Archive of Our Own

In the beginning, it was a coat.

Childe wasn’t actually sure at first, though. It could have been ripped, and it got thrown into the trash, or the cleaning crew lost it, or maybe he let Lumine borrow it and he forgot it with her. But there was definitely one less coat in his closet, which didn’t really mean anything, since he barely used those in the heat of Liyue.

He did ask around, though. Between bites of some spicy-looking dumpling, Lumine said that the only article of his clothing she had was a scarf he had used as a tourniquet on Klee during their last battle. 

She told him that maybe the cleaning people of his hotel were giving it a more thorough wash, something they’d do in the name of something he didn’t understand because Lumine don’t speak with your mouth full!, and Childe decided to drop the topic and dig in before Paimon ate everything.

On the next day, the coat mysteriously reappeared back at his closet, smelling like silk flowers.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Then, it was a pillowcase.

That had been an odd one, and he was almost sure it was downstairs washing, but after a week and some bedsheet changes, it did not return. He did ask a maid, who coldly said something about “utmost care” and “honor to clients”, which just made him drop the question and leave.

He wasn’t particularly fond of it or anything, it had just been a slightly rustic pillowcase he got from Scaramouche as a mock gift, but that made him remember about that one pillow he loved at his babushka’s house. 

It became a topic of conversation with Hu Tao, during one of their expeditions to find more Violetgrasses, and she laughed and told him it must have been an omen for him to visit the funeral parlor soon, which got her a water splash that soon turned into a mock battle.

And once again, the pillowcase was back at his bedroom on the very next day, but with the smell of Glaze Lilies this time.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

And a while later, some pants went missing. Not any pants, his pajama pants.

How did he notice? Well, it’s fairly easy to notice that something’s amiss when you open the door to get your breakfast and the maid blushes and screams about how you’re a pervert, don’t you think?

Beidou laughed her ass off at his depoiment, almost falling off the chair. She was the most obvious, but everyone was stifling giggles at his poor predicament. “Stolen right off your body!” She repeated again, snorting between sips of beer. 

The white-haired exorcist told him that it didn’t sound like a ghost, but maybe he should take a charm just in case. The Guhua boy, on the other hand, just giggled and said it would not work for that specific type of haunting, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

That pair of pants took longer to return, and thus a pattern started.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Every Tuesday, like clockwork, a piece of clothing would go amiss. What or whoever was taking them had a knack for those that he had used more, but never got the ones with blood or dirt on it. And after a week, they’d be back in his closet, pristine and smelling somehow like something out of a Liyue’s local market.

It was the oddest thing to have a pair of gloves that smelled like noctilous jades, but he had seen and done weirder things, thus he couldn’t complain.

The haunting became a popular topic, with bets on the article to be stolen and the smell it would have later making money run among the rambunctious group. Xingqiu got most of the smells right, while Lumine and Hu Tao were banned after two weeks for getting all of them right and “not making the game fun for everyone else”, per Venti’s saying. 

Even the people of Mondstadt joined in occasionally, when their quests with the traveler mixed both. The bard loved the bets, and looked like he was having the time of his life whenever he talked about the smells, which made Childe want to push him off a cliff.

But what or whom was stealing it, that was something no one knew.

He went with it, of course, it wasn’t harming anyone and he had more clothes than needed. But after the fifth time he woke up without pants, and had to watch the maid bring the manager up to call him a pervert, he declared another bet with a much higher prize.

“Whoever finds out who or what is stealing my clothes gets a million mora.”

It was a mad run. Some needed the money, like Venti or the astrologist, while others had a competitive spirit and just wanted to show off their investigative prowess. Of the few that didn’t participate, like Qiqi (“I would forget the person… before I could tell you.”) and Hu Tao (“Sorry, I’m really trying to get this negotiation with the Adventurer’s Guild going!”), the most surprising one was the swordsman currently sharing some baos with him.

“I do like mysteries, Childe.” He bit into another bao, this one filled with pork and some sweet sauce, and dabbed the napkin in his mouth. Childe didn’t even look up at him, choosing to fill up his mouth with the spicy noodles that Xiangling had made specially for him. “But this one is too easy, and I think it would be fun to let everyone else scramble around to find them.”

Giving him an ugly glare, which only got him an innocent smile in exchange, and decided to drop the conversation so he could throw a stick of spicy carrot at the boy, just to tease him.

-_-_-_-_-_-

The results were unfruitful. 

Mona had a massive headache for a week, Venti had gone missing for three days and returned with a black eye, Beidou dropped out because of a problem in her ship, Fishcl nursed a sprained heel because of a tripping accident in a rooftop close to Childe’s window and Kaeya had the answer, or maybe he didn't and was just being a tease, but he wasn’t talking either way.

And of course, they had all gotten an earful from both the hotel manager, who said that one more issue and Childe was kicked out, and from Lumine, about endangering themselves and bringing trouble to other guests, which was followed by some forced farming against some pissed-off Vishaps.

Yet Childe was no closer to finding out what the hell was happening to his clothes. At this point he was simply leaving them folded on a chair near the window, to avoid any hassles.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Lumine did offer him a penny for his thoughts, during one of their breaks of solitude. “Aren’t you bothered by someone invading your room, taking your clothes, and making you look like a fool?” 

Her question came off so suddenly it gave him whiplash, and the arrow that flew from his bow missed his target and embedded itself on a tree trunk, scaring the boar away. “Ah, sorry, you’re focused.”

“Not a problem.” The harbinger answered, making a dagger out of water and aiming it at a randomly flying bird, hitting the mark and sending it spiraling into a bunch of trees. “I should be more bothered about this, shouldn’t I?” His question was rhetorical, but such nuances of conversation flew over Lumine’s head.

“You should, but you also should be bothered by showing off your navel or bringing back a God to destroy a city, yet you aren’t.” He gave her a pointed look, and the blonde just shrugged her shoulders, deciding to focus again on her Handbook. “What makes you comfortable with the concept of someone taking your stuff with no permission?”

That question was more detailed, and he left his position atop a tree, giving up on collecting any more meat and walking towards where Lumine sat. “Well, they do bring it back. It’s always clean, pressed and good-smelling, so they have some sense of care at least.” 

He dusted the trunk a bit, sitting down with the girl and making shapes out of his hydro vision. “Like a slow motion cleaning service.” The traveler joked, throwing her book inside her bag and picking up a serving of grilled tiger fish. “Yeah, yeah, that and they don’t wake me up”. Childe gladly took one, thanking the girl, and started eating it as she went on.

“But it’s someone invading your room, doesn’t that bother you?” Before he could open his mouth to answer, she kept on talking. “Your instincts are sharp, I remember trying to get your mask when you were asleep and you almost broke my hand.” He cringed at the memory, remembering how the battle of him, sleepy as all hell, and a red-faced Chongyun almost ended up with both of them thrown overboard from the Crux by a drunk and protective Ningguang.

“Yeah… I just don’t know, Lumi. My instincts don’t act like it’s a threat to me.” In fact, the days the swiper appeared he almost felt like he slept better, with no wild dreams or terrifying nightmares bothering him. But he wasn’t telling her that.

“Do you think it’s an omega?” And he didn’t have to, apparently. She raised her hands, asking him to not slap her upside the head, and kept on talking. “According to the book I’ve read, they could be stealing your clothes for the purpose of nesting. And maybe the scent is from scent-hiding oil and-” 

“And they’re embarrassed of people knowing they like the kid who almost destroyed Liyue?” He decided to cut her off, and her pressed lips showed he hit the bullseye. Sighing, he decided to throw his stick into a pyro flower, hitting it and burning up the wooden pick. 

“Well, if this person is embarrassed, sooner or later they’ll stop. And if they don’t… I’ll deal with it when the time comes.” They dusted their clothes and set off, ready to hunt some abyss mages. “Besides, not like knowing it’s an omega will help me in this damn city.”

-_-_-_-_-_-

Here’s a fun interlude.

Back at his homeland, people were more honest about their status. Alpha, Beta or Omega, all of them were equally respected, and you could say what you were and no one would touch or hurt you because;

1) Snezhnayans were polite people. Cold to strangers, yes, but every parent knew their duty was to raise good citizens who respected their fellows. And everyone kept those ideals to heart, loving their closed ones and even others to a certain degree, as to not die a painful death, all because; 

2) Their Tsaritza had no mercy for those things. Childe could remember the first time he saw Her Grace, actually, because the whole village was gathered at her orders to watch an Alpha, who had abused an Omega to the point of the unspeakable, be frozen from the inside out. She arrived, did her duty as the Archon of Love, and left, leaving a massive impression on her people.

Those two concepts were held at his heart, side by side with the admiration he held for the Tsaritza. So the Harbinger could be known as a jerk, and a dunderhead, and a bloodlusting beast, but the one thing he would never be was an asshole because of status. 

He had, actually, gotten into two or three (or fifty) fistfights to remind some alphas of their place before becoming a Fatui, and when he became a Harbinger, he made sure his goons kept up the good work of beating the snot out of every would-be abuser.

But in the East, it was different. Talking about it was taboo. Saying your status was the same as dropping your pants in the middle of the Qixing Square. Asking people about their status was worse than stealing. And stopping an asshole alpha from injuring an innocent beta? If not for Keqing and her agreement with his ideals, he would have spent a month rotting in a Milelith prison.

So everyone knew that he was an Alpha, something he had proudly said to the table filled with Lumine’s friends, before realizing some people were blushing, others were offended because they were not interested in him, and a few were purple from laughing. That’s when Lumine told him about the deal there, and he just shrugged it and said it was his culture, they could die mad or deal with it.

On the other hand, he could only guess some. Lumine had told him that she and Paimon had no such thing going on in their bodies. Keqing said she was a beta, proudly, and that the custom of hiding it should be erased and some plus three hours of talking about how it affected Liyue. Lisa had winked at him and told him she was an Alpha, but if you want, I got some experimental potions to make you a beta and- he cut her off there, unwilling to hear the rest.

Even trying to get their scent was fruitless. People used oils and ointments to hide their natural smells, something common and widespread in their culture, and the redhead spent a week with his nose itching after he tried to guess Xingqiu’s status and got a blast of Silk Flowers up his nostrils. The asshole still laughed about it every now and then.

And this is why Childe didn’t even bother trying to guess if it was a beta, an omega, an alpha or even Lisa stealing his clothes, because whoever it was, it was always hiding their scent with those oils. Trying to guess gave him headaches, and he was pretty sure the clothes had no scent of the person in it.

Until, one day, they had.

-_-_-_-_-_-

They were not supposed to be back so late, but the purple crow from Fischl had appeared all of a sudden, talking about some mountain climber, which made Lumine drop the party and blast off towards Mondstadt, leaving the trio to go back home from the depths of Tianqiu by foot. 

Xinyan had left them already, speaking about an early show and bidding them a good night. Childe had insisted on accompanying Ganyu to her house, but he made it halfway before she said something about paperwork and how she wasn’t sleeping for the next week, so he conceded and left for his own bed.

Sadly, he was unfocused as he entered his room, mind busy thinking about Tonya’s upcoming birthday and if he could spare some days to pop over and say hello. Closing the door behind him, he heard a step that didn’t belong to him and immediately called upon his bow, pointing it at the source of the noise.

Only to find a dark form in his room, curled near the chair where his secret admirer dropped his clothes off. Without even thinking, Childe let out three arrows, each one aimed to only incapacitate the room invader. But the shadow easily avoided them and jumped off the window, looking oddly like a snake.

The fatui ran to the window, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Whoever it was, it had agility or some good concealment skills. Admitting defeat, the redhead took the shirt bunched up on his chair and gave it a sniff to find the type of oil this time, like usual.

But this time, instead of the strong smell of some specialty of Liyue, the scent in the clothes hit him like a punch in the gut. It was earthy, like the smell of rain hitting the earth. But it had some spice to it, reminding him of those peppers Xiangling liked so much. Yet, somehow, there was also a hint of sweetness to it, a bouquet of wildflowers blooming under the powerful odours. And where his nose had taken everything it could, he could feel the scent of the ocean fading away.

It was a selection of the best hits of the portuary city, apparently, and he wasn’t sure on how long he spent sitting under the window, smelling the shirt and feeling his heart grow a thousand times bigger. He wanted to sink his face into this person, feel their scent surround him like a loving hug, and never leave.

When he finally rose, the moon had changed places in the sky and the city was deadly quiet. The shirt was still held tightly in his hand, and he was certain of one thing. 

He was finding out who was taking his clothes, and he was keeping them.

-_-_-_-_-_-

“So, from only their scent, you believe they’re the one?” The bartender’s words were sharp, but she was fair on being skeptical. The deaconess gave her a cursory look while the explosive-crafting kid pouted at her, both still believing in the beauty of love. “Oh don’t look at me like that! If it wasn’t a silly romance thing you’d find it weird too!”

While Diona vented her frustration in another seemingly poisonous drink, Childe turned to stare at Klee, who was pulling his sleeve to get his attention. “I think that it’s pretty and super special that you found your mate, Mister Childe!” She gave him a beautiful toothy smile, which elicited an equal one from him, and then blasted off to a nearby table where Qiqi sipped her coconut milk and drew with some crayons.

Barbara laughed, drinking her juice in slow sips. “Hate to say it, but they are both right. It’s pretty, but also sounds slightly crazy for those who didn’t awaken yet.” She put her glass down, removing the explosives from where the Pyro girl was sitting and coming closer to him. “But are you truly sure about it, Childe? It could be an enemy, someone willing to injure you.”

“You think I’m not strong enough to beat anyone that messes with me?” His answer was followed with a cocky smile and a large sip of his drink, which ended up with him almost suffocating with a stray piece of lizard tail stuck on his throat. Barbara laughed, using a spell to make the tail disappear and rubbing his back while he coughed.

“Well, if they’re not a red lizard tail, I think you can handle yourself fine.” He grimaced towards the cup, pushing it away from him and running his hands against his now sweaty hair. “But what is your plan on conquering him?” The redhead gave her a sideway glance, seeing how her smile was wide and happy, and for a second he had an out of body experience.

The Deaconess of the Church of Mondstadt was excited at the prospect of giving him, Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui, tips on how to conquer an omega who was, at best, a nice person who helped soothe him, and at worst, a garment-hogging thief with terrible communication issues.

Heaving a sigh, he turned on the chair to face her, and spoke. “What marvelous plan straight out of a romance leaflet you got for me, Barbs?”

-_-_-_-_-_-

The answer was, surprisingly, flower language.

“It’s one of the few things common to all nations!” She had excitedly told him, with Lisa at her side giving him a book thick enough to kill a mitachurl on impact. “I’m sure it will get their heart!” The girl was already with stars in her eyes, singing about love and fated relationships and the beauty of it, and Childe was left wondering if their newfound crush would understand it.

But Lisa was faster than him, and as she expelled him from the library with friendly pats, she explained why the help. “This person can afford more expensive oils, and is smart enough to sneak up on you, so it’s not hard to believe they’d know about flower language.” And as she pushed him out of the headquarters into the cool night, she gave him another piece of knowledge. “And Xingqiu already told me who he thinks it is.”

Oak door closed on his face, Childe didn’t even bother running back inside and demanding answers, because Lisa was great at keeping secrets and he had more things to do. Like read a tome about flowers and find them before the next weekly dropoff, which was only two days away.

And smell that shirt again. Of course.

-_-_-_-_-_-

After a long night of reading, cuddling to a pillow that held the shirt, and marking down some specific flowers he wanted to get, the sun rose to find a man with dark rings under his eyes, but a renewed sense of what he wanted to do and a big sack of mora in his pocket. He was unstoppable and ready to conquer.

And that feeling lasted until the fifth flower shop, where all of them said that those flowers were too rare or unorthodox, and maybe he could settle down for a nice little red rose, sir? Which just made him more frustrated, and by the ninth flower shop he had to leave for a while and beat up a group of hilichurls to calm down.

So the plan was shifted. The amount of flowers had to be drastically reduced, and some had been thrown away completely, plus he would have to travel a bit to find some of them. But he didn’t wanna risk looking stingy to his newfound crush, and if Xingqiu knew who it was and trusted it to work, then he had to believe in the smaller-than-average kid. So, after writing a quick note of his absence for the hotel manager, he locked his door and went to enlist some help. 

Yet finding companions was easier said than done. Most of them were busy with the upcoming Lantern Festival, and those who weren't had assignments that Lumine had asked waiting to be completed. He was ready to give up and make the trek alone, when a tiny hand tugged his scarf hard enough to make him almost fall.

Turning to the offender, Childe found himself face to face with Qiqi. The tiny zombie held her notebook in a fist and a flower basket in the other. “Qiqi heard you are collecting flowers. Qiqi wants to help.” Her face looked determined, and he crouched to her level, brushing some stray hairs out of her eye.

“Thank you a whole lot, Qiqi, but I would feel bad about dragging you around to help.” Her eye gleamed stronger, and she stomped. He pulled back slightly, knowing a temper tantrum when he saw one, but she just looked at him and answered in a very determined voice.

“You help me get herbs. You take me to Mondstadt. You buy me cocogoat milk. I know flowers, I wanna help.” The tiny face was contorted in determination, and his heart melted instantly. Standing in one fluid motion, he held out his hand as an offer to her.

“With one condition. We make it fun so you can tell Klee next time we see her, ok?” Her serious demeanor disappeared, opening space for a beautiful, kind smile, and she shook his hand in agreement. Childe knew there was a finger or two of Xingqiu in the middle of this, but all he could do, as he followed the Cryo user deeper into Liyue, was sigh and plot his next carrot-based revenge.

“Can I see... the list?” Qiqi asked, already walking like she knew exactly where to go. Picking the folded paper from his front pocket, he gave it to the girl, who quickly looked at it and nodded, humming in approval.

“Many are medicinal.” He nodded back at her, ignoring some of the stares as they traversed the city towards the Pharmacy. “And those that aren’t... we can buy somewhere.” Arriving at the base of the staircase, Childe sneaked a peek as the girl pulled a tiny charcoal pencil and wrote some things near the flowers, giving him the paper back after.

“Alright, where are we going first then, captain?”

-_-_-_-_-_-

I will serenade you, and show you my feelings.

Dew Plant    

Serenade   

The first plant was in a village far off the city, with only a couple of older people living in it. Qiqi approached an older man, talked to him and then returned to his side. In her hands, a small blue vase, with a plant that looked like a succulent.

“This is the Dew Plant. They call it Baby Rose here, because of those flowers.” She told him, carefully stashing it inside the basket that Childe carried. True to her word, between the thick leaves, you could see dots of heavy pink blooming.

“Gotta think of something else, a bouquet won’t work.” He whispered to himself, following the zombie to their next destination.

Purple Lilac

First emotions of love   

They were a lot, and very small to the boot. The fatui wasn’t sure on how to hold them without crushing them, but Qiqi showed him how to layer the flowers on the basket, before running back to the granny and paying her for the bunch.

“How are they so small?” He asked the zombie, and as she explained the process of pollination and how the smaller size helped, they went down the cobblestone path, exiting the mountain in slow steps.

At the bottom of the mountain, Childe insisted on stopping at a tea stand, where they shared tea and some small candy he didn’t fully get the name. He didn’t say anything as her eyelids drooped, and let her take a nap as the sun rose to its peak.

Coreopsis Arkansa    

Love at first sight    

The next stop was, surprisingly, on the way back. Along the beaten path that took them back to Liyue, the yellow flowers filled the land, the fading sunlight making them gleam like blossoms of gold.

Their brown centers made him think of someone, also clad in gold and brown, but he was probably hallucinating from the long day walking to distant places. They picked up the freshest ones, with Childe making a quick flower crown for the girl to wear.

Laughing over the way the crown was a bit too big for her, they finally returned to the portuary city, late at night. Giving him a flask with a dropper, she taught him on how to keep the flowers fresh with the potion inside it. “A drop for each flower, and a bit more for the lilac. Five for the dew should be enough. They wil keep for very very long”

-_-_-_-_-_-

Returning to his room, he reluctantly sniffed the shirt again, but the smell was almost gone from it. Sitting on the table near the window, he added the potion as Qiqi taught him, and chose to sleep after, reluctant to try anything with his sleep-addled mind.

As the sun rose on Monday, he still wasn’t sure on how to make the arrangements. Staring at the three plants with some coffee on his hand didn’t work, and neither did picking them up and trying to look at it from other positions. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he left the room for the open market, trying to find some inspiration among the stalls.

It was still early, with merchants busy organizing their merch, when Childe found something that could work. In a smaller-than-average stall, a bunch of shallow vases held small plants and decorations, mimicking different scenes each.

Picking up one that held a small house among some bonsai, he felt the first concepts on an idea popping up in his mind. He could do something like this, maybe, but without the houses to don’t taint the main message of the flowers. Thanking the shopkeeper and buying an empty vase, Childe soon returned to his room with more bags than before.

Instead of dirt, he choose some dried hay to fill in the surroundings of the vase that held the dew rose, keeping it in place. Then, he carefully broke down some of the lilac into the smaller flowers, peppering it over the hay and leaving some tips on the cleaned stems, to add it here and there. Finally, he added the yellow-and-brown flowers on some spots. In the end, he had something... not looking a lot like his first ideas, but good enough for him.

Yawning, he left the arrangement above the folded clothes and took a shower, dropping into bed exhausted. He could feel his body complaining, but that was ok, because it would all be, hopefully, worth it. Closing his eyes, he soon ended up asleep, snoring lightly against the pillow.

Waking up with the sun in his face, Childe took a while to gather his surroundings. Raising from the bed stretching his sore muscles, the room was filled with a surprised whoop as he saw that the vase was no longer there, but instead a fresh piece of clothing waited for him.

He rushed to the shirt and gave a deep breath, his racing heart calm down at the scent. It was working. It was working! Throwing on the first acceptable attire he found, he rushed out of the door, almost running over the maid with his breakfast, and set off to find his partner in crime.

-_-_-_-_-_-

I want you to be mine, because I adore you.

Dwarf Sunflower

Adoration     

After an excited breakfast with Qiqi, where she ate her food slowly while he talked about how happy he was for the accepted bouquet, their first place was... A juice shop? "Qiqi wants to help you a lot, but Qiqi also wants a cocogoat milk." So, after buying themselves some fresh coconut milk and some pretty jewelry that made Childe thought of his crush, they left the city with a few hundred mora less.

Their next stop was a sunflower seed farm, where a nice man welcomed them, thanking Qiqi for the herbs she collected before and showing them his beautiful collection of sunflowers. “We want a dwarf sunflower.” Qiqi did the negotiations with him, while Childe was busy admiring the spirals in the flowers.

“Oh, dwarf ones? I do have them, but only one vase, and…”

He showed them the vase in question; white with golden dragons surrounding its sides. It shone slightly in the sunlight, but it didn’t steal from the main star; a single dwarf sunflower plant, with two flowers symetrically sprouting out of it. They had grown apart enough to give space, but still close for some petals to touch.

“If you give me some weeks I can-” Childe gently pried the vase from his hands, holding it up and down to search for any pests or undesirable guests. Seeing that he was satisfied, Qiqi thanked him and Childe paid up, and both left to return to the city.

Four-leaved Clover    

Be mine    

Back at the Pharmacy top floor, Qiqi retrieved a tiny packet with round seeds from the storage. While the fatui busied himself with cleaning some stray weeds and fluffing the earth, Qiqi collected some flasks, and then set on to work.

First, she added the seeds to the dampened earth, mixing it slightly with her fingertips. Then, she let some droplets of a green liquid fall onto the same earth, mixing again. A full bottle of a slightly greyish liquid was dropped into the vase, tiny bits of it catching the light like a rainbow. And to finish it up, she sprayed some red liquid, saying it helped keep weeds at bay.

“Here you go.” She handed him the vase, which already felt heavier. “By the time he appears, it’ll have the prettiest bunch of clovers.” He thanked her again, saying that now he felt more confident in searching, while she only told him he was hopeless but free to try, and then set off back to his room, vase cradled like a baby.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Opening the window to let the night breeze in, Childe looked at his room once more.

Instead of a chair, there was now a table with his folded pajamas and the flower pot, whose plants looked beautiful, clovers dropping from the edges like a waterfall. He gently brushed one of the sunflowers, feeling the tingly cold of the static potion.

His bed was on the other side of the room, and he hoped that, maybe this time, he’d be able to see who was his secret admirer, the clothes and heart thief. But he knew how sneaky they were, and didn’t hold too much hope.

Considering the room good enough for his next trial, he prepared himself for bed, and soon enough he was laying down, tired body fighting against his mind, a battle of staying awake or going to sleep because it was late and the last days had been tiresome.

Between one long blink and another, the familiar shape manifested against the dimly-lit outside. His sleep addled brain could see the shape observe the flower, sometimes raising one of the cloves. Childe smiled, feeling satisfied, and turned on his bed, ready to sleep peacefully.

Which is why he wasn’t ready for the shape to sit down at the end of his bed and sing to him.

It was a male voice, deep and sturdy. And it wasn’t quite a song. It did sound like one, with how melodical it was, but somehow they made him think of a poem. Whatever it was said, he didn’t fully understand either, but whether it was because of his sleepiness or the language, he wasn’t fully sure.

He woke up in a great mood, halfway hoping for the person to be there still. But no such luck.

-_-_-_-_-_-

I can only thank fate for our meeting, and I am now devout to you.

Heliotrope    

Devotion, Faithfulness

This time, he tried to find them himself. Going store by store again, he felt his frustration growing as almost no one could help him, with only the last shop telling him he'd have more luck on the countryside. Dragging his steps, he considered giving up for the day and setting off to beat up some hilichurls, but a simple banner stopped him.

The white banner read 'Granny Lu's Flower Shop', in red letters, and Childe was almost sure that it wasn't there before. Going inside carefully, he avoided the cluttered vases and pots filled with flowers, and soon found himself in an empty counter. He tried ringing the bell on the wood, knocking on it, even calling out the owner two or three times. But when he gave up and turned to leave, he almost fell down with a scream.

"Hello there, youngster. Need a flower or two?" The oldest lady he had ever seen went around him, going to the back of the counter and leaving some flowers inside a basket on the other counter. Taking off her hat, Childe saw impossibly white hair peek from under it, and decided to ask for the flower, just in case.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm looking for Heliotropes, do you have any?" As soon as he finished the question, a blue blur went into his face and he almost fell back as he crossed his eyes. The flower, or rather the many flowers making one blossom, looked like lilacs, but also like hydrangeas, and yet somehow completely unique as well. They were a funny bunch, and so tiny he had to strain his eyes to see all details.

"Ninety mora each. You need some wrapping paper, dear?"

Flax    

Fate. 

Taking a peek at his paper, he crooked his head to the side, focusing on the lady. "You wouldn't happen to have flax flowers in here, would you?"

She looked oddly at him, before moving back to the store and messing around the vases. "I know heliotropes are for devotion and faithfullness, but what do you need a flower that represents domestic industry? Making a declaration to the Yuheng, boy?"

Looking back to him, the lady burst into laugher at the confusion showing in his scrunched face. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. You see, it held this meaning a long, long time ago. Now it does represent fate, don't worry." He laughed with her, albeit a bit more hesitantly, and she showed him the flowers. They looked like poppies, but blue and bright, and they made him think of his siblings eyes. Archons, he missed them now.

"They're really beautiful... And how much?" Grabbing the sack of mora from his back pocket, he watched as she got him a flower-picking basket, like the one Qiqi had, but with some golden ribbons braided into it. "Is that for sale as well?"

"This is a gift for my clients. No payment needed." While he admired the arranged flowers, she took some coins from the purse and shoved the rest back at him. "There you go, and if you need any more, you can come back to my shop at any time." The granny smiled at him, clearly happy at his admiration of her decoration.

Taking the basket and the pouch, he admired some of the flowers before making his way to the door. But before he left, a question popped on his mind. "Uh, it's granny Lu, right?" She nodded at him, stopping her rose-cleaning. "How come I've never seen your store open before, with all due respect?"

She only laughed at his question, throwing the freshly cleaned rose into a vase and picking up another from the basket. "You probably got unlucky and I was off somewhere else with my friend, Madame Ping."

Garden Sage   

Esteem.    

He took far longer to find this one, not because of any difficulty finding it, but because of his duties. Both the fatui and Lumine had wrung him dry, as they asked one after the other for some help beating up hilichurls, treasure hoarders or even, in one occasion, a massive pyro whooperflower.

So when he finally had time, he grabbed Qiqi like he'd grab Teucer and mumbled some excuse to Lumine, running out of the Adventurer's Guild with the zombie in his arms. "Where can we find some garden sage, O Grand Herb Collector?" He asked her, giving a cup of coconut milk from her favorite stand to her.

"At the Pharmacy. Doctor Baizhu isn't there, so he won't know." Slightly hesitant over stealing the herbs from someone that had a sense of humor worse than his and a snake around his neck, Childe realized he didn't really mind on the end, as Qiqi showed him a greenhouse in one of the rooms of the pharmacy.

Showing him a large bush filled with purple flowers, Qiqi started telling him about the medicinal benefits of the sage, while taking a stalk filled with flowers and offering him some, teaching how to suck on them to get some honey. They did that with more of them, with Childe telling in exchange how his mom used dried sage on some food back at home and how Tonia hated the flavor, while Anthon loved it.

After adding some flowers to his basket and getting many more for their honey, Childe bid Qiqi goodbye and promised to see her the next day, leaving the Pharmacy already late at night

-_-_-_-_-_-

The final bouquet was purple and blue, reminding him of the sky past the warm hues of sunset. He left it inside the basket that Granny Lu sold him, atop the mahogany table. His dinner, after a long week of prepping flowers and fighting, tasted like something his mom would do for his birthday, warming his heart up.

He was happy, despite everything. Sure, before he had at least five more bouquets planned, with flowers raging from chrysanthemums to olive stalks prepped in the most exquisite displays, but the simpler the better, right?

And Qiqi did tell him that he would spend six months declaring himself with how many bouquets he wanted. Which was true, but also, ouch.

As he pulled the blankets for him to lay down, a bubble of laugher escaped his lips. Here he was, fearful harbinger of the fatui, going absolutely insane over the best flowers he could find for someone he wasn't even sure that liked him. But the person had taken each flower home, and hadn't stopped yet. So, maybe, he was allowed to have some hope here.

Closing his eyes, his last thoughts were on how he wanted to cuddle with this omega until his arms fell. Beautiful dreams, filled with sky blue and pastel purple, held him during the night. And if he woke up to see someone on the bed along with him, slowly caressing his hair, then maybe he was too exhausted and ended up asleep again. But what could he do?

His morning was fantastic. The same routine of new clothes had happened, but this time, a part of the bed also smelled like him, and Childe rolled around it, wanting that scent to fill his insides. Laughing at how much he looked like a puppy, he got off his bed and set off to find the next flowers he needed.

-_-_-_-_-_-

I love you with my whole being, and I will forever.

Moss Rosebud  

Confession of love

It was the oddest rose he had ever seen. The moss-like surroundings of the rosebud made him think of a miniature jungle, and looking at them made him slightly itchy.

“Come on, I found them specially for you.” Granny Lu said, smacking his arm as he tried to envelop the stems on paper. “There you go, with that kid potion, they’ll last for months.” Giving his change back, she smiled and bit him a good day as he left.

Out in the city, he fumbled a bit with the roses as he took the paper from the back pocket. For this bouquet, he still had many flowers to find, but he wasn’t sure if tulips were avaliable in Liyue. “Should have asked Granny Lu…” He mumbled, thanking Ekaterina for opening the Bank’s main door for him.

One of the bank managers approached him, someone he didn’t remember the name but did remember it was an annoyance. “Mister Tartaglia, excuse me, uhm, I have a small request..” He was probably frowning at the man, he thought to himself, as he held the roses a bit lower to pay attention to the man.

“Yes, what is it?”

White Rosebud, Yellow Tulip, Red Tulip 

Heart ignorant of love, Hopeless love, Declaration of love

It was quite the request, in the end.

Some new blackmail on a major trader had been found, and the Fatui of Fontaine could use it much better over there. Thus, they needed someone trustworthy to take the information, and also help escort some rarer materials over.

Usually, Childe would refuse and send someone else, but he knew that Fontaine had the most beautiful flowers of Teyvat, including tulips. So, in what the other fatuis saw as a show of nicety, he accepted the request, asking for some other escorts to keep an eye on the cargo itself.

The next day, before sunrise, they were out of the city. While the balloon cargo was escorted by two grunts, Childe decided to ask Natasha, a high-level fatui and one of the few people he could trust, where he could find the needed flowers at a short notice.

She laughed at his request, obviously more at the content of the question and less at him, and said that he could find a flower farmer in the capital. “All the flowers are his, and he’s a very nice person despite the high-level clients. I even took some for my daughter back in Snezhnaya.”

So, after the long trip and delivery, he found himself in front of the store. Roses and other flowers filled the outside of the store, and inside it was a hustle and bustle of clients and helpers alike. Natasha, ever so helpful, had given him a special card and told him to show it to any helper, and they’d send him straight to the boss.

The boss in question was a smaller than average man, busy cutting stems and making beautiful flower arrangements. “Mister… Jacques?” He read the name from the card, afraid of mispronouncing it, and the man looked back at him, eyes widening.

“Oh yes, the mister Tartaglia that missus Natasha told me about.” Wondering when Natasha even had time to warn the florist, Childe resumed his focus as the man was still talking. “... and we guarantee only the best flowers. Now, what may I help you with?”

The redhead didn’t even bother talking, just showing him the folded paper and pointing at the circled names. “White rosebud, yellow tulip and… Oh.” He looked from the paper at Childe, who made a menacing face, and immediately got back to the paper. “Yes, yes, we have all of these here…”

Barking orders to the nearest helpers, Jacques said that he’d make the bouquet himself to make sure it would be perfect. Two hours and three cups of courtesy coffee later, he was out of the store with a stunning bouquet, some heart-eyed betas and omegas staring at him, and a card from Jacques telling him he’d make a discount if he ever needed wedding flowers.

The trip back was uneventful, thankfully, but it took longer than he thought, making his impromptu trip take a total of six entire days.

-_-_-_-_-_-

He arrived at his room completely exhausted. After a good bath and some dinner, he planned on how to make the presentation more fantastic.

The bouquet was, in a humble brag, absolutely stunning. The tulips and white rosebuds blended perfectly, with the ring of moss rosebuds adding a beautiful freshness to it. He was so proud of it that he could scream in joy, but decided not to mess around with the manager for tonight.

Making sure he also looked good, or as good as possible for someone who was going to sleep like the dead, he decided against leaving the bouquet on the table, choosing to leave it at his side on the bed. A daring invitation, yes, but one could only be hopeful to receive a yes.

Reminding himself to stay still and not crush the bouquet, Childe went to sleep with a wide smile, dreaming of waking up ready to cuddle with the person he was loving so much.

But when he woke up, no new scent made him company. While the bouquet was gone, his mysterious crush hadn’t stayed for long, and neither had he taken the usual from the table.

-_-_-_-_-_-

The folded clothes spent two weeks in the same place.

His morale hit an all time low. Had he gone too fast? Or did he do something wrong? Every time he went back to his room, the folded shirt was a beacon of shame, pointing at him and laughing at his foolishness.

And of course, he started avoiding his room, spending less and less time there until he only went for a shower and a nap, powering through the day to keep his mind busy, his hands occupied, his almost breaking heart intact. It wasn’t healthy, but it was what he had.

His friends noticed. Some, like Xiangling and Barbara, tried to help him, by making food and talking and trying to pry out what was hurting him. He always lied, said it was nothing, and kept the truth hidden, as to not embarrass himself anymore. They noticed, of course, but were firm in their beliefs of sharing and caring.

But Ningguang and Lumine knew how he worked. So they gave him tasks, missions, explorations. Those kept him away from his room, and killing mobs and destroying things was a great occupation for his heart that refused to break, struggled against the strain that those folded pieces brought him.

Yet the one thing that helped was not a platter with food so spicy he’d cry, or the piles of bodies from the Abyss Mages that he slaughtered. What helped him was the tiny knock on his door, in one of the few days he allowed himself to sleep more than usual in his room.

Opening the door after the third round of knocks, Childe didn’t even bother putting on a shirt or brushing his bird nest of a hair. And right outside his door stood Qiqi, carrying a basket and some clippers, along with the book he had given back to Lisa after the first week.

“Qiqi has an idea.”

-_-_-_-_-_-

And I’ll wait until you love me back.

Jonquil    

I desire a return of affection.     

The first stop was a garden near Keqing’s house. With delicate motions, he and Qiqi took only those with yellow trumpets. These were tiny, and looked like they were made of wax. He loved them. 

Qiqi, apparently trying her best to keep him distracted, started telling him about her family, from before she was frozen in amber. Childe paid attention, of course, and soon he knew more about her than anyone else.

“Mom liked Jonquils. She had a vase with them.” His friend whispered, carefully touching the white petals of one. Using the arm that wasn’t holding the basket, the redhead petted the zombie, smiling as she stopped him from messing up her seal.

Ox Eye    

Patience

They parted ways for a while, with Qiqi saying she’d find the last flower and he was responsible for finding the ox eye. And so, under the sun of midday, he set out to find the oddly-named flower.

Trying to find it was like a flashback from his first flower-buying tour: no one knew what flower it was, and some even tried to sell him different flowers, which made him even more frustrated. After going through all the flower shops Liyue held, he stopped under the shadow of a red pillar to rest, until he remembered a place that could help him.

The banner of Granny Lu’s Flower Shop made his hope soar, and he entered the store carefully, avoiding the many vases until he found the counter. Granny Lu smiled at him, busy cutting the stems of some roses and adding them to a beautiful bouquet.

“Ox eyes?” She repeated after his request, raising one eyebrow to his begging face. With a laugh, she picked up some trimmed daisies and shoved them under his confused face. “We called them ox eyes a long, long time ago. You’re just looking for daisies, silly man.”

Althaea Frutex     

Persuasion

After paying for the daisies, Childe went back into the city once again. He was almost sure on how to present his flowers this time, but seeing Qiqi approach him consolidated his idea.

In her hands, a single flower on a stem. It looked like any other hibiscus, but it had a deep, wine-like red middle, with the petals shining like white clouds. “Our theme today really is white and colored middles, huh.” He joked, taking the delicate flower from Qiqi’s hands.

“You already know what to do?” She asked, taking a single daisy from the basket and giving him the flower book back, which he stored under the flowers. Childe looked aimlessly, focusing on the setting sun. 

It was near the end of the day, and anything more elaborate was impossible to achieve in his time frame. So he had decided on only one flower of each, tied with a single white ribbon he probably still had from the bouquet kit that Jacques made. 

Thanking Qiqi once more and promising to meet her in their massive dinner for Lumine’s departure, he set off towards his room, holding the flowers near his heart.

-_-_-_-_-_-

He chose to give only one of each, tied with a white ribbon. The rest he gave to the kids playing near the hotel, making braids and crowns for them and having fun before what could be the most anxious night of his life.

After preparing his bouquet, changing the clothes in his body and also the ones in the table, leaving the flowers on top of them, Childe stopped idling around left for the group dinner at Wanmin Restaurant.

From afar, the group sitting at the side of the restaurant looked rowdy enough to scare a stranger. But from close, he could see the smaller groups among them, like Lisa, Albedo and Xingqiu debating some books, or Barbara trying out Xiangling’s extra spicy stew, and even a laughing Kaeya being Klee’s playground as she climbed over him to talk to Jean.

His heart felt at peace. Even if things went off terribly, he still had this bunch of odd friends to keep him company. Alpha or not, he felt his chest decompress and relax as he mingled with the noises and sights under the yellow lanterns.

Finding an open spot was tough, but he got himself a chair squeezed between an already drunk duo of Hu Tao and Beidou and the most discreet person of the group. “Rare seeing you here, Mr. Zhongli.” He greeted the ex-god, adjusting his chair away from the booze-team.

“Oh, Tartaglia, good evening.” They shook hands, more for the sake of Zhongli than Childe, and as the man resumed eating, the fatui couldn’t help but stare at his wrists, where the tip of a sleeve peeked out.

“I did come to celebrate, yes. Lumine’s departure is more serious than ever, with Inazuma being closed off.” He didn’t mind that Childe looked unfocused, and continued talking about something. But the redhead was focused on that shirt, because it wasn’t the usual one he wore, and it looked so familiar...

A loud pop came from the side of the table, and Zhongli stopped talking to look at the ruckus that a drunk Chongyun was causing. “My my, this is becoming rowdy.” Yes, it was really familiar, like he had seen it upclose before, this one was black with a grey pattern in it and-

“And how is that clothes thief of yours?” As realization struck him that it’s the shirt from the first week, the same one he hugged so much, he made the mistake of looking up. Inside golden eyes, he saw his own reflection in those dilated pupils.

His mind wasn’t fully sure and refused to accept, but his heart was at a billion, screaming and growling for him to lean on, to just get a bit closer and confirm it, but he had a damn bouquet waiting and he knew what to do. “I have another bouquet waiting for him. To show him I’m waiting.”

They smiled at each other, understanding blossoming between them, and as the party went on rowdier and rowdier, they stood shoulder to shoulder, one hand daring to break their promise to hold each other.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Before his eyes could open, he could feel the scent he came to love so much surrounding him. It made him smile, and he tried his hardest to wake up without moving too much, in faint hopes of sharing the bed with that someone. But, sadly, his eyes found no body warming his bed.

Instead, he found a note with a flower in the pillow next to his head. An answer.

Jumping off the bed like it was filled with ants, he rushed to get his book out of the basket where Qiqi had left for him. He didn’t know exactly what flower it was, but thankfully, this one was rare enough to warrant a picture, clearly old, drawn in the almost exact shape of the one he was looking at.

Ambrosia

Love returned

Childe, for maybe the first time in his life, whooped. He jumped off the floor cheering, like he had just won the biggest prize in the universe. And hadn’t he? His celebration dance was short lived, though, as he quickly picked up the paper and read it.

11:30.

The tree at the top of Mount Tianheng.

He looked at the clock, and realized he had less than forty minutes to get ready and then rush to the top of the massive mountain. Leaving the letter on his bedside table and smelling the ambrosia lightly before doing the same thing, the redhead rushed to shower.

Hair wet and time ticking, he considered a nicer change of clothes, but then his brain supplanted that he’s an omega, he likes your scent and instead he took the same ones he had worn yesterday, which were clean and smelling only of flowers and his own scent.

Jumping out of the window and running through the rooftops, he had half a thought about acting normal and using the street, but then he passed a clock saying it was 11:20 and he promptly quit that thought and focused on climbing the massive stone wall.

Reaching the top of the mountain and praying he wasn’t stinking, Childe slowly approached the large tree at the top. He felt his heart hammer against his ribcage. His thoughts were everywhere. Should he have brought some food? Maybe more flowers? Why didn’t he get one of the many gifts he had bought in anticipation? Was his hair looking good? Lords, he wasn’t ready was he-

And then he saw those amber eyes. The soft smile. Zhongli radiated love and kindness, and he was right there. All they could do was embrace each other and stay, letting the breeze caress them and their hearts beat as one.

-_-_-_-_-_-

Later, he questioned him. Much later, after many touches and caresses and showings of love and affection, he decided to ask the questions he wanted answers for.

“Why do you smell like a Liyuan goods store?”

“I was the Archon of Liyue for a long time. I shaped the city, as the city shaped me.”

The caress of a hand around a lean neck.

“I thought a God known for wars, like you, wouldn’t be someone linked with birth.”

“Gods are always shifting. We’re not static. But when near you, the biggest manifestation I have is of an omega.”

A chaste kiss on an open palm.

“Did you like the flowers?”

“Of course I did. I heard from others about the things you did for them, and that was good enough by itself. They were also beautiful, and I’m holding each one to heart.”

Two smiles, one bashful and one happy.

“Will you steal my clothes again?”

“Only if you aren’t available for me to nest with.”

The tightening of a hug.

“... Did you punch Venti?”

“You’d do the same.”

A shared giggle.

“Will you stay with me?”

“Forever.”

A kiss.