Life is never really nice (and neither is the author)

1-meeting

Ajax was really tired, his shift lasted three hours longer than usual that day, since he needed to cover for a sick colleague.

It's not that he hated his job, quite the opposite, actually, he found being a cashier quite relaxing, but he couldn't stand eleven hours of scanning objects after a night in which he didn't sleep.

It was quite weird how he always dreamed of the greatest things as a child, but as soon as he became ten his whole world-view changed. He only wanted a quiet, somehow happy life.
His was one of the most peaceful lives in the city, or at least that was what everyone thought.

About happyness, he did have a few "friends", like they called each other, but they were not actually close, as if they were just coworkers forced to spend time together.
They didn't make him happy.
Even though making fun of each other could be quite entertaining, that didn't stop him from wanting to go in an empty room and cry.

Ajax was certain he had a life better than average, but that did not help, it only made him feel like he was ungrateful for all the effort his family put into sending him abroad to study and find a good work, but in Russia he was at home, he had childhood friends, his family, a person he really liked...

China was nothing like that, it was hot, and crowded, and everything was new and complicated.
The only people he knew were his "friends", since some of them also got transferred there, his boss, Lady Ningguang, and a new colleague he just met, some blonde guy he didn't remember the name of, way better than the previous one.

Xiao, as the other was called, spent most of the time they were working at the same time glaring at him with hatred.
After some time Ajax was convinced that the kid was jealous of his height, but it was actually because of his positive attitude he kept when out of his apartment.
He looked kinda cheerful but to Xiao's eyes it was obvious that Ajax hated everything there, and faking his emotions made the shortest feel nothing but disgust and repulsion towards him.

Lady Ningguang, instead, was pretty difficult to read, she showed some traces of emotions only when her fianceé surprised her at work.
They were both really attractive people, which made the couple the most envied but also popular of the neighborhood.
A literal power couple, since Ningguang owned many supermarkets and Ajax heard that her fianceé also had a pretty big business going on, either fitness centers or mafia. Very far-fetched indeed, but that's how rumors are.

The new employee was really pretty, but the redhead never found a chance to actually interact with them, let alone get their number or hang out together.
That evening, though, Ajax chose to talk to his boss about it. She would have had their number for sure, right?
Once he finally finished his shift, he headed towards his boss' office, knocked twice, then, not hearing a clear answer, only muffled noises, he opened the door.
As soon as he glanced inside, he closed the door with eyes wide open: Ningguang was clearly trying to bite the mouth off the person she was sitting on, while undressing the both of them.

Ajax blushed so hard he could have been mistaken for a crimson traffic light.

He turned to try and escape the nightmare as soon as possible, but as he did so, he found himself facing the most handsome face he had ever seen.

"Damn"

"Excuse me?" the man replied in a polite tone.

'Shit. Did I say it out loud? Fuck. I screwed up' Ajax started playing with the hair in the back of his head due to the awkwardness  that had formed between the two of them.
"I thought there wouldn't have been any more clients today....the store's about to close"

"I'm not a client, though"

"You're not? How come?"

"I came to visit a friend of mine who just came back from a holiday in Japan, hopefully bringing back some fine local wine, and for sure went straight here as soon as the airplane landed"

"Oh, yes...sadly, I think now it's a little........inappropriate to go in there, sorry"

"Why were you there, then?" the man questioned, slightly smirking.

"Please don't take it the wrong way!! I swear I'm an employee here and I just wanted to ask about my colleague's number so I could contact them. And I knocked, I really did, but no one answered and then uh..."

The other laughed.
It didn't even seem a proper laugh, it was mainly hidden behind a arm smile, but Ajax found it really pretty, and kinda blushed, to his surprise.

"You look like a traumatised chick, so adorable"

That didn't help at all with the redhead's face problem, quite the opposite.

"But really, what were they doing that shocked you this much?"

"Er  I don't think you'd want to know"

"Why not?" the man kept a confused expression for a split second, then he shrugged his shoulders and opened the door.

"No-" Ajax didn't manage to stop him on time.

When the other's head came back from the office, he seemed kind of hurt and disappointed, but hid it pretty well and fast, too bad Childe was faster at noticing.

"Are you homophobic or what?"

Out of all the ideas Ajax had in mind, the thought of that question being asked to him never popped into his brain.

"Huh??"

"You sure don't look like a twink who'd be shocked as soon as he sees two people kiss, so what is it, DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THEM BEING BOTH WOMEN?"

"DO YOU THINK I EVEN NOTICED THE GENDER OF WHOEVER WAS UNDER MY BOSS? WHAT IF I WAS THE TWINK, HUH? ME NOT LOOKING LIKE IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASSUME. DO I LOOK MORE LIKE A JERK THAN AN INNOCENT GUY TO YOU? AND, FOR THE RECORD, THOSE AREN'T THE ONLY TWO POSSIBILITIES, I CAN BE SHOCKED FOR OTHER REASONS"

"THEN PROVE THAT YOU AREN'T HOMOPHOBIC, NOR A CHILD MENTALLY"

"AND HOW WOULD I DO THAT?"

He waited for a few seconds that lasted days.

"Kiss me"

<hi there you people. This isn't substituting the komahina book, and it won't be regular at all, I'll only publish a chapter once I've finished it for real without an assigned time. Some parts may have been confusing so feel free to ask about them whenever. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, if you have any suggestions, comment.
Also, have a nice life, possibly>