Requested by Huntresswolf13

This is for you, Sis.

The room was deathly quiet. You were laying on your bed in your dorm, swimming silently in the sea of your random thoughts, bored as heck. Your roommate was off doing who knows what with some friend of her's, leaving you with nobody to talk to and nothing to do. Worst. Saturday. Ever.

You jumped a little when your phone broke the silence with the sharp sound that indicated a message had been sent. You rolled over to grab it, dreary eyes searching the screen. You sat up straight when you saw who the text was from. It was Ajax! You hastily opened it to read it.

Hey there, y/n! I'm kinda bored, you wanna go hang out by the lake?

The answer to that question was always yes. You quickly replied that you would meet him there and jumped up to find your shoes. A quick look in the mirror to fix your hair, and you were off.

Ajax was already there when you arrived. He smiled at you as you say beside him on the soft grass beside the lake's waters.

"That was fast." He remarked.

"I was literally dying of boredom. I couldn't wait to get out of my room." You replied cheesily, graciously accepting the light kiss he placed on your temple. Ajax was the best boyfriend you could ever ask for. The two of you talked for several minutes, tossing stones into the water.

"All these kids gossiping or doing guy stuff, and all we need is some rocks to throw." The gorgon mused after a while.

"Yup." You agreed. You spotted a flat stone and decided to show off. You snatched it up, stood, and sent flying over the water. It skipped five times. Ajax scoffed, grabbed a flat rock of his own, and stood up to try and do the same. His rock promptly hit the water and sank with a light sploosh.

"Don't worry, it just takes practice." You giggled, brushing your h/c locks out of your face. The boy hummed slightly, then sat back down rather ungracefully.

"I'll just let you be better than me." He joked. You plopped down next to him with a laugh, laying your head on his shoulder. The sun warmed your face, making your feel happy. You glanced up at Ajax's beanie, and a sudden curiosity gripped you.

"Gorgons...have snakes for hair, right?" You asked. Ajax looked at you, brow raised.

"Yes..." He answered slowly. This was a well-known fact here at Nevermore, but you couldn't think of a better question to start the conversation.

"Okay, well...what do they look like?" You asked curiously, pulling away from his shoulder to stare deep into his eyes. He lightly touched the hat on his head, which you knew concealed the reptiles he so carefully kept hidden.

"Well, um, it's not easy to describe... You've seen artist renditions of Medusa, right?" He tried to explain, anxiously looking past your eyes. You touched his cheek, attempting to calm his nerves.

"Ajax, I was just curious. I'm not scared you're going to stone me or anything." You assured him. He seemed to relax.

"Honestly, if I could control it better, I'd happily show you." He admitted, smiling awkwardly. "It's just safest to take extra precautions." Your curiosity burned a little stronger as a new question arose.

"So, like, what if one snake went rogue and peeked out from under there? Would that stone someone?" You asked. Ajax shrugged.

"I'm not actually sure. It's never happened, that I know of." He said plainly. You glanced away for one moment, trying to picture what Ajax might look like with his hat off. Your sudden insatiable curiosity was gnawing at you, and more questions swarmed your mind.

"I'm sorry about having so many questions all of a sudden, but what if there was a photograph of a gorgon? Would that stone people?" You continued, resting your head on your palm and gazing at him expectantly. He laughed.

"No, no, no! That would be impossible. It doesn't work that way." He shook his head. "And I don't mind your questions. I rarely get to educate anyone on my race." You smiled widely at the statement, giggling softly. Suddenly, the gorgon gave you wry smile. "Actually..." He pulled out his phone and opened the camera. "If you look away so you won't get stoned, I can take a picture and show you what my snakes look like, if you're that curious."

"Really?" You said in disbelief. Ajax was extremely insecure about taking off his beanie with other people around.

"I'll do it for you, y/n." He replied. You covered your eyes and turned away from him, giggling. You heard him slide the hat off his head, then a phone camera shutter sound. You waited patiently for him to tell you it was safe to turn back around.

"Okay, you can look." He said. You whirled back towards him with a cheeky grin, fighting back more giggles. Only Ajax could make you get all giggly like this, and you loved it that way. He was about to turn his phone around to show you the picture when you looked up at him and realized that his beanie was slipping. You made to point it out to him, but right as his name left your mouth, the hat fell off.

Your eyes widened at the sight of his snakes, but it only lasted a fraction of a moment before blackness took over.
~~~
A bright white light stung your eyes. You blinked, the image clearing until you realized you were in the infirmary. You looked down, your neck feeling stiff but rapidly loosening up, as well as the rest of your joints. You realized there was a gray tint fading out of your skin. Oh. I guess I got stoned. You were sitting on the bed in the same position you'd been in at the lake. You clenched and unclenched your hands a few times before noticing a shaking form with his head buried in his hands sitting in the chair beside you. Your heart immediately broke at the sight.

"Oh stars, Ajax!" You sighed, running your hand over your head, feeling guilty. The boy snapped his head up, his face pale as a sheet and his eyes red.

"Y/n!" He exclaimed in surprise. He jumped from the chair and sat on the bed with you, squeezing your hand with both of his. They were sweaty.

"Ajax, calm down." You said soothingly, his current state worrying you. You placed your free hand gently on top of his, which were still squeezing.

"I'm so, so, so sorry y/n!" He said shakily, on the verge of tears. This broke your heart further.

"Ajax, it's okay, I'm fine!" You assured him, prying your hand from his grasp and rubbing his back gently. He stuttered incoherently for a minute, then pierced you through with his remorseful gaze.

"You looked up at me, a-and my hat fell off and then--" he choked slightly, guilt slicing across his face. "I brought you here." He finished, avoiding the part where you got stoned. You felt guilty yourself for even starting to ask about his snakes, which was why he'd had to remove his hat and put it back on in the first place.

"Ajax, it's not your fault. Look, I'm not hurt. Everything is going to be fine." You assured him softly, cupping his cheek with your hand. He seemed to have calmed down a little bit, his breaths more even and less shaky.

"I'm so sorry, y/n..." He repeated in a whisper. You sighed.

"I'm sorry, too, Ajax. I was the one who got too curious." You said. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"It's just... your face when you got frozen that way, it was..." You gently pressed your lips to his before he could say anything more. He stiffened, taken off guard.

"I love you, Ajax." You whispered when you pulled away. "I'm not scared of you, and what happened today doesn't change that." He appeared to digest this, then pulled you into a tight hug.

"I love you, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed! I'm not really used to writing Ajax's character--in fact, this is the first time! I feel pretty confident in this story, though, so I'm not afraid to write more of him.

However, if he seemed ooc in any way, let me know so I can learn from my mistakes and write him better in the future!

Fox, out ✌️