𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙇'𝙎 𝙎𝙉𝘼𝙍𝙀 ! genshin impact

────── 04.

C H A P T E R  IV .
ᶠᵃᵗᵉ'ˢ ʷᵃʸʷᵃʳᵈ ᵉᵖⁱᵗʰᵉᵗ

【✧】

THE LIGHT OF THE FIRE BEFORE YOU ILLUMINATED YOUR FOCUSED GAZE ON YOUR KNITTING NEEDLES, a warm glow cast across the smooth hickory surface. They'd been imported from the docks of Liyue and were crafted with Sandbearer Wood, sturdy and steadfast beneath harsh conditions and severe weather. You've owned them for a good few years now, and they have yet to let you down.

Maybe its gifter could take a tip or two from them, you thought to yourself sourly, knowing that you sounded utterly ridiculous despite it being in your head. They were an inanimate object. He was not. There were obvious disparities between the two, and nothing you could craft would be able to justify them.

A sigh brushed past your lips as you pushed a knot of yarn through a loop, looking up from your work to check on the kids a few paces away from you. They seemed to be perfectly happy cutting snowflakes out of paper and drawing doodles with crayons, but you were sure they would eventually beg to be let out outside. Children had a type of energy that you couldn't seem to match, even with your very best efforts.

You stifled a laugh as your friend, who was supposed to be supervising them, readily joined in with the rest of the students, scissors in hand and a content smile on her face. Well, at least there was someone here who was just as energetic. Inessa had always been keen on mischief as a kid, and not one bit of it had disappeared when she grew older.

You turned your attention back to your half finished scarf -- a rich blue with stripes of white running through it, accompanied by ivory stars that dotted the space in between. You'd originally planned it to be for you, since your current one was beginning to fray, but it reminded you a little too much of a certain black-haired individual. You entertained the thought that you would give him it the next time he tried to visit you unannounced.

Your fingers, once idle while your gaze dwindled from them, began to continue their constant motions of tying knots and threading yarn through holes. Your mind wandered to mundane topics; what would you have for dinner? Were you missing anything for your lecture tomorrow? Did you forget to put aside some money for your ailing mother?

A knock echoed throughout the room. You blinked, broken out of your absentminded stupor, beginning to stand up from your comfortable position.

Inessa was faster. "I'll get it, _____! Give me a second, guys, I'll be right back."

You nodded pliantly, slowly lowering yourself back into your seat. A song silently danced on your lips, the words muted and foreign as you returned to your state of indolent bliss. You heard conversation behind you, the voices that intertwined with children's giggles familiar and warm, for a mere few seconds before it drifted away.

Inessa tapped your shoulder, a scheming grin revealing her pearly white teeth. "Someone's here to see you. Wanna guess who it is?"

You rolled your eyes playfully, placing your partially finished scarf on your desk. "Please, I have better things to do than play along with your games."

"Oh, you're no fun," The brunette pouted, before quickly lighting up again and elbowing your side, "Loverboy's back again. He's brought something with him too."

You could already feel your remaining vestiges of energy draining out of you like a leaky pipe. "You're joking."

"Sweetheart, you know that I never joke about things like this." Inessa hummed, an impish look glinting in her chocolate brown eyes.

"Sometimes I wish you did." You groaned, slumping in your chair in defeat. The prospect of staying inside, away from the biting wind and the ever-present cold and especially him, seemed even more tempting than before.

Inessa clicked her tongue, hooking her arm around yours and pulling you to your feet. "C'mon, give him a chance. He's been chasing after you for, what, twelve something years now? You have to at least acknowledge his dedication."

You snorted in protest, swatting away your friend's hand before smoothing out the wrinkles on your shirt. "That was years ago, Nessa. He can't possibly still like me. And, besides, after all of that..."

A heavy silence stretched out between the two of you. It felt like it was crushing your lungs, like a lump of burdensome lead, preventing you from uttering another word.

Everyone knew what had happened that day. The day where he'd disappeared and mysteriously came back, as if the same force that had taken him pushed him back to where he had been. He came back different. He came back a warrior.

Before, he was timid, always hiding behind your back and cowering in front of the Fatui troops that occasionally came around to patrol. He always floundered aimlessly for your hand, following you around like a duckling would do to its mother. He hesitated, not knowing whether he should take the plunge, always weighing his decisions before he made a move.

But after that day, something in him changed. He'd become cocky. He picked fights for the sake of mere enjoyment, to simply lose himself in the madness of fervor from battle. He seemed to revel in the negative attention, using it to spark more conflict, eagerly watching as people crumpled to the ground before him. He was always searching for someone stronger than him, someone to beat him within an inch of his life, someone to overpower the flame inside him.

He had become so unpredictable, so chaotic. You wondered what had compelled you to stay by his side, to wash the blood off his face and bandage his injuries, to continue being his friend when the whole village had begun to shun him.

You closed your eyes. You could speak again. "...I'll go. I trust you'll be able to watch my students?"

Inessa gave you a reassuring smile and two thumbs up. "I got you. Do what you have to do."

You nodded, rolling back your shoulders and striding over to the door. You took a deep breath, taking one last moment to memorize the scents inside -- the waxy smell of crayons, the burnt ashes of wood, and a faint perfume of cinnamon and vanilla that seemed to always follow your friend.

Your hand twisted the doorknob, firmly slamming it shut behind you.

You were greeted with white. A familiar sight, yet beautiful nonetheless; you never seemed to get tired of the rolling mountains of snow, untouched and as pale as the moon. It seemed almost idyllic, detached from the turbulent condition of the rest of the Tsaritsa's domain. A perfect paradise where everything was in a constant state of tranquility.

Then that was when you saw him.

He stuck out like a sore thumb against the alabaster scenery. Titian hair, the same color as his younger brother's, was brushed messily against his head, wayward strands sticking out from all sides. His porcelain cheeks were ruddy with anticipation, reddened by the freezing air that had a penchant for nipping at exposed skin. His eyes were like deep pools of water, the bottomless pits of the darkest ocean, beckoning one to explore what else it held.

"Ajax." You breathed.

The beginnings of a wide smile tugged at his lips. "_____."

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[ double update today bc i wrote too much and i had to split it in half lmao!! hoping y'all like these frequent updates,, it's the first time i've been motivated to write in months sobs </3 happy belated birthday to childe,, ur cool i guess i literally cannot write u ]