’t? Well — if he has my blood in his veins, surely he’ll be a master in no time.”
Rei couldn’t help but smile a bit. “We can go to the docks later, after we pick him up.”
“That sounds like a plan I can get behind. Oh, wait, but—“ Ajax’s eyes widened, as if he nearly forgot something. “Before we do anything, I need to find where the post office is.”
“Huh?” Rei raised a brow in confusion. “Why? Are you already writing to your family?”
Ajax shook his head. “No, no, I actually need to submit my request for long-term leave to the Tsaritsa.”
“Oh.” A beat of silence passed. “Wait, what?”
Ajax looked at him like the explanation should be obvious. “Uh, I just reunited with the love of my life and discovered I had a kid with him. What, do you think I’d be going back to work after this? I have six years worth of dad-ing to catch up on!”
Rei was still reeling. “But — you’re a Harbinger, and surely the Tsaritsa’s little scheme is in its final phases at this point. How are you going to get time off?”
“Well… honestly, I think the Jester and the Tsaritsa both don’t know what to do with me anymore,” he replied with a shrug. “The ‘beat up threats to the plan’ phase has ended, seems like, and now we’re firmly in the ‘lie and scheme and plot’ phase. Why else would I be sent here to run errands with the Akademiya?”
“…ah.” That’s right, Ajax’s role in the Tsaritsa’s plans were mostly in the early phases, training up soldiers and taking out any threats before they could arise. The later stages would basically be like a giant game of chess versus the gods… which definitely wasn’t Ajax’s strong suit. The man wasn’t a fool, as much as he acted like one, but he was too direct with his approach to be of much use in political schemes.
“I’m sure the Tsaritsa would approve my request. I could also maybe swing some things to get myself a long-term station here in Sumeru, though that is probably gonna have to wait until the Gnosis campaign is done… either way, I’ll probably have to go back and forth between here and Sneznhaya a lot, but that’s fine by me. I’ve always been good with boat rides.”
Something inside of Rei’s chest was slowly getting warmer. “So you — you’re going to try and stay here? With me?”
“Of course.” Ajax beamed. “I’m not letting you slip away from me again. Although…” He leaned back in his seat, his expression contemplative. “I did spot your new Vision… which means we absolutely have to spar soon. If I don’t get to see your new abilities in action soon, I might just die.”
Rei groaned and rolled his eyes. “Ugh. Some things never change.” He paused, before sighing. “…fine. We can spar, but not today. And not in front of Hayato. You can teach him how to properly channel violent urges when he’s old enough to have a conscience.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man on earth.”
“Shut up.”
Ajax laughed heartily, the sound bright with genuine joy. The two of them settled back into eating their breakfast, a lull in the conversation growing while their mouths were too occupied with food to talk.
That only stopped Ajax from chattering for a little while, though. “Right, uh,” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, swallowing his mouthful of food. “What are you gonna tell Hayato? About me, I mean.”
“Hm.” Rei honestly hadn’t thought about that yet. “We don’t have to tell him anything for now. You can just be the random guy I met in Port Ormos who won’t go away.”
“Fair enough, but what about later on? Are you gonna tell him that he’s not adopted?”
Rei drummed his fingers on the table, thinking carefully. “…yeah. I’ll tell him eventually. Probably won’t wait too long… but I’ll give you time to win him over, first.” Ajax chuckled in response to that, but his response was a bit muted compared to what Rei expected. “What’s wrong?”
Ajax fidgeted with his fork. “…Ah, it’s… it’s nothing. Just sudden nerves.”
“You? Nervous? Color me surprised.”
“Ahah, I know, it’s not like me at all, but…” He rubbed at the back of his neck, averting his gaze. “Suddenly I’m just starting to worry if I’ll be a good dad.”
Rei hadn’t expected him to worry about that. He was such a natural family man that exuded confidence in himself. “Huh? Why wouldn’t you? If I can do it, anyone can. Besides, I think he likes you already.”
“Well…” He sighed. “He’d find out who I really was eventually.”
“Who you really —? Oh.” Rei’s metaphorical heart sank. “…right.”
“Yeah, I’ve had to go through this with a bunch of my siblings at this point. It’s never any easier to break the news to a kid that looks up to you, y’know?” He smiled joylessly. “Even if he does like me, someday I’d have to tell him who I really am, and where I go whenever I go back to Sneznhaya.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
“…I think it’ll be fine,” Rei responded quietly.
“How are you so sure?”
“I’m not,” he admitted, “but I still think it’ll work out. I think he’ll love you, and he’ll love having another dad and knowing where he came from. Even if the truth’s a bit hard… I doubt he would turn on you.”
Ajax let out a dry chuckle. “Well, your gut feeling is as good as anything, I guess. I’ll trust your word.” He looked down at his plate and then over at Rei’s, jumping on the subject change when it presented itself. “Are you done eating? Here — since you cooked, I’ll do the dishes.”
Rei was more than willing to let the conversation shift. “Hah, look at you, finally developing some manners.” He handed over his plate. “Once you’re done, we’ll go pick up Hayato and make sure he’s in one piece.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Ajax took the plate and walked over to the sink.
Before he could get started washing, Rei turned to look at him. “Ajax?” He blurted a bit impulsively.
“Yeah?”
Rei cleared his throat awkwardly, the tips of his ears feeling a bit warm. “…I missed you.”
The smile Ajax returned felt like coming home. “I missed you too.”