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Childe grumbled to himself as he stepped foot in Mondstadt. It was a beautiful city that, under different circumstances, Childe would be ecstatic to visit and learn all of its secrets, but, alas, he was stuck here, glaring at the uneven cobblestone. He kicked a stray rock like a petulant child as he cursed the Tsaritsa in his head, glad she didn’t have the ability to read minds.
Being carted off away from Liyue to Mondstadt so abruptly meant Childe’s time with a certain Wangsheng funeral consultant was cut short. He wasn’t even given a notice before he got a letter from La Signora to change his plans and take the next ship to Mondstadt. Something about swapping places, as she was headed to Liyue after taking Barbatos’s gnosis. The Fatui still needed a high-standing official to watch the Knights of Favonius, and the Tsaritsa handed the easiest job to the lowest ranking Harbinger.
Ignoring the jab to his pride, Childe huffed and packed his things, seeing Zhongli for one last time. He melted into the man’s touch and loving words as he wished he had more time with his boyfriend.
Childe blushed as he recalled the events of that night but was jolted out of his thoughts as a man pushed past him. He gave the stranger a nasty side glare, as he walked up the road. Reaching the Goth Grand Hotel, Viktor debriefed on everything they had gathered from Mondstadt so far. Childe half-heartedly listened, as all that ran through his mind was how boring this was. He was given scrapes. This wasn’t even an actual mission that involved archons or gnoses or fighting , Childe felt his eye twitch.
He was escorted over to the Knights of Favonius building, where he met the Acting Grand Master, Jean or whatever. Childe knew he should be an upstanding Harbinger and be honoured that Tsaritsa trusted him to do her bidding, but he could only take so much of the fake greetings and tense stares.
He assured Jean that he was not here for anything dubious, which he could only partially promise. It wasn’t his goal in Mondstadt to cause chaos, but if it happens, Childe let his thought trail off.
Jean gave him a strained smile, “Well, I’m glad to hear that.” She turned around to gesture to the other Knights of Favonius.
“Here is Lisa, she’s our librarian, so if you need anything from our library, she is the one to go to,” Jean had pointed to a brunette with an almost comically large purple hat that reminded him of a certain Harbinger. He had to strengthen his poker face at the thought.
“Next is Kaeya, our Cavalry Captain,” Jean continued on, but Childe wasn’t paying attention. He held eye contact with Kaeya. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, looking as bored as Childe. Something about the cocky way he carried himself piqued Childe’s interest. He was certainly attractive; Childe wasn’t going to lie to himself. The man’s sparkling blue eye met his own as he felt a chill run down his back. Kaeya smirked, almost in triumph, as Childe had to force himself to look away.
Jean finished, turning back to Childe. “I hope you enjoy your stay in Mondstadt,” Jean reached her hand over her heart, “It is the Knights of Favonius’ job to ensure all envoys feel amicable and welcomed.”
“Of course,” Childe smiled, his eyes not betraying anything about the racing thoughts he had on their Cavalry Captain. “Thank you for allowing me to meet you all, Acting Grand Master,” he reached out an hand, and Jean took it in for a short handshake. He nodded and waved at the rest before turning around and walking out.
He didn’t get far before a voice calling out to him stopped him. Childe whipped his head back to see Kaeya walking towards him. Briefly confused before he put a grin on his face, he watched as Kaeya caught up to him.
“So,” Kaeya started, his voice low and smooth, “Another Harbinger, huh?”
Childe lightly laughed, although he would be deaf to not notice the tension in his voice. “Yep, another one, don’t worry, I’m not here to leave you archonless again,” he smiled being under the pretense of being diplomatic.
“Of course,” Kaeya said, overly sweet, “How about we share a drink? Call it strengthening our nations’ relationship.” Kaeya offered, as he stared at Childe. His one visible eye pierced straight through Childe. It was mirroring their first interaction, if not worse, as Childe felt as if he was being judged by all of the Seven at the same time.
He realised his throat had gone dry, and that Kaeya was still waiting for a response. “Uh,” Childe stammered, “Sure, I have time.”
Kaeya took this as permission to stand so close to Childe but not enough to touch as they walked down to Angel’s Share. Definitely intentional as Childe couldn’t bring himself to look at Kaeya in the eye as the man spoke something about Mondstadt, and their wine. Childe had to remember that he had Zhongli waiting for him in Liyue, and to focus on the ground rather than how prettily Kaeya’s lips move or how low cut his shirt goes.
They reached the bar, as Kaeya guided Childe to a chair with a hand on the small of his back. The sun had set a while ago, which meant the bar was filling up quickly. They took the corner of the bar counter just for the facade of feeling secluded. Kaeya hailed the bartender over, chatting him up.
“No Diluc?” Kaeya asked, sounding a bit relieved. Childe heard about Diluc, as everyone who was someone heard of Mondstadt’s Dawn Winery, though he wondered why Kaeya had asked that. Kaeya looked over at Childe, who was scrunching his face in thought, “Just some family drama, don’t worry about it.”
“No, Sir Kaeya,” the bartender responded, cleaning a cup, “He’s out for the night, so he won’t be here.”
“Good,” Kaeya simply answered, before ordering two ‘Death After Noons.’ Childe tilted his head, about to ask what the drink was, but Kaeya responded for him. “A drink, it’s good, you trust my taste in alcohol, don’t you?”
Kaeya talked to Childe as if they were familiar with each other. It wasn’t something Childe would’ve expected from a Knight of Favonius, someone who should be hating every and any Fatui member. It’s not that Childe minded, as it helped him relax around Kaeya, a possibly foolish decision. Not that Childe ever cared about consequences.
The bartender brought out their drinks, setting two cups in front of them. “Thanks, Charles,” Kaeya nodded to the bartender, before turning in his chair to face Childe. He had purposefully posed in a way that put his chest in full view. Childe had to distract himself with his drink so as to not blatantly stare at Kaeya’s body.
Zhongli. Remember Zhongli. Childe reprimanded himself in his head.
“Hmm, Mondstadt sure knows how to make a good drink,” Childe appraised, as Kaeya let his eyes flick up and down Childe’s body, lingering on his visible abdomen. Childe pretended to not notice.
“How is it like in Snezhnaya?” Kaeya raised an eyebrow, taking a sip from his drink. Maybe he over-exaggerates his gulp when he notices Childe staring at his Adam’s apple.
“Hard liquor,” Childe shrugged, “Drinking is like a sport to us over there. What’s the point of caring about tastes if it goes down in one go?”
Kaeya laughed at that. The noise was soft and pretty to Childe’s ears, and oh. Kaeya was looking at him through his eyelashes. They kept eye contact as Childe felt compelled to observe how Kaeya’s eye twinkled under the bar lighting. His dark blue hair framed his face beautifully, and his lips were wet with liquor. Alas, all good things had come to an end when Kaeya looked away. Childe realised the blush creeping up on his cheeks, and the guilt festering in the bottom of his stomach was starting to grow.
He was too sober for this, so he quickly downed his drink and ordered another one.
“What’s the rush?” Kaeya noted how hurriedly Childe finished his cup, “We’ve got all night.”
“Ah,” Childe coughed as he tried to get the alcohol go down, “Nothing. Just, old habits, y’know, from Snezhnaya and all.”
Kaeya smiled. This was all too much a familiar dance with him. He wasn’t above using his looks to get what he wanted, because he knew it always worked. Call it a reconnaissance mission, because who better to get information from than an actual Fatui Harbinger in the flesh? Kaeya gave Childe a glance from the side, noticing how the man awkwardly fumbled with his second glass. And then his third, and this his fourth, and this kept going until Kaeya was sure Childe wouldn’t be able to get home on his own.
He would be lying if he wasn’t a little drunk himself, but he has done this for so long that he is used to the feeling of a few too many drinks in him. The patrons at the bar slowly file out until its just him and Childe and a few others at the tables.
Childe swayed his head, eventually finding balance on Kaeya’s chest. “Warm,” Childe slurred, putting a hand on top of Kaeya, “Feels like...hmm.”
Kaeya raised an eyebrow at that. “Feels like what?” He chuckled, amused. He allowed Childe to entertain himself with whatever he was doing. The ginger let his palms roam over Kaeya’s clothes, petting the fur on his shoulder.
“Zh…” Childe trailed off, deciding the fur was a good place to slam his face into. Kaeya’s eye twitched at the jolt to his shoulder. “Zhongli,” Childe’s voice was muffled into Kaeya’s shoulder, but Kaeya heard it clearly. He wasn’t entirely familiar with who Zhongli was, but he paid it no mind.
Childe paused in his movements, before quickly sitting back up. The action was too fast for him, so his head immediately fell down onto the counter. He was frowning with his cheek pushed up onto the wood. The pout would’ve been cute if Kaeya cared enough about the man.
Childe felt a wave of emotions hit him; his eyes starting to tear up. Kaeya was now stuck with an inconsolable drunkard. He sighed, a lazy smile plastered on his face. Childe was now sputtering about a man Kaeya had no clue who. He could probably guess that Childe was a little bit more than into this “Zhongli.” Kaeya laughed as he smoothed Childe’s back.
“Who’s this Zhongli?” Kaeya decided to ask. Childe’s face lit up as he went back to sitting upright.
“Oh man,” Childe started, being starry-eyed drunk gushing over a boy. “He’s my, uh,” Childe covered his face when he continued, embarrassed, “B...b-boyfriend.”
Kaeya’s face dropped into surprised, “Boyfriend?”
“Yeah, and I feel bad,” Childe went back to pouting like a little kid.
“Now why’s that?”
“Because I think you’re prettier than him.”
The silence was deafening to both of them. While Childe realised he said that out loud, Kaeya also realised he had Childe right exactly where he wanted him.
“Don’t worry,” Kaeya went back to comforting as Childe bursted into tears again, “It’s okay. He doesn’t know you said that. It’s fine.”
“Yeah, but-”
“I said don’t worry, maybe we should take you back to your room,” Kaeya stood up, giving Childe his hand. He took it, getting up on wobbly legs. Childe leaned into Kaeya’s side, as the other man bid a goodbye to Charles.
The door opened, and they met with a cool night’s air. It felt nice compared to how stuffy the bar had became. Childe let out an exhale.
“You okay?” Kaeya checked up, and it almost sounded caring to Childe. He could only nod, as he clung tighter to Kaeya. The other man had his arm snaked around his waist, securing Childe to his side. Kaeya felt even colder than the air around him, and his flushed face dug even deeper to Kaeya’s shoulder.
They were carefully making their way down the uneven cobbled roads. Childe cussed everytime he nearly tripped on a rock. His head was spinning, trying to focus on the ground ahead of him.
“Hey, we’re almost there,” Kaeya whispered into Childe’s ear. Childe blinked slowly, feeling goosebumps run down his back.
“Oh, yeah?” Childe dumbly replied, as Kaeya opened the door to the Goth Grand Hotel.
The two shuffled inside, as Kaeya asked him for his room number.
“Uhh,” Childe blanked, “I don’t...know.”
Kaeya shook his head, as he talked to the receptionist. Childe didn’t pay attention to anything but Kaeya. The way his jaw moved with every word. His hair swaying with every minute gesture of his head. He looked down at his exposed chest and wondered how the rest looked. Maybe he shouldn’t be thinking about this when he knew he had a boyfriend waiting for him, or in public, when the receptionist took a shocked glance at Childe, who slowly moved his fingers down into Kaeya’s shirt.
Kaeya tightened his smile, as he grabbed Childe’s fingers out and moved both of them towards his room. Childe shivered as Kaeya’s hand went from his waist and down to his hip. The door closed behind him, and Kaeya pushed him against it. He stared at Childe, as Childe was stuck fixating on how heavenly Kaeya looked. The moonlight hit from behind him, making Kaeya look like he was glowing, and it took everything in Childe to not drop to his knees.
“I’m not reading this wrong, right?” Kaeya double checked, his breath chilly on the other man’s cheeks.
“Of course not,” Childe whispered, letting his hand grip the sides of Kaeya’s shoulders.
Kaeya grinned as he kissed under Childe’s jaw, “How will Zhongli feel about this?”
Ah. Childe froze. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the hold Kaeya had over him, but he threw caution out of the window a long time ago. “I’ll think about him later,” Childe replied, taking Kaeya by the jaw and meeting his lips.
Tomorrow, Kaeya will wake up first. Leaving Childe alone in an empty bed, Kaeya leaves knowing more about the Fatui Harbinger and furthering his plans.
Tomorrow, Childe will wake up with a throbbing headache. Remembering the events of last night, he’ll be wracked with guilt, wondering how he’s going to face Zhongli after this.