Chapter Text
"…. Performing… pavilion… traveler…?" Childe looked up from the paperwork in front of him at the mention of the traveler. He could only hear bits of what the person was saying, unsure how their whispers were able to get through his office. That coupled with the mountain of paperwork in front of him was preventing him from hearing the entire thing properly but he was sure he heard the mention of the traveler and… performing?
Sure, it's been a while since he last saw her, and their weekly spar became a monthly spar before she eventually stopped showing up after that happened. Childe stood up, his legs aching from having sat down for almost the whole day. Nevermind the paperwork, those can definitely wait. It's not like he doesn't have his subordinates to delegate those tasks too. "Did they mention the traveler? Like that traveler?" he asked Ekaterina, who immediately stopped, placing down another batch of papers for Childe on his table, and looked back at her boss, seemingly surprised that he's still asking about her.
"Yeah, people have been talking about the traveler performing at Liu Su's pavilion later tonight." She stated, matter-of-factly. Childe furrowed his brows, seemingly confused about this confirmation, "Lumine, performing? What the hell is she up to?" He tried to control his expression and did his best to keep a neutral face while also thinking about what to do about this performance thing. He turned back to Ekaterina who was just about to leave his office "Did they mention what kind of performance this might be?" She shrugged, "I'm not sure, but they said she's performing with a bard, so maybe-"
"She's singing," he mumbled, and they were both surprised as he blurted out his thoughts. It was sort of an open secret between the two of them that he's pretty close with the traveler, but he was also sure that Ekaterina has already noticed that he was trying to… distance himself from the traveler, if that's one way to put it.
"Yeah, I guess." Ekaterina nodded to him before going out of his office and closing the door. "What exactly are you up to, Lumi?" He sighed, trying to gauge the paperwork on his table, tall, intimidating, and never-ending, very much like the mountains of Liyue.
It was already late in the afternoon when Childe finished a third of his backlogs. He desperately needed a break, itching to do something, fight something. It has been a while since he had fought anyone strong enough, not like any of the enemies he has been facing in Liyue had anything against her. She challenged him in more ways than one -- she's cunning, graceful, and wonderfully skilled. Her years of experience show in her swordsmanship. She have brought back the thrill of fighting someone who's actually strong enough to be considered a challenge, and Childe longed to spar with her.
Not like he only misses that aspect of her.
He sat back on his chair, sighing, how could he have messed this up that badly? One moment, she was just there and the next thing he knew, she was gone. He felt this sudden pang of emptiness, sadness taking over him as he realized how much he actually misses her.
"Maybe I'll watch the show tonight. It wouldn't hurt to see how she was doing, right?", he nodded to himself. He will only need to hide away from her as he's unsure how she would take it to see him again. Not after he broke her trust, again.
The redhead found himself walking along the busy streets of Liyue, people still giving him weird looks, even more so after the Osial incident. He knew it was totally understandable, and it doesn't help that he looks different from the rest of the people in Liyue. Not that the Fatui ever bothered trying to hide their identities, but somehow Childe found himself wishing he would be able to blend in just for tonight.
He placed his red scarf closer to his neck, the cold breeze of the sea blew through him as he walked along the harbor. He was still undecided whether to watch his old comrade sing with the bard. "I really miss hearing your voice Lumi," he thought to himself. As he walked around, he listened as the crowds of people start moving towards the pavilion, excitedly talking about the performances happening tonight.
"Liu Su is performing with his duo!"
"That's not even the highlight, Ming! The Saviour of Liyue will also be singing!"
"No way, the blonde traveler?!"
"Yes, they said she's singing about…"
He tried approaching where the chatter was coming from, and just as he was about to hear what they heard about her performance, they were gone. "Crap," he mumbles, now he was left no choice but to actually go up the venue and listen to her performance, making a mental note to just try his best to hide among the crowd.
As he went up the stairs to the pavilion, he saw the sheer volume of people who actually came to listen to tonight's performances. He wondered if it's because of her popularity or the bard's that actually brought this many people. His thoughts were quickly dismissed as he heard the lady introduce the next duo.
"Honorary Knight and the Bard!"
He saw the green-haired bard enter the stage followed by the blonde girl. He always knew she was petite, seemingly fragile despite her strength. But seeing her this far, he realized how much tinier she actually is. He watched as she held her instrument close to her, also noticing her knees buckling as she was nervously watching the bard introduce her. "She's so fierce in battle, but crowds make her this nervous," he chuckled to himself.
"Ehem ehem, good evening, Liyue Harbor! My name is Venti, and I'm sure a lot of you know the beautiful lady beside me tonight"
"Is she blushing?" She looked away from this bastard who just called her beautiful. He felt something stir within him, hands clenching into a fist -- fuck the crowd around him, he wanted to fight this vomit-haired-child.
The bard continues, giggling, "I will let the Savior of Liyue, the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt take it away."
Is the bastard actually looking his way?
He was about to stand up and throw this gremlin down the sea when she started playing her instrument, plucking the strings carefully as if testing the waters. She looked ethereal -- she was glowing as music flowed throughout the pavilion. The crowd was silenced as they watched this outlander play something magical with a seemingly common instrument.
He stared at her, her focus seemed to be somewhere else completely. "She's probably too occupied with her nervousness to even notice me," Childe whispered to himself as he felt himself slowly relax, deciding to enjoy her music instead.
I walked through the door with you, the air was cold
But something about it felt like home somehow
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house
And you've still got it in your drawer, even now
To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Childe's ocean blue eyes widened as he looked up to Lumine, who seemed to also be looking his way. There's no way she's looking at him, almost like she's seeing through him. "Is this what this song will be about, Lumi?" He felt his cheeks get warmer by the minute, suddenly not needing the scarf around his neck.
He stopped as he was about to remove the piece of clothing around his neck, Lumine continued to sing.
And I was thinking on the drive down, any time now
He's gonna say it's love, you never called it what it was
His ears were now the same color as his hair, feeling like everyone in the room was looking at him. He bowed his head and was about to excuse himself, but something inside of him wanted to see the end of this. He wanted to hear what she actually had to say. He was being pulled to stay.
And there we are again when nobody had to know
You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath
Emotions were flooding his senses -- some familiar, some more foreign. What is this heaviness welling up around his chest? This new -- no, not entirely new -- feeling, it's something he hasn't felt in years. There's hurt, anger, regret -- the song successfully resonated these to her audience, but even more so to Childe. Trying to pinpoint the unfamiliar feeling overwhelming him, he looked back to ethereal performer in front.
And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?
"It did, Lumi," the redhead shook his head. It pained him even to see her trying so hard to contain her tears, looking up occasionally in an attempt to stop them from falling down. It didn't help that he caused her this much agony.
Guilt. Of course, he has not felt guilt in his years of being a Harbinger, but he actually felt guilty for having betrayed her, not once, but twice now.
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it
She has shared with him before, on one of the many nights they spent watching the stars after their sparring session, how much singing meant to her and Aether before. This time though, she's not singing about their journeys and travels. She was sharing her story of trusting, finally opening up her heart to someone, loving, only for her to be wounded and burned.
Shaken from the honesty and the emotions that she poured out in this song, Childe almost missed the moment Lumine suddenly started looking around, as if looking for familiar faces. He wanted to hug her, so bad, but he also knew that he needed to get out of there before things go bad. He immediately ran out of the pavilion to avoid being caught.
Chest heavy, he stopped running the soonest he got out of the area. He needed to breathe, walking as fast as he could back to his office in the Northland Bank. He sought comfort behind the mountains of paperwork, sitting back in his chair, he sighed, realizing that he has been holding his breath for a while.
That was the longest 10 minutes of his life.