Work Text:
I Ajax
“Mama!” Ajax groaned as small feet kicked his back again. He sat up and was met with the sight of a small girl with bright red eyes and wild, wavy ginger locks. She looked angry, which was normal for her. Aside from the shape of her eyes, the color of her hair, and the freckles scattered all over her face and shoulders, she looked every bit like her father.
“Star, sweetheart, can you please let me sleep. Mama’s tired,” he groaned, rubbing where she’d kicked him. Diluc was already out of bed, probably in his office. Star was clearly enjoying the freedom that came with her new toddler bed.
“I wan’ cookies, Mama!” Star yelled. “Get out o’ bed!”
“You already had cookies this morning. Stop trying to steal more, you little thief,” Diluc said. Ajax looked up just in time to see the redhead lifting their daughter up by her ankle. She squealed and broke out into giggles as she swung upside down above the bed. “Maybe we should put the crib back in your room, huh? You shouldn’t be kicking your mother.” Diluc gave her a stern look and she pouted.
“I wan’ cookies,” she said.
“Apologize.” Diluc basically dropped her back on the bed. Star wiggled until she could sit back upright.
She looked at Ajax with the most pitiful pout he’d ever seen. “Sowwy, Mama.”
“Thank you for apologizing. Please don’t do that again. That really hurt,” he responded. His back was already sore from being five months pregnant. He was exhausted. But Star was right about one thing. He probably should get out of bed before he slept in too late.
“She had an omelet for breakfast. I can ask Adelinde to make one for you, if you’d like,” Diluc said. Star climbed off the bed and ran out of their bedroom, probably going to find something to get into again. She was quite the little thief.
Ajax stood up and stretched his arms over his head. “That sounds really good actually,” he said around a yawn. “Ooh, can she put mushrooms and onions in it?”
“Of course. I’ll go check on Star and ask her to get started on that. Try not to take too long coming downstairs. Adelinde might not be happy if you let your food get cold again.” Diluc kissed his cheek, a small amused smile on his face. Ajax watched him leave the room before he set about getting dressed.
Downstairs was quiet. Diluc had Star in his lap at the table as he sorted through the mail that morning. Ajax’s breakfast was already on the table, along with a cup of warm tea. The omega sat down and dug into his breakfast immediately, his stomach rumbling at the very sight of the food.
“Anything interesting today?” He asked after taking a drink of his tea.
“No,” Diluc answered. “Some letters from businesses abroad. Oh. Never mind. Here. You’ve got a letter from Tonia.” He passed an envelope over to Ajax.
“How much do you want to bet Teucer insisted she send a drawing he made with it?” Ajax smiled as he opened the letter. It was like most of her letters, updating him on how the family was doing and asking when he could next visit. She even asked if he could bring Star the next time he visited, stating that she missed her little niece.
And sure enough, there was a drawing Teucer had made. A drawing of a ruin guard, and what Ajax guessed was Teucer sitting on top of it. “Another one for the collection on the wall,” he said, holding it up for Diluc to see.
“We’re running out of space for those. What happens then?” Diluc tilted his head.
Ajax frowned. “Actually, I don’t really know. I guess we could take down some of the older ones and store them in a box.” He finished his food and tea and stood up. “We’ll figure it out.” He picked up his dishes and brought them to the kitchen. He was in the middle of washing them when Adelinde walked back into the kitchen.
“Master Ajax, I told you I would take care of that,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and frowning at him. It felt a lot like he was being scolded by his mother when she did that.
He smiled at her. “It’s fine. I’ve got it.”
“You shouldn’t be on your feet too much as you get closer to your due date. You’re already dealing with swollen ankles,” she pointed out.
Ajax shrugged. “I mean, yeah, my ankles have been swelling up. But I can just take a bath later and then rest for a bit. Besides, I have to be on my feet a lot. Star is always on the move. I can’t just rely on Diluc and the staff to keep her out of trouble.”
Adelinde didn’t look impressed with his attempts at appeasing her. “Go sit. I’ll clean up,” she said, making a shooing motion. She managed to chase him out of the kitchen and he just sighed and walked back over to the table, sitting down heavily.
“Does she never let you clean, either?” He looked at Diluc. Star had wandered off somewhere. He was a little worried that it was so quiet. “And where is Star?”
“Elzer took Star out to help him pick grapes,” Diluc answered. “And she doesn’t stop me from cleaning. She’s only doing that to you because if you stand there for too long, your ankles will swell again and your feet will get really sore.”
“I told her I could just take a bath,” Ajax grumbled. “Jeez, I’m not incapable of working on anything just because I’m pregnant. This is so annoying.”
“She’s looking out for you. The healthier you are, the healthier the baby is,” Diluc pointed out. “You shouldn’t fight her as hard as you do. You know she’s only doing what she thinks is best for you. Besides, she’s read all the books on this and trained for this exact kind of thing. That's why she’s the head maid.”
“I know. I’m just bored. I mean, I got a good almost two years working my job and fighting and now I’m stuck at home again. As much as I love spending time here with you and Star, I miss getting to go out and fight.” Ajax sighed dramatically.
Diluc hummed. “You’ll be fine. You can go back to all your fighting and such once this next one is a year old and weaned, just like you did with Star.”
“I know,” the omega said. “It’s just difficult to be patient. Honestly, I’m ready for this one to be born already. I’m tired of being pregnant. My back is sore all the time.”
“I could give you a back rub,” Diluc offered.
“I want a bath.”
“I can run you a bath, too. Maybe we can do that later, after we get Star down for a nap.”
~~~
Star did not like naptime. It was kind of like a fight in and of itself getting the cantankerous little toddler to lay down and rest for even an hour.
“Star,” Ajax said, his tone stern. “You need to lay down and rest-”
“Don’ wan’ to!” Star yelled at him, crossing her little arms over her chest and pouting angrily. She was determined to fight him every step of the way.
Ajax took a deep breath. He couldn’t get angry with her. That wouldn’t get them anywhere. “Lay down,” he said again. “You don’t even have to sleep. You just have to rest for a little bit and you can get up and play more later.”
Star threw herself back in her bed and rolled over, facing away from her mother. Ajax just tucked the blanket around her and stood up, using the toddler bed to push himself back up on his feet. He left her room, leaving the door open a crack, and headed to his room.
Diluc was sitting on the bed, waiting for him. He looked up at Ajax and smiled. “I could hear you arguing with her from here.”
“She is so difficult sometimes. I love her, but she’s driving me crazy. I’m too tired to deal with her,” Ajax grumbled, running a hand through his hair and sighing heavily. “I need a bath.”
“Come on.” Diluc led him into the bathroom. He started the bath, making sure it was a good temperature. Once Ajax was undressed, the alpha helped him settle in the bath.
“Are you not getting in with me?” Ajax looked up at him, frowning.
“I figured I could sit outside the tub and massage your back,” Diluc said.
“You could get in the bath and massage my back.” The omega smiled at him.
Diluc relented and soon, Ajax was leaning back against his chest, resting his head on his mate’s shoulder. “These quiet moments are nice,” the alpha murmured, pressing a kiss to Ajax’s temple.
“And few and far between,” Ajax added, chuckling. “Mm. I love our little family, but man do I sometimes miss how quiet it was before this.”
Diluc ran his fingers through soft, ginger hair. “It’ll only get louder with this next one,” he pointed out.
“No kidding. Ugh, I really hope this one isn’t as intense as Star. I could do with a calmer baby. I thought the first one was supposed to be the easiest.” Ajax closed his eyes. “That’s what my mother used to always tell me. My oldest brother was the easiest kid she ever had to take care of. Started sleeping through the night at only three months old. Star didn’t start doing that until she was close to six months, and then she started teething.”
“I remember,” Diluc said, nodding. “I’m sure she might calm down as she gets older. For now, she just has a lot of energy. Just like you.”
“Ugh, I don’t have a lot of energy anymore. Pregnancy takes so much out of you.” He huffed, pouting.
Diluc hummed. “It makes sense. Your body is making an entire new human. Of course it takes a lot of energy.”
“I wish it didn’t take so much energy.” Ajax opened his eyes and looked up at Diluc. “How long do you think we have before Star’s up again?”
“I’d give it an hour. Hour and a half at most,” he answered. “Want to nap?”
“Yeah.”
~~~
Ajax was woken up by small hands tapping on his arm. He opened his eyes and looked up at Star. The moment she saw that he was awake, she crawled over him, kneeing him roughly in the stomach, and snuggled between him and Diluc.
He just sighed and closed his eyes again. If it got her to nap for a little longer, he didn’t mind her snuggling with them.
Except she didn’t sleep. At first, Ajax had hoped that would be the case. Now, she was wiggling and flopping around between them. Diluc grabbed the wiggling toddler and rolled over, placing his body between her and Ajax. That didn’t stop her. She just climbed over her father and flopped between her parents again, giggling.
Diluc frowned at her. “You are being terrible, Star.” She just laughed at that, a big grin on her face.
“We’re not getting any more sleep,” Ajax said as he sat up. “I think she’s made that pretty clear.”
“I wan’ cookies,” Star said, looking up at him with those adorable red eyes. That was her favorite thing to say lately.
“When do you ever not want cookies?” Diluc tickled her ribs and she rolled away from him, squealing.
Ajax smiled. “I don’t think we have any cookies left because she keeps stealing them all.”
“She really does. Adelinde’s tried hiding the jar four or five times now and Star somehow keeps finding them.” Diluc sat up and grabbed Star’s ankle, dragging her back across the bed before setting her on the floor and nudging her toward the door. “Go play.”
“Downstai’s?” She looked up at him curiously.
“Sure. Downstairs.” He nodded and she took off, tripping up in the doorway before running off down the hall.
Ajax leaned back against his pillows. “Man, I’m still tired.”
“You can go back to sleep, if you want. I’ll keep an eye on her for a little while longer. Keep her out of here.” Diluc stood up and stretched, groaning. One of his shoulders popped and he sighed as he rolled it. “I might take her outside and see if I can’t get her to run some of that energy off.”
“Actually, taking a walk outside might help,” Ajax said, standing up. “Maybe some fresh air will help me get some energy back. I’ve been inside too long.”
“Don’t do anything reckless.”
“I won’t.” Diluc narrowed his eyes at Ajax, who threw his hands up. “I won’t! Stop looking at me like that!”
~~~
When Ajax first started living in the Dawn Winery, he wasn’t used to the quiet, calm atmosphere. It made him restless. Now, though, he’d grown to love the quiet. The thing he took even longer to get used to, though, was the constant warmth of Mondstadt.
According to Diluc, it was always warm here. In winter, it would get cooler, but it rarely got cold enough for snow. Apparently that had something to do with Barbatos. It made Ajax wonder exactly how powerful the Anemo Archon was.
“Birds!” He, Diluc, and Star were all outside now. They’d been walking around the winery for the last twenty minutes and Star was chasing everything in sight. Crystalflies, birds, cats. She even managed to find a dog that had wandered up to the winery to steal food the maids left out for the cats.
Diluc was the only one who was actually keeping up with her. He’d carry her back over to where Ajax was walking, then have to run off to chase her down again a few minutes later. Over and over again. Ajax could swear that little girl never ran out of energy. It was a wonder where she got it all.
“She’s like you,” Diluc grumbled, something he often said whenever Star was being difficult. Ajax just rolled his eyes and shrugged.
“She’s a kid. She’s going to have a lot of energy,” he pointed out. “She’ll probably have that much energy for another good few years.”
“I cannot keep up with her,” the redhead groaned, running a hand over his face.
“How in the world did you keep up with me, then?” Ajax crossed his arms, smirking.
Diluc glared at him. “I don’t know. You were a pain in the ass.”
Ajax laughed and shook his head. “Watch your language. Don’t teach our daughter bad habits.”
Diluc opened his mouth to say something, but Ajax turned just in time to see Star trip over a grapevine and go tumbling to the ground. She sat up, looking ready to cry. Diluc walked over and crouched down, picking her up and checking her over for any serious injuries before kissing her forehead. “You’re alright. You’re not hurt,” he said calmly.
Star did not stop pouting for the next five minutes, but she didn’t cry. They decided to sit down on a bench for a bit and Star almost fell off said bench in an attempt to jump up and grab a crystalfly.
“Kaeya mentioned coming over for dinner tonight,” Diluc said. “He stopped by to visit this morning before you woke up.”
“Oh. Are they bringing Klee?” Ajax put his hand out to keep Star from tumbling backward off the bench.
“Probably. It’s rare they ever go anywhere without her these days,” Diluc answered. “I think Star will be happy to have a playmate with just as much energy as her for a little while.”
“Oh, absolutely. We’ll have to make sure they don’t get any ideas and destroy something in the winery, though,” Ajax said, laughing. Diluc just looked tired.
~~~
That evening, Kaeya, Albedo, and Klee all showed up. Klee and Star immediately took off to go play outside. Diluc directed a couple of the maids to keep an eye on the girls.
“Now you know how we feel all the time with Klee,” Kaeya said, chuckling at how tired his brother looked.
“What’s for dinner, Adelinde?” Diluc asked, ignoring Kaeya completely.
Adelinde rolled her eyes at the brothers’ antics, but she looked more amused than annoyed. “I figured we could have some calla lily seafood soup. It’s fairly easy to make and I can make lots of it for everyone,” she said.
“And it’s also one of Kaeya’s favorites,” Ajax added, narrowing his eyes at Adelinde who only smiled in return.
The four of them eventually moved to the table, sitting around it and talking. Kaeya was now complaining about how, despite the fact that he shouldn’t, Albedo had insisted on spending the last week up on Dragonspine.
“It’s the last chance I’ll get to spend up there before the baby’s here,” Albedo interrupted, frowning at his mate.
Kaeya glared at him. “You should have stopped going up there once you found out you were pregnant, Albedo. That mountain is dangerous.”
“I am well aware of that. I have experience with that mountain that the majority of Mondstadters will never have,” Albedo responded.
“Because you eat everything in sight. I remember the last time I went up there. You literally ate a random plant you found buried in the snow!”
Ajax raised an eyebrow. “He at a random plant?”
“I do it to test what the plant might do. You know, to see if it’s poisonous or not. Seeing as I’m not actually human, it won’t actually cause any harm, but I can still tell if it would have any serious negative effects on an actual human,” Albedo explained.
“He claims he hasn’t been eating any random things while he’s pregnant, but I don’t know if I believe him,” Kaeya grumbled, scowling.
Adelinde, with help from some other staff, brought dinner out for them. The girls were brought back inside. It took some convincing to get Star to sit still at the table and just eat her food, but Ajax managed.
Still, she made a mess of it.
~~~
Bedtime rolled around and once again, it was not easy to get Star to lay down and sleep. They had to resort to giving her some warm milk. And a couple cookies as bribery. She eventually agreed to lay down and sleep after that.
Ajax flopped into bed and sighed heavily. “So, how was your day?” He looked at Diluc, smiling.
The alpha huffed, amused. “Exhausting.”
“Mm. Imagine what it’ll be like when the other ones are here?”
“One? You mean one?” Diluc lifted his head, confused.
“No. Ones. Two. There’s two. At least, I’m pretty sure,” Ajax said.
“You’re not serious.”
“Completely. I’m pretty sure there’s two.”
Diluc groaned and buried his face in his pillow. “What are we going to do with two infants?”
“We’ll figure it out, I’m sure.”
~~~
And figure it out, they definitely tried. The two infants came slightly earlier than expected. Two boys. Ajax was overjoyed, but the whole process of labor was exhausting. He ended up stuck on bedrest for two weeks after they were born.
He and Diluc settled on the names Kilian and Aldric. Kilian had bright blue eyes with red hair and freckles all over. He was much fussier than his brother, Aldric, who slept most of the time. Aldric didn’t look exactly like his brother. While he shared bright blue eyes with his brother, his hair was ginger. He also lacked the freckles his brother had.
Now that Ajax was off bedrest, he was back to being all over the place. Even moreso than when he’d been pregnant and only had Star, who was now four, to worry about.
Speaking of Star… She adored her brothers. Ajax had expressed fears that she might not like no longer being the only child. But she was all over her brothers.
A little too much. She tried to climb into their crib four different times. Thankfully, her attempts had not led to any injuries.
It was a lot. Three young children weren’t easy. Even the staff was starting to show signs of stress trying to juggle Star and help with the new twins. Adelinde, of course, would never ask for a break. Even when Ajax tried to offer it, she simply smiled and said she was fine.
Some of the other staff did jump on the opportunity for short vacations, though. Ajax and Diluc didn’t mind. They certainly deserved some time away from the now extra chaotic atmosphere.
Today hadn’t been anything but chaotic. Star demanded she get to nap with her brothers, which was declined. She was not a still sleeper, and they were worried she might kick or punch one of the boys in their heads or something. She wasn’t happy about it, but they did manage to get her to lay down in her own bed for a nap while the boys were sleeping. With the promise they’d wake her when they boys were up again.
Kaeya and Albedo came over again during the kids' nap. They didn’t have Klee with them because she was spending time patrolling with Eula and Amber.
“She kinda reminds me of Diluc,” Kaeya remarked, smiling. He was sipping on a glass of wine.
“Why do you say that? He says she reminds him of me,” Ajax responded. He was laying across the couch with his head in Diluc’s lap while the alpha ran his fingers through his hair.
Kaeya hummed. “When Diluc first met me, though he’ll never admit this, he was absolutely attached to my side for a whole month before he finally backed off a bit. Our father would wake up to find that Diluc had come crawling into my bed in the middle of the night. He’d chase me around. It was a little overwhelming at first, but I realized after a while that his intentions were pure.” The captain chuckled.
Ajax looked up in time to see Diluc roll his eyes. “Don’t listen to him.”
“No, actually, I’m listening. Tell me more. Diluc never talks about when he was a kid.” Ajax looked at Kaeya again.
“Oh, just look at Star. She’s exactly like you, Diluc. You can’t deny it.” Kaeya sat up a little straighter. Albedo was sitting next to him, reading a book he’d found on the shelf. “She’s energetic to a fault. Do you know how many times Diluc fell down the stairs when we were kids because he wouldn’t ever listen to the rule about not running in the house? I lost count. You can look forward to that, by the way. I promise you, Star’s probably going to do the same thing.”
“I knew she got that from you. My mother told me that I wouldn’t even go near a flight of stairs for the first two years of my life. She had to carry me up and down every time.” Ajax gave Diluc an accusatory look. “Star was trying to run up and down the stairs the second she could walk. No, the second she could climb, actually!”
“Diluc was also horrible about getting into anything and everything he shouldn’t,” Kaeya added. “It started out with cookies. They never could hide that damn jar from you. We had to go without any cookies for a good month because he wouldn’t leave them alone.”
Ajax smacked Diluc’s chest. “You liar. She got that from you, too.”
“Actually, according to the stories our grandmother wrote about our father, Diluc got it from him. It’s apparently not uncommon for Ragnvindr’s first children to be the most chaotic and energetic kids of all time.” Kaeya took a sip of his wine. “One of those twins will probably turn out the same, so you’re going to have double trouble on your hands.”
“What does that mean for ours?” Albedo looked at Kaeya through narrowed eyes.
“Nothing? You are aware I’m not biologically related to Diluc, right?”
“I still think that you’ve spent enough time with him that it may have an effect,” Albedo grumbled, shaking his head.
“So, I’m now with a family that just always produces wild, crazy children,” Ajax said. He crossed his arms and glared at Diluc. “Would have been nice to get a warning. And why are you nothing like that now?”
“A lot happened. And besides, once Star hits her teenage years, she’ll calm down. She’ll still have a lot of energy, but she won’t really be as wild as she is now.” Kaeya wrapped his arm around Albedo’s shoulders.
“You owe me a spar for keeping all of this secret,” Ajax said, looking away from Diluc.
“Fine.” Diluc sounded a little amused by that. But it was clear he was still annoyed with Kaeya spilling all his secrets.
The sound of crying caught Ajax’s attention. He got up and headed for the stairs. “One of the boys is awake.”
“The other one’s going to wake up soon,” Diluc pointed out, following him. The two went upstairs. As they walked into the nursery, the other twin started to fuss. Ajax picked Kilian up and stepped back so that Diluc could get Aldric. After changing both twins’ diapers, they brought the boys downstairs.
Kaeya looked up as the two came back downstairs. Ajax walked over to him with Kilian, who had calmed down and was now just cooing quietly. He passed the infant to Kaeya, who smiled, bouncing him in his arms. “He’s adorable.”
“They both are,” Ajax agreed, taking Aldric from Diluc.
“You know, Albedo doesn’t think babies are cute,” Kaeya said, glancing at the alchemist.
Albedo rolled his eyes. “What is there that I should find cute about them?”
Ajax stared at him. “Everything? They’re adorable. Just look!” He held Aldric out for Albedo to see.
The other omega simply shook his head. “I don’t see him the same way you do, I suppose. Maybe my opinion will change once my baby is here.”
“You’re strange,” Ajax said. He carried Aldric over to the couch and sat down with the infant beside Diluc. Kaeya still had Kilian in his arms. He was talking quietly to the infant, who reached up a balled up fist and smacked Kaeya in response. The cavalry captain just laughed.
“We’ll have to head home soon,” Albedo said. “Klee can’t spend all day with Eula and Amber. Eula has other things to take care of today.”
“I guess we should get going. I’ll have to stop by again sometime to say hi to Star again.” Kaeya got up and passed Kilian back to Diluc. “Might have to wait until after ours is here, though. Albedo looks ready to pop.”
“You don’t have to word it like that,” Albedo grumbled as Kaeya helped him stand up.
“Everyone says that, though,” Ajax pointed out. “I even said it about myself before Star and even before the twins got here.”
“It sounds strange.” Albedo looked over his shoulder at him.
Kaeya smiled. “He just takes things too literally. That’s all.”
~~~
“So, when can I get that spar?” Ajax curled up against Diluc’s side. They’d finally gotten the boys down for bed, but Ajax couldn’t sleep now.
“Two months without fighting. You’re still on recovery,” Diluc responded.
Ajax groaned dramatically. “You suck. I want to spar now.”
“You’re still on recovery.” He hated how Diluc repeated things when his mind was made up sometimes.
“Rude.” He glared at the alpha. “You’re rude.”
“I’m taking care of you,” Diluc said, frowning at him. “It’s not my fault that you refuse to listen to me.”
“Man. I love my babies, but the recovery period is awful. I want to fight something. I want to go hunt down hilichurls or something.” Ajax sighed dramatically.
Diluc kissed his forehead. “Two months will go by pretty quickly with those three. You’ll see. Now sleep.”