Authors note: Hey everyone! I am back with chapter 2 I hope you all enjoy it! thank you!
disclaimer: I don't own Genshin Impact nor it's characters nor story they are intellectual property and works of MiHoYo, Shanghai Miha Touring Film Technology Co., Ltd.
Beneath The Snow
Ch 02 Coldness
The redhead arrives with his blonde friend, they enter the place. It's a beautiful rustic and traditional looking place, with a nautical look to it. You can see the owners put a lot of thought to their décor. Childe smiles as he takes in the view "Ah…This place hasn't changed at all! Brings me back and it still smells as good" He said as he smelled the delicious and savory food that was being made, he could also smell a faint sweetness of pastries.
"Trust me girlie, you haven't lived until you tried that chowder bread bowl I told you about earlier" He smiled, he then noticed an old man. He was rough and tough looking old man with a scar on his cheek, he had a stern look on his face that would probably intimidate those that didn't know him. Childe went towards the old man "Long time no see old man!"
The man recognized that voice, he turned around towards Childe, his stern expression changed in to a happy one "malyutka! It's been so long my little one!" Childe blushed in embarrassment "Come on old man! Stop calling me that especially in front of my girl!" he said that on purpose to see if Lumine would react, which he succeeded.
The blonde golden eyed girl snapped out of her sadness to right away bark at the redhead's comment "what the hell are you talking about? I am not your girl!"
The old man noticed her "Aww who is this precious blonde kroshka? Is my malyutka giving you a hard time? He can be a bit of a brat but he has good heart."
Childe annoyed said "Knock it off gramps! Anyways this is my friend Lumine" and he then faced her and said "Lumine this is Vladimir, he is basically like a father to me and my siblings, when our parents died he took care of us… all 7 of us."
The man noticed that Childe was starting to have a grim expression, he tried to lighten the mood a bit "Ahh yess… my little ones! Did you know that this one was a bit of a cry baby?"
Embarrassed the redhead barked "Please… Must I continue to endure such bullying?" He noticed Lumine was chuckling, he then continued "But since this makes my girlie laugh, I'll let it slide, let me have it gramps" Lumine then replied "You are such an idiot…" she said as she smiled
"So what brings you here my little malyutka?" the old man asked
Childe right away replied "I was looking to rent this place right now for me and the girlie here? You think I could do that"
"Oooh Romantic date, yes? Of course it's not like we have many costumers right now, ever since her majesty The Tsaritsa-" Before he could continue Childe interrupts him
"You know I am a loyal follower of hers, speak any ill of her and I won't hesitate to end you or anyone that opposes our queen the Lady Tsaritsa" the redhead said with the uttermost cold expression, as if a switch was turned.
Fear invaded the man's face "Yes, of course…. I apologize, I tend to forget you're with them sometimes…. I still can't forgive what they did to-"
"That's enough Vladimir, so will I be able to rent this place out?" Childe asked harshly
The man faintly replied "But of course anything for my….I mean anything for you, Ajax"
"It's Childe, the name is Childe" said the redhead with dead eyes and a blank expression.
"Apologies…" said the man silently
"How much?" the redhead asked
"Free of charge…" the man slowly replied
Annoyed the redhead said "Once again….How….Much?"
Lumine felt the atmosphere getting tense between them, she intervened "You tell me not to be rude but look at you, this poor man is clearly upset, if he is saying it's free of charge-"
Childe barked "Lumine, I'll say this once. Please don't interfere"
Lumine barked back "You can really be a jerk sometimes, this man clearly cares about you and was genuinely happy to see you and you felt the same. But once he was about speak something ill about the Tsaritsa you right away changed, as if something was controlling you…Is she really that special to you? If I went against her would you consider me an enemy as well? If she ordered you to kill me would you do it?"
He without hesitation and a dead expression replied "Without a doubt, girlie… I will kill anyone that gets in her way. I will always do what Lady Tsaritsa says after all I am her most loyal subject, I am her favorite and her most powerful weapon"
Lumine then followed "Even if she ever ordered you to kill your own family…."
The redhead hesitated to reply "Lumi… Are you really asking me that? She would neve-"
The blonde replied "But what if she does?! What if she tells you to leave everyone behind and fully dedicate yourself to her?"
Childe then smiled and simply said "I guess I have no choice but to do her will"
Lumine was shocked by his expression and reply "I don't believe you…"
Vladimir no longer wanted these two to argue he shouted "1 MILLION MORA….You can rent this place for 1 million mora"
Childe turned his vision towards the old man "That's more like it" he smiled "Here you are" he handed the man a silver disk encrusted with Snezhnayan diamonds
Shocked the man and hesitant to take the silver disk "but this is worth more than one million mora"
Childe smiled "Just take it, think of it as a tip for always being so kind so me and my family. Also I do apologize for my attitude but you know how devoted I am to Lady Tsaritsa and how thankful I am for her kindness to me and my family, so please don't speak ill will of her and I will make sure you are once again on her good graces"
The man silently said "Thank you…" He then headed towards the entrance of the restaurant and switched the open sign to closed "Here you go, I will ask Alina to take your orders, eat as much as you like!"
Lumine with a worried expression on her face simply replied "Thank you…" She thought to herself ("Why is Childe so devoted to the Tsaritsa? Vladimir clearly cares about him and Childe is willing to drop him if she tells him to… I wonder what is going on ")
A short lady with dirty blonde hair approached them and asked "Hello are you two ready to order? would you like something to drink we have a nice selection of crafted Snezhnayan beers and a few imports from Liyue. We also have wine imported from Mondstadt, many costumers say it's pretty good"
Childe seemed a bit overwhelmed by the young waitress "Hey Alina, seems you are still as energetic as ever.." he smiled "Let me ask my friend over here" He then asked Lumine "Hey girlie! Ready to order?" Said the redhead waiting for a response "Lumi! Wake up!"
The blonde girl snaps out of her thoughts "I am sorry… Right order… I don't know… What do you recommend?"
Childe found sweet how absent-minded Lumi is sometimes,
Just as Alina was about to suggest something, Childe noticed and right away replied "Alright then we will have 2 chowder bread bowls and a bottle of Krovavo"
Alina startled asked "A bottle of Krovavo? Are you sure?"
Childe annoyed by her question he replied a bit more rudely "Must I repeat myself? yes a bottle of Krovavo, must I complain to Vladimir about how nosy you can be sometimes?"
Alina noticed how cold the redhead became "I apologize, 2 bread bowls and a bottle of Krovavo coming right up"
Confused by what she witnessed, Lumine asked Childe "What is so special about that bottle? Why did she asked if you wanted that?"
Childe chuckled and replied "Well girlie that bottle alone costs 300k mora, it's Snezhnaya's best wine, it has won many competitions, and only a few can afford it"
"WHAAAT! No! You are not getting that! I refuse! That's ridiculous!" barked the blonde girl
"Oh I know… and is it not ridiculous as well for me to rent this place for a million mora just so I can spend some time with you? Come on girlie can't you see what I am doing here? I want you to feel better…" He then realized that could be misinterpreted so he added "I mean... I just don't want Teucer to see you like this, it will totally ruin this visit from you he was so much looking forward to... So let me try and make you at least smile for a bit."
Lumine still shocked by the price of that bottle… She obliged "Fine... But please try to limit your spending a bit, I feel bad that you are spending this much mora… I know you are doing this just so I don't upset Teucer with my mood, I really commend for being such a caring brother…But this is too much, Childe. I promise I will be on the best mood, but please promise me you're not gonna keep spending mora in such an insane matter at least not on me."
He chuckled and found it endearing at how worried the blonde was about his spending habits, he replied "Alright comrade, you got a deal! But remember…" He teased "If I see you sad I will use my mora to try and fix that" he winked
Annoyed Lumine replied "Shut up…"
He started laughing.
The dirty blonde young woman approached their table with snacks and a very expensive looking bottle "Here's a sample platter courtesy of the house and here's the bottle of Krovavo you ordered, your order will be here soon."
"Thank you" Lumine replied with a smile
Childe said in a cold manner "Why are you taking so long, we are the only people here after all…"
Lumine started at Childe in disbelief "Hey be a little nicer…"
Startled the girl right away replied "No no he is right we are soo sorry, I'll get your orders as soon as possible" She ran towards the kitchen and in an instant she brought the food "Here you are! Thank you for your patience"
Lumine smiled "No thank you for your amazing and attentive service"
The girl smiled "You are so sweet I don't know what you see in-"
She was interrupted by Vladimir "Alina dear please let the costumers enjoy their meal in peace, run along now"
Alina replied "Apologies, right away sir, enjoy the meal" she and Vladimir right away left towards the kitchen
Childe smiled "A bit of a nosy classless chatter box that Alina is…" he chuckled "Some people never change nor gain any class after all this time…"
Lumine didn't like how Childe was acting "Why are you being like this? Back in Liyue you wouldn't behave like this with people, you were actually pretty warm and patient. I thought you loved your country I remember how you use to boast how Snezhnaya had this and Snezhnaya had that, now you're the one acting all weird and cold towards people that you have known for years"
Childe just smiled and pretended he didn't hear her comment, he simply said "Let's enjoy our meal, I'll pour you some wine. I promise it will be way better than the backwater wine they have at Mondstadt"
Lumine thought to herself ("If Diluc heard this…") she chuckled
"Hm? What's so funny Girlie?" the curious redhead asked
Lumine just smiled "Nothing let's eat"
"Right" he said as he agreed
They enjoyed their meal along with trivial conversations in between
A/N: That's it for now... thank you for taking your time reading this story 3 reviews and constructive criticism is welcomed.