Chapter Text
Childe stretched out his arms while walking, satisfied with yet another day of exhilarating fights with his “partner”, Aether. He walked a few paces ahead of the traveler who was eyeing the him from behind. It took Aether some convincing to allow the Harbinger to join him in his travels. And by convincing, he meant persistently appearing wherever Aether decided to go. He’ll wave at him with gleeful smile and invite himself to whatever activities the traveler had for the rest of the day.
Aether eventually understood that the spread of the Fatui in Liyue is greater than he had imagined despite already experiencing their cunning nature during the incident with Rex Lapis. And so, to avoid any more impulsive actions from Childe, Aether decided it was better to have him tag along where he can keep an eye on him.
Sensing the stare he was getting, Childe looked back to the traveler while still walking forward. “Is my back that attractive to you? Let me tell you, partner.” He spun around to face Aether, still not stopping on his tracks. He held fingers to his chin.
“The front view is even better than the back.” He grinned, showing a dazzlingly white set of teeth.
“Please be quiet.” Aether sighed at Childe’s words, wondering how much energy he had left to be this cheerful.
They had just finished another bounty quest for Liyue Harbor which involved slaying a nest of Stonehide Lawachurls. He knew that Childe’s power was great, being backed by his own peerless fighting skills, his adept use of his vision, and the mysterious power of delusions. But some sort of fatigue has to come over him all the same, Aether thought to himself.
Looking back to the road ahead, Aether noticed that they’ve already reached the tiny village along the path going to Liyue Harbor. Scanning the nearby houses from a distance, it seems like there’s barely anyone inside at the moment.
“This place… is pretty lonely, isn’t it?” Aether said.
Childe turned his back once more, looking ahead. He slowed his steps until he matched Aether’s pace. “I guess so. Liyue Harbor is nearby and I would guess that’s where the residents go to make their living.”
Aether nods in silent agreement. He glanced to the left side of the tiny village, noticing a woman quietly tending to a shop beside a house. Aether couldn’t make out the exact wares she had, but judging from the stacks on display, she has not made much sales today if at all.
“Oh! My back!”
A strained voice snapped Aether out of his thoughts. He looks around to check the source and discovered Childe pointing to the right side of the road where an old man was standing.
“Want to check what’s going on?” A grinning Childe asked ahead of the traveler. Despite the short duration of their travels together, the Harbinger already understood the helpful nature of his partner. Truth be told, Childe is almost tempted to label him a saint aside from being his buddy. He let Aether sprint ahead of him, staring at the back of the boy who loved carrying the burden of others.
“Hello.” Aether started. The simple greeting turned the old man’s attention to him and he stopped trying to soothe his back, likely from an ache.
“Oh. Anything I can do for you, lad?” The old man stammered, turning to face Aether. It was then that he noticed a stack of large wooden boxes laid on the ground behind the man.
He looked at the old man, “I’m actually wondering if you needed help instead.” He gestured a hand to the boxes nearby. The old man turned back to look at the items. “Ah yes. I’ve had these boxes sent here through a slime balloon.” He hung his head and sighed. “I did not realize that delivery was the extent of the transporter’s part of the deal.”
Childe walked to Aether’s side, crossing his arms together. “You should have read their service contract carefully, Gramps.” He looked at the boxes on the ground and hummed in disdain. “If it ain’t part of the contract, those guys won’t provide you any charity even at your age.”
“Childe.” Aether elbowed the Harbinger on his side, making him flinch.
“I’m just telling him the truth! No need to get physical.” Childe whined while he rubbed the spot where he got hit.
Aether ignored the feigned cries of hurt and asked the old man once more. “Can we help you with this, uncle?” The question made the man think, glancing at the box for a moment before eyeing the two of them in consideration.
He nods after a moment of silence. “If you would be so kind, yes. I’d like to you to help me plant these flowers.”
Aether blinked in confusion. “Plant… flowers?”
The old man crouched in an attempt to open the lid of the box. Before he can finish, Childe was already in front of the box, easily lifting off the cover. After setting it aside, the three men stared at the contents of the box.
These look familiar. Aether thought. After some pondering, he recalled the errand he had with Zhongli regarding similar-looking flowers.
White petals blooming beautifully underneath larger blue ones. The flower held a pleasant fragrance that was not overpowering. Instead, it’s scent is something that one may not get tired of no matter how many times you encounter it. However, the ones that filled the box have yet to bloom.
“These here are called Glaze Lilies. An ancient, yet common flower blooming all around Liyue.” The old man explained, a smile on his face. Childe observed the amount on the box and noticed that there are even more underneath the one he had opened.
“You sure have a lot of them.” He noted. Judging by the number on a single box, an old man would definitely have difficulties getting them all planted down.
He can barely even open the lid of a box. Childe grimaced. He found it distasteful to leave an old man to handle this by himself. Contract or no contract, the familial sense in the Harbinger wouldn’t have let this occur. He sighed at the cold nature of some of the people in Liyue.
The old man chuckled despite his predicament. “Yes. I wanted to fill the free space of my lot with these flowers.” Looking around, there is indeed an open area to plant the flowers. Tools were also found nearby, showing that the man had prepared beforehand to fulfill the task. “However, it appears my age has decided to work against me this time around.” He sighed to himself.
“We’ll be glad to help you out, uncle.” Aether smiled at the old man.
Childe looked at Aether. “We?” His rib was met with another jab from Aether’s elbow. “I was kidding!” He leaned towards the traveler, circling an arm on his shoulder. “You can count on us, Gramps. We’ll take the job.”
“Really?” The man exclaimed, in awe of the two saviors of his predicament. “I’m grateful for your help.”
While Childe made cheerful banter with the happy old man whom introduced himself as Uncle Liu, Aether found himself staring silently at the Harbinger. He’s seen how dangerous and cunning he can be. Yet at the sight of his carefree smile and voice, Aether unknowingly brought his own lips to a small smile. He thought for a moment that having Childe around wasn’t bad at all.
Aether felt the hand on his shoulder hold him closer.
With a quick puff of breath, Childe laid down the last box of flowers besides the others, neatly arranged in a line. Now that he looked at them more, he can only imagine there’s at least a thousand lilies in total for them to plant. Perhaps even more, but he tries not to dwell on it any further.
“Having regrets tagging along with me?” Aether looked up to Childe, a wry smile on his face while holding some tools for their work. Indeed, what he had in mind when he asked to join the traveler was a constant stream of encounters with strong opponents and not a flower-planting galore.
But thinking about it, the battle-hungry part of Childe didn’t seem to mind the change of pace at all. He shook his head and gave a hearty laugh.
“Surprisingly, even flower-planting becomes fun if I do it with you, partner~”
Aether’s eye widened slightly at the remark. He didn’t expect the other to be roped into mundane requests like this one. He tried to look at Childe’s face for any sign of lie or sarcasm, but failed to find a single trace.
“Does it?”
He felt his face heat up and quickly turned away to hide himself. He berates himself for being so easily affected by such remarks. To make someone feel happy with their presence. Before coming to Teyvat, he never thought it would be something that could happen. In every other world him and Lumine have been, his sister had always been the ray of joy to the ones they have met. He had been satisfied staying the shadow to her light.
Lumine.
As his thoughts began spiraling down to his memories, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He jolted slightly from the touch before turning his face up to meet Childe whose own face was inches away from his.
“You seemed distracted, partner.” Without breaking his gaze, he took the tools from Aether before distancing himself. He didn’t wait for a reply and went back to work.
“If you’re not feeling well, just tell me alright?” The carefree tone Childe had should have made him unconvincing, yet Aether believed his words regardless. He covered his face with one hand, hiding the redness that crept up to his cheeks.
Meanwhile, Uncle Liu was working on digging up holes for the lilies. It was a simple enough task, but due to his aged body, even doing so took considerable effort out of him. He doesn’t mind the difficulty, however. What matters is creating a beautiful field of flowers to appreciate every morning. Something that would impress any passerby and the few left living in the tiny village.
“You alright, Gramps?” Uncle Liu looked up and saw Childe looking at his work while holding more tools. After a brief struggle, the old man stood up from a crouch and responded.
“I’m fine, young man. Let’s keep working.”
Childe noticed the old man’s labored breath and sweat from simply digging up the ground. It was easy to see that the task took a lot out of them. Yet for some reason, the joy in the man’s eyes was unyielding.
“Just wondering. Any particular reason why you wanted to plant all these Glaze Lilies?”
The Harbinger wondered. Surely Uncle Liu didn’t do all this just to have a pretty front yard. And to pick Glaze Lilies of all types of flowers which weren’t particularly pretty when not in bloom. Childe questions the specific reason for the choice in his head. He noticed the uncertain look on the old man’s face, perhaps wondering if he should divulge his reasons.
“What’s wrong?” Aether walked up to the other two men during the conversation and noticed distress on Uncle Liu’s face. “Did you do something, Childe?” He glared at the Harbinger, suspecting him to have said something bothersome.
“No, no, no. I just asked a question!” He denied the accusation. “Sorry Gramps. You don’t have to say anything if you-”
“I wanted her to see them.” Uncle Liu interjected.
Aether and Childe’s attention were caught by his voice. “’Her’?” The Fatui repeated.
Uncle Liu sighed before looking at the two boys respectively. “I didn’t intend to tell my story to you, but since you’re helping me, ” He looked past them, eyeing the house on the other side of the road, “I suppose you deserve a proper explanation.”
He turned his back from the two boys as he began to recall his memories. “You see now, these Glaze Lilies are the favorite flower of someone I hold dear.”
The wind started to blow, as if intent on listening in to the tales of the old man. “Her name is Shuzhi, a girl that lived just next door to my own. ” He chuckled, “I remember looking through the window, hoping to get a glimpse of her and find myself surprised to see her returning the look.”
Aether and Childe remained silent, not wanting to distract from his story.
“Ah. Her smile back then was quite radiant, you see. Something that could spark so much joy so effortlessly.”
A moment passed without any further words. Childe decided to ask a question. “And these flowers,” He gestured to the boxes containing them. “Are they in memory of her?”
Uncle Liu faced the two boys in a surprisingly quick turn. “Oh goodness, no! She’s not dead, you dunce!”
The sudden outburst took the Harbinger off-guard and he brought his hands up as if the old man is capable of harm. “Sorry, Gramps!” He apologized quickly, having no desire to upset an old man. Behind him, he heard a barely audible chuckle. Looking to his side, he barely catches Aether putting his hand down from his face, no doubt hiding the fact that he laughed at the other.
“Kids these days just adore anything tragic, I swear.” Uncle Liu huffed.
Aether stepped forward. “If these aren’t in memory of her, then what are they for?”
The old man looked at to the other side of the road once more. This time, Aether and Childe had followed his gaze, finally noticing where they were looking at.
“The shop owner?” Aether recalled the old lady tending to a shop beside a house.
The old man’s voice became gentler in response. “Yes. All these years, she’s still right there on the other side of this road.” He sighed. “Even though barely anyone stops over to buy anything.”
“So this is a gift to your wife?” Childe tilted his head, wondering if he got it correctly.
Uncle Liu glared at Childe in response, a flustered expression on his face. “What do you mean ‘wife’? She’s not my wife!”
Confusion filled the harbinger’s own expression. “B-but you sound so in love with her, I was sure she would have been your wife already.” Finding out the old man’s reasons didn’t clear their wonder. Instead, more questions arose out of the reveal.
“You don’t seriously think I told her how I felt, did you?” Uncle Liu’s face turned to one of shock. “A man straight up admitting his feelings for someone else…” He sighed. “Kids these days surely have no sense of shame.”
“Since you haven’t even told her how you felt, why still do all these for her then?” Aether took his turn to ask. Childe nodded, wondering about that himself.
The old man returned his gaze to the flowers, a serene expression replacing the shock. “It’s because I still do love her, even if I couldn’t tell her how I felt.”
Childe sighed. The old man was definitely being roundabout with his expression of love. Personally, Childe was a simple man. He couldn’t imagine mulling so much over a problem.
Actually. Childe looked to his side. Maybe there’s one problem I still am thinking about even now.
He continued to stare at Aether, waiting for what he had to say. Aside from typical inquiries and general offers to help, the traveler has not been personally invested on the conversations they’ve had so far.
Just as Childe thought that he had nothing else to add, Aether’s lips parted to speak again.
“Is that really alright to you, though?” Aether asked. His eyes were downcast, making it difficult to see them. “You still have a chance and yet you won’t grab it because of shame?” There was a tremble on his voice that got Childe’s attention. The tone sounded different than anything he’s heard from Aether so far.
Is he angry? Childe wondered. He couldn’t think of any reason why it would affect the traveler. But his strong sense of hearing definitely did not betray him. The quiver on Aether’s voice meant something.
Uncle Liu gave Aether a solemn smile. “Love isn’t as simple as you’d want it to be, I’m afraid.”
Aether finally lifted his head to face the old man and Childe noticed a slight crease on his forehead alongside a thin smile. He voice was stable, unlike when he asked the old man earlier, yet it didn’t sound sincere.
“It’s quite troublesome, isn’t it?”
A moment of silence passed before Uncle Liu decided it was time to return to work. Right on cue, the two continued their own tasks to help out. The mood definitely became heavier than they expected it to be. Even Childe could sense the uneasiness that came out of their conversation.
What surprised him was that rather than the old man, he felt a heavier unease surrounding Aether whom hid it well with his typical neutral expression.
A couple of hours have already passed since Uncle Liu revealed the reason for his actions. Besides some idle chatter, the three men focused their energy on planting as much of the flowers as they can. Eventually, they have settled into a comfortable pace that made the work more bearable. However, there was one glaring issue.
“H-hey…”
Aether took another Glaze Lily and laid it to the ground, closing the dirt hole securely to keep it in place. He’s already taken his cape off, not wanting to further dirty the cloth as it touches the soil.
“Hey!”
The old man began digging another hole to hold another flower. He sat on small stool by Aether’s suggestion, hoping it alleviates the burden on his back.
“Hello? Am I on mute or what?”
Childe waved at the old man. Upon getting noticed, the Harbinger then walked towards Aether to grab his attention. Bright golden eyes met his own, looking at him in wonder. He offered a hand to the traveler, pulling him up from his crouched position.
“Is something wrong?” Aether tilted his head, wondering what’s the issue at hand. Childe found himself blinking at the gesture. He noted that his partner’s mood seemed to have improved from a few hours ago. After a moment, he regained his composure and pointed to the sky.
“I know there’s a lot of work to be done, but the sun is going to boil us at this rate.”
Aether and Uncle Liu tried to gaze up, only to be met by the strong rays of light which made them look away. It has been hours since they’ve started working on planting the Glaze Lilies. Realizing that a single box contains an enormous pile of flowers, the two helpers were worried that they’d wilt before they were done. However, Uncle Liu dispelled their worries, telling them that the flower can last for a couple of days or so without sustenance from the soil before wilting.
Even so, all of them understood that they can’t afford to take it easy and kept a steady pace of digging, planting, and securing the plants. While Childe is certainly able to keep going, he’d rather not push beyond their collective limits.
“We’ve made good progress.” Aether smiled while looking at the patch of flowers that slowly grew larger through their efforts. “I think we’re due for a quick breather.”
The two stared at Uncle Liu and both noticed that his gaze was somewhere else. The pair followed the gaze and realized he was looking at the shop across the road again.
Aether looked at Childe the same moment the other turned to face him. “Should we get something to eat?” He smiled while asking. Childe once again confirmed to himself that his partner looked more upbeat than earlier.
“Yeah. Maybe the shop over there has something good.” He pointed to his back where Shuzhi’s shop was located. “Gramps, you want to go with us?”
The old man was taken aback, as if offended. “No, no, no. You two go and eat there if you want. I’ll be right here resting.”
Childe sighed at the flustered old man. Somehow, the man’s antics were more tiring that dealing with his younger siblings.
They’re much simpler to understand as well. He nodded to himself.
“Let’s go, Childe!” He heard Aether’s voice a distance behind him. He turns around and sprints towards the boy, waving a quick “we’ll be back” to the old man.
Upon catching up, Childe noticed that Aether still hasn’t worn his cape, exposing more of his neck and back. Both of them were kissed by beads of sweat, slowly trickling downward. The Harbinger saw faint redness on Aether’s neck, likely from the heat of the sun while they worked. He looked down to avoid staring any further, but instead found his eyes lingering on the sweat of Aether’s lower back which dipped slowly into his pants.
Childe’s breath hitched in response to the view.
“Is there something on my back?” Aether asked while he tried to look at it himself.
The Harbinger gulped and shook his head, turning up his smile to appear innocent. “Your back’s fine.” He made the mistake of glancing once more, only to see the line of his back further dripping with sweat. “Really, really fine.”
“I see.” The traveler simply said, turning his attention back in front of him.
They eventually reached the shop across the road where they found an old lady standing behind crates with wrapped mattresses stacked upon each other.
“Hello there. Can I interest you in a lovely-” She stopped midway her sales talk, leaning forward a bit to look at the pair better. “Oh my. You two must be the one helping Liu out, aren’t you?”
The two looked at each other, both surprised she knew of them. Aether took the initiative to ask the woman.
“You know about us?”
Shuzhi laughed softly before nodding. “My eyes may not be sharp anymore, but I saw you two clearly helping out that old man on the other side.” Her eyes softened when she looked at the direction where Uncle Liu was. “I’d like to thank you for helping that old fool out.”
Aether shook his head, smiling back at the woman. “We couldn’t possibly leave him to work alone, after all. We’re glad to help out.”
The old woman sighed. “What is he up to this time? Planting all those flowers at his old age.” Despite her words, her eyes glittered with happiness. “Though, I would admit that they are quite beautiful.”
“We’re glad you like them. After all, you- mmph?” Childe was cut off by Aether’s gloveless hands which sealed his lips tightly. He stared down at the traveler who had to tiptoe just to reach out to cover his mouth.
Quiet. Aether’s eyes glinted the message clearly. Childe held up both hands in understanding. Shuzhi chuckled at their antics.
“You two are quite a pair, aren’t you?” She puts her hands on her back. “But you don’t need to hide anything. I’m already well aware of Liu’s intentions.”
Aether dropped the hand from Childe’s mouth, eyes wide from surprise. “You do?”
Shuzhi slowly walked out of her shop stall and went towards the nearby house, gesturing to a table with chairs. “You must be hungry, am I right? We can talk while you eat.”