Title: The Thrill of the Chase
A/N: For Abyssal Hearts zine! Childe/Kaeya banter is way too flirty and sly for me to keep up but I tried.
Summary: Kaeya had one job: sneak into Inazuma Unlimited's headquarters and steal their latest product information. The only problem is that his spy rival Childe's after the same thing.
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Inazuma Unlimited's headquarters were big. No, they were more than that—it was hard to describe the tall, imposing building with a single word. The bottom half of the building had floor-length lilac windows, with delicate flowers stenciled in eye-catching patterns. The blooms wound around the glass until they reached the halfway point, at which black-tinted windows like thunder clouds took over.
Kaeya whistled low as he took in the sight before him. "Ostentatious, huh?"
"Threatening," Lumine disagreed, tugging on her tight black dress. Kaeya had to give it to Lisa; she really knew how to turn their rough-and-tumble coworker into a captivating beauty. Even Lumine's usual flower hair-clip had been replaced with a more fragile-looking lotus bloom.
"Don't tear it before we get the job done." Kaeya adjusted his tie slightly. It had been a while since he'd had to dress so formally and the three-piece felt suffocating. Hand in his pocket, he offered his arm. "Ready?"
Pulling her short skirt one last time, Lumine sighed before slipping her hand into the crook of his arm. "As ready as I ever will be. You're certain we'll find out about my brother here?"
"Not entirely, but this is your best chance at investigating." Kaeya smiled genially, nodding at other couples as he led her to the front doors. "Inazuma doesn't open its doors every day and without a company badge, you can't enter. If it weren't for their charity gala, we'd have to get in the hard way."
Lumine raised a brow. "And they'll just let us in now?"
"Lisa and I prepared a few things in advance for today." Kaeya glanced at her and smirked. "It's not often we get a chance to snoop in the company's records."
"So you're after something." Lumine plastered on a fake smile as they reached security.
"Obviously." Kaeya wore a matching grin as he held out a gold-foiled envelope. "I trust everything's in order?"
A bald man in a black suit took the envelope. Pulling out the invitation, he glanced at his phone to compare the name. Satisfied, he returned the invitation. "Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Ragnvindr."
Lumine's grip on his arm tightened, her jaw clenching as she tried to hold her composure. It was only when they were safely ushered inside that she finally released the shaky laugh she was holding. She directed them to an alcove in the lobby, away from prying eyes as the other guests headed straight to the company's ballroom.
When they were certain no one was around, she turned to him and asked, "And Diluc?"
"Knows nothing. You want to break the news to him, honey, or should I?" Kaeya smirked, cupping her cheek and winking.
"Oh, he'll kill you." Lumine chortled as she slipped out of his grasp. "You better enjoy this party; it might be your last."
"Planning to anyways. I've always liked mixing business and pleasure." Kaeya raked a hand through his hair, ruffling it up just so. People liked a rogue; it was hard to resist a rakish charm. "Two hours?"
"Is that really enough to investigate a building this big?" Lumine asked doubtfully, looking up at the large, arching ceiling. The lobby alone was massive, almost three stories tall.
"We don't need the whole building. Just the key rooms we talked about before." Kaeya studied her, taking in her nervous lip-bite, the way she clenched her fists, the soft intake of breath. "Relax, I've never failed a mission."
"Never?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"Never." Kaeya shrugged. "Guess I'm lucky that way."
"Luck had nothing to do with it." She stared at him blankly before laughing. "Two hours. I'll find you in the ballroom?"
"I'll save you a champagne glass." Kaeya glanced at his wrist, making note of the time. "Just like Cinderella, we'll disappear at midnight."
"Dramatic much?" Lumine breathed in, breathed out, and then nodded. "Good luck."
And with that, she disappeared down a side hallway.
It was a good division of work, if Kaeya said so himself. And he would, because it was a great division of work. Lumine had always been terrible at talking to others and extracting info. It's a problem he's never had.
Running a hand through his hair, Kaeya walked to the center of the lobby, following the small signs guiding him to the ballroom on the other side of the building. A second set of security yanked open the heavy doors, unleashing a cacophony of sound.
Inside, couples twirled across the dance floor while business partners loitered around the fringes, talking to one another about future profits. There were so many potential targets, Kaeya didn't know where to start. Perhaps he should go after the gaudiest wealthy; they usually had a hard time hiding their accomplishments, so eager to prove their standing in society.
Or perhaps—
Kaeya spotted a familiar red. He stopped next to the buffet, turning subtly to confirm his suspicions.
There, standing on the other end of the room, was Childe. Or Tartaglia, as he was often called. He looked slightly bored as he flirted with a guest, his collar loose and rumpled. So Snezhnaya was here too.
Perhaps Inazuma had something valuable hidden after all.
Childe looked up and Kaeya realized a split second too late that he had been staring. Worse, that he had been caught staring—the redhead's eyes widened and the man smirked before making a beeline toward him.
There went any chance of a quiet night.
-x-
Childe was bored. Beyond bored. What was the Inazuma company's motto again? Eternity? He was bored to eternity and beyond.
When the Tsaritsa ordered him to infiltrate Inazuma, he had originally planned to sneak in. The building was tall, he could parachute down or climb the walls. If he cut a hole through an obscure window, he could be in and out without anyone noticing. It could be fun.
What ended up happening instead was Signora forcing him to attend the ball instead, telling him to not make a mess for once. Like she was one to talk—Mondstadt Incorporated was still on edge after she'd stolen their latest development.
He sighed, looking over the rim of his champagne glass. The people here were rich and thirsty—in more ways than one. It wouldn't be all that hard to extract something out of them. Hell, he could take one home with him, make it a night's fun before reporting back. It was easy, but everything about this job was easy.
Maybe he could take the tall, dark, and handsome one by the buffet. With his coiffed blue hair and black patch that gave him a rugge—
Childe almost choked on his drink. Kaeya. He was ogling Kaeya of all people. What was Mondstadt's top spy doing here?
His lips curled into a smirk as he grabbed another glass from a passing server. Childe sauntered over, his smile growing wider as Kaeya gave him a tired look. Whatever the answer, this would definitely make the night interesting. The last time they'd clashed, it'd ended in a draw.
How would he fare this time?
"Sooo," Childe drawled when he got close enough, holding out the second drink. "What brings a man like you to a place like this?"
"I could ask the same of you," Kaeya replied breezily, accepting the drink. He stared at the clear, yellow-tinted champagne before taking a small sip. "The Tsaritsa's working you over time?"
"Well, this isn't the worst place to work, now is it?" Childe chuckled lightly, glancing around the room for any of Kaeya's 'friends'. From what he knew of Mondstadt, they rarely worked alone. "Parties are fun."
"Mmm, that I can agree." Kaeya's tone turned sly, his words a littler sharper as he added, "It's a good place to cut loose. Though, you don't need an excuse to do that, do you?"
Childe flinched internally. He had an inkling about what Kaeya meant. Feigning ignorance, he lied, "I take my work seriously."
"My, so you seriously tried to burn Liyue's headquarters?" Kaeya pressed. His innocent expression was deceiving.
Childe resisted the urge to pout. He'd half-forgotten Lumine worked for them—no wonder he knew of their fight at the Liyue Co-op. Still, he could recover from this. It was always a cat and mouse game with Kaeya; it's what made things interesting.
"How about I show you how seriously I work?" Childe ran a hand through his hair. Better to just take the direct approach now. "I take it we're here for the same thing."
"Mondstadt doesn't steal technology," Kaeya replied tartly. He took another sip and watched Childe over the rim of his glass. "We don't need to."
"And that's how you get robbed," Childe pointed out. "But we're both after info, and we're both here."
"You're not proposing a team up, are you?" Kaeya pressed a hand to his chest, mocking fake shock. "And here I thought you were a lone wolf."
Childe snorted. "That's boring. A competition, however, is much more fun. Let's see who gets Inazuma's secrets first."
Kaeya eyed him, considering the matter. Then he sighed and nodded. "It's not like I can stop you."
"Conceding defeat already?" Childe teased.
"On the contrary." As a server passed by, Kaeya swapped his empty glass for a new one. "Don't come crying when you're empty handed."
And with a wink, he disappeared into the crowd.
-x-
There were few things Kaeya excelled at more than intelligence gathering. The businesspeople gathered here, the lawyers and CEOs and investors, were ordinary people with ordinary vices. It didn't take more than a few drinks here, a few flirts there, and perhaps a discreet kiss or two to get what he wanted out of them.
And what he wanted was information. Not information about the company's owner, about Baal and her iron fist, but about an ordinary coworker.
Childe had already disappeared, no doubt heading up to Baal's office. There would certainly be important documents up there, potential prototypes, all sorts of data that was certainly worth a mint with the right buyer.
But unlike Snezhnaya, Mondstadt wasn't after simple financial gain. There had been rumours of whistle-blowing, of dirty secrets the company would prefer to keep under wraps. Their inside source had talked about a fake employee, a Beelzebul. The kind of employee no one really saw but all assumed existed. The kind of person all sorts of documents, finances, and more could disappear into.
And after an hour of plying his trade, Kaeya knew exactly where to look: the third floor, the fifth cubicle in the second row. Beelzebul's 'desk', not that it ever got used.
Kaeya glanced at his watch as he hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He still had an hour left. Plenty of time to get there and back before Lumine—he paused at the thought. Lumine would check Baal's office. Childe would be tearing the place apart. There was a real possibility of Liyue 2.0 occurring upstairs. He'd have to make this quick.
The office floor was dark and empty. Kaeya quickly scanned the room, confirming no guards or overworking employees were around before he entered. Beelzebul's desk was next to a pillar, an easy enough marker to spot and move to.
Her desk was nondescript, an utterly ordinary appearance in a sea of mediocrity. A single computer, like everyone else's. An unergonomic chair that didn't quite spin right. A keyboard with crumbs on it from 'lunches' at the desk. It was almost too ordinary. There weren't photos of friends and family, nothing personal to indicate a person sat there. Even the drawers were filled with mundane papers, the usual company guides and code of conduct.
"What are you looking for here?" Childe asked.
Startled, Kaeya banged his knee on the drawer in his bid to turn around. Muffling a curse, he scowled at the man standing behind him, waving nonchalantly as though they were still on that dance floor and not in the middle of company espionage.
"What are you doing here?" Kaeya asked bluntly, rubbing his knee. It throbbed lightly,
"You know me." Childe shrugged, pushing past him to examine the drawer. "I'm lazy, so I'd rather just follow you than do any of the work myself."
"Lazy? Is that what they call it these days?" Kaeya took a deep breath, recentering himself. He should have noticed Childe earlier, but then again, if investigations were his forte, the physical side was Childe's. There were some things that couldn't be overcome even with prep.
"Something like that." Childe idly flipped through the papers. "So, what do you have here?"
There was little point in hiding it now; Childe wasn't an idiot. "Why don't you look and find out?" Kaeya suggested as he slid out the computer's keyboard.
Well, he didn't have to make it easy.
Childe gave him a grumpy look. "Why so secretive?" he complained even as he dug through the papers.
"I thought this was a competition? Unless…" Kaeya smiled innocently. "You're giving up?"
The only response he got back was a dismissive snort.
The computer was locked, but this wasn't Kaeya's first hack. He could hear Childe rifle through papers next to him, hear the way the drawers slid open and closed, the knocking and checks for a false bottom or other surprise.
"Give me a little space," Childe asked as he poked his head under the desk. There was just a little more than enough room for him to fit his head and shoulders in. A soft rap told Kaeya he was checking for a secret compartment.
"If you wanted space, you shouldn't have followed me,' Kaeya retorted, rolling his eyes when Childe gently smacked his leg.
Soon, the only noise in the room was the soft hum of a computer, the quiet tap of a keyboard, and a grumpy grunt whenever Childe adjusted his position. As expected, the desktop was as clean as a whistle, containing only the bare bones applications the company provided. There weren't any encrypted or hidden files of note.
"I think I found something," Childe murmured. There was a ripping sound as he yanked on the carpet.
"What?" Kaeya lowered his head, already formulating plans on how to get it away from Childe.
Childe grunted. After a few seconds, he sat up, holding up a small object. "A USB."
"Anyone here?" a stranger called out and Kaeya dropped to the floor as a guard entered the room.
-x-
Childe could say with confidence he had experienced a lot of strange things during his work but being trapped in a cubicle with Kaeya had not been one of them. They crouched next to each other, side by side as they waited with bated breath for the guard to do his rounds.
The room had been dark, his flashlight barely bright enough to notice. Childe resisted the urge to click his tongue, even more so to run out and knock out the interloper. The Tsaritsa had asked for delicacy this time, and she'd be angry if he made a commotion twice in a quarter.
Well, that and it was hard to move with Kaeya pressed so close to him. Their legs were almost glued to each other, their shoulders bumping as they adjusted their positions. Kaeya's long hair tickled his chin whenever Kaeya craned his head to check the guard.
In another situation, Childe could make a joke about the whole thing, but now he was trapped with the silence and his thoughts.
And oh, did he have thoughts.
Especially when Kaeya wobbled slightly, almost falling into his lap before straightening up. Would the Tsaritsa get angry if he had a one-night stand with the enemy? Maybe if he disguised it as a research gathering—
"He's gone," Kaeya whispered, carefully straightening. He glanced around the room before nodding. "Let's get out."
"Aw, it's over already?" Childe slipped on his usual smirk as he clambered to his feet. He smirked. "Well, I guess I won the competition?"
"And yet, you have no idea what I found." Kaeya sauntered off, his hips swaying slightly, and Childe was certain that was on purpose.
The trip down was as uneventful as the trip up, and it wasn't long before they were on the lobby floor, surrounded by guests as they started to head home for the night. In the distance, Childe spotted Lumine, her eyes fierce as she regarded him.
Kaeya waved. "That's my cue to leave."
"You didn't find anything, did you?" Childe guessed, smirking when Kaeya didn't say anything. "I knew it!"
"I wouldn't say nothing," Kaeya corrected, tugging on Childe's tie and pulling him down. He leaned closer, his breath ghosting Childe's face. When Childe shuddered, his sly smile grew wider. "You certainly react interestingly."
And then, he let go, turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd. Lumine gave Childe a nod before slipping her arm through his.
For a moment, it was all Childe could do to stare at the man.
Then he patted his pocket and silently swore. The USB was gone.
The Tsaritsa was going to kill him.