Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: prologue: letter

Summary:

I wasn't in contact with anyone recently, you think, pushing in the key to your house and turning the lock, then opening the door, so who would send me a letter, especially without the sender's name?

Notes:

Take my very short prologue- I assure you that chapters two and up will be my average chapter length!

Enjoy your read~

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

letter [n]: a written, typed, or printed communication, especially one sent in an envelope by mail or messenger

The carefully drafted words, put in a moving, unique order to have meaning, placed on a piece of paper, simply to be delivered to a neighboring nation of Liyue in Teyvat, the letter that started it all.

You find yourself at the Liyue branch of Snezhnaya's national Northland Bank, located not too far from your house in Liyue, withdrawing your Mora from your account that you've saved up for your Mondstadt visit. Ekaterina, a brown-haired lady with hair tied in a neat braid slung over her shoulder, turns around to count the Mora. "Where are you planning to travel?" She asks you politely, picking up a coin dropped on the bank floor and placing it in a sack.

"Mondstadt," you reply, leaning on the counter, watching as she mouths numbers to herself as she counts the Mora, "I haven't been there in a while," you shift the weight of the arm you rest on to the other, "it's almost like my second home."

"Ah, that's very nice," Ekaterina replies in her accent, reaching for a golden ribbon to tie the sack of Mora together, "I heard from my fellow friends in Mondstadt that it's a very carefree place." She turns around and walks in your direction, placing the Mora on the counter.

You thank her and step away, but before you can even take three steps, she calls out to you, her voice ringing through the near-empty bank, "Miss, I almost forgot, I have something else for you!"

You go back to the counter as she slides you two letters, one being evidently larger in size than the other, seeing what you guess must be a skeptical look on your face. You take the letter, the one being on top addressed to you, and the other with no sender name or receiver name. You purse your lips, inspecting the letter, and the receptionist says, "someone gave me these letters and told me to give them to you- just follow the instructions in your letter, and keep the other one sealed."

You nod, thanking Ekaterina, and you head home, tucking the bag of Mora into your jacket pocket, and you tear open your letter, getting through the first paragraph before you reach home. I wasn't in contact with anyone recently, you think, pushing in the key to your house and turning the lock, then opening the door, so who would send me a letter, especially without the sender's name? You step inside, locking the door as you go, laying the pouch of Mora from your pocket on your shelf in the living room. You then slide the other letter under the sack of coins, almost acting as a paperweight; the coins jingle in the thin bag as it sinks under pressure. You narrowly miss bumping your hip on the edge of your dining table as you are so focused on your letter addressed by your anonymous person, who has a unique scrawl for handwriting but is readable.

The letter starts with, addressed to whoever is given this letter, then, I trust you were given another letter to go along with this one. Your eyes flicker to the envelope on the shelf, almost possessively; your eyes stare back to the letter, which follows with a straightforward: don't open it, it's not for you, you nosy person. You scoff, almost laughing at this, imagining someone speaking to you, completely deadpan. The letter goes on about instructions such as: don't lose or destroy it, don't let anyone read it, and other instructions easy to follow for any typical human. The letter is so dry and repetitive that you're just tempted to skip the rest of the letter and toss it in the bin, but you're almost done with it, so you might as well read it and get it over. You sigh, shifting from one foot to the other as you come to the last short paragraph, which surprises you.

It reads: bring what you need to go to Mondstadt, and on the next half-month in which you receive this letter, go to Dragonspine Mountain and wait there at the Entombed City- Outskirts where there lies a pure elemental cluster of Cryo energy when the sun rises to its zenith. Remember to take the other letter with you, and if you fail to meet at this location, come back in the next half month, and don't think about bringing any backup or such with you.

The calendar on your living room wall points to the day before half a month. I'd better start preparing, you think, as you set down the letter on your table and head in the direction of your bedroom, but I've already packed to go to Mondstadt, so I just need a good night's rest. You bob your head and sigh, wondering why Dragonspine of all places, but then it hits you because nobody ever goes to Dragonspine, so whatever happens will have as minimal witnesses as possible. You head to your room when a thought pops into your head; how did the sender know that I was going to Mondstadt soon? Thinking about it, you recall that the letter was given to you by Ekaterina of Northland Bank, which is from Snezhnaya, tied to the infamous factor of Fatui, who happens to be known for conducting shady business with the other nations of Teyvat. And the part about Ekaterina being the bank receptionist, knowing all your withdrawals and deposits for your travel purposes. That explains understanding about your planned trip, and the other letter is most likely addressed to someone in Mondstadt, perhaps someone important, and Dragonspine Mountain, which worries you further since you will not have any backup to save you if something terrible happens. You'll just freeze to death to keep it a secret; you're sure that the Tsaritsa doesn't want her plans spreading across Teyvat like wildfire.

Clever plan, you think as you realize you'll have to wake up early to head to Dragonspine, so you get ready for bed, organizing the belongings you'll have to take with you tomorrow. Your mind echoes as you start to prepare for sleep, filling with worry, doubt, and anxiousness; there's got to be a reason I was chosen for this and not someone else.

You hang your Vision granted by the gods on a hook near your bed, and sigh, worrying if it is actually some Fatui Mercenary and not just a very daring but random traveler from the Adventurer's Guild. You prop up your trusty backpack you've always had for your adventures on a hook next to your Vision. Your custom-made spear, which has already broken once, lays on the floor where you always put it, so it is hard to forget and easy to see. The boots you use to travel everywhere are placed near the chair that your warm, clean coat is draped on, which will obviously be handy for the harsh Dragonspine weather and windy days in Mondstadt.

" I will leave tomorrow," you say with apprehension out loud to nobody in particular, not expecting an answer, "I shall be back within three days worth of travel." You bring the blankets over you and close your eyes, trying to force your thoughts out of your mind as you try to sleep, but what really could go wrong?

Little do you know, the items you'll carry around with you on your journey will save you as you hang onto the last thread and change your perspective of Teyvat. Your backpack will carry life-saving items and be easily ransacked and searched for an object treasured preciously by two nations at odds for many years. Your spear is to be tossed around like a toy by the one you become acquainted with and broken for the second time, and the silver shine of your weapon coated by the scarlet liquid from the ones who dare appease you. The soles of your boots that you will wear for the last time will be torn from overuse and dirtied from the dirt and muck of Liyue's land, your spotless, expensive coat shipped from Inazuma stained with tears from the ashen sky and blood from the one you can not escape.

Notes:

I'm thinking of updating this around May 2nd, about a week or less for each chapter update.

(it says chapter 1 but its actually the prologue...? do prologues count as chapters...?)

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 2: harbinger

Summary:

Again, you scold yourself for warming up to the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger too much- you know that you aren't supposed to be friendly with these people, as you have heard from many that they're sly, cunning, evil, lying people, lead by the Tsaritsa. But somehow, you feel that Ajax is different from the majority of the Fatui... you warn yourself again as a reminder, not to get too close to Childe.

Notes:

A little bored, I just decided to slap Chapter One here... it's a little shorter than usual, but that's all I have!

All the characters you see in the tags are upcoming characters in future chapters. I've written it, but I'm not posting all at once.

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(And this was the chapter I was talking about in the tags that was supposed to be short, brief, and... bad... as a joke. It gets the point across though... and I don't feel like fixing it.)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

harbinger [n] : a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another

You're standing on the land of Dragonspine Mountain; the wind isn't blowing as harshly as it usually is, and surprisingly, a lot more life happens on the mountain than you thought it would. You watch as some peculiar, bizarre, blue grass sway in the wind, a white bird soaring past you. It's certainly a pleasant day, and the weather is beautiful- there's just enough sun and enough clouds that give you large patches of shade once in a while.

Suddenly, you hear a voice behind you. You don't know how to describe it, but it's crisp and clear, with a pleasant tone. You've listened to this voice before- it's the voice that belongs to the person that brings fear to the battlefield, the one who can single-handedly take down multiple enemies within minutes. Surprised, you whip your head around to see a smug-looking person. You smirk back at the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, stepping closer to the brownish-orange-haired man with the interesting red mask. His eyes with light blue hues stare back at you, his crimson scarf-like apparel flapping in the chilling wind.

"Tartaglia, isn't it? Or your name on the battlefield, which I've heard is Childe-" y ou pause, shuffling your feet in the snow, curling your toes as a cold, wet feeling fills the small space of your shoes. "or... Ajax, right?" You question, shrugging your shoulders.

"Any is okay," he half-lies, looking at you, a light flush creeping up his face. You take a mental note to tease him by calling him Ajax when he annoys you with that flirty little smile he does.

You look at him, a little skeptical of the Fatui Harbinger sent here to carry out a short deed in Mondstadt- knowing that certainly unnecessary to have one of the strongest Fatui trailing behind you. Turning around, the hood of your jacket suddenly slaps you in your face as a frosty gust of wind blows, and you fumble clumsily in a panic to brush it away from you; you're afraid that the sight of you having a piece of clothing wrapped around your head would be a terrible first impression- after all, it is Ajax . You feel fingers gently lift the coat hood off your head, and you're surprised that his touch isn't rough, especially since he's a Fatui Harbinger that has been in so many battles throughout his life. You believe it's easy to assume that his hands and fingertips would be rough and calloused due to handling weapons so frequently, but the care in his touch makes you fumble tensely with the wool sleeve of your beige coat.

You turn around and force a disgusted, snobbish frown onto your face, trying to disguise a sudden blush that's threatening to reveal what you're thinking at that current moment. But you take notice of that simper decorating Childe's pale face that drives you up the wall, and you blush that deep shade of red-pink, causing that exaggerated simper to turn into a light, hearty, teasing laugh.

You surely have never heard Ajax laugh, and you didn't expect him to laugh over something trivial and minor like you blushing or whatever the sort just came over your face. You decide to let out an huff as you turn around and start down the mountain. The new, fresh, fluffy layer of snow crunches like leaves as you hike down the mountain, tiny snowflakes spinning around in your line of sight.

You've been on the mountain for nearly an hour, almost to the bottom of the snowy, stone landscape, as you realize that it's dead quiet except for the sound of your boots on the snow, your small pack making a clinking sound as it bumps your double-sided, black, silver, and light brown spear which then bounces off a small, almost concealed vision orb. You dare to look behind you, concerned that the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger isn't behind you.

But he is, and as you halt, he does, cocking his head slightly to the right with a puzzled expression; bronze- cider-colored hair ruffling in the gentle breeze on the frigid mountain, then turning his head in both directions as if searching for something. You call yourself stupid as you shake your head disapprovingly, thinking it would obviously be soundless as he walks- as being one of those sneaky Fatui members. The thought of Childe fills your mind again as you reprimand yourself- if he's of no importance to you, why are you thinking about him?

Thoughts of Ajax continue to swarm around in your brain, but you can't stop thinking about that slightly stunning smile and the strange but tender, caring feeling of his fingers removing the hood from your head. Your blush deepens, and you reach up with your gloved hand and pull the skin on your face down roughly, attempting to snap yourself out of your unusual trance. You shake your head furiously from side to side as if it would rid you of the horrible thoughts in your head, but to no avail; as you are doing so, you feel one of your feet catch on something hard, perhaps a stone, but you have no time to look as you find yourself flying closer and closer to the snowy ground.

You brace yourself for impact with the snowy ground as you feel your heart catch in your throat- you stretch your arms out to try and stop the fall, but it seems as if your arms are moving a millimeter a second. You crumple into a tortoise-shaped position as the snow coats your face in a cold blanket. And then that's when you hear hurried, muffled footsteps, which you know belong to Ajax, start from behind you, circle to your left, and stop right in front of you. Curling over on the snow, you're grateful for the thick jacket, gloves, and pants you've decided to wear- if it weren't for that, you'd be soaked in water from the snow seeping into your clothes. And you're ninety-nine percent sure that you don't want to wear his clothes, and they're probably not even comfortable to wear, much less resistant to snow as much as yours.

You feel, again, a gloved hand, this time, on your shoulder, and you look up into Tartaglia's pair of light blue hues, the color of fresh cornflowers, though you have to admit that you've never really taken a glance at cornflowers up close. Ashamed, frustrated, and embarrassed, you lower your eyes to the ground, the black color of his boots filling your vision. His hand holds your chin by the bottom, and he lifts your head slightly, his other free hand brushing the flecks of snow off your face. You do admit, you somehow feel safe, most likely because you've got a Harbinger at your side.

He stares into your eyes, lips pursed into one of those gentle, teasing smiles, "Come on, you have places to go, right?" He brushes a stray strand of hair peeking from your hood and stands up, picking off the snow from his clothes that have accumulated from him kneeling on the snow. Childe offers his hand to help you stand up, but you shake your head in dismissal and watch as he withdraws his arm.

On unsteady legs, you push yourself up, sweeping more snow off your clothes; as you do so, you think it would probably be better for you to just run off without Tartaglia because you find him the most annoying specimen on Teyvat. You plan to try to head to Wangshu Inn for the night; since you're on the south side of the mountain, you find it more practical to travel in the direction of somewhere you can rest for the night, then go to Mondstadt. Out of the corners of your eyes, you can still feel the Fatui Harbinger's searing blue gaze on your back, watching every movement you make.

Again, you scold yourself for warming up to the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger too much- you know that you aren't supposed to be friendly with these people, as you have heard from many that they're sly, cunning, evil, lying people, lead by the Tsaritsa. But somehow, you feel that Ajax is different from the majority of the Fatui, and you warn yourself again, as a reminder, not to get too close to Childe. And you don't even know if you're supposed to believe what the Fatui say, much less what Tartaglia says; he could be forced to accept certain things you don't want to hear about. As you continue down the mountain again, you notice that green grass is starting to replace the blue-colored grass, meaning that you're near the bottom of the rocky landscape.

Sometime later, you feel the cold air that was once surrounding you slowly fade away, the white and grey landscape turning into a place full of color. You start to give in to your temptations to see if Tartaglia is still behind you, but then you think that you won't be needing Childe to go wherever you go- delivering a simple message from a Fatui Member in your home city, Liyue, to Mondstadt. You were just on your way from Liyue to Mondstadt, just paying a visit, when a Fatui Member near the Northland Bank asked you to deliver a message. Strangely, they knew where you were going, but you took the letter anyways, thinking, what would be the harm in just passing a message?

But now that the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger has been sent to accompany you on your way to the City of Freedom, you don't really have that right to do what you want. You try and start to think of a plan to abandon him; after all, once you leave him behind, he won't ever be able to find you again- and maybe you can even take a peek as to what's in the letter. You form a simple plan- head to Wangshu Inn, stay there for the night, and ditch "Mr. I Have a Nice Smile" in the morning. Your mind is starting to get foggy from all the walking, and your body is aching, especially your face, which is still numb from the snow on your face .

The sound of pebbles grinding against your shoes reverberates in the silence, and you certainly do not want Childe to ruin the mood- well, not like he could make it any worse.

"Wait, I'm pretty sure that this isn't the right direction to Mondstadt," a voice sounds behind you, not too far away, and you strangely know that it is Ajax , "I think it would have been more rational to head east in the direction Mondstadt- that is, if we were on the mountain."

"Well, if you haven't noticed," you turn around and stare at the Fatui Harbinger, who smooths back some of the hair that has fallen into his face, "we're not on Dragonspine Mountain anymore, and we're heading to Wangshu Inn so we can find a place to sleep for the night."

You hear Tartaglia give an exaggerated huff behind you, and you ignore him as you turn right at the intersection where two paths meet, nearly bumping into a sign giving directions. You hear his near-silent footsteps on the gritty surface following you, and you realize that maybe traveling with Childe isn't too bad. As you start crossing the bridge leading to Wangshu Inn, you notice that some of the guards give the Fatui Harbinger strange looks. You wonder if Ajax has any friends, feeling guilty pity you shouldn't even be feeling because wherever he goes, he's cast aside for his Fatui allegiance, but it's none of your business, right?

You climb up the stairs instead of using the elevator because you still don't trust that it's working correctly, and you think you can hear whispering in the background as you slowly trudge up the stairs. As you find your way to the upper level of the inn, you feel the person with the name tag, titled Verr Goldet , looking at you strangely. You start to figure she is the boss of Wangshu Inn as you feel Childe clap you on the shoulder in a kind way- maybe too friendly for a Harbinger.

"A room for two, a twin bed with a couch," he announces, shoving one of his gloved hands into his pocket, fishing for something in there, "It's on me, I promise-" Childe pulls- maybe summons his wallet out of nowhere and pays the boss of the inn. He grins flirtatiously at you, and in response, you give a half-smile, the other part a forced grimace, and he says to Goldet, "One night."

You're watching him count his Mora, start to hand it over to the boss of the inn when you butt in, "Actually, I'll take a room myself- he can pay for himself and for himself only," you look at the slightly confused and astonished Harbinger, then back at Verr Goldet, "a queen bed for one, until the morning."

She gives a knowing, light chuckle, takes Childe's money, counts his to make sure it's the right amount, then nods at you as you reach into your pack to bring out your own wallet and hand the Mora to the boss of the hotel. "Alright, here are both of your keys, and you'll find the room number on the packet of the keys." Goldet hands you and Childe the keys, and you thank her before finding your way around the inn to your room.

Tartaglia looks at you, half abashed and half confused, but he makes his way to the upper floor of the inn, where both of your rooms are. You shoot a look at Ajax , who has been eyeballing you the whole flight up the stairs, "Save your money for Zhongli."

He gapes at you, dumbstruck, stops on the stairs as you continue to pass him, his arms spread in an open posture, and he soon catches up to you, " Why would I save my money for Zhongli? "

"Everyone knows that Zhongli never has his Mora on him, " you casually say, "and you're the one that's always giving him the money when he doesn't have it with him," you continue, hearing Tartaglia storm up the stairs to catch up to you.

As you reach your inn room, where you're staying for the night, you realize that the Harbinger's place is right across from yours- as you're about to close the entrance to your room, you hear Childe bid you a gentle, quiet, "Good night," and you politely repeat the words as he shuts his own door with a soft smile.

Reaching for the backpack straps, you lift it off your shoulder and set down the backpack containing items that may become useful in the future on the ground. You set your spear on the floor- it makes a little clanking sound; you ashamedly think you feel insecure, not having a powerful Harbinger at your side.

You have to admit, though you haven't been accustomed to his presence, you're pretty fond of it, but you shrug the thought off, embarrassed, and look around your lodgings for the night. In the inn room, you drape your slightly still wet clothes and your coat on a chair and pull the switch to a brown, wooden ceiling fan. You pull off your boots, but it's stuck- you happen to forget that you have to untie them to take them off; after you take them off, you crawl into bed. On your mattress, you think of the plan to ditch Ajax in the morning and Mondstadt- that is- if you can reach it by tomorrow. You take a deep inhale and let out a low exhale as you feel your eyes feeling heavy, the ceiling fan you turned on a while ago spinning, slowly hypnotizing you to sleep. Sleep starts to overcome you, and once you let it wash over your body, all you can see is darkness.

Notes:

since i posted chapter one and the prologue on the same day, same scheduled update time for may 2nd. it's not exactly a a week, but i'll schedule it so it updates on a weekend. enjoy your read!

also! ajax is bolded + italicized because it's important. i see it as a friendlier, more intimate way of addressing childe, for tartaglia and childe are basically aliases and code names. like... for example, if i addressed a teacher (for example lets just use john doe) as mr. doe, john is more... friendly.

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 3: scars

Summary:

You look up at the Fatui Harbinger, who still has his back faced to you, and you take notice of all the scars decorating his back, but to no surprise, because he's fought in so many battles in his life.

Notes:

heyy so i'm posting this on may first actually because I decided posting on weekends work out easier for me, and i can't wait, haha

(also i put the "y/n" in here bc... yeah...)

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

scars [n] : marks left on the skin or within body tissue where a wound, burn, or sore has not healed completely, and fibrous connective tissue has developed

You must have forgotten to pull the velvet-colored blinds last night because bright, shining rays of sunlight flood through the open rooms and dance teasingly around the room. A beam of light flickers across your face, and you open your eyes and sit up, frustrated as you remember where you are and what you were doing last night. You scan your surroundings, an empty room, an empty bed- and your spear is still there, but it must have fallen onto the ground overnight because it's lying near the corner of your bed. Your tan-brown pack lays where you placed it last night, your warm, fluffy coat still there on the chair, which you can tell is not dry. You hop off the mattress too quickly and become dizzy, and you have to remain in one spot for a few seconds to regain your balance. You find your shoes near your bedside and tug them on, looping them through the lace holes, double-knotting them, and drawing the strings up tightly for good measure as you make a bow shape.

Too lazy to pick up your polearm and backpack, which you kick over by accident, you step over it and drowsily trudge over to the bathroom and get ready for the day. After you're done, you head over to your coat draped on the chair and slip it on, buttoning up the first few buttons and straightening out the edges of the jacket. As you make your bed, you mumble something about trying to ditch the Fatui Harbinger and head over to your backpack, slip your arms through the straps and pick up your polearm, which you note is a bit dirty and you'll have to clean later.

You head over to the door and look behind you, making sure you aren't forgetting any of your belongings; once you're satisfied with your quick visual search, you exit the room, sighing and turning around, ready to leave the inn. The natural light sky-blue hues that flood the room slowly vanish from your sight, the white flecks of clouds disappearing from behind a wooden door. You turn around, spear bumping on the door, to see the grinning face of Ajax .

Greeting you with a "good morning," he follows you as you start down the stairs, giving him a short "morning," the sound of shoes on wood filling the silence between you and the Snezhnayan. "I was just about to knock on your door to try and wake you up," Childe remarks, blue eyes flashing for a quick moment in the dim light of the morning, "but it seems that there is no need anymore."

You have no reply for him but a light laugh as you descend down the flight of wooden stairs, all the way to the bottom floor of the inn, where the kitchen and restaurant are. Taking your seat at a low wooden table, the chef saunters over, a calm smile decorating his face, ready to take your order. The man introduces himself as Smiley Yanxiao, and you politely order a dish of almond tofu, along with a Matsutake Meat Roll. You look at Childe, and maybe it's like the language of eye contact or something cheesy like that- but he somehow knows the question in your mind, and looks at Yanxiao, then at you.

"I'll just eat whatever she orders," the Fatui Harbinger says with a strangely too-polite smile, raising his arms as he shrugs, then resting them on the table, "I trust her taste in food."

You look at Childe doubtingly and double your order- you both have enough to eat; just as Yanxiao is starting to walk away, you hurriedly slip in two glasses of water, almost forgetting a drink. Minutes, which seem like long, dreadful hours, the food finally arrives, the plates of food sliding on the table, wisps of hot air flowing upwards. You sit and watch as Tartaglia fiddles with his pair of chopsticks before attempting to pick up a piece of meat roll. He manages to pick it up and raise it to his open mouth, but he suddenly loses control of the utensils and drops one in his lap, sending the delicious, tempting meat roll to the floor. The Fatui Harbinger reaches across the table towards a small container holding several types of utensils, then watches as you deftly pick up a piece of a slippery but tasty portion of almond tofu. As you lift up your head after placing it in your mouth, you swear that you can see a pale face with teal-ish colored hair covered with a strange-looking mask peeking through the entrance of the inn floor. The strange being squints his eyes and gives you a hungry look, then at the tofu, and you watch as the head slowly moves downward in hiding.

Childe tries to imitate the way that you use your chopsticks, but you sigh as he fails to pick up another piece of meat roll; you show him how to hold it correctly and pick up a bite-sized bit of food without it slipping from your hand, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, you blatantly hand him a fork after you decide that he will be forever incompetent with chopsticks. As Ajax takes the utensil from your hand, you instantly draw back your hand, just in case, to make sure that his fingers don't do that gentle, subtle brush against your skin like it has before. In a long stretch of awkward silence, both of you eat your food speedily as humanly as possible, pay- more like Childe paying for you- and get yourself out of the inn.

As your feet land on the rocky dirt path, you try to speed up and get away from Tartaglia, but he simply catches up with you, which is expected, as he is a honed soldier of war. He attempts idle conversation with you, showing off his bowmanship and his excellent, precise accuracy- and when you quietly praise him, the corners of his lips turn upwards into a tiny smirk, and you feel like you want to punch him and give him a quick, slight grin at the same time. You whip out your spear, knowing Childe is still learning to use a bow, shooting him a look that this spear is better than that , and poke him gently next to his shoulder, making him wince slightly.

You've been walking for almost four hours, according to a small pocket watch you got in Liyue, and all you can really hear is the Harbinger commenting on how he really never sees all these colors at once in nature since he lives in Snezhnaya, where there basically is nothing but snow and rocks. As you continue on the near-faded trail, you spot a small group of Hilichurls, and you advance towards the monsters with caution; you notice a Mitachurl, a few Hilichurl Grenadiers, and Shooters, which you think that there happen to be more monsters than you've ever come naturally across in your experience. As you slowly turn your head towards Ajax , who you expect is still behind you, you get an easy view of him charging forwards with a bow in hand. You're about to call out his name to call him back so you can get rid of all these hilichurls without severely getting injured, but then you see the Harbinger whip out two Hydro daggers, or whatever those are- and starts slaughtering the monsters. You stand there, slightly awestruck at his strength and power, and after a few seconds, you leap into the battle, fighting side by side... with a Fatui Harbinger.

You've just taken down the Mitachurl, and you spin around to see Childe swiping at one of the last Hilichurl Grenadiers when out of the corner of your eye, you see a flaming, jelly-like sphere hurtling through the air towards both of you. Time seems to slow down, and you're sprinting towards the Snezhnayan- your legs feel like they have ten-pound weights attached to them, one of your arms slowly stretching towards the Eleventh Harbinger.

You call out his name in a panic, and it's not Childe, or Tartaglia, his alias on the battlefield, or even the fancy Eleventh Fatui Harbinger pet name or whatever it is that the Fatui call him- it's his family name, that name that you have no recollection of how you came across, it's Ajax .

You remember that myth that originated in Snezhnaya, but every adventurer, every soldier, knows of the story of Tartaglia, the youngest Harbinger to serve the Tsaritsa, who fought on the battlefield at the young age of fourteen. The myth continues that he absolutely relished the moments in his fight, leading him to be a "skilled slaughterer with mastery of many forms of martial arts," as they put it. You snap out of the myth ringing in your head and watch as your hand comes closer and closer in proximity to Childe, who freezes in place at the sound of his name before realizing a fiery, orange-red ball in the air flying, closer and closer.

It doesn't seem possible, a young man in the prime of his life with such power and strength frozen just because of a mere word, but you watch as the lively young man with the ginger hair, clothed in different shades of grey and red, crumple towards the fresh green grass.

It takes you about a minute or two to finish off the three remaining Hilichurls, and you sprint over to the Harbinger, who certainly doesn't seem like the person in the myth right now, and nudge him on the shoulder, where you immediately notice the pinkish-red of a fresh burn. You're not sure if you're supposed to kill Childe, so you can just head over to Mondstadt happily with the fact you're a murderer in the back of your head or help tend to his wounds; you settle on the decision that you should help him; you decide on the fact that you should help him, and you prop one of his arms over your shoulder and stand up. Tartaglia lets out a disturbingly loud groan filled with pain, but you ignore it as you look around, searching for a nearby body of water so you at least can clean the wound.

But you find no water nearby, and you have to result in a very slow trudge with probably more than half of Childe's weight supported by your arm, not to mention that there's some hilichurl blood and some slime condensate on his clothes that have most likely rubbed on your coat. You slowly continue your way on the path to Mondstadt, still on the lookout for any river or pond- any body of water will do for you- anything to relieve the pain of Childe's injuries so he can stop complaining about the sensation of the sun beating against the revealed part of his burn.

A few minutes pass, and you find water near a place called Stone Gate, and the small stream turns out to be a wide river decorated with rocks on both sides of the shore- you seat Childe on a slab of stone surrounded by a large patch of pebbles and grass and finally take off your coat, which you were unable to do because of the Harbinger occupying your arms needed to remove your warm apparel. Childe turns away from you, doing what you asked him to, embarrassed, and face flushed, to remove his shirt to give his wounds air and so you can clean his shirt and that red flappy scarf-like cloth that hangs off his back.

You start to reach towards Tartaglia when he's done taking off his shirt, but he pulls the arm holding his clothes back, standing up, trying to persuade you that he can go and walk over to the river without injuring himself in the process. You let out a loud, disappointed sigh as you let the Harbinger do as he says, but halfway to the river, he lets out a pained wheeze and hands you his clothes as he claps his hand over a large scratch against his side that you've failed to notice earlier. Pointing to the rock that he was previously sitting on before, you scold him in a harsh, commanding voice to sit down. He grumbles something unintelligible as he hands you his clothes as you requested earlier, and he turns away from you with a scowl on his face like a petulant child.

No wonder people often call him Childe.

You head over to the water, clothes in hand, and dunk them into the liquid, your mind slowly clearing up from the fresh, cold feeling of the water swirling around your hands. You look up at the Fatui Harbinger, who still has his back faced to you, and you take notice of all the scars decorating his back, but to no surprise, because he's fought in so many battles in his life. He turns his head, ginger-orange messy hair waving in the slight breeze, and catches you staring at him, and you color beet red, lowering your eyes back to the clear water. You continue dunking his clothes in the water, watching the blood from his clothes turning the clear water into a dark reddish-purple, making it nearly impossible to see through the shallow body of water.

After you're sure all the blood has drained out of the cloth, you draw them out of the water, and you twist and wring out the water from the clothes, so the water drips out the droplets forming large ripples in the calm water when they hit the surface. You stand up, walking over to Ajax , who still has his pale-skinned back facing you, but he turns his head to the left, the strange red mask facing your direction. You walk over to a tree near Childe with a couple pale Sunsettias hanging on the thin limbs of the tree and drape it across his shoulder with the burn, hoping that the remaining cool water that has soaked through the clothes will calm down the sore of the angry, red-pink burn. You look at Tartaglia before taking a seat on the grass, the leaves from the nearby tree shading you from the heat of the blazing sun. He leans forward as far as he can without aggravating his two fresh wounds, cocks his head to the side a bit, hair falling across his face, and stares into your eyes as if searching for something.

You sigh and reach into the pack in your back, rummaging around for the thin roll of gauze that you always make sure you have on your adventures, and when you find it, you start applying enough to cover the burn on his shoulder. "I'd like to," Childe pauses, searching his puny brain, you think, for the right words, and you also pause placing more gauze on his wounds, looking down into his eyes, "thank you for treating my wounds- they certainly hurt less now-" he thanks, searching his mind for your name.

"Y/N," You complete, looking at the Snezhnayan across you, "my name is Y/N."

You don't exactly know what comes out of your mouth at that moment in response, but your reply results in a hushed, light chuckle as he leans back slightly, as you start to work on the deep scrape on the side of his body. As you slowly begin to reach towards his muscled torso, you hesitate and draw back your hand, but you look at Childe and notice the pain evident in his eyes, so you start wrapping the gauze around his wound. Your fingers brush against Childe's sides though you try to make an effort not to do so because it makes you incredibly uncomfortable, and when you do so, you can see the young Harbinger flinch. You apologize every time you do so, and he shrugs it off with a blush on his face; after a few minutes, you've used up almost half of your gauze on this young man because of the scratch on the side of his body that keeps bleeding through the gauze.

You sigh when you are content that he'll be alright, but you keep in mind that you want to get to Mondstadt to make sure someone checks on him, but you wonder if there are even doctors there. Stuffing the rest of the gauze back into your pack, you sit down, allowing for time to pass while Childe takes a break before you head to Mondstadt.

He stares at you, keeping his gaze on you for an uncomfortably long time before speaking to you about what's on his mind. "You know," he says, one of his hands fidgeting with a rock he picked up earlier, "I believe you called me by my name back there; nobody has ever called me that in a long time, besides my family, you know what I mean?"

"You must have hearing things," you mutter, flustered from his comment, then emphasizing his name to make your point, "Childe."

He laughs whatever you said off, dismissing it with a slight roll of his eyes, dropping the small grey, dotted black rock in his hand on the ground, making a quiet thud on the dirt. " Do you happen to have any-" he winces, shifting his position on the rock slightly- and you can tell he is a bit embarrassed, "-any food on you?"

You try to force down an incoming bout of laughter at his question, and it sounds like a quick snort, almost like a sound a pig would make while searching for food, "Really, food?"

"I'm injured and craving, starving, half to death- I haven't eaten since we left Wangshu Inn this morning."

You scoff at the Harbinger, crossing your arms and glaring at him, "I just tended to your wounds, and I haven't eaten since we left Wangshu Inn this morning either," you unfold your arms, sighing, "if you haven't noticed."

After a couple more minutes of sitting and talking with Tartaglia, around twenty minutes quickly pass by in total, and you stand up, offering your hand towards Ajax to help him up. The now-dry clothing slips off the Hydro-bearer's shoulder as your hand wraps tightly around his gloved ones; you stoop over to pick up his clothes and hand them to him after he regains his balance. You hear him grumble "thanks," including some unintelligible words that you cannot catch- you're curious to ask him what he said, but it's really none of your business.

You help Childe walk, as he still has trouble moving about, on the lookout for any nearby cooking pots along the path so you can make some food and give it to the Harbinger so he can stop complaining. You continue to stumble across the trail, the shoulder holding up the Fatui Harbinger starting to ache, when out of the corner of your right eye, you spot something like a wooden porch sticking out of the cliff. You're not in the mood to head over to the people, order food, pay, leave, and start walking- besides, you have a feeling you'll come across a cooking pot eventually, and you can cook your own food. Picking up your speed, you walk past a mossy, stone pinnacle, hoping that Childe will not notice the people happily dining on the wooden terrace.

Tartaglia lets out a low huff, snapping you out of your thoughts, his grip slipping from your shoulders, and you have to use your free hand to hold his arm to keep his arm on your shoulder. Lucky for you, he doesn't overhear the chatter of the people, nor does he see him, and you continue to walk along the path, still in search of a cooking pot.

Tiny little pieces of grey and white gravel grind against the bottom of your shoes as you and the Harbinger continue to make your way towards Mondstadt, both of you still hungry. The sky is still blue, freckles of white sticking out in the blue background here and there, and you figure that it's just a little past noon at this point in the day. You sigh as you continue walking, the Harbinger now walking by himself at this point, despite you telling him that he shouldn't go about without any care. You recall that he laughed at you, saying with a slight tease in his voice, "I, Tartaglia, am always getting stronger, " and then tried to prove it by jogging a few steps, and luckily, successfully.

After about another hour of walking, which feels like an eternity, you spot a bundle of sticks, unlit but definitely used before, with a small, greyish-black pot sitting in front of it- but it's not one of those random cooking pots on the path, it's a cooking pot belonging to a band of Hilichurls and a Pyro Abyss Mage. You tell Childe, whose eyes lighten at the sound of "cooking pot," but then his excitement quickly fades at the realization that he can't go up to them and annihilate them all in a couple hits. You tell the Snezhnayan to "stay right there and don't move an inch-" before drawing out your spear, charged with your vision power. You charge forward, knocking back a Hilichurl Berserker and one of the Pyro Hilichurl Grenadiers, who drops their small explosive as it dies. You quickly take out a Hilichurl, jabbing it on the sides, then hitting it with the death blow right over the head. You dodge a flying fiery explosive and one of the Pyro Mage's attacks and head towards the last Hilichurl, spinning forward in a twirling motion, dealing significant damage. You kill the Hilichurl Grenadier without remorse and a quick two-burst jab to the face and turn towards the Pyro Abyss Mage.

Something light blue, dripping water, and sharp goes hurtling through the empty air, and if you had moved a couple inches to the right at that moment, it would have surely hit you in the back of the head. The Abyss Mage lets out one of its pained, demonic noises though it has not taken any physical damage, noticing the shield has taken immense damage from that one Vaporize attack, and you turn around, seeing Ajax loading his Rust bow with one of his Hydro arrows. You dash towards the Abyss Mage, spear charged with Electro, and knock back the monster with the Overloaded reaction. You pause as the floating creature gets back up and summons a line of fire in your direction; you leap swiftly aside and run towards the monster as another Hydro-charged arrow flies right by your ear. The Pyro shield cracks again, and you know just a couple more hits will take the barrier down, so you load up your weapon with Electro and thrust your spear at the Abyss Mage, driving it upwards; shield gone, landing on the slightly singed grass.

You stand there, the mage laying there like a ragdoll as Tartaglia approaches you from behind, staying away from the still Electro-infused monster. He draws out his Hydro-made spear and stabs the Abyss Mage, creating Electro-Charged, the sound of electricity crackling drowned over the sound of the Pyro Mage, who screeches in pain. You take your foot and kick the monster, propelling it not too high in the air, but you manage to charge up your spear again and hit the evil thing like a baseball, sending it flying towards a conveniently placed, tall slab of rock, which kills the Pyro Abyss Mage instantly. You sigh and look back at the Fatui Harbinger, who seems notably bored from, most likely, the lack of bloodshed.

You take the pot hanging over the wood looking for water and order Childe, who seems physically better, to go and get meat for the food. He complains like a child at first, then taking in the fact that you can't really hunt with a spear well, and he has the bow, he petulantly goes off to find some sort of animal to kill. You walk around the area, not straying too far, and find a small stream with two tiny Hydro slimes bouncing around in a circle-like path. You're standing above them, and they haven't noticed you, so you grip the pot tightly with one hand and attack downwards in a spiraling motion, effectively dealing damage to one of them and luckily killing the other because you landed on it. It takes you a couple seconds to kill the other, and when you do, you stand in the water, regretting that you didn't think over your options now that your boots are soaked in water.

You shake your head, bending down with the pot in hand, water collecting inside, cleaning out the soot and grime, collecting water for your cooking. After you're satisfied with the amount of water in the pot, you head back to the area where you were before, setting the cooking pot above the wood. You take two of the small wooden sticks and rub them furiously against each other in an attempt to start a fire. It takes you a couple of minutes, and when the smoke finally begins to start a fire, your hands are covered in tiny bits of dried bark, and you can't recall how much easier it would be to have a Pyro vision.

You stand up and brush your hands against your coat, looking around for trees because that's where fungi grow most abundantly in your experience. You spot trees in the opposite direction of the water, and head in that direction, looking for a few mushrooms and a few matsutake to accompany the meat Childe is getting. After a couple of minutes, you've pulled up as many as you can hold, so you head back to the fire and spot that the water in the pot is starting to boil, so you quickly get to work on the mushrooms and the matsutake you have. You pluck off the roots on the matsutake and the mushrooms, carefully and slowly putting the fungi into the pot with boiling water.

You sit there, listening to the bubbles in the pot burst loudly, watching the brown and tan mushrooms rise and fall in the pot. You occasionally turn your head towards the direction in which Tartaglia left, and after a few more minutes, you hear quiet footsteps, and you see Childe emerge from behind the bunch of trees. The messy bunch of poultry is what you assume has been birds, already plucked and gutted. You raise an eyebrow skeptically at him, but you do not ask him what he did to get it in that shape, but you silently watch as he carefully places the meat in the pot with the mushrooms.

Telling the Harbinger of the small stream near here, you instruct him to go wash his hands and head back for food, and you watch as he disappears in the direction of the water. Later, he comes back, and the food is ready- you've already eaten your portion somehow without making a mess, and you watch in silence as Childe ravenously devours the food you've made. He compliments you here and there, and not too long after, all the food in the pot is gone, scraped clean by Childe. Standing up, you brush down your pants and watch the Fatui Harbinger get to his feet, waiting for you to continue on your way to Mondstadt so he can follow.

You adjust the pack on your back, making sure that it is comfortable before you start walking again, shooting Ajax a look, telling him to follow you, and he does. You keep walking, and not too long after, a Mondstadt- styled building surrounded by plants comes into view, and you quickly recognize it as Dawn Winery. You give a quiet huff, something you do when you feel some sense of accomplishment, and you speed up with your walking pace, both overjoyed and anxious to get to Mondstadt.

Approaching Dawn Winery, you walk through the vineyard and wonder if the well-off, young gentleman of the Ragnvindr Clan is inside Dawn Winery or working late at Angel's Share. You eye one of the winery windows, squinting, trying to see if the winery's owner is at home, though you know you can not see far in. Sighing, you turn your head to the side, looking for Childe, and you immediately regret taking him through the vineyard, which you probably weren't allowed to walk in; you know you must leave soon. You cross your arms and stare at the Fatui Harbinger, who looks back at you with a half-smirk and a light stain on his upper lip, most likely from the grapes, "These are," you point at the grapes and drag Tartaglia along with you, gripping the grey sleeve of his shirt tightly, "Master Diluc's grapes, and I don't care if he doesn't know you, but I'm sure he doesn't want a Fatui Harbinger eating them all. " You put on an annoyed face and point out the stain on his lip as you look behind him to make sure nobody is watching.

Childe gives you a childlike pout as he stumbles out of the vineyard with you, wiping the grape stain off hurriedly with the back of his free hand.

You let go of his hand and run off in the direction of Mondstadt, the sound of two pairs of boots grinding against the clumped-up dirt and the glassy pebbles.

Notes:

pov: ur the reader and ur already a big simp for childe

the reason why childe seems so weak is because no matter how hard he trains, or how many battles he wins, he's going to die eventually in this life. he's a mortal. he's not some sort of god. i want to focus on the mortality and how you've only got one life, so he's going to make mistakes and learn from them while living his life.

also happy late bday to the one and only diluc "dilly pickle" ragnvindr !

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 4: freedom

Summary:

"Anyways, welcome back to the City of Wine, Song, and Freedom, my friend- always great to have you here."

Notes:

hey welcome to chapter three! new setting is mondstadt! yay

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

freedom [n]: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint

Sunlight teasingly peeks through the tree's leaves, shining onto the bridge that sits above Cider Lake, and you stop, looking at the towering stone walls surrounding the city.

Mondstadt, the City of Freedom, home to the current Anemo Archon, Barbatos, and known for its famous Dandelion Wine enjoyed by many.

As you start to cross a bridge, a boy's voice, loud with intensity and anger, whiny and clear- sounds off to your right, "What're you doing?! " A boy with brown-orange hair waves his arms up and down angrily, and his voice raises with every word he says, "You're scaring the pigeons away!"

"I'm very, very sorry for scaring the pigeons away, Timmie- I- I'll find a way to make it up to you," you say with an unnoticeable bit of sarcasm, looking at the young boy, "I'll make sure to get you some Mondstadt Hash Browns."

Backing away from Timmie, you kick Tartaglia in the shin, who is trying to mock you and horribly attempting to stifle his sniggering and hysterics, most likely at your false sympathy and apologies. Through your laughing, you manage to spit something out in a loud whisper, "shut up, you idiot," and you make sure to emphasize the words "up" and "idiot." You snigger again, watching as the ginger-haired young man curls up on the stone bridge comically, making noises of mocking pain.

After a minute, he stands up, and you continue crossing the bridge, watching as Childe jokingly whips out his bow and aims it at the remaining two pigeons, and you quickly step on his booted foot as the pigeon lover looks in your direction.

As you approach the guards at the front, you look at them skeptically, but once you introduce yourself and Tartaglia as a Fatui Harbinger, Swan and Lawrence, the guards at the front gate look at each other quickly, then allow you to enter Mondstadt. You immediately thank them, passing through the stone arch and walking towards the stone steps, past Katheryne of the Adventurers' Guild, who greets you with a, "Welcome back, Ad Astra Abyssosque!" Moving forward, you stop by Good Hunter and grab a table as Tartaglia looks at the menu, one of his eyebrows raised as he reads out the menu quietly.

You order a Mondstadt Hash Brown, along with a bowl of Calla Lily Seafood Soup, with Chicken-Mushroom Skewers on the side, for both you and Childe. You wait, not long, for the food to appear, and when it does, you contentedly chow down, starting with the hash browns. Ajax tells you, to your surprise, that the Calla Lily Seafood Soup is his favorite dish out of all the food he's tried in his life, so he perfected it to his taste and called it "A Prize Catch."

While eating, you hear a familiar voice, which you can describe as raspy but unique, in a way; two gloved hands with a spiked band on each wrist settles on your table, another person sliding into the other vacant third seat at your table.

"Why hello," a young man known as the "Frostwind Swordsman" pops into view, blue and white apparel clashing with the gold accents of his clothing and the navy of his hair, "I didn't expect to see you so soon in Mondstadt again, and who have you brought with you this time?"

You let out a small, amused chuckle, and you extend your hand towards the Cavalry Captain, who takes it and shakes it, "It's been quite a while, Sir Kaeya." Drawing back your hand, you gesture at the Harbinger, who gives Kaeya a skeptical look, and look back at Kaeya, who seems to be analyzing Childe. "This is Tartaglia, and I guess you could call us temporary traveling partners," you half-lie, which the Cavalry Captain probably can see through, "and I'd rather not talk about it," you mutter, reaching for a skewer.

Kaeya laughs at your side comment, shrugging his shoulders in apprehension, "Well, it's great to have you back in Mondstadt," he says, standing up and looking at the skewers and back at you, "mind if I have one?"

"Take one," you say, raising the plate towards him and lowering it once he takes hold of a skewer, and Kaeya thanks you with a grin, lightly slapping you on your shoulder teasingly as he walks away, and you call out to him, "see you," and you lower your voice, "maybe."

Kaeya's silver, wing-shaped cape flaps behind him and disappears as he rounds the corner, and you finish up the last bite of your hash brown, leaning back in your chair as Childe swallows a spoonful of broth with an evident frown on his face. He looks at you and whispers to you, "I don't like him," and stands up, seemingly brushing nothing from his clothes, perhaps to hide his embarrassment.

You shrug, having no response from him, and head over to Sara to pay for the bill, which happens to be not that much, but you remember you have a discount because of your reputation, according to Hertha from the Knights of Favonius. Making your way over to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters to deliver the letter which brought you here in the first place, Tartaglia asks for the letter, which you reluctantly give to him, and he tells you that the letter is from the Fatui.

He leaves you there, standing in the hall of the headquarters, frozen, the gentle click of the wooden door of Jean's office sounding to your right. Mondstadt is partly your home city because you visit it very often, so shouldn't you check in on the Acting Grand Master to see how she's doing- and maybe, you can stay to catch in on the Fatui's plan? But you're sure that if you intrude on whatever Childe is telling Jean, you'd probably get all tied up in the Fatui's dealings. But thinking, you are already involved with the Fatui's deals because you've been in contact with a Harbinger before, but you know it's rude, so you stay away. My lips are a little dry, you muse, touching your lower lip gingerly as you exit the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, stepping down the few steps, perhaps I can get a drink at Mondstadt's Angel's Share- maybe sparkling or apple cider.

That's when you realize that you're free of Tartaglia for a while, which you hope could be forever- if I just leave him in Mondstadt and run, I won't have to put up with him, you think, trying to force a grin off your face, but then, actually, leaving him in Mondstadt all by himself is a horrible idea, who knows what havoc he'd wreak?

Heading in the direction of the tavern, you walk down a few flights of stone steps until you stand in front of the wooden tavern door; a light hangs dimly over the door. A missing person poster hangs on a bulletin board, along with the Dawn Winery and Angel's Share Recruitment Guide; you glance at posters shortly, uninterested, entering the tavern. Something noises above your head, and looking up, you notice a small silver chime sounds, a tinkle twice, and a quiet clang right after; it draws the attention of today's bartender and a customer with a ghostly grey face.

Settling down on an empty seat beside the Sister of the Church and a blue-haired bard with green braids so many know as Venti, you flash both of them a smile. Rosaria's glum expression that usually adorns her face does not change at all, not even a turn of her lips, but she nods with acknowledgment and turns back towards her cup of what you recognize as Dandelion Wine.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," the bard smirks, heartily laughing as he claps you on the back, "Mondstadt has been so boring without you- no late nights at the tavern and one less person in my audience," Venti complains, laughing again. "Anyways, welcome back to the City of Wine, Song, and Freedom, my friend- always great to have you here."

You wave Venti off, the smell of wine coming from him, but you laugh, feeling free now that Childe is off your tail just for the moment, a "tsk," bringing your attention to the bartender, busy cleaning a glass cup. You find it quite strange that Charles isn't here for bartending for this night, but instead, the owner of Dawn Winery and Angel's Share, Diluc Ragnvindr.

You watch his lips part slightly from a frown to ask a question that he's probably asked one-hundred times today already, "What would you like to drink for tonight?"

You smile at him, observing his typical, unique scowl and his firm gaze softening on you just a bit, and you reply, "Just an apple cider for tonight, Master Diluc," you respond, looking at Rosaria soundlessly exit the tavern without a noise, " How has the business in Mondstadt been while I have been away in Liyue?"

Diluc points to Venti with a cock of his head towards the bard, who is now joining in on a conversation with two other customers, and you wonder if he would do that as well, even if he wasn't in his drunken stupor. His green, floppy hat lays carelessly across the bar counter, one of the Cecilia flower petals bent because the cap rests on it, the light green leaves drooping sadly. An unexpected bump of the glass cup on the wooden counter draws your attention back to the bartender and your freshly served drink. Grabbing it with your right hand, you take a drink, the crisp, refreshing feeling calming you down, and you realize that it's colder than usual because there are cubes, no, chunks of ice in the drink. You thank Diluc and fish around in your wallet to pay Diluc for the refreshment- you slide a small handful of Mora across the counter, and he takes it and puts it somewhere on the lower shelves.

"This bard here usually consumes more than my typical customer, which is about thirty to thirty-five cups of Dandelion Wine, which can be quite a sum, but if he's really feeling like it, such as tonight." Diluc lets a small chuckle escape his lips, "I'm expecting forty to forty-five cups of Dandelion Wine, a Death After Noon here and there, so the business is obviously good. And Venti isn't my only customer, Sir Kaeya has been coming here more often than usual, and he can usually down five or six cups of Death After Noon if he really wants to drink- Death After Noon is our most expensive and strongest drink."

"Oh, is that so- I should have expected, they say Venti is the main reason why the wine industry is doing so well, and of course, we're all familiar with Sir Kaeya's drinking habits." You say, moving your cup in a repetitive circle motion, the ice swirling around the sides of the frothy-rimmed cup.

"Did you just stop by Mondstadt for a rest or here on business?" Diluc asks, turning around to reach for a wine bottle that you've never seen before.

"Apparently, I got a letter to deliver from Liyue to Mondstadt, and this person named Tartaglia accompanied me to Mondstadt," you answer, lowering your voice, not taking notice of Diluc's slightly widened eyes as you sip your drink, "and I know he's a Fatui Harbinger, but he's actually a pretty nice person- I think he's different than all of them."

The red-haired man narrows his eyes at you in surprise, " Are you sure about this- you and I well know that the Fatui, all of them will-"

"I said he's different, different from all of them," you insist, leaning in, "If you were with me when I traveled from Liyue to Dragonspine to Mondstadt, you would have seen everything, and you would definitely agree with me."

"Well, I think you and I know that the Fatui are all liars... scheming, plotting, liars that will do everything and stop at nothing to serve the Cryo Archon, who they call the Tsaritsa." He pauses, watching you listen intently, then continues, lowering his voice full of evident disappointment, "If I were you, I suggest you get far, far away from that person that you call Tartaglia- you never know, they'll backstab you one day, and you'll regret that-"

The tavern door swings open, and you and Diluc immediately look at the entering person, which, unfortunately, turns out to be Tartaglia- before the door chime can finish its tune, he is already halfway to your seat. "I asked around, and I was told I could find you here," Ajax states, sliding onto the stool that Rosaria occupied earlier, and he looks at Diluc, stretching a hand towards him, "my name is Tartaglia."

The Pyro Vision bartender eyes his hand skeptically as if Childe holds a knife in his hand, but he takes it, and you watch a firm handshake be exchanged between the two young men. "Diluc, of Mondstadt, and she partly already introduced me to you before you got here."

Taking another swallow of your apple cider, you watch the Harbinger's eyes narrow slightly, his eyebrows slanting downwards just a tad bit. His expression, you observe, is a bit of confusion, suspicion, and is that jealousy in his eyes?

"Well, now that I've found you," he looks at you, his gaze softening, and puts a hand on your shoulder, "we can leave instead of spending time in a tavern," Childe remarks with a bit of apparent acidity in his voice, and he hops off the wooden stool and strolls out the door, where he waits for you.

"I apologize for his rude behavior," you apologize, downing the rest of your apple cider in four big sips, which you quickly realize was a mistake because your stomach suddenly feels too full; you push the cup towards him, "but I must go, so I hope I see you later, Master Diluc."

Diluc nods in understanding and starts to clean the cup while watching you exit the tavern; he calls a reminder to you just before you open the door to Angel's Share, "Remember what I told you about that Harbinger- you don't want to get too close to him."

You nod, taking one last longing look at the tavern and a jolly Venti playing a unique tune on his lyre for a couple of drunk customers who seem too carefree for the night. Catching up with Childe, who is heading in the direction of the common area of Mondstadt, you stop in front of him, glaring at him with disappointment. "I know you don't like Master Diluc, but you could have been more polite, and I thought I was the tour guide here for Mondstadt- you can't just go wandering around."

"Who said I didn't like him?" Tartaglia snaps back, his blue eyes flashing from the glare of the moon quickly rising in the distance, "and it's getting late- I know of a- I heard of a place here where we can rest." the Hydro Vision barer corrects, heading off in the direction where he tells you is called the Grand Goth Hotel.

You've never been to this Grand Goth Hotel, but you start to get skeptical as the guard in front of the doors steps aside with a "welcome, Master Childe." Following Ajax deeper into the hotel, you're amazed at how smaller the building looks from the outside compared to the inside. Watching as Tartaglia quickly arranges separate rooms for both of you, you start wondering if Childe lied to you about never being to Mondstadt before because he knows the person behind the desk's name, or he's just very well informed about everyone in the Fatui. Pushing that thought aside, you go to your room, which seems to be on the right of Tartaglia's, unlike your rooms at Wangshu Inn, which were across the hall. Before quickly disappearing behind the hotel doors, you bid Tartaglia a quiet goodnight.

The wallpaper is a light red with intricate details on it, flowers and shapes here and there; you look at the bed and suddenly realize how sleepy you are; you get ready for bed and hang your coat on a nearby chair and manage to hang your spear on what seems like an empty clothing rack. You lay on the bed for ten minutes before realizing that the mattress is much softer and more pleasant than you thought, or it may just be that you're just exhausted. Just as sleep begins to cloud your thoughts, you hear a door creak open and footsteps that you're sure belong to the Fatui Harbinger; you guess it takes him about five minutes to return to his room and close the door.

Soundlessly, you sit up, fully awake, pull the covers off of you, slide off the bed, and walk in the direction of the place you put your spear not too long ago. Grabbing it, you walk back to the bed and set it on the floor on the right side of your mattress, weary that something might happen in the middle of the night. Laying down, you stare up at the ceiling, and the last thing you can remember before your eyelids start to feel heavy and doze off is, maybe Master Diluc was right this whole time.

Notes:

wow i put chapter four bc i felt nice

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 5: recalcitrant

Summary:

"Your recalcitrant attitude is getting you in trouble," the Eighth spits out, "I'll make sure that she hears of this treason, Eleven."

Notes:

im cool so i put chapter 4 for u people

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

recalcitrant [adj] : having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline

You wake up, aroused by the sunlight peeking through the blinds, and you're a little confused at where you are, remembering last night at the tavern with Diluc; Childe bringing you to the hotel to spend the night. Groaning, you turn over in your bed, not wanting to wake up and too lazy to stand up and pull the blinds even tighter and closer together. You lay facing away from the beam of sunlight for a short amount of time, trying to fall back asleep. Deciding that it's too bright to fall back asleep, you grumble in annoyance and sit up and head towards the blinds, drawing them closed.

I can start this day in almost darkness, you think, sighing, heading over to the bathroom, where you get ready for the morning; as you brush your teeth with the provided toothbrush, your stomach growls, and you realize how hungry you are. Finishing up, you make the bed and grab your coat from the chair, and you're just about to head out when you realize, I feel like I'm missing something. Walking around the hotel room, you spot your spear lying on the floor at the same spot you put it last night; you stoop over to pick it up and head over to the hotel room door.

You stand in the hallway of the Grand Goth Hotel, staring at the wall, trying to think of what to do next because you really don't feel like knocking on Tartaglia's hotel door to wake him up. Since you don't really trust the hotel's small buffet on the other side of the building, you decide to go and buy groceries from Blanche at the Mondstadt General Goods shop and cook from there. You're just halfway to the sitting area of the hotel as a door behind you opens, and you turn around to see Childe stepping out.

Tartaglia turns towards you, and you notice that his hair is messier than ever, most likely because he didn't comb it, and he calls out to you, "Wait up for me, comrade!"

You pause, staring at him, and now, more than ever, you really want to get away from this guy, but you reply, "Good morning Childe, and comrade- that's new." You sigh, continuing walking to the exit, and just as you're about to leave, you hear, "thank you for staying with us, Master Childe."

You leave the hotel, no intention of saying goodbye to the staff and staying by the Fatui Harbinger's side for the whole morning, so you start heading to the shop, knowing that Ajax will manage to find you anyways like he did last night. You greet Blanche and get eight potatoes, eight onions, and eight carrots, which you figure will be enough for two Barbatos Ratatouilles. It's like a creamy kind of soup, which is said to help with reducing stamina consumption. You manage to whip up two dishes of ratatouilles quickly, and you're shocked that Childe is still not in sight. What is he doing? You wonder, thinking he may be still in the Grand Goth Hotel messing around with the Fatui Diplomats.

You borrow a table at Good Hunter and wolf down your portion of the ratatouille quickly after realizing how hungry you are- and while chewing, you think, I've finished what I've needed to do here, so that means I can start heading back to Liyue soon! You smile at the thought and open your mouth again for another bite, but then that means I'll have to spend more time with Tartaglia, and if what Master Diluc said is true, then that's not the best news.

"Up an about at an early time like this- I never expected you to be a morning person," someone's voice sounds, growing louder as the person slides into the wooden pine chair across from you, "I thought you left sometime last night, but it turns out that I was wrong." the navy-haired knight from the Ordo Favonius laughs, calling over Sara to take the order. "I thought you were just here for business... and good morning, by the way," Kaeya Alberich orders the Chicken-Mushroom Skewers with a small Cream Stew and a slice of bread.

Sara nods and heads off in the direction of Good Hunter's entrance, which is near the tavern, Cat's Tail's entrance; Kaeya looks back at you with a teasing smile on his face.

Greeting him back, you scoop up another spoonful of your breakfast and look him back in the eye as you put the soup into your mouth; you force a smile onto your face. You stare at him, and he stares at you back and noticing the bags under his starry blue eye, you ask him, " Did you sleep well last night?"

Apparently shocked, the Cryo barer looks at you, his only visible eye widening, but his unfazed facade quickly falls back into line , "I slept well last night, thank you," he lies, and he looks at you, his eyes narrowing a bit. He chuckles and leans back into his chair, crossing his arms over his frame clothed in blue and white clothes, "Where did you stay last night, now that I think about it," the Cavalry Captain asks, running his own hands through his navy-colored hair, "no way did you bunk with that weird little person from yesterday."

"Unfortunately for you, I did," you reply, sighing, with a bit of sarcasm in your voice; you frown as a smirk, which turns into a grin, breaks across Kaeya's face, and you laugh, " and no, I did not sleep with him."

"Aww, that would have made a hell of a story if you did," Kaeya snorts, his smile bright, but it quickly disappears as his eyes drift past you. His eyebrows scrunch together, furrowed, concerned, and you immediately think it's Childe, so you don't look behind you, trying to act like you're not who he thinks you are.

A tray slides across the round wooden table, and you look down at the food and back at Kaeya, who thanks Sara and pays right then and there. Once Sara goes out of earshot, his forced smile turns into the same scowl, and he complains, sighing, "Ah, seems that I messed up my order. I was supposed to order my delicacy Fruity Skewers and the Crab, Ham and Veggie Bake instead of the Cream Stew, but oh well, I guess I can eat it anyways."

Both of you eat in silence, you finishing up your Barbatos Ratatouille and the Cryo wielder finishing up his Cream Stew with the typical Chicken-Mushroom Skewers. Your spoon scrapes against the sides of the bowl as you scoop up your last spoonful of your creamy, energizing soup. The unique sweet soup hits your tongue, and you eagerly swallow it, the taste of the potatoes quickly reminding you of the Crispy Potato Shrimp Platter dish from Liyue. Kaeya chows down on his last skewer, and half-finished, he stands up, takes his plates, walks over to Sara, and slides it across the counter to take to the Good Hunter kitchen. The Cavalry Captain flashes you a smile and waves a goodbye; you wave back in response and look at your empty bowl, the spoon glinting in the sunlight.

You sit there for two minutes and stand up, giving Sara back the spoon and bowl you borrowed for your soup; you look back at the other Barbatos Ratatouille, feeling that Childe might not even want it. You rummage around in your pack again, like a habit, making sure you have everything you need. The sound of the fountain is all you can hear as you focus on it, the image of the black-haired civilian on the right side of the fountain reaching down to find any stray Mora. A bird hops down from the overhang of the Cat's Tail trellis, and suddenly, a person with unmistakable, eyecatching bright orange-brown hair slides into view. You slide off the chair and walk over to him, the breakfast dish you made for him suddenly forgotten, and you make sure disappointment is etched onto your face.

You want to yell at him for letting one of your favorite dishes go cold because he took too long, making you uncomfortably spend time with the Cavalry Captain, making you worry, and you also really want to slap him, but you don't. Instead, you find your lips form these words as you angrily speak them: "I could be going home right now."

You want to say so much more to him, but his face blanks, no expression, and he stands still, looking down at you, and he says, "I'm sorry, but did you make breakfast?"

You really want to slap and kick him so hard right now, but you turn around, remembering the Barbatos Ratatouille, and you point towards it, and you look at Ajax, "Hurry up and eat because I really want to go home." Walking over to Sara, you try to hide your evident annoyance, but the waitress of Good Hunter only knowingly smiles as you order some skewers for the road, a Mondstadt Hash Brown, and some Fisherman's Toast. You pay the Mora and stand there for a couple minutes, not bothering to turn around and check on the Fatui Harbinger, which you know, hope, actually, is eating the food you made for him. Soon, Sara comes back out of the door behind the stand and hands you a small, sealed box of food to fit in your pack. Putting it in, you see a small, green, glowing tear-shaped gem in your bag, and you take it out, not past the rim of your backpack, and wonder, when did I ever get this little green thing?

You think back, and stand there, then remembering how Jean told you how she trusted you so much, evidence with your Mondstadt Reputation, and how she gave you the spare Dvalin's Tear to hold and hide for her just in case the Fatui came to steal it. Remembering your original thoughts were, what a bad idea! What if someone random attacks me and finds and takes it, even worse, an unsuspecting Fatui Agent on the field, and Mondstadt is doomed forever! Even though you knew the dangers, you took it those few months back, telling nobody, knowing that Jean sacrificed a lot to put that in your possession, even with the possibility of you turning traitor. She trusted you enough to place the only cure to an astray Dvalin and a broken Holy Lyre de Himmel , and you want to maintain that trust, making sure nobody gets it.

Then, it hits you, and you sigh, burrowing the gem lower into your pack, covering it with your spare clothes and miscellaneous items, another reason to stay away from him. Slipping your bag back over your shoulders, you eye the Harbinger, who suspiciously looks at the bag, then at his empty bowl before turning in the borrowed bowl back to Sara. Without a word, you walk towards the stone entrance, waving goodbye to Katheryne, who waves back at you, and out of the stone gate, where you smile at the two knights.

Not very happy, you think about home, trying to brighten your mood, but it does no use- nor does a screaming Timmie, damn him, help at all, and you do not say anything but hand him the Hash Brown from Sara to make him shut up.

You walk away, trying to get far from Mondstadt before Childe can catch up to you, which, unfortunately for you, doesn't happen to be that far. He's walking next to you, and you're almost past Dawn Winery, quickly trying to go by so you don't get in trouble with Master Diluc, but then, Tartaglia points in the direction of the place many know as Stormterror's Lair. "Hey, hey, you know I always hear my fellow comrades talking about that glowing place over there; can we take a peep so I can see what they're talking about?"

You think, no, I long to go home and dump you in Liyue and get far away from you because you're probably more dangerous than I thought. I also don't think I'm going to be your guide for Mondstadt, and it's really a waste of time going there because Dvalin probably won't be there to see it, and there's really nothing there. But, what's the harm; I can spare an hour or two- maybe I can warm him up a little before I leave him so it'll hurt his ego a bit more..., so you say, trying to keep a calm composure, "Sure, why not, but just for a little bit, understand?"

He nods, a childish grin breaking across his face, and he starts to walk faster towards the direction of the dome, and you have to run a little to catch up since his speed walking is more like a light jog for you. Before you know it, you find yourself under the rocky overhang next to the strange glowing Teleport Waypoint that the "Honorary Knight" of Mondstadt was rumored to use. You quickly jog past it, crossing the bridge to the inner dome of the lair, trying to stay out of sight from the rusted Ruin Guard robotically stomping around, ready to attack anyone. You nearly bump into Ajax as he stops in the middle of the path, and you have to quickly usher him to the other side of the cracked stone bridge as the Ruin Guard's mechanical front does a one-eighty turn, preparing to launch missiles from nowhere.

You remember being here a long time ago, on that trip to Mondstadt from Liyue the day you got the purified Dvalin's Tear, usually not stopping by here because of how dangerous and barren it is here. Wisps of Anemo still blow around you as you suspect it did many, many years ago, during the age of the old ruler, the God of Storms, Decarabian's, rule over Old Mondstadt. The tale of the possessive former ruler of Old Mondstadt beaten is known by many, but the newer part, this dome, the old city, Decarabian's Tower, being taken by Dvalin as a place to take shelter, being renamed as Stormterror's Lair. The rubble of the collapsed second-floor dome makes a makeshift ramp as you and Childe scale it, hoping to get to the upper-most part of the dome for a view.

On the second floor, what is not on the first story is a glowing-blue transparent floor, not light-blue-green of Anemo power, but the unique blue of Hydro, like the color of Tartaglia's vision. You step on it, seeing nothing above and below you, wondering if the transparent, blue part of the floor is the cause of the three bright Light Actuators that can be seen from this altitude. The Harbinger skirts over to the edge of the stone floor, making sure not to slip over the edge, and points at one of the glowing Light Actuators on the ground, "Comrade, do you know what the strange thing radiating light is?"

"I believe it's called a Light Actuator; the strange traveler from another world, Mondstadt's Honorary Knight, helped put them in place to fully access Stormterror's Lair." You reply, walking over to his position, "I haven't been here in a while, but I see why you wanted to go here- it is indeed an amazing view."

"Shall we head to the top, comrade?"

"Stop calling me 'comrade,' I told you it sounds weird."

"Alright, my ally."

"That's even worse," you say as you use a stone block jutting out to help propel you to the third level of the lair, " and there are four levels to this place, the fourth and highest level being known as Decarabian's Tower, used to see the stellar positions in the sky."

"It's strange how you know so much about Mondstadt- I thought you lived in Liyue, not this city," Tartaglia says, suppressing a laugh as he comes up right behind you, examining the third floor of the lair , "that was a joke if you couldn't tell."

You have no response for him and start climbing up a part of the collapsed uppermost part to the fourth layer after Childe; before you are halfway up, the sight of the bottom of his black boot slips out of sight and away. Heaving yourself up, you sigh, readjusting the pack on your back and looking up, first seeing the "Field Tiller," the first and most dangerous prototype of to-be Ruin Guards.

Then you see him, off to the side, standing next to them, and you know at that moment, Master Diluc was definitely right; what have I gotten myself into now?

The Eleventh Fatui Harbinger laughs at you, smirking, "well, well, well, it seems that everything worked out exactly as planned, wouldn't you say, Signora?"

So this is La Signora, the Fair Lady, the Crimson Witch of Embers and Flames, the Eighth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, and the one who stole Venti's- Barbatos's Gnosis just after they calmed Dvalin down, you think, seething, as both of your hands clench into fists. And I ran straight into this trap.

The Fair Lady steps forward, a smirk rivaling Tartaglia's, and she says, "now, as you can take in, Stormterror is not here- no protection and danger for us, but what you do not know, our plan to take over Mondstadt is all in place, and luckily for us, the Holy Lyre is beyond repair and not functioning. And all we need is that lovely purified Dvalin's Tear that you have in that wonderful bag of yours; why don't you just hand it over?"

You glare at her as menacingly as you can, bringing out your spear to protect yourself- you grip it tightly with one hand, the other closing on the straps of your bag. Jean trusted me to this; the Acting Grand Master trusted me enough to place this in my protection, you think- there's no way the Ordo Favonius would trust me if I lost this , and you say, "no."

Signora's face falls, almost mockingly, and she looks at Childe and steps closer to you, making you back up against the wall to keep as much space between you and the Eighth Harbinger. "What a shame... it seems that I must use force against you to get it then..." Signora signals with a wave of her hand, then three Fatui Pyro Agents appear out of nowhere, perhaps from behind the rubble, and they leap at you, almost like panthers.

You dodge swiftly to the side as one jumps to your side, and you jab the Agent quickly in multiple succession, knocking him back, and you immediately whip around, sending a pyro blade from the other Agent to the side with the butt of your spear. Another pyro blade appears literally from thin air, and you use that to charge it with Overloaded, which knocks the enemy back like it always does. A sharp pain bursts through your arm, and you hiss in pain, creating a brief wave of Electro to push the enemy back- and out of the corner of your eye, you see the youngest Harbinger standing off to the side, watching you fight. You swing your Electro-charged spear at the Agent as he jumps back, but you spring forward immediately, getting him right in the chest.

That knocks the Fatui Pyro Agent back to the ground, and before he can get back up, you electrocute him, stunning him, allowing you to land a good number of powerful hits, and then you only have to deal with two more. You spin around, electricity crackling loudly, angrily in your hand, and you're unsure for a short moment if you were worthy of an Electro Vision and if you deserved a Pyro Vision. Anger really blinds, you think, sending another wave of electricity around you to push back the two other Agents, your anger raging like fire, and in blinded fury built by the heat of the battle and the fact Ajax betrayed you, you leap at the Eighth Harbinger and the Eleventh Harbinger, who apparently don't expect it.

A sudden force drags you back as you're about to spear one of the Harbingers; two pairs of gloved hands wrap around your arms, hauling you back to the other side of the dome. Your spear clatters to the ground, the ringing of the metal on the stone echoing through your ears- you're about to try to grab it, but it seems as if one of the Agents knew you would, and they kick it to the side, in the direction of the two Fatui Harbingers. La Signora bends down to pick it up, but Tartaglia does before her, and he twirls it around in both of his hands, examining the spear made for your own fighting style.

Don't touch what's mine! You angrily think, trying to free yourself from the Agents' grips so you can get your spear and pull out your Elemental Burst that had charged up right before the Fatui Agents got you. Signora walks up to you after you've stopped struggling and your arms and legs are sore from trying to worm yourself out of the Agents' iron-like grip. Your legs are stuck outwards, bent up in a v-shape, your arms pulled behind you, your hands flexed backward to prevent you from escaping.

"It seems like you failed again, Tartaglia; you've failed to carry out the Tsaritsa's orders- but, really, do you think she would trust you, little Tartaglia, to carry out such an important task, to send a whole nation into chaos?" Signora scoffs haughtily, "but you did enough, enough to progress the plan forwards... such a shame you didn't get the Tear from her- but it's another easy win for me."

Childe says nothing, rooted in his spot, his blue eyes seeming to reflect light from the floor and the sun high in the sky, bright, almost teasingly.

You look at Childe and shout, "so all of this was just part of the plan- everything you did- and, what was even in that letter? Was there even anything inside it?" You hate that your voice cracks at the end of the sentence, but you hope the false defiance in your voice was enough to cover the fear as well.

The pale-haired lady starts reaching out to you, no, the pack on your back that contains Dvalin's Tear, and you use your remaining strength to try to shake off the two Agents holding you back and escape from Signora. Luckily, you manage to break one of your arms away, and you try to push yourself up, but something cold and hard stops you, and you look down at your feet.

Your reaction time is a bit late, too late to wrench your feet from the ice spiraling menacingly around your ankles, and soon, the hand you just got free is covered in a thin layer of ice. Isn't that amazing, you think, glaring at The Fair Lady, your other hand held by the other Fatui Agent brought to the ground, allowing ice to start crawling up that hand, a shame that Electro is basically useless here when it comes to breaking that ice off me.

"The letter was just a little warning to Mondstadt's beloved Acting Grand Master, and we had you bring it because we suspected someone besides the Ordo to have the Tear, knowing Jean, and by luck, it was you," Signora replies for Childe, her voice echoing throughout the upper story of the lair, and you wonder if she sealed Tartaglia's lips with ice as she did to your limbs.

You look past Signora to Childe, who still has your spear in his hand, and he looks at you, no expression, no sympathy on his face at all, and you see him look away. You start squirming again as Signora reaches for the pack. Her black-gloved hand swings upwards, tiny shards of Cryo in her hands, ready to deal a blow to what you assume will be your face to freeze it off. You hear footsteps, possibly from the Agents who have stepped away- you freeze up, unsure what's going to happen, terrified but unable to move-

Signora gasps, and you close your eyes, waiting for the harsh, sudden blow to your face, but then it never comes, and you open your eyes, seeing him in front of you.

"What are you doing?" you say simultaneously as Signora, but in a different tone.

"Your recalcitrant attitude is getting you in trouble," the Eighth Harbinger spits out, "I'll make sure that our Tsaritsa hears of this treason, Eleven."

Tartaglia says nothing, but he steps forward and pushes La Signora backward roughly by the shoulders, and she stumbles, obviously taken aback, and she, instead slaps Childe hard across the face, once, twice, three times, and you're sure that there will be three red marks on his face after this.

He took the hit for me.

You expect the Harbinger to fight back after receiving the blows, but on the third hit, he simply collapses after a grunt of pain, his elbows hitting the ground right after his knees do, and you wonder why he simply gave in like that.

The wounds that I tried to patch up before we got to Mondstadt, you remember, feeling a twinge of guilt, I didn't cover it up entirely, nor did I bring him to Deaconess Barbara to heal him completely- they must have re-opened. That's why he hesitated to quickly scale all four floors of Stormterror's Lair, you recall, scanning Childe's clothes for the unique red stain of blood, which you find none.

Signora steps back into view, and this time there is no Ajax to take the blow- a small chunk of ice slides off the ice cast around your leg, which is a good sign, but then you hear Signora's chuckle.

You start to turn, but before you can, something rams, strong, sudden, and you go dizzy before your vision goes black, having no power to stop Signora as she digs through your pack and pulls out Dvalin's Tear.

Notes:

eowowioewie signora hitcha right on the head and your world went black lol

Chapter 6: concede

Summary:

"Listen, I'm sorry that everything turned out the way it did, but I hope you know that wasn't my intention- I thought that we-" he reluctantly concedes, taking note of the intense glare that you are giving him, one that you hope radiates hostility and impatience, "I thought that I-"

Notes:

i can put three chapters in one week ... ur not stopping me hehe! lmk what u think so far!

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

concede [v] : to admit that something is true after first denying or resisting it

You wake up, your vision spinning and blurry, your whole body aching, especially your head, with La Signora and the Pyro Fatui Agents nowhere in sight. Your entire body is wracking with a burst of pain as your try to prop yourself into a straight sitting position, your right arm starting to go numb, and your right side feeling as if you have blisters- you assume that's where Signora kicked you to knock you out.

The ice around your limbs from earlier has melted, now a puddle on the stone, and you sigh as you realize your coat and pants are probably soaked in cold water.

Moving your legs, you're relieved that they're mobile and not in bad shape; you move your left arm, relieved nothing hurts, but when you move your right arm, a sharp burst of pain shoots up your arm, and you wince in pain. You frantically shrug off your pack from your shoulders, digging through it with your uninjured hand, making sure everything you have is still there. It seems nothing's missing besides the Dvalin's Tear, and you sigh with satisfaction, and you look up, the glint of your spear reflecting light on the walls of the dome, and you struggle to stand up. Passing Tartaglia's limp body on the right as you trudge over to your spear, you pick it up and examine it, noticing no damage to your weapon. You would hate to have to pay another heavy price to fix it up again, having experienced having to pay a large amount of nearly thirty thousand Mora after you basically bent it in half in a battle against an Abyss Mage and a large group of Hilichurls.

A light purple glow wafts around your feet, and you kneel down, closer to Childe, feeling lucky for your granted Passive Talent to heal others in a small vicinity after taking a certain amount of damage, but you have your second thoughts about healing Ajax after what he did to you earlier. Your injured right side is starting to regain feeling, and you look at it, the bruises you haven't noticed earlier are beginning to fade away, or it might have just been your imagination.

Looking at Childe, you turn him over to a more comfortable position on his back instead of on his front, and you have a feeling that you shouldn't be feeling guilt like you are right now. So many thoughts are swarming around your head, like , why did he stand up against Signora to protect me? What'll happen to him now that he's disobeyed direct orders from their Tsaritsa, and Signora will report what he did to the Cryo Archon? Am I going to let Tartaglia keep following me around, even away back to Liyue, now that he's betrayed and put me in a position where I almost died?

The vision attached to his belt glows weakly, the bright shine of his vision absent, and you've heard that Visions fade when the owner's health is not at its best and completely stop glowing when the owner dies. But I'm healing him, you think, looking in the area where his previous injuries were, spotting the white strips of the adhesive bandages, oh, splendid.

A red speckle of blood shows- and you think it's probably because of how I turned him over from his side to his back, and I most likely put too much pressure on his side, and the wound opened back up. I won't be able to put any bandages, if you have any, on him when he's in this position without touching him, you think, leaning back, resting on your knees.

You sit there for some time, thinking of how he disobeyed direct orders, stood up against Signora for you though it proved to have no effect and even lethal to him, and how you're now involved with the Fatui even though that was precisely not what you wanted. I could just kill him now and get over with everything and hope that the Fatui don't come after me, but then really, aren't they just going to try and-

One of Tartaglia's legs suddenly jolts, and you draw your attention towards him, and he groans in pain, his arms bending to try and push himself up, but they buckle after a failed attempt, and without thinking, you reach out behind his back to prevent him from dropping back to the stone floor. Obviously, your still-going healing isn't enough because as your palm lays across the flat of his back, he lets out a small gasp of pain, his head lolling to the side, blue eyes filled with pain looking at you in a plead to escape from the pain.

"Why did you do that? You know well that I would have been fine myself, and look where you've gotten yourself," you lie, removing your hand from his back, and he lets out a low whine, one of his hands moving from his stomach to your knee, where it rests.

He doesn't answer your question but lets out a weak, strangled laugh, his chest constricting suddenly, and he coughs, the regretting look on his face apparent, and he spat out on a tangent, "just get over it, would you?"

"What?"

"The Fatui will track me, and you- after what I did just a while ago to Signora- I doubt I have any chance of survival anyway, here and later, so just finish me off."

Did he read my mind earlier or something? You wonder, your hands clenching into fist, questioning what your face looks like at that moment; now I don't really want to kill him. But then you think: Childe betrayed me, so he needs to be punished for what he caused and how he played me like a fiddle. But then: it's my fault for trusting him too much- I'm the fool here, the one that was taken advantage of, and I was too blind to see it all play out.

"You know that I'm better off dead than alive, and I'm putting you in danger if you keep me alive, letting me travel with you, so just take your lovely spear and do what you need to do."

You want your hands to stop shaking, but no matter how hard you try, you can't get them to stop- you can't manage to get yourself to tear your eyes away from his, his expression contrasting his begging, almost pleading eyes. "So then why did you step in front of me to protect me from Signora's first hits though you knew full well that you'd get yourself in trouble? Why did you treat me like you enjoyed having me around, for me only to find that it was all just part of your plan to get me to warm up to you?"

He stares at you, his pained look turning to an expression of remorse, "It's not really what you think," he struggles to say, his chest heaving, his eyes struggling to look up into yours.

Your hands clench and unclench, unsure what to do and what to make of his answer. Finally, bringing your eyes away from his, you look at your spear, the metal of the weapon's tip glinting, and you bite the inside of your bottom lip.

"Why are you hesitating? Just do it! I don't deserve to live after what I've done- I've put you in danger, nearly killed you, almost wiped out Liyue, and you're hesitating?"

His wounds are nearly healed, and he's asking me to kill him- has he even noticed? You think, brushing dirty hair away from his eyes, "you're going to have to kill me to stop me from healing you, thanks to my Passive Talent," you whisper, "unfortunately for you."

His eyes widen in shock, and he lifts his arm away from your knee and lays it on the part of his chest covered by bandages; he presses the spot lightly- and judging by the look on his face, it doesn't hurt anymore. "So it only activates when you get hurt enough... but why are you healing me?"

"Yes, and I don't really have much control over it, but you protected me, shielded me from Signora's Cryo hit, which would have definitely killed me if you weren't there." You rest a little more, watching as your bruise on the underside of your arm fades away, Childe's cuts from some time ago patching up slowly as if they were never there in the first place.

" So you're not going to kill me?"

"No. I'm going to go home and try to forget everything that happened between us... and I've also got to tell Jean I've- you know, never mind." You two sit there in the thick silence, but it is strained, and the atmosphere is covered in a thick blanket, making it hard for you to breathe. When you are confident, not entirely, but enough that you'll know that Tartaglia will survive, you urge Childe to sit up, and you offer your hand for him to stand up, which he refuses.

When you finally make your way down the four layers of the stairs, you and Ajax are exhausted, but you manage to sneak past the Ruin Guard and out of the lair. You start retracing your steps back to Liyue, knowing you'll be there soon, but you pull out the food you've stocked up on and start eating, handing Tartaglia a Fisherman's Toast.

Looking at Childe, a tired look in his eyes, and you're still questioning yourself about his impetuous act from earlier, and you still wonder why he did it- perhaps for some ulterior motive. Is he really enjoying himself as a Fatui Harbinger, carrying out the Tsaritsa's orders though he disagrees with their methods? When La Signora said she would tell the Tsaritsa and get him in trouble, what did she mean, and what kind of trouble would Tartaglia get in?

A warm hand rests on your arm, and you jolt, surprised, and look at the Eleventh Harbinger, eying him suspiciously, knowing that he wants more food, so you hand him another Fisherman's Toast and a Chicken-Mushroom Skewer. You shake his hand off, uncomfortable, and his touch lingers on your arm- annoyed, you step further away from him, and he gives you a hurt look, but what did he expect?

You finish up the last of the food with Childe, and soon, Wangshu Inn is in sight, so you speed up, Tartaglia on your heels, and not before long, you've booked yourself a room, and the Snezhnayan's his own just before dusk. Exhausted, you want to distance yourself as far away from him, his betrayal still on your mind, unsure if you should have given him a second chance because killing him would definitely bring his betrayal to justice. But I don't want to be a murderer, you think as you take off your coat, but maybe killing him would be a bit too much, but then , he tried to kill me first.

You sigh, walking over to the bathroom with your spare clothes, changing and settling down to ease yourself into a more comfortable environment than the harsh outside world. You sit on the chair with your coat on it, staring at the reflection back at you on the wall mirror, your hair messier than usual, the bags under your eyes more prominent. You don't feel like eating, and you're not hungry, but all you want to do is curl up in a ball and try to fall asleep.

So you kick off your boots and curl up on the bed, not caring about the covers though you are a bit cold, and you sleep, trying to ignore that clawing, curling feeling at the pit of your stomach.

You silently dream of Liyue, the common area of the city where all the shops and restaurants are, where most of the commotion happens, and you walk up to Liyue's Katheryne from the Adventurer's Guild to see what your commissions for today are. Your commissions are the ones you frequently receive, so you thank Katheryne and head out, knowing you'll finish them smoothly and claim your reward from the guild. Completing the first three commissions with ease, you take a break, drinking your water and chowing down on a snack before traveling to the last one, where you'll have to finish up a small fight; you eat a dish of Jueyun Chili Chicken , which you know will help you fight easier with an attack boost.

When you get there, you sigh, staring at what will become a battlefield for a couple of minutes before heading down, realizing that the enemies you'll have to fight are Fatui Skirmishers and one Electro Cicin Mage. They haven't spotted you yet, and someone is standing at a higher elevation, talking to them, and the person raises their arms in congratulations, the person's head turning to the side to scan all of them, and as the person does so, the stranger spots you, and you duck behind a large, conveniently located rock.

I could have sure used some help fighting Cryogunner Legionnaires, an Anemoboxer, and an Electrohammer Vanguard, not to mention there's that strange person and the Electro Cicin Mage. Breathing heavily, you try to calm yourself down, and you look over the edge of the rock, looking for a high vantage point to ambush them all from above to deal more damage.

Scurrying over to a higher precipice of rock, you take a deep breath, charge your spear with Electro, and jump down, pushing all of them backward. Heading straight for the Cicin Mage, which you always find the easiest to take down, you thrust all the enemies back and up into the air, releasing a wave of Electro to do more damage. You dodge as the Anemoboxer Vanguard swings at you and leap aside as a cold burst of Cryo shoots in your direction. Something hits you from the back, and you spin and turn around, an Electro Cicin flapping wildly in the air, and you take it down with two hits. You dash through, back to the Cicin Mage, but something, no, someone, perhaps one of the Cryogunner Legionnaires, and you spin around, ready to drive your spear right through the enemy.

You're met with a familiar face, short, messy orange hair blowing in the gentle breeze, blue eyes reflecting in a thrilling, dangerous way, but his eyes contrasting completely to his grip on your shoulders tenderer, softer than you've ever felt in your life.

Your leg jolts you awake with a sharp, quick movement like it always does when something is about to go wrong, and your eyes snap open, the sudden light hurting your head, and you turn over, trying to fall asleep though you know you won't be able to. You lie there, tired, subconsciously bringing one of your calloused hands up to gingerly rub the spot where you feel Ajax touched you right before you woke up. You bury your face in the fluffy pillows, wanting to escape from what happened, and you wonder what would have happened if you didn't listen to him when he planned to go to Stormterror's Lair.

I can't believe I trusted him; your mind echoes on and on; I can't believe that I actually placed some trust in that liar, that scheming, plotting liar, and I enjoyed having him around. Your hand balls into a fist, and you try to relax, your mind fizzing with self-loathing, but for some strange reason, you still want to be with him, though all you know waiting is regret.

Your pillow is somehow wet, and you reach up slowly, resting your hand on your cheek to find it damp, and you're half surprised that you're crying about someone, no, something that has caused you to feel unwanted emotions. You don't remember falling back asleep.

Later, you wake up, not realizing how long you've slept until you look outside, the sun way high up past the horizon, and then you move quickly around the room, collecting your belongings and preparing the room to leave. In ten minutes, the room is back in the state that it was when you entered it, and you exit, heading to the lower section of the inn for breakfast, hoping Tartaglia will not just appear and try to warm up to you for the morning. You exit the hotel quickly and head to the inn's kitchen, and you order a Bamboo Shoot Soup and Stir-Fried Shrimp for yourself, not intending to get anything for Childe. You eat as quick as you can, not too slow and not too fast that you'll choke; you manage to down your soup quickly, soup being soup, and then you work on your Stir-Fried Shrimp. You're almost halfway through your last dish when Verr Goldet appears at your table, silently but politely, and behind her is a confused-looking Tartaglia, who has more than a puzzled expression on his face.

You sigh as Goldet smiles and walks away, and Childe slides into the seat across from you, his eyes trying to make contact with yours, and you glare at your food, "You're late." You swallow a bite of shrimp, trying to forget the fact that you cried last night over him, but you feel a hand on the hand holding your chopsticks, and you look up, pulling your hand away quickly. I don't want this- you think, suddenly feeling not hungry at all, worried that the Mora you used to pay for the shrimp dish would go to waste, I don't want to be near him at all.

It's like he knew that something was wrong, you think as he reaches out again, his gloved hand caressing yours tenderly, and you want to pull away again, but as you do so, his grip tightens on yours. You look down at his hand clasping yours, staring at his intertwining fingers, and ask, "What do you want from me?"

His gaze softens on yours, and you swear you can feel his warm grip on yours tighten slightly, and he says, "Listen, this might not be the best or the most formal way to do this, especially over breakfast, but I've been thinking, and I'm sorry for what I did." The Harbinger sighs, looking down, his grip softening again but refusing to let go, "After meeting you, I thought that it wasn't really wise and fair to drag you into all of the Fatui's affairs, but I had to follow what they said that I had-"

"About time you apologized and realized that- and I still don't understand why you chose to switch sides after you literally tried to kill me-" you spit out, your eyebrows furrowing angrily, your grip on his hand so tight that you think you might just break his fingers. "Also, I have no idea why you have been following me the whole time, and I do not want you following me back home. I'm sure you've been lying to me this whole time, not just about Mondstadt, and maybe you've been spitting false truths in my face this whole time!" You take a deep breath as Childe does so, but you continue speaking before he does, his mouth slightly agape as he is about to say something in retort. "And about Mondstadt, you lied to me about not knowing where you were in Mondstadt because how did you happen to know the Grand Goth Hotel and the staff behind the desk there?" You accuse, hand slipping out of his, your plate of food going unseen, and you stand up, fixing your coat, ready to leave the hotel, the feel of his hand lingering on yours.

"You only brought me into this because of your own goals," you snap, all your thoughts coming out, "you brought me into the Fatui's ties because you thought it would increase your reputation, wouldn't it? And don't think I haven't heard before about your 'oh, comrade, why don't you join me on the path to world domination!' " You frown, trying to refrain from raising your voice too high so you won't draw attention, " and everything you did, all those acts that you carried out to try and charm me, it was all fake, wasn't it?"

"Everything I did for you wasn't just to put up a show and charm you- well, I had to- because, of course, you wouldn't believe I-" the Harbinger pauses, looking for the right words, "anyways, I wouldn't go out adventuring on your own- it's dangerous out there," Tartaglia says, voice strained, struggling to show the right emotion, his face etched with lines of warning and perhaps remorse, "you never know what could happen out there-"

Like he has any right to say that, you think and interrupt, done with him, and you cross your arms, frowning, "well, if I'm going anywhere, it's definitely not with you!"

I've found him out; he's realized that I knew he was lying all the time, that lying, sneaky, ambitious little- you storm out of the inn but noticing you have eyes on you, you try to calm down, and you take the elevator down. If that Fatui Harbinger manages to find me, I'll be sure to make it clear that he'll know that his presence is unwanted, then and there, here and now. A gust of cold air hits your face as the elevator stops, and you pull your coat tighter around your frame, and you step out, looking around as if you were somewhere new. You grip your weapon tighter and look at it, suddenly feeling reassured, and you adjust the Electro Vision on your hip, a light, static-like feeling brushing against your hand. Forcing a smile on your face, you head in the direction of Liyue, expecting to be there within less than half a day. Better start moving before he manages to catch up to me somehow again, or he gets near Liyue before I do to intercept my trip back home.

He manages to catch you not even before you've managed to walk a mile, and he wants to try to persuade you to stick by his side- so you don't put yourself in danger? And what, not even five minutes ago, you just told him that you didn't want to ever see him again, and he's right here?

"Please... you can't go, not yet, not after everything we've-" Tartaglia says, struggling to find words that would fit his train of thought, "you can't just- just leave me like this. I- I thought we were going to go back to Liyue together and maybe grab a meal, both of us-"

You look at Childe, hoping your eyes show nothing but coldness and indifference, " Ajax , there was never an us; just me," you say, noticing the unique guilt of look on his face morphing into shock by the use of his actual name, but can I really trust what he shows, and you continue, slowly, "and then, there was, just, you... there was never an us, Tartaglia... never us." You suppose that maybe he doesn't want to part with you, and he really means it, but you know that you'll be better off without him. You turn away from Childe, hoping to show that you aren't interested in what he's going to say to try and persuade you.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you see he looks to the ground then back at you; his eyes almost begging you to stay , "you're a fool to leave," his voice breaks at the word "leave," and the whole phrase almost comes out as a pleading whisper, and his eyes narrow, "you fool, don't you see?"

You turn back, surprised at what he said, and you think it's just part of the plan, "me, a fool," you repeat, astonished that he had the nerve to call you a fool, "a fool, to leave you?" You clench your hands so tight that you swear that they're turning white, and you point at him in accusation, trying to show that his ground is crumbling in this argument. "Do you know what you've done to me? Does it not occur to you that I have the absolute right to not trust you and want to distance myself from you after you tried to kill me yesterday?"

"Listen, I'm sorry that everything turned out the way it did, but I hope you know that wasn't my intention- I thought that we-" he reluctantly concedes, taking note of the intense glare that you are giving him, one that you hope radiates hostility and impatience, "I thought that I... would be able to just return home after I had followed through with the Fatui's plans."

"So you didn't care what would happen to me after you had done whatever you had aimed for, isn't that right?"

"No- that's- that's not what I meant-" his voice trembles, and he steps closer to you, "you can't leave, you just can't- you'll be getting yourself somewhere you don't want-"

"The only place I'll be getting myself is Liyue..." you stubbornly say, though you're not feeling like going to Liyue, "...and you had better not dare to follow me, Fatui Harbinger."

You turn around, your eyes capturing the vision of Tartaglia, his blue eyes still begging, and you start speed-walking in a random direction, hoping that image of Ajax will be the last one you have.

Notes:

sniff sniff omg im crying so hard wow childe wow man nice try

pov: ur the mc and ur brutal

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 7: envisage

Summary:

You would never envisage seeing Ajax ever again, especially in such a fragile state, obviously having taken more than a couple hits, which you assume he put up a fight.

Notes:

hey people new chapter! enjoy urself!

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

envisage [v]: contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or desirable future event

You somehow find yourself near Juyuen Karst, a place you've always wanted to visit for its lovely scenery and word that the Adepti live here, steep cliffs of rock surrounding you as you walk up an inclining path- but how you managed to get here? That is something you do not know, but you figured that if Childe wanted to find you in Liyue, it would be wiser to head away from Liyue just in case he supposed you wanted to go there. Orange lumps of rock stick out from the ground, glowing in a strange, eerie way, and that's when you realize you might have ventured too far into the area. You've heard countless times that very few people venture into Juyuen Karst, afraid of punishment from the Adepti. You start heading in a different direction, and within minutes, you are lost in this strange, unfamiliar part of Liyue. Well, that was a bad idea, just heading off in a random direction, you think, looking around you, still having no idea where you are.

You sigh and sit down on a nearby rock, resting your head between your knees, trying to make sense of what happened just earlier between you and Childe. A fool to leave a Harbinger, shifting the weight of your head resting on one arm to the other, but what exactly did he mean by me being a fool? Did he say it like it was a warning for possible danger, or even romantically? You dwell on that thought, trying to find the meaning of his words, but you suddenly find yourself drifting away from that stream of thoughts, thinking about the look on his face when you ran away from him.

His eyes, you think, looking back at that desperate longing look on his face, and you wonder if you should have calmed down and listened to him earlier, but you shake it out of your head with a, never mind that.

Something rustles and cracks, the unique sound of a twig or branch snapping under sudden weight, and you whip around your first thought being, Ajax ? It feels like everything is standing still again, and you wonder if it's some other Fatui Mercenary, you'll be ready to knock them dead, considering that you don't want anyone on your trail. You watch as a skinny Blue Horned Lizard scurries out of the bush, fleeing, its legs rapidly skimming the ground. That's a little suspicious, knowing it wouldn't suddenly shoot out of the bushes, panicked; it would have only run in this direction if something scared it away. You stand up and start moving deeper into Juyuen Karst, not really caring if you'll get in trouble, only wanting to distance yourself from the thing that is near you, if there is one.

The orange and yellow landscape speeds past you, Chihua trees on both of your sides, the atmosphere darkening quickly, the light blue turning to a gloomy grey. That's not natural- you think as you scan the area for a spot to survey the land to get a good view; you climb a small hill, looking around. You see many pillars glowing with the color of the Geo element, a small, sealed stone entrance closed off and covered with moss. A funky smell wafts in the air, almost like something rotting, and you carefully slide down the cliff, placing your hands behind you so you can go safely down without injuring yourself or going uncontrollably fast. You rub your hand over one of the Geo-infused, worn-out pillars, and you wander closer to the ivy-covered stone doors.

The Electro Vision on your hip rubs against you, sending a small, harmless shock down your leg, and you spin around, knowing that your Vision usually does that as an early warning, but you see nothing behind you. The wind blows ominously behind you, adding to the mysterious background, and as you step backward, a little startled, you bump into something, which just happens to be another stone pillar. You look around, noticing a tremendous black shape in the distance, which turns out to be Dragonspine Mountain. You sigh and head back towards the stone door, walking around it before standing on the worn-down steps of the ruin, and you reach out towards it, anticipating the touch of stone on your fingertips, but as you do, darkness suddenly closes itself around your eyes, yanked back into the yellow bushes behind you.

Why is it so dark- you wonder, trying to move your hand to your eyes, finding your arms have been tied behind your back with your legs bound together. Just great, you think, twisting and squirming, trying to set yourself free, which results in a low grumble from someone near you, and you hear something steel clatter on the ground. That's when you remember, oh by the Seven, don't tell me that's my spear they took from me.

"Sir, we caught her at Cuijue Slope alone examining the Nine Pillars of Peace," a man with a deep, raspy voice says, "we didn't find any sign of him around, but there's still hope from the other agents." The mysterious person apparently notices you wriggling around, and you feel a boot come sharply intact with your ribs, and you wince in pain and still. "If we, the other agents, come back empty-handed or with useless information, we can always force what this one knows out of her."

You hear footsteps on stone reverberate and echo in what you assume is a large cave or hideout, and an oozing, nastier, gravelly voice sounds. You shudder in thought at what the person would look like, probably very unappealing to fit the horrible voice resounding inside the area. Hot breath blows against your neck, and you suddenly snap your head back, coming in contact with what you assume is a face- and you hear the satisfying crack, and you try not to smile. Imagining what the person's face could look like, nose hopefully broken and dribbling blood all down the person's front, you force a grin to your face.

"Oh, my, she's very feisty, and she's got a hard head; I think someone forgot to include that in the description," the scratchy voice sounds, "she even managed to break my mask." You feel hands hold you up by the insides of your arms, their fingers scrabbling like claws to find a good purchase. You twist and turn, trying to open your mouth in protest, but all that comes out is a muffled croak, resulting in a deep chuckle from the strange person that may be behind it all.

So this strange person is wearing a mask, so I didn't break their nose, you think, unpleased, wanting to punch them in the stomach so bad, how very unfortunate for me.

A hissing noise comes from behind you, and the feeling of worry in the pit of your stomach grows, that oozing feeling in your gut that makes you want to turn yourself inside out. Someone unties something around your mouth, which you think is a cloth, and you immediately spit out threats you're sure you can't carry out in this state. Something rustles against the ground, and you feel someone trying to take something from your hip, and you curse, swearing loudly, telling them to back off.

"Oh my- Il Dotorre, we should have kept that gag on her, what a dirty mouth she has," a new voice says, and he hits you roughly on the back of your head, trying to cease the swearing and protesting coming from you. The strange man you know as Il Dottore gives permission, and you feel something perhaps made from fabric grazes across your cheek, and you bite at hopefully what is a hand.

" Crunch," you hear, and a loud yelp of pain, followed by some very unpolite cursing, and you hear laughing in the background, and you spit out a mouthful of blood that tastes like iron. That's when you realize that something feels, to say, a little off, a little unbalanced, and you think back to what was on your hip that is now missing.

What would be really important that these people need, especially if they probably took my weapon away , you think as you wrack your brain, then, d ammit, my Vision! You feel your posture slump a bit in defeat, and you think about the name Il Dottore, "The Doctor," which seems vaguely and uncomfortably familiar. No, your mind whispers, no , it repeats over and over and over again, he can't be another from that group of stupid Eleven Fatui Harbingers!

"Just take off her blindfold so she can see what she's done to your crippled, poor finger, along with her arm binds, " Dottore says, "and don't let her chomp off your other fingers."

Skilled fingers take off the blindfold in seconds, and you find yourself in a well-lit room, two Fatui Agents around you, holding your now untied arms to the side and bent behind you. A pale-faced man with a cracked mask with the pattern of cow spots is grinning, standing not too far from you, his attire contrasting with the dark walls behind him. A pale, familiar symbol is embedded on the upper right of the mask, and you wonder where you've seen the same mark. Messy, light blue, cowlick hair spreads in all directions, distinguishing bright red eyes and a glowing blue earring. "That's a look of recognition and confusion," The Doctor notes, his red eyes narrowing, then his wicked smirk twisting into a grin, "let's just say we'll only let you go once we get what we need."

He strokes his chin like the villainous villains always do in stories or comics, and he leans in at you, the visible half of his mouth turning from a grin to a conceited smile before leaning back. "First question, tell me, what's the best way to keep the dragon Stormterror- ahem- Dvalin, away for an extended time?"

" Like hell I know that! " you reply, desperately trying again to escape the two Agent's grips and failing horribly , "Why do you even want- or why do you need me here?"

"Now, you, why don't I ask this simple question... I ask, you answer," the Harbinger says, ignoring your question, and he taps his foot twice on the stone- "why don't you go ahead and tell me where Eleven is?"

"I parted with that good-for-nothing more than a while ago," you spit out: "why do you think I know where that scoundrel is?"

"You know, I came to Liyue, curious to check in on my old Ruin Guard Laboratory that I got bored with some time ago, and then I get contacted and told that I'd have to be on the lookout for Tartaglia and..." he crosses his arms, frowning "...and you." He laughs maniacally, and you feel a hand on one of your arms shaking, and you turn and see a masked Fatui Pyro Agent trying to control themselves from laughing.

What's so funny? You wonder, did I say something that I wasn't supposed to?

"Oh- she said- she said that our Tartaglia was a good-for-nothing- and a scoundrel- but you're totally right, he's nothing but a self-inflated fool!" Dottore cackles, his laughing echoing throughout the strange place, and you wonder if you can flip his mask upside down so it can cover the entirety of his mouth so he can shut up. He coughs, then asks, "well, then, tell us where you last saw him so we can send out our Agents to go and capture this little mouse. Plus- " he pauses as a Fatui Guard enters, takes the glowing bag from the guard and some skinny item which you can't make out, and dismisses them, "if you don't cooperate, you won't be seeing this anytime soon."

You say nothing, keeping your mouth shut, just in case you say something stupid, but you are seething inside, internally yelling at yourself at how you could get yourself in such a predicament by lowering your guard at Cuijue Slope. Biting the inside of your cheek, you wonder how you could escape, but the only thing holding you back is Dottore having hopefully temporary ownership of your Vision. I'd better start to make a move to get out, you muse, your knees beginning to get sore from kneeling; I swear that those Agent's grips are getting a little loose. Your thoughts are interrupted by his distinct voice asking you a question, but you zoned out to the point where you didn't hear half of what he asked you.

"Oh, look, cat got your tongue? I would hate it for me to totally wreck this weapon- I asked you where you last saw that wretched snake in the grass!" Il Dottore shouts, creases in his white suit becoming more prominent, pink bow wrinkling as he lunges towards you. His white-colored gloved hand raises high and comes low, swooping roughly across your face, which you're sure will leave a mark.

You gasp in pain, lurching forward on instinct, wanting to bring your hand up to caress your face, the easy grip on your arms suddenly tightening like metal clamps. I need a place in Liyue, what do I know, what do I know, what do I know... you think, not wanting to say Wangshu Inn because it'll put the people in there in danger, so you lie and say, "Luhua Pool," because it's the first thing you can think of.

"Lies!" Il Dottore immediately counters, and he takes your spear and repeatedly jams it into the hard stone floor, the tip snapping immediately on the first smash, and he then turns the spear, the now broken point faces up. He rams it into the ground, the noise of steel on stone sounding throughout the area, the intricately detailed nub on the spear now chipped away, little steel bits scattered across the ground. He grins maliciously and examines his handiwork, then drops the weapon, and he looks at you, a mock expression of regret on his face, "oh, I'm sorry, I forgot this was supposed to be our bargaining chip."

Frowning, you want to punch this jerk's face so bad, so hard it'd send him flying through the roof of this place and higher than wherever Celestia is.

"So, I'm sure you've seen what I can do to your spear, so enlighten me, where is the Eleventh Fatui-" Dottore sneers, his speech suddenly interrupted by a gruff voice.

"Sir, we've got a new update from the Fatui near Cuijue Slope."

You notice as " The Doctor" looks in your direction for a slight second, then back at the Agent who brought in your belongings, who's shooed off with the wave of a hand. Dead silence fills the room as if nothing happened, the Harbinger settling in a chair in the corner of the vast chamber that you didn't see earlier. He kicks the remanents of your spear, sending it across the stone floor, where it rolls across the ground and shudders to a halt as it loses its momentum. What did that guard say to this madman that he's just stopped trying to get information out of me?

A dreading five minutes goes by, a faint buzzing in the background, but to you, it feels like ten generations of people have gone by, and you sigh, wanting to sit down. You hear chatter behind the doors from where the guard came from, followed by something hitting the ground and yelling. Dottore stands up, walks towards the doors, cracks one of them open where he can squeeze his head through, and he laughs before pulling both of the doors wide open. "Since you weren't going to tell me where our Eleventh Fatui Harbinger was, we decided to take the matter into our own hands, and with a little luck," he gestures to the door, "we got what we needed."

"I'm the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger; I order you, let me go right now-" you hear a familiar voice call, followed by muffled shouting, and a strange red mask that you've seen before slides through the open gap in the door. Someone sandwiched between two Fatui Pyro Agents, held by the arms, is brought through the doors, a party of Cicin Mages and Vanguards trailing behind Tartaglia.

You would never envisage seeing Ajax ever again, especially in such a fragile state, obviously having taken more than a couple hits, which you assume he put up a fight. His voice is coarse from yelling, but he still tries to order commands to release him and still tries to struggle, though it is a futile attempt.

Then his eyes meet yours, and it seems as if all time is still, the Fatui stop moving forward, Dottore not moving an inch from his spot by the door, and Childe's remonstrating and struggling ceases.

He lunges towards you, obviously forgetting the two pairs of arms on his, and he is suddenly yanked back, but you make no effort to get closer towards him, still unsure. Gasping, Childe draws his steely blue gaze away from you, his messy ginger mop of hair pathetically hanging as he lowers his gaze to the ground. His chest heaves quickly and drops with a shuddering motion, and you wonder what is going through his mind as he looks up at Il Dottore, anger etched across his face.

"Why the hell is she here, Dottore?" Tartaglia snarls, trying to edge himself closer to Dottore now, and only after seconds, his voice rises, asking the same question, "explain to me, Dottore, why is she here?"

Dottore shoves his hands into his pant pockets and shrugs, a nonchalant look on his face, and he blinks slowly, "well, we needed information that I thought she would have, obviously, about you." The blue-haired Harbinger issues the rest of the Fatui out the door, so it's just you, four Pyro Fatui Agents, Dottore, and Childe. "And lucky me, I've caught you and her, so the credit is mine, and poor you, you've screwed up already at Stormterror's Lair, and you're bound to get yourself in trouble again." He sits down in the wooden, dark chair and motions for the two Agents holding Childe to come closer, and they do, and you silently watch as Dottore examines the younger Fatui Harbinger. "By order of our Tsaritsa, I've been ordered to strip your precious treasures from you and turn you back to Snezhnaya for information..."

Tartaglia's Hydro Vision and Electro Delusion are in Il Dottore's hands in seconds, and you imagine how much of a blow to Childe's ego that must be; to have something taken away from you that makes you stronger. "I won't let you take me back-" Childe coughs, straightening his posture, "I won't utter a word about everything and what I know to the Fatui."

Dottore sneers, laughing, and he asks, "you know what happens if you don't obey another set of orders- oh right, you don't, but let me remind you, we'll be starting with the ones you care about most." Dottore does another one of those comical thinking positions, stroking his chin once again, and he leans in, his voice low like a whisper, and he says, "I vaguely remember a little boy, just like you, freckles, and those same brilliant blue eyes like yours, energetic personality, would do anything for his big brother... his name... oh, it was Teucer, wasn't it?"

"You had better stay away from my family, and don't you dare bring them into this!" Childe snaps, his voice layered with hatred, trying furiously to wriggle himself out of the Fatui's grips to land a hit to the man's face, now inches away from his own.

"Now, now, now, let's be honest here, Tartaglia; do you really think you look threatening in that position? But say, when your trial comes around, please do invite me, oh, I'd love to see everything you have stripped away from you." Spreading his arms in a broad gesture, he grins wickedly, and he looks at you, those red eyes sending shivers through your body as he advances towards you. Shoe heels make clacking sounds as it comes in contact with the stone floor; you brace yourself for the impact to your face like you did with Signora. "We can start with her if you would like that better," Dottore starts, and you hear Childe swear loudly, ordering Dottore to step back, "I'll start with her because she's here now, then we'll move onto your beloved family."

You open your eyes just in time to see Childe growl, frustrated, but he takes a deep breath and looks at you, and when Dottore turns around to stalk in the other direction, he mouths to you, " run."

But you shake your head at him- you don't want to be seen as a coward, running from something you got yourself into, especially when you've dragged someone else into the situation. You look Childe dead in the eyes, feeling a twinge of guilt you think shouldn't be there, but initially, the whole plan was to get me involved in this anyways, right? The two Agents' grips on me are limp themselves, which could be because they're distracted, or surprised that another Fatui Harbinger is here- so if I escape, I better do it now.

"I'd better start if I want to get all the credit from the Tsaritsa," Il Dottore's voice says, coming closer to you, and with a wave of his hand, he orders the two agents off of you; looking at Tartaglia, he remarks, " not like you would know anything about that."

Holding you by your arms, his grip tight on your wrists, he basically drags you across the room floor, and you know that this is your last moment, your last chance to escape, and you gaze at the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, his look of worry you will find engraved in your the back of your mind. Dottore switches from holding you with two hands to one as he fumbles with keys you assume were in his pocket, and you wrench your arms out of his calloused grasp, your hands quickly coming to untie the ropes around your feet, which come off quicker than usual.

These stupid Fatui don't know how to tie knots at all, you think, laughing inside as you hear a snarl of rage and frustration from Dottore, and you jump up, racing over to Childe, kicking one of the Agents holding him back with the heel of your boot to a chest. The Agent grunts by surprise, stumbling backward, letting go of Tartaglia instinctively, and he tears himself away from the other Pyro Fatui Agent, who's desperately trying to push Childe to the ground to immobilize him. You step behind Childe and start to rest your hand on his shoulder as he stands up, but you pull away as he takes an offensive stance, his arms spread and fingers loose as if holding his Hydro-summoned blades. His arms are bent a bit back as if acting like a shield to protect you, but ready to start pummeling at the slightest offensive move or quickest attack from the Fatui and Dottore. His arms spread out wider as he takes a slow step back, and his eyes flit in your direction, then back at the four Agents standing in front of you, sharp Inspector's Sacrificial Knives infused with Pyro now in their hands.

"Run!" Childe whisper-shouts to you, his eyes landing on his Hydro Vision and Electro Delusion in Dottore's hands, then at your demolished bits of the spear on the floor and your backpack, and he repeats, "run!"

"I'm not running- I'm staying here and fighting with you-" you answer, clenching your fists and preparing yourself for a fight, "I've gotten myself into this; I can't just run away. And if we just kill them now, the order from Dottore about killing your family won't go anywhere, so I'll just stay here and help you fight them off-" you urge as you feel Childe's firm hand brush against your side to push you more behind him and closer to the exit.

"I'm sorry, " you hear him say, perhaps for the third or fourth time on this journey, "I'm sorry all this turned out this way because I dragged you into this, and it wasn't your fault- I'll deal with this."

Yeah, right, you think, his voice ringing in your mind, wanting to pull Childe back along with you as you think of fleeing, Childe said it wasn't my fault at all, and even if it is, he wants to do all of this alone? "I'm staying here, Childe- I'm not running away," you insist, "I told you- we can deal with them together, and nobody you love will get hurt."

"And what if the ones I love and want to keep safe get hurt?" Tartaglia says, his voice begging you, bringing back that empty pit feeling in your stomach, "what am I to do?"

"I'll help you-" you start to say again, pressing yourself up against his rigid arms that are trying to hold you back, "I'll help you-" you repeat, your hands wrapping around his to pull his arm back, but he pushes back, the locked door getting closer to you.

"I love you!" someone says, and you're frozen, just for what seems like a millisecond, and you look at the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, impatience and stubbornness masking the embarrassment on his face, eyes looking forward, and he reiterates, "I love you, now run!"

You've heard enough. The bolt on the door is unlocked, and you step out, Tartaglia's bronze-orange hair almost magically disappearing in the dark background, and you run out, swiftly dodging the shocked Fatui in the strange area, and the blue sky outside turning white is so close to you...

You swear you can hear the sounds of yelling and banging from inside Fatui's vast, hidden hideout, the chaos inside drowning out what you hope is not a pained scream from Ajax, who you've found to have given you his love, unrequited.

Notes:

i feel like this story is moving a bit too fast but i think its ok anyways
tell me whatcha think! dont b afraid to leave reviews 3
anyways yea mc kinda dense lol

Chapter 8: abscond

Summary:

"...I'm not sure how I'll be able to break the news to the Knights- especially Master Jean-" you splutter nervously, stopping in your tracks. Especially with you absconding from the Fatui, you know it's not the best idea to go running to Mondstadt.

Notes:

wowo back at it again woohooo yay next chapter much applause-

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

abscond [v]: leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft

You run down the rocky trail, one foot in front of the other in a repetitive tandem as you dodge a rock in the middle of the path, hoping to get far away from the Fatui . I've lost my Vision, spear, and backpack, and now Childe is getting tortured for the information he has and punishment for going against the Fatui. The dark clouds over Cuijue Slope were just an illusion from earlier, the eerieness of the place naturally turning the sky grey, but now, they seem like real rain clouds.

How did it all come down to this? You think as the first droplet of rain slides down your cheek, and you turn around, looking in the direction of the place you came from. I told myself before I left that I'd be home within a few days, and here I am, running away from my own problems, problems that I made. You just want to go home and forget all about what happened over the last few days, forget about the Fatui, forget about Mondstadt, forget Dvalin's Tear, forget about him, forget about Tartaglia, forget about Childe, forget about what he said to you just now.

He said he loved- loves me- your mind says, recalling the desperate look on his face as he tried to get you out, protect you from the Fatui, but do I really love him back? Then you think about those lovely blue eyes, having seen the cruelties and the beautiful surprises of the world, showing care and gentleness, hiding ambition and power. You remember the urgency and concern in his eyes, masked by anger and hatred directed at Dottore as he approached closer to you both with a menacing look. Even if I wanted to love him, I couldn't- no, I wouldn't- you think of the Fatui, and their sweet, horrid Tsaritsa turned corrupt. I can't be with him, and even if I wanted to, the Snezhnayan people and the Fatui diplomats wouldn't even allow that.

The rain pours harder, relentless, and the grey sky clouds more, and you hear something fall behind you, loud and sudden, from the direction of the Fatui's hideout and confused shouting from within. That doesn't sound good, you think, as you start running, bringing a hand to your eyes to prevent water from dripping in. Your feet start moving, again, rapidly, the sound of the dirt turning mud, your boots enveloped in the nasty, murky dirt and mud. You breathe, ignoring the feeling of the cold wrapping around your shoes, and you wonder when the muck is going to soak through your shoes. One, two, one, two, you scamper over slippery grounds and around wide puddles of filthy rainwater, not wanting to get your clothes wet. One, two, one, two, jumping over a large rut of water, then realizing there was a wiser choice, the large puddle being wider than you thought.

Ugh- you step over to the other side of the large puddle, a freezing, nasty feeling going through your boots and your socks, shaking one foot at a time in a futile attempt to shake off the water. My footwear and coat are wet... wringing your clothes, you squeeze as much water as you can out of them... so much for this elegant coat from Inazuma. You continue running, past the Nine Pillars of Peace, up the small hill, and as far as you can, out of Cuijue Slope, until you feel like you'll collapse if you take another step.

You grow tired quickly from all the running, and you realize you're a bit out of shape, not having to run such a long distance all at once, and you settle for a walk, catching your breath. It hurts breathing, the cold air quickly entering and exiting your lungs, and you desperately want to make the pain end, but you need air. I wonder how far away I am from the Fatui hideout and Childe... I wonder if he's gotten out of that place... maybe I should have stayed, but what would happen if I did?

Something sounds behind you. Perhaps a twig or a pebble sliding down the steep, jagged slope, possibly the sound of a boar ruffling the grass as it rushes through the greenery. Then you hear the sound of a gun firing and turning around, then the tell-tale sight of an explosion, a bullet hitting its target. Shouting is heard behind you, and you push your legs to move faster, but you've got no energy left, so you resort to a speed walk.

At this point, the land of Cuijue Slope has turned into complete muck, the sticky mud on your shoes becoming an extra weight for you to drag along. But if it's raining in the entirety of Liyue, if the Fatui are chasing me, I won't be the only one that's slowed down, right? And that gunshot from If it's the Fatui and they're trying to get someone right now, it would either be me... or Childe... who has probably managed to escape the Fatui's grips somehow. Turning around, you look at the bleak landscape, dotted with clouds covering the never-ending sky, the cliffs of Liyue looking like tall, stony grey blobs. The atmosphere is lit up by two consecutive, quick flashes, the indicative sign of lightning, a booming sound coming right after, telling of thunder. Or it might have been thunder, as you hear familiar sounds, rapid, coming right after another as if someone is stomping on the ground.

Then, you realize it is someone running through the muck desperately, the sound of each footstep on the ground uneven as if that being was half dragging, half-stepping with an injured foot. The person shoots out of the bush, pants drenched in mud and wet grass, hair clumped together, eyes wide, and chest heaving.

Half of Tartaglia's scarf is gone, just the Fatui emblem and scraps of his scarf still attached, but everything else is gone, not to mention that he's got a tear in his pants where his knees are supposed to be. The right hip area of his shirt has a large rip in it, revealing a large, fresh gash on his pale skin from what must have been earlier. His right arm hangs limply at his side, the other hand clutching his arm like it is clinging on for dear life- well- for his arm's life.

You trot over to him, reaching up to wipe smeared blood on his face away from his cheek, only to put enough pressure on his cheek for more blood to ooze out. Oh, no, no, no- you think, stepping back from the soiled Harbinger, wondering what the Fatui did to him besides torture to get him in this state. And him running as fast as he can with all those wounds- I really shouldn't have left him all by himself- I knew it, I knew it-

"I'm sorry I can't heal now- I wish I could- I'm so useless here -" you start, your mind buzzing with thoughts and questions, panic rising as you take another look at his tattered state, clothes torn and hair tousled, blood smeared on his clothes, old scars peeking through tears and gashes.

"It's not your fault, don't apologize- I pushed myself too far..." Ajax manages to get out, quiet, almost at the level of a whisper, "but we need to keep moving so the Fatui don't find us-" almost instantly, as if on cue, you hear muttering and shouting in the background, and you know they're close. Too close, so you look back at the Fatui Harbinger, but as you do so, you catch a glimpse of something on the ground, leading right up to where you and Childe are standing.

Oh, by the Archons and up to Celestia, please, tell this person here that he's the most stupid person in the world - you eye the injured Snezhnayan, scanning his legs for the trickle of blood giving away a path to follow from blood drops. Tartaglia soon catches on, and he tears away another strip of what remains from his scarf from Tonia, a solemn, apologetic look on his face, and he ties it tightly around an open gash near his ankle.

He looks behind him, a worried expression on his face, and then an expectant look on his face, and his bloodied hand wraps around yours, and he takes off, faster than you expected. His wounds- you start to think, tightening your grip on his, not caring about the drying, red liquid smeared on the palm of his hand. He's obviously struggling to run, already wounded mortally, stumbling across his feet, and you push yourself harder, though wanting to get Tartaglia to slow down before he exhausts himself to death.

You shout something to him, telling him to slow down, but either he doesn't hear it over the torrential rain, or he decides to ignore you, but he runs faster, straying from the path to try and lose the Fatui trailing you and perhaps getting closer with every step.

Both of you dash through the thick undergrowth, bushes scratching your ankles with their leaves, a thin branch scraping your upper arm as you rush frantically through it. One, two, one, two, you think again, running through another mud puddle that Childe goes through without hesitation, hands sprayed with dirty water as it splashes upwards. All you can hear over the pouring rain coming down like a volley of bullets is your and Childe's labored breathing, gasping for air as if his lungs are closing in.

One, two, one, two, one foot right after another, the exact matching tandem as his, and you wonder, though he is really injured, what is driving him to run as quick as he is now, overexerting himself like this?

Then you make a big mistake. You look behind you- the grey sky, the orange-yellow leaves of the Pearlroot and Sandbearer trees blending together with the Wine-Red Wildvests cultivating the area with the dark green of the Vivacious Awklings.

And then you see it: you see it all, your innocence of Teyvat gone, the mysterious, crooked shadows of trouble and easily-seen morality gone. The Fatui and their twisted plans, stopping at nothing, not even ridding themselves of their own comrades, their Harbingers , to serve their ambitious Tsaritsa. Ruthless, merciless men and women trained to cause nothing but chaos and disrupt peace hard-worked for- to show the rest of Teyvat that the nation of Snezhnaya is dominant over others.

Realizing you will never live the rest of your life the same, you reflect on your past moments, everything until now- and it was all because of you being so ingenious, so unknowing of everything. And then here is Childe, who has come to grow feelings for me that I'm not sure I can ever reciprocate because of our current plight.

The Fatui's threats echo in your head, and you wonder if they are actually going to come after Tartaglia's family once, or perhaps after they manage to kill you. I've lost everything... everything... your mind jumps to your Vision and how you lost it, then your spear, easily broken to pieces like a thin twig, the evil smile on Dottore's face, the murderous grin. And then, how long are we going to run for- by the Archons, my feet hurt so much- and something slams against your foot, small but hard.

You tumble to the ground, a ripping sound echoing through the air under the gloomy shade of the Chihua and Sandbearer trees around you. You see Tartaglia stop, shoulders rising and falling rhythmically and turning back towards you, his hand poised, outstretched, in a position to pick you back up.

A raindrop slides down your cheek, and your breath hitches as you choke on a sob threatening to be let loose; your hands come together and fist tightly, mud finding itself wound between your fingers. You start to breathe more rapidly, as you always do before you find tears streaming down your face; you look up to Tartaglia, wanting nothing more than to go home and forget about him.

But he lowers his hand and sinks down to his knees, his eyes the same level as yours, and he reaches out, taking both of your hands into his, squeezing gently, reassuring slowly. Still holding your hands, he brushes your slicked hair out of your eyes and behind your ear, as the Harbinger did on Dragonspine Mountain with the snow. He murmurs something quietly, trying to help you collect yourself again, but inaudible to you, and he repeats it again, a concerned tone apparent.

Your arms feel heavy... very heavy... and so does your head, and you struggle to keep your head up, the tips of your toes on your right foot throbbing terribly. A raindrop slides off your slicked hair, and you watch as it soaks into the mud, and you focus on the wobbling image of his black boots. You aren't fully aware you're crying until the tears are misshaping what you see until you wipe away what you thought were raindrops gathering up in the pockets of your eyelids.

You release tears you've held in all this time, like a dam breaking, a convulsive gasp escaping your throat, sounding like a choked sob. You snivel, trying to hold it in, and you feel a gentle hand clasp tighter than it already is around yours, and you know it's Ajax, the only one you know that would hold you that gently. Your arms that support you from crashing face-first into the dirt shake and wobble, feeling frail and confused, and you shed more tears, one after another. The ground below you seems to blend together through your tears, coming together as a greenish-brown background around you.

Though Tartaglia is in his tattered state, he bends down, wrapping his arms around your torso, pulling you closer to him and off to the side, near the cover of the overgrown bushes. His arms and hands are warm, unexpectedly, because of all the blood he's already lost, and they rub slow, comforting circles on your back. Childe whispers something to you, looking you in the eyes, and you stare at him back as he reaches up with a hand, calloused fingertips wiping away tears mixed up with tears from the ashen sky.

I... I don't want this, you think, though you have no energy to pull away from him for a time you've lost count for, so you submit to his awkward hug. Your hands come up to feebly grasp the layered but torn clothing he so easily fits and adorns as if meant for him all along; they wrinkle up to clumps of fabric in your grip as you rest your head on him. You feel him pull you as close as he can, his head resting on your shoulder, his ginger hair mixing with the color of your hair. He smells of fresh rain from the hazy grey sky, the slight smell of smoke, burnt fabric mixed in with a salty smell, almost like saltwater, as if soaked into his pale skin from days of fishing in icy waters. It comforts you, letting you know he's there, that he's there for you- but thinking, Tartaglia's a Harbinger, a Fatui Harbinger from Snezhnaya- only loyal to the Tsaritsa, what if Childe turns me in to get himself out of trouble- but Childe loves me- he's devoted to his family- makes you let your grip on him slack. You force the thoughts out of your mind, taking a deep breath, and you settle into a more comfortable position, though you know you should be ready to get up any moment to run.

His heartbeat is alive and steady, compared to his broken state, and you slowly shrug Tartaglia off of your shoulders, turning to him, his blue eyes with no reflection staring back at you as if reading all your secrets. The whites of his eyes are tinged with a bit of red at the corners, and he flushes red, easily seen across his pale complexion, and you can't help but smile at him, an embarrassed grin showing back at you in return.

His face, clear of worry for a single moment, has you thinking of his little brother Teucer, which you suspect to be so much more different than Tartaglia. You think of how Childe hasn't uttered a word to his young brother to retain his childlike innocence, wanting his brother to know nothing of the evils of Teyvat that you now know. You see now that there's more behind than to the Fatui Harbinger, caring for the ones he loves; protecting the innocence of his little brother, trying to shy you away from the evils of the Fatui- he's the defender of childhood dreams.

Wiping your eyes, you push yourself away from him, looking down to your feet, your toes still aching and throbbing from ramming your foot into whatever that object was earlier. Your toes feel cold, and it might be the mud that's managed to find its way into your boot, but you lean closer, and apparently, it seems to be the cold air whipping around your feet. How does it happen- well- you're not sure yourself because these boots aren't relatively old, but Archons above, how did part of the sole of the boot tear clean off?

You groan at the sight of your boot, shuddering at the idea of walking without a boot, that nasty, wet feeling of mud under your feet, so you'll have to have your torn one for now. Your backpack is gone, all the food and supplies have been taken or used up by the merciless Fatui, the stains on your coat from the mud, the pouring dirty rain, the scattered flecks of dark brown on your clothes, the sign of dried blood. And the only one that you've been traveling with that has lost enough blood and held you so close is Childe, unless it happens to also be the blood of your enemies. Your spear is gone, turned to dust and little sharp bits, leaving you entirely defenseless against possible enemies, which makes you wholly dependent on your fists and feet. And you're not even sure if Childe managed to snag any of your two's Visions, and even a bag of food would do at this point-

He blinks away the rest of his remaining tears, clinging onto the ragged sleeves of your coat, and he tilts his head to the side just a bit, wondering what you are thinking at the moment. Under the furiously alive eyes are heavy bags, tired of running, life unsettled, and he stands, reaching out once again to pull you back up. You reach up, struggling to stand up, your legs numb from sitting for so long, not to mention your foot still aching a little. The sound of his heartbeat echoes in the back of your mind as you stare into his reflectionless eyes, the steady drumming failing to miss a beat, and it grows louder and louder as if getting closer and closer.

It seems as if it is getting closer and closer, you think, brushing away the dead leaf sticking to the already soiled fabric of your pants, and then it's too loud, unnaturally loud, and it sounds as if Childe's rapid heartbeat is a parade of feet. And then you realize that it actually is footsteps, loud and heavy, more than one pair of feet, going right in your direction. Tartaglia collects himself faster than you do, turning away, looking farther deeper into the lands of Liyue, and snatches up your hand again, much to your, "hey!"

I have no idea where I'm going, and I have no ideas as to where we can go, and I don't think it's very wise to follow a Fatui Harbinger that's committed treason with literally a whole camp full of Agents behind us- your mind fills with uncertain thoughts, jumbles of them, as you nearly trip over your feet again as you are running so fast. You jerk your hand out of Childe's grip, catching him by surprise, causing him to slow down just a bit to look behind him at you. You speed up, running with him by at his side, trying to get the Harbinger's attention, querying, "where are we- where are you taking me?"

It takes Tartaglia a few moments to find a reasonable answer, but he turns back to you, turning right on a sandy bank near the water, out of the mysterious Cuijue Slope area and into open space. He stops, examining the grounds, then picking up a paced jog and turning towards you, lips forming the place you know as Mondstadt.

"Mondstadt- archons above, Tartaglia, that's the worst place we can head right now, I literally just lost Dvalin's Tear, and I'm not sure how I'll be able to break the news to the Knights- especially Master Jean-" you splutter nervously, stopping in your tracks. Especially with you absconding from the Fatui, you know it's not the best idea to go running to Mondstadt. "Running away from the Fatui and going to a city is not the best idea, knowing that they could easily follow us or send more Fatui after us to be on the lookout-"

Tartaglia turns towards you, pointing at Wangshu Inn in the distance, walking in the direction of Mondstadt, smirking, " well, maybe we can go to Mondstadt for protection from the Fatui. And, because knowing them, if the Fatui Allegiance has been around for ages, and Mondstadt is still up and running, they won't dare- dare to mess inside the city. And if we aren't going to the 'City of Freedom,' and we listen to your idea, where would we go and seek refuge; certainly not Wangshu, or Liyue, because they'll obviously check there first."

Check there first- what- check Liyue first for what- you think, deciding to keep your mouth shut before you'd ask a dumb question that slips out of your mouth. Oh, they'd head there first because they would think that we would go there for the Millelith's and the Liyue Qixing's protection . You sigh, shaking your head, walking quickly to catch up with Childe, who has already started moving in the direction of Mondstadt, wondering if there is another place where you can go.

A dim glow resonates from the hotel you have so many memories of- you and Tartaglia stand and look upwards, gazing at the hotel upon the tree. You notice a familiar light green from Anemo powers on the inn's roof, and you wonder if it is the one and only Adeptus Xiao who could've saved you a while ago with a call of his name. You sigh and start moving without any word, knowing that Mondstadt is still a better idea instead of Wangshu. Thinking about what Tartaglia said earlier, you need to start thinking of what you'll have to say to break the news to Jean and the Knights. And it is clever to head to Mondstadt, letting the Knights be informed of the missing Dvalin's Tear and the Fatui's plans to take away Mondstadt's important overseer, Dvalin.

You cross a run-down wood bridge leading to a small sandy, grassy area with a strangely activated, glowing statue in the shape of the Lord of Geo . You huff, feeling jealous of the traveler from the strange world, having the ability to teleport to wherever they want, knowing that it would be so much more convenient to teleport to Mondstadt right now. You stare at the glowing blue statue of Morax holding a cube of Geo, and you wonder, huh, is it me, or his face seems really familiar, and my, hot damn, does he have some muscles- I mean-

Tartaglia stares at the statue, walking around it before touching it with no effect- and turning towards you, it's like he reads your thoughts, "is it me, or does this funny-looking guy look familiar?"

" ' Funny-looking-' you know, that's the Lord of Geo you're talking about..." you shake your head, continuing moving, " and you already know who Morax- er- Rex Lapis is today, and so do I, it's Zhong-"

"Yeah, yeah, I already know that you have already caught on to the consultant of the funeral parlor, and I don't need a reminder that I almost wiped a whole city off the map-" Tartaglia says, waving a hand dismissively as if destroying a city, your home town is no big deal.

Archons above, I wasn't even implying that fact- whatever, you shrug, continuing on the rocky path, again, hoping to reach your destination before the sun is completely gone and the sky turns a black blanket. You feel as if you are reliving the moments before going to Mondstadt all over again- before everything happened- before you lost Dvalin's Tear, before Signora mercilessly knocked you and Childe out, before you and Tartaglia lost your Visions, and well, Delusion too, and before Tartaglia confessed his love for you.

You're still unsure what to do with his confession because Childe has already betrayed you once, though the excuse was, "I did what the Fatui were asking," not to mention that you definitely don't want that to happen in a relationship. And I don't have feelings for that... that... the... Fatui Harbinger, from the Fatui Faction of Snezhnaya... that... you want to fit Tartaglia with a horrible, cruel image in your mind... but you can't seem to find the right thoughts which can piece all it together.

Everything you've seen of Tartaglia makes no sense, from a young man with bloodlust dealing with a business derived from schadenfreude, trickery, and double meanings. Tartaglia, feared on the battlefield, and sent away as far as possible from his fellow Harbingers to keep the youngest Harbinger busy. Tartaglia, has chosen his bow as a weapon of choice to master every weapon type, battling enemies more powerful than him though it means dying in the process. Then you have Childe, who sees himself as a weapon of war for his Tsaritsa though he may not even agree with her plans. Childe was gifted a Delusion as a badge of valor for his achievement in battle, only to drain its user's life force slowly when used. Ajax , named after some great hero's tale, on an icy lake with a fishing rod in hand as a young boy with his father, waiting for the fish to bite. Spoils his siblings rotten with wealth; the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, who treasures his loved ones' safety over his own. Caressed you gently as you clung to his tattered clothes and sobbed into his shoulder; whispered words of reassurance. He told you, lied to you, that he would not follow you deeper into Liyue but did the exact opposite, knowing something would go wrong. He told me he loved me.

But I haven't grown any feelings for him... right?

Notes:

anyways yes zhongli statue of seven looking fine dont ask ab it :D
happy late bday yunjin since ur bday was yesterday :)
also i just realized theres sm extra spaces between some words but guess what im too lazy

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 9: confound

Summary:

"You both confound me... are you sure that this Tartaglia here didn't knock you out as well... you said she knocked both of you out...?"

Notes:

chapter eight is out woohoo
also mc is brutal. rejection. again. why? your relationship is forbidden. ah yes. can you smell the scent of desperation? i can.
i feel like this story is moving way too fast idek how to write :0
im writing another chapter for the story rn and im stuck. i know the ending, i can taste it, the red ribbon that wraps up the story neatly. but the real question is how do i get there?

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence and character death in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

confound [v]: cause surprise or confusion in (someone), especially by acting against their expectations

The walls of the city of Mondstadt stand in front of you again, and you have to admit that you've found yourself back here quicker than you would expect. It's well past sunset when you cross the bridge over Cider Lake and past the Swan and Lawrence, still at their usual posts; they shoot Childe a worried glance for his wounds, but he ignores them.

Angel's Share and The Cat's Tail are familiar places to grab a drink when people feel a little iffy like you are, but today, you steer yourself away from the taverns. The thought of climbing all the flights of stairs to the Ordo Favonius Headquarters annoys you, and you have to stop multiple times to wait for Tartaglia to catch his breath. Though, you have to give it to him because, in his state, he looks like he could collapse any minute; you make a mental note to see the Church's Deaconess after.

When you finally make it to the Favonius Headquarters, Athos and Porthos, two guards who stand outside the Headquarters, start moving toward you, calling out to you that you're not allowed in the building. You step out of the way of Porthos's grasp and turn towards him, telling them that you have a message for Master Jean. The two knights argue with you, and you give them an answer you don't even understand, but it happens to work, and you open the door to the building. "Miss, he here is not allowed in the building- as the cause of his affiliation with the Fatui, we can simply not permit him to enter the Headquarters. He must remain outside where-" Athos begins, adjusting the black glasses on his face, placing a hand on Tartaglia's shoulder, holding him from advancing forwards.

By the Archons, Childe's got to be totally defeated if he doesn't make a peep or a try to best Athos, you think, trying to come up with something to say to let Tartaglia in. "I guess then I won't be informing the Acting Grand Master of the Fatui's plans to try and take Mondstadt over, the Holy Lyre de-"

"Alright, alright," Athos scoffs, looking over at Porthos, who glances back at him, clearing his throat before returning to post, "just make sure you come out soon- it's well past working hours into the night," he says, staring into the star-speckled sky up above, a brilliant greenish-black blanketing the sky.

You enter, immediately heading to the Acting Grand Master's office, Tartaglia on your heels- knocking doesn't first come to mind when you have an urgent matter in your hands. Jean stands, her back to you, hands on her hips, looking down at a certain eyepatched Cavalry Captain, who slouches tiredly in his chair. You can just see the Acting Grand Master's frown etched deep into her face- disappointment and annoyance all mushed into one expression. The Cavalry Captain's hair, more disheveled than ever, bags under his eyes more prominent than you've seen, but he takes the reprimand from his superior with a calm face.

What the f- what in the name of Celestia did I just walk into- you manage to think, standing in the doorway to her office; either they haven't seen or heard you, or you're just being completely ignored. The two Knights from the Ordo continue to bicker, Jean crossing her arms, completely fed up with her Cavalry Captain, who makes broad gestures with his hands.

"It's my job, Jean- I was accepted from the Academy for a reason; I use any means possible to get the dirty work for the Knights done- and you well know if there was another choice, I would've chosen that." Kaeya smirks, leaning forwards, placing one of his elbows on the table littered with paperwork, folders and objects to tinker with.

"I know that you know that wasn't the most rational decision you could've made, and I think both of us also know that this isn't the first time you've put your troops and men in danger like that. Also, just because we're alone in the office doesn't mean you can start calling me on a first-name basis, Sir Kaeya." Jean retorts, sighing at Kaeya, who merely chuckles at her disdain, and she leans forwards, collecting a couple papers and sliding them into a folder.

Screw you two being alone in your office, you mentally shout, hearing Tartaglia shuffle uncomfortably behind you; glancing at him briefly, you turn back to the two Knights.

"Alright, but none of us got severely injured, and it's good to exercise the brain to work quickly in high-pressure situations," the blue-haired knight responds nonchalantly, his voice oozing with smugness, "and I only got nicked by a Treasure Hoarder's knife, it's not that bad, Jean."

" It's 'Master Jean-' " the Anemo-bearer starts to say, correcting her colleague, but you save her by grabbing her attention with a sudden, "ahem," and she turns around, surprised. "Oh, it's just you, Miss Y/N.. you surprised me there," the Acting Grand Master looks past you, noticing the disheveled young Snezhnayan standing tiredly behind you. " Oh... is that... he's a... not him again..." her light blue eyes lock onto the deep blue eyes that Ajax adorns, which he intensely stares at her right back, eyes narrowing. " I- you know what, never mind..." Jean murmurs, confused at your sudden appearance, " what I'd like to know is what brings you back here... with that... person."

You enter her office, noticing Kaeya has stood up and gotten ready to leave, ready to sneak out of the office perhaps for a quick drink or two, but the Lionfang Knight catches the Cavalry Captain and sits him right back on his chair, much to his dismay. Closing the door gently after Tartaglia enters behind you, you turn to Jean and simply say, "before we get to this, could you heal him, please? I'd like to get through this... talk... without running to the Church begging the Deaconess to heal this guy when he falls unconscious."

A strong gust of Anemo power envelopes the office, small little dandelions from nowhere floating through the sky then disappearing, small sheets of paper fluttering to the ground. Tartaglia's wounds patch up almost instantly, the blood decorating his body vanishing within seconds as the Anemo healing courses through his body, revitalizing him quickly.

Well, the Acting Grand Master is not only a skilled fighter but a better healer than me... you think, a little jealous of her skills compared to yours, but you quickly shake out the thought. You turn back to Jean, who has taken a seat at the end of the table; she mentions for both of you to sit down. Sitting a chair away from Tartaglia and across from the Cavalry Captain, who can't stop glaring suspiciously at the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, you look Master Jean dead in the eyes.

"There's no subtle way to say or put this..." you begin, taking a deep breath, preparing yourself for the potential onslaught of words you will receive; you take in the calm look in the Anemo Vision holder's eyes and her aide, "... but I've lost the Dvalin's Tear." You take another deep breath, noticing Jean's and Kaeya's facial expressions have warped into something of anger and surprise.

Kaeya Alberich shoots out of his chair, slamming his hands on the table, the usual loose fur cape adorning his broad shoulders falling back on the chair, and his visible eye narrows. "I knew it all from the start- I knew it- I knew it, Jean, I knew that that stupid Harbinger was going to stir up trouble. I knew that we shouldn't have even let a Harbinger inside the walls of Mondstadt- I swear by the Archons I'm going to demote Swan and Lawrence-" he stares at Jean, then Tartaglia, then back at Jean, "Oh, I bet it's his fault we've lost the Tear."

Jean Gunnhildr looks at her trusted aid and mentions for him to sit back down; she takes a deep breath and replies to Kaeya, "perhaps he isn't the reason she's lost the Tear, Sir Kaeya. Maybe someone took it away, not Tartaglia, because I'm sure he wouldn't have gotten the Tear without a fight. And no, I don't think that overlooking his affiliation and alliance with the Fatui is a good idea, so that can't be forgotten- so perhaps another Harbinger..."

"I told you, leaving the Tear with a civilian, especially hailing from Liyue, a nation away, wasn't a good choice-"

"Kaeya, if we had left it under the protection of the Cathedral, we would've lost it ages ago since the Fatui would look there first-"

"It's Sir Kaeya-" Kaeya mocks, a smug grin on his face; Jean shakes her head in disapproval and turns to Childe, diverting her attention to the Snezhnayan.

"So, Harbinger, I'd like to know your reasons for being here..." Jean murmurs, confused, "there's got to be a reason why you're here unless you're just... tagging along...?"

"It was... it was..." Tartaglia struggles to finish, looking for you for support, "it was La- La Signora... the... the... that..." his ginger, messy hair hangs in front of his face, looking down at the floor, "the one who has the Tear."

This time, Master Jean stands up abruptly, crossing her arms, "the Eighth Fatui Harbinger, La Signora, has the Dvalin's Tear, and she, I'm guessing, stole it from you?"

"Basically... more like she beat both of us up before robbing it from me when she knocked us unconscious at Stormterror's Lair-" you begin to explain, but Jean cuts in with an apology.

"You both confound me... Miss Y/N- are you sure that this Tartaglia here didn't knock you out as well... you said she knocked both of you out...?"

"Yeah, it's sick, but can you believe that a Harbinger would go against another Harbinger to fulfill their Archon's orders?"

Kaeya laughs sarcastically, his star-shaped pupil fixed right on you, "all alright, so let me get this right... you and Childe, who happens to be on your side, head to Stormterror's Lair, and Signora happens to be there magically, and she knocks both of you out, then gets Dvalin's Tear?"

"Did I forget to mention that I almost died from a trap thanks to Childe, my naivety, and Signora had a couple of Pyro Fatui Agents with her?" Y ou chuckle at that line of speech and the memory it evokes, not believing how stupid you make yourself seem, almost self-sabotaging yourself. "And where did you get that cursed idea that Tartaglia is on my side- was on my side- is- was- whatever, he isn't on my side, and never was." You try to ignore the guilty, apologetic look on Childe's face out of the corner of your eye, but he looks at you, and you have no choice but to look back at him.

"So you're basically here to ' help me solve my problem- ' " Kaeya muses loudly, sighing, crossing his arms, a frown taking over the false smile. He looks at Jean, his glare basically saying, "I-wanted-to-get-a-drink-but-let's-pull-another-'all-nighter,' " Jean sighs almost like a response, her eyes bouncing from her Captain, then to you, then to Childe.

"So what did Signora- the Fatui even need the Dvalin's Tear for?" Jean asks, standing up, walking over to the shelves to grab a few books, perhaps on Old Mondstadt's history and the Four Winds of Mondstadt.

This time, Tartaglia perks up, "well... from what I've known from my time serving in the Fatui Allegiance, an unrepaired or damaged Holy Lyre will fail to call Stormterror, which happens to be the closest of the Four Winds living in Mondstadt at the moment. And to repair a Holy Lyre, you'll need a purified Dvalin's Tear, which is currently in the Fatui's possession, so we won't be able to call Stormterror by command. So I'm guessing that the Fatui are planning to take the city over at some point, knowing Stormterror and the rest of the Four Winds won't be there at all."

Maybe Tartaglia actually possesses a brain that he can use, you think, a little impressed that he could come up with such a reasonable answer that puts all the pieces of what you've learned over your journey together. You watch as Jean nods her head in understanding, and she flips one of the books open; no, it actually seems to be a journal, perhaps about past occurrences about the Fatui. "I'm guessing here, but since they've already stolen the Tear, they'll come after the Holy Lyre de Himmel next, right?"

"I was just about to say that... the Holy Lyre will be our next concern, so I'll start posting knights to protect the Holy Lyre..." Master Jean says as she starts reading a page, "and the Lyre has already been stolen once before, and we can't let that happen again. I suppose we'll be expecting a... hopefully failed robbery of the Holy Lyre de Himmel... and if they do get it, it looks like we'll have to head to their nearest hideout from here." Jean sighs, smoothing out the tails of her coat while talking, the obvious concern in her voice masking the apprehension trying to sneak its way into her tone.

You stand up, pushing in your chair, noticing that the conversation is hitting the end; you relax your shoulders and look at Tartaglia, who still looks up at you with that solemn face.

"Well, thank you, both of you, for letting us know of this current... problem, and I look forward to seeing how this all plays out by the end of the day." Jean shakes hands with you, a firm grip on your hand, the feel of her glove on yours; she pulls away, and you can see the slight hesitation in her eyes before she takes hold of Childe's hand for a shake.

Turning to Tartaglia, you extend an arm towards him to help him up and out of his chair, knowing that he hasn't completely gotten used to the mending feeling inside as his skin continues to repair itself slowly. He grunts as he pulls himself upwards, a tired, haggard look on his face, but he manages to amble himself out of the office door without a word to either of you.

Bidding Master Jean and Captain Kaeya a goodnight, you slip out the door, Jean's quiet words to her Cavalry Captain being, "...you'll need to start posting Knights around Brightcrown Canyon..."

You follow the Harbinger out the door, waving goodnight to Athos and Porthos as they salute you goodbye, and you catch up to Childe and look at him, and he looks at you back. You open your mouth to tell Tartaglia you'll be heading to Brightcrown Canyon to check if the Fatui is stationed there, but he beats you to speak.

"What did you mean when you said... " Childe starts, his voice low and clouded with deliriousness and confusion, "when you said that we weren't on the same side? I thought that we were... a... a team."

"Exactly what I said, nothing more, nothing less- and why would I want to be on the same team when you've already betrayed me once- you may betray me again." You reply, unfazed by the curiosity and hurt in his voice, "and I'm heading down to Brightcrown Canyon tomorrow to check on the Knights and the Fatui." Pulling back your shoulders and bringing your arms behind your back in a stretch, you sigh, looking up at the dark blanket engulfing the sky in darkness.

Tartaglia says nothing to you as he goes down a flight of stone stairs, past a windmill, and near a Bird and Blossom Park, nearing a familiar building that you've been inside before. You halt in your walk, showing Childe a cross look on your face, stubborn and completely unwilling to enter that building again. "After the first time, I'm not going in there," you say to Tartaglia as he comes towards you, a bit confused, "no."

"But we need somewhere to sleep for the night, don't we?"

"I'll repeat it: I'm not going in there; I'll sleep in the Knight's Quarters or in the Library or in the wilderness, or even sleeping in Captain Kaeya's house, but I'm not going in there again."

And then you think he asks you ' why not,' but you're sure he already knows the answer- because it's a settlement entirely meant for the Fatui- and you ignore him.

Ten minutes later, a soft hand from Ajax is on your shoulder as he leads you to the same room from a few nights ago, the same red wallpaper on both sides of you. ' I'll be cooperative in the morning, ' he said, and you went on your way, but the moment you entered the building, you realized that he'd be the most annoying little man in the entirety of Teyvat. You both enter the room, Tartaglia's one different in terms of the layout of the last one you had in the Grand Goth Hotel, but that's expected because he's a Harbinger, and you're not.

Wait.

I forgot to book myself a room, by Rex Lapis-, oh by the Seven, why has there only got to be one bed- help- no, no, no-

Then there's a knock at your door, and Childe comes over to open it, and a clerk comes in with a foot measuring tool in hand, and she looks at you, two hangers and a set of clothespins in the other hand. Then she starts walking over to you, and she immediately lowers down to measure your foot- what the fu- what the- what's going on- and you sort of fidget as she nods and stands up. No words are spoken between you as she takes your dirtied coat and hangs it on one of the wooden hangers in her hand.

Oh , realizing what's going on, you look for Tartaglia, who has disappeared somewhat magically, so you look back at the silent clerk who stands there still. Tartaglia appears, sporting a new set of loose, comfortable clothes different from his Fatui apparel, and he hands over the tattered Fatui garb to the client, who then leaves. "When did you order for someone to come and get our clothes?"

"When I booked myself a room, " Tartaglia replies, a smirk ghosting his lips, the same one he gave you on the day he met you on the frigid, cold mountain of Dragonspine , "you must've been so caught in the astonishment of the beauty of this building that you failed to hear me order some new clothes for both of us, and not get your own room." His jubilant laughter fills the room as you settle onto a chair, forcing an unamused look to mask the blush creeping onto your face.

He stands up, walking over to you where you sit- leaning over to you, one hand gripping the side of the back of the chair and the palm of his other hand laying flat on the wall behind you. Tartaglia looks you in the eyes, and you lean back as far as you can into the leather chair and bring your knees, trying to distance yourself from Childe, who is getting a bit... too... close... for your liking; "tell me, aren't you absolutely excited to be bunking with me for the night?"

"No," you reply, doing your best imitation of Master Diluc's facial expression and tone as he refuses to give Barbatos- er- Venti- or the blue-haired annoyance named Kaeya their twentieth glass of wine. You frown and give him your most nonchalant, stubborn, ' I'm-so-done-with-you ' look you can manage. "I'm completely devastated that we have to share the same room; I'm completely broken and traumatized, and no matter the hours of therapy I'll go through, I'll still be mentally scarred."

"Aw, I can't be that horrible..." Tartaglia smirks and leans as close to you as he can manage, and he probably would be closer if it weren't for your knees and now hands trying to distance yourself from him.

Your heart is threatening to jump out of your throat, and you can hear your heart beating loudly, a steady, firm rhythm pounding inside of your head, and you take a deep breath. Calm down, calm down, he's just trying to toy around with your feelings, and your breath hitches as you take a breath, trying to form words. Tartaglia's cocky grin that he showed you at Dragonspine at the beginning of it all comes back to you as he stares into your eyes, completely frozen in place. "Oh yeah..." you murmur to him, trying to get your face as far from his as possible by turning your head to the side, which basically does nothing, "you've been bad, alright."

" Oh, my heart, I couldn't have been that bad," Childe says, dramatically leaning back with a hand on his chest where his heart is, and he gaps and falls back onto one of the hotel beds, "your words, they wound me so."

You roll your eyes at him and groan, huffing as you slink a bit further down your chair, stretching out your legs in a v-shape before you draw them back in, "alright... try your best to convince me then." Sitting up in your chair, you look at him with what you hope is a passive look on your face, and you sigh, "prove it to me."

Childe's eyes widen to the size of saucers, and he glares at you with the most dumbstruck, dumbfounded gaze he can possibly manage, and he stutters to speak before sitting up slowly, cautiously. He rubs his hands together nervously before he shoots you a very bewitching smirk, "please don't say that while you're sitting like that, dear."

What the fu- is obviously your first thought, by the Archons- by Celestia, Lord of Geo and Contracts- did he just call me what I think I just heard him call me? You quickly sit up in your chair and bring your knees together- you lurch forward in your chair with an eyebrow raised at Childe and say: "what?"

"Oh, I know you know that you heard what I said exactly... I've taken that as a challenge, to prove I'm not a menace to you, but you know what I can do, don't you? But let me think: there will be a lady with a new set of clothes and shoes for us right around the corner, so I suggest that we rather drop this-"

Perfectly timed as if the conversation was heard, a knocking on the door comes, and a new pair of shoes and clothes for both of you are soon in Tartaglia's hands. Watching as a blanket is also thrown onto a sofa nearby, which you guess is for yourself to keep warm overnight, and you turn back to the maid. Pairs of clothes are settled on the bed, the shoes on the suite floor , one pair of shoes identical to Childe's, and one that looks almost the same as yours. The Harbinger returns to the maid to pay a small tip to the woman- she nods politely and steps outside the room, leaving. The door is closed and locked as Childe walks over to his clothes on the bed and picks up the garments dedicated for him.

" You can't just start trying to flirt with me, and when I want to confirm if you told me so, and then tell me to stop talking about it when it's your fault- " you stand up quickly, looking up to him as he looks down to you, "and I think you know that name-calling there went a little too far there-"

"Oh, that seems like you are not content with the little, unique names I have come up with to call you so far..." the Snezhnayan chuckles jokingly and grips your shoulder, "would you like me to call you something else, perhaps..."

"I don't want to hear it-" you interrupt, "all these names you're calling me don't mean much- or even anything, and you know that." You sigh and look at him, your gaze not wavering, no matter how much you want to break the eye contact that proves you mean what you say. "I've been doing some thinking- and I'd regret if I didn't talk to you now and lost the chance to. Listen, there isn't any other way to word this, so it won't hurt, but... I know you've probably come to reality lately, but even if I wanted to love you, or if you ever actually did, you know we can't." You take the hand on your shoulder that lays there limp, staring into those bottomless blue eyes, "I don't know how much you feel for me, but you know it's not going to work out. I don't think that we can ever go past being friends or acquaintances- and I know how much you want to... get close to me, but we can't."

He looks down, his eyes narrow but full of sadness, like a cat staring into the horizon after being locked outside, and his hand falls to his side, lost. " Ajax ... you have to come and realize this... our relationship isn't going to go any further... you're a diplomat from Snezhnaya, and I am just... I'm just someone that happens you can't be with. And let's face the ugly truth here: you're a Harbinger, and they're on the lookout for both of us, and if we ever... got together, they'd probably kill both of us."

The childish stubbornness that you've seen in him flares up, a flicker fanned into a short-lived ember, and his hands fist, "I know- I know they're after us, but just let me try, I know we can make this happen- just let me try."

You shake your head at him, and he looks at you hopelessly . Silence fills the suite as he keeps his eyes locked on yours, searching your features for any look of regret or a note of your insincerity in your words, but he finds none.

"After this is all sorted out, I'll just... I'll just take you home and then forget all about this, then..." Childe turns to take his clothes off the bed, and he turns his back towards you, "I was a fool, wasn't I? Lingering, grasping onto little fantasies and fragile dreams that I knew would break any second. I- I'm sorry, " he whispers, his voice catching in his own throat, "I'm sorry. "

"Don't say sorry. It won't fix anything," you reply as Tartaglia takes a step away from you, but it is true- no matter how many times he apologizes, he can't redo the past for his mistakes.

" I'll just take a shower, then, " you think you hear him say, and he raises a sleeve to wipe away something from his face, and he turns into the bathroom, and you swear you could see his face littered with the after-streaks of quiet tears, his facial expression only showing one emotion that you recognize: denial.

The pit-pattering of water on shower tiles breaks the silence, and you settle back into the same chair after grabbing your clothes and dropping them on your lap. You wait to use the shower after Childe, yourself admitting you look and feel filthy, the dirt on your clothes still there and most likely will leave a lasting mark. One lasting stain, a reminder of everything that you've been through over the past few days, despite wanting to forget it.

You slouch back onto your chair, thinking of what you'll do after you get back to Liyue, perhaps get a bite with the strange yet respectable Zhongli or a walk around the Liyue marketplace with a friend you've met not too long ago, Hu Tao, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Director. Or even better, they both work at the same place, so it shouldn't be that hard to hang out with them both. Getting lost in possible dreams of the future you long for, your thoughts are interrupted by a sudden ' ahem,' which makes you stand up and head over to the bathroom.

Tartaglia does not look at you or even pass you a glance as he pulls a towel around his shoulders, his hair still wet and dripping with water, his red-black earring hanging still from his right ear and shiny from water. "Make sure you don't mix up the shampoo from the conditioner, " Childe mumbles to you, "the shampoo is on the right, the conditioner is on the left, and the middle one is just body wash."

You nod to him in thanks as you grab your clothes and head to the shower, looking for a spare towel, which you find neatly folded on one of the white shelves. Turning on the water to a comfortable temperature, you strip down and lay your clothes on the counter, testing the water before entering. It seems too cold for your liking, so you stand aside in the shower and wrap your arms around yourself, lowering your head like a dog when feeling shame.

Except you don't feel shame, more like guilt for many things, the major one being that you shattered the whole heart that Ajax gave you, and you returned it in pieces. But it was right for me to do that, and I had the power to, and even Childe knew that we wouldn't last together. You sigh and test the water, finding that it is warm, and you step into the stream of steady water from the showerhead, and you drop your arms and let the water flow all over you. It cleanses you as if ridding you of your troubles, all of your wrongdoings, purging the painful memories you wish to let go of, and the warm water is comforting, and you relax, sighing as the water lands on your back like a rhythmic massage. After you've finished showering, you step out, being met with a familiar gust of cold air that you are always greeted with after opening shower curtains at home or any shower in particular. Wrapping your arms around yourself automatically, you shuffle over to the towel and quickly wrap it around yourself before walking over to where the sink counter is for your clothes. Tucking one corner of the towel into the inner folds of the towel, it tightens, and you let go slowly, hoping for the white, long cloth to stay around your body, and it does.

Looking in the mirror, you see eyes with bags under them, similar to Captain Kaeya's, some marks that will eventually disappear naturally from La Signora's ice wrapping despite your healing, and a reflection of a person you can no longer recognize, no matter what pose or expression you make in the mirror. Have I changed that much over a few days, or are my eyes playing tricks on me because I'm sure I'm very sleep-deprived? You laugh at yourself, a quiet noise escaping your lips, and you stand there for a couple more seconds, drawing one of your fingers under your eyebags, hoping they would go away. You leave your dirty clothes folded next to Childe's tattered ones, knowing that they will be picked up to go in the wash sometime soon. After some short time, you shrug your shoulders, looking at the reflection that does the same before slipping on your new clothes and wrapping your hair up with the towel to let it dry.

Stepping out of the bathroom, you realize something has changed in the hotel suite- but it is only the lights, which you're sure Tartaglia dimmed to help him fall asleep easier. It's bright enough for you to see where you're going, so you shuffle over to a sofa that you've wordlessly claimed as yours and settle down, looking over at Childe, who seems to be trying his best to ignore you. His eyebrows are scrunched and pulled together in silent concentration, his hair an orange-ish mop over the pillow, but otherwise, he looks free of his troubles and sins, an innocent look.

You sit there, waiting for your hair to dry for what seems an eternity, and you wonder how long it'll take for that to happen. Unraveling the towel from your hair, you rub it together in a scrubbing motion, hoping for your hair to dry quicker; you usually like to air-dry or dry it with a hair drier but drying with a towel must suffice for today.

After drying your hair for some time, you touch it gingerly, hoping it is dry, and luckily for you, it is, so your stand up, heading over to the bathroom, trying not to wake Childe, who seems to have fallen asleep. Hanging up your towel on a rack, you trudge over to the lights and completely turn it off, heading back to the sofa, and you're halfway there when you bump your hip on the side of some furniture. An incoherent swear almost escapes your lips as you look around wildly, hoping that you didn't wake Tartaglia up. Sleeping in the same room as Childe shouldn't be as bad as I think it is, you muse, walking over to the sofa- after all, I can monitor his actions for the night.

You settle onto the sofa, your hip still throbbing with pain, looking up at the white ceiling, resting your head on a plush sofa pillow; the last thing you hear before you quickly doze off is a muffled grunt from Childe as he turns on his side in peaceful slumber.

Notes:

i love kaeya sm but i made him annoying in the story wha-
yes im sorry i made u share a hotel room. also how to write flirting-
lmk whatcha think heh

i have like 15 gigs left on my phone out of 64 and i might delete genshin its taking way too much space

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 10: redemption

Summary:

You've come to the wrong place for redemption... no, my view of you won't change... it will never change. "

Notes:

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warning for violence in upcoming chapters.

- Warning for character death and violence in this chapter.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

redemption [n]: the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil

You wake to the sound of birds chirping outside loudly, the sunlight peeking through the window curtains, and... the very familiar sound of a toilet... being flushed...? What a great way to start the day, you think- a toilet being flushed is my choice of a secondary alarm, and you sit up, rubbing your aching neck. Ugh... I am already hating this day... how the hell am I supposed to walk to that stupid Fatui hideout and fight if I need to with my neck aching?

The bathroom door creaks open, and bright blue eyes meet yours, and Tartaglia smiles sheepishly, still decked out in his sleeping clothes, his eyes clouded with sleep and drowsiness. You smile in a way you hope he can take as rueful, and you assume he does as he ducks his head a bit and looks away, heading back into the bathroom. You wait for him to finish before you head inside yourself, using the already provided toiletries to clean yourself up for the morning. You don't have any other clean clothes besides the ones you're wearing at the moment, and it's comfortable and flexible enough for a walk, so you keep them on. Looking around for a comb, you open a few of the sink counter drawers until you find one, and you comb through your dark brown hair before letting it settle.

Leaving the bathroom, you see Tartaglia adjusting his Fatui garbed shirt and red muffler around his chest with a Snezhnayan pin, and he looks at you, sighing deeply. He scans you up and down, a curious look on his face, puzzled you're still wearing your apparel from last night, but he keeps his mouth shut and looks away.

"Are you ready to head out?" you ask him, resting your hands on your hips, "we should also grab breakfast quickly before going to Brightcrown Canyon."

"Yeah, " Childe replies, pulling one of his trademark gloves onto his hands and flexing them to get used to the cloth gloving his fingers, "are you ready to go?"

Nodding, you head towards the door, and suddenly you remember you'll have to get a temporary weapon from Wagner, the Mondstadt blacksmith, so you keep a mental note and head out into the hallway. Childe follows you down to the lobby of the Grand Goth Hotel, waving goodbye to the clerks working there. Walking down the familiar streets of the City of Freedom, you head down a flight of stone steps down to a level above the plaza, so you round a corner and head down another flight of stairs, which you immediately find yourself surrounded by a cluster of houses separated by a path and few shrubs. Stopping in front of Good Hunter, you let Tartaglia order whatever he wants for the both of you, and you also grab the same table where you first sat with Ajax on your first day in Mondstadt.

You cough discreetly into your hand at the embarrassing idea you have, realizing you have no money to pay for the food and the spear you're about to get because the Fatui nabbed it along with the backpack yesterday. I can totally now understand the embarrassment that Mr. Zhongli goes through whenever he has to ask Childe for money... well... he does it with no shame, actually. Your 'discreet' cough catches the Harbinger's attention, and he looks up to you, sitting down on a light-colored pine chair. "Um- I haven't told you this, but I'm going down to Wagner's to buy myself a weapon to use, and unfortunately, I just realized this myself, but to get a good spear, I'll need some Mora... which I don't have... could you spare me perhaps two or three thousand?"

Tartaglia bursts into a sudden fit of explosive laughter, and he looks up at you, a boyish grin decorating his face, but he reaches into an inner pocket and brings out a sizable sack of Mora from literally nowhere. " You're starting to be like Mr. Zhongli, and I think we all know who the new God of Commerce and Wealth is, " Childe chuckles, handing you the bag of Mora, "use what you need and return me the rest when you're done."

"Thank you, Childe," you nod your head in thanks and start heading down to Wagner's, hoping that they have spare stones, gems, and luckily, if they do, a Northlander Polearm and Bow Billet, which is rare to find. You intend to have Wagner make you a Prototype Starglitter, but if not, a Crescent Pike will always suffice. Then you remember that Childe also needs a temporary weapon- perhaps a Prototype Crescent would suit him for the time being...

Heading over to the blacksmith shop where Wagner works, he continues working on that piece of metal, not looking up until you stand in front of his working bench. He wipes his forehead and brow as he rests his hammer on a table, looking up at you. "Can I help you?" the burly man asks, his tone blunt and assertive, and when you ask him for something to be made, he replies, "did you bring the materials? Let me have a look."

You shuffle on your feet, a little embarrassed, but instead of handing over the stones and gems as you would usually do after hearing that sentence, you bring out the bag of Mora Childe handed you. " Well, you see, Wagner, I'd like a Prototype Starglitter and Crescent to be made, but I don't have the materials with me, but if you have extras of that type of spear or leftover materials to make it, I'll pay you extra for your troubles." You look back at the blacksmith and his apprentice, Schulz, who are both looking at you with interest at the sound of extra Mora. "Well, if you don't have the Prototype Starglitter, I can always take a Crescent Pike- but if you don't have that either, I can just buy a weapon directly-"

"That's enough, kiddo-" Wagner says, stroking his sharply cut beard, cutting you off while talking, " how much have you got in that bag of yours you got there?"

"More than enough to afford more than ten of your highest-quality weapons, " you reply, shrugging your shoulders to make it seem as if that isn't a plenty sum at all.

Wagner turns around to his apprentice on the other side of the shop, who has resumed his little metalworking practice, and calls, "Schulz, a Prototype Starglitter and a Prototype Crescent is waiting to be made!"

Thanking the two blacksmiths, you tell him you'll be back from grabbing a bite to eat to pay him after it's finished, and he nods, so you head back to Good Hunter just in time to see Sara placing two small trays of food on the round table. Sara looks up, smiling at you in greeting, which you reciprocate, and you slide into the chair across Childe, looking down at the food he purchased for both of you. You slide the bag of Mora into one of your pockets, and you look up to see Childe digging into a platter of a Sticky Honey Roast, which you assume he bought for both of you. Unraveling your eating utensils from a napkin, you cut out a piece of the smoked meat and slide it onto your plate, cutting up a bite-sized piece to fit into your mouth. After some time, the food from Good Hunter is all gone, and you are contentedly full, and judging by the look on Childe's face, he is too.

Heading back to the blacksmith shop to check on your weapon, you see Schultz slumped over a black, long polearm, a yellowish-gold glinting with hungry energy. He passes it over to Wagner for inspection just as you arrive right in front of Wagner's working bench, who looks at you as you pull out the pouch of Mora. He lays the newly crafted polearm on his working bench, " That'll be six-thousand, seven hundred Mora for this Prototype Starglitter and Prototype."

You take your time to count the Mora, and when you've finished counting Mora after what seems like an eternity, you pay it in and take the polearms with a ' thank you.' Walking away from the blacksmith, you head back to Good Hunter, where you see Childe patiently waiting for you, one hand on his hip, chatting with Sara contentedly. Approaching him from behind, you stop by his side where you look at him soundlessly, knowing that he knows that you have to go now. Tartaglia ends his conversation with Sara and turns towards you, following as you walk down the stone steps from the plaza to the front gates of Mondstadt. You hand him the newly-crafted bow, much to his confusion, then an expression of gratitude.

A couple of the Knights of Favonius are grouped together in a small patch of grass near the front gates, and you pass them, waving, crossing the bridge where Timmie's pigeons are gathered. Luckily for you, it's still early in the morning when the pigeons are there, and the young boy is probably still snoozing. Pigeons take flight into the sky, where they either rest on the stony, high walls surrounding the city or in nearby trees on the other side of the bridge. The tapping sounds of boots on stone fill the silence, accompanied by the gentle cooing of nearby pigeons and the water sloshing below the bridge.

You and Childe walk past Springvale, past Dawn Winery, into a bit of Wolvendom, near Stormterror's Lair, up some cliffs, and into the area of Brightcrown Canyon. It's a flat, grassy area where many Fir Trees grow on the tall cliffs and have ruins scattered everywhere, Hilichurls hiding where you least expect them. Many Knights of Favonius have already gathered here for the day, scattered around the Brightcrown Canyon area, swords sheathed till the moment of battle. You and Tartaglia find yourselves near a tall cliff overlooking the northwest side of Cider Lake, standing near a Shrine of Depths glowing bright green with Anemo. Not too far away is a gap in the rocks, enough for a couple people to fit in at once, but what happens to be behind the crack is what you need.

"Alright, I'm going in there, and I'm going to-" Childe steps forward, his bow by his side, gripped tightly, but you pull him back and look him in the eyes.

"And what?" You say sternly, sighing audibly, "You can't just charge in like you do all the time, Childe. We need a plan- and a good one- for all you know, Signora or a bunch of Fatui could be in there, and neither of us has a Vision. If we're going in with the Knights, we at least need to wait for their party because I know that we'd get overpowered easily, a couple of Visionless people against Delusion-holding enemies."

"Ugh, alright..." Tartaglia mumbles, crossing his arms, opening his mouth slowly to say a side remark, but probably decides against it as his mouth closes with an audible 'click!' You watch him fiddle with the bowstring absentmindedly, making a twanging noise as he lets go every time, the thin string vibrating wildly.

After a couple of minutes, more Knights of Favonius come to gather, including the person you both find annoying from his snarky behavior, Captain Kaeya. Jean is not with him, perhaps running the city or leaving to another place in Brightcrown Canyon, leaving Mondstadt under the Librarian Lisa's care. Waving to the Cavalry Captain for simple etiquette, he waves back from afar, some of the other Knights accompanying the Captain waving back. Mentioning for Tartaglia to go to where Kaeya and the other Knights are gathering quietly, you stop in front of the Knight.

"Hello, " you say, trying to keep your voice low for the possible enemies inside to not be alerted, "it seems you collected where we were going to look as well... where has Master Jean gone?"

The blue-haired knight's surprised face quickly forms an amused one, and he lets out a low chuckle, looking into the man-sized crevice in the stone wall. "The Acting Grand Master has gone to Stormterror's Lair with the Windborne Bard to try and summon... the Dragon of the East. And yes... we are always looking for more... backup, " Kaeya Alberich smarms, looking discreetly at the Harbinger, "more hands, the better, so we can get done quicker. "

You nod, giving Tartaglia " The Look" to "not-punch-this-guy-in-the-face-though-I-know-you-want-to-decimate-him-so-badly, " and you turn back to Kaeya, "So... Captain Kaeya... when are we going to enter this place?"

"Whenever you and your friend are ready," he replies, smirking at your scowl of his word choice, and he turns to his troops, calling out to some of them to stay by the entrance just in case any enemies escape.

You turn and look to Childe, who gives you a confirming nod, so you tell Kaeya you're ready to enter what is hopefully a still intact and used Fatui hideout. Taking fall behind what seems like eight or nine white-armored Knights under Kaeya's arms of care, you follow them into the hideaway, the small tunnel downwards lit by a few dim lanterns separated by much space. The tunnel widens as you head down, the rocky, dusty path soon forming stone steps, worn away by many footsteps that have already been there.

You start to get a bit more nervous, wondering what kind of enemies you'll face down there, knowing they'll be more alert for a runaway Harbinger and a black-haired young lady as his company. Perhaps Fatui Anemoboxers, Mirror Maidens, Geochanters, Hydro Fatui Skirmishers, oh please... not the Pyro Fatui Agents, please no, please no. A hand is felt on your shoulder, just briefly, a gentle touch of care, a touch of reassurance, almost as if on cue, perhaps by accident, but you turn around, looking at Ajax . But your eyes do not connect in knowing with his blue ones, his almost refusing to glance down into yours, focused and staring hard ahead. You take a deep breath as you hear a small pebble tumble, bouncing down from one step to the next, ricocheting in the cavern-made room where Captain Kaeya stands.

And then the sound of steel hitting something, a shout, then the rapid sound of footsteps, something you've become so familiar with over the past few days, then "freeze!" You smell something like smoke, then the sound of a Pyro bullet missing its target, a hissing noise from the one walls of the room. A sound of Electro ripping through the air, more footsteps on stone as you and the remaining Knights still in the tunnel rush out to the underground battlefield. The dying sound of a Fatui's last lines of life echoes throughout the room, but there's still more- another gunshot that barely misses one of your fellow Knights.

A spray of Cryo hits a metal breastplate, a cry of pain, near you, a soldier stumbling back from pain. Then a blast of Cryo from Kaeya, a slash of a Favonius Sword, an arrow shooting through the room and hitting its mark. A desperate cry for life silences the group of fighters, dust particles from the fallen rising into the air, white and blue, large dissipating to small. You notice the scarlet red liquid branching into the cracks of the stone tiles spreading everywhere, seeping into the dips of the worn floor, the river of red coming to a halt just in front of Childe's boots, right before it disappears along with the last of the dust particles.

He pays no attention to the blood and wipes a hand on his shirt, stepping closer to the soldiers, catching their breaths quickly, facing Kaeya with a "what next" expression on their faces. The Cavalry Captain chuckles once more and praises them all, heading silently into a branching room, deeper into the lair. You and Childe look at each other, perhaps having the same thoughts, and wait for the other Knights to follow Kaeya along before heading off on a different branching path. You and Childe go down the hallway silently, trying not to make noise, as the single scratch of boots on stone could make an alarm.

You spend your time in the winding lair, relying on signs placed randomly here and there to find your way around, fighting what enemies you come across. It's hard to fight without your Visions, and it makes both of you realize how dependent you are on them and how dependent you are in combat with them. You turn around to Childe, who used to be standing in the room alongside you, chest heaving and tired, ready to ask him if he wanted to move on or take a break.

You expect the shockingly bright orange of his hair, the dangling red-silver earring, the grey and which clothes he bears, the fiddling, restless movements of his hands. The twiddling of his fingers as they spin around each other absentmindedly, the way he pulls back his messy hair backward, how he repositions the Fatui pin on his chest. Or how he taps his foot on the ground in impatience or pulls back his gloves just a bit more though it's as tight as possible, how he traces a faint scar on the inside of his forearm. Or maybe you're searching for his beautiful blue eyes that seem to find their way back to you, perhaps the way he nervously looks away when he catches your gaze.

But the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger has disappeared without sound or trace. Oh, by the Archons... is your first thought as you spin a full circle, hoping he is still in the room, perhaps sitting down. But no, he's disappeared, vanished, probably off to stir up his own trouble again, but the haunting thought of betrayal flashes once again in your mind. No. I refuse to believe that he's turned his back on me again after everything we went over last night and what he said to me. You huff and sit down on a wooden box, listening, hoping for the quietest sound of a giveaway estimate location. So you sit and wait, and it's so silent you hear flames of the small dim lamp on the other side of the room toss and flicker about on the wick.

And then you hear it, the sound of something tip-tapping on the floor, and then some vulgar language, slightly muffled by the distance from you to Childe. Standing up slowly, you head in the direction of Childe's cursing, trying to not make any sounds, still, on the listen for any other giveaway noises. It's a conversation in which you can make out little pieces here and there, and you know it's from Childe and some other person, as their voices evoke a memory.

"...the Fatui's ideas and motives are maybe things I agree with most of the time, but the way they achieve that goal is absolutely ridiculous sometimes, and that's not what I joined this for..."

You hear commotion once in a while, growing louder with every right move you make, and it comes clear as you stand pressed against a wall, near a room where you're sure the Harbinger stands.

"...even the Tsaritsa knew something was off from the beginning, Eleven... we trusted you with one nation and gave you the chance to redeem yourself for the Fatui. We gave you the chance to redeem your loyalty to the Tsaritsa, and even with that strange outlander, we know to suspect your faith to the Cryo Archon. "

"That wasn't my fault that she had the Tear- and you already have it, so why are you dwelling on- " Tartaglia bickers, still trying to keep his voice quiet but interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Little Tartaglia, do not forget that your full intention was to get the Tear, as ordered by the Tsaritsa, then dispose of her as soon as possible, but what did you do? "

"I did as I knew to do, " Childe says, anger in his voice, "getting rid of her was not as I was instructed to do, and you know that as well, Signora- don't you lie to me!"

La Signora's temporary hideout in Mondstadt, you think, or at least one of them, I hope, but she's here too... well, this is going to get very interesting. You miss part of the conversation in your thoughts, wondering what to do next: either barge in and defend Childe and leave Signora dead or keep eavesdropping. Deciding to eavesdrop for a bit more information, you inch a bit closer to the opening in the hall, trying to calm your breathing down.

"Even if that is the case or not, Tartaglia, it's common sense, especially if the plan fails by leaving the victim behind... but then instead of using your brain, you ran away and fell in love..."

Childe's audible gasp, just loud enough for you and Signora to hear, and you hear the shuffle of boots on stone, the click of the heel of a stiletto, almost like a silencing sound.

"... oh, Little Tartaglia, seems I hit a nerve... but I don't think I was wrong, right?"

"How the hell did you find about that- " Tartaglia questions, his voice now louder, "no, damn that Il Dottore, he told you everything about that day, didn't he?"

"You work within the ties of the Fatui, Eleven; you should already know this..."

There's silence, and you feel for Childe, his loyalty for Snezhnaya's darker side on the line hanging by a thread, and you wonder if you should go in to save him. You slide down the stone wall, thinking of sitting on the stone floor to rest your aching feet from standing and your throbbing head from all the information. A cracked stone tile underneath your foot splits into three as you shift your weight, and you look up with surprise and realization.

"Who's out there?"

Dammit- oh sheesh, Rex Lapis, help me out here- you think, closing your eyes, hoping that both of the Harbingers will ignore the sound that seems so loud.

"Little Tartaglia, go and fetch them and bring them in here so we can have a talk about eavesdropping... it's horribly rude, " La Signora commands, impatience in her voice.

But Ajax knows that it's me...

And then the long, looming, black shadow comes closer and closer to the doorway, and with every step, you think of running, but the sight of him roots you to the ground, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, " he says, but his voice sounds different and strangled, regretful, "go find the Captain and get him here. "

"If we make enough sound, they can hear us... it's like a megaphone in here- that's how I ended up finding you-"

"Bring her in!" Signora shouts, and Childe basically drags you in by the hand, and you almost stumble over your own feet, but luckily you don't because that would be unsightly. And you come face to face with Signora, and the long, pale-haired lady scrutinizes you, examining your features for any sign of fear. "Ah, so you're here too... might as well kill two birds with one stone here- " she muses out loud, crossing her arms with a smug expression.

You grip your spear tighter and have Signora keep talking and talking, making you reply more and more, hoping your voice is loud enough to attract attention to the Knights, who hopefully are nearby. It's a subtle way of buying time for the Knights, trying to find your location in the lair, so you and Tartaglia keep having a loud, heated conversation with the Eighth Fatui Harbinger. And you're starting to run out of threats and questions to shoot La Signora with when you start feeling the temperature in the room drop quickly. The diamond-shaped shard in the catalyst-like object floating near Signora's shoulder begins spinning slowly, gradually gaining speed with time.

A sharp, long shard of Cryo juts out of the corner, blue and shining in the dim light, and it grows and grows until it juts out to the middle of the room. But that's not the only ice growing with Cryo power- ice creeps menacingly around the four walls of what now feels like a very cramped room, the walls entirely coated in a thin layer of ice. She can wield Pyro and Cryo, a resistant to the cold, hoping we freeze to death before she does. You turn to Tartaglia, whose pale skin has already started to flush from the cold, the tips of his nose and ears a rosy pink.

You pray to the Seven, whoever the Gods of Teyvat are, whether they still exist or not- you pray to Captain Kaeya and their team to help them out before they freeze to death before Signora does. You wait and poise your spear facing front, and out of the side of your eyes, you see Childe notch an arrow into his bow.

Signora's mocking smile is all you can see, and you narrow your eyes at her, stepping away from the wall turned frozen and closer to the Eighth Harbinger. And then footsteps- a familiar noise that brings comfort, trouble, and so much more, this one saving and powerful, shouting and footsteps, and you spare a quick glance behind you. Knights of Favonius are hacking at the thin wall of ice that has spread nearly halfway up the opening to the room, and Kaeya appears behind them.

You charge at La Signora, careful to watch your footing just so you do not slip, and she dodges as you thrust forward, the side of the point of an arrow nicking her arm. She hisses in pain and lurches forward at you, long fingernails scratching your cheek, but you jab her back in her side with your spear.

And then Signora makes the mistake of using Pyro, perhaps too mad or hasty to finish both of you off, but Tartaglia starts shivering, and the wall of ice near the door melts quickly. She pauses, flinching slightly at the new group of enemies, and she brings out a long whip infused with strong Pyro power, which she swings. You hiss as it grazes your shin, leaving a stinging burn that feels like an Onikabuto Beetle chomped down on your skin. You turn towards the Knights and Kaeya, who have rushed forward, a small mix of spears and swords at The Fair Lady, who swings her whip again, leaving a little trail of Pyro butterflies, which disappear in seconds. There's a small gap in the Knights to Signora, so you rush through, ready to tear her from the top down, but something hits her, and she collapses, clutching her stomach.

Signora looks up, the elemental works of her powers dwindling, the now-overly warm temperature returning to normal-room temperature for the underground. The pale-haired lady looks up and removes her hand slowly, stained with a telltale scarlet color, a pigment created with blood touching oxygen. She looks around wildly, resting her eyes on Tartaglia, her fellow Harbinger from Snezhnaya, and stands up, trying to mask the pain on her face. "You, " she gasps, stumbling forward, the weak blue glow of Cryo on her hands, "I am your fellow Fatui Diplomat, and you know what happens if you lay a hand on me, little Tartaglia." Throwing a shard of Cryo at Tartaglia, it hits him in the chest but melts away, "You had better start running, both of you, because the Fatui and the Tsaritsa herself will be after your blood," Signora apprises, " you damned traitor, Tartaglia!"

The arrow is pulled out, and the Knights step back, but Kaeya remains where he is, a thin scarlet river lapping at the tips of his black boots. It's a quick fight, everything having happened all at once, the roar of the Knights of Favonius to your side, a malicious lady holding so much power, suddenly defenseless. The bloodstained arrow falls to the ground, dotting the floor with two crimson flecks before rolling to the side, but nobody notices, all eyes fixed on the Harbinger, who gives her dying breaths with the utmost hatred.

Dust particles are all that remains, her dress the last to dissipate in the air, and the only thing that remains is the black, fancy eyepatch that adorns her face, which clatters to the ground.

You turn to Tartaglia, shock written on your face no matter how hard you try to wash it away with a look of triumphant victory, but there's that tormenting feeling in your stomach, again, that perhaps you should have just knocked Signora out like she did to you. But it may have been in self-defense, but maybe only to prove that he was not loyal to the Fatui for all this time. Perhaps, to atone for his sins and scrub away the unwashable blood coating his hands, dangerously free himself from the shackles of the Fatui. In a way, he has indeed been set free from the Fatui by his actions, having done traitorous acts, killing a comrade for retribution, for vengeance. But it makes no sense- attempting to solve violence with more violence is selfish, for it only makes the sickening sea of blood grow larger and larger.

After a while, everyone collects themselves, shocked over the quick, sudden death of a Fatui Harbinger, and soon, the Fatui hideout becomes only a memory of the past as everyone leaves. You and Childe wait for everyone to leave, you both standing out in the mid-afternoon sun, the trees swaying in the gentle breeze. You turn to Tartaglia, staring down at his hands, hands stained with blood that he will never be able to wash away.

"What's wrong?" You ask, worried, though you know there are many things wrong- that you and Ajax should be on the run again for your lives.

"Nothing, " Tartaglia says, "you'll still think of me the same way as that Eleventh Fatui Harbinger with no heart even if I tell you, so you don't need to mind."

"Firstly, that is not true, and you know that, and secondly, I am asking you if you are alright because yes," y ou sigh, "don't give me those eyes, Childe... if you just wanted to kill her to redeem yourself to me- for all those actions... what you did back there won't change my opinion. You've come to the wrong place for redemption... no, my view of you won't change... it will never change. "

He looks at you, slightly shocked, but lies an obvious one: "That wasn't me redeeming myself... I know that I'll never be able to get the blood off my hands, and yours too- you know the people you've killed will forever be in the back of your mind. But I'm fine... it's not like Signora is much different from your usual Treasure Hoarder or enemy Cicin Mages..." Tartaglia sighs, " ... anyways, we can't dilly-dally long, and we still have much to do, so where are we going?"

"Perhaps we can check on how Master Jean and Venti are doing at Stormterror's Lair- after all, we might as well because it isn't too far from here." You wait for Childe's response, which turns out to be a nod, so you make your way through a stone path, narrowly missing a Ruin Guard's vision. You end up at a cliff overlooking Stormterror's Lair from afar, but you see the blue-green wisps of a tail peeking out through the top floor of the Lair.

Dvalin has returned home to where he resides, and when you and Childe manage to climb up to where Dvalin, Venti, and Master Jean are. A soothing tune you've never heard before comes louder and louder as both of you approach from behind. Venti plucks his lyre, his voice forming an ancient song, Jean holding a large vial, off to the side, you and Childe spectators, flowing along with the music. The song's tune is beautiful and melodic, but the lyrics are somber and spell hints of loneliness, tied to Mondstadt's old history.

The old history of Dvalin's fight hundreds and hundreds of years ago against the poisoned dragon Durin, poisoning Dvalin as he died, sending the Anemo God's friend into a deep slumber. When Dvalin awakes, he is sent into a world of chaos, as it has changed so much, and now the people of Mondstadt fear him, the Mondstadt's generation never even knowing of the Dragon of the East's existence. When he cries out in pain as the Abyss Order manipulates him, he cries for the Song of the Lyre that Barbatos played just for him so many centuries ago, but it never plays for him again.

You look up at the humongous dragon, Dvalin's large wings almost blocking out the sunlight, Anemo power floating in the air and disappearing with the wind dragon's huge breaths. A light-green sliver of something peeks out of Dvalin's closed eyes, and Master Jean steps forward, the vial open and ready.

The new Dvalin's Tear slips into the vial, fresh and pure, no need for cleansing, and Jean steps away, looking at both of you, and you look back at Jean, who nods at you. The song is finished playing, and Venti stops singing, his voice no longer resonating inside the dome of the old Decrabrian's Lair. And Stormterror speaks, looking at his old friend in the eyes, his blue-green fur ruffling in the wind, eyes like a never-ending chasm.

"Thank you, Barbatos, " Dvalin says to the bard, who tips his hat to him, one of the Cecilia flower petals in his hat torn in the strong gust of wind that accompanies the dragon's deep voice, "it has been a long time since I have been summoned by the Song of the Lyre."

"My pleasure, my old friend..." you hear as you, Childe, and Jean leave Stormterror's Lair to give the Anemo God and Dvalin some time to think of old memories.

Jean waves goodbye to you as you both split to your own ways, you heading to Good Hunter to order some takeout before going to the hotel, Jean, perhaps going to the Cathedral. You and Childe greet the staff at the hotel desk before heading up to your shared room. Childe immediately goes to the bathroom in a rush, feeling that he's only using the bathroom as a private place to recall everything that happened today. So that leaves you alone in the cramped living room of his luxurious suite, and you notice something there on the fireplace near the sofa where you slept last night. You pass the open windows near the fireplace as you head over to the table, a strong breeze once in a while ruffling the satin curtains. So you put the small tray of food on the table, looking up at the images hung up above the fireplace on the wall, a few picture frames on the hearth of the fireplace.

They are pictures of Childe's family, and there are four of them in the picture, sometimes three, none of them being Tartaglia, but they look young and just like him. Some of the photos have himself in them, smiling, grinning wide, standing next to two boys, both younger, and a girl, all blue-eyed and ginger-haired. And there are a few pictures with just one person that labels their names, all grouped together on one spot on the hearth. There is a young boy, perhaps the youngest, with a cheeky smile and freckles, the name Teucer labeled on the frame. Next to it is a picture of a girl with braids, a few lighter shades of orange-white in her hair, the frame with Tonia on it, and you notice her holding the muffler that Childe wears daily, no matter the temperature. And what seems like the oldest sibling he has, Anthon gripping his fishing rod and sitting on a bucket on a frozen river.

You can't help but smile, but a strong breeze blows through both windows, and you turn your face, frowning, thinking of closing the windows, but what stops you is the loud 'crash' of glass hitting the floor. You look behind you to the pictures, noticing one has landed picture-first on the floor, tiny, transparent pieces and large pieces of sharp glass littering the floor. You stoop down to pick up the picture, noticing it is another picture of Childe and his family, all grouped together in the snow but cracks everywhere on the glass. The shards spread all over the image, from the left side to the right, all over the glass that covers the side of his family in the picture, but not large enough to reach Ajax , who stands, wearing Tonia's muffler, holding his younger brother Teucer by the shoulders.

And then the door opens, and Childe steps out, towel in his hand, shoulders wet, hair tousled and dripping water , and he moves towards you, a shocked expression on his face as he takes the broken picture from your hands.

Notes:

hey guys sorry for the no chapter last week
at least u got another one this week

so a lot of problems in the story were solved thru plot yay
lmk whatcha think ab the new chapter woohoo
another chapter name: childe's failed redemption, signora turns into a shriveled old hag, kaeya is so very annoying, venti and dvalin r cool, childe depressed ig

also atm im writing ch 12 for the story and idk what to write so if there ever comes a time in which theres no update for ch 12 in a long time just know im in writers block :(

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 11: penitent

Summary:

He stares at you without words, a look of shock morphing into something of a penitent look, the bottomless deep of his eyes hiding away true motives.

Notes:

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence in upcoming chapters.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

penitent [n]: the action of feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentance

"No, no, no, " Tartaglia mumbles, holding the picture, picking up a large shard of glass, desperately trying to fit it back into the frame, though he knows it won't work. "That was the most recent picture of my family that I had just before I left Snezhnaya to Liyue, " he lays the picture on the ground and rakes his fingers through his messy hair, "the one that my little brother begged me to take with him." He runs a finger gently over the shattered glass that covers Teucer in the picture, "and you were there when Il Dottore said it... and it's painfully scary that I might come back to Snezhnaya, and they won't be there, six feet under. And from all this time, I think you know how seriously they take things and how they love to twist their words."

Reluctantly, you rest your hand on the flat of his back in an action of comfort, "Childe, it's all going to be alright- just keep calm, so you don't make any foolish choices-"

He paws at his hair nervously, "It's not going to be alright because I don't know what to do! I can't go back to Snezhnaya without the Fatui on my tail all the time, and that's where my family is. My family is in danger, and it's all my fault that they're in trouble... you've never had a family that depends on you... for every little thing you do!"

Well, that silences you... he's partially correct, never having a family that is so dependent on you since you're so independent yourself, and you don't think that it'll happen anytime soon. Your hand falls off his back as he heaves a great sigh, and you feel a bit useless, unable to comfort him from the thoughts about his family. Well, that was his fault that he risked whatever to go and help me... I'm sure that I could've saved myself without him. It's a lie to yourself, and you scoff at your ignorance, knowing that you wouldn't have been okay if he didn't help you, guilt gnawing at you for thinking of such a falsity.

You walk away, looking for a dustpan or broom, which might be hiding in a closet, leaving Childe hunched on the ground, who has picked the broken picture back up again. You find a dustpan in the bathroom closet, so you get it and head back to where Childe slouches over on the floor. You squat next to him on the floor and gently take the picture from his hands: you have to give it a little tug to pry it out of his grip, unwilling to let go. You place the broken picture on top of the hearth, the chilly breeze in the room from the fire in the fireplace absent, so you walk over and close the windows and pull the curtains closed.

Bending down to sweep up the glass, you turn towards the Harbinger, who has his hands fisted in his lap, deep in thought, his brows wrinkled, but then he lets out another defeated sigh. You sweep up the remaining glass, the silence in the room uncomfortable, and dump the little bits of glass in the trash bin. Walking back to Childe, you stand there, looking down at him, unsure whether to comfort him or start preparing your dinner. Childe probably isn't in the mood for food anyways, so you leave it on the table, making a mental note to heat it up since it will run cold.

You sit down across from Tartaglia and slowly place a hand on his shoulder, making him look up, his eyes unfocused and bleary, and you scoot closer to him, looking him in the eyes. His hair is still a messy orange mop, not combed from right out of the shower, covering a lot of his view. He sits still, patient and shock written in his eyes as you reach up and brush it away from his eyes, over to the left and right of his face, just as gentle as you did when he laid on your lap at Stormterror's lair, his life hanging by a thread.

Placing a hand on his back, you pull him closer to you, enveloping him in a hug, resting your chin on the broad of his shoulders, wrapping your arms tightly around him, like iron chains. Ajax takes a while to draw up his hands around you, stunned by the action, but he wraps his arms around your waist and leaves them to relax, forearms resting on your legs. Eventually, his arms get tighter around your waist; it's so strong and needing that it feels like the hug squeezes your heart out of your throat, your lungs feeling like collapsing, and you immediately feel trapped. Nuzzling his head in the crook of your neck, he sighs one great, shuddering sigh, his breath hot on your neck and leaving a slight tingle in its wake. He draws his legs around your waist and pulls you in tighter, the soft feel of the jut of his nose poking into your neck and the flesh of his lips on your neck.

Relaxing in his grip, you feel safe though you hate to admit it, and you rub small circles on his back as he blows another puff of hot air on your neck, unaware of the feeling it gives you. "So... " you say slowly, "this is your family and not mine, so I guess you have the choice to determine if we are going to Snezhnaya or not. "

Tartaglia pulls away, looking you in the eyes, a tender expression crossing his face, almost ruefully, an expression you've never seen on his face, looking just as lost as he really was. "I'm going up to Morepesok, which is the city where they live, but only after we go back to Liyue... I'll sneak up to Morepesok, go back to Liyue if my family is ok, then carry out my plan. I'll turn myself in for them leaving you and my family unharmed, go back to Snezhnaya where I can watch my family and hopefully not get my butt kicked for being a... traitor. And since you've learned, the Fatui never do anything for free- but hopefully, they agree, which I have the feeling they'll do, it's a plan: a win for the Fatui and a win for me."

"I'll go with you to Snezhnaya, " you say, "so just in case if you run into any Fatui who decide to kick your butt, you'll have someone to watch your back."

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's basically a suicide mission if you go up there without any preparation... but that's what my plan includes- I'm going up to Snezhnaya on my side of the bargain that I'll strike so I don't die... at least when I go there. But if you follow me, that tells a whole new story... both of us traveling together spells trouble: they'll surely take one of us captive, bargain or not."

"We can go separately- well, what I mean is you can head up to Snezhnaya first, then have one of your truly loyal right-hand people tell me it's safe to go-"

"No," Childe draws back, resting one of his hands on your forearms, his fingers wrapping around your arm, almost protectively, " you're not going to Snezhnaya- it's too dangerous... even I don't know what I'll be expecting up there."

You sit in silence, knowing you'll have to trail him up there anyways- but maybe he's right- it is too dangerous for me to go up there- but you really know Childe is going back home just to check on his family. Then the problem after that is if he will be able to return to Liyue, which is too far from Snezhnaya to keep him in the Tsaritsa's vision.

You stand up with a sigh, and head over to the table, bringing the momentarily forgotten foam take-out food box from Good Hunter to the kitchen. Closing and opening cabinets, you look for plates to put the food on, which you find in a cabinet just to the right of the refrigerator. You divide the food up and heat it up, leaving some of it for tomorrow's breakfast, knowing that you probably will have little time to go to the main square of Mondstadt for a meal. You slide the plate of food over to Tartaglia, who has set up the table for a short dinner- you sit down after him, digging into your food.

The plates scraped clean of food are put in the sink, sprayed with water, soaped and washed, and put in the dishwasher to dry overnight; while Childe prepares to sleep. You take a shower, again swapping out your clothes for tonight, strangely more comfortable and fitting than the ones you have at home, but it is probably because of the stiff clothing you've been wearing for quite the time. Again, Tartaglia is in bed before you, him laying on his side, the blankets hugging the sharp curves of his body, the lights completely off, unlike the dimmed ones from last night. Your eyes take a moment or two to adjust to the sudden darkness- it's something that you've found interesting, being able to see just slightly in pitch-black.

You sit on the edge of his bed, looking down at him- a slight breeze coming through a small slip of the windows, but you pay no mind to it, keeping your eyes on his black silhouette. He turns on his back at the dipping feeling in the mattress at the weight of both of you, reaching out to you, his hand falling on your lap, and you take it, squeezing his hand, comforting him for what might be a disaster of tomorrow. The unconcerned look on his face, the line his lips form, turns to a relaxed smile as you cup his hand in yours and run your thumb almost absent-mindedly over his knuckles. "We'll wake up early tomorrow to head back to Liyue, right?" You ask, pressing down on his knuckles one at a time, letting his fingers relax from their clenched position.

You see him nod discreetly, turning onto his back, positioning the pillow, his eyes still trained on you, looking for any signs of reluctance or regret. He turns his hand in your grip, now rubbing his thumb over your knuckles, "promise me you won't follow me to Snezhnaya, will you?" The outline of the ghost of a hopeful smile is barely visible in the darkness as you let go of his hand and reach up to his cheek, running the side of your thumb over it.

You nod, though you are thinking differently inside your mind, though he only wishes for your safety, and you are going against it, "I promise," you reply, "I promise."

"Stay with me tonight?" Tartaglia asks you, grasping your arm as you stand up, trying to walk back to the couch where you'll sleep again for the night.

You don't say anything for a few seconds, surprise on your face, grateful for the blanket of darkness in the room, hiding the expression on your face. "You know we can't, " you reply hesitantly, not wanting to harm Childe's feelings because he has so much on his mind at the moment, "if we get caught, we'll be in trouble for sure, " you try to pull away, but Childe holds on tighter, and you're not sure what to do.

"There's nobody here, Y/N, " Tartaglia begins to say, the hurt in his voice, though that tone isn't what you wanted to hear- it's almost begging, but you pretend not to notice it; he knows you won't take that from him, "there's nobody here... just for tonight?"

"No..." you say, and pull your wrist away from him, stepping back, your breath catching in your voice, "no, " you repeat, taking another small step closer to the couch.

He fumbles with your wrist and drops it, the audible sound of your arm hitting your side, reaching out for something that isn't your hand to pull you closer, "please," his hand finds the tail of your loose shirt, and he grabs it. "Please, just for tonight, " Tartaglia's voice wavers at the last word, and you feel his tired hand tremble slightly once, the bed creaking under his weight in protest. You do not reply but hold his hand weakly as you uncurl his fingers from your shirt, looking away, walking over to the couch, your feet making no sound on the floor.

It is silent, and there is no reply from Ajax as you pull the blankets over you, just the rustle of fabric on a bed cover, and once, perhaps the sound of a broken, quiet sob from the other side of the room, just once.

You lay there in the deafening, dark silence, staring up at the ceiling, and for what seems like an hour or two, you are unable to get any shut-eye; you hear the Harbinger toss and turn in his bed. You are still awake as Childe sits up from across the room, a little past midnight, to use the restroom, the sound of a faucet being turned on and off coming not long after.

The blinding gleam of the sun peeks just over the horizon, the clouds struggling to blanket the star in a fluffy blanket, dances of purple and scarlet in the sky. In the early morning, before the birds have started chirping, before the beloved cats of Mondstadt have woken up, before the taverns have opened in the morning, you rise, preparing for the day. You shed your sleeping clothes, leaving them on the bathroom floor, folding them neatly. You brush your teeth and wash your face dry of sleep, waking you up entirely, and you head over to the bed where the Harbinger sleeps, not sure if you should wake him up. Instead, you move over to the brilliant, red curtains beside his bed, holding to the drawstrings, reaching towards the other, but you hear a groan behind you.

Childe's eyes open slowly, the deep blue irises reflecting the light peeking through the curtains, and he stares at you, drunk in the morning sight of you. He stares at you, content in this right moment, but you are sober and unfazed, so you draw open the satin curtains and let the sunlight flood through. He grunts at the action and pulls the covers over his head like a child would do to their parents in response to a rude awakening.

Leaving him be, you prepare breakfast, using the leftovers from yesterday and dividing it evenly, heating it up in the microwave, and putting the skewers in the toaster. You and Childe dine, content with the food though they are leftovers after he has prepared himself for the day, changing and washing and all of that morning routine. Tartaglia purposely avoids your gaze, only staring down ashamedly at his food, picking at it until the plate is empty.

You pack up whatever you have while Childe cleans up the dishes, making your bed- or- well, couch, and leave the folded-up blankets on the cushions. You don't dare to mess with Childe's belongings anyways, it not being yours, and that he'll find himself posted here on a mission sooner or later. There is a reason why in the Grand Goth Hotel, he has his own room that is already decorated with pictures of his family, and there is only one bed. Soon enough, you and Tartaglia are out of the Hotel, moving quickly just in case some of the Fatui in Mondstadt try and stop you.

Making your way down a couple flights of stairs, you leave Mondstadt through the North Gate, where you pass Swan and Lawrence, stationed there as always. They say goodbye, and you reply a goodbye as well, politely, speeding down the bridge that stands over the clear Cider Lake. Timmie's pigeons are already there, cooing quietly to one another, and as you approach, a mix of white, brown, and black takes off into the sky, leaving a few feathers in their departing.

Dawn Winery comes near after you pass the small village of Springvale, its quietness being an oddity, but it is expected for the early morning: only Draff's Hunters from Springvale are up at this time. As you and Childe make progress across the path, down to Stone Gate, Dragonspine looms in the distance, a white blob in the distance. Under the precipices of rock, a small village is seen, a tea set is set out on one of the wooden balconies. Wangshu Inn still sits on the tall orange-leaved tree, flickers of light coming from the lit rooms in the hotel; it teems with life; you swear you can hear people talking merrily, or it is just a past memory. Guili Plains, the place of old Liyue, in the times before the Archon War, when Morax and Guizhong, the former Goddess of Dust, ruled Liyue together till the destruction of the Guili Assembly. Time is harsh and gives no exception to this world- it has turned into a scattered pile of stone foundations and rotting wood, teeming with unknown history. It has become a perfect place for your usual Hilichurl camp, with rubble to hide behind, long, overgrown bushes that have never been pruned once. Time goes by faster than you expect, making your way from Mondstadt to your home city- the journey back home feels shorter than your trip to the City of Mondstadt.

Possibly the fact that it's a dangerous thing that Tartaglia is tasking himself with, going to a place teeming with Fatui- is what you lose yourself in on the walk home. Though he tells you to stay home and keep yourself safe from the hands of the Fatui, it doesn't feel right at all for you to sit back while he puts himself in danger. I'm going to go home... restock on my materials... get new clothes and all, and after Tartaglia leaves, I'll follow him up to Snezhnaya. And I'd love to meet his family anyways, and I'll be shocked to see if they're feral like him- well, not as bad or a little creepy as him. Anthon looks like you can hold a decent conversation with him; if Tonia made that muffler for Childe, I might learn a few tips and tricks about sewing from her, and Teucer just looks like your typical young brother.

So then there you are maybe an hour or two later, back at home, the red-wooded buildings in the city popping out in the late morning, the Jade Chamber floating in the sky. You pass two Millelith guards over the bridge that connects to Liyue, past a flower shop and the docks, looking around. It feels like ages since you've been here, and you wander around, hopping from one food stall to shop, passing the Feiyun Commerce Guild.

Just as you pass by, the doors to the Feiyun Commerce Guild open, and out steps two young boys, only a few inches taller than you, both with blue hair. "Hello there, " Chongyun, the boy with the light blue hair, says, trying to hide what seems like a whitish-blue popsicle behind his back as he waves sheepishly, "Welcome back!"

Xingqiu, one of the Guild Manager's sons, waves at you, amber eyes flashing in the daylight, does a bow, dark blue hair falling, one hand holding a book behind his back, Chongyun mimicking him exactly. Xingqiu sighs, noticing your worried, confused look, "my liege, you've returned... you had better go and notify the Millelith that you're back in Liyue... some of your friends have been looking for you since you... mysteriously left."

Oh.

You swallow the happy feeling of coming home, a worrying feeling overcoming you, but a little surprised that your acquaintances have taken your absence to the Millelith as a significant matter. But I wasn't even gone for that long, you think as you thank Xingqiu and Chongyun, it hasn't even been four or five days, has it? You sigh and turn around, resting your hands on your hips, but as you take sight of everything around you, something feels a bit off... a little too off.

That damn Harbinger ran off again, and I have no idea where he's going... I swear, I'm going to push someone off the docks if he's already running to Snezhnaya... You sigh. "Who cares... " you mutter as you head back home, looking for a random Millileth to inform that you're not missing like everyone thought you were. You find your feet guide you back home, and that's when you realize that you've also lost your house key when Dottore took your backpack away from you. So then you shuffle down to the shipping area of the harbor, where you can find Ms. Yu, the Secretary of the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs, where you talk to her about losing your house key.

She wonders if you've lost it as losing it in the city, but you say no, and though you know where the key is, you say, "I lost it a while back, and I've forgotten where I left it." You tell her your address, so she knows what house to order a new house key for; Ms. Yu nods politely in understanding and tells you that she'll issue a new house key. Since it's an urgent matter and they don't have too many issues on their hands, you'll get a new key by the end of the day.

You head over to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, wondering if Zhongli and Hu Tao are there, hoping to check in with them about current events and pass on a hello to both of them. So you head in the direction of the parlor, saying hello to Xiangling as she waves to you behind the counter of Wanmin Restaurant. You cross the bridge near the entrance of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, taking a left where you see the doors and a billboard with various notes on it. You spare the billboard a quick glance, noticing an advertisement for a discount and a couple other advertisements for other shops in Liyue. You enter, the lights in the building are dimmed like usual, and the Consultant of the funeral parlor at the front desk like usual.

"Oh, hello, " the Consultant says, waving to you quickly, standing up and walking behind the desk, the loose fabric of his clothes flowing as he walks, "you're back."

You nod, smiling at him, leaning in for a quick heartfelt hug, the feel of home finally seeping in, back with people from your homeland- you find it a little funny to also be welcomed back by the Archon of Liyue. "Yeah... thanks, Zhongli," you cross your arms, " I took a 'little' trip around Teyvat with someone- it was supposed to be a few days, but it didn't go the way I wanted. Anyways... do you know if Hu Tao is here?"

"Yes, Director Tao is meeting someone right now, but you can go and hop in and say hello- I'm sure what those two are talking about isn't that important." Zhongli slips behind his desk, his amber eyes following you as you head down the hall of the funeral parlor to Hu Tao's office.

You knock on the door thrice, waiting for the door to open, not wanting to barge in suddenly without any notice- you are met by the face of the director, with dark reddish-brown hair and flowery eyes, a gentle smile. She lets out a quiet gasp, and her eyebrows shoot upwards, and she grabs you by the wrist, her other hand on the flat of your back, and brings you in for a rib-crushing hug. You embrace her back and pull away, a goofy grin on your face, an eager grin decorating your face as you hold Hu Tao by the shoulders.

"Ooh- I never expected to see you here- come in, come in, I'm talking to someone, but I'm sure they'd love to meet you- this can wait- it's not important anyway." The director opens the door to her office, gesturing you inside, but you catch a glimpse of the person in the office, shocking blue eyes meeting yours.

He stares at you without words, a look of shock morphing into something of a penitent look, the bottomless deep of his eyes hiding away true motives.

I should have known that Ajax could be here, you muse, stepping back, letting out a nervous chuckle- after all, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is believed to have ties with the Fatui. " No, I'm all good... I'm sure you and your fellow acquaintance have more important matters to deal with, you know... Fatui and everything..."

Hu Tao looks at you suspiciously, positioning the hat on her head, "well, if that's the case, I guess I won't pressure you to stay- after all, you were just here to say hello."

You nod, showing her the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of your lips, and walk away, leaving Hu Tao to go back to her business with Tartaglia, passing Zhongli on the way out. You wave him goodbye, and he gives you the curt nod of his head as a response, looking back down to the papers on his desk. You leave, standing outside the parlor doors, and put your head in your hands, exhaling loudly before making your way to the marketplace, deciding to kill some time before heading back to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

You wander around the shops, stopping at the restaurants to smell the aroma of freshly cooked Grilled Tiger Fish and other Liyue delicacies- you go to the teahouse- but then you remember you have no Mora on you. You go to the docks where you can sit and dip your feet in the water, but then you remember that you have no spare socks or clothes to change into, so you just go to the bookstore in the upper levels of Liyue to grab a book and read until the sun goes down.

The golden orb in the sky sinks into the ends of the sea quickly, the sky turning a pinkish-purple, the silhouette of a seabird gliding just above the desperate reaching waves. You stand up and slide the book you've been reading, Moonlit Bamboo Forest, back onto its shelf and then head back to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, where you happen to come in at the perfect time; Ms. Yu has just arrived- new keys in her hand.

She stands there with a smile plastered on her face, and you are unsure if it is just a polite smile or a genuine one- she hands you your keys, making a jingling sound. You thank her and head back home, purposely straying away from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor just in case Childe decides to leave and happens to bump into you.

You stop in front of your front door and turn the key to your door- it opening with a click, and you step in, locking the door behind you as you go. You turn on the switch to the lights, the lights inside the large, glowing lantern flickering once- twice- before coming to a steady glow, humming quietly. You sigh and toss your keys into a small porcelain plate littered with spare Mora and other keys, wristbands, and miscellaneous items you've been too lazy to put in the right spot. You walk around your house, going to each room, almost like inspecting it for anything lost, or perhaps to find that sense of security. After walking around, you head to your fridge, looking for something to eat, settling on some leftovers of Stir-Fried Filet in your fridge for only the Archons know how long. You sit at your dining table, slowly chewing your food, staring outside, watching the sun slowly sink beyond the horizon.

After eating, you stand to go and wash your plates, then head to your bedroom for a spare change of clothes- you toss your ruined jacket to the side along with your other dirtied clothes. You sigh as you dig through your drawer, bringing out clothes to wear now and clothes you'll bring on your trip to Snezhnaya. You pull on a new pair of pants, tossing the ones you're wearing onto the tattered coat on the ground, and reach for your shirt. I don't care if Childe doesn't want me to go... you think as you set aside thick, wooly pants, I'm going to go with Ajax because I know he won't be able to face this one alone. You set multiple pairs of pants and shirts aside, along with another jacket, this time- not that expensive as the one from Inazuma, many socks- and a hat. You know it'd be better for you to have a scarf with you, but with the warm temperature in Liyue, what's the need for a scarf? You scurry around the house for another pack to put your belongings in, finding an old one- as long as it gets the job done, it's good- and you stuff your clothes in it.

I'll probably have to go down to the bank again to withdraw more money, whether I want to go there or not... perhaps, I should not bring as much money, in case I lose it again. After tomorrow's breakfast, perhaps at eight... how much Mora... maybe a thousand or two will be enough if I need to buy anything along the way. You stand and pick up the clothes on the floor, bringing them to your laundry- you wash the grime and the dirt off of them before tossing them into the wash.

You check the time- you should sleep early, for you're going to Snezhnaya- you prepare for bed, suddenly having second thoughts about going. It's indeed dangerous, not to mention that it'll be your first time in that snowy nation; many Fatui will be on the lookout for you, like a pack of hunting dogs. Since Snezhnaya is indeed the home of the Fatui, there will be more troops stationed there, but the number of the soldiers there only truly matters if you are caught. You lie down on your bed, pulling the covers over you, snuggling deep into the blankets, waiting for that influx of melatonin to help you fall asleep.

You wake up almost at the same time as you've been doing for the past few days, early in the morning, just before the songbirds have started their morning tunes. You jump out of bed and check the time, leaving an hour to get your belongings, prepare for bed, and hit Northland Bank just as it opens. You think it's a little unwise for you to go to Northland Bank, for you could leave proof that you were here in Liyue, but by the time they station more Fatui here, you'll be off. You don't know how you'll find Tartaglia, for he could have left already- maybe on foot or in one of his carriages.

You wash your face, scrubbing at your eyes gingerly with lukewarm water, brushing your teeth, and using mouthwash, and the rest of whatever you do in the morning to help prepare you for your day. You put on some comfortable clothes and slip on some new socks; you then go over to the kitchen- in search of some breakfast to eat. You have some raw ingredients in your fridge, eggs, ham, fish, already sliced, and other cooking materials. You take out your eggs and ham, put them aside, and look for your bread- soon, you've whipped up an Adventurer's Breakfast Sandwich. It's a fulfilling meal, the eggs just right, the ham not burnt but not too slimy and bland, the toast on both sides well toasted, going with a cup of milk.

After eating, you stand up and wipe your mouth hastily with a napkin, washing your dishes and your cup, wiping the crumbs and little bits of leftover food into the trashcan. You take your belongings out into the living room, next to your door, tying your jacket around your waist, looking for shoes. Shoes that won't have the soles tear off after so much use, shoes that'll be able to withstand the mud staining it, puddles of water, or the snow in Snezhnaya. Or perhaps... I can bring two pairs of shoes... but if I lose all of my belongings again, I'll lose more than I can buy again in one go. I could bring my snow boots and my sneakers- ugh, whatever, I'll just take it anyways- you stuff your snow boots into your bag, it growing heavier with the extra weight, and you slip on your sneakers and go to the bank.

"Hello Miss, welcome to Northland Bank-" Ekaterina starts, but you see her take notice of you- you have a feeling that she knows all about your escapades with the Eleventh Harbinger, "oh... well, welcome back, I trust you've been faring well?"

"I have indeed," you lie; you know Ekaterina will be able to pick up on your falsity sooner or later, "I'm here to withdraw two thousand Mora- here's my Adventurer's Handbook-" you fish into your bag and take out your handbook and give it to her. She takes it, avoiding your gaze, and returns it back to you, heading into the back of the bank, coming back with yet a red sack of Mora. You thank her and speed out of the bank as unsuspiciously as possible, making your way to the far ends of the city, passing all the shops, stopping under an archway near Yujing Terrace.

You take a breath, looking up into the morning sky, but as you are standing in the dark looming shadow of the archway, you only see nothing but the clouds in the blue sky. You step out into the sunlight, gazing far in the direction of the Tsaritsa's land, the relentless snowy landscape, where there is nothing but frozen lakes and rivers, snow falling from endless skies, and hidden beauty in beautiful barren landscapes. Here I come, Snezhnaya, you pray, hoping your Teyvat Travel Guide gives an accurate representation of Teyvat so you can find your way to Morepesok, let's hope Tartaglia arrives before I get there.

Multiple days and nights pass as you go on your feet-aching, back-breaking- perhaps not back-breaking- but painful, lengthy trip to Snezhnaya. You pass familiar landmarks listed in the Teyvat Travel Guide, most of them you've never seen and never knew existed now, except for the ones in Liyue. As you near Snezhnaya, you think of Ajax and what he will make of you once he discovers that you've arrived in Snezhnaya looking for him. Perhaps euphoria and brief bliss, knowing you are safe, with him, out of danger, but only to be masked by disbelief, anger, and distrust.

How will he feel when he finds out that you have broken a promise with him, for Tartaglia has been torn away from every person by the promises that they sever? What happens to the thought that you are the one he can finally confide and find comfort in, though you still tear yourself away from him? Where will the person be that tells him his hubris is his own pride and power; who will be the person he trusts if not himself?

And then, one early morning, you stand in a snowy field after cold nights, harsh winds biting at your skin, snowflakes whirling in front of your eyes. You trudge over a path layered by a thin sheet of snow, a city near the frozen sea staring back at you, nothing like you've ever seen before, but where have you gone past Liyue and Mondstadt? Though your legs ache, you keep moving forward, fearing that the cold weather might freeze you in place. So this is where Tartaglia lives, you think, scanning the borders of the small city of Morepesok- let's hope that I'll be able to track him down by sunset.

Notes:

ajax : dont go to snezhnaya istg if u go there imma die
mc: ok fine
mc: * goes to snezhnaya *

wow uhm one week went by quick so new chapter !
my goal this weekend is to get in about 1K words! i've got down the epilogue and desperately want to write it... it'll wrap everything up with a nice red bow.

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 12: sanguine

Summary:

"I knew this would happen," forgetting about the note you made to maintain a sanguine outlook- "but it's alright... you can go... go back to your Tsaritsa and tell her everything."

Notes:

gang gang woooo new chapter... ive got some support from irl people writing this yayyy
also chapter 13 is gonna b hella short bc idk what to write, just a bridge between 12 and epilogue
also enter... CHILDES FAM! GIVE IT UP! and also this random character I made!

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

- Warnings for violence.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

sanguine [adj]: optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation

You start by sticking to the shadows, walking in the less busy areas of the city, ducking into the shade of the leaf-bare trees, but not for long, as you soon find yourself near the center of Morepesok, where more people gather. You chuckle nervously, stepping closer to a house, you bump into something- no someone; you spin around, coming face-to-face with a citizen of Snezhnaya.

"Sorry," you hear the person mumble, flashing you a smile- instead of walking away like you'd expect them to, they stay rooted in their spot, looking at you. "Uhm... you don't look much like a Snezhnayan..."

Wow, such good observation skills, you think, nodding your head at the person trying to strike up a small chat with you- I wonder what they want?

" ...well, welcome to Morepesok- I can show you a bit around since it's really confusing and much different from where you are!" The person beams, flashing you another smile, not waiting for your response, taking off into the central area, surrounding you with stores, stands selling seafood, and much more. There aren't as many people out in the city, probably due to the harsh climate, bringing cold whips of wind biting at skin.

You take off after the random person, trying to avoid eye contact with people to fit in with the crowd- let's hope this goes well... but if they spill anything about Tartaglia and where he lives, I'll take it. The person shows you to random stores, and you watch people make Borscht, apparently an authentic Snezhnayan dish. A group of people huddle around a small firepit, wearing thick, wooly clothing, clutching a cup with some liquid.

Your "guide" must have caught you staring, interested- "In Snezhnayan culture, it's believed that if someone joins you on a cold day, drinking Fire-Water with you, they'll earn your trust. People often chat while they do so, and the best way to drink it is to down it in one go, as it is respectful." The Snezhnayan moves on, casting studying glances at you while showing you around the city, pointing out that Morepesok isn't as industrial and businesslike as other parts of Snezhnaya.

This is taking way too long... I need to get him to spill something, something about the Fatui... I thought they'd be proud to show the fact that a Harbinger lives here. How can I... you follow your "guide" past a food stall, "...so, anything special about Morepesok that other cities in Snezhnaya don't have?"

The person nods, their brown snow cap bobbing with their head, "well, we have fresher seafood since we're near the sea... hence, giving the name to Morepesok, 'Sand-Sea.'" Taking you into the housing area of the city, you wonder if Tartaglia and his family inhabits one of these houses. "There's a lot of houses but not many people to be seen roaming the city... it's gotten much more dangerous lately, to add to the weather- but the Fatui have been on high watch lately, so the Fatui are stationed around the city's borders. It's just unusual, such high Fatui activity... it's making everyone nervous, so to be safe, people only come out to get groceries and whatnot."

There we go, your mind whispers, a grin tugging at the corners of your lips, and you have to squash the feeling to do so- I just need to follow with this conversation. You clear your throat, trying to sound clueless, " the Fatui are the creepy soldier-looking people... what do you suppose they're looking for?"

The Snezhnayan shrugs cluelessly, "I dunno... a rumor been going around that they're looking for some people... my family reckons that they're hunting down criminals." The person turns towards you, dark brown irises shining in the Snezhnayan sun, pale skin and freckles, prominent cheekbones, "really, who knows... this is the Fatui we're talking about. And... speaking of the Fatui, a Harbinger does live here, but obviously of all the popularity and everything of the Fatui party... they wanna keep that secret." They roll their eyes, letting out a soft chuckle, "let's just say that everyone, their grandma, and all their distant cousins in Morepesok know where they live. They're just up that hill and in front the house with the empty sheep pens and the boarded doors... but the thing is it's so mysterious because usually, nobody opens the door."

"That's got to be some little kid's tale... trying to scare off people- I'm sure just because they're a family of a Harbinger doesn't mean that they're terrible people."

"Like I said, I dunno... you can go try yourself, but if anyone finds a dead body by their door... I'm not going to be the one taking the blame-"

You start up the snowy hill, the details of a path peeking up from the snow, and you turn back to the guide, who watches you with keen eyes, "thanks for everything..."

"...Rodion..." the guide finishes, "my duty of showing people around Morepesok has finally been done... well- off you go, don't let yourself be killed!"

You laugh, turning away, moving up the hill, scanning each large house with the snowy yards for the boarded doors and the sad, empty sheep pen. Soon enough, you come across that house- it seems so desolate and lonely, the paint peeling off the wall, the sides of the house battered with wind and snow. You sigh a deep sigh, filling your lungs with the frosty air, and turn around, a dwelling almost like the others on the hill, except that it is noticeably more significant, a large tree in the front yard.

You step up to the porch littered with snow and approach the door, gripping the pack around your shoulders comfortingly, and raise your hand hesitantly. What if I do knock on the door and nobody answers the door- worse, what if this place is a trap filled with Fatui, and Rodion lied to me? Well... if there are Fatui, I'll just... book it and then come back later or something... you chuckle, knocking at the door, reaching behind you for your spear just in case.

Fifteen seconds pass, then thirty, then forty-five, a minute, two minutes... you knock again, louder this time, listening for some life inside the house. Then, you hear a child's cry, filled with joyed emotion, a shout of someone inside the house, and then the doorknob rattles, a girl peeking out from behind the door.

"Uhm... hello..." the girl says, opening the door wider but hesitant, and you immediately take note of her deep blue eyes and golden-ginger hair. She wears a white-grey dress, a small satchel around her shoulders, deep red leg warmers, the color of a particular cloth banner, touching her heels. The striking resemblance to Childe is obvious, and it brings a wave of unspeakable emotions to you, perhaps a pang of regret and the sharp thorns of familiarity.

"Hello there," you say to who you're sure is Childe's sister, Tonia, oh, Rex Lapis... what do I say without looking suspicious... "I'm looking for someone by the name of Tartaglia...?" Well... that went great... you watch as a wave of shock and panic overcomes the features on her face, but she quickly recollects herself, putting on a calm expression.

Tonia nods, her ginger hair falling past her shoulders as she looks back inside her house before at you, "Yes, yes... he's somewhere... may I ask who you are?"

" Just tell him Y/N is here..." you say, as Tonia sheepishly smiles before shutting the door again and going inside the house- you wait before hearing urgent chatter growing louder and louder as you assume they get closer to the door. You hear Tonia call Ajax loudly, then a vociferous reply, the sound of thundering feet on stairs, then the fumbling of the doorknob.

And then the door swings open abruptly, Childe standing in front of you, Tonia standing anxiously behind her brother, her hands on her hips, but all you can focus on is the Harbinger standing in the doorway. Tartaglia's alluring abyss of eyes locks onto yours, his uncombed, unkept hair more ruffled than ever, the grin usually pulling at his lips standing absent. Bags are prominent under his eyes, the key to telling if someone has been sleeping much- and, oh, he looks so tired, and you know he hasn't been sleeping well. He stands there without word, obviously shocked at the sight of you, and you're unsure whether he's happy to see you or bemused as to why you broke your promise to stay in Liyue. Then you see a twitch of his lips, an involuntary spasm of his jaw clenching and unclenching, and you see his little gesture anxiously biting the inside of his lower lip.

And then he lets out a shuddering sigh, opening and closing his mouth, bottom lip quivering as he does so, chest fluttering, perhaps about to say something but struggling to do so. He looks back at you, his hands trembling in fatigue, fisted by his side, and it barely comes out louder than a whisper, so delicate and hurt- "I thought you promised me... I thought you promised me you'd stay home." He steps backward, letting you into his house, with pale wallpaper and wooden floors, a roaring fireplace not too far away, a well-knit rug in front of it.

But you stand there, slightly in shock by his words, but he indeed has the right to say that- you did break your promise to him to stay home, so of course, he would feel like that. "I know, I'm sorry... but I thought that I'd be able to help you- after all, it is also my fault as well-"

Childe interrupts, impatience in his voice covered by anger, "Do you know- do you know- I told you to stay home because it's dangerous out here, especially with both of us in one place- I wanted you to stay home so you can eat in peace without having to watch your back- so you can have a relaxing walk in the city!" He looks at you frustrated, eyebrows furrowed, and he looks around, almost like searching for help that will never come, and looks back at you. "By the Archons- don't you see what I mean- I want you to stay safe because then I can rest assured that you're alright!"

You laugh at him, much to his angry tone, "well, you think you're the only one feeling this way, that I don't care if your blood is everywhere, if you're fighting the Fatui alone where it's also my fault, don't you? This isn't just your fault... yes, you have... whatever feelings for me that messed up the Fatui's grand plans, but I'm not letting you deal with this alone!" You take a deep breath, looking into his eyes that manage to capture you every time, " listen, I'm here because I want you and your family to be safe. I want you to be able to return home with gifts every time to see the smiles on your siblings faces, so you can go and hold whoever the hell you want in your arms without worrying!"

Tartaglia stares down at you with shock, a distraught expression of bitterness and dolor, and you immediately regret saying that last part of the sentence. "' Whoever the hell I want-' did you just- well, if you think about it, if I could hold 'whoever the hell I wanted' in my arms, don't you think they'd be there?" He pauses, searching your face for any sign of regret in your harsh words, "tell me... correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I have the freedom- the privilege to do so anymore."

You look to Childe's side hopelessly, seeing the blue eyes of Tonia, who shrugs and heads upstairs, leaving you and a very frustrated Tartaglia in front of the door. You stand there, unsure what to do, as Childe settles down on the small couches in his living room, resting his head in his arms. You follow him, hearing the sounds of footsteps above you, then chatter from maybe Tonia and Teucer, hushed, and then quiet. Sitting down on the cushioned rocking chair in front of Childe, you set down your backpack, then you look at the Harbinger before extending an arm towards him, "maybe you're right... maybe I really shouldn't be here."

Tartaglia opens his mouth to reply, but three pairs of feet come thundering down the stairs, a little boy with an energetic personality appearing first, then an older boy a tad taller than Tonia, with her coming last. They stand there, watching you both for perhaps ten seconds before Teucer comes running at his oldest brother, arms outstretched, a little Mr. Cyclops toy in his right hand. The Harbinger opens up his arms for his youngest brother to leap into, holding him close to his chest, looking down into another pair of blue eyes.

As Childe looks at you, so do both of his brothers- Teucer makes a little excited noise, trying to squirm out of Childe's grip, " Teucer, Anthon, this is Miss Y/N."

They both greet you politely, and then Teucer resumes his childish struggle of trying to escape the locks of his brother's arms, "just Y/N will be fine as well."

Anthon nods, smiling, Tonia disappearing off into the kitchen, returning with a small tray of tea and cookies- Tartaglia reaches for a cookie and puts it whole into his mouth. Teucer copies his oldest brother, stuffing it into his mouth, resulting in Teucer and Childe being lightly scolded by Tonia. The rest of your day in their house isn't too exhausting or surprising, basically what you expected- not too much noise and going outside to maintain a low profile and learning slowly about Childe's family.

That night, Anthon shows you to your room while Tonia helps Teucer to bed- which means prying Mr. Cyclops away from him, and who knows what Childe is doing downstairs of the house. You set your pack on the ground near the bed you'll be sleeping in for tonight and hopefully only tomorrow, changing into a new set of clothes. You prepare for bed as you always do, but this time, you bid goodnight to everyone in the house; you stop in front of a white door in the upstairs hallway. Knocking on it before you come in, you see Tartaglia sitting on his bed, staring out the window, sparing seconds to watch you open the door.

"Goodnight," you whisper, careful not to wake up anybody who might be sleeping already, but you get no response from the Harbinger, only the searing blue gaze that makes you weak in the knees. Smiling weakly, you close the door to see Childe turn his eyes back to the starry skies of Celestia and above.

You turn and toss in your bed, not feeling tired, lying there for maybe twenty, thirty painfully silent minutes, leaving you alone with nothing but your thoughts. A bird croaking in the night sounds twice, and you turn on your side again, pulling the covers tighter over you, burying your head in the pillow. Footsteps come through the hallway, stepping on a creaky floorboard- the footsteps pause momentarily before resuming again, stopping in front of your door. Ajax comes through quietly, shutting the door as he goes, obviously not having been able to sleep, and he sits on the side of the bed, looking down at you.

The way he pronounces your name, making sure to emphasize each syllable perfectly, in a way that brings a small smile to your face and makes your body tense. Childe moves to the side of the bed you are silently laying on and rests his hand on your upper arm, squeezing once. You hear him whisper gently in the darkness something like, " I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier today."

You don't know whether to pretend that you're sleeping or not, but he probably does know that you're awake, so you reply, "it's okay... I yelled at you too, and that wasn't right... I just wanted you to try and understand where I came from." You see Childe nod in the silence, sliding his hand off your shoulder and resting it on his lap, sighing, and you lay there, facing him, staring up to the broad of his back.

He turns to you, and you slide over in the bed, pulling up the covers so he can slip under them- as he does so, he drapes it over both of you, pulling it past your shoulders. Reaching up, he caresses your cheek, running a thumb over the soft skin of your face, which you lean into, feeling his thumb trace your eyes down to your jawline. His and your breathing is the only thing you hear, the faint, steady pounding of a heartbeat in your throat.

He pulls you in for a tight embrace, soundless, squeezing your shoulders together as he wraps his arms tauter around your frame with a strange, ferocious passion, and he moves one hand to your back and the other to your head. Your face is facing him, the warming feel of his chest against yours, one arm draped around your body, firm, the other under the subtle curves of your chest. The hug is brief though you wish it to be longer, and it brings back a swarm of feelings like returning waves crashing into the shore. And then he reluctantly pulls away, one hand on your hip, the other hand roaming back up to your face, where you can feel his fingertips at the back of your head.

Though his arms have gone from your body ages ago, the soothing feeling of his strong arms remains for what feels like an eternity, leaving a panging feeling. You hate the feeling- you're supposed to be hating Tartaglia, but he has snagged your heart from your chest- so abruptly but smoothly, and you doubt Ajax will return it anytime soon.

"I wanted you to stay safe- because I wouldn't be able to bear to see you so broken again... when you are hurt, it tears me from the inside out and makes me feel so guilty and incapable of helping you." He stares at you, clasping your hand so tightly with his that it hurts, so unwilling to let go, and he brings it to his face, " tell me... why do you never listen to me?"

Childe takes you into his embrace again, and you turn in his arms, laying on your back, wondering if it's a rhetorical question- but if not, you are ready to give him a list of why sometimes you don't listen to him. Keeping your mouth shut, just in case you say something stupid, you lie there in silence, focusing on the prickling sensation of his breath on your neck. Then, the curious hands rubbing small circles into your skin, oh so gently pulling here and there- the deep sigh accompanying it, how his warm legs bump into yours underneath the sheets.

And for the rest of your first night in Snezhnaya, the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger dozes off next to you, the constant rise and fall of his chest against your back, his arms keeping you stationed next to him. And Tartaglia does not dare, consciously or not, to not even once, scared of what will happen if he does- let go of you.

In the very early morning, the frostbiting cold of the outside wakes you, the covers over your body absent, only the little warmth from Childe's arms keeping you warm. You turn on your side to see Tartaglia hogging the blankets, wrapped around his body like a cloth cocoon, enclosing and comforting. You sigh and reach out to a blanket, tugging it lightly again, but the bundle of blankets does not unravel, only the sound of a tired grumble.

And so, you sleep on the cold mattress- the only thing to keep you warm is Tartaglia's arms wrapped around your chest- but strangely, when you wake up, a blanket is draped over you. When you do wake again, ginger hair is the first thing you see, and you hear a boy's voice, and you turn to the source of the sound, Anthon peeking from behind the bedroom door.

Childe's brother stares at you, an innocent look portraying his features, "Ah... good morning... I was tasked to wake everyone up for breakfast, and I didn't see Brother in his room, and now I've found him." He stares at the peacefully sleeping, ginger-haired lump in your bed, clearly having no idea of what's happening, and sighs, looking back at you, "would you mind waking him?"

You do what Anthon has instructed you to do, turning towards Childe and nudging him till he wakes- a soft mumble from under the covers, and he turns on his side, blue eyes lazily searching your face. Before you are about to tell him to get out of bed, he reaches out to you, pulling you back down from your sitting position. And then Anthon clears his throat loudly, attracting Tartaglia's attention, who stares at him, wide-eyed and embarrassed that Anthon has seen whatever that was. You cough discreetly and slide out of bed, leaving Childe sitting in his- well, no, your bed, trying to come up with a decent explanation. Walking over to the bathroom for the guest bedroom, you prepare for the day, listening to Anthon and Childe's conversation.

"...listen Anthon, it's not what it really looks like-"

"...oh, Brother, it's exactly what it looks like-"

You laugh at Anthon's response, almost choking on the minty toothpaste in your mouth, spitting out a white wad of used toothpaste, bubbles, and whatnot.

"...Anthon, swear to me that you will tell nobody what you saw, no matter how much you want to tell Tonia-"

Anthon laughs just like Childe does, hearty and carefree but short-lived- and you hear him say, "well, prepare for the day and then go down for breakfast."

Soon, you hear the sound of footsteps leaving your room, Tartaglia's following not long after, and you head out of the bathroom, finding the clothes you'll wear for today. As you pull your top on, you run a finger over the skin peeking from the cuffs of your shirt, the marks still on your arms from Signora's Cryo in Stormterror's Lair. The jagged lines still faintly remain, and you have the feeling those marks will turn into permanent scars. You head downstairs, saying good morning to everyone, even Anthon, much to the deep embarrassment you feel from your little 'scene' with Childe.

Teucer, still holding the Mr. Cyclops toy from yesterday, appears from nowhere, bounding up to you, presenting you a white, bright smile, holding up his Mr. Cyclops to show you, "How do ya like it?"

You smile at him, taking his toy to inspect it, it strangely looking very close to a Ruin Guard- and giving it back to him, "it's very unique, Teucer... who gave it to you?"

Teucer holds the item dear to his chest, " My biggest, awesomest brother gave it to me because he said he missed me when he was in Liyue! Brother said that he'd write to us when he was in Liyue, and he even sent back a toy for me..." The little boy runs over to the table and sits down as Tonia places a bowl of Borscht at every chair at the dining table, and you sit at the farther end of the table, next to Tonia. Anthon sits across from Tonia, Teucer sitting on the seat padded by cushions to prop himself higher. Childe comes down minutes later, wearing that... Fatui garb or whatever, taking his spot across from you, and as he sits down, you kick him under the table.

Childe flinches, trying to maintain a straight face before thanking Tonia and digging into his food- you stare down at the new dish you've never tried before. Scooping up the soup, you get a mixture of small potatoes and chopped-up radishes and put it in your mouth, relishing the earthy sweet and sour taste. The food is scrumptious, and you figuratively inhale it- one blink, and it's gone, and even Tonia is surprised at how fast you ate the food, finishing before Teucer, who has the smallest bowl of food. You thank Tonia for the food and wait for everyone to finish theirs- but before standing up, making small talk, asking everyone at the table about simple matters, purposely avoiding the topic of the Fatui.

You then help Tonia with the dishes as Anthon and Teucer disappear upstairs, Childe bringing you dishes, stacking the last bowl on the counter. As you finish cleaning, Tonia dries her hands and moves to a different room, her feet padding away, the swish of her hands against the cloth of her clothes. Tartaglia turns to you, his hand moving up to your shoulder to squeeze it, and you look back into his eyes, the ones you get so easily lost in, and he leans in closer to you. "I don't intend to stay long here because the longer both of us are here, the bigger the threat to my family grows... I want to know when you'd like to go back to Liyue."

"I just got here yesterday morning... I don't want to leave immediately, so it looks like I don't like Snezhnaya, but I also don't want to stay too long. I haven't really thought about that much, but perhaps for three or four more days... but if you've stayed here longer, we can leave earlier." You reply, fidgeting with your hands, keeping your eyes on him through he apprehensively looks away, down to the floor, "is that too long of a stay?"

"I'm not sure if staying for four days is safe because of the Fatui activity... who knows... they could find out both of us are here, and then my family would definitely get in trouble for hiding us. The Fatui might even kill my family, just as Dottore threatened back then... I just got here too, but I can't stay long."

You nod in understanding, "alright then... we can stay three days then, two if you're really that nervous-" you take notice of his expression, unfocused and worried, "-Childe- Childe... look at me."

The Harbinger sits down on the chair closest to you, looking up at you, searching for a desperate answer on how to escape the eternal spiral of running from emotions, sitting there so vulnerable. Ajax reaches out to you feebly, his arms shaking, buckling under some unknown force when you lean in, his face at your side. You run your fingers through his hair, trying to maintain that optimistic outlook you know you'll need now and later, perhaps when things get rougher. "I know it's tough on you right now, but we'll get out of this together, and I swear- we will not lose anybody you care about."

And then, for the next three days, you hide in Snezhnaya- the only contact with the frosty outside of the Tsaritsa's land is the air that flows through the windows. The day you leave, clouds cover the sun in the afternoon, the shadow of the old tree covering the doorstep, the morning air rushing in as you open the door.

"You're always leaving..." someone says, and you and Childe turn to the sound, a little boy sitting at the far end of a table, still holding his Mr. Cyclops toy, "and you just got here." Teucer walks over to the both of you, his hands clenched, curious and angry, "why do you have to hide where you're going?"

"I'm not hiding anything, Teucer, " Childe says, pointing to you, "I just have to go and take her home in Liyue-"

Teucer interrupts his brother- "you always say that you're going to Liyue or whatever that place is all the time for a short while, but then you never come back!"

Childe looks up at you, perhaps searching for help, but you shake your head, knowing that this is only a small conversation that Childe can get out of, "...this time- I have to bring her back- I promise I'll see you again."

"Fine," you hear Teucer grumble, heading over to the window where there is nothing but a pure white, snowy landscape dotted with trees, rocks, and no more. The weather is perfect- there seems to be no sign of the rain, and the clouds provide a cover here and there for the relentless sun. The sky has turned a gorgeous mix of colors, the moon's dark airs waking to the blinding lights of the morning's gaze- and the temperature is not too cold. He then turns to Tartaglia, an expectant look on his face, pinky extended in a pinky promise, and the Harbinger wraps his pinky around his brother's.

Tartaglia's youngest brother accompanies both of you outside, holding Childe by the tails of his shirt, small hands fisted, "Will you be back anytime soon?" Teucer makes the first footprints in the thin layer of fresh snow, foot-sized marks making circles in the snow as he circles his brother and you, "what if.. what if you're not the same next time I see you?"

"No, I promise, " you hear Childe whisper, his voice nowhere near audible as he puts his hands on his hips, staring off into the Snezhnayan horizon, streaks of light pink and dark orange mixing together with the blue of the sky. He waves to Teucer, telling him to tell his family goodbye one last time, and Teucer nods vigorously, waving back, small Mr. Cyclops in his hand.

That is the last thing you hear from Tartaglia's charming, upbeat voice, strained, fighting for words, and the little boy as Teucer- well, he has learned that ugly realities speak harsh truths.

A child's scream erupts from behind you, and you and Childe whip around, the scream loud and clear- not one full of joy and glee, no, one full of shock and misery, but cut short.

You see Fatui Agents quickly encircle you, one, two, five- of them, one standing off to the side, perhaps the lead Agent, who makes their way to Teucer and the Agent who has their hand clapped over Teucer's mouth. Teucer struggles, looking helplessly at you and his big brother, shock and outrage clearly written on his face, seething, and he starts to lunge forward, but you pull him back desperately. You feel his arms tense up, and he pulls again, shouting, and you try to calm him, not wanting to draw unwanted attention, but through his fury, you bet he does not hear you. Interesting... we haven't gone outside in quite a time, but the question is, how in the world did the Fatui manage to anticipate our leaving and find our location?

The ginger of his hair whips in the wind, his labored breathing almost masking the occasional holler from his brother, and he points to the Fatui holding Teucer, "you.. let go of him, you wretch!"

Mr. Cyclops falls, lying pathetically in the snow, one orange, robotic eye peeking up from the blanket of white, a brown-grey arm flopped to the side.

The Fatui Agent standing next to Teucer shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, "Lord Tartaglia... seems our plan has gone smoothly... but this part is up to you, Sir. In exchange for your dear brother Teucer's freedom, we'll be asking for you to come alone with us- but this can only happen if you cooperate. He's not the only one... we're right at your house, and your siblings are still sleeping merrily at this hour, but they'll be next. And if you don't..." the Agent points to Teucer, "I think you know what'll happen if you use any other means to try and escape us again."

He looks down at you, knowing he has no other choice, for this predicament has only given him a choice most beneficial to both sides, safety for his family. But for you- this is a war he's been fighting since the start of his relationship with you, but he has decided to draw this one out, knowing he'll eventually have to surrender. He's given all he could to you to treasure what little both of you had, but both of you have reached an obstacle you cannot jump over. Tartaglia eyes the Agent, pointing to you, intending to stretch the bargain, "and what are you going to do with her?"

"The Tsaritsa said we could use whatever means, as long as we got you to go along with us, so I guess we could agree to her safety in this agreement... as long as she shuts her mouth. I'll be a tad bit sympathetic and let you even have some time to say your little goodbyes to your sweet little family, maybe even let you take a couple spare clothes or whatever you need."

The bargain is struck, and the moment the Fatui lets go of Teucer, he picks up Mr. Cyclops and scrambles inside the house, Tartaglia following Teucer, leaving you standing outside in the yard, still surrounded by Fatui. You know there's no point in escaping since you'll have six Agents on your heels, not to mention a broken agreement. After a moment of standing out in the cold, you spare one look at the Fatui before going inside the house, greeted only by the whispering from the upstairs floor. You decide to stay downstairs, knowing everyone will eventually head downstairs, which they do. Tonia and Anthon whisper their heartfelt goodbyes, the slightest tone of worry and apprehension in their voices- then there's Teucer, standing off to the side with a betrayed look on his face.

Yes... you've felt that pain clawing you from the inside out, the pain Teucer is feeling right now- betrayed by him, of all people... for him, a brother, for you...

... well, you shake your head as you watch Tartaglia slowly approach his brother, that's not very important, and Teucer takes a step back, looking down at the ground.

The little boy's arms shake, and he raises his arms, thrusting Mr. Cyclops into Childe's chest, and you hear him mumble, "I don't want this anymore..." and Tartaglia is forced to take it and watch as Teucer goes upstairs. Childe looks down into the singular eye of Mr. Cyclops, then to the shape of Teucer's back slipping behind the corner of the halls, sighing. You leave the house, waiting outside with your belongings, letting Teucer and Tartaglia perhaps recover from shock or their current emotions, staring at the Fatui grouped outside the home. Don't tell me that Rodion was a little spy working from the Fatui, you think, that's the only way that the Fatui would be able to find out that I was here too.

A broken look comes across his face, and he clears the space in four strides, stopping abruptly in front of you- and he smiles weakly his arms opening, and you lean in. No, there is no way to describe the immense comfort you feel from just his presence alone, no way to explain that warming feeling in your chest that you know shouldn't be there. But you cannot help it- cannot help but feel that reassuring, pressuring feeling that has you searching for familiar blue eyes. Though he stands in front of you, arms bound around your form, you can already feel the emptiness that will eventually accompany you to Liyue. You cannot come to look at him, ashamed that it has all come down to this- no- you have just started, for why would it end so soon?

"No... look at me, please, " and he cups your cheek, bare hands cold against the flush of your cheeks, but you draw his hand away from your face, "it doesn't- we don't have to end this way... please..."

"I knew this would happen," forgetting about the note you made to maintain a sanguine outlook- "but it's alright... you can go... go back to your Tsaritsa and tell her everything."

"I won't do that- I won't just leave you like this... I will not have you sit in Liyue and wait and wait for me to come back, knowing that I might not-" Tartaglia replies, cut short by the loud cough of a Fatui Agent. "I'll visit you if I can-" Childe says, his hand still gripping your forearm, and you smile faintly, wondering who he will be if you ever see him again, "I promise... I promise!"

"I'll be waiting," you reply, so quiet, just loud enough for both of you to hear, and Childe pulls you back into one of his other brief, relentless hugs. Now it is my turn to wait for him, you think as you let go of him- I think I understand Tartaglia now, even from when we met... I made him shelve his feelings. He waited for the slightest sign of reciprocated feelings... but now it's different... now I have to wait for him to appear at my side again.

"Goodbye, " Childe whispers his adieu, turning to the Fatui Agent who now approaches both of you; to separate you from him, and you clench your bag of belongings.

You draw away from the Harbinger, watching him from the distance as he walks away with the Fatui Agents down the hill, not knowing what awaits him in the future. "Goodbye is far too permanent, " you reply to him, knowing he cannot hear you, "no, I promise, I will see you again." It almost seems as if he does still listen, and he turns around, waterfalls of blue swallowing up the image of you he so treasures, Childe hoping that will not be the last thing Ajax sees of you.

Too late for last words, Teucer comes running out of the house, perhaps for a proper farewell, the glistening of tears in round blue eyes- but that does not matter, only the Mr. Cyclops in his hands.

Notes:

wow this story is coming to a close... ty for all the support from my people ilysm
listen IM SORRY I MADE YOU SHARE A BED EVERYONE IRL READING THIS SAID "do it dummy" so I had to
also its weird mc didn't kiss childe but shes sleeping w him wth help
sorry teucer... mr cyclops.. tartaglia betrayed you ig..
did you know that rodion's name (the random character) means "song of the hero?"

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 13: evocation

Summary:

The vivid evocation of Tartaglia brings a subconscious wave of feelings through your body, and you sigh, thinking about the first time you met him.

Notes:

posting this on july 4th bc its like the "grand finale" haha get it see what i did :D
cause like grand finale of the fireworks haha that was so bad
is it really the grand finale if there's one more chapter

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

evocation [n]: the act of bringing or recalling a feeling, memory, or image to the conscious mind

Tartaglia turns from a speck to invisible as he disappears, the ginger bush in the strikingly bright snow in the sun- a Harbinger, taken away by the hands of his possibly own subordinates. You try to calm down the feeling of shock and woe- of course- you were right in the beginning- growing closer with him would result in some sort of consequence. You knew what you signed up for when you jumped into the relationship with the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger. You heave a sigh and take a deep breath- every action has a consequence, you turn towards Teucer, who is also staring off into the direction the Fatui took him, and now that he's gone, I pay for it.

Losing something or someone is not unknown to you- in fact- it is a concept you've learned to grasp over time- even before your journey around Teyvat. It is an ideal you have to learn to live with- and the best you can only do is wait- for if you lose something, you have to wait for it to return. Worse, you will never see it again, and that thing- the person, a relationship you've lost will only become nothing but memories of time.

The action of running over to Teucer and squeezing his shoulders, asking if he's alright, seems so vague to you, and you remember the image of the young boy bursting into tears. Eyes as deep as oceans- dreamy as a starry night filled with sorrow and shock, a young, innocent mind exposed to layers of lies. "It was a gift from my brother and one of the only things from him that I have..." you hear Teucer saying, "I already miss Brother." Silvery, clear tears bubble out of the young boy's eyes, and you crouch down and pull him into a hug- you feel a pair of short arms wrap around you.

You pick up Teucer, the young boy leaning into your grasp, head resting on your shoulders, and you come inside to a very shocked, quiet family who has been up the entire time. Good that they thought to stay inside and be quiet... Tartaglia would have rushed outside and made a big ruckus. You set down Teucer, who is still gripping Mr. Cyclops as tight as possible, and he stares up at you with those deep blue eyes- ones you can never forget. Everything happens so fast- hushed whispers turn to urgent shouts though everyone tries to maintain their composure- Teucer stands next to Tonia, who has her hand on the back of his head.

Childe, having been taken away by the Fatui after his short reunion, Anthon assumes head of the household- Tonia only there to reinforce his words. It's logical as to what he wants, perhaps safer- so you agree to oblige to what he wants- even what the Harbinger would desire if he were there. It's the family's safety and your safety as a priority- and now the Fatui's possible suspicions about your location are confirmed, it's best to leave Snezhnaya.

"No, " you recall Anthon saying as you head down the snowy hill that Childe's family lives on, "go home... you are not welcome here... not until our brother returns home."

And so, that is what you do... you make your way back to Liyue, taking your time, vouching on your experience of the "contract" that the Fatui made with Childe to keep you safe, so you wander around Snezhnaya. Snezhnaya's waters are near crystal-clear, little chunks of ice floating around in the water, Snowstrider fish swimming in circles, tiny blue and orange Medaka crowing around each other. You sigh and stare at them as you walk past, deciding to waste no time getting back to Liyue, as Snezhnaya is indeed still dangerous.

When you reach Liyue after a few days worth of travel, it is in the afternoon, the Liyue sun setting just behind the stone pillars of the Guyen Stone Forest. Taking out your leftover pouch of Mora, you stuff it into a pocket into your pants, planning to deposit the money back into your account. You immediately put down your belongings, grab a small snack and stuff it into your mouth as you make your way to Northland Bank, perhaps, the teller Ekaterina wouldn't be gone...? You open the door to Northland Bank and enter, noticing the person behind the counter isn't the person usually there. Maybe this wouldn't have to do anything with Tartaglia... you approach the Fatui behind the counter and take out the pouch of Mora.

"Hello," the Fatui starts, catching a glimpse of your face, looking at it with curiosity, and you're sure this Fatui servant has never been to Liyue, "how may I help you?"

"I'd like to deposit this please, " you reply, sliding the pouch of Mora across the counter along with your Adventurer's Handbook, and you shuffle your feet, "the usual teller isn't here today... what happened to Miss Ekaterina?"

The question catches the teller off guard, and he looks at you, "apparently, Miss Ekaterina's superior has been called in back to Snezhnaya, so I'm just here to fill in until she gets back."

What? Ekaterina is Childe's subordinate... meaning that she reports to Tartaglia- so this is how they found candidates to send to Mondstadt for their little mission- how they found out that I'd be going to Mondstadt...? You sigh, disappointed, as the teller slides you an empty fabric pouch of Mora and your handbook, thinking, how could I have not figured that out by now? So Ekaterina is gone because the Fatui wants to examine Childe's subordinates' history for any sign of revolt or treason. After all, they might have joined in on his plan? You finish your business at the bank and leave, wondering what to do next, now that Childe isn't by your side- you find it funny how he became your source of motivation for a lot of your tasks- you let out a laugh- but now he isn't here, and you don't know what to do.

At the marketplace, you stroll around, stopping at a store selling lanterns and kites- you reach out to one subconsciously, picking it up, turning your head to Ajax. But he is not there as you expect, and you put it back down, Granny Shan of the shop smiling at another customer, a little girl, and a man. You imagine it already- Childe buying the items he knows will bring a smile to your face, picking your favorite lanterns, nonetheless- being the most expensive. You can see yourself laughing at Childe while trying to persuade him not to get the item, for you have no space for it at home. You can see his reply with a goofy grin which morphs to a chuckle, telling you he'd spend all of his Mora if it meant you were happy- even if it was on the stupidest item ever. You continue through the marketplace, no lantern in hand, no Tartaglia by your side, only the empty echoing of his laughter in your head.

You leave and make your way down to the harbor, where you pull off your boots and socks, roll up your pant legs, and dip your feet in the water. The water is so clear you can see all the way down to the bottom of the harbor, where shells and little rocks lie at the sandy bottom, tiny fish here and there. You wonder how Childe finds peace in doing such activity as sitting in one spot, waiting for the slightest tug on the reel, perhaps spending hours for a good fish. But fishing is not what's bugging you- it's still that idle feeling that you hate- the fact that you cannot do anything to help someone. You sit here in peace, holding your fishing rod, while Childe is in Snezhnaya, confronted by the Fatui daily, safety on the line every minute. You will write to Tartaglia's family once in a while- hoping to obtain news on the Harbinger's status- but you want to give the family time- you know that you aren't on the best of terms with them right now.

You don't know what to do besides wait- wasn't it selfish of Tartaglia to sacrifice the safety and the cover of his family so he could be at my side? And so waiting becomes part of your daily routine- every day, you wake up in hopes that you'll see Tartaglia in Liyue or a sign of the Snezhnayan carriages carrying him back here. You make sure to tell Zhongli that he's gone, much to the former Archon's displeasure, which has him on the lookout. After a week, Ekaterina returns to Liyue, which is a good sign- it sends you searching every corner of Liyue, hoping that Ekaterina's appearance means all tension related to Childe is gone. But he isn't there, and a week turns into two weeks, then three, a month, then two months. You send letters to Childe's family, and they write back- at this point, you and his family might as well become pen pals- but still, there is no report on Tartaglia.

Perhaps he isn't allowed to return to Liyue, you think worriedly, and then a thought at the back of your head: or maybe the Fatui really did kill him. No, there's no way they would kill their own Harbinger- the amount of power a Harbinger possesses, then stripping that away from them... no, it is possible... Tartaglia killed another of his kind without hesitation. Or what if Childe has finally come to his senses, stepped back into the reality that life with me will never be one of peace? His occupation as a Harbinger basically restricts and hinders any thought or try of settling down to have a stable life.

So the day in which a three-month wait for a glimpse of wandering blue eyes and ginger hair turns into a dreadful four-month wait, you receive a letter. That day, the skies are clear, and you can see Guyen Stone Forest from the docks; you find yourself at the harbor again, but with a small bucket to your left and a fishing pole from the Fishing Association. You are approached by a man in green, holding a letter, a brown satchel across his chest, perhaps carrying more envelopes. You take the envelope and nod thanks, setting aside your fishing rod on the docks and tear open the envelope, having a letter as usual. It's a message from Tartaglia's family, and you greedily read the lines for the mention of Childe and his return- it does not say he is returning home- no, not Liyue, but Snezhnaya, from the Zapolyarny Palace, where the Tsaritsa dwells. The letter is not descriptive as when Tartaglia will show his face in Morepesok, but you can guess it will be soon enough.

A smile cracks across your face, and you let out a whoop of surprise and glee; relief floods your features, and you lie down on the dock, staring up into the sky and cover your eyes with your hands. Pulses of purple, blue, and green dance in your vision, yellow flecks of nothingness parading around the black sky.

The vivid evocation of Tartaglia brings a subconscious wave of feelings through your body, and you sigh, thinking about the first time you met him. It's a lot to process- you remember when you wanted nothing more to do with him- more cautious and reluctant to talk to him than ever. What did he feel like when you so rejected him over and over, to have feelings tossed aside and boxed up in the farthest corner of the room, to perhaps make the best decision- which may not have been the most rational?

A lively, reckless boy is his exterior, while a caring, protective person hides inside- your ignorant self failing to notice until it was too late- when both of you had gotten into trouble- when you had fallen into his trap. Perhaps- when was it, exactly, that he spared you a gentle look and realized that he was one of the few people who would accept you as you were now? Maybe it was when he looked up at you with hoax innocence with grapes in his hand at Dawn Winery or how wide eyes begged you to stay by his side. Was it when he pulled you aside in the rain, despite the Fatui after both your and Childe's blood, and comforted you, all sweet honey and nothing more? How about when he leaned down in front of you, faces mere inches apart- or when he held you tight in his arms underneath the night sky, face pressed to yours? Possibly the short, brief moment you had when desperation covered every emotion, his sweet adieu rushed by the iron grips of the Fatui? Or the day at Dragonspine when you knew nothing of him but a Harbinger when he flashed you a smile?

"Hey," you hear a worried voice say, and you don't dare to lift your hands off your eyes, enclosed in ivory black, "you're not leaving again, aren't you?"

Another person's voice comes in dread, the only emotion you can tell in their words, "no- I'm not leaving- I promise I'll be back," they say, and you think, I've heard those lines before.

"You were home to me, " the first person says, words strained, full of hurt and hatred, "what's the point of going home if you were never there in the first place?"

There is silence, and you imagine faces projecting an expression of disgust against desperation, "we don't- you don't- I'd sacrifice everything for you- please-!"

"Hey," you hear a voice say, and you slowly release your hands from your eyes, the blinding flash of sudden light hurting your head, and you shut your eyes immediately. Tiredly, you open them and look around, the two people who you thought were around you fighting but nonexistent, only alive in your head. But lying next to you is a brownish-red, almost maroon cap with red flowers, and sitting next to the hat is the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Hu Tao's eyes bore into yours, and she laughs- "oh.. so you are alive... you'd been lying so still I though I had another customer!"

You smile weakly and sit up slowly, looking at Hu Tao, dark red hair over shoulders, and you laugh along with her, and between chuckles, you ask, "so why are you here?"

Hu Tao shrugs her shoulders, staring off into the horizon- two cranes sweep down from the sky then glide back towards the clouds, "I'm actually not sure myself..." she directs her attention towards you, and you stare back at her. "... Mr. Zhongli told me the current situation with the Harbinger," she mumbles, " if he doesn't come around, then know Mr. Zhongli and I are here for you." Hu Tao's smile is as bright as the Liyue sun at its zenith, and you smile back as she shrugs her shoulders again, "I mean, that's what friends are for, right?"

You nod gratefully at the reminder of her support, but you reply, "I don't think I need to worry... he'll find a way to me somehow... he always does." His prolonged absence is unusual- but you cannot do anything but blame it on the Fatui, but you then really start to worry when not too long ago, the consultant of the parlor came up to you with no news of him. Zhongli, the former Geo Archon, having many connections, mortal and immortal, residents of cities and Archons and Adepti alike- all over Teyvat- without a sign of Tartaglia is worrying. He's had acquaintances scout around Snezhnaya discreetly as possible- not just for you, but for him too. It's perhaps most likely for the Wangsheng Funeral's shocking connection with the Fatui to perform interesting tasks and their friendship, likely in disarray.

You sigh and stare at your feet in the water, and you make circles with your feet, making small waves, focusing on the cold liquid and your breathing. The image of Childe, bleeding out, the blood flowing freely from his body on a chilly stone floor, a groan of pain, Fatui members- standing next to their Tsaritsa. The sun comes to your hazy vision for a split second, and you scrunch your eyes, trying to clear your head of thoughts of the Harbinger. Your hands shake involuntarily for a moment, and you clench them, trying to make it stop- you give up quickly and shove your hands under your legs.

You don't notice that the director has taken notice of your shaking hands, and she wraps an arm around your shoulder; you look at her, puzzled for a moment. The first thought that comes to your mind is to resist the gesture, but then you melt into it, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and resting your head on her shoulder. It's been quite the day- the letter of hope from his family- but Hu Tao is right- perhaps he is not allowed back in Liyue. The " Versemonger of the Darkest Alleys" turns to you, concern written on her face, and she asks in a gentle tone, not the cheerful one she always talks with, "is he on your mind?"

Perhaps Hu Tao and I are spending way too much time together... you think as you nod your head, slightly surprised, "it's like you read my mind."

"It is painfully obvious," Hu Tao jokes, slapping you on the back, "I haven't known the Harbinger for long, but you should've seen the way he looked at you. He listens to you like the way Glaze Lilies listen to music and yearns for you like the way Qingxin flowers yearns for the mountaintops."

The way he looked at me... the animosity clouding his love for me- he is all enmity to everyone in the beginning... but when he looks at me... when I look at him... everything is different. When was it at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor when those achingly familiar eyes followed my every movement that Hu Tao noticed? You sigh, "It's been long since I've seen him, just more than four months... funny thing is, I'm not even sure if I'm waiting for him anymore. I haven't been with him for long- my memories of him are vague... they aren't engraved in my mind... I don't even remember what he felt like." But yes, you can remember the exact feeling of him, the unwanted gut feeling you get when you felt his figure brush against yours, the clenching of his hand around yours. It brings you back to when his arm was tightly slung around yours with the utmost caution, head pressed to yours, and how you could feel the twitch of his hand in his sleep.

Hu Tao smiles sheepishly, standing up, "I don't have much to say," she giggles nervously, "except, uhm... good luck at getting your man back...?"

"I- Hu Tao... Hu Tao, what- he's not my-" you scramble to your feet and take after the 77th Director, who has already started running away- after a few seconds of pursuit, you give up. You return to the harbor and pack your fishing gear- you give the bucket back to the fishing industry after pouring the small fish you've caught back into the ocean; the fish swim away.

At home, you think of what really does keep you waiting for Tartaglia- perhaps it is simply the fact that he provides a feeling of safety that you can live in, or maybe the thought of sinking into a warm embrace with open arms is what keeps you going. But you tell yourself not to hope for too much- if he does come to Liyue to visit, he'll leave like he does to go back to Snezhnaya. After what you've been through and what he's been through, there's obviously no guarantee that he'll stay in Liyue- it's too dangerous. But that's alright with you- as long as you can see the bright eyes full of energy and hear the steady beat inside his chest, you're content.

From that day on, the rate at which you receive the letters gradually increases and increases, bearing more and more good news, and sometimes, Tartaglia's family sends so many letters, you have to reply with one letter to perhaps two or three. Then, a letter from someone different, with scrawly, rushed handwriting, and your first thought is that the letter is from Teucer. You move over to where your first letter that started the journey is, lazily placed on the shelf, sitting next to your keys, and open it. You cross-examine each letter, word by word, letter by letter, to find similarities in handwriting, which you do- you can easily conclude that both messages were written by Childe. At least now I know that he's actually at his establishment with his family, you sigh, taking the time to go through the letter.

All it reads is his apology for leaving for so long- his surprise for staying- waiting for him, how he plans on visiting you, and how much he misses you. It's not a surprise that the letter you would eventually receive from him would contain all sorts of messages of apologies and yearning. You can imagine Ajax and his family standing over his shoulder, watching him write the letter with hasty handwriting, Teucer in his lap, Tonia standing to his side with one hand on his shoulder, Anthon behind him, peeking over his head. You stifle a chuckle and put the letter on the shelf in your living room- your waiting has paid off- he's still there, and he still cares about you.

You glance outside, Liyue Harbor reflecting the sunlight, the boats floating, like magic, on the surface of the water, the bustling city full of action, but you can only think of how Tartaglia would react to seeing you again. The last time you did so, he was all surprised and anger into one bundle, but now, you can see him stand in front of you, a boyish grin on his face, nervousness hidden by excitement. A grin breaks across your face, and you feel like your smile might split your face in two- the giddy feeling is nothing compared to what you felt when you first met him. You're aware that you're the only one who can turn the walls he's built around himself to dust, the one who can make him feel so relaxed. He's the only one you would let see turn your soft side to, the only one you would look for in need of security or comfort. You miss it all- his eyes, his smile, his laugh, his touch, his- you missed him- Childe- Tartaglia- Ajax - whoever it is- you sigh, smiling- it's about time you realized it.

You know you're getting ahead of yourself, but you are excited- what would you do when he arrives in Liyue- and you have nothing planned for his return? What possibly is there to plan anyways- you know that the Harbinger has been living in Liyue for more than just a couple of years- he basically knows every shop and person in Liyue, whether going there or talking to the person himself. The Fatui's information stretches across Teyvat, and being a Fatui Harbinger assigned to Liyue himself... he probably has some info on everyone here. Ah, perhaps another way that the Fatui found candidates to send to Mondstadt... status and reputation in cities...

You remember the dull blue eyes you had come to love, to hate, then love again- what image will they so evoke and betkray that truly represents the window into someone's soul? I can wait for that , you think as you hum contentedly, brief bliss as a silent, peaceful space you can step into, even just for a moment- I could always wait for it.

Notes:

wow! sorry this was such a short chapter but there wasn't much to write.
one more chapter! thanks for reading and following through with the story for the people who did :D
and childe makes a comeback after four-ish months of waiting woohooo
also kuki shinobu came out and WOW the mc's talents are almost identical with hers I SWEAR I'm not a leaker or anything IT WAS FROM IMAGINATION cause shinobu heals and so does the MC... and they have an electro ring... happy that I put the coincidental talent thing in the beginning

lmk what u think!

I'm thinking that I'll update this story every week, on weekends.

also we dont swear in this story just incase ur like 10 and u dont like swears

(why would u be on ao3 at 10 years old)

Chapter 14: epilogue: bittersweet

Summary:

Your heart feels so much heavier, heavy enough to sink, and you turn around to your empty house, the bittersweet taste still on your lips.

Notes:

HEY HEY GUYS LAST CHAPTER IM DONE OH MY GOD I HOPE U ENJOY READING THIS AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING THIS!

I renamed this while writing this chapter, originally renamed from: ajax || wrong place for redemption

Here are some values to keep in mind! Spoiler warnings ahead so you know what to look out for! Chapter update schedules will be at the bottom notes of the chapter.

Also, big thanks to the people who pushed me to upload this story, and to the person it's for! Unfortunately I can't gift this to them through AO3.

- Most of this was written before Genshin Impact Version 2.1. Spoilers for the Mondstadt Archon Quest and above. Spoilers for the Story Quest for Childe | Tartaglia. Spoilers for Childe | Tartaglia's, Zhongli's, and Signora's lore.

- Snezhnaya was written from research on current knowledge given from the beginning of game to Version 2.6 and before Snezhnaya official release. Snezhnaya also takes some world building from imagination.

- Many ideas were reworked to stick as close as possible to stick to canon Genshin Impact lore. Some original scenes drawn up in the beginning of story creation have been changed to fit current circumstances from Version 2.1 and above.

- Character skills and talents are purely from imagination. Any skills or talents matching up with possible and upcoming characters after Genshin Impact Version 1.4 is coincidental. Tartaglia | Childe's abilities come from in-game information.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

bittersweet [adj]: being at once bitter and sweet, especially pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering and regret

The lanterns light up the alleyways and the streets as the sun sets, leaving nothing but the beautiful evening sky- dotted with cotton clouds as you make your way to the restaurant you'll be eating at tonight. It's unusually colder than usual tonight in Liyue- it has been getting colder anyway due to the seasons, but you have a coat with you in case. The invitation was sudden, out of place, for you have not interacted with this person in ages, and the last time was- well- you'd rather not think about it. But if you were to think of them, it would draw a sharp invisible thorn through you, opening up old scars, wounds you've tried to seal up; painfully pleasant memories would come crashing down until you suffocate.

Perhaps, to put it in other words, it would be like a wave crashing over you, swept away, drowning in poisonous feelings while the buoy floats tauntingly, tantalizingly out of reach.

You're there in time, just a couple minutes early, looking around for your company, don't tell me I'm here- and they'll be late or not even show up. You agreed with the person to rendevous at seven o'clock, but again, you are early, so you tell yourself to not expect them to arrive not until a little later.

You are right, in the end, as the Harbinger does indeed show up, hair slicked back, a few strands peeking out, curving down to his forehead, donned in a silver-white tux, a red garment- different than the one you've seen him wear, hanging across his chest. Strangely, a glowing, dark blue orb hangs off a barely visible belt, his Hydro Vision, but that isn't most of your curiosities. Childestares at you, looking up and down at you, smiling, and you hurry over to him, ignoring that fleeting feeling in your chest as he takes you in for a heartwarming embrace. His chest is warm against yours, and it shudders with every deep breath he takes, and you feel his chest rumble against your head as he speaks when you lay your head on it. Something pokes your upper chest, and you try to ignore it, but you separate yourself from him and poke the item in his jacket- he takes it out quickly, but you catch a glimpse of a fist-sized white box.

He chuckles nervously, stuffing it in a pant pocket, and tries to divert your attention from the small box, which your eyes are glued intently on. When you pull apart, he laughs, scanning you up and down again, blue eyes wavering, "I don't know, but I feel like you've changed," he says, "or maybe it's because your hair grew longer."

You chuckle at his observation, "yeah, I haven't cut my hair since you..." you pause, thinking about your last day in Snezhnaya, "...since you left."

"Listen, I'm sorry, I should have never, ever left you, it was foolish of me and I should have thought it over more, I'm sorry-" Tartaglia starts, but you cut him off.

You reassure him with a smile, "-no, don't be sorry... it was most likely the best decision, and your family wasn't put in danger and neither was I."

He takes your hand and squeezes it, looking down at his hand enclasped around yours, "I don't really know anymore... I think I'm just surprised... I never thought that you'd... wait for me."

"I will always wait for you, Ajax. "

This time, you pull him into a hug, his head resting on your shoulder, and you rub small circles on his back, and after a while, he lets out a deep sigh, putting all of his upper weight on your shoulder.

"I still can't believe you're wearing that in this temperature, " you say, blowing a puff of cool air on his hair, watching stray strands of ginger hair fluff up and then fall back down, "aren't you cold?"

He takes his head off you and guides you inside Liuli Pavillion, "no, I burn for you-" he says, laughing at your response, "-actually, I'm not cold, considering how I do live in Snezhnaya." He looks at the small jacket in your arms, and you bet he's wondering how that would keep you warm tonight. "You're one of a kind, for wearing that..." he points at the jacket, "you telll me I'll be cold, but look at that- it's like a flimsy piece of cloth that doesn't even cover you entirely!"

"Childe... I don't know if that's a compliment, but thank you... it's called fashion..." you snicker, turning towards the restaurant, the smell of food wafting out the open door.

Someone escorts you to your table, the receptionist's dark blue robe flowing behind them as they elegantly make their way to the dinner tables of the restaurant. The dim light fills the large area, a yellowish-orange glow of the ceiling lights, like a portable sun in a room, constant and unwavering. Your dining partner requested a table in the inner parts of the restaurant, where it is more secluded, quiet, and private, so you sit at the small table, Tartaglia taking the seat across from you. You listen to the merry laughter and the loud conversing, the plates clinking as they touch each other in the other parts of the restaurant.

The waiter clears their throat next to you- not the kind of clearing the throat to feel more comfortable but to get attention, and you turn to him expectantly. He looks down at both of you, nodding his head in greeting, "I'm Hongru, your waiter for tonight- may we start with any drinks for tonight?'

"Just a cup of water for me will do, no ice please," you reply- you haven't even looked at the menu, but you also have an idea for appetizers, perhaps the fish skewers. You watch Childe get his drink too, and you turn back to the waiter, who has pulled out a notepad and is scribbling something on it.

"I'll also get the Grilled Tiger Fish for starters, please, thank you," you add, internally chuckling at the Harbinger's shocked expression, him knowing you haven't touched the menu.

Hongru nods, scribbling more words on that tiny notepad that he carries around in his little apron pockets, and checks to see if you want anything else. You and Childe say it's enough of an appetizer and thank Hongru, and he scurries away, leaving you and the Harbinger to sit alone in the restaurant. Later, he comes back to you, two cups of water in his hand, placing it on the table, a drop of water pooling over the rim of the cup, soaking into the fabric tablemats.

"I didn't think you would actually accept my invitation for tonight, " Childe states, smoothing out his clothes with the thin black gloves he always wears. He positions himself in his chair, eyes locking onto yours, then nervously flitting to the side sheepishly, as he always does when you catch him staring at you.

"I think it's proper manners for someone to go to someone's dinner invitation, especially if you haven't seen them in a long time, or will be seeing them in a long time."

" Yeah..." Childe replies, eying the pair of chopsticks lying on the table menacingly, "...anyways, I'm thinking of getting the Cured Pork Dry Hotpot... if you want to share because it's a pretty big meal. Last time I came here I invited Mr. Zhongli, so I didn't have to worry about eating the whole thing."

"Sure, " you say, a little too fast, perhaps I should get something new here too, " I was thinking about the Tianshu Meat- we can share that too." You look up at Tartaglia, who is also looking intensely at the restaurant menu, his eyebrows jumping up every time he comes across something new, perhaps the price, but he's a walking bank, so what's to fear? "If it's not enough, we can also go for Noodles with Mountain Delicacies- that looks good, or the Stone Harbor Delicacies."

"As the title suggests, they're delicacies," Childe mumbles, still flipping through the menu, "I don't really know about the noodles-" the Harbinger laughs, embarrassed, "because- uh- it's not that I don't like noodles, I've eaten them before... it's because I have to use chopsticks..."

You laugh, and he lets out a small sigh of exasperation, "Childe, I'm sure they have forks for people inept with chopsticks, just ask Hongru if he comes around."

"Did you know that Mr. Zhongli got me this beautiful, expensive pair of chopsticks a while back so I could practice using them, but then he also got me a pair of 'baby chopsticks?'"

You chortle again, leaning forward, finding it hard to believe that the elegant, formal, collected Zhongli would buy 'baby chopsticks' for a Snezhnayan diplomat, "are you that incompetent with chopsticks?"

"I guess," Childe replies, shrugging nonchalantly as he does so, another strand of his hair falling before his eyes, and he hastily brushes it back, calling for a fork Hongru passes by, "so we know what we're getting, right?"

Hongru comes back with a fork and places it at Childe's side, then takes out his notepad, "have you two decided on what you'd like for tonight?"

"One Cured Pork Dry Hotpot, a Tianshu Meat, a Noodles with Mountain Delicacies, and Stone Harbor Delicacies, please, " you list, watching Hongru write down the last of your order, and slips the notepad back into his pocket.

You two chatter about current events in Liyue, last year's Lantern Rite and the upcoming one, about business at Northland Bank, and you tell him that you've tried fishing, much to his surprise. He tells you with a smile that he'll have to take you to his favorite fishing spots in Snezhnaya, do some ice fishing and catch fish as big as the table you sit at. Then the appetizer comes out perfectly grilled, and you grab a skewer, munching on the delicious, slightly crunchy fish.

Both of you continue to talk, not about anything important or one topic in particular- it is simply to pass some time while you wait for the main course to come out. Talking makes you tired sometimes, especially if you are a little bit hungry- but it does go by quickly- a waitress soon appears and sets down food on the table. It's a young lady named Licai on her name tag, dressed in a clean pink top and a black, long skirt, an apron hanging loosely from her waist.

You look down at your half-eaten skewer, then back at Tartaglia, who is reaching for the last fish skewer- he catches you staring at him and places the skewer on his plate. He grabs the ladle of the hotpot dish and starts pouring it into two bowls, "uh- did you want more skewer because I took the last one or..."

"No, it's alright... I was just wondering if you still took orders from the Fatui... because of... everything and how you don't really like the Fatui anyways."

Childe freezes momentarily, stopping pouring the Cured Pork Dry Hotpot into the bowls, and he looks at you, puzzled, then resumes his task. "I... do still follow the orders from the Fatui- the Tsaritsa, to be exact- I have to... I'm here on my own accord because I wanted to come back, but there are still eyes watching me. I have to be careful- one step out of line and the Fatui will come back and get me, and I doubt that the Tsaritsa will give me another chance."

You finish up the skewer on your plate and reach for the bowl of soup that Childe has poured out, and cut a square piece of meat from the Tianshu Meat, taking some Matsutake along with it. You and Childe happily continue eating, the food eventually being finished slowly- it's a hearty, filling meal. You find it funny how Tartaglia is finally getting a meal- the dinner with you that he always wanted, the dinner that was part of his 'plan' not until you left him at Wangshu Inn long ago.

His plan was to bring you back to Liyue, grab a meal together- which was accomplished- then to... leave you in Liyue, as if nothing had happened? And what happened before leaving you in Liyue after Signora's robbery, and according to La Signora's plan, to leave you dead as well? Whatever... best not to think about it... it makes my brain go haywire... you watch as Childe fiddles with his fork to get the slimy noodles entangled around the prongs.

Soon, the food diminishes to only a half-eaten plate of Stone Harbor Delicacies, and you and Childe jokingly argue with each other as to who would be the one to finish it- in the end, both of you split it and eat it. You leave a little bit of it on your plate, and the Harbinger manages to sneak it off your plate and eat it, much to your disapproval. The Snezhnayan ends up paying for the whole meal, and you believe it to be completely unfair to his wallet, though he's got a ton of Mora.

Leaving the restaurant, he promptly takes you to Yujing Terrace, and you follow him without a word- he stops at a stone balcony looking over most of Liyue. You stand beside him and lean on the stone wall, staring off into the dark blue sky- the sound of the waves against the shore is subtle and vaguely noticeable. The evening breeze parts your hair slightly, and you pull back a strand of hair behind your ear as you watch a small boat sail into the harbor. A person in the marketplace is barely visible from this distance, like an ant crawling on the ground- there are many ants from up here.

You shift your attention to Childe, who has closed his eyes, a faint smile on his face- the wind has taken care of his- you say- poorly gelled hair since it came out within a couple hours. You smile and stare at him, and he looks at peace, even if it is just for an hour or two- his mouth is slightly agape, and his posture is relaxed. Perhaps you've been staring too long, or you don't notice when his eyes crack open to see a particular person staring at him with maybe too much interest. His eyes twinkle with a playful feeling, and he smirks, catching you off guard that he has noticed you staring.

Tartaglia stands up, reaching into his pant pocket where you remember him putting a white box in it, and you step back, hesitantly, as to what he might do with it. His deep azure eyes flash at you as he looks up; it's easy to tell from his perspective that you obviously are nervous, but why should you be? He reaches out to you with gloved hands and takes one of your hands, squeezing it gently- you can feel the callouses on his hands, the hands that wield weapons ever so dangerously.

You knew the consequences and the benefits of getting into a relationship, especially with a Fatui Harbinger- belonging to the faction of perhaps the most dangerous people on Teyvat. The least to say- it's been a thrilling ride, exposing you to the hidden horrors and beauties of Teyvat, and Tartaglia fits right in the middle of those two. But after all this time, you would have never expected your relationship to come down to... this . It's unexpected, and you have no idea what to say- you stutter on your words and try to take another step away from the Harbinger- no way would you ever agree.

But the grip on your hand keeps you rooted, his eyes boring into yours with sincerity, but that doesn't matter- how you're going to turn him down is what's on your mind.

"Are you alright?"

You open your mouth to reply, but the words, are stuck in your throat, and no sound comes out- you watch as the hand around the box drops to his side, almost disappointingly. He stares at you as you stare right back, and you manage to say no, much to his confused expression as to why you're so nervous all of a sudden. It takes him a while to piece it all together- the box- your nervousness- even the scenery would have made it a bit more dramatic.

Childe laughing is not what you expect- he laughs once, then twice- letting out a snicker of exasperation, and he pulls you into a big hug- turning you into the confused person. A smile wipes his features of any puzzlement, "you thought I was going to get down on one knee and propose to you right here, didn't you?" He takes your hands and places the box on your palms- it's a gorgeous box with a small silver bow on top of it. "I thought I'd help get this back to you," you hear him mumble, but you can barely focus on his words- what draws your attention is the familiar fuzzy feeling you feel that you can't connect to an object you know.

Inside the box is a glint of gold and dim purple... gold of the Liyuean square-ish frame and purple that suddenly vibrantly glows as you lay your eyes upon your Electro Vision. It explains the tightly fitted Hydro Vision around his waist- "how in the name of Celestia did you manage to get this back from Dottore?"

"I nagged him about it when I was in Snezhnaya, " Childe explains with a grin on his face, "and I guess he finally got fed up with me so he gave in and gave them back to us. It's not like he could perform experiments on them anyways- those are Celestia-given objects so he can't alter them in any way."

You chuckle, knowing him- it sounds like what he'd do- annoy people until they give in... it's a funny little trait he has that he's used on you plenty of times. His auburn hair sticks out in your vision as you focus on your Vision, then on him- the first of the moonglow highlighting his boyish features. He is two people to you- Childe-Tartaglia is calculating, cold, conniving, and ruthless when it comes to most people- but standing in front of you is your Ajax , who held you tightly as he slept, who went out of his own way to help you get something back- which wasn't even the most of your concerns.

"Thank you," you whisper ever so softly while biting the bottom of your lip to stop yourself from breaking out into an embarrassed grin. Childe simply nods, shoving his hands into his pockets, turning towards Liyue Harbor- his eyes flitting towards you once, then away- what is he thinking?

You can't help but bring yourself to love him- the handsome, funny- maybe even a bit stupid- young man that swiftly took your heart as you stood by and watched. Something in your gut feels heavy as you stare at him- you wonder when you'll meet him again- surely he won't stay in Liyue long. You shuffle closer to the Eleventh Harbinger, and he gives you that extremely coy simper from Dragonspine, but it's quickly wiped from your next gesture.

A simple peck on the cheek has him beet red from head to toe, and you swear that you can feel the heat radiating from his body as he stares at you with shock and incredulity. You laugh at him inside as he leans away from you, breathing rapidly like it's his last gulp of air before something drags him underwater. Childe, stammering, is not something that you thought you'd ever see with a mix of embarrassment- he tries to regain his form, stepping away from you, but so obviously fails to regain his composure. Pale skin flushed is not a good combination- his posture is too stiff, his hands fisted too tightly, his breathing erratic, and his ears are still pink.

"I- you- you just- you know you just..." he falters, stuttering, pointing at the cheek where you kissed him, and he laughs- no- not even a laugh, a breathless chortle. He racks his brain for words, but there are none- his brain is probably fried anyways- he splutters, grinning as he stands there, still dumbfounded.

You revel in the sight of a very embarrassed Snezhnayan, who probably has the mind racing a mile a minute, and you finish his sentence- "...I just kissed you?"

"Yeah- you... you kissed me and I have no idea why- really the purpose of it- I don't know what to do- I don't know what to say, actually, but, uh-"

"Childe, that was out of pure appreciation for you helping me get my Vision back... say, a small thank-you gift, " you explain to him, it wasn't all appreciation actually, kind of out of temptation.

"Your 'thank you,' was enough for me, I didn't necessarily need a..." Tartaglia pauses, perhaps still thinking about your little act there, even if it wasn't much, "... I didn't really need a kiss..."

You snicker, crossing your arms, "so you're telling me that you didn't enjoy it..." and you see Childe start to say something, but you interrupt him, "...because it certainly looked like you did."

Tartaglia whistles and covers the space between both of you within two strides, and you hold the box close to your chest as he looks down at you. His voice drops to a deep tone, which you've never heard his voice dip so low, "well, you are certainly right, I did enjoy that," accompanied by a sly smile and an innuendo, "and I am definitely coming back for another round."

You knew quite a while that confrontation about these feelings was inevitable, and you were right- you chuckle bitterly to yourself, but you did not expect the... confrontation to go this way. Oh, absolutely not this direction, you say to yourself, watching the walls you've so precariously and time-consumingly built be torn down by a Harbinger, of all people, and make you feel like this. He was the only one you'd let see you like this- the only one you turned toward, to be met by the dark blue eyes of an endless sky, his smile, conveying nothing but glee at this moment... his...

... in the end, it was all him, you loved him, you think, feeling his thumb rub a circle on your cheek- you reach up to his hand and peel his fingers off as he blinks slowly, oh, Celestia, you loved him.

He hums contentedly as he tightens his fingers around yours, his eyes half-lidded with laziness, the burning feel of his lingering touch- it's almost as if it's all on purpose. Tartaglia turns your hands over and runs a finger across your palms, tracing the most prominent creases, "you know when I fell in love with you?" He doesn't wait for you to reply, instead looking at you dead in the eyes, sighing, "I think it was when I saw you take those Agents at Stormterror's Lair."

You scoff at his answer, rolling your eyes- you don't know what to feel, disgusted and appalled, or... well... there isn't any other emotion that you're feeling besides those two. His confession is nothing compared to the way he brings your hand to his mouth, the surface of his lips skimming so gently, precariously, on the tips of your fingers.

You really cannot take whatever this is between you and him anymore- you hate and love it at the same time- it's horrifyingly wonderful the way you let yourself feel that rush of warmth when his gaze locks with yours, something tugging at your heartstrings. He looks at you with that piercing, sharp gaze of his, and you can do nothing but stare back like a deer in headlights, as he mutters, "I think it's about time I realized I don't need anything more from you."

You're about to reply when one of his hands finds your cheek again and the other one drifts down to your back, where he leans forward to encapsulate your lips in his. Your hands find their way to Childe's shoulders before you realize it- slipping over them and crossing over his neck momentarily before gently pulling forward at the back of his head. Your eyes close shut as you feel Childe's hand drift from under your ear to your cheek, where he thumbs your lower lip before tenderly bringing his hand to the back of your head, where you feel his fingers go through your hair.

The touch of his lips against yours blooms a garden of unseen flowers in you, row of flowers after row, his trembling lips parting yours slowly. It is a kiss full of desperation and impulse but also of hidden regrets and longing- it is a careless act of affection that he does not think twice of. It is nothing you have imagined before- the dance of his lips against yours is full of passion, feverish, and you feel every short, shaky inhale he takes as presses against your lips. And then the tempo changes as you inhale- it is leisurely but steady, all sugar and honey, nothing like the way you've seen him fight. His lips feel like the sweet summer Liyue rain- unexpected but impactful, relentless and pouring over yours.

You're the first to pull away slowly- you have to tug on his suit lapel to let him know that it's time to break the kiss- he pouts childishly, and you laugh. Your hands come up to gingerly touch your lips, and you look away to the side, feeling Tartaglia's gaze follow yours to the grey pavement.

You cough into your hand and walk across the terrace with him, past the table where Madame Ping usually stands, and you stop at the staircase. The last of the pretty Glaze Lilies are starting to bloom and open up to the moon, and the Silk Flowers hang precariously from their red bushes.

"I- uh- it's getting late," you say, backing away from the Harbinger, who stands there, curiously watching you, "I should... get going anyways..."

"I'll walk you home," Childe interjects suddenly, his offer surprising you- perhaps you're still shaken by that kiss that could have been less obvious. You start to say that he doesn't have to walk you home- but he shoots you a smile, and stares into your eyes, "you are right, I don't have to walk you home, but I want to."

You stare at him, incredulous, but you sigh and give in to the Harbinger's request, and you walk home- halfway, you find his hand clasped around yours. He stops in front of your doorstep as you unlock the door, looking down at the plants you have outside your door, tiny yellow and white flowers swaying in the gentle breeze. "Are you going to be in Liyue tomorrow?"

You step inside your house, turning your head as you look at him, waiting for his response- first, it's silence and a sigh, and he turns towards you, "I have to report back to Snezhnaya. Before you say anything, yes, I've been here for two days, and I can't take more time staying here in Liyue because the Fatui have eyes on me. They're still weary of my actions anyways, so I'll be leaving in the early morning just before the shops open."

You nod in understanding- your first thought is only two days allowed in Liyue, huh... it seems as if Childe can read your mind- because he says, "if you want, you can come up to Snezhnaya. Just send a letter through my family because I'll probably be too busy to recieve and read any letters you send... they'll get it to me eventually."

"Okay," you reply, rapping your knuckles on the door, noticing the conversation is coming to an end, and you smile, leaning towards Childe, "well, uhm- I guess this is goodnight."

The Harbinger steps away and moves towards the stairs, but before he can get far, you reach out to the lapels of his coat and pull him in for a final kiss- one quick but affectionate. He chuckles, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses from your cheek and up, and pulls away with an unmistakable grin. "I guess I'll see you around whenever the time comes, " he says, hand on the red wooden rail, "my siblings would love to have you again."

You nod, staring into his eyes deep as oceans and blue as the beaches he loves so much- this time, hiding nothing from you- and then the door closes, his ginger hair disappearing, and you stand, in your house, a dim lamp flickering once in the background. Your heart feels so much heavier, heavy enough to sink, and you turn around to your empty house, the bittersweet taste of Ajax still on your lips.

In the morning, you rise with an intent to see Childe off to Snezhnaya- you have no idea where he'd be, perhaps at the westernmost entrance to the city. You glance in that direction, hoping that they aren't there yet so you can make your way quickly to find Childe before he leaves. But two Snezhnayan carriages, one of which will most definitely carry Tartaglia, are already stationed there, ready to take off soon, and by the time you change into proper clothes and make your way to the lower level of Liyue, they'll be gone. So you decide to stay up here, to watch the morning sun peek over the endless water of the harbor, to perhaps not to get involved with the Fatui again.

And then a golden-orange speck of something disappears inside one of the carriages, a tiny box from your view disappearing, another person pushing the box inside the carriage. The two carriages sit there for perhaps five more minutes before moving, following the road up north, which will bring the Snezhnayan back home.

Back home to the Tsaritsa's land, back where the Cryo Archon resides, back home to where the cold is relentless, and harsh, where his family waits with open arms for their big brother. You smile at the thought of Teucer launching himself at Childe, Tonia standing indoors with her arms crossed, and Anthon prying Teucer off Childe.

The Liyue sky turns from a grey-blue to light blue infused with gold at the bottom, a blinding white semi-circle pushing itself higher and higher up into the sky. You turn around, looking down at the plants you saw Tartaglia looking down at last night, your flowers, and on the other side of your small terrace, a big potted plant with a small tree. Sitting next to it is a package, for who knows how long has been there, but you don't exactly remember it being there. It's a long, rectangular, almost skinny, box, perhaps a little more than double your arm length, resting on the side of your house.

You take the package inside, closing the door as you go, and setting it on your table, turning it over to see if the package was delivered to the wrong house. But there is no shipping address, just a brown cardboard box sealed with clear tape on top of the flaps of the box, like hastily packaged and put on the side for you to find. And on one side of the box is a very angry-looking happy face drawn in red marker, and there are two people off the top of your head who would do that- Hu Tao and Childe. You laugh at yourself, walking over to get a knife in your kitchen that you can cut through the tape with, so it does seem like this mysterious package is for me.

You slice through all the clear tape with ease, opening the box to find another box, but this one box is grey instead of brown, and the corners have silver intricate embellishments to make the box look fancier. You pick it up, and set the surprisingly lightweight box on your table, casting aside the boring brown box. You open the box, to be met with something you cast aside months ago- and you never imagined seeing an exact replica of- but how in the name of Celestia?

It's silver, matching the decor on the box, the main color being a glossy black, the details of the object light brown to give it a brighter look, the ends of it sharp as thorns that can pierce with ease. Your spear stares up at you on your kitchen table as you stare down at it in shock, almost reluctant to pick it up. I thought Dottore broke it... you think, turning the spear over in your hands, not to mention this one is fitted exactly like the one I had. Whoever bought this for me, Hu Tao or Childe- must have paid a hefty sum for this spear- gone through the trouble of making another one at Master Zhang's. I'll have to properly thank them... you take your new spear and put it next to your also relatively new Prototype Starglitter from Mondstadt.

You come back to the grey box that held your spear, and you pick it up to store it in the cardboard box for the time being, but you notice something white, rolled up at the far end of the grey box. You reach in and your fingers are met with the familiar feeling of paper, and you pull it out, and indeed, it is a letter. The vaguely friendly scrawl of rushed handwriting in black ink- a few words crossed out from here and there, but overall, neatly written. You scan through the letter, little dashes of adrenaline and happiness from reading the letter growing, an untamable smile on your face.

Dearest Y/N,

I've written this letter in advance, so I have no idea when you'll find it and read it. But it is Childe, and by the time you've read this, I'm guessing I'll be back in Snezhnaya... but again, I'm writing this in advance in a carriage, so I have no idea. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier that I wouldn't have much time to spend with you- hopefully, you can understand. Even if it wasn't for long, I am still very satisfied that I got to see you again after that couple of months of waiting.

In this carriage, I sit here, surrounded by a place I do not recognize, but the wind is frigid, just like in Snezhnaya, where cold is the only word as a Snezhnayan that I truly understood. But you have taught me so much more that I hope I will learn to grasp more tightly as time goes on, as I get older. Do you remember when we first met? When to you, in the beginning, I was nothing more than a very troublesome, annoying Harbinger who you wanted to get off your tail?

That was very melancholic and probably very boring, so let's get to the big question that you have. You're probably wondering where that spear came from, and yes, you've probably figured it out, but I ordered that spear to be made and shipped to Liyue so when I got there I could give it to you. Don't worry, you do not need to pay me back, I've got plenty of Mora, and that was out of kindness. I had Master Zhang take my order a couple weeks ago, and if you wanted to pay me back, you'd be disgusted at the price... don't try it.

When things are clearer in Snezhnaya when the Fatui have stopped chasing my tail after all the deeds I've done with you, for example, killing Signora- I'll let you know you can come to Snezhnaya. Teucer tells me 'thanks to the nice lady for not having big brother take Mr. Cyclops away,' though I understand that was purely on my part.

You grin at the image of Teucer running around the house with Mr. Cyclops, Tonia making her Borscht, Anthon tidying up the house for Childe's return.

In this book, we are the characters on different journeys. The end of this chapter is not the conclusion- this is not where we are destined to end, and I have a feeling that our paths will intertwine once more. I still miss you so much, and when I am on my way back home, you will surely be on my mind.

And at the end of his letter:

Yours,

Ajax

Notes:

OH MY GOD THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT READ THIS FROM BEGINNING TO END! its been such a journey writing this- it's been so fun! there's so many people who pushed me till the very end and EXPLODED (lmao) when I told them there was a chapter update! THANK ALL OF U AGAIN!