#when he gets stuck in foul legacy he feels so guilty because not only would he not be able to come back (or so he thinks)

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

what if you were Ajax's sweet childhood friend, gentle and a bit frail. you and him being best friends ever since you were kids- he'd often visit you, no matter the time, and ask you to come out and play. of course you'd always say yes and let him hold your hand and run around in the snow- you were never as fast as him, and always had to wear heavy layers of clothes to regulate your body temperature since you couldn't do it naturally. it worried Ajax tremendously, especially whenever you trip and fall, but you always reassured him that you were fine with that sweet smile of yours. years passed, and Ajax joined the Fatui. you remember when he went missing, the worry cold like ice and the subsequent warm relief when he was found. others said he came back different, violent and bloodthirsty, but to you he only became more worried, asking multiple times if you were feeling alright whenever you spent time together. and you always said yes, because as long as he was okay so were you, his hands wrapped around your perpetually-chilled ones. there was one time you fell sick, during a bitingly cold winter, yet during the entire ordeal you still smiled, even apologizing for how he had to take care of you. Ajax had simply wrapped you in a hug and warmed you to your bones, more comforting than any blanket. as he rubbed your back, he had looked at you and realized- he wanted to protect you.

once, when he became a Harbinger, you called him Tartaglia to respect his new title. but he had paled and grabbed your shoulders, asking, almost pleading for you to call him Ajax. so to you and his family, the ones he often talked about protecting, he was Ajax. he often wrote to you while away, asking how your studies were going, as it was your dream to go to Sumeru and learn about everything, and whenever Ajax returned he would apologize for being away for so long. you'd simply laugh kindly and traced over the scars dotting his palms. "It's alright, I know you'll always come back, Ajax." your complete trust in him made his heart melt, silently swearing that Ajax, not Tartaglia, would always come back to you. and so when the Abyss overtakes his body, digging its claws in and refusing to let go, Ajax sobs. it hurts. it hurts so bad, but the guilt filling his chest hurts more, the guilt that he won't be able to return home to you, that he's broken his promise you didn't know he made. you'll wait for his return with that soft expression of yours, and he'll never arrive, never be able to sweep you off your feet and give you the wonderful, quiet life he'd envisioned. he never even got to say "I love you", and Foul Legacy clutches his horned head and shrieks in grief.

hehe part one