A/N: Trying to write something different. We've all seen the Ganyu/Childe post by Twaq. A wholesome twist to it. Personally imo, I think Twaq/Nyantcha is an amazing artist. I hope one day I'll have money to commission her for an art of this fic.
A/N2: Posting again on Fanfiction dot net.
The two were in bed, Ganyu stared at the wallpaper. Her eyes trailing over the patterns and colored intricate designs.
She wanted to focus on anything else than the man in bed with her. Partially she preferred to have been blindfolded so she didn't have to look at him. Though one good thing about being blindfolded was that, she could imagine it was someone else… even if his voice constantly mocked her all throughout.
It was truly irritating and surprising in the aftermath of their sessions- of how gentle and sweet he could be. Two words she'd never think to use to describe a member of the Fatui. Currently one of his hands rested on her stomach as they laid on their sides. His fingers trailed along the fabric of her leotard, making small circles in a soothing manner. The rhythmic movements caused her body to slowly unwind.
His soft breaths tickled her neck and the back of her hair, and she resisted the urge to shift and move in the bed. Lest he decide to go another round.
"Ajax" He said simply and abruptly. Pausing the circular movements on her stomach and Ganyu felt his body tense up momentarily.
"What?" She asked softly, turning slightly to face the man properly. It was the gentle warmth on his face that threw her off. Compared to that sadistic glee on their first night, and the mocking smirks on his face- the new expression took her by complete surprise.
"Ajax." He repeated again, taking a shuddering deep breath and ran his hand through that orange hair. "My name- it's Ajax." He said, and Ganyu noticed how his eyes turned cloudy when he said it. As if it took a great toll on him to do so.
"Your name is Ajax?" She said, looking at him properly for the first time since that night. Tartaglia- Ajax's expression was warm, mixed with a tinge of melancholy and regret. He met her eyes, and smiled. A warm, beautiful smile- one so different from the cruel smirk he usually displayed.
"Yeah… it's my name." Ajax said, his voice becoming steady once more. "Tartaglia was the name affixed to the title of Harbinger. Something they gave me in the Fatui after I rose through the ranks."
He- Ajax drew closer, embracing her in bed- and Ganyu tried to ignore the small, tiny flutter in her stomach as he did so. "I'm from Morespoke. Do you know where that is?"
Ganyu did. A fishing village along the shore and mountains. "Yes, I do. I've been there once, a couple centuries ago." She replied, and Tarta- Ajax's smile grew bigger and brighter. His other hand reached out towards her head- she almost flinched- but he put his hand on her head and patted her gently.
"You're so smart Ganyu…" He whispered. "Most people I've talked to- they don't even know where that is." Ajax paused, searching her gaze, before his other hand stopped trailing along her stomach- and took her hand. He squeezed it gently.
"I'm glad you know where it is. You must've seen so much in your long life." Ajax murmured, his eyes were brighter now. Shining with something in them. He leaned closer to her face, close to her lips.
"Have you ever seen the Abyss?" Ajax's breath was hot, his eyes shining with a spark of hope mixed with desperation. "Have you traversed its unforgiving terrain?"
Ganyu couldn't stop herself from looking away. Her eyes looked back into Ajax's. Licking her lips slightly, Ganyu found herself leaning towards him- an act that surprised her as well.
"Yes… I have. During Khaneri'ah's destruction. It opened up beneath their nation, swallowing the entire country." She replied.
There was more to it- but there were things she was bound by contract to never reveal unless Rex Lapis nullified it. Unlikely, since Khaneri'ah, even five centuries later- was a sore subject. An act of tragedy and violence that the Archons did not wish to face once more.
"Then Ganyu… you know of the monsters that reside in the Abyss right?" Ajax's voice now held a hint of pleading. "Those malformed, accursed beasts. With thousands of teeth ripping into your arm. Running across the twisting landscape underneath the twilight of countless dead stars…" He described the Abyss with terrifying accuracy. It sparked curiosity in Ganyu. The way Ajax talked of it, definitely wasn't someone who was reciting a story. It was almost as if- Ajax had been to the Abyss.
"Were you-" Ganyu's breath hitched in her throat as she found the question to ask. "Are you Khaneri'ahn? Living in the Abyss until recently?"
Ajax stared at her with wide eyes, until he let out a short bark of laughter, pulling back from her. It was a genuine laugh, and Ganyu- she might be clueless around humans, but she knew at this moment- Tartaglia was gone. It was Ajax, opening up to her.
"Not recently no… I fell into the Abyss when I was fourteen. That was seven years ago. I stayed in the Abyss for one year." Ajax stopped talking, eyes turning cloudy. And Ganyu looked over his body once more. She noticed the scars of course, but hadn't asked for them. Merely assuming they came from past battles. Her eyes trailed along some of them on his chest, the jagged tears on his skin- the abominations. It wasn't hard for her to imagine a monster grabbing Ajax.
"I'm a native Snezhnayan. Just someone who got lost in the woods and fell into the Abyss." The smile vanished from Ajax's face as he trailed a finger along the countless scars running along his arms.
"I got most of all this from the Abyss. And the person who took me in."
Ganyu stared at him, then at the scars. "Who took you in?" She asked, curiosity sparking within her. She didn't know anyone that would operate in the Abyss- Dainsleif flashed by- she still remembered him standing next to the Khaenri'ahn ambassador. A look of hurt on the ambassador's face when Rex Lapis refused to render aid- and the cold glare Dainsleif gave them, but Ganyu had a sense that it wasn't the Khaneri'ahn.
Ajax sat up. His back displaying a myriad of scars- some reminiscent of whip lashes even.
"mine-" Ajax said so quietly, Ganyu barely picked it up. Even with her superior hearing, she realized he was shivering just ever so slightly. Hesitantly, despite everything that he did to her- she couldn't help but place her hand on his back.
Ajax stiffened under her touch, but as she rubbed his back sympathetically, he gradually relaxed. "Her name was Lumine." Ajax said hauntingly, as she sat up next to him on the bed. He was starting to take bigger breaths.
"She found me in the Abyss, half-dead and took me in. She broke me down completely. All the way to the bone, flaying the skin and then she'd bring me back up." He said, his hand reached around and took her own. He gripped tightly- though in a more gentle way.
Ajax looked at her again, eyes wide and lost.
"She said it would make me stronger. Said I'd have power to survive in the Abyss."
Ganyu found herself speaking next- surprising her as well. "You don't have to talk about it. If you don't want to."
Ajax shook his head. "I have to Ganyu. I NEED to."
He took a shuddering breath, holding her hand in one and gripping the bed sheets tightly with the other hand.
"Day ten, threw me against a couple of hilichurls. They almost beat me to death before Lumine stepped in. It usually was like that. She'd heal me up and let me almost die each time." Ajax curled in on himself- and Ganyu felt a twinge of pity.
"But it's always the aftermath. She'd be so nice to me. Said I did so well… Like everything I did, she was proud of me." Ajax said.
Something clicked in her head. Tarta- Ajax's behavior during and after their moments together was-
"She'd be so cruel one moment, and so kind in the next." Ajax slumped, his shoulders sagging and eyes turning misty slightly.
"When I got my Vision, she became more brutal. Threw me against Abyss Mages, Ruin Guards and monsters I didn't even want to know." Ajax sighed and looked at Ganyu with a sad expression.
For a moment neither spoke. Taking in the silence, Ganyu felt shrinking under his gaze. He was probably one of the very few humans that made her feel this way.
"On the last day, before I was sent to the overworld, Lumine told me what to do. She told me to join the Fatui. Help the Tsaritsa move against Celestia-"
"She's moving against Celestia?!" Ganyu exclaimed, before putting one hand on her mouth. Ajax merely raised one eyebrow.
"Are you- are the Adepti supporters of Celestia?" Ajax asked softly. Ganyu paused to think about the question. Without a doubt, they'd taken orders that came from Celestia when they came- Khaneri'ah being the most prominent during the Cataclysm. But no… they only carried out orders when Rex Lapis had been forced to do so.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Ajax leaned in and kissed her.
He had kissed her before, roughly and domineering. But this kiss was tender and soft. And… she found herself leaning into the kiss.
Though Ajax pulled back soon, a shy and bashful expression on his face. Such a stark contrast to his arrogant smirk.
"Though it doesn't matter… does it?" He asked, and Ganyu found the words to reply.
"We follow Rex Lapis." She said, "He derives his authority from Celestia, but it doesn't mean he agrees with everything."
Ajax nodded in response, considering her words. "Lumine was obsessed with Khaneri'ah. She pities their people. And she has her own vendetta against them." He paused, then laid back down, pulling Ganyu with him.
"That's why she wants me to go to the Fatui. When the time is right, Lumine is going to sweep in and make Celestia pay for what they did to her."
Ganyu opened her mouth to speak, but Ajax placed his finger on her lips. "I don't know what they did to her. Something about losing her wings."
She kept silent, the two of them holding one another uneasily as the hours ticked on by. It felt like eternity, but as she lay there next to Ajax, pressed against him- the cool Liyuen wind brushing against her skin and the warmth from his body slowly caused her eyes to droop as exhaustion set in.
Ajax leaned in close to her, his breath tickling her hair as he did so. "Despite everything I did to you Ganyu… I love you." She froze, her eyes fluttering open at those words as she stared up at him.
"In the Abyss, before and during the time when I was with Lumine… I dreamt of a blue haired woman with a pair of horns on her head." Ajax said softly. "It wasn't just one or two dreams, but constant. Every time I went to sleep, or fell unconscious… It was the woman I saw. Always so distant and far, and I'd just sort of chase after her, never keeping up."
"When I was assigned in Liyue, I saw you… and I knew at once, that woman was you. I don't know why I had those dreams in the Abyss." His hand cupped her cheek, and for a brief moment- that look of savage glee returned as he looked at her.
"And now I have you in my grasp. I'll never let you go. I'll always chase after you. And when we overturn Celestia, we can be together for eternity." He beamed at her while she tried to find the words to speak.
"Anything for you… my love." Ajax finished, the last word twisting into a sense of triumphant joy.
She didn't know what to say. As she stared up at Ajax, into his eyes and as he kissed her deeply once more, Ganyu simply decided to stop thinking for the time being. She'd consider what Ajax told her later, away from him.
Right now, the human side of her… she gave into the pleasure once more.
A/N: Crazy how time flies. I started this fic after being inspired from The 100's angst/romance fics on Ao3 and Twaq's artwork, and cranked it out during holiday block leave before returning to Ft. Benning to finish OSUT (Ft. Moore now.) Time really flies, I swear 2020 was just "last year" for me, but it's not :(