Rainy Day Tavern // A Chaeya Fic

It's Pouring, It's Raining

Summary: Ajax seeks employment from the Police of Favonius and finds a bartender instead.

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Wind winds through the city as Tartaglia – Ah, wait, Ajax, locks up the house. A sigh escapes him as he looks up at the sky. Clear skies, it seems. The City of Freedom was well known for its mild temperature and breezy wind. As Ajax takes in the scenery that he is still adjusting to, he thinks the rumours are right. It seems Mondstadt was a good place to move to after his retirement.

Ajax doesn't think he'll ever get used to waking up and not seeing his usual room in the base, or not feeling the warm sun of Liyue. In truth, he probably could still be Fatui, but he couldn't bear to stay in that place and deal with the embarrassment of being demoted because of an injury of all things. Tartaglia, the ruthless and fearless Vanguard, was demoted due to an overdose of drugs leaving him weak and useless .

Ajax fled soon after.

Ajax walks down the streets, greeting the locals with a cheerful smile and a wave. Mondstadt was peaceful, a bit too peaceful for his liking, but beggars can't be choosers. The stone path was a vast difference from Snezhnaya's snow-covered ones, and the walls surrounding him made the ex-Harbinger feel more claustrophobic than safe.

A drop of water on his head draws him out of his thoughts. Ajax flinches, looking up at the sky. Sure enough, the clear sky had somehow turned grey and gloomy. Snezhnayan curses fall from his lips as he begins sprinting down the streets, trying to get to the Police of Favonius Headquarters quickly. The rain pitter-patters against the stone and slowly floods the streets.

Before Ajax realises it, he's lost in the Mondstadt streets. In his defence, all the houses looked the same! He was getting drenched, and he could tell that fog was slowly starting to roll in. There was no way he was getting to the Police of Favonius Headquarters at this rate. With a sigh, the ex-Harbinger accepts defeat and starts looking for shelter from the rain.

A fruitless endeavour, it seems. Somehow, he had wound up in a back alley with nothing but more buildings. Light and warmth radiated from the windows, children giggling and parents laughing. All things he was not a part of. A constant reminder that he was an outsider, a foreigner. If anyone knew where he had come from, would they kick him out? If they learnt of his identity, would they turn him in? Ajax shakes his head. Best not to think of this and focus on finding shelter.

At last, something caught his eye. A warm light within the fog and rain. Bustling with life. Ajax rushes towards it, noticing a sign. 'Rainy Day Tavern'. Huh, ironic. Without a second thought, Ajax pushes the door open and steps in, the wooden door creaking loudly from overuse. Pants fall out of his mouth as Ajax shudders, water dripping down onto the wooden floor. The door closes shut behind him, and Ajax refocuses.

There, within the bustling tavern, serving a redhead and a blonde girl some pizza and a few drinks was the most beautiful bartender he had ever seen. Midnight blue hair cascaded down his shoulders, that beautiful chest that seemed a little tight in his white blouse, the black leggings and the mysterious eyepatch that gave him a mysterious appearance. It was hard to catch a second glance of him through the mess of other employees, but as they made eye contact, Ajax could drown in those lilac-blue eyes with the peculiar star pupil. The bartender offers a smile; Ajax feels a burning sensation on his wrist.

A soulmate mark of two ghosts, bound together for eternity.

END