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It was a light morning after a night of rain. There is the sharp bite of cold in the air, enough to nip at the skin but not enough to frost. For the first time in months, no cannon shots reverberated in the distance. The war was almost over.
Zhongli and Ajax met at their usual spot, a wild, deserted garden up on the hills, overlooking the valley where they lived. For a while, they were content to sit together quietly; Zhongli idly picking at a blade of grass, and Ajax resting his head on Zhongli’s shoulder. Nothing was said, nothing exchanged except the warmth of two bodies next to each other. Things can wait. Words can wait. Silence is a rare commodity these days. They watched the sun slowly rise above the horizon. Ajax let his attention drift, feeling the steady rise and fall of Zhongli’s shoulders. Overhead, little birds chased each other in the air, flitting among the trees until their chirps disappeared in the distance. Ajax shifted in his seat, feeling a spontaneous thought come to mind.
“Would you care to dance?” he murmured softly. It was an entirely impulsive idea; he didn’t normally consider himself a romantic, but perhaps the pent-up stress of the past few months is finally finding its way out, now that he allowed himself to relax. In any case, he stood up and offered his hand.
Zhongli smiled and took the offer, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He stepped close, resting his left hand on Ajax’s arm, allowing the other to cup the small of his back. Ajax’s ruby earring glinted in the early light. He smelled of sun and gunpowder, Zhongli thought. I wish I can remember him so, no matter what awaits us in the future.
And so they danced, amid the crumbling statues covered with vines, and the unclipped hedges blooming with tiny purple flowers. Their boots slid on the wet cobblestone as they spun in a slow waltz, then sped up into viennese. Ajax’s scarf fluttered in the air, a blood-red streak against the pale, washed-out blue sky.
After a dozen spins, Ajax slowed, dizzy, opting to lean Zhongli back into a dip, feeling the curve of his spine on his lower back. The world still spun slightly around them. One of them started laughing, and soon they were both laughing together, spilling their joy along with the sunlight into the garden beyond.
“Let me up,” Zhongli said, pulling on Ajax’s shirt, still laughing. Ajax grinned, and leaned in to nuzzle his nose, puffed breath that whitened in the cold air and fell hot on Zhongli’s face.
“No,” he whispered, and kissed him.