Ajax was pacing. He hadn't asked to be part of the plan, and yet he was. He would've rather taken paperwork of all things over this. But NoooooOoooo, Dottore had some grand plan that the Tsaritsa condoned and now he was bait for his own boyfriend. Now, technically, he should be in a cell, for his part of the mission. But the fact that the Doctor had sent one of his subordinates, an Admin of his, to track Diluc's location. Not a segment, no, but apparently a trusted man that could blend in to the crowd. That, on it's own, let him spend his time in his room.

Now, Ajax, no Tartaglia, didn't keep much in his room. He was always out, doing something, especially if it meant he could feel the thrill of battle. What he, the Harbinger, not the man that was pacing the room, did keep there, was either things he needed for his job, or small knick knacks from his time in other nations.

If this were Ajax's room, things wouldn't change much, actually, but there would be a few personal items, such as drawings or gifts from his siblings, the few that actually bothered to speak to him at least, and at least some of the things Diluc had given him over the past few years. But no, this wasn't Ajax's room. All of Ajax's 'belongings' stayed with Diluc.

So, Ajax was left with nothing to do, unless he wanted to be Tartaglia for the day, and actually be productive. But, no, it didn't feel right to be all Harbingery when he was luring his lover into a trap. So, instead of doing the paperwork that was likely dropped off by Pantalone for him to do [Apparently he's good at numbers.], he was constantly pacing, and likely annoying whoever had a room or office or whatever below Tartaglia's room.

Once upon a time, Ajax would've loved for himself and Tartaglia to finally be the same person. That instead of putting on the mask that made himself the Harbinger, that he could be himself and the eleventh at the same time. He'd hoped that Childe could be the one to bridge the gap, but that just caused him pain and Childe became Tartaglia in the end. It was as if Ajax and Tartaglia were meteorites, destined to crash into each other, but in the end they never did. Forever orbitting eachother instead. Because Ajax was the boy the Abyss spat out, and Tartaglia was a weapon. And those two mindsets could never, Never coexist. Because they would tear each other a part at the seams.

Much like whoever the man was in that room. He didn't know his name, and he didn't care to know it. He was Ajax to few, and Tartaglia to many. And, he didn't know which name felt more like him, because Ajax wasn't only the boy the Abyss spat out, but he was also a child. A child that was once bright and full of hope. A child that the Abyss tainted for their own twisted desires.

----

A day after Diluc had left, according to the agent trailing him, his return letter arrived. Ajax opened it carefully, because this could be all that he had left of Diluc before Tartaglia got to him. The letter was a simple one, recounting Diluc's day before he got the letter. He detailed the night before up until that afternoon, when Diluc had received Ajax's, no Tartaglia's, letter.

Ajax caught the coded message, of course, though it wasn't like he didn't know what it would say. "I'm coming, stay safe." The markings under the letters that brought him to that phrase were done sloppily. Diluc was clearly in a hurry. A hurry to save Ajax. If only he knew. If only he knew that Tartaglia had written the letter. Would he be coming as quickly if he knew? Would he? Probably not, to be frank. Probably not. He knew of Diluc's hatred of the Fatui, he'd been warned by Dottore to be careful around him, and Ajax just had to go and fall in love. Nevermind that, Ajax slipped Diluc's letter into one of the many drawers in Tartaglia's desk, and after that, Tartaglia left the room.

He had to get out of that room, and he knew that during this time of day, no one would be in one of the few training arenas they had for new recruits. He had to just.. Get his, no Ajax's, frustrations out, and the training dummies would just have to do. It wasn't the same, but he wasn't allowed to leave, not until Diluc was incapacitated somehow. [Because they didn't trust him. They didn't trust Ajax.]

He wasn't used to being locked in. Not since he was still young and living with his parents. [He was grounded constantly. Bless his Mama for surviving Ajax's tendencies when he was younger.] And even then, he could still leave, sneak out. He'd gotten good at it after all. Now, though, he didn't have the slightest chance to try and sneak out. If he so much as tried he'd be put into a cell earlier than expected. Which would defeat the purpose of trying to get outside of his room entirely.

So now, here Tartaglia was, beating the everloving shit out of a training dummy that looked like it had seen much better days. He'd left his delusion in his room, and he certainly wasn't in the mood to use his vision, so his fists would have to do. Besides, it wasn't like he was attempting to destroy the dummy. All he was trying to do was get out his frustrations at being kept in. Like a lion in trapped in a cage.

----

Tartaglia was only dragged out of the training room after an hour or so, having been sent back to his room. Man, was playing prisoner boooring. But, this was important. Because, once Diluc arrived, he had to believe Ajax wasn't here of his own free will. Well, he wasn't, but to be fair, he also didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Everything he was doing as of recent was to sell the belief he'd been imprisoned. Everything, except for the fact he still had his vision and delusion. He wasn't allowed anywhere except for places Agents didn't frequent or the rooms owned by his fellow Harbingers. So practically nowhere he normally spent his time when he's in between missions.

Not only that, but this had taken quite the toll on Ajax. He was a social person at heart, growing up with multiple siblings does that to a person. Or at least it did that to Ajax. He spent the majority of his time with whoever would be willing to put up with him. [Though, that meant the larger part of his time was spent sparring with whoever thought they could hold their own against the Harbinger] But, that still meant he was around people. Because, as much as he 'hates' to admit it, most of his fellow Harbingers weren't exactly 'people' in most definitions of the word. [Seeing as most of them aren't fully human anymore.]

"Tartaglia." Signora's voice broke him out of his thoughts, as the woman entered his room, her normal attire replaced with a much more.. relaxed outfit.

"Lady Signora."

".. Just Signora is fine, Childe. We're alone."

"Fine, fine. /Signora/."

".. You're incorrigible. I came to.. urgh.. talk to you. According to The Doctor, it's bad for your mental health to be cooped up this long. Or something like that." The woman scoffed, before sitting down on his bed. "Sit with me. I've heard you talk on and on to the agents. You can talk about whatever you tell them."

Tartaglia nodded and he sat beside her, taking a moment before beginning to speak of his, no, Ajax's siblings. She seemed to be listening intently, even asking questions based on what he said.

----

Signora chuckled down at Ajax. He'd fallen asleep at some point while she was in his room. She couldn't shirk her duties for much longer, though, so she gently moved him off of her shoulder and tucked him in. This past hour she had spent in the room was.. a refresher from her normal duties. She slipped out of the room, barely glancing behind her at Ajax. He'd.. well, he'd practically become the child of the Harbingers, if you could put it that way. Well, Signora saw him kind-of sort-of a son, as well as seeing him as her coworker. At times, there was a clear distinction between the two thoughts. Nevermind that, he looked.. peaceful in his sleep, which to her, was good. He clearly needed the rest. And this would be good blackmail, too, of course.