Chapter Text
Kaeya wasn’t exactly sure how he’d ended up in this situation, with Childe’s knife against his neck and the harbinger’s face close enough that Kaeya could feel his breath.
He and Childe had been sparring, which wasn’t uncommon these days, as it seemed to be the one activity the Snezhnayan would never say no to and Kaeya was actively trying to get to know the man better. Part of his desire to learn more about Childe came from wariness—after all, the man was spending more and more time with Lumine these days and Kaeya felt duty-bound to properly vet him. Part of the desire came from curiosity—Childe was a bit of a conundrum, both somehow very obviously dangerous and also very… courteous? Nice? Something like that.
And a larger part of the desire than Kaeya would have liked to admit came from the fact that Kaeya just… liked the man. He was fun… in a dangerous ‘playing with fire’ sort of way. And he was easy on the eyes. There was that too.
But despite his best efforts to get a handle on who and what exactly Tartaglia, eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers, was, Kaeya was still completely caught off guard by the man.
“What do you say we wager something on this next round?” Childe asked as the two men caught their breath.
Kaeya thought for a minute. He and Childe were generally fairly evenly matched when sparring. As much as it killed him to admit it, the harbinger likely would have been able to take him if they were going all out, but Childe tended to spar with the weapons he was less proficient at, so Kaeya likely had a fifty-fifty shot at winning this next match. Those odds were… not as good as what Kaeya usually liked to bet on, but they weren’t the worst either.
“Sure. What did you have in mind? I know you’re rich, so don’t you dare try to rob a humble knight such as myself.”
Childe smiled mischievously, “I would never dream of taking your money.”
“What then?”
“How about… If I win this next round, you have to go on a date with me.”
Kaeya felt suddenly hot and he was thankful that his tan skin likely kept Childe from seeing him blush. Though his face was probably doing a number of other things that the harbinger could read…
Kaeya coughed to cover his embarrassment. The wager was… not unwelcome. He wouldn’t exactly mind losing this round. “You’re on.”
Childe grinned wolfishly and moved back to the center of the clearing they’d been sparring in. Kaeya took up his position across from him.
It wasn’t until they’d already begun fighting that Kaeya realized he had never stated what he wanted should he win the round.
The fight started evenly enough. Childe had chosen to fight with a polearm that day, which he was more proficient with than a bow, but still not perfect with. Between this and the fact that Cryo worked well against Hydro—Childe was easy to freeze when he got careless with his water—Kaeya was more than holding his own.
Maybe he could even win? But then he’d have to come up with a counter-wager…
Momentarily distracted, Kaeya missed blocking one of Childe’s lunges and felt the polearm’s blade slice into his upper arm. The wound was deep enough to hurt, but not to cause any real damage—both men were skilled in pulling their attacks just enough to be safe. Kaeya sent out a countering blast of ice and danced back, putting some space between him and Childe.
“Ooo, someone’s off their game,” Childe taunted, circling from a distance before lunging again.
Kaeya let his annoyance at the other man’s smugness fuel him, and for a time the fight continued fairly evenly. Kaeya even managed to land a light blow on the harbinger’s arm as payback.
Looking back, it was hard to say who would have won if Childe hadn’t decided to cheat and use his delusion as well. Kaeya hadn’t been expecting Electro in this fight, and the shock stunned him enough that Childe could easily disarm him with a swift blow to his wrist with the shaft of the polearm. The next thing Kaeya knew his back was pinned against a tree at the edge of the clearing and Childe had a dagger against his throat.
Childe grinned, his breath coming in gentle huffs from the fight, and for a moment, Kaeya found himself simply staring into those slate blue eyes still bright with the excitement of battle. After a time, Childe leaned closer in, his lips close enough to Kaeya’s ear that he could feel them move when the man spoke. It took all of Kaeya’s concentration to keep his legs steady.
“Looks like you owe me a date, Captain,” the harbinger murmured.
When Childe pulled away his expression had gone playful again. He laughed as he wiped sweat from his brow. “You should have seen your face when I shocked you! Priceless!”
Kaeya tried to step away from the tree and though he considered his attempt valiant, his knees buckled slightly. Childe’s playful expression instantly turned concerned.
“Are you hurt? I thought I’d pulled back the power enough…”
Kaeya waved him off, taking a moment to right himself. “No, I’m fine. Your Electro just surprised me. Cheater.”
Childe pouted slightly. “I never said that I wouldn’t use my delusion.”
“Well, no. But you’ve never used it sparring before.”
Childe shrugged, “What can I say, I really wanted to win.”
“Whatever,” Kaeya rolled his eye, finally managing to scrape his dignity off the ground. He moved to the side of the clearing where they’d left their belongings. “Now come over here and let me take care of that cut on your arm.”
Childe glanced at his bloodied arm. “I got you too,” he protested.
“Yes, and I’ll let you take care of me after. Come here.”
Childe hesitated for a moment but obeyed and sat on the ground next to Kaeya. Kaeya began disinfecting the wound by habit. Patching each other up after their fights had also become a common activity, but somehow this time, it felt… different. Kaeya couldn’t help but notice how close they were to each other. How trusting Childe was under his touch…
Archon’s above, you’re not sixteen! Kaeya scolded himself. Because who else got this flustered at the prospect of going out on a date with someone. With one very attractive, very dangerous Fatui Harbinger…
“Okay, your turn!” Childe said cheerfully after Kaeya had finished wrapping his wound. Kaeya wordlessly turned so Childe had access to his wounded arm. “Ooo, that’s a bit deeper than I meant it to be. Sorry.”
Kaeya shrugged. “I can handle it.”
“Oh, I know,” Childe assured him. “You’re a fighter. Like me. That doesn’t mean I’m not sorry though.”
“Oh…”
“Not like you to be so quiet,” Childe teased, beginning to disinfect Kaeya’s wound. “Don’t tell me you’re already dreading our date?!”
“No!” Kaeya assured him quickly. Too quickly, in fact, based on the grin Childe gave him. Like a cat who had just caught a sparrow.
“Good. How about… two nights from now? I have Fatui work that’ll go late tomorrow.”
“Um… sure,” Kaeya said, forgetting to even mentally check his own schedule. He’d make it work.
Archons, you are so dumb…
“Perfect,” Childe said. He finished wrapping Kaeya’s wound and then bounced to his feet. “That was easy! It’s a date!”
Perhaps they should have known that between a Fatui Harbinger and a Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius managing to have a success first date could never be that easy.