Cold winters were the usual. It has only gotten colder each passing year in the outskirts of Snezhnaya, You’ve long grown accustomed to the nation’s ever-freezing climate. Your dull apartment stayed the same throughout. It’s been years now, yet you remained living at the same place— perhaps because you were hoping to see something, or well, someone. Ever since your dear friend, Ajax, up and disappeared one day, cutting all contacts from you, you were certain something more was going on. You waited for his return, but those days turned into weeks, then months, and eventually, years. You’re a grown adult now, having lost all that baby fat from when you were younger, your hair grown thicker and longer, the weight of college and part-time job evident in your eyes. Even if you did not want to give up hope, it was time to move on. You booked the earliest train straight into the city along with a job offer from a big company.

…So why is he standing in front of you now?

“The will of the Tsaritsa remains as solid as ice. And you, my dear friend, along with your boss; are in the way of her will.” His gaze was cold, gone was the glimmer of joy that would spark in his ocean blues whenever he’d see you.

You both were just children then, after all, so why would you matter to him, the one who has everything now? He knew he was the one who messed it up, that he was the one who dug a grave too deep to crawl out of. He was a dick, it is what it is. It was a surprise you didn’t wish him dead at this point. You haunted him. His every nightmare, his every dream. It took him years to finally forget about the little childhood he got to have before being swallowed into the abyss and eventually joining the Fatui.

You called out his name in disbelief as the Fatui guards held you in place.

“It’s Childe, 11th of the Harbingers, not the Ajax you speak of. Now, guards, send them to the highest security prison for further questioning.”

You were hopelessly dragged into a carriage. His eyes lingered on you the whole time. Though unfeeling, and gone after just a moment, there was just a split second when you could see the boy you know from the past slip through— as if he’s whispering to himself,

”I love you, I’m sorry.”