i wrote this chapter while waiting for my resin to get to 40 so i can fight the hydro hypostasis again...anything for ayato my beloved

Kaeya and I exited his room and walked down the hall of Cryo House as we made our way to see Katheryne. Some time had passed since I went up to talk to him, so more students were awake and walking around. I kept my eye out for Signora, knowing that she had a Cryo Vision. I was sure she wouldn't try anything within the dorms and in front of so many people, but I also didn't want to be taken by surprise.

"It's still early." Kaeya stretched his arms. "But I have no doubt Katheryne will be working in her office. The day after a monster raid makes for a hefty amount of paperwork."

Thinking about my last interaction with Katheryne, she was very good at her job when it came to maintaining confidentiality. "She's very tight-lipped. It might be difficult to get her to tell us anything of value."

Kaeya tsked. "Ah-ah, you're forgetting that I can be very persuasive."

We made our way down the multiple flights of stairs before reaching the foyer and leaving the building. The morning air was crisp, and there was little to no sign that any disturbance occurred. The restoration crew must have been working well into the night. Still, just because there was no evidence of the attack, it didn't mean that it never happened. An air of unease hung around the students walking toward the dining hall for breakfast, and I kept up my guard in case a hilichurl popped out from the bushes.

"I almost forgot about breakfast." Kaeya snapped his fingers. "Who knows how long our interrogation will take? We can't go convincing anyone on an empty stomach, now can we?"

I considered it. As much as I wanted answers from Katheryne, I was still hungry. "We could stop by for a bite."

"How lovely. I get to enjoy a meal with you in addition to our stolen moments together solving the case. With how much time you've spent with Childe recently, I was beginning to think our time together would be coming to an end soon."

"That's ridiculous. He and I only—"

"Eat every single meal together?" Kaeya supplied with a smirk. "In addition to the date you two shared in town. I must say, how clever of him to entertain you with something you've never done before. In that case, why don't I introduce you to a new experience as well?"

I felt my face heat at the suggestion. "We didn't go on a date. It was just fishing."

"Is that what you think? I'd like to hear what he has to say on the matter."

If Kaeya were to ask Childe, he would get the same response. A date was something done between two people who actually cared deeply for each other. Obviously, I care about all the friends that I've made at this school. As infuriatingly dense as he was on the morality level, I still cared about Childe's well-being. As for him, I was certain he only saw himself in the spotlight. The only reason why he took me fishing in the first place was to…to make me feel better and relieve some stress. I suppose when put that way…no. Childe just wanted to fish. He likes fishing. Whether or not I came along with him wouldn't have made a difference. It wasn't a date. He only cared about himself.

Childe had made it clear to me yesterday that he only cared about power. He had no feelings for me beyond competitiveness.

"In every way, you're perfect."

Those words Childe spoke echoed in my mind. I was so upset with him at that moment, I hadn't gotten the chance to ask what he meant by that. Because it was Childe, I could only assume he was referencing my fighting spirit, right?

"I want to keep you by my side."

When we had been looking for Timmie in the forest, he refused to split up our search. Regardless of if it would have helped us find the kid sooner, he didn't want me to leave him. No matter from which angle I looked at it, that had nothing to do with fighting spirit.

"You're my partner, no one else's."

From that day on, Childe had made a point to be close to me, even if it meant playing nice with my Pyro friends during meals. There was no reason for him to do that. Our daily meals had no effect on sparring matches or strength in general. It was quality time together that I enjoyed, that I would miss.

Lastly, my mind flashed back to the gutted look Childe wore when I called him Tartaglia. The name felt wrong in my mouth, yet I said it anyway because that's what he deserved. If he wanted to act so removed from the rest of the student population, then there was no sense in maintaining any familiarity. And yet, there was something in his eyes, or rather, something that died in them when I said "Tartaglia." When I erased our relationship. What was our relationship?

"I can practically see the gears turning in your head." Kaeya interrupted the stream of thoughts rushing through my mind. "I take it that you've finally realized the man is head-over-heels?"

I shook my head. "That can't be."

"And why is that?" He opened his mouth to say more before hesitating and closing it. Kaeya cleared his throat, "Could it be that you don't feel the same way about him?"

"I…" my mind fought to keep up with my racing mind. Kaeya said that Childe was head-over-heels. In love? With me? How he came to that conclusion without knowing any details, I wasn't sure. How I felt about the possible, highly unlikely idea that Childe had fallen for me, I wasn't sure. How I felt about Childe…it may have hurt me just as much as it hurt him when I left him in the infirmary. "I can't allow myself to have feelings for someone like him."

Right. Yes. Childe has decided to walk down a path only wide enough for himself.

Kaeya made an amused sound. "That was quite the hesitation. Though, I'm satisfied with your rather vague response. For now."

"For now?"

"Ah, we've made it to the dining hall." He changed the subject. "I suppose I should make myself scarce before your redhead aims an arrow at my chest?"

I rolled my eyes. "He wouldn't do that."

"Maybe not, but you already have."

I've since learned to gloss over Kaeya's nonsense, no matter how much it made my heart flutter. "Childe and I won't be eating together anymore."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well then," Kaeya opened the doors for me and we walked closer to the aroma of food. "Mind if I join you for breakfast?"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you normally sit with the student council? Besides, I think the energy at the Pyro table may be too chaotic for your liking."

"Anywhere you are is to my liking."

Bennett animatedly told the story of how he got bested by a hilichurl. According to him, it wasn't just any hilichurl. This one was unusually powerful and had massive muscles.

"I'm telling you guys, it was super strong!" He waved his arms around. "When you think of a hilichurl, what kind of weapon does it have?"

"A club?" Xiangling suggested.

Amber added, "A shield."

"Bow," I snapped my fingers.

Kaeya nibbled on his Fruity Skewer and said, "Torch."

"Hm, maybe their fists?" Thoma hummed.

Bennett proceeded to slam both of his hands on the table. Leaning forward, he said, "This hilichurl had a briefcase!"

"You—" Xiangling tried to hold back her laughter. "I'm sorry, but you got beat up by a hilichurl wielding a briefcase? There's no way."

Bennett crossed his arms and sat back down. "I'm serious. It opened up the briefcase and started throwing all sorts of things at me. Dolls, cabbages, mysterious gems. They really hurt, too."

"That's how you broke your leg?" Amber gasped. "You got hit by a cabbage? It must have been super raw."

"No, no," Bennett sighed. "My leg got messed up after the unusual hilichurl started running at me and using the briefcase itself as a weapon. Its swings were crazy! I don't know what the briefcase was made of, but it packed a heavy punch. I was lucky Eula came to save me in time, otherwise, I might have found myself in a hilichurl cabbage soup."

Xiangling wrinkled her nose. "I'm sure even hilichurl cabbage soup would taste better than that…concoction you've mixed up."

"Hey!" Bennett protested and pulled his bowl close. "It's nutrition over taste."

"Listen, I'm all for a culinary adventure, but I have to draw the line at combining Apple Cider with Bamboo Shoot Soup," she sighed.

I nodded in agreement. "You could always just consume them separately. I can't imagine what a carbonated soup tastes like."

"Wanna try?" He held the bowl up to me, eyes sparkling.

"Ah," I held up my hands. "No, thanks."

Thoma laughed at Bennett's antics and went back to eating his Black-Back Perch Stew. The items on the menu today were all recovery dishes, and I suspected it was to help everyone bounce back somehow. I went with a simple Tea Break Pancake, it was breakfast time after all. Xiangling had grabbed a few Rice Buns and Mint Jelly, while Amber happily sat with two Outrider's Champion Steaks.

"I gotta say," Bennett said in between slurps. "It's weird now, not having Childe sit with us. Where did he go?"

All eyes turned to me, and I tried not to show any discomfort. "I don't think he's going to be joining us anymore. After the attack, he's decided that getting stronger is more important than spending time with us regular people."

Amber frowned. "Really? That's too bad. I was beginning to look forward to the stories he'd tell about Snezhnaya. That place seems so unreal."

"Remember that rhyme he told us about?" Bennett grinned. "You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life. You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. As scary as that sounds, I thought it was a fun idea."

Xiangling nodded. "Childe in a nutshell. He seemed to be this super mean, tough guy. Based on what the other students were saying about Tartaglia I thought he'd be a bully. He's not so bad, though."

My stomach twisted and all appetite left me as my friends continued to shed a positive light on Childe. They were wrong. He was a bad guy. All those stories he'd tell at this table were just stories, not an offering of friendship.

"We would have never known about his soft side if you didn't introduce us." Amber looked at me from across the table. "It's cool to have such an experienced student around! He seems especially approachable whenever you're close to him."

"Then it's unfortunate he won't be sitting with us anymore." I forced a smile and tried to think of some way to steer the conversation in another direction. Kaeya sat on my left, with an amused expression plastered on his face. I had no doubt he was enjoying this. On my right was Thoma. He hadn't said much for the entire meal, and then I was hit with a reminder. "Oh, right! Thoma, you told me that you had something to say yesterday. What was it?"

I had caught him mid-bite, and he choked on the spoonful of stew. Startled, I reached over to help pat him on the back until he got it under control.

"Ah, that," he cleared his throat and rubbed at his neck. "Well, you see, I was hoping I could tell you about it in private."

"What's wrong?" Kaeya chuckled. This entire time, Kaeya mostly sat on the sidelines of our conversation, only pitching in a word or two every now and then. His sudden interest and sly grin made me suspicious. "Your face seems to be turning an alarming shade of red, Thoma. Is the stew too spicy for you?"

Xiangling jumped in. "It shouldn't be! That dish only requires one Jueyen Chili pepper. Your spice tolerance isn't that low, is it? I would have thought all of us Pyro Vision holders had good control of heat."

"N-No," Thoma laughed sheepishly. "It's not too spicy for me. As a matter of fact, I love throwing in all kinds of spicy ingredients into hot pot."

"Then, could you be blushing because of whatever you wish to tell Lumine? If you think it's embarrassing, I can assure you we all won't laugh or see you any differently." The mischievous glint in Kaeya's eye was in full force.

"If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't have to." I cast Kaeya a warning look.

Kaeya shrugged. "We're all friends here, are we not?"

"Well," Thoma looked at him. "You did just get here. Sitting at this table just once doesn't necessarily mean you've become a friend of ours. Of course, as a member of the student council, I appreciate all that you've done to help keep the student body informed and satisfied. I just think we need more time to get to know each other first."

"We all have our secrets," Kaeya said. "Feel free to keep them. I can't help but put two-and-two together."

Thoma stilled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, you know." He waved a hand between the three of us, not divulging any more information. "Just when I thought Childe was dealt with, too."

I was about to ask Kaeya exactly what he meant by that when Jean walked up to the table. She looked stressed, more than usual, and held a thick folder in hand. Kaeya noticed her at the same time as me, and I watched as his shoulders slumped slightly.

"Jean, how was your breakfast?"

"I need you to come with me," she responded, flipping through the folder. "We have a student council meeting happening in," Jean checked her watch. "two minutes ago. We have much to discuss pertaining to the events of yesterday and how we are to move forward."

"The work never ends," he sighed and stood slowly. "It was interesting eating with you all today. I cannot promise it'll happen again, but I was entertained."

Wait, Kaeya couldn't go. If he was leaving for the student council meeting, he won't get a chance to confront Katheryne with me. I needed his persuasiveness if I were to get her to spare even a single detail, and I worried if seeing her on my own would be productive at all. Kaeya must have sensed my dilemma, for he leaned close to whisper in my ear.

"I'll be there. Don't worry."

I nodded and watched as he left the dining hall with Jean. She was already pulling papers from the folder and handing them to Kaeya for review. Once they had left, we all went back to finishing breakfast. Bennett visibly gagged on his mixture.

"See!" Xiangling jumped. "You can barely stomach it."

His face pinched, color fading away. "Anything. For. Nutrition."

"Please," Thoma laughed, clutching his side. "Don't push yourself. Ah, this takes me back to when I would create the most monstrous of combinations for a hot pot meal."

Amber set down her glass of water. "Ooh, you did say something earlier about hot pot."

"It's something I enjoy often."

I nudged his shoulder with mine. "Why is this the first I'm hearing of this? You've never mentioned hot pot before. I'd love to try it sometime."

"Really?" He set down his spoon. "There's a restaurant in the town that specializes in a lot of Teyvat's specialties. They even have a hot pot area set up."

"I've been meaning to go there," I smiled. "There's so much talk about this restaurant, but things have been so busy lately. There was never the time."

"We can," Thoma cleared his throat and rubbed at his neck once more. "We can go together if you would like. Of course, when your schedule opens up. I'd be happy to take you."

"I would love that, Thoma."

Bennett chimed in. "Now that I think about it, I've never had hot pot either. Maybe I could—"

"Bennett," Amber suddenly pulled at his arm. "Was there anything else interesting about the unusual hilichurl? In case it shows up again in the future, we should start brainstorming ways to take it down."

"What a great idea." Bennett nodded in earnest. "Let me think, there was a really strange marking on its mask. Oh! It was also decked out in weird hilichurl jewelry."

He dived back into the unusual hilichurl story, and how Eula ultimately took care of it without even having to use her Vision. I continued to eat my pancakes. They were delicious as always, but after all this talking, they had gotten to be a bit dry.

"Syrup?" Thoma offered, pulling a bottle of syrup from nowhere.

I still had pancake in my mouth, so all I could do was nod. He chuckled with a smile that lifted his entire face, drizzling the syrup and stopping after the perfect amount had glazed over my plate.

I swallowed the mouthful. "Thank you."

"Of course." His shoulder brushed mine as he set the bottle down. "So, about that hot pot. When would be a good day for you? If it's just us, I can wait till then to tell you what I wanted to say."

"How about this weekend? I'll tell you what I have to say, too."

Despite the dangers of too many people knowing what I can do, lest the Abyss Order caught on, I still wanted Thoma to know. I trusted him as much as I trusted Kaeya, and holding this secret from him any longer felt wrong to me.

He smiled softly. "That would be perfect."

Students were already beginning to clear the dining hall as breakfast came to an end. I tried to prolong my meal for as long as possible, prodding at the leftover pancake pieces. If I stalled long enough, Kaeya would have time to get through the student council meeting and meet me at Katheryne's office. We would confront her then and get answers. I was sure of it.