[ON HOLD] Shared Scars | Childe x Fem!Reader | Genshin Impact

~ 33 ~

sorry for literally fucking dying, college is hard

~

     The sharp sensation of nails digging into your back woke you. You opened your bleary eyes and tried to take in the situation, but the room was still dark as it was still nighttime. The thing that made you realize where you were and the situation you were in was your fingers brushing against Ajax's hair, whose head was still buried in the crook of your neck.

     He was clinging onto you, whimpering and scratching you to keep you close. You recognized it as having a nightmare, one that he seemed unable to wake up from on his own. You tilt his head back to see his face and brush your fingers through his hair; he whimpered at the contact. His face was scrunched up like he was in pain, and it hurt your heart to look at.

     You kiss his forehead softly, wiping away a few tears. He was really going through it, the images racing through his head must have been terrifying...

He'd been practically hyperventilating, but suddenly his breathing slowed, and his eyes blinked open a few moments later. He looked up at you, "Mmh... Y/N?"

You were rather surprised that he could seem so calm after what you'd just watched him go through in his sleep, "Are you okay?"

"...I am now," he didn't say anything else as he sat up, looking out the window at the city still shrouded in shadow.

You sat up behind him, folding your legs under you to get a better look at him, "Are you sure? I know a nightmare when I see one, Ajax."

He side-eyes you, before looking away again, "It's a long story, you'd get bored."

     "What? No I wouldn't," you huffed, bumping into his shoulder lightly, "If it's important to you, then I want to know."

     He sighs, pondering it a few minutes before speaking again, "...I was kidnapped. When I was 14."

     It feels like your breath leaves your body for a moment, stunned by his words, but oddly unsurprised. You silently wait for him to continue speaking.

     "That woman, I think her name was Skirk... she brought me to this ugly wooden shack in the woods. She always kept the lights off inside, and only let me outside at night. But the forest was just so dense, it felt like she'd dragged me down into the abyss and there was no light. I had to learn to live in the dark.

     "I was with her for three months, and everyday it was her beating me to a pulp. She didn't even need to use both of her hands, sometimes neither!" He had been speaking without taking a breath, so he needed to pause for a moment to catch his breath, before he continued his sudden trauma-dump, "She taught me to fight, whether she meant to or not. 7 years since then and I've still never seen anyone who fights like her..."

You gently lay a hand on his shoulder. He flinched under it, and he looked so vulnerable. He couldn't look at you or else he'd probably start crying, but he brought his hand up to lace your fingers together as a silent thank you.

"I burned it down." He paused for a moment, picking his words out carefully. "There was a small scrap of metal I found in the cabin, so I grabbed a rock and banged them together until I got sparks. I... don't remember much after that, just my mom and older sister finding me..." He trails off, looking like he was going to pick out his next words to say, before sighing and giving up.

You slide the hand on his shoulder across to the other side, and wrap your arms around him. He leans into you with nearly all his weight. "You were right about us needing therapy," He attempts a dry laugh, but it comes out as more of a cough.

Your fingers lazily trace circles across his skin as you try to figure out a comforting thing to say, "I don't really know exactly what I should say here to help you feel better, but... I'm glad you told me Ajax."

Ajax leans into you a bit further, closing his eyes, "You're making me feel plenty better by being here." He closes his eyes, using your warmth as a distraction from his thoughts, "I don't think I can go back to sleep after that."

     You feel your cheeks warm, suddenly glad for the darkness hiding your features from each other. "T-this doesn't seem like a good conversation to follow up with a repeat of last night, Ajax."

      He laughed then, a clear and hearty laugh that seemed to warm you up inside, "No no, not that. I was thinking a walk or something."

     You covered your face with one hand in embarrassment, "Is that even safe right now? That's like the whole reasoned were holed up in this hotel."

"I swear on my eye that I won't let anything happen, Y/N. Not just tonight, or tomorrow, but for the rest of the time we have together." His gaze grew more intense then, his eyes looking black in the darkness. He took one of your hands in both of his, caressing it gently, "And I hope we have a lot of time left. I mean that."

"Ajax..."

You were planning to say more, but he leaned in and kissed you soft and tentatively. It conveyed what he had just said and more, like a poem in physical form.

You both layed back down after the kiss ended, and he wrapped his arms around you. You thought about his choice of words for a long while, and it wasn't until nearly an hour after his breathing had lowered into the steady rhythm of unconscious did the gates of sleep finally welcome you.

~

ok i had no clue what i was doing here it took two months i'm dying

anyway hi again i'm rlly sorry again for dropping off the face of the earth but so much has been going on lmao
also im literally in love with one of the friends i made on campus ok bye

unrelated here's some art hehehoho

this drawing old as hell by now but it took forever so i'm making u look at it