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"I worked really hard on this, so I hope you appreciate it."
In his hands, Thoma holds a bright blue sweater. He's made this particular pattern many times before, but he outdid himself this time: Sakura blossoms drift across the back, careful attention knitted into every stitch.
Thoma kneels down and beckons the recipient forward. "What do you think?"
A Shiba Inu barks happily at him. "You like it?" Grinning, he begins to pull the sweater on over the dog's head. The weather has dropped considerably over the last few weeks. It will likely snow soon in Inazuma. While the cobblestone streets of the city are cleared regularly by its inhabitants, the nature outside is left to the elements. Thoma does what he can to keep the stray animals that roam nearby warm and comfortable, but even this feels inadequate.
"Tell your friends to stop by too, alright? There's plenty more where that came from." The dog allows a few scratches on its head, then barks again and scampers off, tail wagging in excitement. Thoma laughs and shakes his head, standing up and brushing dirt off his pants as he heads for the Sakura tree situated just outside Inazuma City. The food bowls he set out here are empty, but that's no matter. He pulls out grilled fish and ham from the bag he's carrying, knowing that the cats and dogs will smell it and come running for their meal soon.
Thoma is contemplating on whether he should stay and wait for the strays or head back to the commission when a voice speaks up from behind.
"That's a good catch you got there."
He's startled, tensing slightly before he forces himself to relax and turn to the stranger with a congenial smile. A young man around his age stands a few feet away, hands tucked into the pockets of his gray trousers, a peculiar mask sitting atop of his head of red hair. Thoma sees no weapon on him, but easily spots the glowing blue Hydro Vision attached to his belt. This, combined with his relaxed posture and how easily he snuck up on Thoma, lets him know that this is no ordinary man.
"Oh, thank you! Fished them off the coast of Byakko Plain this morning," he explains, gesturing in the direction of the location. "I'm Thoma, by the way. I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new to Inazuma?"
The man is clearly a foreigner—if his features and clothes weren't a dead giveaway, the Snezhnayan accent would be. It's unusual for someone to arrive in the island nation without Thoma knowing about it. He makes a point to keep track of new arrivals on Ritou. Something tells him this guy was processed very quickly.
The stranger flashes a wide, easy smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Nice to meet you, Thoma! I'm Childe, and yeah, I just got here recently." A vague answer wrapped in friendliness, but then again, he doesn't owe Thoma any explanations. "I'm looking for someone, actually, and you looked like someone who knows their way around this place. Am I right?" Childe walks closer as he speaks, hands still in his pockets. By no means a threatening move; if anything, it's meant to invite a more casual friendliness between the two of them. So he's a people-person, too, huh?
“If I don’t know the person, then I can probably point you to someone who might! Who is it you’re looking for?”
“Something of a vagrant - a bit on the shorter side, dark hair, pretty face. Oh, he also wears a really large hat with a veil hanging off the back of it.”
Childe paints a unique picture. Thoma wracks his mind for anyone he’s seen fitting this description, but such an individual would be hard to forget.
“Sorry, I don’t think I know them. What’d you say his name was?”
“No sweat. I figured it was a long shot anyway.” Childe waves this off, and pointedly doesn’t answer the question. Smiling at Thoma, he continues, “But since this is my first time to Inazuma, would you mind showing me around?”
For as friendly as Thoma is, he is by no means gullible. Too many times have people seen his bright smile and affable demeanor as an opening to take advantage of his kindness, unaware that all the while Thoma is determining what kind of favors he can ask of them later.
Childe is no ordinary outlander, that much is becoming clear. He’s likely strong and capable as well, and his Vision shouldn’t be taken for granted. Whether he is dangerous or a potential threat to the safety of Inazuma remains to be seen.
He’ll have to find out more.
“Sure, it’d be my pleasure.” Patting his bag one more time to check that all is secure, Thoma starts walking to the stone stairs that lead up to the heart of the city, gesturing for Childe to follow. “Anything in particular you’re hoping to do or see? Food? Drinks? Culture?”
“A little of everything,” he answers, easily matching Thoma’s pace. The guards standing watch by the stairs give the retainer a cursory nod, blatantly eyeing the newcomer beside him with suspicion. If Childe notices (which Thoma is sure that he does) he ignores it, or it doesn’t bother him at all.
“Food is one of the best ways to get to know a place, in my opinion. Do you know about Sakura mochi? It’s a sweet made here in Inazuma. One of a kind!”
“It’s not made from the trees, is it?” Childe asks, admiring the pink blossoms that line the streets. Thoma raises an eyebrow, about to correct the misconception, but notices the quick of his lips and glint in Childe’s eyes. He laughs instead. “No, I’m afraid not. I’ve been tempted to try tasting it once or twice myself, but never have.”
There’s a gust of wind that sends the fallen petals floating through the air. Childe reaches out a hand, catching a stray one in his palm. He inspects it briefly, then holds it out to Thoma, just below his lips. “Here’s your chance.”
Thoma blinks down at the Sakura, then looks up to meet Childe’s gaze. He didn’t realize they’d come to a stop, but now he is all too aware of the piercing blue eyes and gloved hand mere centimeters away from his skin. His breath hitches, and he knows Childe catches this with the way his lips stretch further into a smile. “Not to your taste?”
“It’s not that,” he insists immediately, reaching up to gently pluck the petals from Childe’s fingers. “I just don’t want to eat one that’s been on the ground. And I don’t want to spoil my appetite.”
This draws a chuckle out of Childe, who resumes walking, even though he is supposed to be the one following Thoma. “Right, right. Well let’s get this mochi then, I could go for a snack.”
They walk up two more flights of stairs, Thoma being sure to point at the various landmarks and places of interest along the way. Yae Publishing House on the left, the shrines to the Raiden Shogun on the landing. Their destination is a stall just next to the Adventurers’ Guild. There’s no line, so it takes no time for Thoma to purchase two sticks of mochi, handing the Sakura flavored one to Childe.
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but I promise it’s good.”
Accepting the food, Childe eyes the one in Thoma’s hand curiously. “Did you get something different?”
“I did. This is plain mochi - just in case the Sakura isn’t to your taste.”
Childe quickly bites off one mochi, chewing thoughtfully. Thoma watches him, more invested in his opinion than he realized. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
He swallows before answering. “Delicious! Though I don’t know how you could go wrong with sweets. Still, I should compare.”
Then Childe is leaning forward, biting off a mochi from the stick Thoma is holding. It’s a quick, perfunctory gesture, nothing more than a sampling of the food, but he keeps his eyes on Thoma throughout all of it, even while chewing.
Perhaps Thoma should be offended, or weirded out, but he did buy both flavors for Childe to try. He’s not put off, though, not at all. Instead, he finds his gaze drawn to Childe’s lips as he licks them, getting any lingering powder left to taste. Thoma remembers himself and realizes he’s been staring when Childe holds out his stick of mochi to him.
“Want some? I don’t mind sharing.”
He stood no chance against blue eyes and a charming smile.
“Yeah, sure.” Mimicking Childe’s approach, Thoma also leans forward to steal a bite. Delicious as always, but this time the sweetness lingers on his tongue. Childe smiles as if in approval.
“I have to say, this is making me thirsty. Do you know any place to grab a drink as well?”
Before, Thoma wouldn’t have thought twice about Childe’s choice of words. Now, however, a slight blush is brought to his cheeks, and he has to look away as he gestures to the restaurant just down the road. “Kiminami Restaurant has all sorts of things on the menu, both food and drink. I’m friends with the owner, maybe she can give us a discount.”
That’s how Thoma finds himself sitting next to the outlander from Snezhnaya an hour later, plates of karaage, edamame, tempura, and a bottle of denshu spread out before them. Childe is on his third cup of the sake and seems no worse for wear.
“You sure you don’t want any?” He asks, refilling his cup. Thoma shakes his head, still nursing his glass of tea. “No, thanks. Alcohol doesn’t sit well with me. I wouldn’t be much company to you if I’m sick on the ground.”
Childe hums as he takes another appreciative sip. Thoma is amazed at his tolerance. “I’m more surprised that you don’t even look drunk. What do you drink up there in Snezhnaya?”
“Firewater. Strong enough to burn your throat, but it keeps you warm during those long, dark winters.”
Thoma makes a show of shivering. “Yeah, sounds like a recipe for disaster for someone like me.”
“Don’t worry, if you every find your way up to Snezhnaya, I’ll make sure to show you a good time like you’re doing for me.” Childe has an elbow on the counter, chin propped up in his palm. The position has his whole body turned toward Thoma. He’s a charismatic guy, with a large presence that draws you in. Being the sole recipient of it is enough to make Thoma’s mind swim as though he did drink the sake.
He doesn’t move away, doesn’t put more space between them. It’s been a while since someone has treated him not as the retainer for the Kamisato clan, nor an outlander who will never truly belong, but just as Thoma. It’s a pleasure he’d forgotten to enjoy.
“I look forward to it. How long are you planning to stay in Inazuma?”
Childe shrugs. “Until I find who I’m looking for.” Another evasive answer, but his smiles remains bright and easy. Thoma wants to know more, can feel the words dangling on the tip of his tongue, but then a gloved thumb hand is grasping his chin, a thumb brushing against his bottom lip.
“Sorry, you had some crumbs there.”
Thoma will never know if he actually did, and really, it doesn’t matter. What does are Childe’s darkening eyes fixed on his mouth, his thumb still touching his lip. He seems to be thinking, or waiting, and Thoma is almost sure that his tea was spiked, because there’s no other explanation for why he is suddenly leaning in, pressing his lips against Childe’s. The answer to the question he’d been asking this whole time, likely since he approached under the Sakura tree. He tastes like sake, and Thoma now knows what people mean when they say they get drunk from another’s kiss.
They’re sitting in public, Anna rummaging through her wares somewhere behind the counter, people walking behind them in the street. Someone will surely see and let out a scandalized gasp at two outlanders kissing like this, and word will get back to the Kamisato siblings. Thoma feels no shame. This moment is theirs, however fleeting.
They part slowly, lips lingering close. Childe drops his hand from Thoma’s chin, but it finds his knee instead. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to repay that hospitality as well whenever you’re in Snezhnaya.”
Thoma laughs, grateful for the soft, easy break of the tension. “I promise I don’t do this with every stranger I show around.”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did, but I can’t say I’m not happy to hear that I’m special.” With a brief squeeze of his knee, Childe withdraws his hand, picking up his cup of sake to finish it off in one last gulp. “It’s getting late, I should probably find a place to turn into for the night.”
“Do you know where the inn is?” Thoma is reaching into his pocket for his mora, prepared to foot the bill for his guest, but Childe has the coin out on the counter for Anna before he can do so. Along with a generous tip. He winks.
“I think I’ll camp out in the wild. I don’t think my target is here, so I should start making my way to the next island.”
Target, he says. Not a friend, or family member, or even acquaintance. Thoma wonders just who could be the subject of Childe’s interest and pursuit like this. A spike of envy shoot through him.
“You sure? I know a place that’s nice and affordable.” He’s close to offering his own room at the Kamisato estate to him.
“Yeah, I am. I like sleeping under the stars, and where monsters or enemies might be roaming. Makes it all the more fun.” Childe is smiling, but this time Thoma can’t tell if he’s joking or not. Something tells him he’s not.
“Allow me to see you out of the city, then,” he insists, standing up and offering a hand to Childe to help him up. He takes it, but doesn’t let it go once he’s on his feet. Thoma doesn’t either.
He leads them down the back roads this time, telling himself it’s to show Childe the nighttime scenery, rather than an excuse to take the longer route in an effort to prolong whatever time they have left together. Still, it feels as though no time has passed before they’re standing at the outskirts of the city, Mt. Yougou glowing in the distance.
“Do you think you’ll pass through the city again whenever you leave?”
“It’s hard to say. I’m not sure where my travels will take me. If I do, I’ll be sure to find you.”
“I look forward to it.”
This time, Thoma doesn’t need to wait for any sign or indication from Childe before he’s kissing him again. This time, he doesn’t hold back, grabbing the man’s cheeks and tilting his head to deepen the kiss, opening his mouth to him. Thoma never considered himself the type to have a fling or to become so familiar with someone so quickly. Loyalty is something earned and not easily given out. Perhaps it’s a good thing that Childe is leaving, because he is dangerously close to adding a third person to his list of those he’s ready to protect and fight for.
Not that he needs it. Childe is strong, experienced in battle, if the firmness of his chest and the scars that are sprinkled across his forearms are any indication. Maybe it’s the other way around, maybe he would be someone who would protect Thoma. He never thought he required it, but if it’s Childe, it may not be such a thing.
He has to be drunk. What’s gotten into him, suddenly becoming so sappy? One fun night and two (amazingly good) kisses are enough for him to start having outrageous thoughts? It’s hard not to, when Childe’s lips are that soft, his tongue sending sparks down his spine.
Dangerous indeed, and all the sweeter and more memorable that it’s already reached its end.
“You must be trying really hard to get me to stay,” Childe chuckles against his lips, leaning his forehead against Thoma’s.
“Just giving you a little something for the road,” Thoma says, indulging in running his hand through Childe’s hair. “Maybe next time you’ll be searching a nation for me.”
“Maybe.”
For all of Childe’s grand promises about Thoma visiting Snezhnaya, he’s much more noncommittal about this, what seems to be the more attainable wish. Maybe the unattainable suits him more.
Childe pulls back, and Thoma’s hand slowly falls back to his side. “Be safe,” he tells him, receiving that charming smile in return.
“Life’s no fun that way. And now I can be happy knowing I have you worrying about me,” Childe says as he starts walking backward, eyes still on Thoma. There’s not one falter in his steps. “Until next time, Thoma.”
He turns on his heel, one hand lifted in a lazy wave farewell.
Thoma stays standing there, watching as Childe’s form shrinks into the distance. He should say something, call out in a plea for him to stay, or possibly to take him along. He doesn’t. It’s not actually what either of them would want, nothing more than a pleasant fantasy.
Who knows if they’ll ever cross paths again. But whatever they shared tonight will always bring a smile to Thoma’s face, and it’s a private happiness he’ll treasure forevermore.