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You watch as both of your feet sink deeper into the fine sands of Yaoguang Shoal, a soft giggle falling from your lips. "Yeah, I still remember," You respond, only to steal another look at your red-haired lover. It was moments like this that you would like carved into your heart. Just you and him alone–and maybe a few crabs and falcons. The sweetest of laughs mingle in the air as he lays on his back, giggling his heart out. "You looked like a wet rat!" Childe wheezes–but then chokes when you throw sand into his open mouth. Of course he wouldn't let that rainy night go. The memory of the two of you running around Liyue Harbor with almost no one around as you danced, and kissed, and danced some more, then returning to his fancy inn where– "Hey!" He shouts, sitting up to shoot you a mock-glare once he's calmed down from his fit of coughs. "You're so mean to me..."
You scoff, pinching his waist while he rolls away in laughter. "Says you!" You chase after him, making sure to avoid the starconches that littered the beach. It was quite rare for the two of you to have small quiet moments. Childe was always abroad to wherever his missions took him while you stayed in Liyue, working your ass off almost everyday. So you make sure to remember, clicking photos in your head about how his hair shone a brighter orange under the heat of the summer sun, the way his eyes crinkle ever so slightly when his cheeks turn up to form the most saccharine of smiles, and how he trips over his own two feet while running away from you. "Ah!" You almost miss his arm as he falls down, and you wish you did because maybe this time–if he fell into the water–it would have been your turn to call him a wet rat . But you're also glad you did catch Childe because this sight of him, smiling and breathless as he lets his head hang with his eyes closed, was better than any view you've ever seen before. The way you could barely see the freckles littered across his cheek as the redness of it all almost covered it up, and how he just looked so high in bliss. Archons, how you wish you could kiss him as many freckles he had on his face.
"Ajax," You're also breathless, you realize, as you let go of his arm once he had gotten a hold of himself. You wonder if it was all the running you did or simply his beautiful existence. Childe hums and sits back on the ground right beside you, promptly leaning his head on your shoulder. "Your visits back here in Liyue always seem to be too short."
You hear him sigh, nuzzling his face in your neck as he takes a quick whiff of your scent. It reminds him of the flowers you once told him about one time when he took you to Mondstadt for a short vacation. What was it called again? Lily of the...something. Childe wasn't one for flowers, but in contrast, you quite loved them. And perhaps he could love flowers too, since he liked loving the things you love. "I know..." He pouts, deciding that your lap looked much more comfy than your shoulder. A soft sigh escapes his red lips once again, and he looks up to meet eyes with you. You looked like an angel like this, he thinks, as the blinding rays of sun shone over your head to form a halo.
"I'm sorry," Childe whispers as he tucks a stray piece of hair back behind your ear, caressing your face right after with the most tender of touches. It's incredible that a man as rough and dangerous as him could be so soft and gentle when it came to handling you. It was as if Childe was a different person whenever you're near.
"I know. You're not to blame," You scrunch your nose as you pinch his freckled cheek, laughing at his cute reaction. Of course, you were aware of what he did for a living, but was it so wrong for you to look through rose-tinted glasses at least once? Maybe. But then again, even if it was wrong, you'd still do it. You'd do anything for him.
Childe.
Tartaglia.
Ajax.
And whatever else people liked to call him. To you, he's still the man with soft orange locks and ocean blue eyes that swept you off your feet. He's still yours, like he promised to be.
You watch as Childe plays with the golden band on your ring finger, smiling to himself. To think that he was the infamous 11th Fatui Harbinger everyone feared on the battlefield... If they saw him like this would they laugh or would they be even more terrified? You weren't sure if you liked his duality, but you might as well enjoy the present as it is. With you, he is Ajax, your sweet lover. You don't care how he presents himself in front of others.
"Would you send me off tomorrow morning?" Childe tilts his head up to sneak you a glance, his classic puppy eyes up for display. He was always like this whenever he wanted something from you, and he knew you could never have the heart to deny him. You shake your head at his antics, carding your hands through his ginger locks the way he likes it.
"Of course." You always do.
"I'll send you letters, okay?" Childe holds your face in both hands, tilting your head up just a little bit so he could lay his forehead on yours. After two weeks, he was leaving for Snezhnaya once again to do whatever it is that he did as a Harbinger. You often catch yourself worrying about him a little too much, but he's Childe and he always keeps his promises. "I'll come back, don't worry." He gives you an eskimo kiss and you giggle, eliciting a soft chuckle from him.
"Promise?" You open your eyes and hold out your pinky finger. It may come off as a bit childish to others, but it feels good to be like this. It felt good to be happy with someone you held close to your heart. "Promise," And he leans in to give you a fleeting kiss on your pouting lips.
"That's it?" You ask, grabbing onto the collar of his red shirt as you try to pull him back in for more. Childe doesn't budge, of course, and only laughs at your feeble attempts. He thinks you could be so shameless(titillating) sometimes, but it only makes him fall deeper than he already was. He liked this side of you. Although rare, it was nice seeing you be a bit more... provocative, and assertive with what you wanted (he thinks you're too selfless at times).
"Let it linger," Childe whispers, no more than a breath away as he brushes his gloved thumb over your velvet lips. "So while I'm away, you'll miss me greatly." He wraps a hand around your waist, pulling you closer. "And when I come home, you are more than elated."
You're unable to say another word when he so suddenly slips away from your fingers and jogs to where his ship waited, running backwards just so he could wave at you one last time with a bright smile. You could barely see him as he was already too far away, but your hearing is clear, and you are sure of yourself when you catch him saying, "I love you". In the sweetest way.
The months pass by like seconds as your job helped you keep your mind off of the fact that the left side of the bed was a lot colder, and there were no tufts of ginger hair for you to bury your face into. It distracted you from your bedsheets that are starting to smell like clean laundry and not ocean waves, and how you're back to drinking coffee and not that drink you forgot the name of but he liked it so much, and how the sun didn't seem to shine as bright as it used to. It was as if everything was so dull and bleak whenever he wasn't there. As if the world was starting to look as black and white as it did before you met him.
"Is that all of the crates?" You ask, writing every shipment down on your little handy notepad. It was now the peak of summer, and everyone was either going on vacation or sweating their ass off from the heat. You were the latter.
"Pretty sure that's all of it!" Donghai chucks the last piece of cargo onto the ship and wipes off the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. You had been working with Donghai for the past few years here in Liyue Harbor, and for as long as you've been stuck with him, he was pretty good company. The job you had wasn't really big time, you mostly just had to list down the stuff that went on and off the ship, but if you were unlucky and they had a lack of staff, you were forced to carry a few lighter crates. "It sure is hot out here," Donghai sits on the concrete where you were sitting, letting his now slipperless feet dip slightly in the water in an attempt at cooling off. He takes a peek at you, observing your silence. He had noticed you weren't as cheerful as you used to be the past few months, and naturally, he was worried. Although he wasn't significantly older than you (maybe two or three months), he thought of you as how an older brother would.
"Ya good?" He nudges his shoulder with yours which earns him a glare. Donghai chuckles and pats your head. It seems like you weren't in the mood for talking. "Well," He stands up and brushes off the dust on his pants and slips on his dark blue slippers. "Just know I'm here for ya if ya need anything, alright?"
You hum and shoot him a small smile. You were glad you had a friend like him.
"Excuse me!" You push through the forming crowd near the docks, running as fast as your legs could take you. After long, long days apart, he was finally coming back. "Watch where you're going!" A man shouts, but you pay him little mind, only yelling a short "sorry!" before scurrying off to the oncoming ship from Snezhnaya. None of these people knew how absolutely empty you felt the following months he's been away, and even if they did know, none of them would understand. That hollow feeling inside your chest, the world's color slowly fading away, how it was almost unbearable to get out of bed, and how hard it was to look at the world when every little thing reminded you of–
"Childe!"
His head whips over to your direction, seeing you frantically waving your hands in the air and jumping up and down to catch his attention. Just the sight of him like this made your heart ache from pure joy. It was as if he got so much more beautiful as the days passed by. The freckles that littered his cheeks were like the starconches in Yaoguang Shoal, his blue eyes that mimicked the vast oceans of Liyue, his burnt orange hair that shone brighter than the evening sun, and Archons, that smile. That smile that could swoop both men and women off of their feet. He was just so, so awe-strikingly beautiful.
Childe rushes over to you in haste, carelessly leaving his luggage behind for his subordinates to carry. At this moment, nothing in the world mattered to him more than being in your arms again. And once he's in reach, the words die in your mouth when he picks you up from where you're standing and spins you around in the air, uncaring of the stares you both received before swooping in for the most passionate of kisses. And it's just so incredibly sweet, you think. The taste of his lips after a long time apart.