eternal flame | tartaglia x reader

Chapter Five

To say that Ajax was different after he came back would be a severe understatement. As painful to admit as it is, you could barely recognize the boy who was always as close to you as family. Not once since he returned had he stuttered or stumbled in his words or actions. And really, you're glad that Ajax has come out of his shell (for whatever mysterious reason) but he's so much different than before it's like he's been gone for years, not days.

Though he doesn't say anything, it's clear that his family are having a hard time adjusting after his return as well. You've overheard your parents consoling Ajax's mother on several occasions as the woman sobbed over her sweet son who would not tell her what happened during his days missing.

And that's the thing, Ajax hasn't told anyone about what happened while he was missing. He doesn't claim that he can't remember, he simply refuses to speak of it. There's no way that he had simply lost his way in the forest, as he didn't look ill and hungry and cold when he returned, but he looked, for a lack of a better word, dead.

It's the same kind of look that you see in the Fatui agent's eyes when they return from a long battle, the look that you see from survivors of a shipwreck in the harsh sea, the look that you see only in a person who has seen unspeakable horrors and experienced unbearable pain.

You had never imagined that Ajax, at the young age of fourteen, would carry that expression with him wherever he went.

Ajax insists on returning for his last few weeks of school alongside you the next week, despite everyone advising him to stay home and rest a while longer. Like usual, (though this situation is anything but usual) you wait on the road in front of Ajax's house so you can walk to school together. You see Ajax skip his way towards you, coat unbuttoned to show off his shiny new vision.

You raised an eyebrow, "Do you really need to have that out right now?"

Ajax pouted, "It won't work if it's not on display! I can't have anyone messing with us on my first day back."

"You've only been gone a week, 'Jax, I doubt they're gonna throw a welcoming party."

Ajax bit his lip and shrugged, "Still, I told you that I would get a vision and protect you, and you know what happens when you break a promise!"
"The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again, right?" you asked, huffing out a laugh.

"Exactly!" Ajax laughed, louder and more boisterous than you've ever seen him laugh, and grabbed your hand with his.

You ignore the burning at your cheeks, ready to blame the cold if Ajax tries to comment on them.

"So," you started, "What can you even do with that vision? You've barely mentioned it for something so precious."

Ajax hummed for a second before pointing at a large tree a few meters in front of you. It had been dead for years now, and the way that it looms over the street is probably a hazard.

"I can cut it in half," Ajax said.

You rolled your eyes, "Very funny Ajax. What can you actually do?"

You barely have a chance to blink before Ajax lets go of your hand, seeming to summon some sort of blade made from hydro. He slashed through the trunk of the tree fluidly and turned around with a smirk as it toppled to the ground behind him.

There's a flash of something animalistic in Ajax's eyes, a hunger that you've never seen before. Ajax was always anything but flashy, and it made you tremble a little bit when you saw him show off this way. He's strong, stronger than any other teenager who got a hold of a vision three days ago. Especially a hydro vision, which is not an element known for it's combative abilities.

"Impressed?" Ajax asked, grabbing your hand once again as you continued walking to school.

You couldn't bring yourself to say anything, not trusting your voice to come out unwavering. You only hoped that Ajax couldn't feel the shaking of your hands. Sure, you were impressed, but you can't say that you weren't a little bit scared.

You opted to nod your head in agreement instead.

"Just wait 'til Maksim sees," Ajax mumbled under his breath.

"What?" as you suspected, your voice comes out weakly.

"Nothin'," Ajax shrugged. "Just saying that he won't try to mess with me anymore."

You shake your head and stare at your feet as you walk, leaning into Ajax's shoulder a little bit. It might be that you're making things up, but his arm seems a bit bigger, his muscles a bit firmer, his stance a little bit more reliable to lean on.

As expected, Ajax is swarmed with attention the moment he sets foot in your classroom. Instead of cowering away, he seems to soak it up with a resolution that you have never seen from him before. It was like watching a plant perk up in the sun, watching Ajax accept compliments and questions with a smile.

You can't control the stab of jealousy that hits your chest when you notice how some of the girls in your class react to Ajax, now that they've taken the time to look at him. Sure, you had always wanted other people to acknowledge his charisma, but you can't help but feel possessive over him at the same time. He's your Ajax.

Ajax manages to disappear a couple times throughout the day, which is just about unheard of with the usual constant harassment from other boys in your class.
Based on his comments from this morning, Ajax doesn't seem too worried about them with his newfound strength.

He almost has a disappointed look on his face when you two walk home at the end of the day.
"What's wrong?" you asked, reaching down to intertwine your hand with Ajax's again.

Ajax shrugs, "Didn't get the welcoming party that I was expecting."

"Sorry," you mumbled, even though you didn't quite understand.

Ajax was showered in attention from everyone in the school, students and teachers alike. It was attention like he had never seen before. What else could he have been expecting?

The next day, one of Maksim's lackeys shows up at school with an arm tightly bandaged and resting in a sling. Ajax casted him that same disappointed look, and the boy turned pale as the snow outside.

"What was that look for?" you nudged Ajax lightheartedly.

Ajax replied only with a shrug.