Rainy Day Tavern // A Chaeya Fic

Interlude

Summary: Kaeya is met with a person he has longed to see for years

~

The rain drizzles outside the tavern window. It's quiet, peaceful. Kaeya is alone once more, as he has always been. He closes his eyes and dreams of the old days. It's uncomfortable, having his feelings displayed in front of him in the form of rain. It was like that one story from Fontaine, where the Hydro Dragon would cry. It had taken ages for Kaeya to notice how the rain here in this part of Mondstadt reflected his thoughts and feelings.

The wind breezes past, likely a message that he cannot decipher, but there are loud, thundering footsteps, sloshing in the rain, the movements different to Diluc or Jean's, whenever they visit. It's familiar, he doesn't want to get his hopes up. There have been many times Kaeya thinks he can hear the footsteps of Ajax approaching the tavern. Every time he looks out the window, there is no one there. This is just another one of his hallucinations, he's sure of it.

He startles as soon as the tavern door opens. It's just the wind, it's just the wind, it's just the-

"Kaeya." Breathless.

"Tartajax?"

There was no way.

Kaeya immediately gets over the bar to clean off the blood on Ajax's face, how has he not realised? The ginger stumbles backwards a little, surprised for some reason. He probably got into another fight before coming here. Was it nerves or something else, he wondered? It's dripping from his head, and yet when he checks for injuries, there are none. Already healed. The blood is dried too, not fresh. It flakes off, Ajax grimaces a little. He shakes Ajax's shoulders immediately afterwards. There's the small noise of crystals falling to the ground, his tears, probably.

"Why?" he demands, begs, and cries. Ajax just looks away, guilt eating him up inside. You couldn't blame Kaeya, it's been nine years too long since he's seen his stupid ginger.

"The Tsaritsa..." Ajax falls into silence, eyes fluttering shut as he sighs before placing his hands on Kaeya's shoulders. "Kae, look at me." Reluctantly, the bartender looked up into Ajax's eyes. Purple, like the sky during an Inazuman storm. Beautiful yet dangerous. The light never reflected quite right, devoid of that spark. It's not the same ocean blue he had fallen in love with, but it is Ajax all the same. "Whatever excuses I made aren't acceptable, I should have confronted you about this as soon as I found out. I stayed quiet for too long, and I was dragged off to go fight in the war. I know I should've talked to you about it, and I'm sorry."

For a moment, all is silent, tension running through the air. Kaeya sighs after a moment, nodding. "I believe you. The reason I never told you was because... Well, I never knew I was a ghost. I woke up with no recollection of how I died, just that I had to get back to my shift at the tavern. If I had known... I can't guarantee it wouldn't have turned out like this, but I never meant to deceive you."

"It took me a while to realise when I had died, I can't blame you for not knowing." Kaeya's eyes widen as he looks at Ajax in concern. He notices the scars all over Ajax. He wonders if Ajax could feel the slight horns left behind from what he believes is Ajax's Abyss Transformation, whatever it was called.

He had died during a war. Kaeya feels his mouth run dry. Ajax had died too. What made him stay on the border? To say goodbye to his siblings, more than likely. Kaeya was just... A pit stop along the way, something to put his mind at ease. Probably anyway. Either way...

"I'm sure you fought well," Kaeya whispers as he pulls Ajax into an embrace. He's surprised by the sudden wetness on his shoulder as Ajax buries his head into Kaeya's shoulder. Kaeya doesn't say anything, though, consoling the soldier who had fought for his country. His sacrifices were not in vain; Kaeya was confident.