We Wish You a Merry Christmas! (and a happy birthday, too)

act iv - december 28th

scene i
Christmas came and went. It was like letting out a held breath, releasing a great deal of stress and tension.
Things around the inn had slowed down to a near halt. Like a train squealing slowly into a station, people gradually checked out of their rooms, and then there were only a handful of people left, Zhongli among them.
It was really starting to feel like he lived there, having been there for more than two weeks.
Ajax has been spending every spare second he has with Zhongli, because his stay was going to come to a close in just a few days.
This day was just like the others, Ajax coming up to Zhongli's room to invite him out on an errand run, offering coffee as consolation for waking him up.
Just like yesterday, Zhongli came to the door, looking like he had just left bed (he had), and invited Ajax in to sit and wait for him.
As Zhongli disappeared into the bathroom, Ajax sat at the desk chair, and spun it around a bit.
On the desk are some of Zhongli's work things, like his laptop and a few pens. His goofy little flip phone also sits there, placed next to a little notepad that Ajax hadn't seen before. He glances over to the bathroom door, hearing the shower running. He's sure that Zhongli will be a minute.
He picks up the notepad, and flips it open.
Zhongli writes in loopy, hardly legible cursive.
'December 15th
small seaside cafe- good coffee, great views. locally owned & operated.
museum- nice paintings, less of a museum more of a place to buy&sell local art
park- nice park, great for families, lots of seating&greenery
shopping centre- small shopping mall, not many stores, nice food court, good food.
christmas markets- kitschy, crowded. attractive @ night'
Ajax flicks through a few more pages and they're all full of stuff like this. There's stuff about everything they've done together, and notes on the inn.
"What the heck..?"
Zhongli emerges from the bathroom, steam billowing out after him. He's buttoning the top few buttons of his shirt, and tossing his jacket over his shoulders.
"Zhongli?"
Zhongli turns to see Ajax sitting at his desk with the notepad, and makes a face like he's been caught.
"Zhongli, what the heck is this?"
Zhongli feels like all the winds been knocked out of him as Ajax looks at him accusatorily.
"Ajax, I don't have a good explanation for that, I-"
"I would like to hear one regardless."
"I haven't been truthful with you. I'm not an author."
"Well?"
"I really work for a large hotel company. I was sent by my boss to come collect information on competitors and tourist attractions."
Ajax looks beyond hurt. his face is aghast and he limply clutches to the notepad.
"Why did you lie to me...?" His voice is tiny, and his gaze is fixed on his own shoes.
"I- well, I thought you were cute. And i didn't want you to know i was only here to create competition for your family business, I know I shouldn't have, I-"
Ajax covers his face with his arm, and runs out of the room.
"I'm sorry."
Ajax was already gone.

scene ii
Ajax doesn't know where he's going. He just knows he's running. Today his boots had spikes. No need for any rescue from any liars.
His sobs leave his lips in puffs of white steam, the cold wind making the tears on his face feel frozen. He stops running, and pants with his hands on his knees. He can see hardly anything, salty tears fuzz his vision, and he can just barely make out the dirty toes of his boots.
He feels broken, betrayed. Like everything he knew was wrong, he felt naive, for trusting some pretty face, some kind words.
He finds himself at Angel's share.
As usual, Diluc gives him a dirty look, but a worried one quickly replaces it.
"Hey, what's wrong? Where's your guy?"
Ajax sits, defeated, at the counter. He drops his head on the bar.
"He's gone. And he'd better not come back."
"Did something happen? Did you guys fight about something?"
She places a kind hand on his head.
"I found out he's totally been using me."
"How so?"
She strokes his hair and lends her ear the best she can.
"He told me he was a writer. Today, he revealed he was actually from some big hotel company. He only hung out with me to research the town."
Diluc sighs.
"That's... a lot of research."
Ajax turns to look at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I just thought, it seemed like you two spent every waking moment together. That seems like a lot of research. You know, I was honestly surprised he wasn't there when you showed up at the house, because I kept seeing you two hanging around town together."
"Oh..."
"And I'm not trying to invalidate your feelings or anything, of course. It's just like... how much research needs to be done on the same guy for weeks?"
Ajax slowly sits up, and Diluc's hand falls to his shoulder.
"I get what you're saying, but, like... so what, I guess? He still lied to me... But i guess ... I don't know."
"No I get it, you're absolutely allowed to be angry, but I just don't want you to think you wasted all that time, you know? Like, time spent smiling is time well spent, in my opinion."
"Thanks Diluc, really. It means a lot."

scene iv
Zhongli places one last folded shirt into his suitcase, and zips it up.
The whole room feels much more quiet than it had the whole time he was there. All the life had been sucked out of it, and it was totally his fault. He takes the key of his keychain and pulls up the handle to his suitcase. Taking one last look at the room, he leaves.
"Checking out early?"
"Yes." Zhongli finds it hard to make eye contact with Ajax's mother at the reception desk.
"Can I ask why?"
"It was just time to go home." He places the key on the counter, and pumps some hand sanitizer into his hands.
She types a few things and then the receipt printer buzzes out a receipt, and it was done. He took the receipt, and dragged his suitcases out to the parking lot, got into the car, and left.

scene v
Ajax walks into the lobby and hangs up his coat. He tries not to drag his feet as he trudges up to greet his mother.
"Well, there you are! I've been looking for you two all day!"
"Us two?"
"Yes, you and Teucer."
"Mom, Teucer isn't with me."
They watched each others faces fill with terror.
"Your siblings said they saw him with you, I..."
"Mom, don't freak out, I'm sure he's with someone. lets just sit down, and call everyone he could be with."
His mother takes a deep breath, and Ajax leads her to a seat.
They called everyone they could think of, the neighbours, the Ragnvindrs, every store they had ever taken him to, the bus driver, the train station, until finally, they called the police and the fire department in hysterics.