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Chapter Text

It started with an innocuous letter placed among a mound of paperwork.

Normally, Childe would never do such mundane work willingly without complaint–it was just plain boring, and his talents were never suited to sitting around in one place for very long. He had always been better suited to catch up with debtors, train recruits, or fight in the front lines—duties that were just more active.

Unfortunately, he had chosen a very inopportune moment to see Ekaterina, having met her just hours after the Tianquan had made an impromptu visit to Northland Bank. From what he could tell through the receptionist’s sullen attitude, it seemed she had come by for no reason but somehow ended up finding a way to implicate their business. 

(And for some reason, the Traveler was there…? Childe didn’t bother to ask. The Traveler was always everywhere.)

“So now we have to revise twenty different contracts that the Tianquan found fault with and I am very stressed,” Ekaterina finished as she slowly corralled Childe up the stairs into his office.

“While I am incredibly sorry for your day’s bad fortune,” Childe said, desperately trying to release his arm from Ekaterina’s death grip, “I fail to understand what this has to do with me and why you’re making me do… ugh…paperwork. I have plans, you know.”

“Your ‘plans’ are just shopping with your boyfriend, Lord Harbinger,” Ekaterina snapped. “Don’t forget that I’m the one in charge of your schedule. And since it’s your fault that our relations with the Qixing are so tense in the first place, it’s only fair that you shoulder some of the work, sir.”

Ouch. It was the truth, but damn, she knew how to hit hard.

Childe sighed and gave in. Ekaterina was an extremely skilled agent and usually kept calm in stressful situations, but it was clear that the Tianquan’s unexpected visit had frazzled her. 

He proceeded to sigh again when he saw the horrendously tall mound of paperwork on his desk.

“... What the fuck.”

“These are all directives that only Harbingers have authority to execute,” Ekaterina explained. “You’re already lucky that you can use me as a proxy for matters of less importance.”

Childe looked at Ekaterina in two parts horror and admiration. “That means… what you have to work on–”

“–Is not nearly this much,” Ekaterina interrupted dryly. “What you’re looking at is weeks of accumulated orders, since you have been busy with other matters, my lord.”

So all this extra work is your fault, she did not say.

Childe sighed. He was in for a long day.

As he moved a stack from his desk to the floor to make room, he waved a hand of dismissal to where Ekaterina was waiting by the door. “Understood. Have someone inform Zhongli-xiansheng that I will not be able to make it to our plans for tonight.”

Ekaterina nodded. “Certainly, sir.”

Childe noted how her posture almost sagged with relief when she thought he wasn’t looking. He made a mental note to give her a generous bonus for her troubles and got to work.

Hours later, he had made a sizeable dent in the pile of work (but seriously, did they have to be this procedural about Dottore’s 352nd experiment on the ruin guards in Tianqiu Valley? No one was ever there, anyways…) when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Tartaglia looked up from what felt like his millionth signature and prayed that Ekaterina didn’t have more work for him. “Come in.”

The person who opened the door was decidedly not Ekaterina, but someone much, much better.

“Hello, xingan,” Zhongli smiled, a couple of wrapped packages in his arms.

Ajax lit up, scrambling from his seat to grab Zhongli into a hug. “Xiansheng! You surprised me!”

Zhongli reciprocated warmly, leaning in to peck him on the cheek. “Your receptionist led me straight here if that’s okay.”

“Of course that's okay,” Ajax babbled, delighted by the sudden visit. “I gave Ekaterina explicit instructions to give you full clearance…”

Now that he was closer to Zhongli, Ajax could smell something rich and savory rising from the box in his arms.

“What’s this?”

Zhongli smiled warmly, handing him the topmost package. “I heard from your staff that it would be a long night for you, so I brought you some dinner.”

Ajax wanted to melt. “Oh lyubimyy, you didn’t have to.”

But before he could open the cloth wrapping around the box, Zhongli placed a thinner package on top.

“I also have something that Ekaterina asked me to give to you.”

Tartaglia stifled a groan. If it was more work…

As if sensing his sudden change in mood, Zhongli pulled up a chair to his desk, gesturing for Ajax to sit back down.

“If you’d like, I can stay for a little bit while you take a break for dinner,” Zhongli offered.

“But don’t you have to deal with work?”

“Director Hu was more than happy to give me an hour-long break to spend with you.”

It was decided. Ajax was dating an angel.

“You’re the best, A-li,” he sighed, collapsing into his chair with the boxes hugged to his chest. “Where would I be without you?”

Zhongli chuckled, but Ajax noticed (with a faint touch of smugness) that a flush had spread over the tops of his cheekbones at the nickname.

“... Eat your food before it gets cold.”

Ajax complied, raising the lid of the box to reveal a painstakingly arranged packed dinner. The savory smell had come from a large container of soup, with some Minty Meat Rolls on the side. There was also a smaller lidded container on the side, but Ajax was stopped before he could open it.

“That’s dessert,” Zhongli explained. “You don’t want it to get cold yet.”

Awed, Ajax fumbled with his chopsticks (Zhongli’s gift to him, dragon-and-phoenix symbols curled around delicate porcelain) and with only a little struggling, managed to pick up a mint roll before popping it into his mouth.

“Mm, this is really good. Did you make this?”

“I ordered the Minty Meat Rolls from Wanmin,” Zhongli explained. “But the Lotus Seed and Bird Egg Soup and the Rice Pudding–your dessert–was made by me, yes.”

Ajax huffed out a breath, significantly impressed. Both of them had been busy with their respective jobs, so he had no idea when Zhongli would have had time to make the dishes. All he could do was chalk it up to ‘mysterious adeptus cooking powers’.

“I got the recipe from Baizhu-yisheng,” Zhongli added quietly. “He said it was good for replenishing stamina.”

Dammit. Zhongli was too damn thoughtful sometimes.

He took a spoonful of soup, allowing the sweet-savory custard to melt on his tongue (“it’s delicious, xiansheng”) before reaching over to the other package on his desk. His face lit up immediately upon reading the address.

“Oh, it’s from my siblings!”

Zhongli leaned over curiously as Ajax flipped the envelope over. The wax seal on the back was patterned with hydrangeas, a gift from Inazuma that Ajax had sent his older sister. He broke the seal before carefully pulling out the letter, still crisp and cold from the dry Snezhnayan air.

His older sister’s writing was elegant as always.

Dear Ajax,

I hope that you’ve been doing well. Thank you again for the beautiful wax seal stamps–the hydrangea pattern is beautiful. Everyone wanted to write a letter immediately after we got your gifts, but I managed to convince them to hold back until after you had returned to Liyue. Jason says hi, and apologizes that he couldn’t see you during your last visit.

Our parents are doing alright. Both of them are very happy that you’ve found yourself a partner and hope that you’ll be able to bring this Mister Zhongli to Snezhnaya sometime to visit. As for me… I mean, we all saw those photos of him. How’d you get him to settle for you?

Ajax stifled a snort at his sister’s obvious jab. Scanning the rest of the letter, his eyes widened.

…But to get to the main point. Teucer’s period of being grounded has finally ended, and now he’s itching to go over and visit his big brother again. He’s just like you, so he’s a real pain–he’ll probably get on a boat and sail away on his own if we don’t do anything. Mama and Papa have agreed as long as he goes with someone else, so we’ve sent Tonia and Anthon with him. By the time you read this, they should be well on their way. They’ve agreed to stay with you for a month.

Thank you in advance and apologies for having to entertain them. We all love you and miss you very much.

Yours,

Penelope

Just as Ajax raised his gaze from the letter, a spoon bumped against his lips.

“Keep eating,” Zhongli chided softly, holding up a spoonful of soup.

Ajax obediently drank the rest of the soup before huffing out a sigh. “Shit. This is going to be an issue.”

Zhongli frowned, opening the container of rice pudding and handing it to him. “I thought you would be pleased by a letter from your family.”

“No, I am–thanks, lyubimyy–but apparently my younger siblings are coming to visit.”

“Oh, when?”

“Right now,” Ajax groaned around a spoonful of rice pudding. The creamy sticky-sweetness of the pudding did little to alleviate his rising panic. “They’ll be here any day now.”

Zhongli took the pudding out of his hands. Childe tended to fidget when he was anxious. “But…I seem to recall that you’re scheduled to operate in Mondstadt for a few weeks, correct?”

“Yep. I have to move out next week, and it’s a direct order so I can’t get out of it,” he sighed. With the abrupt loss of two Harbingers, the Fatui were left disorganized and spread thin. Childe found himself suddenly partially responsible for the operations of the surrounding regions; which was the other reason behind the sudden influx of paperwork.

Ugh. What he wouldn’t give to go out and fight some monsters right now. He loved his family, really, but did they not realize that he had a job? As a Harbinger? To just throw these things at him out of the blue…

Zhongli placed a hand on his knee, stopping his leg from bouncing. “Well, first let’s focus on what we have to do right now, and worry about the details later.”

Tartaglia sagged against his chair. “You’re right.”

Zhongli smiled softly, rubbing the back of his neck as Childe called out to the guard outside his office. The guard entered, bowing to him before giving Zhongli a curt nod.

“Please inform Ekaterina that my siblings are coming to Liyue in the upcoming few days. Have someone watch for their arrival–it should be a ship from Snezhnaya.”

“Understood, sir.”

When the agent left, Tartaglia leaned back against his chair. “I don’t suppose I could burden you with watching them while I’m gone?”

Zhongli looked regretful. “Unfortunately, a very important client just came requesting a traditional-style funeral. While it’s not the most taxing demand, the customary Liyuen mourning period is 49 days, so I’m afraid I won’t be around much to watch your siblings.”

The consultant looked so forlorn that Ajax couldn’t help but laugh, putting a hand on his arm. “It’s okay. Your work is important, and besides, I think my siblings will be upset if they have to spend so much time away from me.”

“Why don’t you take them with you, then?” Zhongli suggested.

Tartaglia blinked. It was a feasible idea, though he did worry about what his siblings would do when they were there.

“I’ve only been there a couple of times,” Zhongli said, “and the last time was a few hundred years ago. But knowing Barbatos, that city should be a safe place to let your siblings loose.”

Zhongli’s forehead wrinkled with disdain. “Even if it’s full of drunkards just like him.”

If Zhongli wasn’t a literal former Archon, Ajax would have been concerned about the sudden gust of wind that swept half of his papers onto the floor. 

Zhongli muttered some choice Liyuen swear words under his breath, and his eyes glowed a brief yellow. Before Ajax could move, he had already knelt to the floor and picked up the discarded papers, reorganizing them into a neat stack.

(Far away in Mondstadt, Venti yelped as a rock pillar shot from the ground and nearly decked him in the face.)

“Anyways,” Zhongli murmured, having set the desk in order once more. “Mondstadt is quite child-friendly, and if you’re truly concerned you can always assign a subordinate to watch them. I’m sure they will find things to do there.”

“I’ll think about it,” Tartaglia mused, already beginning to plan out his next few days. There would be a lot to do in preparation for his siblings’ arrival. Ekaterina was going to have a field day.

Somehow while he had been tidying the desk, Zhongli had also put away the dirty food containers and wrapped them back up in its cloth. “I’ll let you get back to work. I should head out now before my little director breaks into Northland Bank to drag me away.”

Tartaglia snorted. “You’re exaggerating. But yes, you should head out soon.”

Zhongli did not laugh, and Tartaglia’s smile faded.

“She…wouldn’t, right..?”

Instead of responding, Zhongli just smiled and kissed him briefly. “I’ll see you tonight, xingan.”

Tartaglia waved back dazedly, suddenly much more wary of Director Hu.

---

Thankfully, Childe was able to claw his way through the paperwork just in time to welcome his siblings.

“Big brother!” Teucer yelled as soon as he stepped onto the dock, waving maniacally. Behind him, Tonia and Anthon waved, albeit more reservedly. While Anthon looked the same as before, albeit with a new pair of round wire-rimmed glasses, Tonia had shot up in the short amount of time since he had last seen her. She now looked to reach up to his collarbone.

Childe grinned widely, crossing the port in a few quick strides before sweeping all three of his siblings into his arms.

“It’s good to see you three,” he laughed, squeezing them tightly. They responded in kind, wrapping their arms around him in a cuddle pile.

However, no matter how excited his siblings were to see him, their curiosity couldn’t be contained. As soon as his grip on them loosened, they wriggled impatiently out of his arms, eager to explore Liyue.

Ajax let them run around the harbor, a wave of fondness overtaking him. To his amusement, Teucer appeared to be showing his older siblings around, showing off the different places that he had seen the last time he had visited. And while it was obvious that Tonia was nodding along just to humor her baby brother, Anthon was clearly enraptured.

“And this giant hook thingy is called an anchor! That’s what Ms. Nice Lady said.”

“I think Papa showed us one a long time ago,” Anthon mused, circling around the anchor like it was a mysterious specimen. “But I’ve never seen one this big.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Tonia said, and Ajax had to bite back a laugh at the note of condescension in her voice. It seemed that, despite her change in height, she had not quite outgrown her attitude. “Obviously, bigger ships will need bigger anchors.”

“Obviously,” Teucer parroted smugly.

“Now, now,” Ajax stepped in when Anthon began to pout at his siblings ganging up on him. “You guys must be hungry!”

“I’m starving!” Teucer piped up immediately. “Can we go to the place we went to last time?”

“Of course, of course.”

Though Childe hadn’t asked Lumine where she had taken Teucer last time, it was likely Wanmin Restaurant. He suddenly felt grateful that the restaurant was close to the wharf, so his younger brothers wouldn’t complain too much about the walk.

Once they reached Wanmin Restaurant, Tartaglia nodded briefly to Chef Mao. Though the man was undoubtedly wary of him thanks to the incident with Osial, unlike most merchants in Liyue he was still fair in his prices and attitude. On the right days, he was almost friendly.

This appeared to be one of those days, no doubt because of the children that were tagging along. Teucer broke into a smile upon seeing him at the counter.

“Big brother! That’s the nice man who made yummy food for me last time!”

Chef Mao looked surprised at the appearance of Childe with kids surrounding him, but the shock melted away into recognition. “Oh, I remember you! You’re the little one who had that special order. Extra virgin vegetable oil and lots of sugar, right?”

Teucer looked awed. “You remember?”

“Of course! I always remember my customer’s special orders! Same as last time, yes?”

“Yes, please!”

Chef Mao turned to Tonia and Anthon with a smile. “What about you two?”

“Umm…” Anthon squinted briefly in order to read the menu. “Could I try… the Crystal Shrimp, please?”

“Good choice! A must-have for shrimp lovers. And for you, young lady?”

Tonia looked to be readying herself. “What’s your special here?”

Chef Mao smiled proudly. “Our Black-Back Perch Stew is second to none in Liyue Harbor! It’s a bit on the spicy side, though. If you can’t handle spice it might be difficult…”

Tonia’s eyes narrowed, and Ajax sighed internally. Leave it to his sister to take his words as a challenge.

“I’ll take one order of that, please,” she said.

Chef Mao nodded with faint amusement, noting it down before directing his gaze to Childe. The warmth in his gaze cooled slightly.

“Tonia, why don’t you take your brothers and find us some seats,” Ajax said, pulling out his Mora pouch.

Tonia nodded and dragged her brothers away in search of a table.

As Childe began to count out coins, Chef Mao spoke. “I didn’t know you had younger siblings.”

His voice had surprisingly little animosity. Childe nodded carefully. 

Then, as he tipped the coins into the chef’s awaiting hands, he suddenly felt the need to explain.

“They don’t know about me,” he blurted out before his mind could catch up. “I mean. The older two know of my…occupation, but they don’t really know what that entails, exactly.”

He watched as Chef Mao’s expression softened somewhat before his gaze turned towards the three kids, having claimed a table for themselves.

“They seem like good kids,” Chef Mao said quietly.

Somehow, those simple words made Ajax almost sag with relief.

“They are,” he agreed.

Chef Mao’s expression looked almost satisfied when he turned back to him. “Your food will be ready soon. I’ll bring it out when it’s done.”

“Thank you.” 

---

After a good dinner (in which Tonia was able to eat and enjoy the entire bowl of Black-Back Perch Stew, to Ajax’s surprise) Ajax ran into Zhongli after the latter had finished work. The man was waiting for them outside of the funeral parlor, and Ajax could see the warm smile on his face as they moved closer, no doubt mirroring his own wide grin.

“A-li,” Ajax said as a greeting, reaching out to give his hand a brief squeeze.

Zhongli leaned in to brush a featherlight kiss to Ajax’s forehead. “Hello, Ajax.”

The sudden feeling of a child hugging his leg reminded Ajax that his siblings were, in fact, there with him and therefore he could not kiss his partner silly like usual.

“Big brother, who’s this?” Teucer asked from behind him.

“Righ, I need to introduce you guys! This is my partner, Zhongli,” Ajax backed up slightly to push Tonia and Anthon forward. “Xiansheng, these are my siblings.”

Zhongli smiled kindly at the starstruck siblings and bent down to meet them at eye level. “Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer, right? It’s nice to meet you all.”

Anthon stared at him in awe. “How’d you know our names?”

“Your brother talks about you three all the time. I’d be a fool to not know your names by now.”

“I like your earring,” Teucer blurted shyly, staring at the dangling jewelry on Zhongli’s ear. “It’s on the same ear as our big brother’s.”

“Huh, you’re right,” Ajax noted with a grin, reaching out to flick the tassel on Zhongli’s earring. “Looks like we’re matching, xiansheng.”

Tonia blinked disbelievingly before turning to her older brother. “Brother Ajax, the Kamera pictures you showed us don’t even compare to the actual person. How’d you manage to get him?”

“Excuse me?” Ajax gasped, betrayed. “Penelope said the same thing.”

“If Older Sister agrees, it must be true,” Tonia sassed.

Ajax found himself getting pulled closer as Zhongli wrapped an arm securely around his shoulders. “Rest assured, Miss Tonia, your older brother has been treating me wonderfully. I would not trade him for anything in the world.”

Ajax flushed hard as Tonia let out a surprised giggle.

“A-anyways,” Ajax coughed awkwardly. “It’s late now, let’s go home.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Zhongli offered, still smiling.

As they headed towards Ajax’s apartment, Teucer began to lag behind, clearly sleepy. Ajax let him clamber onto his back, and his youngest brother fell asleep on his shoulder. Next to him, Tonia held onto his jacket, too embarrassed to hold hands but still reaching to her brother on instinct. Unlike Snezhnaya, where sundown meant darkness and frigid cold, Liyue had no such environmental constraints. Ajax watched fondly as Tonia observed the city’s nightlife, taking in the smell of banquets and the faint sound of opera music.

Ahead of him, Zhongli and Anthon were chatting animatedly. The boy had come prepared with a litany of questions about Liyue, and Zhongli was all too happy to answer with the excruciating detail necessary to entertain a curious child.

“–So you’re saying the rocks in Guyoon Stone Forest are actually spears thrown down by the Geo Archon?”

“Guyun,” Zhongli corrected his pronunciation with a smile. “And yes, they are. A long time ago…”

Seeing the normally shy Anthon getting along so well with his partner, Ajax felt his heart bubble over with fondness and almost longing.

For just a moment, it felt like he and Zhongli had their own little family. Ajax’s siblings were next to them and sprawled on his back, the sound of talking and laughter and soft breathing filling the little bubble that was them. Suddenly the thoughts flooded in, of little children and laughter and Zhongli’s hair with Ajax’s eyes and it was all too soon, so little time had passed since Osial’s resurrection and their reconciliation but Ajax–

Ajax hoped, for a second, and dared to dream.

---

A few days later, it was time for Tartaglia to head off.

It had been relatively easy to inform his siblings that they would be going with him to Mondstadt. Tonia understood the nature of his work the most out of the three and gave in quickly, and both Teucer and Anthon were all too excited at the chance to explore a whole new nation.

Childe yawned as he hauled the last of his siblings’ belongings into the back of the coach, having woken everyone up early to get ready for their departure. Though he had taken extra care to rent a comfortable carriage for his siblings, the ride would still be taxing; he was not looking forward to the complaints he would doubtlessly have to endure throughout the trip.

“Would it be too much to ask Zhongli if he can just fly us over?” he wondered aloud.

Zhongli chuckled, appearing suddenly from behind him. “Unfortunately, I think the people of Mondstadt would lose their minds if they saw a second dragon flying over the city.”

Ajax let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

“Nevertheless, I hope you get through the trip safely,” Zhongli added softly, his eyes shining with concern.

Ajax leaned against him, looking towards his siblings. Anthon had already fallen back asleep in the carriage, while Tonia attempted to pull a blabbering Teucer away from the horses.

“It’s fine,” he said. “Most wouldn’t dare to go against the will of a Fatui Harbinger.”

And if they did, well, Childe was never concerned with a little more blood on his hands.

“Sir, we’re all ready to go,” the coachman informed him.

“Alright, just give me a moment,” Tartaglia nodded before turning back to Zhongli. “Good luck with the funeral preparation, xiansheng.”

“You as well. I hope everything goes smoothly in Mondstadt.”

Ajax stole a glance at the carriage. His siblings had now gathered around some Liyuen toys that Ajax had bought for the journey. Tonia caught his glance and closed the curtain, but not before she winked at him knowingly. Teenagers.

Before the opportunity could pass, Ajax quickly wrapped an arm around the back of Zhongli’s neck and pulled him into a kiss.

Zhongli responded immediately, pulling him flush against his chest, and Ajax nearly shuddered at the barely audible growl in his throat. Though the kiss was somewhat chaste, mindful of the coachman and his siblings close by, both of them were breathing hard by the time he pulled away.

“Ajax…” Zhongli’s voice was almost reverential. “I love you. Stay safe.”

Ajax pressed his nose against his cheek. “Love you too.”

It was only with great reluctance (and an awkward cough from the coachman) that Ajax disentangled himself from Zhongli’s arms. He pressed one last kiss to the tip of Zhongli’s nose before backing away, hopping onto the front of the coach with a deep breath.

He had practiced with one of the Liyuen Fatui agents. He could do this.

“Zaijian!” Ajax finally called just as the carriage began to move, the practiced syllables awkward on his tongue.

Zhongli’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise, before a brilliant smile broke across his face, his eyes resplendent in the early morning sun.

“Zaijian, Ajax,” Zhongli replied, waving. “See you soon.”

Even as he disappeared behind the paifang that marked the entrance to the city, Zhongli never stopped waving.

---

To Tartaglia’s relief, the trip to Mondstadt went smoothly. He had convinced Ekaterina to make the entourage as discreet as possible, and in response, she had the good sense to book a nondescript carriage for the journey. As long as Childe wore more traditional Snezhnayan clothing instead of his Fatui uniform, the Millelith wouldn’t pull them aside.

(Technically, the Millelith weren’t supposed to stop their coach even if it were apparent that they were Fatui, but their diplomatic immunity in Liyue was wavering.)

They managed to reach Wangshu Inn by noon, just in time for lunch. Though Childe was fairly certain that the Qixing agents at the inn saw through his “disguise”, they didn’t bother them. In fact, he could have sworn that Verr Goldet had even smiled when she saw the kids playing with the inn’s cat.

After Tartaglia ordered takeout to bring with them for dinner, they set off once more towards Mondstadt. Thankfully, his siblings were plenty preoccupied with watching the changing scenery from the windows, as the craggy mountains lining Stone Gate gave way into sloping cliffs and steep plateaus. With a capable undercover Pyroslinger as their coachman, Childe could actually relax somewhat.

It was evening by the time they reached Mondstadt. Teucer and Anthon had fallen asleep leaning against the carriage cushions, while Tonia was reading one of the many books Ajax had bought her using the light from fireflies she had caught in a jar.

(When had she managed to catch them, anyway..?)

Once they reached Goth Grand Hotel, Ajax gently shook his siblings awake. Though Tonia stepped out of the carriage easily enough, both Teucer and Anthon were reluctant to move. After hearing them whine sleepily for a few moments, Ajax finally gave in and picked them up.

Childe was sure he was a funny sight to behold, with one child wrapped in his arms and the other curled up on his back. But if the coachman and the guard standing outside of the hotel found it strange, they did not comment.

By the time they reached their room, even Tonia looked sleepy. Ajax roused his siblings awake enough so that they could change and wash up for bed, but doing so presented its own set of challenges–he nearly had a heart attack when Teucer fell asleep standing up.

Despite the kids’ sleepiness making them careless and slow-limbed, Ajax managed to safely tuck all of them into bed. Once he was sure they had passed out, he left the room to go upstairs where the Fatui had made a makeshift office out of one of the rooms. 

The guard nodded politely to him as he entered. Childe was silently thankful that the other Fatui were fairly respectful to him, even though he wasn’t their direct superior. Though the Fatui’s top priority was always the Tsaritsa, inter-Harbinger politics were complex, and he could never be too careful about what his fellow Harbingers could potentially do to him.

By bringing your siblings here, you’ve painted a target on their backs, a part of him hissed.

Tartaglia shook the thought out of his head. It would be no better to leave them virtually alone in Liyue–at least here he was able to protect them.

Reaching under the desk, he found some sheets of paper and an inkwell, and quickly penned a letter to inform Zhongli of their safe arrival. Once the letter had been sealed and sent off, Childe stood up from the desk and glanced out of the window.

The moon was high in the sky. It was still pretty early.

“Right,” he said, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s get to work.”

He would have to save his worries for later. Before anything else, Childe was a servant of the Tsaritsa, and he had a job to do.

Chapter Text

After a relatively productive night of work, Childe had enough time to stumble back to his room and take a quick nap. Unlike most, he didn’t need to sleep much. The three months in the Abyss had taught him to sleep with one eye open, and it was rare that he would ever need a full night’s rest. The short nap would be enough to keep him functional for days.

However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate a slow, lazy morning (especially when Zhongli was beside him). When Teucer–with far too much energy for the morning–shook him awake, Ajax couldn’t help but let out a long-suffering groan.

“Jus’... give me five minutes, Teucer,” he mumbled into his pillow.

“Tonia,” his annoying shit of a brother cried instead. “Help me wake Brother Ajax up.”

Tonia, in a true act of betrayal, leaned over and shook his shoulder briefly. “Sorry,” she whispered apologetically. “I can’t deal with Teucer on my own this early in the morning.”

Ajax couldn’t blame her, honestly. “Fine, fine, I’m up,” he sighed, hoisting himself out of bed. “Cheeky brats.”

Teucer only smiled smugly.

Ajax threw on some clothes, yawning all the while. “Is there anything you guys want to do today?”

“On our way to the hotel last night, I saw a bunch of shops,” Tonia offered. “I’d like to check them out today.”

Are you free? her eyes asked.

Tartaglia nodded. With all that he had finished the night before, he was fairly certain that he could spare a day to take his siblings sightseeing.

“Shopping it is, then,” he agreed with a smile.

“Can we eat first? I’m hungry,” Teucer complained.

Childe turned to the guard in the hallway. “Luke, is there any place that I can cook in the hotel?”

“Y-you know my name?” the guard stammered before quickly recovering. “I mean! There’s a hotel kitchen here, so I can open that up for you.”

Luke paused before slowly adding, “But, um, sir, we have a chef from Snezhnaya here to make meals, so there’s no need–”

“It’s alright. I like cooking,” Tartaglia offered him a smile. “Plus, my youngest brother is rather picky, so it’s probably better if I handle breakfast for him.”

The guard blinked, almost in disbelief, before he finally shrugged. “As you wish, Lord Harbinger.”

After whipping up a quick breakfast for his siblings, Ajax walked them to Mondstadt’s market district. Though Tartaglia had made a point to wear more subtle clothing, he still lagged behind his siblings, since it would be unfortunate if someone were to recognize him as a Fatuus and avoid them as a result. 

(He had never been more thankful that his siblings were prone to sticking together because if he was with any other group of children they would have scattered like the wind.)

“Big brother!” Anthon called, peering into the window of one of the stores. “Look at all the stuff in here!”

Ajax peered at the various knickknacks in the display window. “Want to go inside?”

Tonia didn’t wait for an answer, pushing the door open.

They entered to the sound of a bell jingling overhead. At the back of the store, a woman with light brown hair looked up from where she was tinkering with a little box.

“Oh, welcome to With Wind Comes Glory! How might I help you guys?”

“Just taking a look around,” Ajax said. Next to him, Tonia stared curiously at a shelf of musical instruments, while Anthon and Teucer poked at some colorful balloons on the other side of the store.

The shopkeeper walked over to the counter, giving them once-overs. 

“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” she said. 

Tartaglia stilled, unprepared for a sudden interrogation.

“Well, It’s always nice to meet new customers!” she continued with a smile, seemingly unaware of his stiffness. “I’m Marjorie, the owner of this shop. If you have any questions, just holler! I’ll be in the back.”

Tartaglia relaxed once he realized her words had no malicious intent. “Yes–”

“Miss Marjorie!” Teucer interrupted, leaning halfway across the counter. “What’s that thing you were working on over there?”

“Teucer!” Ajax hissed, grabbing his collar to prevent him from falling over.

Thankfully, Marjorie didn’t appear offended and went to grab the box. “This is a music box that an adventurer sold to me a while back. It wasn’t in great condition, so I’ve been cleaning it up and repairing it.”

“What does it sound like?” Anthon asked shyly.

Marjorie grinned. “You’re in luck! I just finished tuning it not too long ago. Here, have a listen.”

With the turn of a dial, the music box began playing a beautiful tune, one that Ajax recognized immediately.

“Is this music box from Liyue?” he asked.

Marjorie nodded. “The adventurer who sold this to me said that he found it somewhere in Guili Plains. But how did you know it was from there? I've never even heard this kind of melody before.”

“My partner is Liyuen,” Ajax explained. He had overheard Zhongli singing the song to one of the glaze lilies growing in his teapot, and had committed the sound of his humming to memory. “He hums this song when he thinks I’m not listening.”

“Well, this might make a good gift for him,” Marjorie suggested, a knowing smile on her face.

“When will this music box be finished?” Ajax asked.

Marjorie gently pushed it towards him. “The tuning was the majority of the work, so it should only take me another week to clean up, tops. Would you like to purchase it in advance?”

He inspected the box. The wood appeared to be high quality, and there were intricate carvings of lotuses and silk flowers lining the cover. Plus, the melody was beautiful…

“I’ll take it,” he said. 

“Great!” Marjorie chirped. “That’ll be fifteen thousand Mora. If you wouldn’t mind, could you let me know where you’re staying so that I can send you a letter when the box is finished?”

Tartaglia pushed over the coins thoughtlessly. “Sure, just send a letter to the Goth Grand Hotel.”

The shopkeeper’s brow shot up. 

“Isn’t the Goth Grand Hotel occupied by–”

Tartaglia internally swore. He had made a mistake.

“That’s where we’re staying, yeah!” he interrupted, hoping his smile didn’t seem too strained.

Please don’t say anything–!

Marjorie’s gaze darted between him and the kids, who had long since wandered to the other side of the store. Her expression didn’t show animosity, exactly, but her gaze was certainly questioning.

“...Are you–”

Right on cue, Teucer interrupted her. “Big brother! Have you bought it yet? I’m hungry!”

“You’re always hungry, Teucer. Just… give me a moment,” Ajax retorted, turning around. He was immediately met with the alarming sight of Tonia dangling from the top rung of a wooden ladder, anxiously peering at the ornaments on the top shelf.

“Tonia, get down from that ladder!” Ajax screeched, panicking as the ladder wobbled dangerously. “Anthon, could you–”

“I’m fine, brother! Just let me–”

“Down. Now. ”

“See, I told you he’d tell you off,” Anthon pouted from the ground.

“Ugh, don’t you both turn against me! Fine, I’m getting down, okay?” Tonia complained, stepping off the ladder. “Seriously, it’s like you’re always worrying–”

“Because you keep giving me reasons to,” Ajax huffed, before suddenly remembering that he was in the middle of an exchange. He turned around sheepishly. “Ah, I’m sorry, my siblings are kind of a handful.”

“...I’ll have the letter sent to the Goth Grand Hotel as soon as I can,” Marjorie said quietly.

“Thank you,” Childe mumbled, before suddenly doing a double-take. “Huh? But I…”

Isn’t it obvious that I’m a member of the Fatui?

Before Childe had left for Mondstadt, Ekaterina had given him a thorough rundown on the diplomatic state of the Fatui in Mondstadt that doubly served as a warning.

“Because of their, erm… aggressive diplomacy, the Fatui in Mondstadt have a notorious reputation,” Ekaterina had said. “This wouldn’t be an issue if it were just you, but since you’re bringing your siblings along, I would be careful to make sure they’re not treated unfairly because of you.”

At the time, Childe had agreed to lay low when he was with his siblings so that they wouldn’t have to bear the heavy reputation that Fatui associates usually had.

Two days in, and I’ve already broken that agreement, he thought wryly.

“...You remind me of my aunt,” Marjorie murmured just as Childe snapped back to the present.

“Your aunt?”

“She nags at my dad the same way you do with your siblings,” she explained, staring at Ajax’s siblings thoughtfully. “Even when he became the Mondstadt Branch Master of the Adventurer’s Guild, she’d always be there to keep him in line. I guess before anything else, titles or jobs aside, she was going to be his older sister first and foremost.”

There was a small smile on her face when she looked back at him. “It’s probably the same for you, isn’t it?”

Tartaglia stared at her in stunned silence before eventually recovering. “...Right.”

“I won’t let the other merchants know about your siblings’ link to you,” Marjorie continued. “I hope that they have a good time while they’re here in Mondstadt.”

Accepting her kindness made Tartaglia almost itch with discomfort, and he eventually placed some extra coins onto the counter.

“I don’t do favors if that’s what you were expecting,” he said, his voice stiff even to himself. “But I hope this compensation can be considered a token of my sincerity.”

“...I understand,” Marjorie murmured to him before looking towards the kids. “Well, have a nice day, all of you.”

“Thank you, miss!” Teucer cried, already halfway out the door.

Tonia and Anthon waved hurriedly before chasing after him.

When Ajax moved to leave after them, he caught Marjorie looking at him with a strange expression on her face.

---

“Mm, it smells good,” Anthon sighed as they walked through the street.

“Follow that smell!” Teucer chirped, picking up speed. “I wanna eat!”

“I think it’s coming from over there!” Tonia pointed towards one of the restaurants, where a heavenly smell was coming from its open-air kitchen.

The three of them made a mad dash for the restaurant, jostling one another. In his haste to reach the counter first, Teucer accidentally shoved Tonia into a table and sent cutlery tumbling to the floor.

Tonia immediately turned to face the customer and started apologizing profusely. “I’m so, so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going. Teucer, apologize to this poor lady now!”

“I’m sorry, Miss,” Teucer stammered apologetically. 

The girl sitting at the table waved a hand. “It’s alright, it’s alright. Children your age will always fool around.”

Tonia tilted her head. “...But you don’t seem that much older than me.”

The girl stood up in offense, the wide brim of her hat flapping furiously. “Excuse me –”

At the sudden motion, the plate of food, which had already been teetering dangerously close to the edge of the table, crashed to the ground.

The girl almost wailed, kneeling to the ground in despair. “My salad…!”

Ajax sighed and stepped closer, finally deciding to make his presence known.

“I’m very sorry for the behavior of my younger siblings,” he said, kneeling next to the girl.

The girl looked up, and her expression immediately shifted from comical anguish to guarded alertness.

Tartaglia blinked. Seeing her sudden alertness, he tried to sort his face into a benevolent smile. 

Surely my face doesn’t look that intimidating right now…

“Tonia, Teucer, Anthon,” Ajax turned to where his siblings were standing guiltily. “This should serve as a good reminder to not race so aggressively next time.”

“Yes, big brother,” they sighed in unison.

Ajax threw a small pouch of coins at Tonia, who caught it with ease. “You guys know how to order by yourselves, right? Get whatever you want.”

Tonia opened the pouch and laughed in what was probably supposed to be an imitation of Ajax. “You heard that right. It’s on me!”

“That’s still my money, you know,” Ajax said flatly, but his siblings had already run off giggling. With a sigh, he turned to the girl still on the ground.

“Sorry about them, again. I’m Ajax,” he introduced himself with a smile.

The girl took his hand and allowed him to pull her up, but the wariness in her eyes did not fade. “I’m Mona,” she said slowly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mona,” Ajax said, shaking her hand gently. “Please allow me to apologize on behalf of my siblings by treating you to a replacement meal.”

Unexpectedly, Mona looked almost indignant at the offer. “Excuse me, but I’m perfectly fine. I already ate quite a bit before my plate was knocked over.”

Ajax thought back to the obvious distress on Mona’s face when her food had fallen. “Even so…”

“Believe me. As an astrologist, I have no need–”

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the loud grumbling of Mona’s stomach. Ajax’s eyebrow rose with concern as she looked away, embarrassed.

“On the contrary, I believe I owe you at least a couple of dishes,” Ajax said, pushing Mona towards the restaurant counter. Surprisingly, she allowed herself to be essentially dragged along–it was clear her hunger overwhelmed her sense of pride.

“What would you like to eat?” he asked her once they reached the counter.

The girl’s gaze roamed around the menu for only a brief moment.

“A Satisfying Salad is good enough for me,” she said.

Ajax whipped his head around. “Just a Satisfying Salad? That can’t be enough!”

“Actually, it’s perfectly adequate. Salad is filling and nutritious, and more importantly, it’s very cheap. Convenient, too… It’s is the ideal meal for astrologers like me, who have no need for such mundanities like Mora.”

Her words were so practiced that it sounded less like she was persuading Ajax and more like she was convincing herself. Ajax’s brow furrowed.

“I’m the one treating you. You don’t need to be so concerned about that,” he tried.

“Really, it’s fine,” Mona waved a hand. “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t gotten by on less before.”

Alarmed, Ajax suddenly noticed just how thin she was. Despite her having the attire and voice of a young lady, there looked to be hardly any substance to her frame.

That wouldn’t do.

Ajax turned back to the lady at the counter, who had been waiting patiently for them the entire time.

“Sorry about the wait,” he apologized quickly. “I’d like a Venison Steak, some Fisherman’s Toast, Calla Lily Seafood Soup, Cream Stew, and two plates of Satisfying Salad, please.”

“Certainly, sir,” the waitress smiled. Ajax dropped a few coins into her outstretched hand before directing Mona to the table where his siblings had made themselves at home.

“Now, guys,” he said, bringing his arms up to wrap around his siblings, “what did you all order?”

“The Crab, Ham, and Veggie Bake looked nice,” Anthon murmured.

“I got the Sticky Honey Roast,” Tonia smiled. “And for Teucer, some Tea Break Pancakes. I figured it would suit his taste.”

“Good. Of course, I haven’t forgotten to order you all vegetables.”

“What,” Tonia groaned as Teucer let out a whine. Anthon slumped against his chair with a small pout.

Ajax clicked his tongue. “Mama would go catatonic if I let you all avoid vegetables the entire time you’re here. Besides, you’re all growing, and if you wanna be as tall as me you have to eat.”

“There are vegetables in my dish, though,” Anthon pouted.

“Not enough!” Ajax replied. “I ordered a Satisfying Salad for you guys to share. Make sure to finish it.”

The siblings let out varying noises of dissent, but Ajax ignored their groans and turned to the side of the table, where it had been suspiciously silent.

Mona was evidently still in a state of shock. “Were you going to eat… all of that food?”

“Of course not,” Ajax scoffed. “I could never eat that much on my own. You’re going to share with me.”

“W-what?”

Before Mona could speak a word of protest, the waitress came with a tray full of steaming dishes. Ajax grinned as the plates were set down, practically covering the table with food.

“Well,” he said cheerfully, “let’s eat, everyone!”

Ajax’s siblings tucked in with gusto, talking enthusiastically over plates of meat and vegetables. Though Mona initially stuck to her salad, with enough prodding from Ajax (“my, there’s so much food and I’m starting to feel full! Guess it’ll be going to waste…”) she began to eat some of the other dishes as well. Ajax watched with no small amount of pride as she began to join in the conversation with his siblings–after all, what better way to bond with others than over food?

Mona, enjoying the food heartily while playing with the children, reminded Ajax stunningly of his older brother. As one of the bank tellers at Northland Bank’s Snezhnayan branch, his brother Peleus was more tired than not, and rarely ate enough when he was on his own. Ajax observed many times as his parents and oldest siblings tried every trick in the book to get him to eat more when he visited, yet his brother would peck at his food like a bird. It was only when Penelope finally threatened to throw away the food he didn’t eat that the ever-frugal Peleus finally ate more, appalled at the idea of wasting it. Ajax figured that Mona would be a similar character in that sense.

Therefore it wasn’t a surprise, between the two of them, they managed to polish off all of the food. Given free reign, it was clear that Mona’s appetite was much larger than what she restricted herself to.

“So? That was a good meal, wasn’t it?”

Mona looked up from where she was showing off a little Hydro phantom to a giggling Anthon. As if suddenly remembering how to act, she straightened and tilted her head up, attempting to regain the haughty pride that she had previously shed.

“I suppose it was decent,” she mumbled. “Perhaps it was worth all of that Mora…”

It had been bugging Ajax a bit since the start of their encounter, but her obsession with Mora was quite something.

What could be driving her to be so conscious of money?

He shook the thought out of his mind. It wasn’t right for him to be so interested in others’ business.

“Now then,” Mona stood up, brushing crumbs off of her leotard. “Thank you for the meal, but I really must get going. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.”

“Miss Mona, will we see you again?” Teucer asked, his eyes large and pleading.

Mona visibly swallowed. Ajax didn’t envy her–as someone who had been on the receiving end many times, he knew how hard it was to resist Teucer’s puppy-dog eyes.

“Um, we were planning to go to the beach in a few days,” Anthon added softly. “Would you like to join us? I-I’d really like to hear more about your astrology.”

…We were? 

Sensing his confusion, Tonia glanced at him pleadingly before turning back to Mona.

I guess we are.

Ajax made a mental note to finish as much work as possible in the next few days. 

I probably wouldn’t be able to accompany my siblings until then…

“W-well,” Mona stammered, unable to withstand the barrage of pure innocence in front of her. “I suppose I could join you all for a little while.” 

“Yay!” Teucer cheered. 

Ajax let out a sigh, but he was smiling nonetheless. “Sorry, you really don’t have to if you don’t have time.”

Mona shook her head, a small smile on her face. “No, it’s fine. I was due for a break soon, anyway.”

“If you’re sure,” Ajax said. “Don’t worry, I’ll treat you to another meal that day as compensation.”

“I’m very grateful, but you really don’t have to,” Mona said, in an attempt to conceal how her eyes were sparkling at the mention of free food. Ajax had to suppress a snort.

“Oh, please. I have to thank you in some way for getting my siblings out of my hair.”

“Hey!” Tonia cried in mock offense.

Mona laughed at that. “You should be glad your little siblings are so curious. Your younger brother especially–Anthon, was it? We had a fascinating conversation about astrology over lunch. I’m very much looking forward to spending more time with them.”

“Glad to hear of it,” Ajax grinned.

The astrologer suddenly jolted, nervously glancing at where the sun sat high in the sky. “Oh Archons,” she cursed under her breath. “I really must get going now. My reports won’t write themselves! I’ll see you all here in three days’ time, then.”

“Bye, Miss Mona!” Teucer cried, waving goodbye furiously.

“Goodbye,” she said before dissolving into a puddle.

The four of them watched in mild shock as she swept away, invisible under a torrent of water.

“...Miss Mona’s a bit strange,” Tonia finally said. 

“But she’s very nice,” Anthon added.

“She’s certainly a character,” Ajax remarked before turning around. “Now, how does everyone feel about visiting some more shops?”

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Teucer chanted, and with a laugh Ajax allowed himself to be dragged off by his siblings.

---

The following three days passed quickly. Because of his siblings’ impromptu decision to go to the beach, Childe found himself scrambling to finish as much work in advance as possible so that he could make time for the trip, coming dangerously close to pulling multiple all-nighters.

(Thankfully, his siblings had gotten enough of him by the end of their shopping trip, so Tartaglia was able to leave them with one of his agents while he fulfilled his Harbinger duties.)

Soon the day of their beach trip arrived, and Ajax found himself in the plaza with three very excited children.

“Where is she?” Tonia asked, staring at the cracks in the ground as if she would spontaneously burst out from them.

As if prompted, Mona suddenly emerged from the tiles in a show of Hydro, breathing heavily. “My apologies! I’m here!”

“Miss Mona!” Teucer cheered, running over and throwing his arms around her. “You came!”

Mona sagged a little, wrapping an arm around him. “Sorry, I got caught up in my research and nearly forgot.”

“It’s alright, no worries,” Ajax said, reaching over to take a bag from her arms and whistling at its weight in his hands. If Tartaglia had doubted that she was a Vision-wielder before, he couldn’t anymore–no average girl of her stature and build would be able to sprint around with such a heavy load. “What’s all this, anyway?”

Mona smiled. “Well, your younger brother was very curious about astrology, so I brought some of my equipment to show him. Where else would be better to demonstrate hydromancy than a large body of water like Cider Lake?”

“Some?” Ajax repeated incredulously, hefting the bag onto his shoulders. It seemed to hold an entire table’s worth of gear. 

“Of course! This is barely a scratch in my collection. Come along now, we must head towards the eastern gate to get to the beach.”

As Mona walked ahead with the rest of the kids, talking animatedly, Childe snuck a peek inside the bag–an easy task, since the sack was fit to explode with how much Mona had stuffed into it–and he couldn’t help but feel shocked.

Though Childe had never been the greatest with money (being a Harbinger meant that he had the means to purchase virtually anything at the drop of a hat), he was fairly certain that the equipment inside the bag was easily worth tens of thousands of Mora. And if Mona’s words were true and this was just a small part of her total collection… 

How much money has she spent on astrological tools?

Suddenly it made sense as to why Mona ate so frugally. With the sheer number of tools she doubtlessly owned, Tartaglia could wager a guess as to what her spending habits were like. She reminded him strikingly of Dottore, who tended to drop all his money for research and leave next to nothing for himself or his subordinates.

Perhaps I should make time one day to help her with budgeting…

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of waves. It seemed that they had reached the beach.

Before his siblings could scramble into the water, Ajax was quick to pull them back.

“You’re not going anywhere without sunscreen,” he said. Tartaglia had made that mistake when he had first arrived at Liyue, running around ignorant of the Liyuen sunshine. Though it wasn’t hot enough to rival that of Natlan or Sumeru, it was still vastly brighter than the cloudy short days and long nights in Snezhnaya. Within the first week, his face had become spotted with freckles and his forearms had become bright red with sunburn.

I can’t let my siblings suffer the same fate!

After some wrangling and a lot of complaining, Ajax managed to slather enough sunscreen on his siblings and allowed them to scatter around the beach. With a sigh, he sat back on the sand, exhausted.

Suddenly, the sun above him was covered with a large beach umbrella.

“They’re a bit troublesome, aren’t they?” Mona asked with a laugh.

“Just a bit,” Ajax grinned.

Now that it was just the two of them, Tartaglia could feel the mood shift. Though it wasn’t to the same extent as when they had first met, he could detect the slightest bit of wariness still clinging to her gaze.

They watched the siblings play in the water for a few minutes before Childe finally addressed the elephant in the room.

“You know I’m a Fatui Harbinger, don’t you.”

It wasn’t a question. He watched Mona tense.

“Astrology allows you to discern the secrets of the stars,” she replied stiffly. “That much would be obvious to even the youngest beginners.”

There was a pregnant pause before Mona finally spoke. “How did you know that I knew?”

“In the heat of battle, you have to rely on all of your senses, so they inevitably sharpen over time,” Childe said nonchalantly. “I can hear your heart rate picking up whenever I’m nearby.”

“Interesting,” Mona murmured.

There was another pause. Childe checked to see that his siblings were nowhere nearby before biting the bullet.

“...Why did you agree to eat with us?” he finally asked. “You could have denied food more vehemently, or left quicker. I wouldn’t have been offended.”

“We were out in the open, so you couldn’t have tried anything,” Mona shrugged. “Besides, you were paying for my food. I can’t just pass up such an opportunity.”

Tartaglia wanted to laugh at that statement, but there were still more questions bubbling in his throat.

“But… you’re here with us now,” he replied thinly. 

Most people wouldn’t be if they knew who I was.

“I am,” Mona said simply. She looked unfazed, which only confused Tartaglia more. 

“My siblings are stubborn, but they would understand if you didn’t want to come, so...” He felt his voice trail off, the question implied.

“Your siblings are very precocious,” she answered. “I was intrigued.”

When Childe spoke next, his voice was very quiet. “You’re aware that I could kill you right now and no one would know, right?”

There was no one around them but his siblings. They were far enough from the gate that even if Mona screamed, Tartaglia could easily take her away. His hydro vision glowed against the belt loop on his shorts–as long as it was around, he had a plethora of weapons at his disposal. And even if Mona was stronger than she looked, he doubted that she was as experienced as he was in battle.

The astrologer finally turned to look at him, her eyes glowing brightly even under the shade of the umbrella.

“You wouldn’t,” she stated simply.

Childe blinked.

“How would you know that?”

“I don’t detect any killing intent from you.”

Tartaglia snorted. “You don’t know that. I could be hiding it from you.”

“Perhaps you can trick the senses, but you cannot fool the stars,” Mona replied softly. “I know plenty about you, Ajax. Or should I say, Tartaglia?”

Childe swallowed as her gaze bore into his. 

“Monoceros Caeli, celestial narwhal,” Mona continued, voice almost bored. “Yet you’ve lived your life in places untouched by starlight. Your life is an oxymoron of insatiable bloodlust and unshakeable storge.”

Tartaglia had to suppress the chill running down his spine. Her voice was resolute, without a trace of emotion. Here was a girl who could break down his walls in the blink of an eye, could expose his most hidden secrets without the slightest bit of effort. If he were any other Harbinger, he would have had her killed on the spot.

(If he were any other.)

…I see.

Tartaglia leaned back and laughed helplessly.

“You’re very interesting, Miss Mona,” he sighed.

Mona broke into a grin. “As are you, Mister Ajax,” she replied.

The amicable silence that followed was soon interrupted by the sound of water splashing.

“Miss Mona! Miss Mona!” Anthon called, running up from the shore. “You promised you’d show us your hydromancy!”

Mona perked up. “Ah, that’s right! Just one second, Anthon.”

She turned to rummage into her bag, pulling out various knickknacks. “You know, I think they might just like to look at this one…”

“Thank you,” Ajax breathed, the words spilling out of his mouth.

Mona looked up. “For what?”

Ajax shrugged, unable to articulate exactly why feelings of gratitude were welling up in him–but Mona must have seen something in his expression, because the smile and nod she sent him was understanding.

---

“–and Miss Mona’s tools are so cool! Right, big brother?”

Ajax laughed, reaching over to spoon spaghetti into Anthon’s mouth. After wrapping up their trip to the beach, Ajax took Mona and his siblings back into Mondstadt to treat her, as promised, to a meal. To his surprise, Anthon was just as talkative as Tonia and Teucer as they ate dinner, even to the point that Ajax had to spoon-feed him occasionally to remind him to eat. It was the most sociable Ajax had ever seen of him.

Seems I’ve got to thank Mona for many things, he thought as Anthon scraped his plate clean before smiling at Ajax proudly.

“You did a good job finishing your food,” Ajax praised. “Run along now, Tonia and Teucer have been waiting for you for quite some time.”

“Yes, brother!” Anthon grinned and ran off to find his siblings, who had taken to racing around the fountain nearby.

The two of them watched until he ran out of earshot before Tartaglia turned back to Mona. “Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

Mona looked rather impressed. “You catch on fast.”

“I told you, I can pick up body cues easily.”

The astrologist shot him a crooked smile before her expression turned serious. “Well, I did readings on your siblings–with their permission, of course–and I found out a few things–”

“Wait, wait, wait, roll that back,” Tartaglia interrupted, feeling mildly incensed. “You have to get permission to do readings?”

“Well of course,” Mona snorted. “It’s simply bad manners to go into such personal matters without consent from the other party.”

“You didn’t ask me permission before reading me, though,” Ajax rebuked, and internally grinned when she opened and closed her mouth several times before letting out an offended huff.

“Well excuse me, was I supposed to just sit there and let an ambiguously powerful man just set off all the astrological red flags in me without doing anything?”

Childe couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, startling a cry of irritation from the astrologer. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! I’m the last person who should be lecturing you on your methods of gathering information, seeing as I’ve certainly… well. All’s fair in battle, am I right?”

“I’m fairly certain the saying’s a bit different,” Mona said dryly.

“Tomato, to-mah-to,” Ajax sighed. “Same difference. What exactly did you find?”

The amicable atmosphere dissipated in an instant. 

“While your siblings have all shown a general sense of good fortune,” Mona started, “it seems that Anthon will fall sick sometime soon. Nothing too bad, but…”

“Ah, really?” That was worrisome. Childe would have to check to see if the Fatui diplomats had brought a doctor along with them.

“I must apologize,” Mona bowed hurriedly over the table. “If I hadn’t spent so much time in the water with him, perhaps he would not be getting a cold.”

“Don’t be,” Tartaglia waved off her apology. “Anthon’s always been the weakest out of my baby siblings. Besides, he had a lot of fun playing with you. I’ve never seen him so excitable before.”

Mona’s smile was relieved. “I’m glad he had fun,” she said softly.

“Is that all, though?” Even though contracting a cold was not the best news, Tartaglia doubted that Mona would look so somber over just that.

“Your brother’s cold won’t be severe, but only if you’re careful,” Mona warned.

“What do you mean?” Did Anthon have some weird condition attached to his sickness? Could astrology even predict those kinds of things?

Mona’s eyebrows furrowed, and she looked around before lowering her voice. 

“I do not know much about Fatui politics,” she whispered, “but the people here are certainly not your friends.”

Though her words weren’t exactly advice, Childe picked up on the hint immediately.

Do not trust Signora’s people.

Childe’s mouth set into a frown. “I understand,” he said.

“Forgive me for presenting such an ominous divination to you,” Mona said softly.

“On the contrary, I should be thanking you,” Childe replied. “It seems I’ve grown too complacent during my stay here. I will be sure to compensate you for this valuable information.”

Mona shook her head. “I did not learn hydromancy for the sake of Mora,” she stated firmly. “All I am here to do is show others what fate has in store for them.”

Unlike his exchange with Marjorie, Tartaglia felt no discomfort upon being bestowed such a massive favor. Of course, that didn’t mean he would let it slide.

“Then another meal, perhaps?” he offered with a smile. “It’s nice to chat over good food once in a while, especially with a fellow comrade.”

Mona smiled amusedly. “Perhaps I’ll take you up on that offer.”

---

After their beach trip, things returned back to normal. Childe continued to work on the steep pile of tasks left to him, trying to save up as much free time to spend with his siblings as possible. He was, however, much more careful about who was able to watch over his siblings while he was away, only leaving them in the care of his most trusted agents that had traveled along with him from Liyue. Under that arrangement, a few peaceful days passed.

Up until then, Childe had been monitoring Anthon’s condition closely. Though the boy did develop a slight cough a couple of days after their trip, it was nothing too concerning. All the same, he was still wary of Mona’s divination.

Have I been careful enough?

So when Tonia woke him from his sleep with panic in her eyes, Ajax’s heart dropped to his stomach.

“Big brother,” she whispered tearfully. “Anthon’s got a fever a-and I don’t know what to do.”

Chapter Text

Tartaglia could barely hear anything over the sound of his heart hammering.

Archons, please have mercy on my brother.

When he burst into the room that his siblings were sharing, he found Teucer sitting worriedly by Anthon’s bedside. Upon seeing him, the little boy shot up and clung to his leg.

“Big brother! Is Brother Anthon gonna be okay?”

Tartaglia pressed a hand to Anthon’s forehead anxiously. The boy’s skin was burning hot to the touch, and his breath came out in short pants. Tonia reached over to dab off some of his sweat with a cold towel.

“What happened? He wasn’t this sick before.”

Tonia swallowed nervously. “Anthon’s cough was getting worse, so I went to the kitchen to find some lemon tea for him. One of your coworkers was there, and they mentioned that Wolfhook tea was good for the throat. I made some tea for him, but as soon as he took a sip he fell asleep right away. A few minutes later, he started burning up.”

“...We have to call a doctor,” Tartaglia whispered urgently. “Ekaterina–”

No.

Ekaterina wasn’t there. Neither were the majority of his subordinates, who were all still in Liyue–and he had sent off what remained of his agents to do fieldwork while he slept. All that remained in the hotel were Signora’s people, whom he now could not afford to trust.

“Shit,” he mumbled quietly.

“I-I’m sorry, big brother–”

Ajax pressed Tonia into a reassuring hug. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Tonia. Don’t apologize.”

He pulled away and met his siblings’ gazes. “Tonia, Teucer. I’m going to go out and find a doctor, okay? Can I trust you two to stay here and watch Anthon for me?”

“Yes, big brother,” they nodded in unison.

Tartaglia sent his brother away to refresh the towels in the bathroom before leaning towards Tonia.

“Do you have any more of that tea?”

Tonia nodded. “I got a small pouch of tea from the kitchen,” she said, showing him the tea sitting on top of the drawer. 

“Save that just in case. Listen, I might be overthinking here,” he whispered, “but try not to take anything else from the kitchen for now.”

Tonia blinked, panic and distraught filling her expression. “...You don’t think–”

Ajax quickly covered her mouth. “I’m not sure of anything right now, but just… be careful.”

Tonia’s face set into a grim frown. “Got it.”

After leaving his siblings to watch over Anthon, Childe walked as quickly as he could to the entrance of the hotel, as to not arouse suspicion. As he left, the guard at the door gave him a brief nod, and a surge of irrational anger rushed through him.

If it’s because of one of you that my brother is sick, I’ll make sure to kill you all personally.

Tartaglia took a deep breath and tried to relax, slowly loosening his fists from where they had been clenched by his sides. It wouldn’t be good to lose himself in unnecessary anger. Now that he was standing outside, he realized that he had no idea where any doctors would be. The sun was still low in the sky, and there were few people out so early in the day.

Wait. There was that one guy talking about how his sister was cured of her illness by some doctor–

It wasn’t the best lead, but it was better than nothing. Childe began to sprint towards the plaza where he had last remembered seeing the man when–

“Oh? If it isn’t the Fatui’s Eleventh Harbinger. What’s got you in a hurry so early in the morning?”

Childe froze, turning to look at the man idling near one of the staircases, and had to stifle a groan.

“...Cavalry Captain Kaeya,” he replied stiffly.

The man in question tilted his lips into a languid smirk. “My, I didn’t expect you to remember my name.”

Childe fought the urge to roll his eyes. How could he forget the pain-in-the-ass Knight who routinely caused trouble for his subordinates? The few times the Cavalry Captain had accompanied Acting Grandmaster Jean during their diplomatic meetings, Childe had been thrown into disadvantageous positions faster than he could blink.

“...I don’t have time for this,” he mumbled to himself before meeting the other man’s gaze dead-on. “Sir Kaeya, do you need something from me?”

“Why, I’m just out on an early morning walk. In fact, isn’t it you who needs something from me?”

Childe’s eye twitched. “Look, while I’d love to exchange vaguely disparaging remarks with you until the sun is high in the sky, I really need to be on my way–”

Wait.

Despite his deceptive personality that was so unlike the others, Kaeya was a Knight of Favonius and a Mondstadt native. Of all the people outside, he was probably the most likely to know where the nearest healers would be. Though, as Childe observed the faintest hint of distrust hidden under his smirk, it was a separate question of whether he would be willing to give up that information.

Tartaglia closed his eyes, recalling the distraught looks on his siblings’ faces, the burning hot of Anthon’s forehead, and shelved away his pride.

It couldn’t hurt to try.

“There is… one thing,” he bit out.

Kaeya’s brow raised. “Oh? What might that be?”

“–Would you happen to know of any doctors here?” Tartaglia blurted.

“Well,” Kaeya tipped his head back, lost in faux thought. “I know of many doctors–”

“Where?” Tartaglia asked impatiently. “I–”

“–but whether they’re willing to treat anyone at the crack of dawn is…”

“Please, I’ll–I can pay extra for their time, just give me a name and address–”

“Anyways, don’t you Fatui have your own doctor from Snezhnaya?” Kaeya interrupted, staring him down inquisitively. “Why do you need one of our doctors so badly?”

“It’s not for my subordinates,” Childe snapped. “I need one to treat my brother.”

“Your…brother?” Kaeya tilted his head, but this movement seemed less rehearsed than the others. “I’m sure Snezhnayan doctors can treat him just as well as Mondstadt ones.”

“Archons,” Childe hissed under his breath. “Listen, Sir Kaeya, my little brother’s fallen ill and I’d like a third party to take care of his health, rather than the one sent by the Fatui.”

Kaeya’s eye narrowed. “How do I know this is not some ploy to kidnap an innocent doctor for human experimentation or something similar?”

Tartaglia’s desperation was hitting its peak. “Celestia above, I’m not fucking Dottore. I’m not going to pull that shit.”

“Well, if you’re so insistent, I’ll be free to show you to a doctor–”

“–Thank you,” Tartaglia almost sagged with relief.

“–After I finish my walk, of course.”

Something inside Childe snapped.

“For fuck’s sake, can you stop with your stupid fucking posturing?” he finally burst out. “Is antagonizing me the only thing you give a shit about? I thought of all things, the honorable Knights of Favonius would be the last ones giving me shit about caring about my own siblings, but clearly, I was mistaken.”

Kaeya’s expression morphed into one of surprise, but the floodgates had already opened.

“I mean, seriously! My brother was probably fucking poisoned by my subordinates and you’re just dancing around like an innocent little boy couldn’t be fucking dying at any moment now?”

Childe sucked in a breath and cut himself off, suddenly aware of what he had accidentally revealed in front of his diplomatic nemesis. He was suddenly grateful that it was early morning and no one else would be able to hear the doubtlessly scandalous information that had just come out of his mouth.

When he turned to look back at Kaeya, the Cavalry Captain was staring at him, the charming façade wiped off of his face.

“...I would prefer if you did not spread that particular bit of information outside of the Knights,” Childe muttered.

Kaeya let out a snort, but there was surprisingly little mocking in his expression.

“... There’s one healer at the Favonius Church who’s very skilled,” he finally said quietly. “Just… ask for Deaconess Barbara. I think she might be able to help your brother.”

“Thank you. Now if you would excuse me,” Childe huffed, resisting the urge to add this would have been easier if you had started with that. He had just enough manners to send him a quick parting nod before heading towards the direction of the church.

Behind him, Kaeya didn’t say a word, but Childe could feel his gaze on his back until he was well out of sight.

---

Childe reached the church in record time, still strung up from anxiety and residual anger. As he approached the towering building, he saw the members of the convent cleaning and sweeping around the building.

He quickly approached the first one that he could see, who looked up as he moved closer.

“Excuse me, would you know where Deaconess Barbara might be?” he asked.

The nun took one look at him and narrowed her eyes. “Another one of you guys…?”

“Another one of who?” Tartaglia asked. “Look, I really need to see her–”

“My word, you fan club members are all so brazen,” the nun scoffed, rolling her eyes. “To think that you’ve even resorted to coming here so early in the morning…”

Normally Childe would be fairly concerned as to who would be stalking a random deaconess, but his patience had already worn quite thin. At that point, he was not above swearing at a Sister. “I don’t know what the fuck a ‘fan club’ is, but I need a healer as soon as possible.”

“That’s what they all say,” she replied, wrinkling her nose.

Childe was weighing the diplomatic consequences of strangling a member of the Church when a petite girl poked her head around the corner of the building.

“Sister Victoria! I’ve finished scrubbing the windows.”

Victoria’s expression lightened considerably as she turned to the girl. “Oh, my. As quick as usual, Sister Barbara.”

“Wait, you’re Deaconess Barbara?” Childe blurted, flabbergasted. When Kaeya had told him the name of the healer, he had been expecting some sort of middle-aged nun, not this literal child in front of him. Archons, she looked barely older than Tonia.

“...Yes, that’s me,” the girl said slowly. “And you are..?”

Tartaglia ran towards her and tipped himself into a deep bow. “Deaconess Barbara, I heard from Sir Kaeya that you’re a talented healer. Please, I beg you, help my little brother. I’ll pay you anything–”

“Wait, wait,” Barbara interrupted, fretting over his bent form. “Please stand up straight, sir!”

“So you weren’t here because you were a fan?” Victoria asked, still sounding skeptical.

Childe looked up, affronted. “Why would I–no!”

“What happened? Is it some kind of injury?” the deaconess asked, her face serious.

“I–he’s had a slight cold for the last couple of days, but he suddenly got a fever this morning, and I didn’t know who to ask–”

Barbara placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “Where is your brother now?”

Tartaglia swallowed. Judging by their lack of reaction towards the mask hanging off of his head, it was unlikely that they would react too strongly, but it was hard to forget the flash of disdain on Marjorie’s face or the glint of suspicion in Kaeya’s eye.

Still. “Goth Grand Hotel,” he said.

While Victoria’s brow rose ever so slightly, Barbara didn’t even flinch.

“We can’t waste any time, then,” she said determinedly.

Before he could even blink, Barbara had already started running in the direction of the hotel. “Your brother’s sick, right? Let’s go!”

Tartaglia looked over to Sister Victoria and, seeing no hostility in her expression, hurriedly darted after the deaconess.

---

To Ajax’s relief, Barbara was just as good of a healer as the Cavalry Captain said she was. While she hummed a small hymn under her breath, hydro began to wash over Anthon’s body. He wasn’t sure of the mechanics behind her healing exactly, but she appeared to be drawing out the illness from his brother’s body.

After a while, Barbara drew back, retracting the hydro back into her hands.

“It’s finished.”

Tonia reached over to feel Anthon’s forehead, and her mouth broke into a grin.

“His fever’s gone down!”

Ajax bowed once more towards the girl, relief flooding through him. “Thank you so much, Deaconess. Is there anything else he needs?”

Barbara smiled. “A little bit of rest, and he should be all better!”

However, despite the cheerfulness in her voice, her smile looked strained as she looked around the room.

Oh, right.

Suddenly Tartaglia felt a bit guilty for taking the deaconess into what was basically Fatui territory. No doubt she would be feeling uncomfortable, especially when she was still so young.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you away from work any longer,” he said lightly. “How much do I owe you?”

Immediately, Barbara raised her hands up. “No, no! You don’t owe me anything!”

“But I insist,” Tartaglia said, reaching towards his coin pouch. “Especially since I dragged you here so early in the morning.”

“We of the clergy do not perform acts of kindness for Mora,” she replied. “I’m just glad your brother is alright.”

Tartaglia sighed. What was it with Mondstadt girls and not allowing him to repay them?

“At least allow me to walk you back to the church,” he finally tried.

The girl backed away towards the window. “No, really! It’s fine. I–”

Just then, it seemed that she saw something outside of the window because her face immediately blanched.

“...Deaconess Barbara?”

“Uh–” Barbara squeaked, but her voice was suddenly high-pitched and nervous. “A-actually, on second thought, I’d be grateful if you could walk me over.”

Childe felt a bit skeptical, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Any opportunity to be rid of debts was a good one.

---

After leaving Anthon to be tended to by Tonia’s watchful eyes, the two of them started heading towards the Church once more. Though Tartaglia was prepared to stay a good distance away from Barbara if necessary, it seemed that the deaconess was perfectly comfortable walking beside him.

“Once again, thank you so much for helping Anthon,” Childe said.

“I swore by Lord Barbatos that I would always do everything I could to help others! My efforts were not much,” Barbara smiled.

Childe shook his head. “You shouldn’t talk yourself down like that. Not many people are as selfless or as capable as you, Deaconess.”

However, instead of smiling at the compliment, Barbara furrowed her brow.

“Actually, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure if I could help your brother,” she admitted quietly.

“Really?” Childe didn’t know much about the healing aspect of Hydro, but he was pretty sure she had done a fairly good job of treating his brother.

Barbara nodded. As she talked, a small ball of hydro formed in her palm, dancing and bouncing against her fingertips. “Healing with elemental power is actually closer to the idea of ‘purification’. We accelerate the treatment of wounds with our magic, and help clean the body of poisons or other harmful substances.”

Abruptly, the hydro in her hands dissolved into the air. “But with things like natural sickness, we can’t do much about it. Illness like that is part of the body and can’t be ‘purified’, which is why I’m not really any more helpful than any other caretaker in that case.”

Her expression was serious as she looked up at him. “The fact that I was able to ‘cure’ your brother means that his fever was brought about artificially. I think that he was poisoned.”

Tartaglia’s heart sank. So his suspicions had been correct.

I shouldn’t have brought them here.

“I see,” he said softly. “I don’t suppose you would know what kind of poison it was?”

Barbara frowned and shook her head. “No, I’m not really experienced with that kind of stuff. But I believe one of my sister’s coworkers could help you. She’s an alchemist who specializes in bioalchemy, so she would probably know… I think her name is Sucrose?”

Sucrose. Childe filed the name away for later.

“You don’t seem surprised about the poison,” he said. 

“Well, isn’t your job a dangerous one?” Barbara replied, glancing at his mask.

“...Right.” Despite the deaconess’s humility, there was no mistaking her intelligence.

“I’m not sure what you could have done to get your brother poisoned, but–”

Even though Childe had barely known her for more than two hours, he could sense what she was about to say.

You’d better keep him out of danger since you’ve already failed once.

“Please stay safe, all of you.”

Childe sighed. “Yes, yes–wait, what?”

“If you need help again, just ask for me,” she continued.

He stared at her, mouth agape. “If I– me? You…you’d be willing to help me again? Despite everything?”

Barbara shrugged. “I believe everyone has a little bit of good in them, and I’d certainly be failing Lord Barbatos if I turned away a person in need. Plus, you do seem like a good person, despite being my sister’s diplomatic opponent.”

“Your sister…?”

“Oh, right, you wouldn’t know. My big sister is Acting Grandmaster Jean.”

“You’re sisters with Grandmaster Jean?!” Tartaglia did a double-take. “...Wait, actually, I do see it.”

Though Jean’s eyes were a bit sterner than Barbara’s, they had the same blonde hair and blue irises. Now that he knew of their relations, it was hard to unsee their resemblance to one another.

Oh, man. So much for keeping the infighting secret. Once Jean got ahold of that information, Childe was never going to win a negotiation ever again.

“Er, are you going to tell your older sister about everything that just happened..?”

Barbara blinked. “About what–oh! The poisoning and stuff?”

Tartaglia nodded.

“I won’t. The sisters have always told me that patient confidentiality is important,” Barbara said, though her expression saddened at her following words. “I don’t really think I’m close enough to my sister to tell her these kinds of things, anyway.”

A slew of questions began rattling in Tartaglia’s head, but out of politeness, he did not voice them aloud. Instead, he chose to address the other elephant in the room, now that they had reached the plaza in front of the cathedral and the sound of rustling bushes had ceased around them. Whoever it was had tried to stay just out of earshot, but Childe’s heightened senses had caught them immediately.

“I’m guessing you were aware of the person following us?” he asked quietly.

Barbara let out a sigh. “Unfortunately. That’s why I asked you to walk me over.”

“Do you know who it is?”

She let out a sigh. “There’s only one person in Mondstadt who would be following me around this early in the morning. I’m just glad Sister Victoria’s presence is enough to scare him away.”

The girl was remarkably calm for someone who had just admitted to having a stalker.

“Why would he be–?”

“Aside from being a deaconess, I’m also an idol,” Barbara said lightly.

“An… idol?”

“Idols are people who perform songs for other people. I guess it’s kind of like being a performer, or maybe a bard? But it’s a very particular kind of music, not like the hymns that we sing in church choir…Ms. Alice was the one who told me about it.”

Seeing the look of confusion on Childe’s face, she waved a hand. “Um! Anyways, more and more people started showing up, and I guess there are people who are fans of me now.”

Tartaglia tilted his head. She seemed to be a performer similar to Xinyan, at least based on what the Liyuen girl had told him about rock n’ roll during their tryst in the Mystic Onmyoudou Chamber.

“I haven’t heard of a performer’s fans stalking them before,” he pointed out.

“M-most of them are really nice!” Barbara quickly amended. “I’m really grateful that so many people were touched by my music! But sometimes they can be very… uh, passionate.”

Tartaglia’s brow shot up. “You have multiple people stalking you?”

“No! No, just Albert. And… to be fair, he wasn’t always this intense.”

“Albert, huh?”

Barbara seemed to sense his interest and quickly changed the subject. “Anyways, if you want to investigate the origins of the poison, I think Sucrose is usually around the alchemy table near the main plaza. Er, when she’s not out gathering samples, that is. I could ask my sister to tell her in advance–”

“Ah, no,” Childe cut in quickly. The last thing he wanted was to alert the Acting Grandmaster. “I’ll look for her myself.”

They reached the front of the cathedral, and Barbara bowed politely to him.

“Thank you for walking me over,” she said gratefully.

“No, thank you for healing my brother,” Tartaglia smiled, holding a hand up. “And also for… everything else. I’ll talk to Sucrose whenever I…if I even have time.” Childe sighed internally– with this recent poisoning revelation, it was going to be difficult to take care of his siblings.

I’m going to have to ask my trusted agents to look into the Fatui here, which means that I won’t have anyone trustworthy to watch my siblings… ugh.

Barbara’s gaze turned thoughtful. “You know, when your brother is feeling better, I’m sure the nuns here will be happy to watch your siblings. Sister Grace is really good with kids.”

Childe blinked. “How did you…”

Barbara looked away shyly. “When I was younger, I wanted to be just like my sister, so I learned a little bit about politics. Of course, I’m not as smart as my sister, so my plans to be a knight kind of fell through, but…”

“Hey now, I think you’re plenty smart. You needn’t be so humble,” Tartaglia cut in. It took quite a bit of foresight and knowledge to deduce his situation from the outside in, and she had somehow managed to do so perfectly. “If your sister heard you, I’m sure she’d say the same.”

Her smile was just a touch wistful. “You’re right.”

“It would take a huge weight off my back if you would be able to watch them,” Childe added. “Of course, I’ll make sure to make a sizeable donation to the Church as payment.”

“O-oh! You really don’t need to do that…”

“Just let the man pay,” one of the nuns cut in from behind them. 

Impressive. I couldn’t sense her presence at all.

“Sister Rosaria! You’re here!” Barbara chirped, a wide smile overtaking her face.

The nun rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately. But I’m surprised you’re still out here when service is about to start.”

“Oh, I had to make a house call for Mister…um. I never did get your name, did I?”

Rosaria leveled her gaze at him. “I heard from Kaeya that some Harbinger was running around looking for Barbara. Guess that was you, huh?”

Childe met her gaze dead-on. No point in lying. “I needed someone to heal my brother.”

“So why are you still here, then?”

“I asked him to walk me over,” Barbara said quickly. “Since… you know.”

Rosaria caught on, and her eyes blazed with fury. “So early in the morning? Are you serious? That fucker–”

“Sister, please–!”

“Should have beat his ass the first time he showed up,” she hissed under her breath.

“I made sure he didn’t get too close,” Childe said, though he was internally agreeing with Rosaria’s words. If she was that upset about hearing about this Albert guy… how long had he been harassing Barbara? How long had he been following a child around? He fought the urge to scowl just thinking about it.

“...Believe me, if he had gotten any closer, you wouldn’t have anyone to beat up.”

Rosaria snorted at that, and her gaze was slightly less apathetic when she turned back to him. “It seems you’re not too bad for a Harbinger.”

Childe nodded. “Glad to see we’ve come to an understanding.”

“Okay! Let’s stop there,” Barbara blurted before they could do anything they might regret. “Sister, let’s not be any later than we already are. It was nice meeting you, Mister…?”

“Tartaglia,” he filled in with a smile. “Or you could call me Ajax.”

“Mister Ajax,” Barbara nodded. 

Ajax grinned, and this time it felt genuine. “Thank you again for everything, Deaconess. I’ll be sure to send in the donation soon.”

“See you around, Harbinger,” Rosaria added, and the two of them swept inside.

---

Barbara’s offer was even more helpful than Childe originally anticipated.

With the poisoning incident having brought the Mondstadt Fatui’s corruption into Childe’s attention, he had very little time to worry about his siblings. It was perfect to have a third party watch over them, especially an entity with major influence like the Church of Favonius. 

When he finally had some spare time, he quickly wrote a letter to Zhongli to inform him of the situation.

Dearest Zhongli,

I hope you’ve been doing alright with the funeral preparations. How long has it been since the start of the funeral? Please make sure Director Hu isn’t overworking you. Honestly, I bet that girl could somehow manipulate you into making pigs fly.

There have been some unfortunate developments on my end. Remember Anthon’s cold I told you about a couple of days ago? Unfortunately, it turned into a fever, and if it weren’t for the help of a local healer I fear he could have… well. The healer informed me that his fever had been induced by poison, which I think came from the tea that my sister found in the hotel’s kitchen.

I had my agents look into it, and it seems like this poisoning attempt was made by a group of extremists, which I guess is comforting in some way. Some of the people stationed here are genuinely respectful to me and my siblings, and I’d hate to think that they were involved. We’re still zeroing in on where exactly these extremists conduct their meetings, but with my most capable on the job, I imagine it won’t be much longer.

This is such a mess. I wish you were here

Sorry to end on such an unfortunate note. Hopefully, my next letter will bring better news. 

I love you always. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You know I always am.

Yours,

Ajax

After mailing the letter, Childe headed towards the plaza in search of the colleague Barbara had mentioned. The square was large and Barbara’s description of ‘Sucrose’ had been vague, so he wasn’t quite sure how he would be able to find her.

Thankfully, it seemed that he had been granted a bit of good luck because he ran into Mona while wandering around the fountain.

“Miss Mona! It’s been a while,” he greeted.

Mona looked up from where she was counting coins in her purse and waved at him. “Mister Ajax! We saw each other a few days ago, actually, but it’s good to see you.”

Huh. These days have all passed like a blur.

Ajax glanced between the coin purse in her hands and the pile of shopping bags around her. “I see you’ve been having a good time shopping.”

Mona flushed. “Well, you know, my paycheck just came in. I figured I’d celebrate by taking some time off and purchasing some things I’ve had my eye on.”

Ajax’s gaze kept wandering towards her coin purse, which was suspiciously empty.

“One day I’ll teach you how to manage a budget,” he muttered under his breath.

“Sorry? Couldn’t catch that,” Mona said, though her flippant tone gave way to concern. “You don’t look too good, though.”

“Aha, well…” Tartaglia was aware of the dark shadows under his eyes. Ever since Anthon had gotten poisoned, it had been hard to sleep.

If you waste any more time, someone is going to die.

He shook the errant thought away. “Unfortunately, it seems I didn’t heed your advice to its full extent. I’m now swamped with dealing in the aftermath.”

The astrologist winced. “Oh, dear. Are your siblings alright?”

Ajax sighed. “Thankfully, Deaconess Barbara was able to heal Anthon, so his condition is alright now. Tonia and Teucer are alright as well, though I haven’t fully informed them of what’s happening.”

“That’s understandable,” Mona nodded. “I probably shouldn’t twist fate any further than I already have, but is there anything I can do to help outside of astrology?”

“Actually, yes. Would you happen to know an alchemist named Sucrose? Deaconess Barbara recommended that I find her for help.”

“Oh, Sucrose? If she’s in Mondstadt City, she’ll most likely be at the alchemist’s bench. I could lead you there if you want.”

“That would be great, thanks,” Tartaglia said gratefully, watching as Mona gathered up the bags and looped the straps around her arms. “Er, do you need help with any of that?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Let me lead you to Sucrose.”

Tartaglia shook his head, reassured at the memory of Mona running around with an entire sack of astrology tools before their trip to the beach. Just like back then, she didn’t appear to be struggling at all with the weight of her bags. 

As it turned out, Childe hadn’t been too far off the mark. After a few minutes of walking, they made it to the alchemy bench, where a girl was poring over an assorted collection of plants and herbs. Upon moving closer, Childe realized that the twitch in her hair was actually her ears, hidden surreptitiously under her hat.

“Sucrose!” Mona called.

She looked up, adjusting the rim of her glasses. “Oh, hello, Miss Mona! And you are–?”

“My name is Ajax,” he said, holding out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Sir Ajax,” Sucrose greeted him. “Sorry, I would shake your hand but I’ve got Valberry juice all over my gloves… hold on one second, I’ll just–”

Mona flicked her wrist and a small burst of water splashed over her gloves, effectively cleaning them. “Honestly, Sucrose, with two Hydro wielders right next to you, you could have just asked.”

As quickly as the hydro appeared, it dissipated, taking the grime off with it.

Sucrose giggled, reaching out to shake Childe’s outstretched hand. “Thanks, Miss Mona. What can I do for you, sir?”

“Oh, please don’t be so formal,” Tartaglia protested. “Just Ajax is fine.”

“Mister Ajax, then,” Sucrose amended.

He sighed but let it go, reaching into his pocket to pull out the sachet of tea. “I’d like for you to look into this for me, please.”

Sucrose took the sachet, spreading some of its contents across the crafting bench. “Let’s see… this appears to be Wolfhook tea. Dried Wolfhook with some added spices, yes… Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“I just wanted to know if there was anything abnormal about this,” Childe said vaguely.

“Understood,” Sucrose mumbled, grabbing a pair of tweezers to poke around at the sample. As she nudged a piece of dried Wolfhook, her breath suddenly hitched.

“...Sir, where did you find this tea?”

“It was something I found during my journey,” he lied. He didn’t want to get any more people involved than necessary.

Sucrose took the tweezers and held up a minuscule fragment. “This… Someone’s laced this tea with deadly nightshade.”

“What’s that?” Mona asked curiously, stepping closer.

“B-be careful!” Sucrose blurted, shooing them away. “Deadly nightshade, known as belladonna, is a highly toxic plant that causes fever-like symptoms and breathing problems. Even ingesting a little bit of this could send a child into a seizure.”

So Anthon could have…

His initial horror melted into white-hot anger.

“-I’d strongly suggest that you report this to the Acting Grandmaster,” Sucrose continued, oblivious to his abrupt change in mood. “I thought we would have removed all the nightshade from Windwail Highlands by now, but it seems there are still… Mister, are you alright?”

Childe suddenly realized that his Vision was pulsing furiously with Hydro energy. He quickly tried to calm himself, aware that his expression was probably something awful.

“I’m alright. Thank you for the information, Miss Sucrose,” he said stiffly. “Please allow me to pay you back.”

“No, no, please!” Sucrose said. “This didn’t take any time at all. I assure you, compensation is not necessary.”

“If you say so,” Childe said thinly, his mind too preoccupied to argue. “I’ll be sure to report this to the Acting Grandmaster.”

“Just be careful when you’re handling this tea–it would be terrible if you were to ingest it by accident.” Sucrose nodded, though her expression had a hint of concern. “Are you sure that you’re alright, though?”

“...Yes,” he replied, though his voice didn’t sound convincing even to himself. “I should get going. Once again, thanks for your help, Miss Sucrose.”

“You’re welcome,” Sucrose said softly. Childe had already begun to walk away, head spinning with plans.

Before he could get too far, however, Mona disappeared into a torrent of water, sprinting ahead of him. She moved fast enough that Childe didn’t have time to wipe the murderous expression off of his face.

“Listen,” she said, her voice only quaking slightly from the unadulterated aggression in his gaze. “I’ll leave you to do what you have to do, but just, please… be rational about this.”

Despite everything, Childe was grateful that she was going out of her way to warn him.

“I’ll be alright. Thanks for your concern, Miss Mona.”

Before she could react, he pressed a few coins into her hand. “Use this and buy yourself something fun, alright? I’ll see you around.”

Mona started after him, clutching the Mora tightly. “Wait-”

But Childe had already sprinted off, unaware of the calls from behind him.

---

Childe tapped against his chair, the urge to kill growing stronger with each minute. It seemed that the sole agent in the room could feel it, too, with how tensely he was holding himself.

“Report.” 

“We’ve pinpointed the location of the extremists, sir,” the agent said. “I’ve marked it out here. If we come through from here–”

“Don’t bother. I’ll handle it myself,” Childe snapped, snatching the map out of the agent’s hands and heading for the door.

“But, sir… there are at least twenty people in that hideout. Are you sure–”

“You seem to forget that I am the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger,” Childe said coldly, and the agent froze. “A few soldiers are nothing to me.”

“...At least–”

“I will be fine,” Childe said, ending the discussion. “Send people over, but do not enter to pick up the witnesses until after I come out.”

With that, he swept out of the room, intent on making his way to the hideout as soon as he could.

I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to my brother.

---

Childe staggered out of the hidden cave where the secret meetings had been taking place, aware that his chest was practically collapsing from the pain. 

It’s over, he thought deliriously as his awaiting soldiers entered the hideout after him.

Though he was right in assuming that the radicals would be no match for him, there were still many of them, and he was eventually forced to use his Foul Legacy form to finish them off. Thankfully, he had retained some of his sense even in his Abyssal form and remembered to spare a couple of them to act as witnesses.

Although being a witness doesn’t mean you have to have all four limbs intact, he mused.

But of course, using the Foul Legacy had its drawbacks. Perhaps it was unwise to be moving around so much after using it; his vision was certainly spinning now.

In his uncoordinated state, he stumbled forward–straight into someone’s arms.

“Troublemaker,” the person sighed, and Childe looked up to meet Zhongli’s awaiting gaze.

“...Xiansheng? What are you…”

“We can talk later. Just take a rest now, xingan.”

Ajax nodded and, as Zhongli’s arm’s tightened their hold around him, he fell unconscious.

Chapter Text

Ajax woke to the feeling of gloved fingers running through his hair.

“...Xiansheng?” he mumbled, blinking blearily as he slowly came to.

“Yes, xingan?” Zhongli murmured, his voice low and soothing. “Did you have a good rest?”

Ajax made a move to get up, but his throbbing headache forced him back into the bedsheets. He lifted his arms to see that the minor wounds he had sustained from the fight had been mysteriously healed.

“How… long was I out?” he rasped, wincing at how dry his throat felt.

Zhongli handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully took. “You’ve been sleeping for about… 12 hours, I’d say?”

Ajax let out a long breath. The last time he had slept that long was… well, before he fell into the Abyss. He looked out the window and caught a glimpse of the sun high in the sky.

“Are the kids alright?” he asked softly. If they had seen him while he was injured from the raid…

“They have not seen you yet. I brought you to my teapot to recover.”

Tartaglia blinked, wondering if he had heard his partner correctly. “Your… teapot?”

“Ah, that’s right. I don’t believe I’ve told you about this before,” Zhongli recalled. “It’s less accurate to say that this place is just a teapot–well, it is technically one, but it’s moreover a part of my ability to create Sub-Spaces. I believe a good way to describe it is like having a little pocket world attached to a physical object.”

Ajax gaped at him. Zhongli’s attitude was blasé, despite the total absurdity of his words. It was clear that to him, this was just an ordinary aspect of his life.

That’s what you get for dating a god, I guess…

Though, that would explain why the sheets, though very comfortable and smelling like sandbearer wood, felt completely different from the bed at the hotel.

Wait. If I’m here in this… teapot… then my siblings–

“I’ve already checked in with your siblings while you were sleeping,” Zhongli said, seemingly reading his mind. “Miss Tonia was very understanding when I told her that I was taking care of you for the day.”

Ajax remembered the smug, knowing look on Tonia’s face when he had said goodbye to Zhongli and let out a sigh. No doubt she was jumping to the wrong conclusions.

“Tonia’s definitely going to misunderstand,” he mumbled.

“What do you mean?” Zhongli asked, oblivious. “I simply told her of my intentions to help you recuperate, no?”

Ajax huffed out a laugh and sat up. “Never mind, lyubimyy. I’m feeling better, anyway, so I should–”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Zhongli said, his tone severe. “Do you even realize what a state your body was in earlier? I can’t have you running around like that.”

Tartaglia sighed. It was reasonable of his partner to be overprotective, but he couldn’t afford to idle around. Especially not when there were rebels to interview and loose ends to tie up.

“Xiansheng,” he pleaded. “I can’t just leave my agents to fend for themselves. The Knights of Favonius would tear them apart.”

Zhongli grimaced at the mention of his agents. They had both promised at the start of their relationship not to interfere too much with each others’ work affairs, especially since they were not publicly on the same side of the political spectrum. Ajax watched the conflict play out in his expression before he finally closed his eyes in resignation.

“...I still think you should take it easy for a while longer,” he acquiesced, but his voice was heavy with concern. “I’ve never seen you look so tired before.”

“Well, I mean, that fight was pretty tiring,” Ajax admitted. A fight of twenty against one was bound to be a difficult fight, transformation or not.

“Not just that,” Zhongli said, reaching close and brushing the bags under Tartaglia’s eyes. “You’ve been overworking yourself the past few days, haven’t you?”

Childe winced. Though his eyes had always looked a bit dull–a byproduct of spending those months in the Abyss–he had no doubt that they looked even worse in his exhaustion. “Well, I couldn’t leave my siblings in potential danger,” he retorted.

Zhongli didn’t reply, but he had such a forlorn expression on his face that Tartaglia couldn’t help but give in slightly.

“How about this,” he finally compromised. “If you move me back to my hotel room, I’ll do all of my business in bed. That way I can get work done but I’ll still be resting.”

His partner didn’t look fully pacified but gave in nonetheless. “I suppose I can’t feasibly keep you in here,” Zhongli said reluctantly. “After all, I didn’t exactly inform Director Hu that I was coming to Mondstadt…”

“What?” Tartaglia was not panicking. “You didn’t give her a notice or anything?”

Zhongli looked away nonchalantly.

Tartaglia calculated the time since he had first sent the letter to Zhongli. It took at least a couple of days for letters to reach Liyue, but Zhongli had saved him only a few days after it was sent, so…

“Xiansheng,” he said slowly. “You didn’t fly here…immediately after receiving my letter, did you…?”

Zhongli’s lips thinned even as his gaze was set firmly on a painting on the wall. “I could sense you were about to do something dangerous.”

Ajax let out a hysterical laugh, resisting the urge to bury his face into his hands. “That’s my job, Xiansheng. You can’t just rush to me every time something bad happens.”

“...Even so, I’m glad I caught you in time,” Zhongli replied, tracing the line of Tartaglia’s jaw.

Ajax leaned into his palm, pressing a kiss against his heart line. “Yeah,” he agreed softly. “Thank you for that.”

Before he could lean in, Zhongli’s mouth had already slanted over his, as easily as breathing, and he could almost taste the relief in his motions.

By the time they broke apart, Ajax’s arms had somehow wound themselves around Zhongli’s neck. He allowed himself a moment to enjoy the warmth of his partner’s arms around him before suddenly stiffening.

“Wait. So Director Hu most likely knows you’re gone. She isn’t, like, going to somehow find you and barge into your teapot, right?”

“Don’t be silly,” Zhongli snorted. “No one can come into the teapot aside from people I personally approve.”

That wasn’t reassuring at all, considering that he didn’t discount that Hu Tao could easily locate them. Tartaglia’s urge to leave was suddenly heightened by the threat of his partner’s seemingly omnipresent boss.

“Well, with that settled, it’s high time we get back to the hotel!” he chirped awkwardly. “Can’t leave my siblings waiting for too long, can we?”

Zhongli smiled softly. “No, we can’t,” he agreed.

Then, before Tartaglia could shift out of the bed, Zhongli scooped him up into his arms.

“Xiansheng!” Ajax squeaked, immediately grabbing hold of his shoulders to stabilize himself. “I can walk by myself!”

“You need to rest,” Zhongli retorted. “Also, I must apologize. This may get a bit dizzying.”

“What are you–”

Suddenly the room began to spin, and Tartaglia found himself shutting his eyes tightly at the wave of nausea that passed over him. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in his room at the hotel.

“Sorry again, xingan,” Zhongli apologized as he carefully walked over to the bed, Tartaglia still limp in his arms. “The sensation is jarring for those who are not used to it.”

Just as he was about to put him down, the door opened and a stunned Tonia looked up to gape at them.

“Big… brother? And Mister Zhongli? How did you get in here? Wait, are you feeling better?”

Zhongli set Ajax onto the bed before moving out of the way, allowing Tonia to gauge her brother’s condition.

After poking around his body and checking his temperature, she sat back with a huff. “I don’t know what your boyfriend did to get you to rest, but you look way better, big brother,” she noted.

“Ah…” You noticed?

Tonia rolled her eyes. “We’re not that stupid, Brother Ajax,” she snorted. “Anthon and I have just agreed to not bring it up.”

Ajax smiled fondly. They’re really growing up to be quite considerate.

“Besides,” Tonia added slyly, and the grin on her face immediately made Ajax reconsider his thoughts. “Judging by the way he was carrying you, it seems you might still need some time to recover.”

“Tonia,” Ajax groaned, a flush inadvertently reaching his ears. “When’d you even learn about stuff like that?”

His little sister ignored him and turned to Zhongli with a self-righteous look on her face. “Make sure you aren’t too rough with my big brother, okay?”

Zhongli smiled innocently. “No need to worry, Miss Tonia. I am always careful with him.”

Tonia let out a loud cackle as Ajax pulled the sheets over his flushed cheeks.

Teenagers.

---

After some urging from Ajax, Zhongli left not long after dropping him off at the hotel, promising to check in with Director Hu next time before flying halfway across the continent.

(Tartaglia sent a silent prayer for both him and Director Hu–between employee and employer, he couldn’t even tell who was more unreasonable.)

Now that Childe was relegated strictly to his bed for the most part (it seemed that Zhongli and Tonia had conversed without him because she was extraordinarily strict in adhering to Zhongli’s agreed terms), he took the time to wrap up the incident with the insurgents. Doling out punishments and managing staff was honestly the easier part–the rest of Signora’s former agents were remarkably compliant with the investigation.

No, the harder part had to be the international politics aspect.

Childe was fully aware that the intelligence department in the Knights of Favonius had long been keeping tabs on him and his staff. There was no doubt that information about the infighting would have long reached the Acting Grandmaster’s ears by now, even without his altercation with Kaeya. They had been rather polite in not contacting him while he was still recovering, but Childe had no doubt that they would call him as soon as he started going out and about once more.

Indeed, not long after he had moved back to working in a more hands-on capacity, he received an elegant letter requesting his presence at the Knights of Favonius headquarters. Tartaglia took one look at the gilded envelope with a sword-and-shield symbol embossed on its wax seal and let out a sigh.

“I don’t want to do this,” he complained into the silence.

The next day, he arrived promptly at the headquarters and was escorted by a knight to a private office, where the Acting Grandmaster often conducted meetings.

Jean nodded at him as he walked in, gesturing to the seat across from her. “Glad you could make it, Mister Childe,” she said politely.

“Greetings, Grandmaster Jean,” Childe nodded, returning her courtesy.

Slumped in the seat to her right was Kaeya, who simply nodded. It seemed that he had been the one to inform Jean of the infighting. How unpleasant.

Once Childe was seated, Jean brought a stack of papers onto her desk.

“I’ll cut to the chase, then. I’ve heard reports that the Fatui here are experiencing some inner turmoil, and wanted to confirm that this infighting will not affect the general citizens of Mondstadt in any way.”

“The situation has already been resolved,” Childe stated, pulling out his own stack of reports that Ekaterina had painstakingly mailed him from Liyue. Tsaritsa bless his secretary, seriously.

Jean scanned the reports as Childe slid them across the table. “I see,” she said quietly.

Kaeya leaned over to briefly glance at the papers. “I had heard that one of the Fatui Harbingers had died,” he spoke. “Guess we should have seen something like this coming, after knowing how your organization usually operates.”

His attitude grated on Childe’s nerves, but he was unfortunately correct. It was common knowledge that the level of unity between members of the Fatui varied a great deal.

“It seems that this would be related to the report that Sucrose gave me yesterday,” Jean murmured. “She requested to investigate a potential belladonna infestation in Windwail Highlands.”

“Yes, she did mention that,” Childe nodded, recalling Sucrose’s ramblings during her examination of the tea.

“Then I must thank you for bringing this issue to our attention, however unintentional it was,” Jean nodded. “We can’t have dangerous plants like that around Mondstadt, especially when they can be confused with Wolfhook.”

“It was simply a coincidence,” Childe shook off the thanks. “I wouldn’t have found out about the identity of the poison without Deaconess Barbara’s recommendation.”

“...Barbara?” Jean said slowly, her hackles suddenly raised. “You talked to her?”

Childe could understand her wariness. He would react the same in her position after all…

I should clarify before this is spun into an issue.

“She was the one who healed my brother, and the one who brought the idea of poison to my attention,” Childe said honestly. “I probably wouldn’t have been able to detect the insurgents without her.”

“Cozying up to the Acting Grandmaster’s sister will not give you any diplomatic favors,” Kaeya sneered.

Tartaglia’s irritation spiked. “You were the one who recommended her to me in the first place!”

“Kaeya, play nice,” Jean admonished.

“And just so you know,” Childe continued, leveling a glare at Kaeya, “I was not aware that the Deaconess was related to the Acting Grandmaster until she informed me herself.”

Kaeya looked rather sullen at being reprimanded. “No need to be aggressive. I was just pointing out a potential breach in diplomacy, that’s all.”

Sensing that the meeting was getting derailed, Jean quickly drove them back on track. “I will take a more thorough look at these reports and inform you if we decide to take action, but it seems you have this issue under control.”

Childe nodded. He was silently grateful that they hadn’t decided to press on the matter, though it was likely because no Mondstadters had been harmed during the incident.

Jean leveled the papers on the table before making a move to stand up. “If that’s all–”

“Wait,” Childe interrupted before she could stand up.

Jean’s expression wasn’t quite exasperated, but it was toeing the line. “Is there something you need, Lord Harbinger?”

“After Deaconess Barbara healed my brother, she requested that I walk her back to the cathedral,” Childe stated. “On the way over, I noticed that someone was following us. I figured you should be aware since it’s your sister.”

“I see,” Jean mused. “Thank you for informing me.”

“It could have been one of La Signora’s people tailing you,” Kaeya suggested, but his expression was thoughtful.

Childe shook his head. “Whoever it was, they were not skilled in masking their trails,” he countered. “No Fatui agent would ever be that sloppy.”

“So it’s related to Barbara,” the Acting Grandmaster concluded, eyes sharp. “I will ask her…”

“It seems she already knows who it is, though,” Childe informed her. “I believe she and one of the nuns–Rosaria, I think– mentioned the name Albert.”

“Albert?” Jean asked, her brow furrowed. “That name sounds familiar … but I thought he was just one of Barbara’s fans.”

“Well, he’s always been very… intense,” Kaeya sighed. “But he’s certainly become more aggressive lately.”

“Wait,” Jean objected, rounding her gaze towards the Cavalry Captain. “You drink with Sister Rosaria literally every other night. Why didn’t you inform me?”

“I thought Miss Barbara would have told you, seeing as you are siblings,” Kaeya said, raising an eyebrow. “And this stalking issue is new news as far as I’m aware.”

“Judging by Rosaria’s words, it seems this has been going on for a while,” Childe said, though his heart was sinking. “Did you really not know about this at all?”

“No, I–” Jean’s expression had become crestfallen. “She didn’t tell me anything about this.”

Tartaglia recalled Barbara’s words from their walk.

“I don’t really think I’m close enough to my sister to tell her these kinds of things, anyway.”

He couldn’t help but heave a sigh. It seemed that after all this was settled, those two siblings would need to sit down and have a talk with one another.

“If I’m to be honest, though,” Kaeya added. “I don’t know if there’s much we can do as the Knights. To most people, he’s just another regular citizen, and if we penalize him without due evidence then the nobles will accuse us of nepotism.”

Jean scrubbed a hand over her face. “Still, we should investigate this. Kaeya, I’ll put you in charge.”

“Understood,” Kaeya nodded. “I’ll be off, then.”

After the Cavalry Captain hurried out of the room, Jean turned back to Childe. Exhaustion had already begun to set in her face. “Once again, thank you for informing us of this, Lord Harbinger. We will keep this generosity in mind while considering everything.”

“Thank you, Acting Grandmaster,” Childe said, internally cheering at having gained a bit of political clout. “And please, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

Jean smiled wryly. “While your offer is much appreciated, I don’t think the Knights of Favonius are in any position to accept favors.”

“This is not meant to be a favor. I am speaking for myself, not the Fatui,” Tartaglia replied.

Jean looked up, surprised. “Speaking… for yourself?” she asked. “But why…”

“Take it from someone who has younger siblings, one of whom just got poisoned,” Tartaglia reminded her. “If there’s anyone who understands wanting to keep your little sister safe, it would be me.”

Jean’s smile was sad. “Clearly I haven’t been doing a very good job of it, though.”

“I’m sure she would never blame you,” Tartaglia said, and he was surprised by how sure he was.

She huffed out a laugh. “Sometimes I almost wish she would.”

Sensing that the conversation had come to a close, Childe stood up and prepared to leave. “Well, regardless of whether my help is needed, please let me know how the investigation goes. I owe her a lot, and we Fatui always repay our debts.”

Jean’s voice, while composed, shook slightly. “We will do all that we can to bring him to justice, Lord Harbinger. Take care.”

Childe closed the door to the office as he left and pretended not to feel the violent surge of Anemo explode from behind him.

---

As if afraid of his wrath, the rest of Signora’s former soldiers busied themselves with their duties, leaving Childe without a lot of work for the first time in a while.

With so much free time, Ajax figured it was best to do some shopping for his older siblings. He hadn’t sent them anything from Mondstadt before, having been unfamiliar with the nation. The church was still watching over his siblings, so he was free to look around the stores.

However, as soon as he turned around a corner, he found himself unceremoniously spattered by a splash of Hydro.

“What the fuck,” he spluttered.

Once he had wiped away the water from his eyes, he could see Mona glaring at him.

"Well hello to you, Miss Mona," he said dryly.

“Don’t just throw money at me and then disappear, you incorrigible man,” she growled, and if Childe didn’t have quick reflexes, the glint of gold that flew towards him would have certainly smacked him in the forehead. “Here’s your Mora.”

Tartaglia studied the coin in his hands. “I told you that you should spend it,” he sighed.

Mona scoffed. “Consider that payment, then, for making you inform me before you go and almost kill yourself.”

Tartaglia narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t tell anyone about what I was doing. You did another reading on me, didn’t you?”

“It was pretty obvious you were about to do something dangerous, judging by the way you looked back then,” Mona mumbled. “...And yes, I may or may not have done a reading.”

He raised a brow, and she immediately flushed.

“Look, I was worried, okay! I just needed to make sure! Wouldn’t anyone want to make sure that their Bruder is safe?”

 “... Bruder?” Ajax repeated, the foreign word strange on his tongue.

“Friend! I meant friend,” Mona stammered. 

Ajax was about to question her when he saw a glint of familiar blonde hair from afar, hidden among the people milling about the square.

“Hold on,” he said, squinting. “Is that the deaconess?”

Mona followed his gaze. “It should be,” she said. “If my memory serves correctly, Miss Barbara usually performs in the plaza around this time every week for the children.”

Ajax perked up at that. “It might be a good idea to surprise my siblings, then. They’re being watched over by the Church.”

“Oh, I was wondering where they might be,” Mona said thoughtfully as they made their way towards the crowd. “How’d you manage to get the Church to watch them? No offence, but considering your reputation…”

Tartaglia shrugged. “Deaconess Barbara was the one who offered it to me.”

Mona raised a brow. “Really, now. That sounds like an interesting story.”

“It’s certainly a long one,” Tartaglia sighed before his ears suddenly picked up on a nearly silent click.

His head immediately whipped over to the direction the sound came from, but he couldn’t see through the crowd.

“Did you hear something?” Mona asked, looking around. 

“I thought I did,” Tartaglia muttered. “But maybe I was mistaken.”

He couldn’t shake away the uneasy feeling, however, even as they approached the singing deaconess.

“If you want, I can take a look,” Mona offered.

“Oh, would you?” he asked gratefully.

Mona nodded. “I sense something is amiss as well. Just let me know if you hear anything.”

The astrologist disappeared into the crowd just as Barbara finished her final song. As he stepped towards the front, Ajax’s siblings caught notice of him on the outskirts of the slowly dissipating crowd. 

“Big brother!”

As they pounced on him, Barbara followed behind them. “Oh, Mister Ajax! How are you feeling? I heard from your siblings that you were feeling a bit under the weather.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Ajax grinned. “And you? Any new… issues cropping up recently?”

Barbara shook her head. “It’s been pretty peaceful on my end. Sister Rosaria’s been with me, which definitely helps.”

“That’s good,” Ajax grinned with relief. “Though I think you should tell your sister–”

“–Anyways!” Barbara clapped her hands together, interrupting his words. “What did you think about my performance? Be honest!”

The smile slipped off of Ajax’s face. Barbara was far too avoidant of the subject, and if he couldn’t convince her now, the siblings would never actually communicate with one another.

“I–”

Click.

This time, the sound was distinctly louder, enough that Tartaglia could make out approximately where it had come from. His eyes immediately darted towards Mona, who had evidently heard the noise as well. As they made eye contact, she nodded and dissolved into Hydro and sped towards the direction that Tartaglia subtly gestured with his head.

“Big brother Ajax?”

Anthon’s anxious voice brought Tartaglia’s attention back to the kids in front of him. Tonia and Teucer looked at him with similar worry, while Barbara’s expression was marred with concern.

“If you’re still not feeling well, don’t strain yourself, big brother,” Tonia added.

Teucer puffed out his chest in an attempt to look mature. “It’s okay, we’re big enough to play by ourselves!”

Ajax laughed despite himself and reached over to ruffle their hair. “Thanks for your concern, guys, but I promise I’m alright.”

When he looked up at the deaconess, she was staring at them with a look of longing so profound that it made his heart sink. She quickly schooled her expression when she caught his stare.

Ajax turned back to his siblings. “Although, would it be alright if I could speak to Deaconess Barbara privately? I need to speak with her about donations.”

The kids bought the white lie easily enough and nodded in agreement. “We’ll probably head back to the Church first, then,” Tonia offered. “I believe Sister Grace should be around here…”

Once the kids had wandered away, Tartaglia turned back to Barbara with a stern look on his face.

“Deaconess. Why didn’t you tell the Acting Grandmaster about this Albert guy?”

Barbara bit her lip and looked away. “It’s really… I promise it’s not that big of a deal. And my sister’s so busy all of the time… I don’t want to be a bother.”

Ajax put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her seriously. “Take it from me. If there’s one thing I understand about your older sister, it’s that she’d never think of you as a burden.”

Barbara looked to be on the edge of tears. “I-I know, but–”

Suddenly, Mona emerged from the ground, effectively shocking both of them.

“I figured out what the sound was,” she gritted out, and Tartaglia could tell immediately from her expression that it wasn’t good.

“Miss Mona? What are you doing here?” Barbara asked, eyes wide. “Wait, what sound?”

“We heard a strange sound while you were performing earlier,” Tartaglia explained before leaning in closer. “What happened?”

“Someone was using a Kamera to take pictures of her,” Mona hissed. “That was what made the clicking noise.”

“M-me?” Barbara asked, startled.

“Did you catch what the person looked like?” Tartaglia asked, but he already had a sneaking suspicion of who it was.

“I’m not super familiar with the people of Mondstadt quite yet, since I’ve only moved here recently,” Mona pondered. “But I think he had light brown hair? He was wearing a green shirt.”

Tartaglia’s suspicions were confirmed when he heard Barbara’s breath hitch.

Taking unsolicited photos? That’s a new low, even for a disgusting roach like him.

“I’m gonna kill him,” he muttered under his breath.

“P-please don’t do anything rash!” Barbara panicked.

Mona didn’t look perturbed by his strong choice of words, only curious. “Why? What else did he do?”

“That bastard’s been stalking the deaconess for a while,” Childe explained, his voice rough with anger. “He’s ridiculous and obsessed, but to think he’s now even stooping down to taking photos of her.”

“That man?” Mona shrieked. “But he looked to be an older adult! And Miss Barbara, you’re still so young…”

The deaconess shivered unconsciously. “I… To think that he’d…”

“Deaconess, if you don’t tell your sister about him I will personally find him and kill him myself,” Childe said, dead serious.

“Ugh,” Barbara groaned, biting her lip nervously before finally giving in. “Fine! I’ll tell the Acting Grandmaster! But you’d better not go off and hurt him!”

As she ran off to the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Childe shook his head.

“She’s too soft,” he sighed.

“I followed that man to his house,” Mona muttered. “Want the address?”

“Absolutely.”

---

“That little rat, I can’t believe…I wish I could just castrate him,” Jean spat out.

Childe coughed awkwardly from where he was sitting across from her, and the winds whipping around the office from her outburst quickly ground to a halt.

“Apologies for my manners, Lord Harbinger,” she sighed. “I had a brief flash of irrationality.”

Actually, I thought your words were perfectly rational, Childe thought. Not long after Barbara had presumably told her sister about the entire ordeal, he had gotten an urgent missive to report to the Knights. Of course, under such short notice, there would be no time for Jean to fully quell her anger.

“This is really such a troublesome scenario,” Kaeya sighed. “Kameras are still very new technology, so we don’t have any laws in place that restrict its usage. Even with this, it’s still difficult for us to punish him legally.”

“At this point, forget laws, we just need some kind of excuse to punish him,” Jean groaned into her hands. “I’ve already had Lisa comb through the codices for any loopholes, but we haven’t found any.”

Kaeya smirked humorlessly. “It could only be related to Miss Barbara if anything could push the Acting Grandmaster to disregard the rules so callously.”

“An excuse…” Childe mumbled under his breath.

Suddenly, he had an idea. “Wait, would you happen to know if this Albert guy has any unpaid transactions? Debts, perhaps?”

“I’m sure I could find out easily,” Kaeya grinned, having picked up on his words.

Jean looked mildly concerned and confused, which was an appropriate response for someone with such a strong sense of justice. “What are you planning to do?”

Childe grinned maliciously. “We Fatui are debt collectors, after all.”

---

Kaeya had quickly found some of Albert’s past transactions that were long overdue, and with the address Mona gave him, Childe quickly found himself on the street where Albert lived that night.

But before he could start with his… fun, there was still one last thing to address.

“You can come out now,” he called into the air. “There’s no use in hiding.”

With a sharp woosh, a scarlet-haired man wearing a mask and a long black trench coat appeared in front of him.

“Now, why are you following me around in the dark?” Childe asked with a sneer. Normally he would have skipped the formalities and would attempt to just straight-up fight the man, but he was technically supposed to be on a stealth mission.

“Anyone would be suspicious if they saw a Fatui Harbinger skulking around the streets at this time of night,” the man said disdainfully. “You’re a walking danger to the citizens of Mondstadt.”

Childe tilted his head, still smiling. “I’m just doing my job, sir. Nothing but an ordinary debt collector, you see?”

The man drew out a claymore, lifting it with ease and pointing it straight towards him. “Don’t talk bullshit. We all know what Fatui debt collectors do to the people that owe them money.”

“They knew what they were getting into when they took out loans from us,” Childe replied innocently. “It’s their responsibility to pay us back on time, and if they don’t, they know the consequences.”

The masked man gritted his teeth and the claymore in his hands burst into flames. “I won’t let you harm anyone in this city.”

Childe raised a brow. “Oh? Even if it’s the same man who’s been stalking and harassing your city's beloved deaconess?”

The man stilled, his claymore lowering just slightly. “What?”

Tartaglia shook his head. “To think that your first instinct is to go after me when there are much worse people sitting around in the safety of their own homes,” he tutted. “Truly, there are few people who could be objectively worse than that man.”

“How would you know anything about that?” the man pried.

“The Acting Grandmaster informed me,” Childe replied. He was under no obligation to keep the Knights' operations a secret. “Why do you think he’s getting his debt collected by a Harbinger of all things? He should be proud to have such an opportunity.”

The man seemed to put the clues together relatively easily because he let out a sharp scoff. “I see the Knights are as inefficient as ever. To think they’d actually be working with the Fatui of all people…”

“Hey now, I’d like to think our help is pretty reliable,” Childe retorted.

The man rolled his eyes. “It seems that Jean is losing her touch, to be resorting to you all.”

Childe was a bit caught off guard both by the man’s obvious disdain for the Knights and his informality in referencing the Acting Grandmaster.

I thought everyone here looked up to them unconditionally. This man is interesting.

But he had to admit that the man was being a bit unfair to the Acting Grandmaster. To her credit, balancing politics with personal feelings was incredibly hard.

“On the contrary, I think that the Acting Grandmaster’s actions are quite admirable,” Childe asserted. “To go so far for her little sister… isn’t that just the duty of an older sibling? I know I’d do that and more for my own family.”

The man fell silent. Somehow, Tartaglia felt that he had struck a nerve.

After a tense silence, the man slowly lowered his claymore.

“If this is how the Knights choose to seek justice, so be it,” he finally acquiesced.

“I trust you won’t inform any authorities about this, then,” Childe grinned in victory.

The man appeared to be disgusted, though whether it was because of his suggestion or the smug look on his face, he wasn’t sure.

“Don’t disturb any of the other residents,” the man warned.

“Honestly, you have no faith in me! Do I look like–”

Before he could finish, the man had already disappeared.

“Rude,” Childe pouted.

But there was no time to dwell on the man’s abrupt coming and going. Childe surveyed the houses carefully, squinting to make out the numbers in the dark.

Alright, should be… this one.

He knocked briefly on the door and, upon hearing no response, easily slipped through the open window.

“Oh, he’s a brave one,” he mused quietly. “Zero security here.”

After poking around for a while, it became clear that Albert was not home. Childe was searching around for a place to sit and wait when he suddenly stumbled upon a room tucked in the corner of one of the hallways.

Upon entering the room, an overwhelming wave of disgust overcame him.

The entire room was covered from floor to ceiling in Barbara merchandise. Countless shelves were stacked with various dolls, toys, and random paraphernalia, and the walls were entirely covered in printed-out photographs of Barbara from various angles. On one side of the room, there was a shrine-like structure with even more objects displayed proudly on it.

It was with dual repulsion and curiosity that Tartaglia stepped closer to the little shrine, noticing the various notes attached to each one of the objects.

Next to a rotted flower: This was a petal that Barbara-sama stepped on.

On a seemingly empty jar: This was the air that Barbara-sama exhaled.

But perhaps the worst object was inside a small jewelry box where, instead of a ring, there sat a single strand of golden hair.

Barbara-sama’s hair! It is truly woven out of the stuff of angels.

Tartaglia felt his hands tremble with the sheer anger that threatened to leak out of him. He could hear his Delusion shrieking at him to let loose and destroy the room, but he managed to hold himself back just barely.

I…can’t. We need this room for evidence.

That single thread of logic was the only thing keeping him sane. His skin was practically crawling with killing intent even after he shut the door.

When the lock on the front door finally clicked open after a long wait, it took everything in Childe not to immediately bolt up and kill him in the doorway.

After a moment, he could hear Albert begin to talk to himself cheerfully.

“I’ve managed to get so many wonderful pictures of Barbara-sama!” The Kamera clicked quietly, presumably from him browsing his photos. “One day I’ll certainly be able to get something even better… something that she’s never shown anyone else before. Yes, that’s right. Something that I can have all to myself…”

Ajax saw red.

Albert continued to talk to himself, ignorant of Childe’s presence in the room until he flicked the lights on, revealing him lounging on his chair.

“Holy Barbatos!” he shrieked, clutching the Kamera to his chest tightly. “Who are you?! What are you doing in my house?”

Tartaglia squeezed so hard on the wooden armrest that it cracked into splinters.

“I’m here to collect your debts,” he said and applauded himself when his eyes twitched only once.

“How did you know–” Albert mumbled before suddenly turning on him. “Wait! That’s against the law! You broke into a private residence!”

“It’s also against the contract to make late payments,” Childe spoke tightly. “Well? Do you have the money?”

Obviously not, considering that shiny Kamera in your hands looks very new.

Albert visibly swallowed, looking panicked. “Look, I just need a couple of days–”

“We’ve already waited very long, Mister Albert. Do you know what happens when people don’t pay their debts?”

As soon as Childe stood up, Albert began to back away.

“W-what are you doing? Stay back!”

Childe walked towards him, each step pushing him closer and closer to the wall.

“This was all written in the contract, sir. No matter what you owe, you can’t run from your debt.”

“Y-you can’t do this to me! I’ll… I’ll call the Knights on you!”

“Do you really think they’ll do anything to me?” Childe purred. “When you’ve been preying on the Acting Grandmaster’s sibling?”

Somehow, the man still had it in him to look offended. “I am not preying on Barbara-sama! I’m simply appreciating her for everything she has to offer.”

Childe’s lip curled with disgust. “So you have chosen punishment.”

Before Albert could reply, Childe had already punched him square in the face. The Abyss in him roared as he heard the sickening crunch of his nose being broken.

“That was for Miss Barbara, you creepy fucker,” he growled, before pulling out his Hydro blades. Below him, Albert clutched his nose, fear completely taking over his bloodied expression.

“But the rest of these,” Childe chirped, beaming toothily, “are for me.”

Chapter Text

When Childe entered the Knights of Favonius headquarters the next day, Jean’s office looked like it had just gone through a typhoon.

“He had what in his room?” she roared, and the knights at the doorway flinched.

“W-we’ve already confiscated all related articles from his residence, Acting Grandmaster,” one of the knights said thinly as he held out a report with shaking hands. “Once he recovers, we will punish him as needed.”

Childe took the opportunity to step through the entrance, alerting the room to his presence.

Jean briefly made eye contact with him before glancing towards the knights still hovering near the entryway. “Everyone is dismissed. I’d like to discuss something privately with the Eleventh Harbinger.”

The remaining knights nodded, albeit with poorly concealed confusion, and swiftly left the room. Once the door had fully closed, Jean let out a noise between a huff and a sigh. 

“...With all due respect, Lord Harbinger, you should have just killed him.”

Childe snorted. It seemed that for Jean, perhaps “Lionfang Knight” was just as fitting of a title as “Dandelion Knight.”

“You know, I really wanted to,” he guffawed. “But I figured I’d let you deal with it as you see fit.”

Jean smiled wryly at that. “You’re too kind.”

Am I, though? Childe raised a brow. “Where is he being kept now?”

“He’s currently still in the infirmary, though we’ve made sure to place guards on him,” Jean stated, flipping through the reports.

“Well, what’s the damage?” Childe asked flippantly. 

“Wouldn’t you know best, since you’re the one who did it to him?” Jean retorted but obediently read from the paper. “Lacerations on the arms and chest, bruises on the legs and chest, a broken nose, a black eye… oh, and epididymitis caused by excessive blunt trauma on the pelvis.”

Though Jean’s voice was clinical, there was a glint of mirth in her eyes.

“Epididymitis?” Childe asked.

Jean pursed her lips, but a slow smile spread across her face regardless. “To summarize, you’ve basically rendered him infertile.”

Childe dissolved into raucous laughter that left him gasping for breath. “Truly a fitting punishment,” he finally wheezed, gripping onto the table.

Jean cleared her throat, though she, too, looked faintly amused. “While I’m sure this is entertaining for you, we should move into the purpose of this meeting. I’ll try to keep it brief.”

Childe had barely blinked before she quickly pulled out a report (when she had had time for that, he had no idea–hadn’t it been barely a day since he had barged into Albert’s house?) and went over what exactly would be outlined in the Knights’ records. Because this was technically an under-the-table exchange, the report would be as vague as possible without having any party assume much of the blame. In other words, it would be swept under the rug as much as possible.

Though this all seemed like good news to Childe, Jean still appeared rather regretful. “While on paper we can hide a bit more, I must warn you that some might believe that you’re a money-hungry monster who beats up civilians for fun.”

He winced at that. It seemed that these brownie points with the Knights of Favonius came with a steep drop in reputation.

Well. It's not like my influence in Mondstadt was very good, to begin with.

“It could be worse,” Childe finally sighed. “I just hope this doesn’t affect the kids’ experience here.”

“After all this, you’re still thinking about your siblings?” 

“I try to keep them as separate from my work as possible,” Tartaglia explained. “The last thing I would ever want is for them to be affected by collateral damage.”

Jean stared at him in shock before her expression melted into a real, genuine smile. “If those are truly your principles…I’m starting to see why the general attitude outside is so different from expected,” she noted.

“Different? In what way?”

The Acting Grandmaster rose from her seat, prompting Childe to stand up with her. “I think it’s better for you to see for yourself.”

Though her statement was rather odd, he figured that he would hear about it out later on his own time. He watched her walk around the table to stand in front of him, figuring that she was about to wrap up their meeting.

But instead of leading him towards the door to see him out, Jean reached out a hand. “I’ll send you appropriate compensation for your assistance in the next few days. Thank you for your help, Lord Harbinger.”

Childe reached over with a grin, shaking her hand firmly. “The pleasure was all mine, Acting Grandmaster.”

“And if you’re ever free, you and your siblings are welcome to visit Mondstadt at any time,” Jean said kindly before quickly clarifying. “Unofficially, of course. Just come as yourselves.”

Tartaglia blinked, unexpectedly touched. “...Thank you.”

Jean smiled. “While I’m sure we will still be exchanging correspondences for the rest of the time you are in Mondstadt, I figured now would be the best time to offer. Just… think of it as something coming from me, Jean Gunnhildr, and not the Acting Grandmaster.”

“I’ll certainly take you up on that,” Tartaglia beamed. “I’m sure my siblings would love to come again someday. Speaking of which…”

Jean checked the grandfather clock embedded into the wall. “Oh, yes. Barbara told me this is around the time you pick up your siblings.”

“Deaconess Barbara told you?” Tartaglia asked, unable to conceal his excitement. “You two talked?”

“Yes, thanks to your meddling,” Jean scoffed, but her smile was genuine. “We’ve… decided to schedule at least a couple hours every week to hang out, just the two of us.”

“That’s great,” Tartaglia breathed out.

Jean detected the relief in his voice and sighed. “You too? Goodness, and here I thought Kaeya lecturing me on the importance of communication was ludicrous…”

“Well,” Tartaglia coughed awkwardly. “I had been wondering why Barbara hadn’t told you about Albert sooner. I kind of put together the pieces on my own, but it was pretty obvious from the get-go.”

Jean’s smile saddened somewhat. “Barbara and I… our parents split a long time ago when we were very young. I went with my mother and Barbara went with my father, so we never really got much of a chance to truly bond as siblings should.”

Her hand reached up to rub against the small brooch pinned to her collar. “I do feel bad… I think that Barbara based her expectations for herself on me, which was unfair.”

“Hey, now,” Tartaglia interrupted. “You should talk to her about these things, not make these assumptions on your own.”

“That’s what Lisa told me, too,” Jean mused softly. “But it’s hard to ask…”

“It’ll take some time,” Tartaglia said assuredly, “but so long as you two continue to get closer, these kinds of topics will become easier to breach.”

After all, Ajax had to do the same after he had first become a Harbinger. His total personality change from the Abyss had shocked his older siblings, who found his new demeanor to be jarring and almost inhuman. Their revulsion was further exacerbated by his quick ascent through the Fatui ranks, and when he returned home for the first time he had been privately devastated by their cold attitude towards him.

However, Ajax was a man of persistence, and he quickly made it his personal mission to grow close to his siblings once more. Though he would never be able to tell them the truth about those three months in the Abyss, he was slowly able to worm his way back into his siblings’ hearts. What he’d thought to be extremely difficult–reconciling with his siblings–ended up easier than he expected in hindsight, though their relationship would never be quite the same.

Jean nodded. “Thank you for the reassurance. That… makes me feel a lot better.”

“Of course,” Tartaglia grinned.

“Now, I really must let you go,” Jean said in self-admonishment, leading him towards the door. “I’ve kept you from your siblings for far too long.”

“That’s alright,” Tartaglia was quick to reassure her. “It was a pleasure to speak with you in a more informal context.”

Jean’s mouth curled into a smile. “Yes, it was. Please say hello to my sister if you see her today.”

“I will. Have a good rest of your day, Grandmaster.”

“You as well, Lord Harbinger.”

---

When Tartaglia approached the plaza in front of the church where he normally picked up his siblings, he wasn’t expecting the crowd.

Immediately his mind jumped to the worst-case scenario.

Did someone find out that they were related to me? Are they trying to hurt them?

Tartaglia hissed a curse under his breath and quickly pushed through the crowd.

Thankfully, his siblings were not in the center of the crowd. He spotted them off to the side, chatting with one of the sisters. Instead, it seemed that Barbara had been surrounded by a mob of what appeared to be adoring fans.

But before he could head over to them, a voice called out from the masses, pointing directly to him. 

“Hey, isn’t that the guy who beat up Albert in his own house?”

The accusation had come from one of Barbara’s fans, who was standing rather close to the idol. Childe winced as the crowd burst into murmurs. He had been recognized almost immediately.

“I think so! Ginger hair, dead blue eyes, red mask…” another voice called. “I met with Albert yesterday and he told me about it! I’m sure that’s him!”

The crowd around him grew louder, and the noise caught Tonia’s attention. Childe frantically communicated with his eyes to get the kids away from here.

Thankfully, Tonia understood quickly. Just as Teucer noticed Ajax and started to call out to him, she swiftly clapped a hand over his mouth before bodily dragging him and Anthon out of sight from the mob.

Barbara stared at him, her eyes wide with a mixture of unreadable emotions. Tartaglia recalled vividly of her pleas to not hurt Albert, to keep things as peaceful as possible.

She probably doesn’t think too highly of my actions.

He pressed his mouth together into a strained smile and was debating whether to just run or to actually face the crowd head-on when someone else spoke.

“Hold on, that’s Ajax. He bought groceries from us yesterday.”

“Yeah, wait, didn’t he treat the astrologist to a meal the other day?”

“He always spends a lot on souvenirs…”

Tartaglia watched, dumbfounded, as the crowd murmured amongst themselves. He had been convinced that they would turn on him immediately, but his expectations had been subverted.

So this is what Jean meant.

Evidently, the fan hadn’t expected such a reaction, either, because their face screwed up into an expression of righteous fury.

“Why are you all excusing him? He’s a power-hungry monster who beats up innocent civilians for fun!”

Childe nearly laughed. The fan had just repeated Jean almost word-for-word. 

What a good guess, Acting Grandmaster.

But to his surprise, it was Barbara who spoke up.

“Thank you, Mister Ajax.”

The crowd immediately fell silent. Childe himself was stunned–the last thing he’d expected was for Barbara, peace-loving Deaconess of the Church of Favonius and famous idol to boot, to thank him.

“Why are you thanking him–” the fan nearly screeched, but Barbara stepped towards him, away from where the more enthusiastic fans had been encroaching on her personal space.

“Albert was punished due to his refusal to pay off his debts, am I wrong?” Barbara said pointedly, staring down at the fan. “Besides, Mister Ajax has helped me multiple times with the issue of Albert, so it is simple courtesy to thank him.”

“The… ‘issue’ of Albert?” someone in the crowd asked quietly.

Barbara pressed her lips together, visibly debating her next words.

Ajax shifted next to her, not touching her shoulders but still offering his presence.

“... Albert has recently been directly interfering with my personal time and safety,” she finally said. “Mister Ajax has had to accompany me multiple times to dissuade him from further disturbing me.”

It seemed that Ajax would be constantly surprised that day. He hadn’t anticipated for Barbara to make such an outright statement.

Glancing down, he saw her hands shaking. There was a visible fire in her eyes, but also deeply rooted fear.

“Deaconess–” he started, only to be interrupted by the same fan from before.

“Oh, please,” the fan scoffed. “Albert’s the president of the Barbara Fan Club! He was just showing his support for you. You don’t have to make excuses for this miscreant, Barbara-sama!”

“Are you serious?” another voice snapped from the crowd, and only when she shoved their way through did Ajax realize the voice belonged to Mona.

The astrologist planted herself directly in front of both Barbara and Childe, crossing her arms. “You mean to insinuate that taking non-consensual photos of Barbara and following her around is a form of twisted dedication? Some idea of ‘support’ you all have.”

“Y-you…” the fan stammered, but they were drowned out by the increasing volume of the people surrounding them.

“Barbatos help me… he was stalking her?”

“She’s the same age as my daughter…”

“These newfangled Kameras can be used in such a terrible way?”

The fan laughed uneasily, looking around at the growing displeasure among the crowd. 

“B-Barbara-sama, I’m sure Albert never meant to hurt you–”

“But he did!” Barbara cried, and it was the loudest Ajax had ever heard her speak. “Intention doesn’t matter when he went to such extremes!”

Ajax watched the fan visibly recoil in surprise, but Barbara wasn’t done.

“Because from the start, some of you guys have been suffocating in your support! You’ve barged into my personal space, taken me away from time spent with my friends and family, and Barbatos forgive me but honestly, good riddance to Albert for all that he’s done! I’m happy he’s gone!”

Barbara’s voice rang out over the plaza, and by the end of her tirade, her voice was raw with pent-up emotion.

The crowd was silent.

Immediately Barbara shrank back, her eyes quickly filling with tears. “Oh… no. I’m–I’m so sorry, everyone. I didn’t mean to–”

Ajax instinctively placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, while Mona reached out to take hold of her hand.

“You don’t need to apologize, Miss Barbara,” Mona said softly.

Barbara looked between her and the stunned crowd. “B-but I… I shouldn’t have taken it out on my fans. They’re the ones supporting me, and yet I…”

“...I think we should be the ones to apologize, Miss Barbara,” one fan said softly, stepping out from the crowd. “To think that our actions were causing you this much distress… I’m sorry that it took us so long to realize that we were hurting you in our own selfishness.”

Others nodded along, looking contrite. 

Barbara let out a breath, still appearing distressed but attempting to wipe the emotion off of her face nonetheless. 

“...For now, I will be taking a short break from idol activities to think about things.”

The crowd looked disappointed, but no one objected.

“And when I resume performing, I expect to have a talk with my fan club on what should and should not be allowed. I need you all to respect my personal boundaries.”

Immediately, the crowd backed up, allowing the three of them more space.

Somehow, though, Childe felt that the punishment was too light. After all that she had gone through, he was expecting more repercussions. 

Perhaps it’s simply in Miss Barbara’s kindhearted nature?

Barbara caught the slight discomfort in his expression and smiled reassuringly. 

“This much is enough for me,” she said confidently. “Besides… if anything should go wrong, I could always ask my big sister to help me.”

Tartaglia watched with no lack of smugness at the immediate alarm on the fans’ faces.

The Acting Grandmaster–!

Then, with his sharp ears, he just barely managed to hear it–

–that the kindhearted Deaconess had let out a small, almost silent snort from her barely upturned lips.

Ajax grinned. So she does have some fire in her.

Good.

---

With the help of Barbara, Albert healed quickly and was promptly put on trial.

(“Why did you heal him?” Tartaglia asked Barbara curiously after hearing about her actions through Jean.

“The sooner he gets better, the faster my sister can send him to jail,” Barbara said lightly.

Tartaglia shrugged. Fair point.

“Though it said in the report that you were unable to heal him from his epididymitis,” he noted.

Barbara hummed nonchalantly. “It was too late, sadly. With all of that trauma done to his pelvic area, it was simply impossible.”

“But I thought…”

Ajax abruptly cut himself off upon seeing the small vindictive smile on her face.

“You’re right,” he amended, a smile of his own growing on his face. “It’s impossible.”)

The trial itself had been simple. There was not a single soul that wasn’t upset at Albert for harassing the nation’s sweetheart, and with the added evidence from his room, the guilty verdict was irrefutable. Along with the five years of prison and ten years of community service, a permanent restraining order was placed on him. He wouldn’t be able to get near Barbara again, or he would be punished by the law.

“‘Punished by the law’ is just a formality,” Jean sighed to Childe. The two of them had now gotten into a habit of chatting more casually after finishing their business with one another.  “If he gets even remotely close to Barbara, I’ll cut off his neck myself.”

The door suddenly opened and a woman glided in with a tray of steaming hot tea. Childe vaguely recognized her as the Knights’ librarian.

“Now, now, Jean. Save the violent thoughts for later, dear.”

Jean lit up upon seeing her. “Lisa! Oh, I must have lost track of time, I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized that it’s already tea time.”

“Don’t worry too much about it, cutie,” the librarian sang, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she set the tray down on the desk. When she looked at Childe, she raised a brow. “Though I must say I’m quite surprised by your choice in conversational companions this time around.”

Tartaglia shrugged. “We’re pretty similar in some ways.”

Lisa looked him up and down before her expression loosened. “Well, if my suspicions are correct, I must thank you for finally convincing this girl to actually talk to her sister for once. Really, you have no idea how long I’ve been trying–”

“Lisa,” Jean hissed, her face flushing red.

“Credit should be given when due, Jean,” Lisa smirked. 

Childe grinned. “I was simply giving advice based on my own experience as an older sibling. Grandmaster Jean was the one who acted on it herself.”

“I’m proud of you,” Lisa purred. Jean’s responding blush was a telltale hint to Childe to leave.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” he said quickly, standing up from his chair. “Grandmaster, we have one final meeting before I depart from Mondstadt. I will see you then.”

“See you then,” Jean smiled as professionally as she could with the woman draped across her back. Childe didn’t waste time and left the office promptly.

The realization didn’t sink in until moments later.

I’ll be leaving Mondstadt soon, huh…

The past few weeks had passed faster than Childe thought it would. If he was being honest, he initially didn’t have high hopes for the trip–he figured he would mostly be fulfilling his duties and spending time with his siblings when he could. He hadn’t expected to have anyone to say goodbye to when he left. And yet…

Tartaglia closed his eyes. The feeling was unexpectedly nice, but bittersweet all the same.

---

With the date of their departure rapidly approaching, Ajax had made sure to make time to properly say goodbye to the friends that he had made in Mondstadt.

“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Mona asked, her fork stopped in midair.

He smiled apologetically. “I was only supposed to be here for a few weeks.”

“So soon,” the astrologist sighed, dejectedly spearing a slice of apple from her salad. “I can’t believe time flew by this fast.”

“Miss Mona’s right!” Teucer agreed, pouting. “Why do we have to leave so soon, big brother? Can’t we stay here longer? I really like Mondstadt.”

“Mama and Papa said we’re only staying with big brother Ajax for a month, though,” Anthon pointed out. “We gotta go home, Teucer.”

“Yeah, your big brother’s got even more work waiting for him at home,” Ajax laughed, reaching out to ruffle Teucer’s hair. “Can’t leave Ekaterina to fend for herself for too long, after all.”

“More importantly, though,” Tonia teased. “Your boyfriend’s waiting for you.”

“That too,” Ajax agreed. Ever since Zhongli had stopped by to take care of him in his teapot, the two of them had been only writing letters to one another. Which was great and all, but Ajax missed hearing Zhongli’s voice, and kissing Zhongli’s lips, and touching Zhongli’s–

A splash of water drew him from his thoughts, and he was met with Mona’s unimpressed gaze.

“I don’t know what you were thinking about, but the face you made just now was disgusting.”

Properly chastised, Ajax shook away the errant thoughts. He could deal with that later.

“Wait, where are the kids–”

“They already left,” Mona sighed. “You were spaced out for a while, lover boy.”

Ajax coughed awkwardly, spotting his siblings already out and wandering the plaza. To think just thinking about his partner left him this distracted…

“–Anyways,” he mumbled. “Because we’re leaving soon, I got you something.”

Mona gasped. “You really didn’t need to–”

“It’s nothing too big, I promise,” Ajax reassured, pulling a small box from his pocket and placing it into her palm. “Here, for my … Schwester? Is that how you pronounce it?”

“Your accent’s pretty good,” Mona said idly before suddenly recoiling. “Wait, you knew?!”

He smirked. “This isn't my first visit to Mondstadt, you know.”

She buried her head in her hands and let out a groan. “Ugh, this is embarrassing…”

Ajax was suddenly filled with an inexplicable fondness for the girl in front of him. Somehow, amazingly, he had become a brotherly figure in her eyes, and he could feel nothing but thankful for that.

“If it means anything,” he said, sounding even more affectionate than he had intended, “I’m very honored you called me your brother.”

Mona flushed and looked away. “Don’t get used to it. You’re gonna have to work hard for that title.”

Ajax smiled indulgently, gesturing to the box in her hand. “Yes, yes. Open the gift that your big brother gave you.”

Mona scowled at him but opened up the box all the same. Her breath caught as she carefully lifted a small metallic badge from the box. It was painted a dark red, with a shiny emblem of a narwhal engraved on it. 

“What’s this?” she asked reverentially.

“Of course, I'd only get the finest gift for my new sibling,” Ajax smirked. “This little piece of metal means that you can loan any amount of money from Northland Bank with no interest.”

“...Forget everything you said about brotherhood,” Mona said flatly. “I will throw this back at you, so help me–”

Ajax’s hands shot up to protect his face. “Hey, hey! I’m kidding! Really!”

Her eyes narrowed, but she placed the badge safely down on the table at the response.

“Jokes aside, all of my staff know and recognize that symbol as mine,” Tartaglia explained. “If you ever run into trouble, just show them this and they will help you.”

The real weight of the object in Mona’s hands suddenly dawned on her, and she stared wide-eyed at the trinket in her hands.

“You… are you sure I can have something like this?” she whispered, looking awed.

Tartaglia nodded, and after making sure Teucer wasn’t anywhere nearby, he leaned in closer. “I purposefully didn’t add the Fatui symbol to it, so no one should be suspicious if they find it on your person.”

“But… why me?”

There were a lot of answers to that question.

You helped me save my brother. You defended both Barbara and I. You led me to Sucrose. You spent time with my siblings. You weren’t scared of me, even after knowing who I was. 

You called me brother.

There was only one real way to answer the question, though.

“Because you’re my friend, of course.”

---

Ajax managed to catch Barbara later that night, but not where he had expected. While he was heading over to the church, where she would normally be at that time of day, he ran into her outside of the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

“Deaconess Barbara? Fancy meeting you here.”

Barbara jolted before realizing who had spoken to her, and she visibly relaxed. “Hello, Mister Ajax. It’s good to see you.”

“Same to you,” Ajax said cheerfully. “I was looking for you, actually.”

“Right, my sister told me that you were leaving tomorrow,” Barbara smiled. “I had also been hoping to see you before you left.”

“The Acting Grandmaster told you?” Tartaglia asked before the realization made him grin widely. “Wait, is that why you were coming out of the Favonius headquarters?”

Barbara’s smile turned shy. “Yes, Jean had some time tonight to spend with me, so I went over to her office for some tea. It was… really nice.”

Ajax couldn’t help but feel pleased that the two siblings were finally beginning to build up a solid relationship. To think that they could barely talk to one another just a couple weeks ago…

“I actually have to thank you for that, Mister Ajax,” she added softly. “If you hadn’t urged me to tell my big sister about Albert back then, I don’t think we would have been able to spend time with one another as we can now.”

Ajax shook his head. “I really didn’t do much. It was very brave of you to ask for help.”

“Was it really?” Barbara asked doubtfully. 

“You should give yourself more credit, Deaconess.”

Barbara muttered something under her breath, so quietly that he could barely hear her.

“...Sorry?”

“You can just call me Barbara,” she mumbled. “After all, I call you Mister Ajax, so… it’s only fair if you drop the titles as well.”

Ajax had to actively resist the urge to ruffle her hair, too afraid of messing with her pigtails. If Jean wasn’t up to the task, I would gladly adopt her instead.

“Well, Miss Barbara,” Ajax said cheerfully, holding out a box–and wow did it feel great to be able to drop the formalities–“I came looking for you because I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” Barbara stared at the box before quickly waving her hands. “No, no, I couldn’t accept this.”

“I promise it’s not ostentatious or anything,” Ajax reassured her. “Please accept this for everything you’ve helped me with.”

Barbara appeared to be struggling with an internal debate for a while before she finally gave in and accepted the present, lifting away the lid to reveal a pad of paper, along with a set of gilded envelopes and a specially commissioned wax seal.

“This is…”

“It’s a set for writing letters,” Ajax explained. “I figured it’s always a nice thing for someone to have. And this way, you could write letters to your sister on days you can’t meet up.”

Barbara looked like she was about to burst into tears. “This is so much… thank you, Mister Ajax.”

“It’s nothing,” he smiled. “And this seal… if you use it to seal any letter and give it to my staff at the Goth Grand Hotel, it will go straight to me immediately. If you’re ever in need of assistance, just send me a letter, and I’ll help out as much as I can.”

Barbara stared at him so dumbfoundedly that Ajax immediately found himself backtracking.

“Of course, you don’t have to write to me if you don’t want to–”

“N-no! I’ll write!” Barbara interrupted frantically. “I was just overwhelmed for a second there. This is an amazing gift, really.”

Ajax sighed with relief. “That’s good,” he breathed.

Barbara carefully set the box down on a nearby bench before looking at him hesitatingly.

“If it’s alright, Mister Ajax, could I…give you a hug?”

Ajax could have melted on the spot. “Of course,” he replied warmly.

Immediately, Barbara ran forward and threw her arms around him, squeezing him tight. Ajax carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his breath catching when they began to shake.

“When I first saw him outside the window, I was so scared,” Barbara sobbed, her voice muffled in Ajax’s shirt. “But you walked me home, protected me, and handled everything with my big sister. And for the first time in a while, I can finally have all of me for myself.”

Ajax tried to lean back and wipe away her tears, but Barbara stayed firmly planted to his chest. “I just– thank you, Mister Ajax. I’ll always be grateful for everything you’ve helped me with.”

Barbara pulled away, and she was smiling despite the tears on her cheeks. “Come back sometime, Mister Ajax. The church will always welcome you with open arms.”

Ajax grinned down fondly at her, giving her shoulders one last squeeze before pulling away. “Of course, Miss Barbara. I’d be happy to accept your hospitality.”

---

The next day, to the great reluctance of Teucer, Ajax and his siblings got ready to head back to Liyue. Ajax took care to make sure that everyone’s belongings had been packed (as well as some extra gifts for his siblings that he’d surprise them with later) before beginning to board the carriage where the kids were already waiting.

Just as he was about to step on, he heard a voice call out to him.

Two voices, actually.

Ajax looked up towards the direction of the voices and saw Barbara and Mona leaning off of the stone balconies above him. Both girls noticed his gaze and waved enthusiastically.

“Safe travels!” Barbara called.

At the same time, Mona cried, “Don’t get into too much trouble!”

“You have so little faith in me,” Ajax retorted, but his grin was wide.

Anthon poked his head out of the carriage window, waving frantically. “Bye, Miss Mona! Bye, Sister Barbara!”

Teucer ducked down behind him. “Bye!” he screeched, and Ajax sincerely hoped that the noise wouldn’t disturb his driver’s eardrums.

Tonia didn’t say anything since she was partially obscured by the movements of her brothers, but she grinned widely at them from her seat.

“Sir, shall we go?” the coachman asked. Ajax hopped onto the seat and nodded. As the carriage began to move, he looked up to where the girls were standing.

“See you soon!” Barbara chirped, leaning over the rails to wave extra frantically at him.

“Come back sometime!” Mona called, smiling widely.

Ajax’s heart soared.

“I will,” he responded, and it felt like a promise that he would keep.

---

By the time they reached Liyue, it was the middle of the night. The kids had long fallen asleep against the seat cushions, and Ajax had taken the liberty to drape a blanket over their dozing forms. As they pulled up to Ajax’s apartment and he was left with the struggle of carrying all three of them to his room, he was both surprised and not to see Zhongli waiting for them at the door.

“Xiansheng,” he breathed, and Zhongli immediately looked up before meeting him in a few quick strides.

“Let me assist you,” he said softly, his voice a familiar baritone as he carefully extricated a sleeping Anthon from Ajax’s arms.

Once they had tucked all of the kids into the guest room that Ajax had Ekaterina refurbish just for them, he and Zhongli returned to where his own room was.

After getting ready to sleep, Ajax practically collapsed into the bed, suddenly very exhausted, before looking back up at Zhongli.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

“You’re back.”

“I am.”

Zhongli leaned down and pressed him into a tight embrace from behind. Ajax could smell lingering traces of sandalwood and incense from his hair.

“I missed you, lyubimyy,” he admitted, so softly that he wasn’t sure if Zhongli had heard him.

There was a short pause before Zhongli squeezed him tightly, tucking his nose into Ajax’s nape.

“Xingan,” he murmured, and his voice was practically dripping with affection so potent that it made Ajax’s eyes glaze over. “I missed you too.”

Ajax leaned back, allowing himself to listen to the gentle thrumming of Zhongli’s heart.

(Or what he believed to be his heart. Did archons, former or otherwise, have heartbeats? Such a question demanded more capacity for thought than Ajax could possibly summon at the time.)

“I had people to say goodbye to,” he said into the silence, and even just saying the words made him feel terribly emotional. “I told you their names in my letter, Mona and Barbara? I was lucky to meet them there.”

Zhongli nodded from behind him. “I recall their names, yes.”

Ajax yawned. “They’re both very sweet girls, Barbara especially. It’s a wonder she has such a good nature with all that she’s been through…”

His partner, sensing that the energy was rapidly leaving his system, curled up against him and pulled the blankets over their bodies.

“You can tell me all about it tomorrow, love. Just sleep for now.”

Ajax nodded sleepily. “Goodnight, xiansheng. I love you.”

“I love you too, Ajax. Sweet dreams.”

Ajax slept soundly. He was home.

Chapter Text

There was something special about waking up next to the love of his life, Ajax decided. Zhongli’s arms wrapped securely around his waist and kept him in a warm hold while the golden tattoos lining his forearms glowed faintly. His soft exhales tickled Ajax’s nape as he slept soundly, and Ajax couldn’t help but tuck himself further into the sheets, burying himself in Zhongli’s embrace.

I want to wake up like this every day, he thought almost deliriously. 

While the thought should have been terrifying, it only felt right. Perhaps Ajax had gotten softer since he had first come to Liyue.

Zhongli shifted closer, and the warmth from his hold prompted Ajax to shut his eyes once more.

Maybe just a few more minutes…

Suddenly, the door to his room slammed open.

“Big brother!” Teucer yelled, stomping into the room with all the bravado of a child high on sugar. 

“Teucer!” Tonia hissed from behind him, but it was already too late. Ajax held back a groan and burrowed himself deeper into Zhongli’s back, even as he felt the man stir from behind him and slowly sit up.

“Good morning, Teucer,” Zhongli murmured, and Ajax internally cursed at how the man’s voice was just a touch gravelly. 

“Morning, Mister Zhongli! Is big brother awake?”

Ajax felt the mattress shift, and he shut his eyes tighter. Zhongli would no doubt see through his lie, but perhaps if he could fool the kids…

As he lay there with his eyes screwed shut, he felt a featherlight touch against the shadows under his eye. Above him, Zhongli let out the faintest exhale.

“Not yet. I believe we should let your big brother rest for a little longer.”

“What? But he promised to go shopping with us today!” 

“That doesn’t mean he’s taking us shopping this early in the morning,” Tonia groaned, her tone apologetic. “Mister Zhongli, I’m so sorry about this. We’ll come back later.”

“It’s alright, Miss Tonia,” Zhongli said, and Ajax didn’t need to see his face to know that he was smiling fondly. “It’s about time for me to wake, anyway. How about I take you three around Liyue instead? Let’s give Ajax some more time to sleep. He’s been working very hard.”

“That’s true,” Teucer mumbled. “Okay, Mister Zhongli! But you better promise to show us all the cool places in the city like big brother said he would!”

“Don’t be rude, Teucer,” Tonia chastised. “Say thank you first.”

“Thank you, Mister Zhongli,” Teucer sighed.

Zhongli let out a low chuckle. “You’re very welcome. It would be my pleasure to show you all around the city.”

“Thanks so much, Mister Zhongli,” Tonia sounded clearly relieved. “We’ll leave you to get ready, then.”

It was only after they shut the door and their footsteps receded down the hallway that Ajax finally opened his eyes.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he yawned. “I could have woken up and taken care of it.”

“It’s alright,” Zhongli smiled, affectionately smoothing out Ajax’s hair. “I want you to rest more than anything else.”

Ajax attempted to sit up, only for Zhongli to lightly push him back into the bed. “I’m fine, lyubimyy, really–”

“You still have shadows under your eyes,” Zhongli tutted, leaning in to examine his face.

But the concern in his expression was far too strong for just eyebags. Ajax watched how his gaze traveled around his body, almost as if he were inspecting him for wounds.

“Don’t tell me,” Ajax mumbled incredulously. “You’re not still thinking about what happened back in Mondstadt, are you?”

Zhongli’s pursed lips were proof enough. Ajax almost wanted to laugh at his pinched expression.

“A-li, I keep telling you–”

“You didn’t rest enough in Mondstadt,” Zhongli said resolutely. “Let me take care of your siblings for a day. You took the day off anyway, right? Just stay here and take a break.”

“Xiansheng,” Ajax whined. “You don’t have to baby me–mmph.”

Zhongli, apparently tired of Ajax’s consistent whining, silenced him with a kiss, one that was far too short for his liking.

“If I didn’t stop you, you’d never sleep.”

“Hey–”

“I’ll see you later, xingan,” Zhongli said, pointedly ignoring him as he pulled the sheets back over Ajax’s protesting form. “And please, for my sake, rest a little before you start carelessly gallivanting around Liyue like you usually do.”

Ajax gasped, mildly offended. “I do not gallivant.”

Zhongli raised an amused brow, pressing one final kiss to Ajax’s forehead before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Ajax was ready to bolt when the door suddenly opened once more and Zhongli stepped back inside sheepishly.

“As for paying–”

Ajax huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “There’s a bag of Mora on the counter for the kids to use. You forgot to bring your wallet last night, didn’t you.”

Zhongli nodded shamelessly. “Thank you, xingan. See you soon. Love you.”

“Love you too, lyubimyy.”

He waited until his footsteps had left the apartment along with the kids before springing out of bed.

As if I’d stay here any longer. Seriously, Zhongli’s such a worrywart sometimes…

However, he figured he should respect his partner’s wishes, even if only partially. Rather than heading out into the field and throwing himself into combat, he’d settle for getting some busy work done at the bank. Anything was better than just sitting around uselessly at home.

With that thought in mind, Tartaglia threw on his work clothes and headed towards Northland Bank–only to be stopped by the guard standing out the door.

“Apologies, Lord Harbinger,” Vlad said apologetically, blocking the entrance with an arm. “But Ekaterina instructed me specifically not to let you inside.”

“Huh?” Tartaglia was flabbergasted. “What do you mean? I have to work–”

“Sorry, sir, that’s just what she ordered–”

“I’m quite literally her boss, doesn’t my word overrule hers?”

“Lord Harbinger–”

The door swung open abruptly, and Vlad had to quickly move his arm away in order to avoid getting slammed by the handle.

“I knew this would happen,” Ekaterina sighed, glaring at him.

Childe glared back, equally unimpressed. “What, that I would be upset over getting kicked out of my own office today?”

Ekaterina put her hands up. “This was your boyfriend’s orders, not mine.”

He clicked his tongue irritably. “I wasn’t aware that you prioritized orders from Zhongli-xiansheng.”

The receptionist shrugged. “We’ve all agreed that it’s wiser to listen to Mister Zhongli over you when it comes to your self-care.”

Vlad nodded from where he was still standing next to the door.

“...Traitors, all of you,” Childe hissed under his breath. “Ekaterina, weren’t you the one who told me that I had a lot of work to do?”

“You do,” Ekaterina agreed. “But Mister Zhongli was very adamant about not allowing you to work today when he stopped by earlier.”

“He stopped by earlier?” Childe repeated incredulously. “When the fuck would he have time to get here with my siblings?”

“That’s for you to figure out, not me,” Ekaterina waved him off. “Anyway, sir, go take a break. Orders from your boyfriend.”

Childe sighed and backed away from the door. “I swear, you all are conspiring against me.”

“It’s for your own good, Lord Harbinger.”

He rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. Though Ekaterina was prickly on the outside, her assertiveness betrayed how much she cared.

“Then I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Tartaglia said, looking between his subordinates. “Keep yourselves out of trouble, alright? I don’t need a repeat of Mondstadt, thanks.”

“Shouldn’t we be the ones to tell you to be careful?” Ekaterina snarked.

“Take care, Lord Harbinger!” Vlad interrupted, saluting him.

Tartaglia snorted and waved goodbye.

Without work to do, courtesy of his overprotective partner, Tartaglia found himself wandering the streets of Liyue in the hopes of avoiding his partner and siblings. He did not doubt that Zhongli would send him straight back to his apartment if he caught him.

Or worse, he’d throw me into that teapot of his and make me rest, Ajax thought wryly.

He was standing on one of the balconies and surveying the busy street for any sign of them when a voice called from below.

“Hey, Tartaglia-gege!”

Below him, a familiar girl sporting a weaponized electric guitar waved guilelessly at him with a broad smile. Behind her were a few teens, whom Childe vaguely recognized as the ones who frequented Wanmin Restaurant often whenever he and Zhongli were there. In fact, he swore he'd done business with a couple of them before...

“Xinyan? Is that you?”

The girl nodded, beckoning to him. “Come down, silly! Don’t be a stranger!”

Tartaglia checked carefully for any wandering Millelith before hopping down from the balcony, launching himself off of the edge of one of the rooftops and swinging off of a lantern before gracefully landing in front of them.

“Nice to see you again,” he said cheerfully.

The group blinked at him before Xinyan groaned and shook her head.

“Gege, you could’ve just come down the stairs.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Tartaglia grinned before being abruptly caught off guard by Xinyan throwing her arms around him.

“Good t’ see ya again,” she said softly into his torso. “You kinda scared us when you left so abruptly back then, y’know?”

Guilt settled into Tartaglia’s stomach. Though he had exchanged final words with the Traveler and her companion before leaving the Mystic Onmyoudou Chamber, he hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye to Xinyan. 

Though I’m surprised she cared to remember…

“Sorry about that,” he said instead. “Something with work came up, so I had to leave fast.”

“Well, regardless, I’m glad yer doin’ alright,” Xinyan smiled, backing away. “By the way, these are my friends. I’m not sure if you’ve met ‘em before…? Darn, if only Yun Jin hadn’t needed t’ attend that interview today. I’ll hafta introduce you two some other time.”

“I don’t believe I have,” he said with a smile, holding out a hand. “Nice to meet you all. I’m Tartaglia.”

What followed was an uncomfortable silence as the other three simply watched him with various levels of curiosity–strange, hadn't there been four of them a moment ago? Xinyan smiled awkwardly and elbowed the side of one of the boys, who was staring at him with an open look of disdain.

Finally, a boy with light blue hair and cat-like pupils reached out to shake his hand. “...I’m Chongyun. Um, I’m an exorcist.”

Tartaglia whistled, impressed. “That’s an interesting lifestyle,” he said. “Exorcising demons and ghosts and the like. I’ve always wanted to try fighting one, what’s it like?”

The boy visibly deflated. “I’ve never gotten the chance before,” he sighed.

“Not for lack of trying,” another girl tried to reassure him. She shot Tartaglia a friendly smile. “I’m Xiangling! I’m a chef at Wanmin Restaurant.”

“She’s Chef Mao’s daughter,” Xinyan explained.

“Oh, so you’re the impressive daughter I’ve heard so much about,” Tartaglia nodded. “Your dad never misses the chance to brag about you.”

Xiangling flushed. “Seriously? Baba really… But you know, you do look pretty familiar to me.”

“I’ve eaten at Wanmin many times,” Tartaglia said. “Perhaps you’ve seen me as a customer?”

Xiangling’s eyes lit up in recognition. “That’s right,” she said enthusiastically. “You’re that guy who comes in and eats with Zhongli-xiansheng all the time!”

Suddenly, Tartaglia was accosted by a hefty slap on the back by Hu Tao, who had mysteriously reappeared behind him from who knows where. "I still can't believe you’re the guy that Zhongli-xiansheng waxes poetic about on the daily. He never shuts up about you at work.”

"I mean, it's hard not to talk about me, isn't it?" Tartaglia winked and flashed her a grin. "It's good to see you again, Director."

"Now, now, none of that," Hu Tao waved him off. "How could I have one of my best customers calling me so formally when we're not even working? Just call me Hu Tao. Hey, hey, what does Zhongli-xiansheng say about me?"

"He said, verbatim, 'I cannot handle that child.' Take that as you will, dear director."

"Just for that, I'll make sure my services will be readily available for you as well as your colleagues," Hu Tao retorted, though she didn't appear to be offended at all.

Xiangling looked between the two of them. "Do I want to know what services you're talking about?"

"Just business," the two of them said at the same time.

Chongyun raised an eyebrow. “You’re the first who’s ever been able to keep up with Hu Tao."

Tartaglia shrugged. “We've worked together for quite some time now, so I've certainly grown used to it. And I mean, Xiansheng’s told me about her rather…eclectic advertising methods, among other things. Thanks for taking care of him, by the way… I know he’s a bit much.”

Hu Tao scoffed playfully. “Well, I’ve assumed that you’re the reason why we’ve been able to keep down our expenditure lately. Zhongli-xiansheng sometimes purchases the strangest things…”

“It’s very endearing,” Ajax said.

“It’s a pain in the ass,” Hu Tao mumbled.

As the two of them shared challenging glances, Xiangling gently poked her friend, the one who had been glaring at Tartaglia during the entire exchange.

“Xingqiu? Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” the boy finally spoke, though it was with obvious resentment.

The exorcist boy, Chongyun, reached over and grabbed his hand in a loose hold. “A-qiu,” he said gently. “What’s wrong?”

Xingqiu scoffed, but the glacial look in his eyes had softened somewhat from the other boy’s actions. “You all do realize that you are making conversation with a Fatui Harbinger? The same one who tried to drown our entire city, if we all recall correctly?”

Tartaglia’s smile quirked to the side.

I figured he would say that.

In fact, it had been more surprising that no one had brought it up sooner. It wasn’t like Childe had been hiding his identity in the couple of years he had spent in Liyue prior to the Rite of Descension, and he had always hated being shady and private like the other Harbingers. The people of Liyue had put two and two together relatively quickly once the rumors had started, and though it was nowhere near as bad as it used to be, lingering resentment was something he had grown familiar with facing.

Well. He had nearly killed all of them in a giant diety-induced tsunami. That reaction was only fair.

Chongyun looked abashed, stepping away from him awkwardly. “...Right,” he mumbled.

“...You don’t look surprised,” Tartaglia noted, staring at the unphased Xinyan.

“Despite what the Traveler may believe, you did a terrible job of pretending like you were just some adventurer, gege,” Xinyan said, raising a brow. “I put it together pretty fast after seeing you fight.”

Xingqiu shot her a flabbergasted look. “Then why are you still calling him gege of all things? He’s literally a danger to our city!”

Xinyan crossed her arms, looking surprisingly resolute. “He helped us out during our investigations, and he saved my ass more than a few times in that domain,” she said.

“But still–”

“He didn’t have to help me,” Xinyan cut through Xingqiu’s protest. “But he did, and that says somethin’. Y’know I’m not the type who lets rumors define m’ opinions of others.”

Xingqiu’s eyes flashed briefly with guilt before he turned away and affixed his stare on Tartaglia. “...Even so, I’m still going to be keeping an eye on you.”

Tartaglia held his hands up. “I won’t stop you, Young Master.”

He held back a flinch when Hu Tao slapped his back enthusiastically. “Besides, he’s Zhongli-xiansheng’s boyfriend. I might not trust this guy, but I’ll always believe my dear consultant.”

“...Right,” Tartaglia said warily. He hadn’t heard her approach him at all–it seemed she was truly someone to watch out for.

Would Zhongli-xiansheng get upset if I tried to fight his boss?

Xiangling peered over to somewhere in the distance. “Speaking of which, isn’t that Zhongli-xiansheng over there?”

Tartaglia looked over to where she was pointing and blanched at the sight of his partner and his siblings nearby. “Fuck.”

“Gege? Somethin’ wrong?”

He grinned anxiously, slowly walking backward. “Nope! Everything’s just fine, haha.”

Hu Tao’s smile turned mischievous. “You’re looking awfully pale right now, Tartaglia-xiansheng.”

“Are you avoiding Zhongli-xiansheng?” Chongyun asked curiously. He seemed to be actively avoiding Xingqiu’s accusatory glare, staring at something behind him instead.

Tartaglia laughed nervously. “Haha. I’m, uh, not actually supposed to be out right now. If Zhongli-xiansheng catches me, he’s gonna–”

“Do what, big brother?”

Internally, Ajax found himself cycling through all five stages of grief as he realized that it was Teucer clinging to his leg, and not a random dead weight. Because if Teucer was here, that meant–

“That’s right. What would I do now that I’ve ‘caught’ you?”

Ajax flinched at the hand that wound around his waist, pinning him to the man behind him with a firm hold. He slowly turned to see Zhongli staring down at him, his face an impassive mask.

“H-hey, xiansheng–”

“I thought I told you to rest,” Zhongli admonished.

“Oh come on, did you expect me to actually stay there all day? I’m a restless person, xiansheng.”

“You need to recuperate after your trip,” the man stated. Behind him, Tonia glared at him sternly and tugged at his arm.

“Xiansheng–”

“Rest. Now.”

At Zhongli’s more insistent tug on his waist, Ajax finally decided to give in. “Fine, fine! I’ll go back to my apartment, just don’t put me in that damn teapot!”

“Keeping you in the Serenitea Pot to prevent you from straining your body further?” Zhongli mused, and Ajax cursed his loose tongue. “What a good idea. I’m surprised I didn’t think of it sooner.”

“Xiansheng,” Ajax did not whine. “Why would you use my words against me?”

Zhongli deliberately ignored him and turned to the rest of the group, who had fallen into stunned silence. 

“Unfortunately, I must cut your conversation with my partner short, since he must rest,” Zhongli apologized, bowing politely. “Director Hu and friends, I will see you all sometime. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day.”

Hu Tao appeared the least phased by the sudden interception of Zhongli and waved enthusiastically. “See you at work, Zhongli-xiansheng!”

“Yes, may fortune find you,” Xingqiu hastily tacked on, quick to maintain some semblance of propriety. 

“Take care,” Xinyan added with a slight grin and wave.

“...Ugh,” Ajax groaned as Zhongli dragged him away, his siblings pushing his unwilling frame forwards. “You all suck.”

---

Now that Zhongli had little leniency left for him, Ajax spent the rest of the day mostly confined to his apartment. Though he was sure his partner would let him out if he truly wanted to, Ajax was sure he was only a moment away from forging a contract to keep him inside, and he didn’t want to stress him more than necessary.

It was later that afternoon, while his siblings and partner were still out, that Ajax finally received some semblance of entertainment in the form of a letter addressed to him from Mondstadt.

The Mirror Maiden delivering the letter knocked politely at his door and remained blank-faced even when Tartaglia threw the door open eagerly at her arrival. 

“A letter for you, Lord Harbinger,” she said, presenting the envelope to him.

“Thank you,” Childe said, careful not to appear overeager (though he supposed the time to leave a good impression had already disappeared from how excitably he had opened the door). “You’re dismissed.”

The Mirror Maiden nodded and disappeared into one of her portals, leaving Tartaglia to examine the letter in his hands. A quick glance at the back confirmed that it was from Barbara, and he eagerly sat down at his kitchen table to carefully break the seal open.

Dear Mister Ajax,

I hope this letter reaches you safe and sound. Forgive me for sending one so quickly, but I was so excited to try out the letter set that I simply couldn’t resist. Thank you again for your wonderful gift–the paper is exceptionally smooth and the ink writes very well. I showed my older sister the set, and she informed me that it’s a very expensive brand. While you really didn’t have to do so much for me, I thank you regardless.

I’ve been talking more with my older sister lately. It’s been really nice to simply chat with her about whatever we put our minds to, and I feel much closer to her than before. Also, you might be interested to know that Mona and I have now started to hang out sometimes! I think she stopped by the church to check on me at first, but it’s nice to have some new friends to talk to. Come to think of it, I suppose I must thank you for that as well. Mister Ajax, you might not realize it but a lot of people have been helped by your actions, even if it wasn’t your intention. 

I hope your siblings are all doing well–please say hi to them for me. And stay safe, Mister Ajax! Please don’t get into too much trouble. Come visit us when you get the chance!

May Lord Barbatos protect you,

Barbara Pegg

The deaconess’s handwriting was as small and neat as expected, and Ajax found himself smiling fondly at the contents of the letter. It was good to know that his friends in Mondstadt were doing alright.

“Big brother! We’re home!”

Ajax looked up at the sound of the door opening and closing to see Zhongli with his siblings, each carrying several shopping bags. He immediately stood up and walked over to the doorway, giving his siblings a hug and Zhongli an obligatory kiss before reaching over to help them with their bags.

“Welcome back, guys. Here, let me help–”

“No, stay,” Zhongli held a hand up, preventing Ajax from taking hold of the handles. “You still need to rest.”

“We can do it ourselves, big brother,” Anthon said softly, lifting his items onto the counter.

“You guys sure bought a lot,” Ajax noted amusedly as he watched the counter become covered in various sundries and trinkets from their shopping spree. 

“Yeah, we got lots of toys!” Teucer crowed, pulling out a hand-painted wooden doll from one of the packages. “Look, big brother, isn’t it so pretty?”

“Very pretty,” Ajax agreed. “I’m sure it’s worth quite a bit.”

“The artist who created this is well-known for her intricate paintings,” Zhongli added. “She was selling some dolls today as an experiment, and it seemed too valuable to pass up.”

“That’s what you always say whenever you buy anything,” Ajax laughed, shaking his head. “What’d you get, Anthon?”

Anthon tugged out a box that was filled with what appeared to be little wooden pieces. “This is a kit to build your own figure of Rex Lapis. Isn’t it cool?”

“Mhm, it is. You’re gonna save building this figure for when you get home, right?”

“Yeah, I want big brother Jason to help me with this,” Anthon nodded. “It looks kind of hard to do by myself.”

“Good idea,” Ajax agreed, scrutinizing the carefully cut minuscule wood and noticing the slats where they would fit together. While Anthon was smart, his hand-eye coordination would leave him in need of assistance for the parts that required more dexterity.

“The artisan who sold us this claimed that this figure would be ‘an exact replica of Rex Lapis’,” Zhongli said, an amused smile playing on his lips.

Ajax picked up on the joke quickly, and a smile of his own spread across his face. “I suppose you’d be the best authority to decide whether that’s true, xiansheng.”

Zhongli hid his smile behind a hand. “I believe that’s correct.”

Ajax turned to his sister, who had already buried herself in one of the many books on the counter. “What about you, Tonia?”

Tonia looked up, brandishing the book that she was reading with excitement. “Mister Zhongli helped me find this book called A Legend of Sword. It’s so good! I’m already almost done with the first volume, but the author’s fit so much into the story that I know I’ll have to reread it again.”

Ajax stole a look at the cover, which featured two women in futuristic gear set against a backdrop of stars. “Woah, the cover art is pretty nice.”

“Right? The only problem is that I don’t know where to get the other volumes. I don’t even know how Mister Zhongli found this one…”

“If I recall correctly, A Legend of Sword is an extremely popular book series in Inazuma, but it never quite took off as much here in Liyue,” Zhongli informed them. “It’s a shame because the writing is intriguing. It’s very unorthodox, especially considering that the author is from Liyue.”

“Ugh, it’ll be so unfortunate if this volume ends on a cliffhanger,” Tonia sighed, mournfully cradling the book to her chest. “And we’re going back home in a couple of days, too…”

Ajax patted Tonia’s slumped shoulders. “I’ll find the rest of the volumes and mail them to you, Tonia,” he reassured her.

“You would?” Tonia asked, lighting up. “Thanks, big brother! You’re the best.”

Ajax laughed, catching her as she flung her arms around him. “Of course, anything for my little sister. Teucer, Anthon, if there’s anything you want but forgot to get, just let me know and I’ll send it straight to Morepesok.”

“Yes, big brother!” Teucer chirped.

“Now, it’s getting late, so I’ll make us some dinner,” Ajax grinned, rolling up his sleeves. “Kids, clear the table for me, would you? Xiansheng, help me chop the vegetables.”

The children let out various cries of agreement and set off to put away their gifts while Zhongli sidled up next to him.

“Thanks again for taking them out, xiansheng,” Ajax grinned, handing Zhongli an apron.

“You’re very welcome,” Zhongli nodded, loosely tying the apron around his waist and pecking Ajax on the forehead. “I see that the rest was very helpful.”

“Well, you didn’t leave me with much choice,” Ajax grumbled under his breath.

Zhongli only smiled indulgently. “Sometimes rest is a good thing, xingan,” he chided softly.

“Just for that, you’re going to help me chop the octopus,” he replied indignantly. 

Zhongli blanched. “...Octopus?”

Ajax let out a vindictive cackle.

---

A few days later, it was time for Ajax’s siblings to leave. Ajax and Zhongli made time to see them off at the port.

“Big brother, do we have to go? Teucer whined, clinging stubbornly to Ajax’s leg.

“Mama and Papa will be worried if you stay any longer,” Ajax coerced, patting his head gently. “Besides, don’t you want to tell our older siblings about all the fun things you saw in Mondstadt and Liyue?”

“Yeah, yeah! And we have gifts for them, too! We bought them ourselves,” Anthon added.

Though it was with my money, Ajax thought amusedly before turning to his younger sister.

“Tonia, I’ll be sending one of my subordinates with you guys to make sure you all get back home safe,” Ajax informed her. “Make sure to listen to her, alright?”

Tonia nodded and he turned to his brothers. “That goes for you two as well. Don’t give Miss Yuliya a hard time, alright?”

“Yes, brother,” they chirped.

He grinned at the eager looks on their faces and crouched to meet them at eye level. “Come here and give me one last hug, you guys.”

His siblings jumped into his arms, clinging tightly to him. Suddenly, Ajax felt Anthon stiffen against him and watched as he looked up to where Zhongli was standing.

“Mister Zhongli, join us!”

Zhongli pointed to himself, visibly stunned at the unexpected request. “Me?”

“Yeah, you’re family too!” Teucer grinned. “Family always gets to be part of group hugs.”

“You’re the one dating our big brother,” Tonia added with a welcoming smile. “It’s only right.”

Zhongli’s face visibly softened, and he knelt down to wrap his arms around the kids. “Thank you for considering me family,” he murmured.

Ajax did not cry, but his eyes did grow wet at the feeling of his loved ones’ arms around him.

It was difficult, but he eventually let go of his siblings and gave them one last grin. “Have a safe trip, all of you. Say hi to everyone for me.”

“Will do!” Anthon smiled, breaking off to begin boarding the boat. Teucer followed him eagerly while Tonia turned around one more time to wave goodbye.

Ajax and Zhongli stood by the port as the ship pulled away, and didn’t move until the sails disappeared over the horizon.

Zhongli snaked an arm around his waist. “Are you alright?”

Ajax let out a relieved sigh. “I feel like a weight’s been lifted off my back.”

His partner let out a quiet laugh. “They were certainly difficult to take care of, huh?”

“Mm,” Ajax hummed, leaning against his shoulder. “I’ll miss them, though.”

“We can visit them in Snezhnaya sometime,” Zhongli murmured.

“...Alright,” Ajax agreed softly. “Walk me back to the bank?”

“Of course.”

---

Though it took some time before he could fully reestablish his normal routine, Tartaglia eventually was able to clear up a couple of hours to search for the volumes that his sister asked for. Though he had never been much of a reader–why sit around and read books when you could go out and act out those fighting scenes in actual combat?–he knew vaguely where to look, thanks to his accompanying Zhongli on his outings. 

Though, when he finally arrived at Wanwen Bookhouse, he found himself slightly at a loss. There were way more books than he was used to seeing, and with only a vague memory of the first volume’s cover, Tartaglia had no idea how to begin searching. It didn’t help that the owner of the bookhouse glared at him every time he so much as touched one of the shelves.

There was a clatter behind him, and Tartaglia turned around to see two teenagers whom he vaguely recognized as Xinyan’s friends staring aghast at him.

“Oh? Fancy seeing you here. You’re Chongyun and you’re Xingqiu, right?”

Xinqiu held out an arm, carefully shielding Chongyun from him while glaring accusatorily. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, hey, there’s no need to look so wary,” Tartaglia said, holding up his hands. “I’m just looking for some books, that’s all.”

“Knew you were trouble–wait, really?” Xingqiu asked, his guard lowering slightly as his questions emerged rapid-fire. “What kind of books? What would you need them for?”

Tartaglia stepped back slightly at the manic look in Xingqiu’s eyes. “I’m looking for a set of volumes for my sister, but I’m having a bit of trouble trying to find it,” he explained.

Chongyun smiled slightly, tugging at Xingqiu’s elbow. “A-qiu knows a ton of books,” he said proudly. “I’m sure he would be able to help.”

“Not that I would want to help the likes of him,” Xingqiu grumbled, but it was obvious that Chongyun’s compliment had placated him somewhat. “What’s the name of the series?”

Tartaglia internally cheered at the small victory. “I believe the series is titled A Legend of Sword.”

Oddly, both boys seemed to stiffen at the name.

“Hey, Xingqiu, isn’t that–”

Xingqiu quickly slapped a hand over Chongyun’s mouth, laughing nervously. “O-oh, that one? I’ve read it before.”

“Really?” Tartaglia asked eagerly. “Where did you get it? Expense is not a concern of mine, I’ll be able to pay.”

Xingqiu looked thoughtful before his expression turned slightly mischievous. “It’s pretty hard to find. The series isn’t very popular in Liyue, you know.”

“Unfortunately so,” Tartaglia mumbled, staring back at the rows of books in front of him.

“But,” Xingqiu continued, his voice sly. “I happen to know the author of the series personally. If you pay, I’ll try and get him to send you the complete set that’s been published so far.”

“That would be great,” Tartaglia said immediately.

Xingqiu looked positively amused, but Tartaglia didn’t care. This lead would be the closest he could get, and it wasn’t as if Mora would ever pose an issue.

Besides, if he’s lying, I could always just fight him.

“If you pay a bit extra, I’ll even have the author autograph the inside cover of each volume,” Xingqiu added.

“Oh wow, that’d be amazing,” Tartaglia agreed easily. “My sister loves this series, so only the best for her will do. How soon can you get these volumes to me?”

Chongyun looked between them, appearing strangely torn. “Xingqiu, should we really…”

“It’s fine!” Xingqiu hissed, and the two of them had an entire conversation between glances that Tartaglia couldn’t quite decipher. Regardless of what was discussed between them, they must have come to a consensus because Chongyun eventually backed off while Xingqiu turned back to him.

“I can get those books to you in about a week if you pay upfront now. It’s going to be a total of 72,000 Mora.”

Tartaglia paused. He had little experience buying books, but even he thought the prices were bordering exorbitant.

Seeing his hesitation, Xingqiu was quick to speak up. “The author of this series, Zhenyu-laoshi, is quite reclusive and hard to contact. This price covers the express fees necessary to get it to you as soon as possible, as well as the added market value of his signature.”

Tartaglia thought it over. “That sounds fairly reasonable,” he agreed.

Xingqiu perked up at his easy agreement. “Wonderful. If you’re still hesitant, I could write up a contract, if you’d like.”

Tartaglia waved him off with a hand. “It’s fine,” he deflected. “This is a personal purchase, so there’s no need to be so formal.”

He grinned and tilted his head, making sure that his mask was clearly visible in the sun. “Besides, I’m sure the ever-chivalrous second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild wouldn’t dare to breach an agreement with me, isn’t that right?”

Xingqiu’s smile turned businesslike at the mention of his title, though his gaze sharpened. “No, of course not. The Feiyun Commerce Guild would never let such a thing happen.”

“Good!” Tartaglia chirped, effectively dispelling the sudden chill in the air with a smile and outstretched hand. “I’ll see you in a week, then. Pleasure doing business with you.”

Xingqiu took his hand and firmly shook it. “It was all mine, gongzi. See you then.”

---

Tartaglia’s next encounter with Xingqiu, however, happened before the week had ended.

He had been picking up dinner for himself and Zhongli at Wanmin Restaurant when he heard a loud clatter in the background, followed by an incredulous “You met who?”

Chef Mao, who had been taking his order, winced at the cacophony of sound behind him.

“Apologies for the noise,” he sighed. “My daughter’s friends are here today, and she tends to get very… raucous when they’re around.”

Tartaglia laughed. “No worries. I know kids tend to get excited when they’re around their peers.”

“That’s right,” Chef Mao recalled. “You would have a lot of experience with your siblings.”

Tartaglia dropped a handful of Mora on the counter. “Let me know whenever the food’s ready. I’ll be waiting outside.”

Chef Mao nodded, accepting the coins before turning back into the kitchen. Tartaglia moved to sit at one of the outside tables and through the walls caught wind of Xiangling’s rather noisy conversation with her friends.

“–I just think it doesn’t seem right. Aren’t you just scamming him?” Xiangling sighed loudly, and her friends shushed her quickly.

“Not so loud, okay? And I’m not scamming him if I’m giving him what he wants. It’s not chivalrous to go against a contract.”

Tartaglia belatedly recognized the voice to be Xingqiu, and let out a quiet snort. 

“Oh, but it’s fine to mark up the price by double,” someone else (Chongyun?) snarked.

“Just think of it as reparations, Yunyun,” Xingqiu replied airily. “Besides, it’s not like he doesn’t have any Mora to spare. Remember how the shopkeepers around Feiyun Slope were weeping for joy when he started buying gifts for Zhongli-xiansheng again?”

Ajax found himself flushing with mortification. The last thing he thought he would hear would be the economic ramifications of the period where he and Zhongli hadn’t spoken to one another.

“Both of you have more money than you could count,” Xiangling grumbled. “It’s not like you’ll be needing the Mora you get, either. Don’t you feel at least a little bad?”

“I’ll start feeling bad when he makes up for trying to destroy the city,” Xingqiu scoffed, and yeah, that’s fair.

“Tartaglia-xiansheng, your order is ready,” Chef Mao called from the window, interrupting his concentration.

A breath hitched through the walls. “Wait, was he–?”

“Oh archons, do you think he knows what we just said?” Xiangling’s voice had regained its volume, oscillating between total amusement and modest fear.

“He couldn’t have heard,” Xingqiu said flippantly, but there was hesitation in his tone.

Tartaglia walked over to the counter, smiling broadly, and accepted the bag of takeout from Chef Mao. Peering over the counter, he made sure to make direct eye contact with Xingqiu in the back of the restaurant.

And because he was a little shit who couldn’t resist teasing, he called, “No hard feelings, buddy! Just get those books to me by the end of the week!”

Xingqiu let out a squeak, his face morphing from slight nervousness to abject terror.

Tartaglia turned and walked away, snickering when he heard Xingqiu mumble “Just shoot me into the sun, would you?” amid his friends’ laughter.

That boy was interesting. Ajax rather liked him.

Chapter Text

It was with great amusement that Tartaglia met up with Xingqiu later that week.

“Here are the books, as promised,” Xingqiu said, hastily thrusting a heavy package of books his way. Tartaglia whistled as he hefted the box into his arms, noting how the younger boy had barely broken a sweat when handing the books to him.

I wonder if all the kids I meet just happen to be ridiculously strong…

“All of them are signed,” Xingqiu added. “You can check to verify, but I assure you that these are all in pristine condition.”

Tartaglia’s gaze darted between the box of books–which, true to Xingqiu’s word, all appeared to be fresh off of the press–and the visibly nervous look on the boy’s face. For all of the boy’s bravado from their encounter at the restaurant, there did seem to be genuine guilt in his expression.

“Hey,” he started, only for Xingqiu to flinch and step back slightly. Tartaglia quickly raised up his hands in as non-threatening of a manner as he could. “I meant it when I said no hard feelings, you know. Thank you for retrieving these books for me.”

Xingqiu studied him warily. “You’re…welcome,” he said slowly.

He couldn’t help it. The boy looked too easy to tease–just like Anthon–and Tartaglia found himself raising an eyebrow mischievously. 

“What’s gotten you so hesitant? Having second thoughts?”

Xingqiu’s head shot up, an indignant look on his face. “N-no! It would be incredibly rude and discourteous to not follow through on our deal, after all.”

Tartaglia simply stared at him with the same gently prying look he often gave to his siblings when they misbehaved, and Xingqiu cracked all too easily.

“Okay, fine. I know that you’ve expressed your lack of resentment towards me and my admittedly callous remarks, but I still feel that I should recompense you in some way.”

Tartaglia shook his head. “I already said there’s no need. I don’t mind paying a premium–it’s all affordable to me.”

“Still–”

“Stop,” Tartaglia sighed. “It feels like I’m mistreating a child.”

Xingqiu puffed up at that, clearly offended. “I’m not a child! And excuse me for trying to be chivalrous.”

Avoiding the boy’s glare, Tartaglia’s gaze instead caught on the Hydro Vision dangling from his waist. Suddenly the boy’s strength seemed more appropriate.

“You know what, if you really insist,” Tartaglia drawled, the idea popping into his brain. “Spar with me.”

Xingqiu’s expression swung between fearful and angry. “...If this suggestion is just some roundabout assassination attempt, I’d suggest you propose something else.”

Tartaglia scoffed. “Not like that,” he rolled his eyes and gestured to the Vision on his belt. “You seem capable. I like observing new techniques. Fight me.”

The laugh Xingqiu let out was disbelieving. “You are just as odd as the rumors say, Lord Harbinger.”

“And? What’s your verdict?”

Xingqiu’s mouth twisted. “I am the son of merchants, gongzi. You’re going to need to come up with a more convincing reason, or at least a guarantee of my safety and wellbeing during the aftermath of this… duel.”

“Don’t be so serious, it’s not a duel,” Tartaglia said dismissively. “I’ll go easy on you, don’t worry.”

“Excuse me,” Xingqiu said, affronted. “I never said that you needed to go easy on me during a spar.”

“Sure,” Tartaglia nodded along, his smile just a touch mocking.

The boy leveled a glare at him that was not nearly as intimidating as he had probably intended. “I just mean that we should have a third party monitor and make sure neither of us get too injured. Though I have to say the authorities are more likely to side with me should anything happen.”

“Alright, alright,” Tartaglia acquiesced. Xingqiu’s words were becoming more barbed, and he hadn’t intended to make the boy actually angry. “You’re right. Well–if you’re in need of a third party, how about Zhongli-xiansheng? I can ask him.”

“Zhongli-xiansheng? But isn’t he your…" Xingqiu trailed off before shaking his head. "Well, you know what? Regardless of personal feelings, I doubt he’s the type of person to allow any severe injuries on either side. That could work."

Tartaglia grinned, cheery at the prospect of battling someone new. Now that Lumine only dropped by Liyue on occasion, he had been looking for a new sparring partner to appropriately challenge him. Xingqiu, from the looks of it, could make for a fun fight. 

Who knows what tricks he might have up his sleeve?

The boy in question was now staring at him nonplussed. “You have a gross look on your face, gongzi,” he said, wrinkling his nose.

“I’m hurt,” Tartaglia retorted, the smile never leaving his face. “So do we have a deal? Let’s find some time to spar. I’ll have Zhongli-xiansheng monitor us.”

Xingqiu looked almost exasperated but nodded nevertheless. “I’ve never made a deal quite like this,” he said wryly. “Sure. I will make some time to meet you in three days’ time. How does Mt. Tianheng sound?”

“Perfect,” Tartaglia agreed. “I shall see you then, young master.”

---

By the time the three days had finally passed, Tartaglia was trembling with excitement as he rushed over to the clearing where they would be sparring. 

Beside him, Zhongli shook his head at his enthusiasm. It had been surprisingly easy to convince him to moderate, though Tartaglia had a sneaking suspicion that it was more out of concern for Xingqiu than for himself. Despite the fact that Tartaglia was nearly running towards the mountain, Zhongli kept with his pace without showing a single sign of making an effort.

Xingqiu was waiting there, along with the young exorcist from before–Chongyun.

“Gongzi. Zhongli-xiansheng,” he greeted, bowing briefly to them before addressing Tartaglia. “I brought my best friend if you don’t mind. It might be better to have two moderators instead of one so that there’s less of a bias.”

“That’s fine by me,” Tartaglia agreed easily, impressed by the boy’s logic. He really did think of everything.

“Well, I’m ready whenever you are,” Xingqiu said, drawing out a slim black sword accented with gold and decorated with a small scarlet tassel. It was made from good quality materials, Tartaglia noted. Considering the carefully sharpened blade and the wear on the grip, it was clear that the boy had used this sword lovingly. However, despite this, there seemed to be something off about the way he held it.

Well, I suppose I’ll figure it out when we spar.

Tartaglia pulled out his own bow, a gift that he had received upon becoming the 11th Harbinger. The handle was cold to the touch, its spiked detailing glowing a chilling blue.

“Then let’s begin,” Tartaglia grinned, eagerly firing an arrow to start.

Xingqiu parried the arrow with ease, cutting through the shaft with ease and watching it dissolve into Hydro. “Taking the first shot, huh? How decidedly unchivalrous of you.”

Tartaglia fired three more arrows in rapid succession, watching as Xingqiu nimbly avoided them. “When you’re on the battlefield, chivalry is the last thing on your mind.”

“Perhaps that’s so,” Xingqiu murmured, getting close enough to attempt a swing at him. Tartaglia ducked back, quickly firing an arrow that barely brushed the edge of the boy’s bangs.

However, after a few minutes of back-and-forth, Xingqiu stepped back.

“You’re a terrible shot,” he said dryly.

From where they were spectating, Chongyun let out a snort–and to Tartaglia’s betrayal, Zhongli’s eyes crinkled with faint amusement.

“Oh, come on,” Tartaglia complained. “My aim is not that bad.”

“It’s not even your aim,” Xingqiu snorted. “Anyone can tell your form is atrocious.”

“And you’re saying you’d be able to do better?” he retorted playfully.

“Gongzi, you just threw your last arrow at me.”

 “Well, it still managed to hit you,” Tartaglia pointed out cheerfully. 

Xingqiu responded with a glare.

He sighed and put his hands up. “Fine, you got me. I’m actually the least adept at using a bow. Hey, here’s an important life lesson I’m about to give you–if you want to get better at anything, you have to practice as much as possible.”

“...But you’re fighting me with the weapon you’re worst at?”

Tartaglia looked up. Xingqiu’s expression was annoyed, the beginnings of a pout forming on his face–but there was a tinge of hurt in his words.

“I thought I told you not to go easy on me,” Xingqiu mumbled. “I’m stronger than I look.”

(Am I not good enough?)

There was a rustle from behind him, and Tartaglia snuck a glance to see Chongyun attempting to stand up, only for Zhongli to gently tug at his sleeve and shake his head.

He turned back. Xingqiu’s sword had lowered slightly, and his stance suddenly seemed less confident. 

(Ajax understood.)

“...You’re right,” Tartaglia admitted freely, slinging his bow across his back. “It hadn’t been my intention, but fighting you with a bow was disrespectful to your skills. Sorry about that.”

Xingqiu looked surprised at his apology before smiling half-heartedly. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he replied.

“I must say, though, your form is great,” Tartaglia said breezily, gathering Hydro at his fingertips to summon his twin blades. “I’ll take you seriously now. Don’t cry when you lose.”

Xingqiu’s eyes narrowed, all traces of vulnerability wiped from his expression. With a swipe of his sword, a circle of Hydro blades surrounded his frame. “I’ll extend that statement back to you, gongzi.”

Tartaglia grinned excitedly–it seemed that the boy had more tricks up his sleeve–and darted into the fight.

---

After multiple rounds, the two of them lay on the ground, panting.

“That was a great spar,” Tartaglia said cheerfully, still energetic despite having fought for hours.

Xingqiu appeared much more exhausted, fully slumped against the grass. “How do you still sound so enthusiastic?” he wheezed. 

“Some people live to eat. I live to fight,” Tartaglia answered with a grin. “On that note, wanna go for another round?”

Zhongli took the opportunity to kneel over him, shaking his head as he lifted his arm to begin wrapping a roll of bandages over his cuts. “That’s enough,” he chastised. “You’ve been working the poor boy for hours.”

“I can still go for longer,” Xingqiu protested, but Chongyun quickly pressed a hand over his mouth.

“A-qiu, you’re gonna have to explain to Xu if you collapse on your way back home.”

The boy heaved a sigh and sheathed his sword. The Hydro swords hovering around him burst unceremoniously, bathing Xingqiu in healing light that mended the minor cuts on his arms and legs.

Tartaglia studied the lingering Hydro particles sparkling on his skin. “Those blades of yours are quite amazing,” he mused idly to himself. “Though that sword is quite a shame.”

“What’s wrong with my sword?” Xingqiu asked indignantly.

Whoops. He hadn’t thought the boy would overhear him.

Tartaglia sat up, gesturing to the sword. “Can I see it?”

Xingqiu looked torn for a moment, but eventually gave in to his curiosity and handed the blade over.

Childe stood up (carefully ignoring a warning glare from his partner) and sloppily made a few slashes with the sword. 

“The steel alloy seems to be made from a traditional Liyuen formula, with… is that Cor Lapis on the pommel? It’s a bit on the heavier side,” he noted, handing the sword back. “A high-quality sword, to be sure, but it doesn’t fit your style.”

Chongyun stared at him awestruck as Xingqiu retrieved his sword. “You figured all of that out just by swinging it around a couple of times?”

“I did tell you that bows were the only weapons I haven’t mastered, did I not?” Tartaglia grinned.

“You only said you were least adept at the bow, not that you were good at wielding anything else,” Xingqiu sassed.

Tartaglia reached over to flick Xingqiu’s forehead instinctively. “Cheeky brat,” he snorted. “But yeah, I’ve studied many weapons in the Tsaritsa’s collection. You learn their properties quickly when it’s out of necessity.”

“...Right,” Xingqiu said awkwardly, reminded suddenly of Tartaglia’s position as a Harbinger. “Er, what did you mean when you said that the weapon doesn’t fit my style?”

Tartaglia observed him as the boy slowly rose from where he was lying on the grass. Though Xingqiu had a small frame, there was strength behind his strikes and it was clear that he had a distinct athleticism in his technique.

“You utilize a lot of acrobatics in your swordplay,” he noted. “Whenever you utilize your Hydro vision, it’s used to supplement your technique rather than replace it.”

He pointed to the sword. “That’s a very standard high-quality Liyuen sword, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with its kind before,” he said, carefully hiding the fact that he had grown acquainted with it after seizing it from a Liyuen prisoner back in Snezhnaya. “It’s more suited for physical attacks since you have to put your entire weight into the sword.”

“I’m able to do those kinds of attacks just fine, though,” Xingqiu said, his voice less defensive so much as it was inquisitive. 

“Anyone can use a sword just fine,” Tartaglia replied. “But there’s something special about finding a weapon that perfectly suits your style. I think that’s what you’re missing.”

Xingqiu looked almost forlorn as he passed a hand over the blade. “You might be right there,” he said softly. “I’ll think about it.”

“If you would like, I can keep an eye out for any swords that pique my interest,” Tartaglia offered. 

Xingqiu smiled slightly, shaking his head. “I couldn’t ask you for another favor,” he replied. “You’ve already been rather accommodating despite our rocky start.”

“It’s fine,” Tartaglia shrugged. “I would be looking at these weapons regardless, so it’s just an added measure of letting you know if I see anything. Just consider this a bribe for another spar in the future.”

“Another spar?” Xingqiu asked. “You want to spar with me again?”

“Sure,” Tartaglia smiled. “We’re both busy people with some steam to let off, and your fighting style is fun to work from. I’m very interested in learning your techniques.”

Xingqiu appeared to be genuinely touched, though he was quick to hide his shock with a cough. “Well, if it’s in exchange for information, I suppose we can arrange to meet up for more in the future.”

“I would be happy to supervise you when I have time,” Zhongli added. Tartaglia had grown so accustomed to his presence that he barely noticed his partner’s hands gently massaging his shoulders.

“Me too,” Chongyun added softly. “A-qiu, I think this might be good for your technique.”

“You think?” Xingqiu mused, leaning against the exorcist’s chest. “It’s been a while since I’ve ever needed to learn from someone, anyhow.”

“If that’s settled, I’ll send you a letter with information and the times I’m free,” Tartaglia nodded.

Xingqiu winced. “If you’re going to send a letter… all of the mail that comes into the Feiyun Commerce Guild is screened before entry. They would probably not have the best reaction if they saw you sending a letter to me.”

“I have a personal set of stationery for non-Fatui communication,” Ajax offered. “I’ll send one through there. They shouldn’t recognize it to be affiliated with the Fatui if I send it from my personal address, so just make sure to look out for a letter from ‘Ajax’.”

“Ajax?” Xingqiu asked. “Is that your name?”

“Outside of work, yeah,” he agreed easily. “Anyway, keep your eyes peeled, young master.”

“Well, if I’m to use your personal name, feel free to call me Xingqiu,” the boy offered with a slight smile. “I look forward to receiving your correspondence, Ajax-xiansheng.”

“Same to you, Xingqiu,” Ajax replied with a grin.

After parting ways with the two boys, Ajax and Zhongli headed back to the city.

“I see that you have found another child to adopt,” Zhongli noted with a wry smile.

Ajax let out a shocked cackle. “Xiansheng! Is that a joke I just heard from you?”

“You’ve been a bad influence,” he replied, shaking his head. “However, correct me if I’m wrong, but it almost seems like you want to take him under your wing.”

“Mm, well, ‘taking him under my wing’ is a bit of a stretch, but I guess I would like to see his combat skills improve. He’d make an impressive soldier–not that I’m attempting to recruit him, of course–and he’s got a funny personality. I was going to keep an eye out for a new sword for him even if he hadn’t agreed.”

“About that sword,” Zhongli said. “Chongyun told me a bit about it.”

“That’s right, he did look kind of upset when I suggested using a different one,” Ajax recalled. “It’s not like I’m telling him to throw it away or anything, and he can still use it sometimes…”

Zhongli put a hand to his chin. “It seems that, according to Chongyun, Xingqiu bought that sword secretly with his pocket money.”

“A bit odd that the second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild would need to purchase his own sword, but I suppose I can’t be one to judge,” Ajax mused. “That does explain why he’s so attached. I’ll keep that in mind for future exchanges.”

Zhongli looked at him for so long that his ears began to grow red.

“...What?”

His partner only smiled, reaching out to gently clasp his hand. “You’re a good older brother, Ajax.”

“I–” Ajax flushed harder, causing Zhongli to let out a chuckle. “Hey, seriously, I’m not actually adopting him!”

---

It was almost a month later that Ajax finally received a lead on an interesting sword, courtesy of the Traveler.

Lumine had returned from her travels and immediately offered to spar with Tartaglia, and he was all too happy to accept. The two of them had grown accustomed to one another’s play styles, so it was always interesting to see how he could improve and perhaps catch her by surprise.

(Though with every hit he landed, she would return it twofold. It was always a treat to be able to spar with someone who improved just as fast as he did, if not faster.)

The duel ended, as it often did, with Lumine and Childe both resting their blades against each other’s necks.

“Good spar,” Tartaglia nodded with a grin, retracting his blade.

Lumine drew back, sheathing her sword. “You’ve improved,” she noted.

“Excuse me, I always improve.”

“More than usual, I mean,” she corrected. “Have you found another sparring partner while I’ve been gone?”

“Always so quick on the uptake,” Tartaglia laughed. “I think so. He’s an interesting one.”

“Oh, really,” Lumine said, raising a brow. “Would I happen to know this guy?”

“I mean, probably,” Tartaglia shrugged. Whether through sheer virtue or just odd luck, Lumine seemed to know every person in the city. “His name’s Xingqiu.”

“Oh, Xingqiu?” Lumine’s face predictably lit up with recognition. “I know him, yeah. Second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild? The beloved successor of the Guhua Clan? Best-friends-slash-boyfriends with Chongyun? That Xingqiu?”

“That tracks, except for the something-Clan part. What’d you say he was the successor of?”

“How did he not tell you if you’ve literally sparred before?” Lumine sighed exasperatedly. “Xingqiu basically revived a dead martial art and became its successor in the process. They’ve only been reestablished very recently, so it’s not really well known… Still, I doubt he would get mad at me for telling you that.”

“I see…” Tartaglia mumbled, recalling their spars. “That explains why his movements are so unfamiliar despite me having plenty of experience fighting Liyuen martial artists. Who knew it was because he revived an entire clan?”

“He’s pretty impressive,” Lumine agreed. “I accompanied him once to buy some books and he beat up an entire horde of Treasure Hoarders in a heartbeat.”

“Why were there Treasure Hoarders at a bookstore?”

“There weren't. Long story,” the Traveler waved him off. “But yeah, you two can learn from one another, being Hydro wielders and all. I can see how he’d make an interesting sparring partner.”

“He is. There is one thing, though,” Tartaglia said, his gaze catching on the sword in the Traveler’s hand. “Would you happen to know of any swords that might fit his style? His current weapon is rather unfitting for his talents.”

“You’re asking me about swords?” Lumine snorted, lifting up her own sword. For some reason, she always insisted on using a weapon that was almost hilariously low-quality whenever they sparred. Perhaps it served as a handicap of some sort because she was still able to keep up with Tartaglia easily. Still, he doubted that she had no experience with other swords, judging by the practically omnipotent knowledge she possessed.

“I think you would know best,” Tartaglia replied.

Indeed, it seemed that his hunch was correct, as Lumine’s mouth quirked upwards just slightly. “When it comes to Xingqiu… I agree, that weapon doesn’t suit him at all.”

“I haven’t found any Liyuen swords that really fit him, aside from those that I've only heard of through myths,” Tartaglia pointed out. “Have you seen any from other nations?”

“If it’s Xingqiu, I think there’s a sword I found with Jean the other day.”

“Oh, the Acting Grandmaster?” Barbara wrote pretty consistently and always mentioned her sister, so Ajax had been keeping tabs on her by proxy.

“You know her?” Lumine asked, raising a brow.

“Well, only to some extent,” Tartaglia deflected. It would be hard to explain just how or why they were acquainted. “Anyway, the sword?”

Lumine raised a brow but didn’t question him. “Well, so the sword–I ended up doing a bit of work on it, so it should actually be really nice for Xingqiu. Hold on–” she cut herself off to rummage through the folds of her dress before seemingly conjuring up a sword out of nowhere and handing it to him. Tartaglia, already familiar with the Traveler’s oddities, chose not to question it, doing a few quick strikes with the weapon in his hands.

“Oh, this is very light,” he noted, tracing the detailing on the purple hilt. “This definitely will suit him better since he flips and jumps around all the time during fights.”

“I agree,” Lumine nodded. “This sword honestly makes you feel like you could fight over and over without losing momentum.”

Tartaglia had never been one to care about aesthetics, but even the appearance of the sword fit Xingqiu. The shape of the blade was elegant without being ostentatious, and the hilt was accented with swirls of indigo and purple. Xingqiu would make an impressive sight if he wielded that sword.

“Say, how much would it be to take that sword off of your hands?”

Lumine laughed and shook her head. “If Paimon were here right now, she’d demand some crazy amount of Mora. But I’ve been meaning to give someone this sword anyway, so if you and Xingqiu agree to help me with some Adventurer’s Guild commissions I’ll offer this sword for free.”

“Done,” Tartaglia said immediately; he knew a good deal when he heard one. He hadn’t gotten to do commissions in a while because of Lumine’s travels, but the few he had participated in had been fun.

“Also, consider this a congratulations gift from me for you two finally getting your shit together,” she added.

Ajax turned red. He and Lumine hadn’t seen each other since she had forced him and Zhongli to reconcile. “How did you know?”

Lumine looked him up and down and gestured to his face.

“You look happy,” she said simply.

Yeah, I can’t question that.

“I am,” he replied softly.

“I’m glad,” she said with a smile, a knowing glint in her eyes. There were moments where the Traveler seemed wise beyond her years, and this was one of them. 

“Lumine!” a voice cried, breaking the illusion, and both of them turned to see Paimon floating over to them. “Are you done yet? It’s almost time for dinner!”

“Ah, yes,” Lumine nodded, looking once more like a teenager. “One second.”

The Traveler handed Tartaglia the sword. “Let me know how Xingqiu does with this, alright? I want to see how his stats have improved.”

“...Stats?” Tartaglia asked, but Lumine had already started walking after Paimon and only spared him a wave.

With a snort, he glanced at the sword in his hands. The Traveler was certainly a strange one, but at least he had gotten a sword out of the exchange.

Now, all he had to do was give this to Xingqiu…

---

Despite their semi-regular correspondences, it was remarkably difficult for Childe to find time to actually give Xingqiu his sword. Though he and Xingqiu had made efforts to occasionally spar at Mt. Tianheng, after the first few times it had become increasingly difficult to meet up. Mt. Tianheng was a day’s hike away, and as they both grew busy with their respective jobs, there wasn’t time to spare. And because it would be politically risky for the Feiyun Commerce Guild to be affiliated with the Fatui, even unofficially, they couldn’t meet in the harbor itself. 

So it was a surprise when Childe encountered Xingqiu for the first time in weeks on his way back from shutting down one of Dottore’s abandoned factories.

Or, well. Perhaps it had been a good thing that he had decided to head to Liyue by passing by Luhua Pool instead of through Dunyu Ruins because when he saw Xingqiu, the boy was struggling against a Geovishap five times his size.

To his credit, Xingqiu appeared to have the upper hand–the vishap had been cut down and was limping severely. However, it had started glowing with Pyro energy and would no doubt leave serious burns if he wasn’t careful.

“Xingqiu!” Childe called, rushing towards him.

The boy looked up and his eyes widened with surprise. “Gongzi? What are you doing here–!”

Taking advantage of Xingqiu’s distracted state, the vishap managed to swipe the sword out of his hands. The blow was hard enough that the sword knocked off the cliff, disappearing into the ground below. In a last-ditch effort, Xingqiu summoned more hydro swords to his side–however, without a weapon to channel his Hydro power into, they would not last long.

Tartaglia hissed out a curse, quickly summoning his hydro blades to quickly parry the vishap’s claws just before it could slash the boy. “I’ll finish this off, so step aside.”

“This vishap was my responsibility,” Xingqiu panted. “I’m not letting you fight this off alone.”

“All chivalry and no sense of self-preservation,” Tartaglia muttered. “How are you gonna fight this thing off without a weapon, huh?”

“I can still support you,” Xingqiu protested weakly, even as his Hydro swords began to dissolve. “Hey, watch the ground!”

The Geovishap had punched the ground, sending shockwaves of Pyro and Geo towards them. Childe twisted and barely managed to avoid the attack, only slightly charring the tips of his shoes.

“Your swords are not gonna last if you don’t have a weapon,” Childe hissed at Xingqiu as they darted away. “Just move away.”

“So long as I can fight, I’m not leaving,” Xingqiu replied stubbornly.

Shaking his head, Childe chose to ignore him in favor of pulling out his bow to finish off the rampaging Geovishap. As he grabbed hold of the grip, his hand brushed against the sword still sheathed on his back.

Ah, that’s right.

Childe had forgotten that he had brought the sword with him. Even though the sword was a gift for Xingqiu, he had been curious about it and had wanted to take it for a test run before giving it away. He hadn’t been able to get around to it, but…

Now’s a better time than ever, I guess.

“Hold on,” Childe interrupted, lowering his bow to pull the sword off his back. “If you’re so set on joining me, take this.”

He tossed the sword to Xingqiu, who caught it with ease. “Huh?”

“I told you I was gonna find you a sword that fit your style,” Tartaglia grinned. “Go take it for a spin.”

Xingqiu did a couple of rough slashes with the sword, getting used to the feel of the new weapon.

“...This is really nice. Where did you find this–?”

“Ask me later,” Childe interrupted, roughly shoving him forwards. “That vishap isn’t gonna kill itself.”

“That’s a rather crude way of putting it,” Xingqiu mumbled, but he rushed towards the monster anyway.

With Xingqiu wielding his new sword and Childe with his twin blades, the two of them made quick work of the monster. As the vishap dissolved into elemental energy, Xingqiu took out a bag and began to collect the remaining bones.

“It’s for the Traveler,” Xingqiu explained preemptively, and any questions Childe had were answered with those four words.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said, backing away to instead look over the cliffside where the vishap had knocked Xingqiu’s sword off earlier. With a running leap, he jumped off of the edge, landing securely next to the sword, which had embedded itself quite firmly into the ground. Childe pulled out the weapon with ease, thankful that it hadn’t gotten scratched on its way down. After a short scale back up the rocks, he headed back to Xingqiu, who had finished gathering the bones and was tying the bag shut.

“Here’s your sword,” he said, holding out the weapon by the handle.

Xingqiu looked up at him in surprise. Upon seeing what he was holding, his face softened.

“Thank you,” he said gratefully, taking the sword and cradling it to his chest. “I was worried it broke when it fell off.”

“How’d you like the new sword?” Tartaglia asked.

“Oh, it’s great,” Xingqiu said immediately. “It’s so light! I feel like I was almost gaining energy from using it. Where’d you find it?”

“Actually, it’s funny that you’re gathering these bone shards for Lumine since she’s the one who gave the sword to me,” Tartaglia grinned. “I believe she found this sword somewhere in Mondstadt.”

“Oh, all the way from Mondstadt,” Xingqiu nodded thoughtfully. "How much was it? I'll pay you back."

"Lumine didn't ask for Mora," Tartaglia relayed to him. "She just requested us to help out with a couple of commissions here and there."

"Oh, that's fine then," Xingqiu agreed easily, swinging the sword with more vigor. “My, this sword really is something. Perhaps the sentiments of the Nation of Freedom somehow imbued themselves into the blade, because it certainly feels light as a feather.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Tartaglia beamed.

“I do,” Xingqiu replied. However, despite his evident gratitude, he still clung to his old sword tightly.

Tartaglia was debating how to ask about the sword when Xingqiu spoke up on his own.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m so attached to this old sword.”

“Aha… Well, you got me there.”

Xingqiu’s expression grew wistful. “Actually, I bought this sword myself a few years ago. It was the first time I wielded an actual blade instead of one meant for training.”

“You bought the sword yourself? With your own money?” Tartaglia asked. “I mean, couldn’t you ask your parents to buy the sword for you? Unless this is, like, some kind of rite of passage for your family…”

“No, it’s not,” Xingqiu laughed, but his smile was faint. “I did ask before and received some weapons, but I found out later that my father had purchased swords that were meant for performances. I mean, they were high quality–he got them from the same blacksmith that forges for the Yun-Han Opera Troupe–but they were never meant for actual combat.”

“Huh,” Tartaglia huffed. “How very strange. In Snezhnaya, any family would be over the moon if their kids showed the same martial prowess that you do.”

“I-it’s not like they’re not supportive,” Xingqiu quickly amended. “But… everyone in the family just assumes that I’m going to dedicate the rest of my life to the Guild. Which I will, to some extent, but I feel like they don’t really take my other interests seriously.”

“You’re the second son, though, not the heir,” Tartaglia pointed out. “Shouldn’t you have the freedom to branch out into other things? Especially when you’re good at those other things.”

“It's not even that I don't have freedom, but I feel like they overlook everything I do. When I first asked my father if I could study martial arts–which he wanted me to do since he ‘didn’t want me lazing around that bookstore all day’, mind you–he signed me up to learn a dying art from a declining clan,” Xingqiu spat out bitterly. “He doesn’t even know I rebuilt the Guhua Clan from the ground up–if he did, he doesn’t care. Never mind the whole thing with Zhenyu, I’ve never seen Father acknowledge my efforts outside of what I can do for the Guild.”

“Zhenyu?” Childe interrupted curiously. “Isn’t that the author of the Legend of Sword series? What do they have to do with you?”

Xingqiu’s smile turned apologetic. “I realize with this information, you might not think so highly of my previous actions… but I am Zhenyu. I wrote the Legend of Sword series based on my own experiences. But of course, Father wouldn’t know that,” he mumbled resentfully.

Tartaglia blinked at the new information. Suddenly, a lot of his first few exchanges with Xingqiu made more sense. It also explained why the teen sometimes spoke almost archaically, like he was reciting from a story. 

He supposed that he should have felt offended, angry even. Though he hadn’t technically been scammed like Xiangling had claimed he had been all those weeks ago in Wanmin Restaurant, there was no doubt that he had paid a rather costly premium for Tonia’s books. However, as he watched Xingqiu’s jaw clench and unclench in repressed frustration, all he felt was a searing sense of protectiveness over the boy.

“Xingqiu…”

“The worst part is,” the boy sighed, the anger in him flowing out just as easily as it had ignited, “I know that my family loves me. I don’t think they’re acting maliciously by any means. But outside of my Guild responsibilities, they see me as a child, and it’s frustrating.”

He looked up at Tartaglia and smiled half-heartedly. “Ah, I realize that I kind of just dropped all of that on you without warning. Sorry about that.”

Tartaglia met his gaze and watched as Xingqiu’s eyes somehow sparkled with naivete yet shone with intelligence. Before he could stop himself, he had already reached out to ruffle his hair.

“Don’t be,” he said softly. “Look, if there’s anyone that understands what it feels like to be looked down upon, it’s me.”

Xingqiu looked at him in disbelief. “Really? You would?”

Right. Most of Liyue only knew Childe as the one who unsealed Osial, not as a pawn in the other Harbingers’ machinations.

“Well, I’ll spare you the full details of my work, as you should probably guess,” he waved off, and Xingqiu winced slightly. “However, similarly to you, I am the youngest of the Harbingers, which can sometimes be…”

Xingqiu smiled wryly. “I suppose even the Fatui has a natural pecking order in that sense.”

“Unfortunately,” Tartaglia groaned. “But I do understand your grievances. It’s annoying, isn’t it?”

“Very much so,” Xingqiu agreed exasperatedly.

The two of them heaved out a collective sigh before Tartaglia stood up. Somehow, over the course of the conversation, the two of them had settled on the grass. He held out a hand to Xingqiu.

“Well, it’s no use dwelling on these kinds of things any longer, is it? You should be heading back to the harbor soon, anyways–it’s nearly sundown.”

“...Right,” Xingqiu said, gingerly taking his hand and pulling himself up. The two of them began to head towards the main road to Liyue Harbor as the sun began to set above them.

“It’s not really a solution,” Ajax finally said, and Xingqiu turned to look at him. “But I know I always feel better when I’m around people that appreciate me–all of me. And I hope that you have people around you who are like that, too.”

“I do,” Xingqiu replied immediately. “I mean. I have all of my friends, I have Chongyun–”

He cut himself off, looking almost embarrassed, before continuing. “And I… suppose that I have you as well.”

Ajax grinned, feeling strangely triumphant. “That you do. I’ve got your back, kid.”

“I’m not–” Xingqiu looked away, coughing awkwardly. Ajax noted smugly that the boy’s ears had flushed a slight pink.

They continued in silence for a while as the sky turned orange, then red. Then, finally, Ajax couldn't contain his curiosity any longer.

“What were you even doing fighting a Geovishap in the first place?”

“Oh, I was just passing by when I got a request from the innkeeper nearby to clear out the Geovishap. He said something about it scaring away the customers.”

“Innkeeper? …Wait, that inn? Isn’t it like… always abandoned, though?”

“That’s what I thought, too, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be chivalrous to turn away someone’s plea. I was fighting it and then you came.”

“...Okay, but seriously, what’s your whole chivalry thing for?”

“Excuse me, this is not just a ‘chivalry thing’! This is a mindset! You’d do better with more of that, actually.”

“Okay, low blow,” Ajax pouted.

Xingqiu let out a full-blown laugh, the first one he’d heard from him all day, and Ajax found himself smiling.

Chapter Text

After a few months of regular spars, Ajax liked to think that he and Xingqiu got along quite nicely.

Though their meetings were infrequent and sporadic, the two of them still tried to meet every couple of weeks to partake in mock duels, in the process teaching each other their own techniques. Xingqiu’s style was a breath of fresh air compared to the people he’d sparred with in the past– similar to the Traveler, he seemed to improve with every fight.

Eventually, however, Tartaglia felt the need to spice things up a bit. It wasn’t that Xingqiu was a bad sparring partner–far from it–but now that he had started to grasp the Guhua techniques and how to work against them, he was itching for a greater challenge. 

The idea came to him after Chongyun showed up late one day. Though Xingqiu and Tartaglia had established a comfortable amount of trust between them, they had gotten into the habit of inviting Zhongli, Chongyun, or both of them to mediate their spars. Over time, Tartaglia had grown acquainted with the young exorcist.

So when the boy finally arrived at the training site, covered in dirt and clutching a wrapped package, Tartaglia was quick to wave off his stumbled apologies.

“I’m so sorry!” Chongyun panted frantically, his face bright red from exertion. “I got caught up with training with my aunt and totally lost track of time–”

Xingqiu rushed over, immediately dropping his sword to carefully rub his shoulders comfortingly. “It’s fine, Yunyun. Gongzi and I haven’t started yet, so there’s no need to panic. You’re sweating a lot, do you need a popsicle?”

“Auntie Shenhe and I were doing overheating training,” Chongyun sighed, attempting to fan himself with his free hand. “She usually uses her talismans to cool me down, so I didn’t bring any popsicles with me.”

Xingqiu let out a sigh and reached for his bag, rummaging around until he pulled out a small container. “I thought this might happen. Chongyun, if you’d be a dear and–”

Having evidently gone through this routine before, Chongyun dutifully reached over and sent a small pulse of Cryo to the box, covering the outside with a layer of frost. Xingqiu carefully opened the container and pulled out a mold, from which he extracted an ice-blue popsicle and tilted it towards the exorcist.

“Seriously, Yunyun, please try to remember these for your own sake,” Xingqiu reprimanded lightly. “What if I hadn’t brought them today?”

Chongyun reached over and sighed at the chill radiating from the popsicle, eating at the treat until his face began to return to its normal color. “But you always do,” he replied nonchalantly.

Xingqiu let out an aggravated sigh and flipped Chongyun’s hood over his head, causing the boy to let out a yelp of protest. “Still,” he mumbled.

The two of them stared at one another and only sprang apart when Tartaglia awkwardly cleared his throat.

“So what’s this thing you brought with you?” he asked, pointing at the bundle still wrapped securely in Chongyun’s arms.

The boy hastily shoved the rest of the popsicle into his mouth before carefully unwrapping the package, revealing a glowing claymore. The blade was made of dark metal, with gold accents decorating the hilt and edge. With its accompanying tassel, it appeared to be of the same set as Xingqiu’s old sword. However, unlike the worn and well-loved appearance of Xingqiu’s weapon, this claymore appeared to be newly forged without a scratch or nick in sight.

“My parents got me a new claymore for training,” Chongyun explained. “I was late because Auntie and I were trying it out a little.”

“I see,” Tartaglia nodded, inspecting the claymore. “It’s well made, for sure.”

“I wanted to test it more, but I ran out of time,” the boy sighed disappointedly.

Oh?

Tartaglia grinned, the idea forming in his brain filling him with anticipation.

“If you’d still like to test out your new claymore a bit,” he suggested cheerfully, “why don’t you spar with us today?”

“Spar?” Chongyun repeated, his gaze darting between the two of them. “O-oh no, I couldn’t possibly–”

“Oh, that’s a good suggestion,” Xingqiu nodded, and Chongyun immediately snapped his mouth shut. “Wouldn’t that be fun, Yunyun?”

Chongyun still appeared rather hesitant. “Uh, I’m not sure if I’m good enough to go against Ajax-xiansheng, though…”

“Well, I don’t need to go as hard as I would with Xingqiu,” Tartaglia reassured him.

Unfortunately, his good intentions had clearly not come across well, because Chongyun’s mouth flattened into a thin line at his words. It seemed that despite his soft-spoken appearance, he had a sense of pride not unlike Xingqiu’s.

“–Or,” Tartaglia added quickly before he could antagonize himself further, “how about you two fight me together? I’m curious to see how you fight as a unit.”

The displeasure in Chongyun’s expression was almost immediately replaced with a look of surprise. Xingqiu, too, appeared to be taking the suggestion seriously, his expression lost in thought.

“That’s certainly an interesting idea,” he mused. “We haven’t really been able to train together because of our various circumstances, but it would be good to improve our synergy this way.”

Chongyun shrugged. “I’ll go along with whatever you want, A-qiu.”

Tartaglia resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at the ridiculously enamored look on the boy’s face and stepped back to his side of his field, summoning one of his hydro blades and idly twirling the handle around his finger. 

“Well?” Xingqiu and Chongyun looked up at his voice, both appearing slightly surprised by how far he had moved away from them (seriously, how distracted had they been?) “We haven’t got all day, you know.”

The two of them shared one final glance before picking up their weapons and walking over to the opposite side of the grounds.

“Ready,” they said together, as easily as if they were one person.

Tartaglia’s eyes lit up with curiosity. Oh, this would be interesting indeed.

“Come at me, then.”

---

Tartaglia’s suggestion had been quite wonderful if he did say so himself. 

Indeed, it was invigorating to fight two-against-one, especially since Chongyun and Xingqiu were almost supernaturally attuned to one another. Whether it was because they had been friends for so long or for some other reason, it seemed like they worked as a perfect unit–when Xingqiu attacked, Chongyun defended. With each slash of Cryo, a Hydro sword would join along as the two elements worked in tandem. There were multiple instances where Tartaglia had to shake his arm or weapon out of rapidly forming ice, and at some points, he legitimately struggled against them.

Regardless of the outcome of their spars, the team-up sessions usually ended the same way–Chongyun would lie in the grass, lifting an arm so that Xingqiu could run Hydro over the mild scratches on his hands, and Ajax would chatter away as he or Zhongli bandaged any shallow wounds accumulated from the fight. Though they couldn’t always have tag-team spars–sometimes Chongyun was too tired or Xingqiu would ask for a solo session–the addition to their usual routine helped to rejuvenate their spars. Those spars quickly became one of the highlights of Tartaglia’s month.

On one such day, as he left Northland Bank to head towards Mt. Tianheng for his routine training, he had overheard Vlad talking excitedly to Ekaterina. Normally the guard was rather stoic and awkward in his speech, so Tartaglia had been surprised to hear him talking so enthusiastically. From what he could overhear, Vlad apparently had his one-year anniversary with the nighttime guard, Nadia, coming up soon. Which reminded Ajax–how long had it been since his reconciliation with Zhongli? Were they supposed to keep track of such frivolous things as anniversaries?

Well, he decided, it might be better to ask some people who’ve already been in relationships for a while. And who better to ask than the two in front of him? Sure, they were young, but it was clear that they had been together for a while, especially if their team fighting prowess had anything to show for it.

“So, how long have you two been dating?” he asked innocently.

The Hydro in Xingqiu’s hands wobbled wildly out of control, splashing unceremoniously onto Chongyun’s sleeve–not that the boy noticed because he had already flinched away, his face aflame.

“U-uh, us?” Chongyun stammered, staring incredulously at Ajax.

“We’re not dating!” Xingqiu squeaked and held up his hands, his face also bright red.

Ajax raised a brow, eyes darting from their matching tassels to their flushed faces. “You’re not?”

Both boys nodded vigorously, furtively ignoring each other’s gaze.

Huh. Ajax had been sure the two of them had been dating… but perhaps he had simply misinterpreted platonic actions as romantic. Relationships had never been his strong suit, after all, and it was entirely possible that he had just made the wrong assumption. 

“Sorry, my bad!” he chirped, blatantly oblivious to the awkward lull that had settled over the two teens. “If that’s the case, don’t mind me. Shall we go for another round?”

“Sounds good,” Xingqiu agreed almost too quickly, shooting up from where he was standing, and the incident passed with ease.

(At least, it was supposed to.)

That night, as Ajax and Zhongli enjoyed dinner, he offhandedly mentioned his earlier conversation, expecting Zhongli to be entertained by how it had played out. 

“That’s interesting,” Zhongli murmured, looking contemplative instead of amused. 

“Hm?”

Unexpectedly, Zhongli appeared surprised at the information. “With how much Director Hu talks about those two, I had been under the impression that they were…hm.”

Ajax breathed a sigh, somehow relieved. “So I’m not the only one who thinks that way!”

Zhongli smiled a little at his enthusiasm. “Well, it could be that the director and I were mistaken as well,” he cautioned.

Ajax laughed and waved him off. “Don’t worry, I won’t meddle. I know how those kids are–the last thing they’d need is some adult trying to push them around.”

Across the table, Zhongli nodded sagely. “Yes, I was about to suggest that myself. I imagine you’ve run into such a scenario before with Tonia?”

Ajax let out a theatrical groan. “Unfortunately! I set her up one time with the neighbors’ daughter and she came home that night swinging an ax at me. Seriously, where’d she get all that spirit from?”

Zhongli lifted his teacup to his mouth to hide a smile. “I wonder,” he replied wryly.

“Hey,” Ajax complained, but a smile of his own spread unwillingly across his cheeks, and the conversation moved elsewhere.

---

They weren’t able to hold another spar until a few weeks later, and Ajax immediately sensed that something was amiss. Though their interactions would seem normal to an average observer, to Ajax it was clear that something had happened in the time since their last spar because Chongyun and Xingqiu refused to meet one another's gaze. Even when greeting him upon his arrival, the two of them stood much farther apart than before.

“Would you like to do a group spar?” Ajax asked tentatively, and Xingqiu immediately started to shake his head vigorously.

“I-I wanted to do a solo session today!” he blurted.

Chongyun backed away, but it wasn’t difficult to catch the way his face fell. “I, uh, trained a lot with my auntie today, so it’s alright.”

Tartaglia looked between the two, sensing something odd but choosing not to comment on it. “Well, if that’s the case, I’m ready when you’re ready, Xingqiu.”

Xingqiu nodded and the two of them began to spar, but Tartaglia could tell right off the bat that the young man was very clearly distracted. His gaze continued to wander, and Tartaglia found himself holding back to make sure the boy wouldn’t get seriously hurt. As if responding to his turmoil, the Rain Swords he summoned weren’t nearly as powerful as before.

After Xingqiu lost the spar for the third time in a row due to his thoughts wandering, Tartaglia sighed and allowed his blades to dissolve into the air.

“This isn’t going anywhere,” he pointed out flatly.

Xingqiu blinked, still seeming slightly out of it. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Tartaglia pointed to where the boy’s Hydro swords were still hovering around him. The blades were quite literally dripping away, unable to maintain a stable form without the wielder’s concentration. 

“Ah–” Xingqiu winced, allowing the swords to shatter into the air.

Tartaglia sat down on the ground, sensing preemptively that they would not be doing any more sparring for the time being, and patted the grass next to him.

“Alright then,” he said, staring up at the boy. “Talk.”

Xingqiu suddenly began to look nervous. “W-what do you mean?”

Ajax raised a brow. “In this state of yours, it’s obvious that we’re not going to get any sparring done. So out with it, kid, what’s making you so absentminded?”

“I’m not a kid,” Xingqiu protested, but he obediently sat down across from him.

At first, the boy didn’t say anything, but Ajax wasn’t bothered. He had younger siblings, after all–he had long mastered the art of sitting in silence until someone cracked.

Finally, after a painfully awkward silence, Xingqiu finally spoke.

“I haven’t been able to… speak with Chongyun the same ever since our last spar,” he admitted.

Ajax’s brow shot up. He had observed the two of them over the past few months–they were practically attached to the hip. For a rift to have somehow formed between the two of them… it must have been something incredibly serious.

“Well, that’s not good,” Ajax frowned. “Did you two fight? It’s not good to let an argument fester for long, or you’ll grow unreasonably resentful.”

Speaking from experience, he added wryly in his head.

Xingqiu shook his head. “We didn’t fight,” he sighed.

That caught Ajax off guard. “You didn’t? Then what happened?”

Xingqiu’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and then abruptly his face began to turn red.

“It’s your fault,” he accused stubbornly, his gaze landing on Ajax before quickly darting to the grass. “Because of what you said before–”

“Excuse me?” Ajax blurted, affronted. “What did I do?”

“No, because you–” Xingqiu cut himself off and took a deep breath in an attempt to shake off the redness in his face. “When you said that–you thought that we were… dating…”

Ajax winced. He had meant for it to be a throwaway comment, so it was hard not to feel guilty at how evidently affected Xingqiu had been by his assumption. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“No, it’s not that either,” Xingqiu mumbled before burying his face in his hands. “Your words had me panicking because you were right. ”

Despite his attempts to stop blushing, the redness had spread from Xingqiu’s cheeks to the tips of his ears and down his neck. “I took some time to think about it, and it does seem like we’re dating. And Archons, that made me so happy, and I’m terrified of the reason why.”

Ajax tried to tamp down the amused smile that threatened to make its way into his expression, not wanting the boy to think he was laughing at him. “Xingqiu, it’s not the end of the world to have a crush on your best friend, you know.”

Xingqiu looked up, his face still bright red. “But it is bad, gongzi. I haven’t been able to look Chongyun in the eye since, and he probably thinks I’m crazy or something. Never mind the fact that there’s no way he could possibly like someone like me…”

Ajax looked over to where Chongyun was sitting. The exorcist had been glancing over in concern, though he was out of earshot and couldn’t hear a thing. Upon being caught staring, he quickly looked away, flushing at being noticed.

I have a feeling that’s not true, but you wouldn’t believe me if I said so.

Carefully, Ajax leaned over to place a hand on Xingqiu’s shoulder. “Well, my only advice is this. Regardless of your newfound romantic feelings or whatnot, I think you should at least try to explain some of your feelings to him. At least make sure he knows you’re not mad at him or something.”

Xingqiu mulled over his words before giving in with a sigh. “I suppose you’re right,” he mumbled. “Though I’d like some time to think–”

“You don’t need any,” Ajax insisted, hopping up before reaching over to forcibly tug Xingqiu up as well. “If you don’t at least say something to him now, you’re probably never gonna say it. Who needs plans? This is someone you’ve spent half of your life with, isn’t it?”

Xingqiu’s eyes widened slightly at his words, and determination filled his expression. With one final encouraging push, he headed over alone towards Chongyun.

Ajax allowed the two of them their privacy by staying out of earshot, but he was still able to observe the two’s mannerisms.

Xingqiu appeared to be quite flustered, but he had apparently explained himself well enough because Chongyun no longer looked nearly as upset as before. To Ajax’s surprise, the boy reached over to wrap Xingqiu into a brief hug before pulling back and exchanging some final words with the boy. When they finished their conversation, the two of them headed back to the fields, this time as a unit.

“Gongzi, is it alright if we actually run a two-against-one spar?” Xingqiu asked, the red on his face having reignited after their brief hug.

Tartaglia quirked a smile. “Sure, if you’re both up for it,” he said.

“I’m sure,” Chongyun added, smiling softly. From behind him, Xingqiu was looking at the boy with such unwavering adoration that it almost made Ajax nauseous.

Tsaritsa above, he thought idly. This is almost depressing to watch.

---

That night, Ajax found himself sprawled across Zhongli’s couch, a heaving sigh escaping his lips.

“Is this how Lumine felt about us?” he wondered aloud.

“Xingan, are you okay?” Ajax felt a shadow cross his face before Zhongli leaned in from above to kiss the wrinkle between his forehead. “Was training alright? I’m sorry I couldn’t come mediate today.”

“It’s no worries, lyubimyy,” Ajax sighed, leaning back against the couch cushions. “The spar itself went fine.”

“Then what would have you appearing so exhausted?” Zhongli asked, concern marring his features. “Surely nothing happened to young Xingqiu and young Chongyun?”

“You’re right, nothing happened,” Ajax reported, before burying his face into his hands. “And that’s the problem .”

Zhongli’s expression turned to one of curiosity. “Explain.”

Ajax let out another sigh as he recounted the session. As he spoke, he watched Zhongli’s brow gradually rise up to his hairline.

“I… see,” he said slowly.

Ajax buried his face in his hands, groaning in frustration. “And even though I know I shouldn’t do anything more, I want to meddle so badly.”

“Perhaps it is due to your older brother's instincts,” Zhongli suggested with a teasing smile.

“More than that,” Ajax mumbled, pointedly ignoring his partner’s remark. “Their situation just reminds me of us.”

“I suppose I see where you’re coming from,” Zhongli mused.

“Right? Both times it was just a break of awkwardness and miscommunication that stretched for far too long and left both parties unsatisfied yet unwilling to say a thing–don’t look at me like that, babe, you didn’t make any effort to contact me either. Someone needs to fulfill the role of the Traveler and get them to stop their bullshit.”

“Are you suggesting yourself?” Zhongli questioned.

“No, no,” Ajax waved him off. “None of this flowery romance stuff has ever been my specialty if I haven't already made it quite obvious. But I feel like I should somehow push them in the right direction, at the very least, and hope that their friends might be able to help them along.”

The teasing smirk on Zhongli’s face returned tenfold. “How very… brotherly of you, Ajax.”

“You’re never letting this go, are you,” Ajax grumbled.

Zhongli let out a laugh that sent flutters straight down Ajax’s spine before sobering into a fond smile. “In all seriousness, I believe you’ve already pushed them in the right direction. You may be surprised–this all might be resolved more easily than you think.”

“Really?” Ajax replied doubtfully. Even if he was an ex-Archon, how could Zhongli be so certain about these things?

Still, because he was Zhongli and because he was in love with him, Ajax supposed he could believe in him for now.

---

As it turned out, believing in Zhongli had been the right move.

Tartaglia had run out of wax for sealing letters (the Traveler’s reopening of the Chasm had brought about a slew of paperwork, especially regarding the Fatui soldiers that had been trapped inside the mines for the past couple of years) and had set out to Feiyun Slope in search of more writing supplies. On the way back from the stores, he spotted Chongyun and Xingqiu walking along the sidewalk across the street.

As if unconsciously sensing his gaze, Xingqiu looked upwards right as they passed. With the Qixing still closely monitoring Ajax in the city and Xingqiu’s servants undoubtedly trailing him, they could only barely nod at each other in greeting. 

However, more significantly, Xingqiu made a point to raise up his arm, and Ajax noted with pleasant surprise that he and Chongyun were holding hands.

Ajax’s gaze flitted over to Chongyun. The exorcist clearly hadn’t noticed Ajax passing by as he was still talking animatedly, his free hand moving around enthusiastically. As if to prove his point, Xingqiu chose that exact moment to lift their joined hands together, pressing a kiss to Chongyun’s knuckles. The kid immediately turned a scarlet red and ducked his head, but he didn’t pull away.

Ajax tore his gaze away, not wanting to seem any more suspicious than he already was, and fought to hide his smile.

---

“Congrats,” Ajax offered after their spar the following week.

Immediately Chongyun straightened up from where Xingqiu was healing his wounds, a look of alarm passing over his face. “Wait, how did you–”

“He’s known for a while, Yunyun,” Xingqiu cut in before he could start panicking.

Chongyun turned red. “Were we that obvious?”

“A bit,” Ajax admitted. “Are you guys keeping the relationship a secret or something?”

“Just for now,” Xingqiu said vaguely. “We have some arrangements to handle before going public about it. Speaking of which, Yunyun, wouldn’t now be the best time to ask Zhongli-xiansheng those questions you had earlier?”

Chongyun perked up at that, spotting where Zhongli was sitting against one of the stone structures lining their makeshift training grounds. 

“Thanks for healing me,” he said, standing up. Before Xingqiu could move, the boy planted a kiss on his forehead and quickly headed to Zhongli. 

Ajax couldn’t hold back his laughter upon seeing the thoroughly flustered look on Xingqiu’s face.

“Seriously, I’m happy for you,” he said, grinning.

Xingqiu turned from where he had been gaping at Chongyun’s retreating backside, his face gradually returning to a normal color. “I suppose I must thank you for your advice,” he replied.

Ajax tilted his head. “Advice? I don’t remember saying anything that profound.”

“You reminded me to take note of my own values,” Xingqiu said honestly. “I’ve always been the type to dive into opportunities headfirst, yet with my feelings for Chongyun, I had been hesitating for far too long. It was your advice–that if I do not take action now, I may never take it in the future–that encouraged me to tell him.”

“I see,” Ajax replied softly. “In that case, thanks for taking my advice.”

“I’m glad I took it,” Xingqiu smiled, his gaze wandering to the side of the field.

Ajax followed his gaze, tracing to where Chongyun and Zhongli were having a rather serious discussion about Archons-knew-what. “So what are your plans for the future?” he asked idly.

Xingqiu closed his eyes, appearing to be steeling himself. “I plan on informing my family that I wish to court Chongyun properly,” he stated firmly.

Ajax’s eyes widened at the unexpected announcement. “I see.”

Xingqiu tilted his head to where Chongyun was standing. “Chongyun is also planning to tell his family of his intentions to court me as well. He seemed to be much more anxious about it, so I had suggested that he go to Zhongli-xiansheng for advice.”

“Makes sense,” Ajax nodded. “However, no offense, but aren’t you two a bit young to decide this, though?”

Xingqiu heaved a sigh. “For most people, this would seem early, but I’ve already been getting multiple full-on marriage proposals for at least two years now and dozens of courting offers on top of that. I’m afraid only official announcements by my family on the status of my relationship would be able to take me out of the proverbial market.”

“Popular, huh?” Ajax tried to joke, but Xingqiu didn’t laugh.

“It’s all business. None of these prospective partners actually know me–they’re just looking for a way to connect their families to the Feiyun Commerce Guild. Not that I blame them, since that’s usually how this kind of thing goes,” he shrugged.

Ajax frowned in sympathy. Even if it was supposedly the norm among the Liyue affluent, it was still sobering to watch these kids sell their lives and agency to raise their families’ statuses.

Xingqiu noted the set of his jaw and waved him off. “It’s not too bad for me, I promise. I’m the second son, so whether I get married is not as important. My parents are also being quite generous since they’re allowing me to marry someone that I choose regardless of status.”

“Still,” Ajax said somberly.

Xingqiu glanced over at where Zhongli and Chongyun were standing. It appeared that their conversation had ended, but Chongyun was still staying a distance away to give Xingqiu and Ajax their privacy. Upon catching Xingqiu’s glance, he smiled softly and waved.

“I’m in love with him,” Xingqiu said quietly, his eyes still glued to Chongyun even as the other boy turned away. “Even back when we were just best friends, I couldn’t imagine life without him. And now that we’re dating…I wonder how long I’ve been in love without even realizing.”

Xingqiu turned to him, and his gold eyes glowed with determination. “That’s why I want to get through this whole process, unnecessary as it might seem. If that means I can spend the rest of my life with him, I’ll do anything.”

Ajax breathed out a laugh. Any sort of protest he could have made disappeared as soon as he caught a glimpse of the boy’s resolution.

“If that’s the case, I’m sure you two will be just fine. I wish you my most sincere congratulations, Xingqiu.”

Xingqiu’s grin was almost blinding. “Thank you, gege.”

Ajax’s brow immediately shot up and even Xingqiu himself looked shocked at what he had just said.

Before he could say another word, Xingqiu shot up and marched away towards Chongyun, his face a brilliant scarlet.

“W-we should get going!” he announced, pointedly avoiding Ajax’s gaze. “Apologies for ending the spar early, but Yunyun and I really ought to get back and make…er, preparations. I’ll see you later, gongzi!”

With that, Xingqiu grabbed onto Chongyun’s wrist and bodily dragged him down the mountain towards the city.

The two of them stared after their disappearing figures in silence. Zhongli reached over to close Ajax’s mouth.

“He called me gege,” Ajax said numbly.

The smile that spread across Zhongli’s face was annoyingly smug. “As I said before, you make a very good older brother, Ajax.”

---

Ajax didn’t hear from Xingqiu for a remarkably long time after that, since he and Chongyun were wrapped up in courting preparations on top of their usual duties.

“I don’t know why all these proposing rituals in Liyue require so much pomp and circumstance,” Ajax complained. “Penelope’s engagement was never this complicated.”

Zhongli reached over with his chopsticks to push a slice of pork into Ajax’s mouth. “To be fair, it is not nearly as complicated between two people of lesser statuses. However, since Xingqiu is the second heir to one of Liyue’s biggest commerce guilds and Chongyun is a prominent talent in his clan, the procedures are much more transactional and complex. It is a matter of politics before anything else.”

Ajax sighed into his cup of tea. “Can’t we just let kids be kids for once?”

Zhongli appeared thoughtful, carefully pouring more tea into their cups. “Perhaps another change will be coming in this new age of humanity.”

They were interrupted by a clatter from the table on the other side of the divider. A waiter hurriedly swept by as the low conversation grew louder.

“What do you think is happening?” Ajax asked, turning towards the noise as he took a sip of tea. Liuli Pavilion was rarely noisy, if only because of the nature of its general clientele. The two of them weren't bothered by the noise and fortunately, the restaurant was largely empty, but it was odd nonetheless.

“This is a big decision to make. Do you realize exactly what you’re arranging?”

“Fuqin, I’ve written out a detailed plan that I can go over once more if you would like.”

Out of the conversation, one of the voices sounded awfully familiar.

A different voice spoke up. “How do we know that he’s not looking to marry into this family for your money, hm?”

“Xiongzhang! You know as well as I do that Chongyun would never do that! And we’re just asking to court, not to become engaged!”

Ajax nearly spat his tea out, silently coughing into Zhongli’s offered handkerchief.

Wait, so that’s–!

“Now, now,” Xingqiu’s father(?) placated, his voice the quietest through the screen. If Ajax’s hearing hadn’t been better than the average person’s, he would have struggled to hear it. “Please do not antagonize one another.”

A woman’s voice spoke up for the first time. “Xingqiu, dear, if your concern about courting someone is because of Guild matters, I assure you that you don’t need to do this for our sake.”

“I’m not doing this for the Guild, muqin. Is it hard to believe that I’m asking to formally court Chongyun because I simply want to?”

Ajax cheered internally. That’s right, assert yourself properly so they take you seriously.

“Still, though,” Xingqiu’s brother(?) sounded skeptical. “You could always take your time, Xingqiu, there’s no need for you to tie yourself down so early.”

“I would like to reiterate that I am simply asking to court Chongyun, not marry him,” Xingqiu snapped. “Need I remind you that when you were my age you were already betrothed? And it would honestly be my honor to ‘tie myself down’ to such a respectable exorcist and best friend.”

A soft voice entered the conversation, whom Ajax immediately recognized as Chongyun’s. “I promise that I will treat your son well. He means… a lot to me.”

Xingqiu’s father laughed in a manner that was probably meant to be friendly, but it instead came across as patronizing. “Do you hear that? Xingqiu, don’t break the heart of such a kind young man. Courting, especially for nobles, is quite complicated, and I doubt that you’re ready for it.”

“I’ve been ready for it for a while, fuqin,” Xingqiu replied tightly. “I assure you that Chongyun and I have discussed this quite thoroughly, and we both agreed to inform each other’s families. The elders of Chongyun’s clan have already agreed, so if you are refusing to grant us permission–”

Xingqiu’s mother hummed. “No, we’ll of course allow you two to court, dear. Just...do let us know if you ever change your mind.”

Ajax winced at the sound of a chair being hurriedly pushed back. The previously consistent sound of chopsticks against porcelain stopped abruptly at the noise.

“Thank you for your permission. With all due respect, I don’t think that will ever happen, muqin. I would like to excuse myself early, for I am currently feeling unwell. I will see you all at home.”

Xingqiu’s strides were confident as he approached the door. Ajax carefully peeked around the screen to see Chongyun hurriedly bowing in thanks before rushing after the boy. 

Ajax himself was considering whether to go after the two teenagers when Zhongli placed his hand atop his.

“Go,” he urged him. “I’ll see if I can talk to young Xingqiu’s family. I believe they may have some misconceptions about their second son’s character.”

Ajax smiled gratefully. “Thank you, lyubimyy.”

Before he departed from the table, he was quick to drop a pouch of Mora into Zhongli’s lap. “Use this to pay,” he added. “Good luck with them, xiansheng.”

“You too, Ajax.”

---

It didn’t take long for Ajax to find the two boys at the bridge overlooking Liuli Pavilion. Xingqiu looked exhausted as he leaned against Chongyun’s shoulder, and there was a slight trembling at the corner of his mouth. As Ajax approached them, they both looked up at him.

“Gongzi?” Xingqiu said, standing up straight. “What are you doing here?”

Ajax laughed awkwardly. “Ah, well… I was actually in Liuli Pavilion with Zhongli-xiansheng earlier.”

Xingqiu laughed humorlessly. “So you overheard us, then.”

Instead of answering, Ajax tentatively stepped closer. “Are you two alright?”

“I’m fine,” Chongyun said softly.

“You shouldn’t be, though,” Xingqiu said, visibly frustrated. “With everything they said about you, and right in your face as well–”

“A-qiu,” Chongyun interrupted, reaching out to clasp Xingqiu’s hands between his own. “I’m more worried about you .”

Ajax nodded in agreement. “I understand that their words might be coming from a good place, but some of what they said was completely uncalled for.”

“You see what they’re like, right?” Xingqiu pointed out bitterly. “They’re so quick to assume that I know nothing outside of my Guild duties, that I’m so emotionally constipated that I couldn’t possibly want to court another person. And to think that my brother would even insinuate that Chongyun is only in it for the money–!”

To Ajax’s alarm, frustrated tears began to drip down Xingqiu’s cheeks. Chongyun, too, appeared rather panicked in his haste to hand Xingqiu a handkerchief.

“I can’t believe I’m actually crying over this,” he grumbled, and Chongyun pulled Xingqiu into a side hug as he furiously scrubbed away the tears on his face.

“You did well,” Ajax reassured gently. “I heard you speak–you made reasonable statements and defended your boundaries. I don’t think I heard you give your parents a reason to reject your courtship.”

“Chongyun and I have been working for weeks writing up a whole damn courtship arrangement for our families so that they would know we weren’t just going into this whole thing blind,” Xingqiu spat out. “But my family barely skimmed the paper. Who knows if they processed any of it at all.”

Ajax cautiously put a hand on Xingqiu’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I know this kind of thing hurts like a bitch.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” the boy mumbled. “You didn’t do anything.”

Ajax shrugged. “I know I would have wanted an apology every time fate decided to deal me a bad hand.”

He watched as his jaw began to tremble before he turned to look up at him. 

“Gege,” Xingqiu choked out, and something in Ajax’s heart shattered. “I’m so tired of never being taken seriously.”

“I know,” Ajax responded, his voice rough. Chongyun’s arms tightened around Xingqiu, and the exorcist pressed his nose into his hair.

Xingqiu’s hand reached out to grip desperately at Ajax’s sleeve. “I want them to stop treating me like a child,” he whispered.

Ajax internally winced at just how familiar Xingqiu’s words were, and his hand tightened on Xingqiu’s shoulder.

Then, so quietly that Ajax could barely hear it, Xingqiu mumbled, “I wish I didn’t care about them as much as I do, so it wouldn’t hurt.”

A lump grew in Ajax’s throat. Don’t say that, he wanted to blurt out, but he couldn’t argue against that statement.

“They do care about you, you know,” he said instead.

“I know, and that makes it worse,” Xingqiu mumbled, burying his face into the fabric of Chongyun’s hoodie. “Family is so difficult.”

“Damn right,” Ajax sighed.

He wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but it soon got late enough that they would have to part ways. Ajax ruffled both their heads before quietly wishing them good night, though he made sure that they were well on their way to the Feiyun Commerce Guild building before heading back to his own apartment.

Zhongli was already in bed by the time Ajax stumbled in. As he collapsed into bed, he felt strangely hollow, his emotions rubbed raw.

“Did you have much success?” he asked Zhongli blearily.

Zhongli smiled half-heartedly. “While I certainly tried, whatever they do with what I’ve told them is entirely their decision. I suppose all we can do is wait until tomorrow.”

Ajax curled against him and pressed his nose against the nape of his neck. “I really do hope everything works out,” he said, his emotional exhaustion making him honest.

Zhongli hummed and leaned back against him. “I think it will,” he replied, and Ajax wanted to believe him.

Chapter Text

After the events at Liuli Pavilion, Xingqiu’s end was silent for a while. Ajax worried–because of course he would– but he himself soon found himself too busy to worry about it for long.

Despite the ironclad unity of the Fatui ranks, Childe’s own duties seemed to constantly clash with the agendas of his fellow Harbingers. Which was why he found himself at his desk once more, hastily cleaning up some ridiculous scheme involving the Qixing’s Tianshu, Ambassador Yusupov, and some pool with treasure that only the greedy Regrator would ever care about.

Dammit, Pantalone. I didn’t sign up to take care of your messes when I decided to stay here!

Childe was internally debating whether he should take Theofan for himself just to spite the Regrator–wasn’t the other Harbinger planning to kill him, anyway?–when there was a knock at the door.

“Lord Harbinger. There is a letter for you.”

As soon as the letter dropped onto his desk, Childe knew exactly who had sent it–as if the four-pointed symbol embossed on the wax seal was not indication enough, the crisp smell of pine needles and fresh snow lacing the envelope made its origins obvious. 

The orders were short and straight to the point, as all missives from Pierro were. Despite the pomp and circumstance surrounding it, the actual text contained only two sentences.

After wrapping up your missions in Liyue, you are to be stationed in Inazuma until you finish withdrawing the remainder of The Fair Lady’s forces from Watatsumi Island. Do what you must, but reign in that impulsive nature of yours and make sure that the Tri-Commission does not have another reason to lower our diplomatic privileges in the region.

Childe tsked under his breath. Leave it to Pierro to dump what should have been Arlecchino’s job onto him. Weren’t her agents the ones stationed all over Inazuma?

“Understood,” he said tightly, pulling out a sheet of slightly crumpled looseleaf. Given such an abrupt and unwelcome order, there was no way he would answer with any sort of courtesy. “I will write a letter shortly.”

The agent nodded and walked to the door to wait silently, far enough to give him some privacy.

Childe carelessly penned a reply, not bothering to make his penmanship any neater than necessary. Even without the slight about him being impulsive, Pierro’s demand was unreasonable at best.

Why are you so upset?

The pen in Childe’s hand stilled.

Obviously, he’d be upset. To think he would just have to leave his loyal staff and the admittedly comfortable lifestyle he enjoyed here in Liyue all for a stupid retrieval mission was just…

But that’s not all, is it? You were never this upset before, even when you were first assigned to Liyue.

I didn’t have Zhongli back then, he thought wryly. And now that he had him, he wasn’t keen on letting go–especially when it had taken them so long to reconcile in the first place.

Or is it just because you’re being forced to leave the only place where you’ve felt like you’ve actually belonged?

The thought made Ajax’s chest squeeze painfully.

That’s not true, he tried to convince himself. Morepesok is also home, and I’ve largely been away from it for the last several years without struggling.

But it wasn’t the same, and Ajax knew it. It had taken him so long to patch up the relationship between himself and his older siblings after his conscription into the Fatui, and even now he knew that they all had to expend a great deal of effort in order to maintain the fragile peace in the family. In Liyue, with Zhongli (and to some extent, Xingqiu, Barbara, Mona and the other kids he had met) Ajax never had to try too hard to feel cared for. And now he would be leaving–

“Lord Harbinger, sir?”

Childe returned from his thoughts. The agent who had spoken looked incredibly awkward, and Tartaglia dreaded to know how long he had been spacing out.

“Right, sorry,” Childe apologized, quickly dashing out a signature before folding up the message and stuffing it haphazardly into an envelope. “Here you go.”

The agent appeared surprised and rather flustered that Childe had actually apologized, and bowed repeatedly as he took the envelope. “T-thank you, sir! I will send this right away.”

After the agent scuttled out of the room, Childe sighed and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling of his office.

Inazuma, huh?

He winced. The Nation of Eternity was … far. Farther than Mondstadt had been. And unlike Mondstadt, his residence in Inazuma would be semi-permanent unless he managed to force out Signora’s forces quickly, which was no easy feat considering the scope of her plans and the reach of her people. He would have to be away from Zhongli for months, which would be unbearable.

And if anything happened to the kids–

He shook off the thought, albeit reluctantly. They were all responsible and capable enough to take care of themselves. Who was Ajax to worry unnecessarily about them?

…Well, it would still be good to inform them nonetheless, he thought idly, pulling out a crisp sheet of letter paper. In careful penmanship, he began to write a letter due for Mondstadt.

---

“Ajax-xiansheng.”

It had been almost three weeks of silence before Ajax had received an invitation from Xingqiu to spar. This was perfect timing since he had been intending to inform Xingqiu of his upcoming departure, and they were cutting it very close–however, unlike their usual sessions, Xingqiu wasted no time for small talk and instead jumped immediately into a duel.

Tartaglia had initially welcomed the lack of speaking–he had a lot on his mind, after all, and sparring was a great way to clear his mind. However, the methodical, repetitive nature of their duels soon left him spacing out. 

“–Xiansheng?”

Ajax blinked and came back to himself as Xingqiu looked at him with a look of concern. “Yes! Sorry, what was that?”

The boy pointed to Ajax’s hands. “Your weapons dissolved a while ago, and you’ve been fighting me bare-handed. Which is impressive, but I figured I should let you know before you get carried away.”

Ajax looked, stunned, to his own hands, only to see that they were indeed empty. His knuckles were beginning to tear, small lacerations littering the skin of his palm from where he must have gotten scratched in his daze.

“Ah,” he said dumbly.

Xingqiu sighed and shook his head, sheathing his sword to walk closer. With a flick of his wrist, Hydro began to materialize in his hands, which he used to carefully heal the cuts on Ajax’s hand. Ajax watched, fascinated, as the elemental energy passed over his hands, sealing each wound with a small burst of light. Before, he had only ever watched from afar whenever Xingqiu needed to heal Chongyun’s wounds, and Zhongli usually bandaged him if he ever got injured. However, neither of their partners was currently present.

Speaking of which…

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. How did the whole thing with your parents go?” Ajax said, curiosity overtaking his hesitation.

Xingqiu’s jaw tightened as the final cut on Ajax’s palm closed over, and he stepped back carefully. 

“Fine,” the boy said stiffly, his gaze drifting away.

“That doesn’t seem like it went fine,” Ajax pointed out, raising a brow. “Don’t tell me they gave you more trouble–”

“They didn’t,” Xingqiu was quick to clarify. “They approved of our courting, so we’re officially recognized as a couple by both of our families.”

Ajax waited, but when Xingqiu didn’t continue, his brow furrowed.

“That’s it?”

Xingqiu looked at him with an unreadable expression. “What do you mean, that’s it?”

Ajax blinked, confused. “Shouldn’t they be, you know, treating you better or something? Or at least making an attempt to understand you more?”

Xingqiu tilted his head. “Um, I mean, my father did congratulate me on my mastery of the Guhua techniques, which was… weird, and random. Oh, and my mother left a plate of Sunsettias on my desk. I think this means that they forgive me for my outspokenness at that dinner.”

Ajax wasn’t sure if he was more disappointed or concerned. “They didn’t try to talk things out with you? After they treated you like some sort of scandal-ridden child?’

Xingqiu’s expression slid from cynically amused to genuinely perplexed. “Why would they do that? Isn’t it easier if we all just pretend nothing’s wrong?”

“Well–” Ajax was about to object, but he found himself recalling the fearful scowls on his older siblings’ faces.

They never apologized, did they? But you still forgave them.

Ajax swallowed, and a sour taste filled the back of his throat at the thought.

“Maybe it is,” he said instead.

Xingqiu’s smile was one of resignment. “It’s alright, really. Chongyun’s family is nice, and I think they might actually like me–well, except for his aunt for some reason? And, you know, we’re doing okay. So there’s no need to be so concerned.”

“I still worry, though,” Ajax sighed.

Xingqiu’s smile turned more genuine. “I thank you for your concern. Actually, I feel like our spars have helped a lot in sorting out my feelings, so I should thank you for that, as well.”

Ajax winced. Telling Xingqiu about his responsibilities in Inazuma would be more difficult than he thought.

Unfortunately, Xingqiu was observant and seemed to notice him wince. His smile immediately faded.

“But xiansheng, are you okay? I’ve never seen you so unenthusiastic during a fight.”

Ajax bit his lip. I guess I should just bite the bullet, then.

“Actually,” he started, and Xingqiu immediately turned to face him, his attention fully centered on his words.

Just like Anthon, Ajax thought idly, and the comparison stung more than it should have.

“I’ve been summoned to Inazuma,” he finished softly. He didn’t need to elaborate.

Xingqiu’s face fell ever so slightly, and the change in his expression felt like a punch in the gut.

“How long?” he asked, and if it weren’t for the barest downward curve of his mouth, Ajax wouldn’t have known that he was affected at all.

“Indeterminately,” Ajax answered, the words getting caught in his throat.

At this admission, the mask of politeness on Xingqiu’s face began to crumble.

“I see,” he whispered, and a disappointed expression passed over his face. “This is because of your work, correct?”

“Unfortunately,” Tartaglia exhaled. Somehow, he couldn’t even find the energy in him to complain, his insides strangely hollow.

“When do you leave?”

“...In two days.”

If Xingqiu had looked upset before, he looked almost devastated now. “That's...sooner than I expected.”

Tartaglia shrugged half-heartedly. “That’s the nature of this job, I guess.”

Xingqiu’s eyes were dangerously bright as his hands tightened around the sword on his hip, still secured in its holster. “I haven’t even thanked you properly for my sword. And what about Zhongli-xiansheng?”

Ajax felt, distantly, like his chest was caving into itself, but he attempted to suppress the feeling as best he could. “I’ll try to visit when I can. And when my duty in Inazuma is done, I promise I’ll come back to Liyue. I mean, I can’t leave you guys alone here for too long, right?”

Xingqiu’s mouth pressed into a thin line, and he looked strangely determined. “You’d better follow through with that.”

“Shall we write up a contract?” Ajax tried to joke.

Xingqiu shook his head. “I know Yanfei would have my head if I signed a contract with a feeling of uncertainty. I’ll just have faith, I guess.”

Ouch. It seemed like the boy was determined to kill him with his words.

“How about this, then,” Ajax suggested, holding up his little finger. “Let’s make a promise.”

Xingqiu snorted. “I haven’t made one of these since I was very young.”

Even so, he obliged, hooking his own finger with Ajax’s.

“You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life. You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again,” Ajax chanted instinctively, having repeated those words to his younger siblings many times over.

By the end of the rhyme, Xingqiu looked mildly perturbed. “ That’s how you Snezhnayans sign your pinkie promises?”

Ajax grinned. “Well, it’s how we think!”

Xingqiu shook his head as he retracted his finger. “It’s certainly a different mindset.”

There was a slight pause, neither of them knowing what to say. Behind them, the sun had lowered to the horizon, painting the sky a burning orange.

“We should probably get going,” Ajax suggested.

Xingqiu nodded but didn’t move. He appeared to be debating over something in his head.

Before Ajax could gather his things and begin the trek down the mountain, there was a flurry of movement from below him before Xingqiu abruptly reached over to pull him into a quick hug.

Oh, Ajax thought, and he could barely swallow past the growing lump in his throat.

Before he could reciprocate, though, Xingqiu pulled away. Ajax pretended to not notice how he quickly rubbed a sleeve over his eyes.

“You’d better train hard while you’re in Inazuma,” Xingqiu snapped, his voice rough. “I don’t want to spar with you when you come back only for your skills to be lacking.”

“Of course,” Ajax grinned past the burning sensation in his eyes. “The same goes for you.”

“Have a safe trip, gege,” Xingqiu said softly. “I’ll write if you will.”

“Yes, write to me anytime,” Ajax smiled.

Xingqiu bent down to retrieve his bag before turning back, arm held up in a wave. “I’ll head back first, then. I’ll see you soon, gege.”

Ajax waved back and ignored the way his heart climbed into his throat. “See you, Xingqiu. Please give Chongyun my regards.”

Internally, he sighed. Yet another regret–it was unfortunate that he wouldn’t get to see the exorcist before he left.

Xingqiu grinned in response and turned to head down the mountain.

As the golden streetlights of Liyue Harbor slowly flickered to life, Ajax began to prepare the rest of his goodbyes.

---

After a significant amount of time had passed and the sun had dipped into the sea, Tartaglia finally made his way back to the city.

He walked a little faster than normal–speaking to Xingqiu had only reminded him of the precious little time he had left to spend with Zhongli, and he wasn’t about to waste it.

But as he stepped into the harbor, he began to feel an itch at his neck.

Someone’s following me.

However, sensing no harmful intent, he instead veered into a nearby alleyway to avoid making a scene.

Just as he predicted, there was the slightest sound of fabric fluttering before someone in a cloak entered the alley.

“I must say, your exit from Liyue Harbor was sloppier than usual,” they said, their voice muffled under the fabric.

“I see the Qixing have spared no expense in keeping track of my whereabouts,” Childe replied. “I’m flattered that you’ve put me on the fabled watch list I’ve heard so much about.”

“Don’t go boosting your own ego,” the person snarked. “I’m not here for you, Tartaglia.”

Childe’s face hardened. “Listen, if you have any business with me or the Fatui, keep your focus on me. Don’t involve any unnecessary outsiders.”

There was a slight pause before the person hummed, sounding almost impressed.

“You’re surprisingly protective,” they noted.

“My personal and work life should not be intersecting,” Childe replied firmly.

The person’s cloaked head nodded before approaching him with their hands held up. “I’m not here to work against you for today. Just wanted to pass along some information.”

Childe couldn’t tell if the voice was serious or not. After all, this person was almost certainly an intelligence agent for the Qixing… but either way, intel was intel, and should it come down to it Childe could easily handle a fight with a person of that stature.

“I’m listening,” he responded.

The cloaked stranger got straight to the point. “The Feiyun Commerce Guild has become more aware of your movements.”

“They weren’t before?”

There was another pause before the voice continued. “They have been monitoring their second son more closely these days. Because of your meetings outside of the harbor, you have also slipped onto their radar.”

Childe nodded, but internally he couldn't help but feel irritated. Really, they won’t talk to their son but they’ll double down on security? Some dispute resolution that is.

“My advice would be to avoid meeting him for at least a month to avoid suspicion,” the stranger continued.

Childe smiled wryly, knowing it wouldn’t be visible in the dark.

Good timing, seeing as I probably won’t see Xingqiu again in the foreseeable future.

"That's all," the stranger said breezily. "If you disregard my words, just know you'll have to deal with your own consequences."

It was a good thing Childe had no intention to do otherwise. Nevertheless, it would be uncharacteristic of him not to be at least slightly suspicious of this mysterious person, especially since they seemed to know details about him that he had told very few people.

“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.

The cloaked stranger tilted their head, and the sky-blue gem dangling from their ear caught on the light from the nearby lamp. “Call it… repaying a favor, Lord Harbinger.”

Childe mentally ran through a list of people whom he could have done a favor for and came up blank. “I… see,” he said, and he couldn’t hide the suspicion leaking into his voice.

They let out a low chuckle. “Don’t get hung up over it. This won’t happen again.”

“Sure.” That statement only made Childe more confused, but he wasn’t in a position to say anything more. “If that’s all…”

He nodded politely to the stranger before turning to leave the alleyway. Before he could fully step out of the shadows, the stranger’s voice rang out in the darkness.

“I’ve seen the second young master’s security unit before. He’s used to having a guard tail him at all times.”

Childe didn’t turn around, but he did pause in his steps.

“But it seems that a few months ago, he requested for his guard to stay behind whenever he went to a specific part of Mt. Tianheng.”

He trusts you quite a bit.

The strange, almost drowning feeling took hold of his chest again, and Ajax suddenly found it hard to breathe.

“Interesting,” he choked out. “I’m quite grateful for that.”

The stranger didn’t respond after that, but he could faintly hear the rustle of fabric as their light footsteps gradually grew more distant.

Childe wasn’t quite sure how he managed to wander home after that, feeling oddly burdened by the revelations made that day. When he finally managed to turn the key and enter his apartment, he saw Zhongli sitting carefully on the couch, a book open on his lap. 

“You’re back,” Zhongli said with a soft smile, closing his book and standing up. The single lamp next to him glowed warmly, painting the tips of his hair a molten gold. In the corner, a few sticks of lit incense perfumed the room with the faint smell of sandbearer and silk flower.

This was home. 

And soon Ajax would have to leave.

Instinctively, Zhongli stood up from his seat and hurried over, as if somehow sensing that something was very, very wrong. As Ajax silently took off his gloves and boots, his partner reached over to cup his face in his hands.

“Xingan, are you alright?”

Ajax took a deep breath. His eyes felt strangely dry.

“I said goodbye to Xingqiu today,” he sighed.

Zhongli’s eyes softened. He had been made aware of Ajax’s departure a long while ago and had chosen not to come along precisely so that Ajax could say his farewells privately.

“How are you feeling?” he asked gently.

Awful, Ajax thought. I don’t want to leave.

When he opened his mouth, all that came out was a dry, heaving sob.

“Oh, Ajax,” Zhongli whispered, reaching up to catch any accompanying tears with his thumb. 

(The tears were nonexistent. After he returned, Childe never relearned how to cry.)

Zhongli, ever patient and ever caring, simply gathered his arms around him. “Can I do anything to help?”

Tell me to stay, Ajax thought wildly. Tell me to stay home.

But he knew Zhongli wouldn’t ever ask.

(And honestly, Ajax wasn’t sure if he would have listened.)

Instead, Ajax leaned over and planted a hard, insistent kiss on Zhongli’s mouth.

“I want to forget this is happening,” he begged, desperation coloring his voice. “I want you to make me forget.”

Zhongli’s eyes darkened (with sadness, lust, concern) and led him away from the foyer, closing the bedroom door behind him.

---

Hours later, Ajax roused himself awake only to find himself nestled into the blankets, the sheets freshly changed and a clean bathrobe wrapped securely around him.

Next to him, Zhongli sat clad in his own robe, absently rubbing circles into his knuckles from where their hands were intertwined. The shuffle of papers next to his ear could only mean that he had returned to the book he was reading earlier. Perhaps it was Zhongli’s adeptal powers that allowed him to read so confidently with only the light from the moon.

Ajax made a move to sit up and winced. Archons, his back was sore.

Zhongli, upon hearing Ajax’s quiet grunt of pain, placed his book on his lap and reached over to push him back into the pillows. “Don’t overexert yourself, xingan.”

Ajax huffed and settled back into the mattress, slowly regaining control of his thoughts once more. While the feeling of grief had not quite left him yet, Zhongli had made due on his request to make him forget, if the ache in his back was any indication.

Next to him, the (comforting, routine, familiar) sound of flipping pages returned, and Ajax relished in the noise for a moment.

“It’s going to be weird to wake up without you,” he said offhandedly.

The room went silent.

“–Ajax…”

Ajax tried for a smile and half succeeded, turning to Zhongli. “I’m not that upset anymore, lyubimyy, really.”

Though he still looked faintly concerned, his partner appeared to be relatively appeased by his words. 

“I will come to visit,” he said resolutely.

Ajax let out a short laugh. “A-li, a one-way trip to Inazuma takes at least two days. How are you going to get all that time off?”

Zhongli stared at him, appearing almost incredulous. “Did you think I would travel by boat?”

“Yeah? How else could you possibly–”

Zhongli huffed out a cross between a sigh and a laugh, and with a flash of light, two glowing horns emerged from his head like a crown.

Ajax blinked. This hadn’t been the first time he had seen Zhongli’s adeptal-human form, but it still managed to surprise him every time. “...Right. You can fly.”

Zhongli chuckled at that. “I can. So rest assured, I’ll drop by as often as I can.”

Ajax snorted. “What happened to ‘scaring ordinary citizens with your dragon form’? Surely the presence of a freshly revived Rex Lapis would scare the daylights out of any poor Inazuman citizen who happens to look overhead.”

“...I will figure something out.”

“Zhongli, don’t accidentally undo all that work you did to fake your own death just to visit,” Ajax sighed.

“No, no. Unlike that Barbatos, who seems to keep his skies insufferably clear, the Raiden Shogun is not one to shy away from a little rain. It is an easy cover for me.”

Ajax sighed. It seemed that Zhongli would be resolute in his promise to visit. “Just don’t get yourself electrocuted.”

Zhongli laughed outright at that, a borderline feral edge to his grin. “Who do you think you’re talking to, now?”

His almost boyish confidence, Ajax decided, was both mildly surprising and incredibly attractive. Also, Morax had fangs in his adeptal hybrid form. He wondered what they would feel like against his tongue.

The man seemed to notice his unabashed stares and pushed his head away. Ajax hadn’t even realized he was leaning in.

“No more,” he sighed. “You’re already worn out, and you still have to finish up work tomorrow.”

Ajax frowned against where Zhongli’s palm covered his mouth. “I can still–”

“No, Ajax.”

“Fine,” Ajax complied, leaning back into the sheets with a huff. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m simply looking out for your wellbeing,” Zhongli chided. “Speaking of which, please be careful in Inazuma.”

Ajax groaned, sensing that Zhongli had shifted into his ‘lecture mode’. “Yes, love.”

The former archon leveled a stern look at him. "I’m serious, Ajax. I will not accept any news of you getting mortally wounded due to your own impulsivity.”

“What’s with everyone calling me impulsive?” Ajax complained. However, unlike Pierro’s obvious slight against him, he didn’t feel offended. Somehow, Zhongli managed to lace even his insults with affection.

As if attempting to appease an offended animal, Zhongli’s fingers tangled themselves in Ajax’s hair, combing through the loose orange strands. “Don’t start any unnecessary fights,” he added.

“...I’ll try my best,” Ajax shrugged. Perhaps Zhongli had somehow tamed him because the urge to pick fights with random strangers on the street was no longer as all-consuming as it used to be. Besides…

“I imagine Miss Barbara would have a conniption if I got into too much trouble, anyway,” he laughed.

The hand still carding through Ajax’s hair stopped abruptly. When Ajax noticed the lack of movement, he turned to face Zhongli, only to find the man with a helplessly fond look on his face.

“You’ve changed,” Zhongli said softly.

Ajax laughed awkwardly, flustered by his partner’s soft smile. “Have I, now?”

Zhongli tilted his head, appearing the slightest bit teasing. “I don’t believe that you would have said anything like that back when we first met.”

“...You’re right, I probably wouldn’t have,” Ajax agreed sheepishly. “That’s kind of funny, come to think of it.”

“I’m proud of you,” Zhongli murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “I do believe that you have found yourself some truly wonderful siblings.”

Ajax shut his eyes at the warmth in Zhongli’s voice and held the feeling tightly to his chest.

You must remember how this feels, he told himself. For later, when you have to leave.

That internal reminder only made him feel worse. Caring for people is difficult. Xingqiu was really onto something.

“It’s difficult, but it’s worth it, isn’t it?”

Ajax blinked. “Did I say that out loud?”

Zhongli’s smile was almost sad. “You did.”

Ajax was very quick to backtrack. “I didn’t mean that it wasn’t worth it, of course! It’s just something I’m not very used to.”

Zhongli looked even sadder at that. “And for that, I am doubly grateful for your newfound family. It takes a special group of people to make one learn to be more… human.”

It wasn’t Zhongli who said that, but Morax. Ajax stared at his wistful expression and remembered, not for the first time, that he didn’t actually know too much about Rex Lapis’s past aside from legends and stories.

“Did the adepti have to teach you that?” Ajax found himself asking.

Zhongli’s hand moved from his head to brush against the exposed skin on the nape of his neck. “The adepti? A little, I suppose. But it was mostly Guizhong.”

Right. Guizhong, Zhongli’s best friend (?) and one of his closest companions before she died. Ajax remembered a little from the crash courses he had received on Liyuen mythos before his transfer to Liyue Harbor.

(Though a lot of the speculation he had read about at the time was mostly about Zhongli and Guizhong’s relationship with one another. Were they friends? Companions? Lovers? … Not that it mattered, since it was Ajax who was now the one by his side anyway.)

“I was actually similar to you back then,” Zhongli reminisced. “I hadn’t thought about much more than the war going on around me, and that led me to be rather careless about both my own life and the lives of others. It was her who forced me to slow down and appreciate the little things that made life pleasant.”

Ajax nodded, the story sounding all too familiar to his own.

Though he couldn’t recall much from those lessons, there was one thing about Guizhong that everyone knew. And because Rex Lapis was sitting next to him, fingers massaging his neck, he found the courage to ask.

“How were you able to keep caring after she… left?”

Zhongli took a deep breath. “I didn’t, at first,” he admitted. “It is hard enough to learn to care for others, and it is even more difficult to continue when they leave.”

Tell me about it, Ajax thought.

Zhongli opened his hand, and slowly a ball of light gathered at his palm that formed into a golden kongming lock. 

“For a while, this was what kept me going,” he said. “She challenged me to unlock this, stating that it contained all of her wisdom.”

Ajax sat up (ignoring the pulse of pain from his lower back) to examine the lock. With how it pulsed with ethereal light, perhaps there truly was some sort of godly wisdom in that thing. 

(More importantly–was he sleep deprived, or did it look like a catalyst? Ajax suddenly wanted to take it for a spin. Catalysts were occasionally fun to use.)

“I never did unlock it,” Zhongli said, but the smile on his face was surprisingly content. “I’m not sure I really need to anymore.”

Ajax, still mildly mesmerized by the weapon hovering in Zhongli’s hands, could only continue staring. “Why not? Wouldn’t it be nice to have that knowledge?”

“I think,” Zhongli replied, smiling down at him fondly, “she simply wanted to teach me that so long as you try to continue living, you will find more people to care about, even when you lose others.”

The knot dissolved into elemental particles, and Zhongli reached over with his free hand to intertwine his fingers loosely with Ajax’s. “It happened to me, and though you are not truly losing your companions, it will happen to you, too. I have no doubts that you will find more people to care for in Inazuma.”

“I hope so,” Ajax whispered quietly. Zhongli leaned over and pressed a long, yet chaste kiss on his lips.

Even as they separated, Zhongli barely pulled away, his breath tickling Ajax’s cheek in their close proximity.

“I know so,” he replied with a smile.

---

The ship bound for Inazuma was quite large, in Tartaglia’s opinion.

Though he wasn’t trying to board anything too glamorous (after all, in a retrieval mission, discretion was key) the sails billowed above him almost menacingly.

Zhongli stood beside him on the dock as they watched the crew move Tartaglia’s things on board. Though he wasn’t about to permanently move, he still had quite a few things he had to take with him, especially his comically large weapons collection.

“This doesn’t feel quite real,” Ajax mused, staring at the crates with his things get continually passed around like clockwork.

“I believe in you,” Zhongli replied. “I trust you’ll wrap up your duties in a relatively timely manner.”

Tartaglia laughed stiffly. With how hung up he had been over leaving, he had barely scraped together a plan to actually convince Signora’s agents to leave aside from simply killing or beating them up. He would have to think up something on the boat ride over.

“If you find that you’ve forgotten anything here, just send me a letter,” Zhongli added. “I’ll send it to you right away.”

“A package via dragon mail, how quaint,” Ajax sniffed before breaking into a laugh. “You don’t need an excuse to visit.”

“Of course,” Zhongli nodded.

“Lord Harbinger,” a voice interrupted them. Childe turned to see Ekaterina with a clipboard, staring almost pityingly at him. “We’ve finished moving all of your luggage on board. The ship will be ready to depart whenever you say the word.”

The Northland Bank secretary had left her usual post to assist in helping Childe move his things onto the ship. With her help, the process of packing was much easier.

(And if it was also because Ekaterina wished to say goodbye to her employer in a more meaningful way, well, Tartaglia wouldn’t mind.)

Ajax turned to Zhongli, a hesitant smile on his face. “Guess that’s my cue, then,” he said softly.

Zhongli pulled him into a tight hug, pressing light kisses on his shoulder. “Write to me when you arrive,” he mouthed into his collar.

“I will,” Ajax said softly, internally memorizing the feeling of Zhongli’s back against his palms.

Before he could pull him into a kiss, a cry interrupted the two of them.

“Gege!”

Ajax turned to see Xinyan sprinting over, guitar and drums swinging around on her back like always. When she reached the docks, she slid to a stop, panting heavily.

“Now why’d I hafta find out you’re leavin’ from Xingqiu?” she demanded between gasps. “I couldn’t just let ya leave without sayin’ goodbye!”

Ajax reached over to steady her with a hand. “Sorry, Xinyan,” he apologized sincerely. “This came all of a sudden for me, too.”

Xinyan huffed but reached over to swing an arm around him in a side hug. “Well, regardless, have fun in Inazuma, gege. Say hi to Shiki Taishou if you do end up seein’ him.”

Right, that was the name of the little shikigami that they had met while in the Mystic Onmyou Chamber. “Will do.”

“Also,” Xinyan added, pulling out a thin envelope from her pocket. “Xingqiu and Chongyun told me to give this to ya. Said they wanted to do it themselves but didn’t wanna alert their guards, or… something.”

Ajax took the envelope, holding it gently in his hands. “They didn’t have to,” he said fondly.

Xinyan beamed. “That’s just how they are, honestly. Look, I gotta go–I’ve got plans with Yun Jin–but have a safe trip, gege. See ya soon!”

With one last squeeze, Xinyan darted off, sending him a wave as she ran back into the harbor.

As soon as she left, Ekaterina approached them from behind. “Childe, sir, it’s really about time that you start traveling if you wish to avoid getting stormed on.”

Childe nodded and turned back to Zhongli, who had been watching the whole time with a soft smile on his face. “I’ll see you, then.”

His partner leaned in, staring at him as if memorizing his features before kissing him soundly.

“Stay safe. I love you,” he said as he pulled away.

Ajax smiled back, his heart singing with a mix of joy and longing. “I’ll try. Love you too.”

As the ship departed from the docks of Liyue Harbor, Ajax stood on the deck and watched Zhongli’s frame grow smaller and smaller in the distance, until even the newly built Jade Chamber was but a speck in the distance.

I guess I’ve finally left Liyue Harbor.

The wind tousled his hair and brought to his attention the envelope still clutched in his hand. Ajax went below deck for fear of it accidentally blowing away in the wind, moving to the sleeping quarters to open it. Perched on his hammock, he opened the envelope only for a small note to flutter onto the ground.

“Safe travels, xiansheng!” the note said in a neat, boyish script, signed ‘Chongyun’ elegantly beneath it. On the back was another sentence, one that Ajax had to squint to read due to its hilariously illegible handwriting.

“For good luck on travels,” it read after some effort. Ajax reached into the envelope and pulled out a dark maroon pan chang, not unlike Chongyun and Xingqiu’s own matching tassels. Zhongli had once taught him about this–it was a knot that was meant to symbolize longevity and good fortune. 

And to think they would get me something like this….

Ajax smiled, really smiled, and moved to pin the knot to his scarf.

He would need all the luck he could get, after all.

Chapter Text

After a day of seeing nothing but an endless expanse of sea, Tartaglia finally caught a glimpse of Inazuma from the distance. 

“Hm?” Tartaglia squinted in the distance. Instead of the blossom-dusted peak of Mt. Yougou, he was instead met with the sight of coral towers and sandy beaches.

“Are we not heading to Narukami Island?” he asked the captain of the ship.

The captain, a burly but well-meaning Hydrogunner Legionnaire, turned to him in confusion. “Ah, did no one inform you of the change in itinerary, Lord Harbinger? We’ve been instructed to head to Watatsumi Island first.”

Ekaterina’s disapproving look flashed in Childe’s head, and he winced internally. He had been so preoccupied with everything else that his own mission had taken a back burner.

“Ah, that’s right. The change must have slipped my mind.”

The captain nodded slowly before turning back to look over the ocean. 

Childe awkwardly excused himself before stepping to the side, wracking his brain for any memories of itinerary changes. If Ekaterina knew he had been this clueless about his own travel plans, she would have probably flown across the sea to punt him off the ship herself. 

Finally, he managed to recall something that she had mentioned a few days before, about how he would be meeting with the Chief Priestess first instead of the Tri-Commission. Apparently, he was to retrieve any straggling soldiers of Signora from Watatsumi Island.

Childe wasn’t sure which he preferred, honestly–he had not heard very promising reports from his agents about the Tri-Commission, especially the Yashiro Commissioner, but he knew very little about the elusive Chief Priestess aside from her prowess in military strategy. Either way, the process of retrieving the soldiers would not be painless.

(It pulled at his pride to think about having to defer to the Inazumans, but aside from straight up defeating their combined forces, he wasn’t sure how else to get the soldiers out.)

The ship finally docked a safe distance away from Watatsumi Island’s northern shore. From far away, Childe could see a group of Fatui soldiers waiting for him on the beach. 

“Would you like us to move closer, sir?” the captain asked.

“No need,” Childe shrugged, leaping onto the rails separating the deck from the sea. “I’m a good swimmer. As I’m sure you’ve been informed, do not engage more than is necessary. We are not currently looking to provoke the people of Watatsumi.”

“Yes, sir,” the Fatui still on the ship chorused, and with that Childe leaped headfirst into the sea.

---

After reaching the shore and getting debriefed on the situation by his soldiers, Childe was left at a slight impasse. From what he knew, the Divine Priestess should have been informed of his arrival on the island, but it wasn’t like he could just waltz in and demand an audience with her. Other soldiers would probably end up being involved, and even if the resulting fight would no doubt be entertaining, Childe dreaded the work it would take to clean up afterward.

Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, the answer came to him in the form of some snooping Watatsumi soldiers (who were doing an awful job at being discreet, who trained these kids?) that Childe caught out of the edge of his peripheral vision.

“Mind letting your Divine Priestess know that the Eleventh Harbinger has arrived?” he drawled.

The soldiers, both clad in dark red armor, squeaked quietly and scurried off, and the itch in Childe’s back receded.

“Archons,” Childe mumbled under his breath before turning to the Fatui soldiers at the beach. “I believe an official envoy will be welcoming me soon. How are things looking on our end?”

“We’ve already sent out multiple missives informing Signora’s forces to retreat from the area. While most of them have responded accordingly and we have already relocated them to other regions, there are a solid number of rogue forces who refuse to leave. We speculate that they are extreme loyalists to the Fair Lady and are seeking revenge.”

“Seeking revenge here?” Childe repeated, raising a brow. “One would think they would find more success finding the target of their revenge on Narukami Island.”

“With all due respect, sir, they would not be picking fights with an Archon,” another soldier added.

You’re probably the only one crazy enough to do that, they didn’t add, which Tartaglia picked up on but couldn’t refute.

“For some unknown reason, they seem to be targeting the Watatsumi soldiers,” one of the Electro Cicin Mages reported. “Our attempts at apprehending them have been met with resistance from the soldiers, but the people of Watatsumi refuse to communicate with us regarding any next steps.”

In their defense, communicating with Fatui in the past hasn’t exactly done them great favors, Childe thought wryly. While he had only heard secondhand about the other Harbingers’ actions in Inazuma, their trickery and deceit left a sour taste in his mouth. And though he couldn’t necessarily call himself a good person by any means, the amount of collateral damage caused by their actions was a bit excessive for his taste.

“I believe a discussion with the High Priestess is in order, then,” Childe said firmly. “They should be arriving any moment with an appropriate retinue.”

A few hours later, more soldiers indeed arrived, just as Childe had predicted. This time they made no attempts at being stealthy, instead standing at the edge of their camp with their backs straight.

“Her Excellency will see you now,” one of the soldiers announced.

Childe nodded curtly to his soldiers before departing.

The walk over to Sangonomiya Shrine was thankfully uneventful, if a bit longer due to the soldiers’ ardent refusal to use wind gliders. Such peacefulness was probably due to the almost comical number of soldiers that were sent to escort him over. Honestly, it was as if they were escorting a notorious war criminal rather than a distinguished guest.

(Of course, it wasn’t actually enough people to pose an actual challenge to the Eleventh Harbinger.)

Upon reaching the shrine, Childe let out a low whistle. Sangonomiya Shrine was an impressive building, resting upon a throne of stone and coral. The enormous shells lining the path up shone iridescent in the sun, their surface smooth from erosion.

Might make for an interesting sparring ground, Childe thought idly.

There was a legion of soldiers waiting at the shrine for them, headed by a general with dog ears. As they passed, the crowd parted into two orderly lines. The general’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as they swept over him, but he moved to flank behind him, keeping guard from a distance.

“Her Excellency will see you inside,” he said professionally.

Childe nodded and allowed the door to be pulled open, closing him from the outside world with a resolute click.

---

After being silently escorted by the general to a small sitting room, Childe was presented with a low cushion and a steaming cup of tea.

His legs had just started to hurt from kneeling for so long when the door finally swept open and the Divine Priestess herself stepped into the room.

“Announcing Her Excellency,” the general said immediately, sweeping into a bow.

Childe nodded respectfully from where he was sitting, knowing all too well that he would probably wobble if he attempted to stand up and bow.

The Divine Priestess cast her gaze on him, and a chill immediately ran through him. Her eyes were almost glassy, like that of a fish, and there was a depth to them that made the Abyss in him shudder.

“You must be the Harbinger we were informed about,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but it displayed unquestionable authority.

“It is as you have said,” Childe nodded, bowing as best he could over the table. “I am Tartaglia, Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers.”

Lady Sangonomiya regarded him carefully before settling in the seat across from him. From the doorway, the general kept his gaze forward, but Childe could sense that he was ready to assume a fighting stance at any moment.

“I believe we have moved far beyond the point of exchanging formalities,” the Divine Priestess stated. “Though I have been somewhat informed of the reasons behind your presence on my island, I’d like to hear what your intentions are."

Childe nodded, thankful that she was also the type to not waste time on idle chatter. “I have been sent by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa to retrieve the last of the Fair Lady’s soldiers from Watatsumi Island.”

Lady Sangonomiya nodded. “That much I know. We will not object to having the presence of Fatui removed from our island.”

“In addition, we request that we receive your soldiers’ cooperation as we draw back our forces.”

“Cooperation with the Fatui ?” the general spat from his post, speaking out for the first time since the Divine Priestess had entered the room. “What kind of bullshit are you trying to propose?”

“General Gorou,” the Divine Priestess snapped. “Hold your tongue.”

The general immediately drew back, looking appropriately chastised. Childe was faintly entertained by the way his ears drooped from being scolded, and he took a sip of tea to hide the smirk on his face.

“I apologize for my general’s outspokenness,” Lady Sangonomiya stated. “However, he is not wrong for expressing his doubts. You must understand why we are not inclined to assist your delegation.”

“I can’t blame you,” Childe shrugged. “Our reputation does precede us.”

She tilted her head, appearing caught off guard by his easy admission. “So you do know.”

Childe tapped at the rim of his cup as he set it down. “However, I’ve been informed by my troops that they have suffered from the interference from your soldiers.”

“Suffered from our interference,” she repeated, her voice taking on the slightest edge. “With all due respect, Lord Harbinger, I believe my people have suffered far more by your interference in our affairs.”

Childe put a placating hand up. “I won’t deny that my coworkers have made you guys suffer quite a bit,” he acquiesced. “However, I believe that it is in everyone’s best interest if we work in conjunction with one another. I can finish my mission and you can remove Fatui soldiers from the island. It’s a win-win scenario.”

The Divine Priestess was silent for a long moment, her eyes concentrating on the cup of tea in her hands before she finally looked up at him.

“Explain to what extent we should be… cooperating.”

“I will not request much,” Childe offered. “Just don’t interfere when we are apprehending the Fair Lady’s troops, and return any soldiers of hers from your custody.”

She mulled over his words for a moment before her eyes narrowed.

“The first part is easy enough, but the second part…Why should we remove them from our custody?” she questioned, raising a brow.

“So we can deal them appropriate punishments for going against the word of Her Majesty,” Childe said easily.

Lady Sangonomiya took a long sip of her tea. “This punishment is…?”

“Capital, of course,” Childe said freely. “Her Majesty’s word is law, and disobeying it means death. It’s the first thing one would know as a soldier.”

The room fell silent at his words. Tartaglia, almost sure that the Divine Priestess would somehow protest, was pleasantly surprised at her next statement.

“Understood. If that’s the case, we will return them from custody tomorrow.”

From the doorway, the general stood to attention. “Your Excellency–”

Before he could continue, she shared a look with him, and after a split second of silent communication, he nodded.

“Is there anything else?” she asked, turning back to Childe.

“This is all I have for now,” he said. “I’ve already informed my soldiers not to act aggressively towards the people of Watatsumi, so if you see Fatui soldiers who are actively hostile towards you, they’re not mine. Feel free to kill them on the spot.”

They might not necessarily be Signora’s soldiers, but… eh. The other Harbingers will be fine even if they lose a few weaklings.

Lady Sangonomiya reacted minimally to his words, but Childe could see General Gorou’s eyes practically pop out of their sockets.

“That’s a surprising allowance,” she said. “I’m surprised you’re not itching to take the final blow yourself.”

“Eh, it’s no big deal. I’ll be doing plenty of killing on my end anyway,” Childe said offhandedly. Perhaps it was unnecessary to make such a statement, but he was just too entertained by the general’s reactions to his words. As soon as he had said that, Gorou’s tail had fully stiffened against his back, and Tartaglia had to restrain himself from laughing.

Lady Sangonomiya cleared her throat. “While I am grateful for your more… approachable attitude towards us, I ask that you refrain from teasing my general too much,” she stated wryly.

Whoops. She had caught on remarkably quickly.

“I would never,” Tartaglia said, voice completely serious. Even so, it was hard to will away the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as General Gorou turned to look at him with a look of offended betrayal.

Lady Sangonomiya unrolled a map on the table. “If we’ve finished going over general agreements, let’s move on to the details. Lord Harbinger, if you would please mark the areas where you believe the troops would be located…”

---

With the Divine Priestess’s cooperation, the retrieval of the soldiers was almost alarmingly smooth. Childe was almost alarmed by the staggering number of directives and backup plans she had lying around in her head, but what was more terrifying was the fact that they almost always worked flawlessly.

No wonder the civil war in Inazuma lasted for so long, Childe thought. The Divine Priestess could make even the tiniest army seem ten times its size.

Childe was pleased to note that within a few weeks, a good chunk of the Fair Lady’s remaining troops had been caught and accounted for. More importantly, the accompanying paperwork was minimal–these soldiers had died in dishonor, after all, and so there was no need to keep track of names or families.

(Giving them anonymity was actually an act of mercy if anything. The families of traitors to the Tsaritsa would not be spared back in Snezhnaya.)

True to Lady Sangonomiya’s word, the Watatsumi soldiers largely stayed out of the way. Childe sometimes saw them in passing during operations, but they seemed far too happy to station themselves far away from Fatui camps. For a while, the two factions coexisted almost peacefully, with the General almost courteous towards him. 

That is until he barged into the Fatui camp one day, his expression fierce.

“You’ve been summoned by Her Excellency,” General Gorou spat, all traces of grudging respect in his voice gone. “I’m here to bring you to her office immediately.”

Immediately sensing his hostility, the two agents flanking Childe on both sides raised their weapons, but Childe was quick to hold up a hand.

“Don’t move,” he said sternly, and after a beat, they slowly lowered their weapons.

He turned to the General, who still appeared rather aggressive, though he had toned it down slightly. To any other Harbinger, such impudence would have been met with immediate consequences, but Tartaglia could spare a bit of generosity. He himself had lost his temper many times in support of Her Majesty, so from one loyal soldier to another, he could empathize somewhat.

“Then let us leave,” Childe said, immediately heading to the camp’s exit. Some of the soldiers looked reluctant to let him go alone, but his reputation stopped them from protesting aloud.

(After all, if Childe really wanted to, he could kill the General right then and there. It was simple curiosity and some level of goodwill that kept him from doing so.)

The walk to Sangonomiya Shrine this time around was much faster–unlike his troops, it seemed that the General had no qualms about forcing the two of them to climb, glide, and swim to the shrine. They moved in tense silence, and it was easy to see that General Gorou’s hackles were raised.

When they reached the shrine, there was no entourage of soldiers waiting for them. The general stormed into the palace, not even bothering to hold the door open, and motioned for him to follow without looking back.

The Divine Priestess was already waiting for them, maps and files arranged around her desk. Unlike General Gorou, her gaze was much more unreadable.

“Your Excellency,” Tartaglia said as a greeting.

“Lord Harbinger,” Lady Sangonomiya replied.

“What’s the occasion for calling me?” Childe asked lightly.

“I believe we did not agree to any new developments in our plans,” the Divine Priestess said, her voice steely. 

Childe’s gaze darted between the two of them, unease settling into his body. “I’m fairly certain I’ve been following your directives quite closely, Your Excellency. If there are any issues with my execution, perhaps you should look into your own plans first.”

“Cut the bullshit,” General Gorou snapped from behind the Divine Priestess’s chair. 

“General Gorou, please,” Lady Sangonomiya warned quietly before turning back to Childe. “Understand, Lord Harbinger, that we are able to tolerate the establishment of a new camp of yours that was closer to Borou Village. We will allow you to share our supplies if necessary. But what we cannot allow you to do is go back on your clause of non-aggression.”

Childe’s suspicions immediately rose. I haven’t ordered anything about a new camp.

“What happened?” he asked instead.

General Gorou scoffed quietly, but Lady Sangonomiya shook her head. “Ever since its establishment, I have had people keeping watch over this new camp due to its proximity to the village. They had not displayed any signs of aggression for the first week of its creation, however, we caught a few of them attempting to set fires around the edges of the village last night.”

What?

The Divine Priestess’s gaze was resolute. “Lord Harbinger, we will not tolerate any violence towards our people, and by doing so you have ended our agreement for diplomacy. If you and your troops do not leave this island immediately, we will remove you by force–”

“Hold on, hold on. That doesn’t sound like my troops,” Childe protested. “They wouldn’t–”

The Divine Priestess looked unsympathetic. “Perhaps this was not entirely your doing. However, even if this was the result of your inability to rein your troops in, I’m afraid you have still betrayed what fragile trust lay between us.”

“No, I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re literally not my troops,” Childe interjected. “What do they look like?”

He could see the gears in her head turn as she retrieved a bundle of notes from the desk and described the soldiers in detail. As soon as she had described the first one, Childe immediately recognized them as one of the last infantry that had been missing.

“Those aren’t mine,” he repeated firmly once she had gone through the full list. “I believe they’re some of the Fair Lady’s.”

A look of understanding passed over Lady Sangonomiya’s expression. “They must have caught on,” she said softly.

“Why should we trust you?” General Gorou growled.

Childe leveled a stare at him. “If you want proof of my word, I would be happy to kill them in front of you if you wish.”

The general reeled back as if he had been struck. “You–!”

“Gorou, it’s fine,” Lady Sangonomiya said, closing her eyes. When she opened them, there was an almost ancient coldness in her eyes. “I will see if the Eleventh Harbinger’s words are to be trusted.”

“Your Excellency!”

She stood up from her desk and motioned for Childe to follow. “If your words are so true, I trust that you could follow though with them right now?”

Childe blinked at her immediate decision, but a sharp smile nonetheless rose on his face at the idea of a fight. “Of course, Your Excellency.”

After leaving Gorou to wait for them back at the shrine, the two of them walked quickly towards the camp marked on the map. Before they had left, Lady Sangonomiya had thrown on a long, hooded maroon cloak, and it now billowed behind her even as her feet barely touched the ground as she walked.

If someone had told me that she could walk on water, I would believe them, Tartaglia thought wryly.

“Why the cloak?” he asked, only half expecting an answer.

“I don’t want the villagers recognizing me,” she replied, to Childe’s surprise. “Just this cloak is enough to disguise me since no one expects me to wear red.”

“Fair enough,” Childe said. There would be a public outcry if the Divine Priestess was spotted out with a Fatui Harbinger. And as she had pointed out, the dark red of her cape was incongruent with the pastel purples and blues of her usual robes.

When they arrived a ways from the camp, Childe turned to the girl next to him.

“Any requests?” he asked, anticipation for the fight bleeding into his voice.

Lady Sangonomiya didn’t look at him, but there was an icy fury in her eyes as she stared into the distance.

“Leave one alive for questioning. As for the rest of them…make it hurt.”

Childe laughed loudly at that, his voice almost bright with violent excitement. “As you wish, Your Excellency.”

---

“Whew,” Childe sighed as he flopped onto the sand, a manic grin still affixed to his face. “That was a good fight.”

A good fight, indeed, if the various dead bodies around him were any indication. As Lady Sangonomiya had requested, he had kept one person alive, but it didn’t appear that they were in very good condition. 

Well. That’s not my problem.

From above, the Divine Priestess looked down at him, assessing his condition. “Your martial prowess is remarkably impressive, Lord Harbinger.”

“All in a day’s work,” he replied cheerfully as he stood up, gracelessly kicking and shoving the corpses into a rough pile. On the other side of the camp, Lady Sangonomiya only wrinkled her nose slightly as she tied the single live soldier to a nearby post, presumably for retrieval by the soldiers later.

“I do wish you had kept them in slightly better condition,” she sighed exasperatedly, glancing at the mangled body of the half-conscious Fatui officer.

“As long as they’re able to talk, I don’t see why it matters,” Childe said dismissively, flicking out a hand to summon jets of Hydro from the ground. Immediately, huge masses of water splashed over the beach, cleaning the blood from the sand.

He watched as she stared for a long moment at the sight of the red stains running into the ocean before shaking her head minutely. When she turned back to him, it was with a damp washcloth in her hands, which she tossed into his arms.

“Wipe the blood off of your face,” she said. “You don’t want to scare the villagers.”

Childe obliged, passing the cloth over the sticky stains on his hands. Not all of the blood on his clothes was the other Fatui soldiers’, though, and he gingerly wiped over some of the cuts on his arm. To his surprise, as soon as the cloth made contact with his wounds, they began to close.

The Divine Priestess was no longer looking at him, instead staring at the remains piled in the distance. “What are you going to do with the bodies?”

“I’ll burn them,” Childe said cheerfully. “For the future that Her Majesty seeks, we cannot leave any trace of those unworthy.”

“Is that so,” Lady Sangonomiya mused. “Then I will leave you to it. I will believe you are trustworthy for now, but if anything like this happens again I will have you removed from my island with or without your consent.”

Childe could only nod, cowed by the severity in her voice.

She had made her way halfway down from the beach before she abruptly turned.

“Also, for your information. If I am to assume anything from these soldiers’ plans to burn down the village, I’m fairly certain there should be something flammable in their supplies somewhere. If that helps.”

Childe poked around their campsite, and he could indeed see some half-full jugs of kerosene lying in a crate. Grinning, he splashed the remaining liquid onto the pile of bodies in front of him.

“Thanks,” he called at the Divine Priestess’s retreating back before he cheerfully set the corpses alight.

---

A few days later, Ajax had finally started receiving letters from overseas. Watatsumi Island was awfully remote, but Childe had the advantage of having some very efficient Mirror Maidens at his disposal. Though he supposed they were more suited for combat than they were for being glorified mailmen, he was very grateful nonetheless.

(Perhaps the reason why they stuck by him was that he wasn’t an asshole and he paid well, two qualities that were otherwise rather absent from the rest of the Harbingers.)

While the letters’ contents were mostly of the typical sort, Ajax was quick to note that both kids seemed to mention some kind of festival in their letters. 

In Barbara’s tidy handwriting, she wrote: Mister Ajax, I’ve been invited to perform at a festival in Inazuma next month. Will you still be there when the festival begins?

Meanwhile, Xingqiu’s letter was as illegible as always. Gege, Xinyan’s mentioned that she’s going to some kind of music festival in Inazuma and she’s asked if Chongyun and I would like to come along. Is work keeping you busy? Do you think you might be able to make it?

It was honestly a bit sad that even though Ajax was literally in Inazuma, he had almost zero knowledge of what went on outside of Watatsumi Island. Tartaglia was not one to pay attention to foreign politics, but even he knew that the westernmost island was rather isolated from the rest of the Inazuman archipelago. If he was hearing of the festival for the first time, it was probably taking place on Narukami Island.

Ajax tapped his pen against his paper, lost in thought. Had he received the letters a few weeks ago, when he was still uncertain about how to go about fulfilling his mission, he probably would have regrettably said no. However, with things going so smoothly on Watatsumi, there was a high chance that he would be relocated to another one of the islands soon. And now that things were beginning to die down, he was starting to feel rather homesick.

I’ll have to see where I am, but I’ll try to stop by for a little bit, he wrote. As he was sealing the letters for delivery, a small group of Watatsumi soldiers arrived at the edge of the camp.

“Her Excellency requests an audience with you,” one of the soldiers, clearly new, announced shakily.

Childe stood up from his desk, passing the envelopes to one of his retainers before turning to the soldiers. “That so? I’ll head over, then.”

The soldiers all appeared to panic slightly when he breezed past them, straying from the path to dangle off the cliff. “Lord Harbinger, s-sir, we were sent to escort you–”

“No need,” Childe said breezily, unfolding his wing glider. “You all walk too slow.”

“Sir–”

Childe snorted under his breath and leaped off the cliff, gliding straight towards the shrine below.

--

When he arrived at the gate of the shrine, he saw General Gorou standing near a bunch of soldiers, seemingly giving them instructions. As soon as the general caught sight of him, his ears immediately stood up straight and he quickly dismissed the soldiers.

“Lord Harbinger,” he said hurriedly, surprise coloring his voice. “You’re here much earlier than expected. And the soldiers who were meant to escort you–”

“I came here alone,” Childe interrupted. “It takes too long for your soldiers to walk all the way over here.”

The general stiffened, clearly upset at the criticism pointed toward his troops. “They have been trained for a long time to do their job correctly.”

Childe shrugged at that. “Sure, they might be well trained, but there are more efficient ways you could go about these things.”

General Gorou’s expression turned contemplative, and for a second he almost looked as if he were entertaining his words. Before long, however, he blinked and shook his head slightly, turning away.

“Either way, since you were here before we planned, I will have to check with Her Excellency to see if she can receive you early. Please wait here.”

With that, he left Childe standing at the bridge by himself. He could feel the other shrine maidens staring at him, but whether they were looking at him with curiosity or irritation, he didn’t know (or care). Within a few minutes, he had grown restless enough to form a small Hydro throwing knife in his palm and was in the middle of tossing it around in his hands when the door to the shrine reopened.

“Her Excellency is free to see you now,” the general announced.

The Divine Priestess was already at her desk when they arrived, briefly nodding at him and gesturing for him to sit across from her.

“We’ve finished interrogating the soldier,” she said without pretense, tapping a stack of papers into a neat pile.

Childe looked over in interest. “Did you get the information you needed?”

“We got enough,” she said vaguely. “Locations on the final group of soldiers, a possible motive, the usual.”

“A motive?”

She tilted her head before shrugging. “I suppose it is relevant to your mission, so I might as well tell you if you’re curious.”

“Sure,” Childe nodded, prompting her to elaborate.

“As you are most likely aware, the Eighth Harbinger was killed by the Raiden Shogun’s Mousou no Hitotachi.”

Tartaglia nodded. All of the Harbingers had been briefed on the circumstances behind her abrupt death. “Right, because she lost a duel against the Traveler. I’ve heard.”

Lady Sangonomiya folded her hands in her lap. “I suppose it wasn’t much of a secret here in Inazuma that the Traveler was the captain of one of our platoons. I believe these soldiers were targeting us as a way to get back at the Traveler for killing their Harbinger.”

Tartaglia huffed. “I wasn’t aware that the Fair Lady raised such cowards in her troops. Well, I suppose battling the Traveler herself is outside of their capabilities.”

“You sound as if you have,” Lady Sangonomiya pointed out.

“I have indeed,” Tartaglia said cheerfully. “We used to spar pretty regularly.”

“The Traveler used to spar a Harbinger?” Lady Sangonomiya mumbled, more to herself than to anyone else. “She wasn’t kidding when she said she knew many different people.”

“There aren’t many people that she isn’t acquainted with,” Tartaglia agreed.

“Well, anyway,” she said, steering them back on track. “That’s my theory based on the information we received. It might be true, might not be, but I didn’t think we would get anything else out of them. I’ll just plan with what I know.”

Childe raised a brow, impressed. Their interrogations had procured quite a hefty load of information to be extracted, especially from such a small-fry soldier. Speaking of which…

“Where is the soldier now?”

“Dead,” the priestess reported. “I had the corpse cremated following your nation’s practice.”

Childe blinked, an odd sense of gratitude welling up in his chest.

“I see,” he replied awkwardly, unsure of what else to say.

The Divine Priestess looked oddly hesitant before she spoke up. “I would like to apologize for wrongfully accusing you before. While I am not sorry for being suspicious, I must acknowledge that my assumptions this time were wrong.”

General Gorou, standing on the side of the desk, looked reticent as he bowed his head.

Childe held up a hand. “It couldn’t have been helped–they were bound to pick up on signs of our collaboration eventually.”

“Still,” Lady Sangonomiya sighed. “I should have thought things through more. After all, you have proven to be much more trustworthy than your colleagues.”

Childe laughed at that. “I wouldn’t say I’m that trustworthy, but I suppose my colleagues are a bit worse in that regard.”

The Divine Priestess did not smile, but the smallest flicker of amusement shone in her eyes.

“On that note,” she said, pulling out her map once more. “Here’s where the final camp should be…”

---

Thanks to the information from the soldier, the last of the remaining troops were taken care of. With the Watatsumi part of his mission complete, all Childe had to do was send out a report back to Zapolyarny Palace and await further orders. Accounting for travel time, that meant he had at least three to four days to relax.

With his newly acquired spare time, Childe took the liberty to finally look around Watatsumi Island a little more and do one last comb-through for any last troops. As far as he knew, the list of remaining Fatui soldiers had already been checked off, but it never hurt to be thorough.

Moreover, the island was very fun to explore. From the outside, it looked small and unassuming, especially compared to the impressive appearances of the other Inazuman islands, but past the cliffs surrounding the outside lay a treasure trove of caves, waterfalls, and strong monsters for Childe to entertain himself with.

The only place that he wouldn’t touch was the deep pool just outside of Sangonomiya Shrine. Normally Childe would be both curious and impulsive enough to jump headfirst into the water, but there was something about that pool that rattled him far more than he wanted to admit.

Well, isn’t it because you already know where it might lead?

Tartaglia pushed the thought from his mind and, with mounting dread, dared to take one more peek at the pool. The water was a clear, inviting blue that contrasted morbidly with the jet-black whirlpool in its center.

(The memory of pitch-black darkness, wheezing gasps of pain, and a constant thrum of fear - anger - excitement - agony in his bones flashed briefly in Ajax’s mind.)

“Excuse me,” he said to a nearby shrine maiden, hoping he didn’t sound as distressed as he felt. “Where does that pool lead to?”

The shrine maiden looked over at him, glancing briefly at the red mask in his hair. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you much about it, sir, except that you shouldn’t go into it under any circumstances.”

“Try me,” Tartaglia almost pleaded. There was a part of him, filled with morbid curiosity, that was desperate to know what the vortex in the middle was.

The shrine maiden stared at him for a long while, probing at his expression until she seemed to find what she was looking for. “I’ll only say this because I trust you won’t just jump in there.”

“Yes,” Tartaglia breathed. “I promise I won’t.” Go back, his mind added.

“To keep things as vague as I can,” the shrine maiden finally said, “where that pool leads is a place where Teyvat and the Abyss come together.”

Oh. Ajax felt nauseous.

“I see,” he said, and even he could tell his voice was noticeably shaky. “That’s… okay. Great. I’m just gonna–”

“Sir, are you alright?”

“Peachy,” he breathed before darting off.

---

Ajax wasn’t sure how long he had been running, but by the time he stopped, he was somewhere on the outskirts of Borou Village. By the time he realized he had stopped, he was leaning against a tree, gasping for air. 

Usually, when he felt winded, it was after a fulfilling spar, and his exhaustion would be accompanied by the pleasant ache of a good fight. However, this time around there was nothing pleasant about the way his lungs threatened to collapse into his chest, nor was he at all fulfilled by the hollow panic still weighing in his stomach.

I don’t want to go back again. I don’t want to fall in there again. I don’t want to fight anymore. Please don’t make me fight anymore. Everything hurts–

Ajax forced himself to take a deep breath, forcing the spiraling thoughts out of him. Not for the first time, he wished that he was back home instead of in Inazuma. 

You've grown soft, Childe. Where's that reckless bravado now that you've got more to protect?

Just the thought nearly sent him into a spiral again, a fresh bout of homesickness almost forcing him to his knees.

Come on, Tartaglia. Focus on something you can count. How many books are there?

Ajax wasn’t sure how long he sat there attempting to count books until his breathing finally evened out. The panic in his bones had dulled to a static hum, and he could feel his head slowly clearing.

Wait. Why am I counting books?

Now that Ajax was finally conscious of where he was, he could feel the questions he couldn’t ask before begin to bubble up in his head.

With great care, he picked himself off of the ground and headed curiously towards the pile of books. As he rounded the corner, he spotted an alcove carved into the cliffside that had been clearly used.

Immediately he felt himself spring into alertness. Was this a campsite he had somehow missed? 

Out of both curiosity and a pressing sense of duty, he poked around the small hollow. There were books and scrolls everywhere, piled into haphazard stacks that were barely put together. The bookshelves on the walls that were probably meant to store said books groaned under the weight of even more texts. One of the books caught his eye, and when he moved towards the small desk in the corner, he spotted the very familiar cover of A Legend of Sword lying on the tabletop. Struck by the familiarity of the artwork, he barely registered the sound of footsteps behind him.

“What are you doing here?”

Tartaglia whipped around at the familiar voice. Standing shell-shocked at the cave entrance, a panicked Lady Sangonomiya stared back at him.

Chapter Text

“What are you doing here?”

The first thing Tartaglia thought of doing was feigning innocence. Plausible deniability. Then he questioned why he had to fake ignorance in the first place, since he wasn’t technically doing anything wrong. It had only been Lady Sangonomiya’s strangled tone of voice that had made him believe that he was at fault.

“I was investigating this camp,” he replied, almost defiant in his firm belief that no, he had just been doing his job and he wasn’t doing anything offensive. “Just in case there were any campsites that we were missing.”

Some of the panic in Lady Sangonomiya’s eyes faded, but she still looked rather frantic as she moved towards him, carefully urging him away from the cave.

“I can assure you that this campsite is not one of the Fatui’s,” she said stiffly. “So there’s no need for you to linger any longer.”

Tartaglia stepped back and held up his hands, casting another glance at the room. Judging by Her Excellency’s defensive attitude and the contents on the shelves, he had a suspicion of who the campsite belonged to.

Well, everyone needed their own space, even divine priestesses. Tartaglia wasn’t going to call her out on it.

However, that didn’t change the suffocating thrum of homesickness that had only intensified upon seeing the cover of Legend of Sword on the table. The weight of Xingqiu’s pan chang felt heavy on his chest, and, unable to help himself, he gestured to the desk and added quietly, “You’ve got good taste in books.”

Lady Sangonomiya didn’t look surprised that he had picked up on who owned the campsite, but she appeared rather flustered nonetheless. “I… thank you? Um, Legend of Sword is not a particularly niche series or anything, but I didn’t expect you to be so well-read in popular Inazuman literature.”

“It’s not Inazuman though?” Ajax said before he could cut himself off. “The author’s from Liyue.”

Lady Sangonomiya blinked slowly at him, surprised at his interjection more than anything. “...Right. I only meant that it has become one of the most popular novels here in Inazuma. Zhenyu-sensei is indeed Liyuen.”

Tartaglia recalled Zhongli’s words from back when he purchased the first book for Tonia. “Yeah, it never got nearly as much fame in Liyue for some reason.”

Lady Sangonomiya shook her head with a sigh. “Why it didn’t reach the same level of popularity, I have no idea.” 

Then, to Ajax’s surprise, she cast her gaze on him with a smile that was almost friendly. “I must say, it’s refreshing to meet someone with similar taste in books. Even if it’s from an unlikely source.”

Ajax recovered from his shock fast enough to hastily clarify. “Ah, no, I haven’t read the books myself. But my younger sister is a big fan, and I know the author, so–”

The disappointment that flashed across Lady Sangonomiya’s face was almost immediately replaced with pleasant shock. “You know Zhenyu-sensei?”

Ajax nodded. “We became personally acquainted a few months ago through a series of coincidences. After a while, it became natural to get along.”

“I wasn’t aware that Zhenyu-sensei was a traveler,” Lady Sangonomiya mused. “Though it would make sense since his writing style would demand knowledge of even far-off places like Snezhnaya.”

“Oh, he wasn’t–I met him in Liyue,” Ajax hastily corrected.

“Liyue? Aren’t you from Snezhnaya?”

“Yes, but that’s not where I came here from,” Ajax sighed and allowed a hint of wistfulness to bleed into his voice. “I was actually stationed in Liyue for a few years before coming here.”

His heart squeezed at the thought of his new home. Though Zhongli sent letters regularly, Ajax still missed his partner dearly.

“I see,” Lady Sangonomiya said softly. “Well, hopefully with everything done here you should be able to go home soon, right?”

Tartaglia chuckled flatly. “I wish it was that simple, really. I’m still not entirely sure when I will be able to leave Inazuma.”

“Oh,” she sighed, and Ajax was surprised to hear that the empathy in her voice was genuine.

“Well, anyway,” he said quickly, attempting to turn away the conversation. “I heard from Xing–er, Zhenyu that he’s actually going to be here in Inazuma in a few weeks. He’s going to be arriving with a friend who’s performing at the music festival.”

“Zhenyu-sensei is coming here again?” Lady Sangonomiya’s enthusiasm was infectious, her large eyes sparkling with excitement. “Oh, I’d love to meet him this time around!”

“You couldn’t meet him last time?” Ajax vaguely remembered that Xingqiu had been in Inazuma before for some other festival previously.

“No,” Lady Sangonomiya said sadly. “I was a bit too late and was only able to attend the festival after he had left. I must get his autograph this time around!”

Ajax stifled a grin at her determination. “Well, if I’m in Narukami Island by the time the festival starts, I’ll be sure to introduce you two.”

“Oh, would you?” Lady Sangonomiya beamed at him. “That would be wonderful! Thank you so much!”

Ajax blinked in surprise. When Lady Sangonomiya smiled, she looked less like an ethereal otherworldly priest and more like a girl her own age.

Upon seeing his look of shock, the Divine Priestess quickly schooled her expression and coughed awkwardly into her hand. “...Yes, well. It would be greatly appreciated.”

As the conversation petered out, Ajax awkwardly started edging away from the campsite. “Sorry again for intruding, Your Excellency.”

Lady Sangonomiya seemed to retreat back into herself at that, giving him a respectful bow. “It was no fault of yours. I shall see you on a later date, then.”

Ajax nodded and turned to leave, but not before he saw the polite smile on Lady Sangonomiya’s face melt into something much more melancholic and lonely.

---

Tartaglia stood in front of the opulent halls of Sangonomiya Shrine, a newly delivered missive from Zapolyarny Palace in his hands, and heaved a great sigh.

They’re not going to be happy about this, he thought wryly.

The guards standing outside of the palace had immediately straightened up upon seeing him, casting a panicked glance among themselves at his unexpected arrival.

“Lord Harbinger,” one of them finally addressed him with a nervous bow. “Are you looking for Her Excellency?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Tartaglia nodded. The letter felt like lead in his hands. “I must speak to her urgently.”

The guard bowed once more. “Apologies, but Her Excellency is currently away from the shrine. If you would please wait here until she returns–”

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid this matter cannot wait long,” Tartaglia shook his head, cutting off the guard’s words. “Where is she? I can go look for her myself.”

The guard visibly swallowed. Tartaglia didn’t think his appearance was that threatening, but the guards all appeared to be extremely tense in his presence. Perhaps his displeasure had been showing on his face.

“H-Her Excellency should be at the beaches southeast of the island,” another guard stammered. 

“Thank you,” Childe nodded to them before immediately departing for the coast.

When he arrived, he could see a group of Watatsumi soldiers facing off against a group of Fatui, the Divine Priestess standing between them. As soon as he stepped closer, the gazes of everyone in the group shifted to look at him instead. Immediately the Fatui soldiers dropped into a salute.

“Lord Harbinger,” the leader of the platoon said. “You have received our letter, yes?”

Childe’s expression was stony as he dangled the letter between his fingers. “I wasn’t aware that the Knave’s soldiers were so uncouth as to give me so little warning before arriving.”

The soldiers had enough decency to look relatively abashed, but they did not move. “Our deepest apologies for the short notice,” the commander said, stepping into the front.

Childe rolled his eyes at the faux pleasantries. “What is your reason for being here?”

“Lord Arlecchino informed us that we were to reach Watatsumi Island by today. These soldiers are currently blocking our path to the island, and we require that they move aside.”

Lady Sangonomiya interrupted them, a glare of her own on her face. “The people of Watatsumi were not informed by your superior whatsoever that you would be arriving, never mind short notice. We cannot allow you to pass without proper procedure.”

“I–” The soldier looked affronted, and turned to Childe for help. “Lord Harbinger, surely you understand. They–”

“Are perfectly justified in their refusal to allow you entrance,” Childe snapped back. “You have told exactly no one involved in the governance of this island that you would be arriving, knowing full well how the Fatui is currently being viewed in Inazuma, and you still believe that you would be able to just barge in.”

The soldier waved off his words, and his haughty mannerisms prickled at Childe’s skin. “We have full clearance in Inazuma. There is no need to send an unnecessary notice.”

“That clearance you speak of is likely to be revoked at any time,” Childe replied irritably. “Which you should know since this was made expressly clear for any soldier working in Inazuma right now, not just the ones working under me.”

The leader floundered at him. “Are you questioning the intentions of Her Royal Highness right now?”

Before Childe could even fully register what he was doing, he had already grabbed the soldier by their collar and raised him a foot off the ground.

“Listen here, soldier,” he growled quietly. “Do not accuse me of going against the Tsaritsa’s word when it is you and your platoon who are acting independently of her instructions. I won’t sit here and pretend that the Knave isn’t just trying to find more child soldiers for her army of orphans.”

The soldier’s expression faltered at Childe’s callous accusation, which meant that he had hit the mark. From behind him, he could hear a sharp inhale.

“Lord Harbinger, you misspeak,” the soldier laughed nervously, casting a glance towards the Watatsumi forces. “We are simply here to keep an eye on the island. You know how it is.”

“Your flimsy excuses are embarrassing to listen to. I know for a fact that Arlecchino was never instructed to operate here.”

“Lord Harbinger, you understand–”

“I don’t. It would do you well to stop assuming that every Harbinger is as insolent as your commander,” Childe warned darkly. “This island is under my jurisdiction, and I will be handling all Fatui matters here until further notice. If you want to change that, you’ll have to beat me first.”

“You-you can’t just say that,” the soldier stammered angrily. “Lord Arlecchino was never informed–”

“Well,” Childe drawled, shoving a last-minute message into the commander’s chest cheerfully, “you can inform her when you get back to Snezhnaya. Have a safe trip.”

“You…!” The commander’s cheeks were bright red with anger, and Childe couldn’t help but smirk at the abject fury on his face. “Her Majesty will certainly hear of this!”

“I’m sure she will,” Childe replied lightly. “And I’d like to remind you that the Harbingers are ranked by strength, not by who Her Majesty favors the most. Do keep that in mind.”

At this point, he knew that he had won. It was well-known amongst the Fatui that the Tsaritsa and Arlecchino had a tenuous relationship at best. 

With his final threat having fallen flat, the commander finally turned around with a huff, stalking towards where the Fatui ships were anchored. The rest of the soldiers followed suit, their gazes hesitantly darting between their immediate superior and the Eleventh Harbinger. Childe refused to look at them, only sparing a glare when they were taking too long.

Incapable of starting a conversation with the rightfully angry Divine Priestess and still on edge from the sudden intrusion, Childe didn’t take his gaze off of the Fatui soldiers until long after the ships had once more set sail. When he finally turned around, he was met with the sight of the empty beach, calm as if ignorant of the hundreds of soldiers breaching its waters just moments before.

---

That night, Ajax couldn’t sleep.

Despite the earlier altercation thoroughly squeezing the energy out of him, he was somehow unable to drift off. After about an hour of tossing and turning, he finally resigned himself to pulling an all-nighter and grabbed a fishing rod and Fire-Water from his bag.

Fishing at Watatsumi Island was vastly different from the ice fishing he was used to in Morepesok. The water was warmer and not hidden by a thick layer of ice, and he could actually see what he was fishing this time around. The burn from the Fire-Water felt a bit more stifling now that there was no biting cold to counteract the warmth in his stomach, but regardless he downed a shot out of habit.

Ajax soon lost himself in the monotonous yet comfortingly familiar routine of casting a line, catching a fish, and unceremoniously returning it to the water. Spurred by the eventful day, Ajax’s homesickness had reached a new peak, and in his exhaustion, he could almost hear his father murmuring gentle words of encouragement next to him.

The person approaching him from behind, however, was decidedly not his father.

“What are you doing this late at night?” Lady Sangonomiya stood a respectful distance away from him, still clad in her ceremonial robes. 

Tartaglia turned to raise a brow at her. “I could ask the same of you.”

The Divine Priestess did not answer. Tartaglia took that as her response and resumed fishing, conscious of how her gaze slipped from his back to the clear vial sitting on the rock next to him.

“If I might ask what that bottle is?”

Ajax turned around and held up the bottle, swirling the alcohol inside. “Some nice, strong Fire-Water. It never feels right to fish without a bit of it. Want some?”

It had been a slight jest–he had gone quite a bit without drinking, so perhaps the liquor was making him lose more of his inhibitions than normal–so he was surprised when the Divine Priestess nodded.

“I could really use a drink,” she admitted, taking a seat on a nearby rock. 

Honestly, yeah. Fair enough.

Wordlessly, Ajax took out a second shot glass from his pocket and poured a generous amount of liquor into the cup, stopping just before the Fire-Water could splash over the rim. 

Lady Sangonomiya took the cup, inspecting it carefully. Ajax poured a second shot for himself, raising it towards her.

“Poyekhali. Or, should I say, kanpai?”

Lady Sangonomiya let out a short exhale that could be mistaken for a laugh and reached over to tap their glasses together. Ajax took a slow sip of his Fire-Water, already feeling slightly tipsy from his shot earlier. He glanced at her from over the rim of his cup.

Unsurprisingly, but still, impressively, she downed the shot in one go without so much as flinching.

For a split second–and Ajax couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the moonlight–her eyes widened and her pupils looked almost draconic, but after she blinked they had gone back to normal.

“Very nice,” she said primly as if she had not just taken a large swig of some of Snezhnaya’s strongest alcohol. “Do you have enough for another one?”

Ajax blinked, casting a brief glance at the still half-full bottle before a disbelieving laugh left his mouth. “I… do?”

Lady Sangonomiya held up her empty glass, turning fully towards him. 

“Please,” she said, and Ajax noticed just how dark the circles under her eyes were.

“One more,” he finally acquiesced, tipping another shot into the cup. She downed it in seconds, humming in satisfaction.

After that, a companionable silence fell over the two of them. Occasionally, Ajax would feel the slightest tug at the line, only for the Divine Priestess to frown at the water and cause the fish around his hook to scatter. Since he wasn’t seriously fishing (and honestly, she was probably quite tipsy) he didn’t press the matter.

Ajax pressed his lips into a thin line. He had a pretty good idea of why she had gone out of her way to get drunk, and he figured now would be the best time if any.

“Your Excellency–”

“Don’t call me that,” Lady Sangonomiya pouted. Her speech was clear, but there was the slightest lilt to it that had to be a product of intoxication. “We’re not working right now. Just call me Kokomi.”

Ajax tamped down the faintest feeling of amusement that flickered in him upon hearing her words. “Kokomi-sama, then. I just wanted to apologize for my colleague’s actions earlier today.”

Upon hearing him, she glared at the sand. “The audacity of those people, really. To think they can just waltz into my island and demand entry–how absurd. At least you had the decency to notify me in advance before arriving.”

“Advanced notice would have been very helpful in this case,” Tartaglia agreed with an irritated sigh of his own. “It’s kind of obvious, but Arlecchino has always been one of my least favorite Harbingers, for reasons I can’t quite say.”

“Good riddance, honestly,” she grumbled.

“And, regarding earlier–I hope you know that jurisdiction of the island lies solely within your citizens and yourself,” Tartaglia added hastily. “I only said what I did earlier to get those soldiers out of the island.”

The Divine Priestess turned to him, a look of surprise on her face gradually melting into one of respect.

“I… appreciate the clarification,” she replied. “Your consideration towards us will be remembered.”

Tartaglia shrugged. “Unlike some of my coworkers, I’d much rather work with local governments rather than against them. It tends to make things a bit easier.”

“That’s not something I’d expect to hear from someone as famously battle-crazed as yourself.”

Tartaglia laughed at that. “Fights aren’t as fun if they feel like a waste of time. I want my battles to count for something, you know?”

Kokomi hummed in acknowledgment and didn’t speak for a little while. When she broke her silence, her voice was hesitant. 

“You mentioned something about an army of orphans…could I ask…?”

Tartaglia winced. He had been trying to stay quiet about the House of the Hearth, seeing as it was one of the Fatui’s less… savory operations, and was therefore supposed to be a secret.

I suppose I must have been louder than I had thought because otherwise, she wouldn’t have heard me.

“Perhaps I was a bit too accusatory in that statement from earlier,” he said carefully. “Arlecchino simply runs an orphanage back at home, and she’s always looking for more children to take care of.”

“Even so, child soldiers? And they wanted to take orphans from Watatsumi Island?” Kokomi asked, her expression growing more twisted as she spoke.

“N-no, wait,” Tartaglia quickly interrupted before she could further spiral down that train of thought. “It’s just that… they’re taught from young ages how to do many things, and most of the orphans continue on with Fatui work even after they grow out of the orphanage. I was simply angry at the commander and spoke rashly. Please do forgive me.”

Kokomi stared at him for a good, long while before finally shrugging. Tartaglia silently thanked the Archons for her inebriated state. The conversation would have been very different had she been sober.

“You don’t seem like you’re very fond of this orphanage,” Kokomi noted. “While I also can’t advocate for such an organization, I have to wonder. Isn’t it strategic to have a constant supply of reliable workers?”

Tartaglia winced and looked down at where his hands were absentmindedly twirling the reel of the fishing rod up, down, up, down.

“I was inducted into the Fatui from a very young age,” he admitted, the liquor loosening his tongue. “Perhaps a bit too young, but I was never meant to get this far–it was just supposed to be a means to corral me.”

Seeing how Kokomi’s expression had begun to soften, Ajax quickly held a hand up. “Not that I didn’t deserve it–I was a very rowdy kid back then. And despite everything, being a part of the Fatui has granted me many opportunities I didn’t have before, so I don’t regret that. But when it comes to my siblings…”

Another rush of longing filled him as he thought of Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer. He hoped that Pulcinella had dropped by at least a couple of times since their return to Snezhnaya. 

“I think you know as well as I do how difficult it is to train as a soldier, especially as a child,” he finally offered with a helpless grin. “It was what I needed, but I would never wish that upon my siblings, or any other children for that matter. Kids need time to be kids, and as soon as you become a soldier, you lose that opportunity.”

Kokomi ducked her head slightly, her hands curling around the shot glass in her palms.

“I think that’s why the orphanage rubs me the wrong way,” he explained. “Sure, the kids inside might be pulled out of terrible living conditions and homelessness, but they have to trade in their youth and innocence in order to survive. That, to me, feels unethical.”

There was another prolonged silence, and Ajax had started to fully give up on the idea of ever catching another fish when Kokomi spoke again.

“We didn’t have much choice, back then,” she said softly, her expression regretful. “It was either kill or be killed during the really early stages of the civil war, back when I was still learning how to lead. A lot of teens and older children ended up being conscripted to aid in the war efforts.”

Kokomi closed her eyes, and when she opened them they were just a tad glassy. “We tried to keep the younger ones away from danger as much as we could, but there were a few close calls… and after a while, it became equally dangerous for them regardless of whether they were fighting on the front lines or not.”

“War plants seeds of desperation,” Tartaglia replied. “The unfortunate reality is that no one leaves it unscathed.”

Beside him, the priestess tucked her chin in her arms. “Gorou was only sixteen when he joined the army, and seventeen when he became general. He’s still so young, and I’ve never been quite able to reconcile with the fact that I, as leader of Watatsumi, took his youth away from him.”

Ajax recognized the ache in her voice. This wasn’t the Divine Priestess speaking about her loyal general, but an older sister worrying about her younger brother. He thought, briefly, of his own older siblings and the looks on their faces after his own conscription was announced to the family.

“Young as your general might be,” Ajax said carefully, “he is now an adult capable of making his own decisions. And wartime is over, so if he wished to leave I would assume that you would let him.”

“Of course,” Kokomi replied vehemently. “In fact, I’ve asked him multiple times if he wished to complete his service, and each time he refused.”

“Well, then,” Ajax said, leaning over to make eye contact with her, “doesn’t that mean you’ve been doing something right, at least? If your dearest general is so willing to stay, despite the hardships.”

“I suppose,” Kokomi sighed, still looking rather upset. “Even still, I worry.”

Ajax stared contemplatively at the fishing rod sitting useless in his hands before finally deciding to put the rod aside, opting to raise the bottle once more.

“Well, if we’re on the topic of baring our own souls, what do you say about another shot?”

Kokomi wordlessly held out her glass, and Ajax poured them equally generous shots, which they both downed easily.

“You know,” Ajax grinned, dangling the cup in his hand between two fingers, “back home, chatting with a comrade over Fire-Water meant that you trusted them on the battlefield.”

“I’m not sure we’ve quite reached that stage yet,” Kokomi replied, raising a brow.

“No, no, of course not,” Ajax laughed. “You have to have these kinds of conversations in the bitter cold to achieve such trust, and I’m afraid it’s a bit too balmy this far south.”

Kokomi snorted and shook her head; however, since she had not outwardly expressed any disdain for his suggestion, he continued. “However, seeing what we’ve discussed today over our drinks, wouldn’t you say that this midnight rendezvous would be a good marker of what I hope to be a fruitful partnership?”

Kokomi looked at him, really looked at him, and once again Ajax felt as if he was being picked apart by a being much more ancient than himself. After searching his gaze briefly, she seemed to have found what she was looking for and leaned back.

“I suppose we have quite a bit to discuss tomorrow when we sober up, anyway,” she said resignedly. “For the sake of our own agendas, I shall continue to work with you in the future.”

Ajax grinned victoriously and held out a hand, which Kokomi shook firmly. “Looking forward to it.”

---

What followed was another week of frantic planning as Childe juggled correspondences from Zapolyarny Palace and Sangonomiya Shrine. His outburst had thankfully not raised any ire from Her Majesty, but taking responsibility for the Fatui on the island meant that he had a lot more to manage than before.

“Unfortunately, this means I can’t eliminate the Fatui presence from the island,” he explained to the Divine Priestess. “In order to maintain the façade of ‘dominion’ over Watatsumi, I’ll have to have some of my people stationed here.”

Lady Sangonomiya sighed. “I suppose if that’s our only option, there’s not much we can do.”

Childe pointed at the map. “If you’d like, I can inform you where the main camps will be stationed so that these matters can be a little more transparent. I’ve already instructed my soldiers to avoid largely populated areas like the main shrine and Borou Village.”

Lady Sangonomiya visibly brightened. “That would be a great help. I was a bit concerned about my people and yours crossing paths, but hopefully, this will keep conflict to the minimum. Ah, not that I have anything against your soldiers in particular, but you know…”

“I understand completely,” Childe waved her off. “Your people have the right to be wary.”

Suddenly the door opened, and General Gorou rushed in.

“Your Excellency,” he said, bowing hastily. “I apologize for the sudden interruption, but there’s an odd individual lingering around the shrine looking for you.”

“An odd individual?” Lady Sangonomiya raised a brow. “General, that’s no way to talk about innocent tourists.”

The general flushed, but there was an unmistakable feeling of anxiousness in the way his ears twitched. “I was going to turn him away politely, but there’s something really strange about him. I’ve never met this man before, but it feels like he knows my entire life story somehow.”

Lady Sangonomiya huffed out a breath. For a second, she looked like how Penelope used to sigh when Ajax or his younger siblings caused trouble. “Gorou. While I’d love to assist you in confronting this mysterious person, you must understand that I was in the middle of a meeting. Please come back when our meeting has concluded.”

General Gorou looked abashed, and his ears drooped slightly. “My deepest apologies, Your Excellency.”

Before the boy could start moving towards the door, Childe quickly stopped him. “Wait. What did this man look like?”

Gorou’s brows furrowed, and he shot Childe with a look of confusion. “He had long brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail, and he was dressed in some fancy suit. Gold eyes, I think?”

Ajax’s heart began to beat faster. It seemed that his suspicions were proving to be correct.

“You know what, I think we’ve reached a good stopping point in our conversation anyway,” he blurted out quickly, standing up from his seat. “Why don’t we go greet this mysterious guest?”

His attempt not to look too eager had clearly failed by the look on the Divine Priestess’s face. “If you’re sure,” she said slowly.

Childe walked at a brisk pace towards the door, only slowing slightly out of courtesy for Lady Sangonomiya and General Gorou. From behind him, he could faintly pick up on the whispered conversation between the two of them.

“Your Excellency, I’m telling you, this guy is almost as unsettling as Guuji Yae!”

“Really, now. This guest must be something, then.”

Tartaglia suppressed a snort. If his guesses were correct, this guest was indeed something.

Finally, after a few minutes of speed-walking, Ajax stepped outside of the shrine with bated breath, almost afraid of the possibility that his predictions could have been wrong. However, as soon as he caught a glimpse of a golden hairpin, he knew.

Zhongli turned around at the sound of his footsteps, and as soon as he saw Ajax his face positively glowed.

“Hello, xingan,” was all that he managed to get out before Ajax ran forward and caught him in a tight hug.

“You came,” Ajax breathed, the words getting caught in his throat.

Zhongli pulled away from him, reaching over to cup his cheeks and gently press featherlight kisses over his face. "Of course I did,” he murmured between kisses, “I missed you.”

Ajax allowed a wide, genuine smile to spread over his face. “I missed you too, xiansheng. What are you doing here?”

When Zhongli leaned back, it was with the slightest frown on his face, and Ajax’s heart squeezed in his chest. “You never wrote me back from the last letter, and I got worried.”

Ajax let out an incredulous laugh. He was usually pretty good at writing timely correspondences to his friends and partner, but because of all the other letters he had been sending out over the past week, he wasn’t able to find the time to pen an appropriately thoughtful letter to his partner. To think that Zhongli would be so concerned over a letter that was a week late…

“You’re ridiculous,” he laughed brightly and settled his expression into a more apologetic smile. “My apologies, though. I didn’t mean to concern you. It’s just been very busy.”

“I can only imagine,” Zhongli smiled fondly, leaning closer to him.

Ajax chuckled and shook his head. “So much has happened since my last letter. I have to tell you–”

He was interrupted (gladly) by Zhongli slotting his mouth over his.

“Later,” he whispered into his mouth.

A low hum of satisfaction rumbled from Ajax’s chest at that, and he reached out to wrap his arms around Zhongli’s neck. Before he could deepen the kiss, however, there was an awkward cough from behind him.

Lady Sangonomiya and General Gorou stood near the door of the shrine, both with their eyes averted and faces flushed.

“Um,” Lady Sangonomiya started, and it was more a squeak than anything else. “I believe some introductions would be nice?”

General Gorou didn’t even try to look near them, having covered both of his eyes with his hands.

Ajax sheepishly untangled himself from Zhongli’s arms, grinning unabashedly. “Right. Your Excellency, General, this is my partner, Zhongli. Lyubimyy, this is Her Excellency the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island and her general.”

Lady Sangonomiya recovered from her embarrassment enough to nod politely at him. “A pleasure to meet you, Zhongli-san.”

General Gorou hesitantly lowered the hands on his face and bowed shyly.

Tartaglia had never seen Lady Sangonomiya look so genuinely unsure of herself before. “Uh, well,” she said awkwardly, wringing her hands, “seeing that our mysterious guest is, perhaps, a bit less mysterious than we thought, is there anything we can do for you, Zhongli-san? I believe you asked for me?”

“I was simply going to inquire about the whereabouts of my partner,” Zhongli said shamelessly.

“Xiansheng!” Ajax hissed, his face bright red. “You can’t just go around bothering world leaders for my location!”

Lady Sangonomiya laughed at that. “Well, that’s a relatively easy request to make, seeing as he happened to be here.”

“I did also want to see how you two were doing,” Zhongli added softly, the mirth leaving his voice. “General Gorou, I am glad to see you in good health.”

Gorou blinked, his ears immediately going on high alert. “Uh, thank you?”

Zhongli’s gaze swept over to Lady Sangonomiya, and she quickly got the message. “General Gorou, I can take over welcoming them from here. Wasn’t there a new batch of trainees that required your assistance?”

General Gorou immediately perked up. “That’s right, I still have to show them around the camp. Uh, in that case, it was nice meeting you, Zhongli-san.”

After hastily ducking into a bow, the general quickly darted off in the direction of Borou Village.

Lady Sangonomiya tilted her head towards the shrine. “I believe it would be best if I welcomed you in a more private setting. Welcome to Sangonomiya Shrine, my dear guest.”

“It’s an honor to be here,” Zhongli nodded.

Ajax looked between them, feeling oddly like he was missing out on something much bigger than himself. “I can wait out here until you two are done,” he offered.

Zhongli stepped in line next to him and tucked an arm around the crook of his elbow. “Your Excellency, would it be alright if my partner accompanies us in this discussion?”

Lady Sangonomiya looked between the two of them before sighing with a smile. “I suppose it’s fine.”

“Wonderful,” Zhongli said with a calm smile of his own, and the three of them headed back into the shrine.

---

After resettling into the meeting room, the three of them sat on the two ends of the table. At Lady Sangonomiya’s request, a shrine maiden came by with three steaming cups of tea.

Both Lady Sangonomiya and Ajax left their cups untouched, but Zhongli took care to take a deep sip of the tea.

“This is very good genmaicha,” he commented. “The rich nuttiness carries little bitterness, and it’s clear that care has been put both into the creation and brewing of the tea. Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Of course,” Lady Sangonomiya smiled politely before her expression turned serious. “However, seeing as you are here, is there something that you wish to inform me about?”

Zhongli blinked at the sudden change in her demeanor before quickly waving her off in reassurance. “No, no. Please don’t be alarmed. I truly am only here to visit my partner. My visit here was simply on a whim to see how Orobashi’s legacy was doing.”

Lady Sangonomiya’s brow shot up, and she opened her mouth before clamping it shut and giving Tartaglia a cursory glance.

“He knows,” Zhongli offered, which only heightened Tartaglia’s confusion.

Lady Sangonomiya looked positively flabbergasted at that point, shaking her head minutely before schooling her expression. “Of all things… It was one thing to know that the Eleventh Harbinger had a partner, and another to know that said partner was the Prime of Adepti.”

Childe was instantly on high alert at the mention of Morax’s title. “How did you know,” he demanded flatly.

“Relax, xingan,” Zhongli said, placing a hand on his wrist. “Her Excellency is similar to me.”

“An adeptus?” Tartaglia blurted in shock. Weren’t adepti only based in Liyue?

“Zhongli-sama, that is quite an oversimplification,” Lady Sangonomiya cut in, looking vaguely embarrassed. “I am no adeptus. The blood of our great deity Orobashi flows in my veins, but I am not remotely comparable to our beloved god.”

Morax turned to her, and his gaze was kind. “I passed by the village on the way over to the shrine. I believe my old friend would be proud to know that his people are still being protected by his own flesh and blood.”

A tension in Lady Sangonomiya loosened, and she smiled gratefully at him. “That means a lot for me to hear. I’m very grateful you think so.”

He smiled softly, and suddenly Morax was replaced with Zhongli once more. “I understand that this was a sudden visit, and I am sure you have much to do. However, I shall be here for a few days at the least, and I would love to get a tour of the island should you ever have the time.”

“It would be my honor to show you around, Zhongli-sama,” Lady Sangonomiya nodded. “I assume that you will be staying with your partner, so I will have someone send a letter to him informing you of when I am free.”

“Wonderful,” Zhongli said with a smile, putting his empty cup down on the table. “Now, I hate to leave so hastily, but would it be alright if I took my dear partner with me? We have much to catch up on.”

Lady Sangonomiya looked flustered but amused, and she stood up quickly. “Of course. I will leave you to it. I shall see you both later.”

Ajax barely managed to sweep himself into a polite bow before being dragged away by the wrist. Zhongli didn’t stop walking until they were some distance away from the shrine, and he had barely any time to react before he was suddenly swept into his partner’s Serenitea Pot.

Immediately upon appearing inside, Ajax found himself pushed against a wall, Zhongli’s mouth hungrily claiming his.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” Zhongli whispered against the column of his throat, sucking red marks along his pulse.

“Really, now,” Ajax grinned, his breaths growing heavy. “Well then, show me.”

(He did.)

Chapter Text

“You look to be in a good mood,” Kokomi noted with a small smile.

A sated Ajax grinned lazily over his shot glass. With the latest series of missives from Snezhnaya, things were finally looking up–Zhongli was here, the drama with Sangonomiya had mostly settled, and he had been cleared to head to Narukami Island just in time for the festival thanks to all of the arrangements he had planned. All those weeks of annoyance and loneliness had finally culminated into something worthwhile, and Ajax was fully prepared to reap the benefits.

“Life is good,” he replied cheekily, holding his glass up towards the full moon. “I’m finally leaving in a couple of days! How could I not be happy about that?”

Kokomi let out a giggle and Ajax immediately backtracked. “Not to insult you or your island, Lady Sangonomiya, but you know…”

“No, no,” Kokomi grinned. “I assure you, Lord Harbinger, the people of Watatsumi are just as happy to see you go.”

Despite the obvious slight,  a part of Ajax couldn’t help but feel pleased that the Divine Priestess was being so casual with him. Despite all of their political disagreements, she was quite a pleasant person to be around outside of work.

He watched as Kokomi downed another shot enthusiastically, letting out a pleased little sigh.

“Good stuff,” she said to the air. “Really good stuff.”

That, and she’s a good drinking buddy, he thought wryly.

“Mm, it’s better than normal, actually,” Kokomi said, looking up at him with the slightest tinge of curiosity. Ajax narrowly avoided flinching when he caught a glance of her unexpectedly serpentine tongue reaching up to lick away the Fire-Water on her upper lip. 

“Well, it’s a fresh bottle,” Ajax agreed, mentally erasing the image from his mind. “Came in with the missive announcing my departure, so…”

“...Right,” Kokomi replied, but the mirth on her face quickly melted away.

“Oh?” Ajax raised a brow, a teasing grin forming on his face. “I sense some disappointment in your expression, comrade.”

“I’m not going to pretend that I’ll miss your grating presence on my island,” Kokomi scoffed. “It’ll just be harder to acquire Fire-Water without you.”

“I always knew you were just using me for the alcohol,” Ajax fake-sniffed.

“That’s right,” she agreed, playing along. 

For a moment, the two of them felt more like a pair of young adults tipsily hanging out rather than important figures with the lives of thousands on their shoulders, and Ajax could appreciate that. After a couple more shots, however, Kokomi looked several degrees more wistful.

“It was kind of nice while it lasted,” she admitted quietly.

Ajax had started to fully dissociate thanks to the liquor, and it took a brief moment for him to register her words. “What was nice?”

“This,” Kokomi mumbled, gesturing vaguely to the two of them. “I don’t really get to stay around people like this very often. Most people on Watatsumi think of me as the Divine Priestess and little else. So I kind of forgot as well, how to be … just me.”

Even after multiple shots, the priestess looked slightly tense, as if she wasn’t used to fully relaxing. Ajax studied the hard line of her shoulders before finally speaking.

“I think I know what you mean,” he agreed quietly. “When you’ve been something bigger than yourself for long enough, it’s hard to think of yourself as anything else.”

“Though it seems you can bounce back and forth pretty easily,” Kokomi pointed out, and if it weren’t for the alcohol, Ajax wouldn’t have been able to pick up on the slightest hint of envy in her voice.

“I wasn’t always able to,” Ajax admitted.

Kokomi smiled amusedly. “I assume that your partner had much to do with that change.”

Ajax shrugged. “It was largely his influence, yes, but not all of it. A lot of people have helped me to get where I am.”

Self-reflection had never been Ajax’s forte, but even he could sense how much he had changed ever since his first meeting with Zhongli almost three years ago. If he hadn’t been stationed in Liyue for as long as he had, he probably would have continued to be cold and lifeless from his time in the Abyss. He couldn’t pretend that Kokomi’s personal experiences were anything like his, but he nonetheless empathized with her rather lonely present state.

Before he could overthink, Ajax blurted, “During the festival, you’ll probably get the opportunity to meet some of my friends. I’m acquainted with Zhenyu and his company, but there are also some guests from Mondstadt that I know are coming as well. If you’d like, I can introduce you.”

Kokomi blinked with surprise before her eyes softened with appreciation. “It would be wonderful to get the opportunity to meet more people. Thank you for the offer.”

Ajax nodded. “The festival doesn’t start for another week, but I’ll be heading straight to Narukami Island when I leave, so you’ll probably see me when you arrive.”

Kokomi nodded mostly to herself, a small smile growing on her face. “I’m really looking forward to the festival now.”

“Just don’t be late this time around,” Ajax teased lightly, and he was rewarded with a splash of Hydro to the face.

---

Two days later, Tartaglia left Watatsumi Island with little fanfare.

The makeshift dock was rather empty, save for the few Fatui soldiers assisting with his departure. Zhongli had already returned to Liyue, so Ajax was rather eager to leave.

“You’re not coming with me?” he had asked the night before.

“I told Director Hu that I would only be here for a couple of days,” Zhongli replied, looking slightly regretful. Ajax could already see the golden outline of his horns begin to form on his head, which was a sign that he was about to transform into his adeptus form.

Ajax’s mood dampened slightly. Though it made perfect sense that Zhongli couldn’t stay forever, he still felt a bit upset that he couldn’t stay longer.

“But,” Zhongli turned to look at him, the sea breeze ruffling his ponytail, “if all goes well I should be able to return for the festival. Director Hu has already been made well aware of its existence.”

Immediately Ajax found himself brightening up. It was exciting enough that some of his friends would be attending the festival, but for Zhongli to be attending it too? 

“I’ll look forward to it, then,” Ajax responded, grinning.

Zhongli smiled indulgently at him, pressing a final kiss to his mouth before stepping back. “Be well, xingan. I’ll see you very soon.”

With a flash of light, Zhongli’s form began to morph into that of a large dragon, the sight thankfully obscured by the cliff walls towering over the western side of Watatsumi Island. Under the cover of the night, no one would spot the huge golden creature flying from the beach back towards Liyue.

(At least, Ajax hoped.)

When the transformation finished, Rex Lapis stared down at him, golden eyes glittering with divinity. It hadn’t been Tartaglia’s first time seeing Rex Lapis in the flesh, but the raw power rolling off of the Prime Adeptus still left him breathless every time.

Even so, the effect was lost somewhat when the dragon leaned his head down, bowing like how a dog would. Ajax let out a soft laugh as Rex Lapis hovered above him.

“Safe travels, lyubimyy,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to his snout. The dragon let out a soft chuff in response, briefly nuzzling his cheek before launching into the sky. 

Now, as Tartaglia set out on his own ship to head to Narukami Island, he looked at the clear sky above him and grinned. As his gaze lowered to the horizon, he caught on to a small Hydro jellyfish floating above the deck.

“What,” he mumbled to himself.

Sensing no malicious intent from the summon, he edged closer to the railing, one hand ready to block any incoming attacks.

Instead, what he saw was Lady Sangonomiya smiling mysteriously at him.

Ajax blinked. Then he rubbed his eyes, because he could have sworn that she was standing on the water.

His vision cleared, revealing the same sight. Indeed, Lady Sangonomiya was standing on the water, feet barely touching the surface of the waves. An impressive flowing garment billowed out from behind her, shrouding her clothes in an iridescent sheen. He watched, dumbfounded, as the Hydro jellyfish floated down to the priestess, making a circuit around her before dissolving into a shower of droplets.

“...How,” he finally managed to say through his shock.

Lady Sangonomiya’s grin turned annoyingly smug at his obvious surprise.

“It’s all part of the job of Head Priestess,” she said lightly.

There’s no way walking on water is a Head Priestess thing, Tartaglia thought wildly. What the fuck.

“Anyways,” Lady Sangonomiya said, cutting through his dumbstruck silence. “I wanted to give you my farewells without attracting too much attention.”

Tartaglia blinked slowly. “So you figured walking on water would be the most inconspicuous method for seeing me off.”

Kokomi shrugged and cast a glance at the empty beach. “I mean, compared to Sangonomiya Shrine…”

Ajax shook his head slowly. Insane. “We’ll see each other pretty soon, though.”

The Divine Priestess waved him off. “It won’t be the same. I don’t want to talk about work things when I’m supposed to be relaxing at a festival.”

“Work?” Childe picked up on her words and groaned internally. “Is there anything that still needs to be done here?”

“No, you’re all set,” she said quickly. “I just figured now would be the best time to formally thank you.”

If Tartaglia had been confused before, at that point he was flabbergasted. “Thank me ?”

“Look,” Kokomi said, holding up a hand. “I won’t pretend that your arrival on my island didn’t bring a fair amount of trouble to everyone in the village.”

“Believe me, it was just as much trouble for me as it was for you,” Tartaglia mumbled under his breath.

“However, I have to admit that if it were not for your interference, Watatsumi Island might be under even more turmoil,” Lady Sangonomiya said softly, lowering her head respectfully. “For being generous towards us despite having no obligation to do so, you have my gratitude.”

Tartaglia stared at her bowed head, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. If he were any other Harbinger, he would probably try to figure out a way to manipulate her gratitude for himself. Hell, if he had gotten this same speech just a couple of months ago when he had first landed in Inazuma, he would have reacted much more smugly.

However, seeing Lady Sangonomiya – no, Kokomi  – bow her head, uncharacteristically subservient, now only served to make him feel almost alien. His first instinct, oddly, was to beckon for her to get up.

Stop bowing, he thought to himself almost frantically. You shouldn’t do that. Friends don’t bow to each other.

But at the same time, could he even say that? Calling the two of them friends felt oddly presumptuous, considering the fact that they had been on opposite sides of a terse political battle. For every act of goodwill exchanged between them, there were countless more conflicts between their respective sides. 

Well, don’t all of our late-night talks count for something?

Ajax opened his mouth, closed it, then finally took the risk.

“If you’re grateful, treat me to some sake when we get to the festival,” he replied with a grin. “I’m curious to see how Inazuman liquor holds up compared to the ones from my country.”

Kokomi looked up at that, and the mask of formality slid off of her face as she regarded him with a smile of her own. “Then I will do so, Tartaglia-sama.”

“Ajax,” he found himself saying. “Call me Ajax when we’re not working.”

“Ajax-san,” Kokomi repeated, and even she herself seemed a little surprised by the evident happiness in her own voice. “Safe travels.”

Ajax gave her a little wave and watched, almost starstruck, as the Divine Priestess proceeded to run across the water back to the coastline, her steps making barely-there ripples in the water.

From behind him, the captain of the ship spoke up hesitantly. It was evident that he had been waiting for their exchange to end before attempting to approach him.

“Sir, are you ready to depart?”

Tartaglia turned around, quickly straightening up his expression. “Yes. Let us depart for Narukami Island immediately.”

Silently and quickly, the Fatui ship departed from Watatsumi Island, leaving the palace of stone and coral behind. And though their presence would not be missed, it was enough that someone knew that they were gone.

---

Childe didn’t know what to expect when he reached the crowded shores of Narukami Island. Both Ritou and Inazuma City were dressed in various colorful banners and lanterns, clearly in preparation for the festival. And judging by the number of boats crowded around the harbor, there were plenty of tourists to add to the spectacle. Honestly, a part of him wondered if he would be forced to camp on the coast like some of the dispatched troops.

But within a few hours of docking at Ritou, their ship was graced with an Anemo-tinged breeze that swept a letter on the deck with it.

Childe looked around as the letter fell to the ground in front of him and caught a hint of movement near the balcony before the presence disappeared off the ship. He carefully broke the seal open, wrinkling his nose slightly as he was blasted with the smell of sakura blossoms. The letter was written in elegant script on luxuriously thick baby blue parchment, and Childe’s mouth flattened at how pretentious the whole ordeal was.

However, upon reading the actual contents, he was pleasantly surprised by how straightforward it was.

Lord Eleventh Harbinger.

The Yashiro Commissioner welcomes you and your retinue to Narukami Island. Here are the details for where you will reside temporarily. 

Tartaglia vaguely recognized the address as one of the inns in Hanamizaka, which surprised him somewhat. He had expected them to put him and his retinue somewhere closer to Tenshukaku for closer monitoring.

In addition, there will be a festival here in the coming days, so the other Commissions will not be able to meet with you immediately. Until then, enjoy the festivities, and we will discuss more permanent living arrangements with you after the festival’s conclusion.

It wasn’t hard to read behind the lines. Stay out of trouble, or we will kick you out of the country.

Tartaglia shrugged. Well, it wasn’t like he was planning to do anything other than enjoy the festival, anyway. 

He turned around to where the rest of his soldiers stood straight on the deck, awaiting his orders.

“Well, the Yashiro Commission has demanded it,” Childe announced, languidly waving the letter in his hand. “You’re all free for the next few days.”

The Fatui soldiers looked amongst themselves, shifting uncomfortably. After a moment’s hesitation, one of the newer recruits looked at him briefly before immediately dropping their gaze out of respect.

“Lord Harbinger, what do you mean by that..?”

Tartaglia waved a hand at them dismissively. “There will be a festival coming soon in Inazuma. Until it ends, you’re all free to enjoy the city at your leisure.”

The hushed murmurs grew a little louder as the soldiers began to look more excited.

“Provided, of course,” Tartaglia said over the noise, immediately causing the group to go silent. “that you all stay out of trouble. Don’t even think about it.”

Normally he wasn’t a huge fan of throwing around his own weight, but he couldn’t help but feel rather amused at how the soldiers all flinched at even the slightest coldness in his tone. He had been worried about losing his touch.

“Yes, sir,” the soldiers chorused obediently, appearing almost chastised.

“Great,” Tartaglia nodded, sweeping his gaze over the nervous-looking soldiers. “You’re all dismissed.”

With a split second of hesitation, the soldiers dispersed, immediately disappearing into the shadows and blending in with the tourists crowding the island.

Tartaglia took the opportunity to dress into his Snezhnayan plainclothes, making sure to keep the scarf with the pan chang looped around his neck. Since he wasn’t attending as a Harbinger, there was no need for him to draw attention to himself – plus, the outfit seemed to have worked the last time he had visited Inazuma. 

As he stepped into the buzzing crowd, Ajax kept his eyes peeled for any interesting limited merchandise that he could find for his siblings. His parents were always quick to scold him for how much he liked to pamper Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer, but he couldn’t help it. He was in the middle of browsing some limited-edition reprints of A Legend of Sword when a voice interrupted him.

“Ajax-xiansheng?”

Ajax turned and saw Chongyun staring at him, looking rather out of his element.

“Oh, Chongyun!” Perking up at the familiar face, Ajax walked over to the boy and bumped his shoulder lightly against his. “Long time no see.”

Chongyun took a second to stare at him before blinking and shaking his head. “Sorry, I’m just surprised that you’re actually here, xiansheng,” he admitted.

Ajax grinned lightly at that, giving him a slight nudge with his elbow. “Hey, I’m sure Xingqiu showed you the letters that I’ve sent him. I don’t make promises that I can’t keep.”

Even at the mere mention of Xingqiu, he could see Chongyun’s expression soften slightly. 

“I’m glad,” the teen said warmly. “A-qiu’s been looking forward to this for a while now, as have I.”

Ajax rubbed his head, feeling oddly embarrassed by how genuine Chongyun was. “...Thanks. Speaking of which, where are the rest of your companions?”

“Oh, they’re actually both in Inazuma City right now,” Chongyun answered as they began to walk back towards the dock. “The stage is being prepared in Hanamizaka, so Xinyan is over there rehearsing. The Yae Publishing House has also opened up a limited-time event during the festival, so Xingqiu’s busy working with them.”

Ajax tilted his head. “If that’s the case, what are you doing over here in Ritou?”

Chongyun scratched his cheek lightly just as they stepped onto the pier. “Well, Xinyan mentioned that a friend of hers would be coming in today. We had actually offered for her to ride in the same boat as us, but she refused, saying something about riding with another performer. I’m here to make sure she’s arrived safely.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Ajax nodded. “Do you know when the ship is supposed to arrive?”

Chongyun’s gaze drifted over toward the sea before he pointed at a distant shape on the horizon. “Actually, that should be the boat she’s on.”

Ajax looked over and squinted at the rapidly approaching ship. Judging by the sails and the build… “Is Xinyan’s friend from Mondstadt?”

“I think so?” Chongyun replied hesitatingly. “I remember that she talked about her travels to some remote, abandoned islands, which is apparently how they met.”

“Interesting,” Ajax nodded, before laughing slightly to himself. “Somehow, despite the fact that she’s a musician at heart, I feel like Xinyan finds herself in places that an adventurer would die for.”

“Oh, yes,” Chongyun agreed before shrugging. “I mean, she says the experiences make her music more interesting.”

Ajax let out a little snort just as the boat pulled into the harbor. “Well, let’s hope we haven’t been staring at the wrong boat for the last five minutes.”

"By the way," he heard Chongyun say quietly. "Love the scarf."

Before Ajax could respond, he heard a muffled gasp from somewhere on the boat before two figures appeared on the side.

“Mister Ajax!”

Ajax felt his mouth split into a blinding smile as Mona and Barbara poked their heads over the sides, waving furiously.

“It’s good to see you all,” he called back cheerfully.

He watched as Barbara turned around to say something to the captain, gesturing frantically. Mona sent him one last wave before disappearing below deck, most likely to retrieve her luggage.

As the ship prepared to dock, Ajax turned to Chongyun, who had looked exceedingly bewildered throughout the entire exchange.

“Do you know them, xiansheng?”

Ajax tried valiantly to keep the giddiness from overtaking his expression, but he could feel that he was only somewhat successful. “They’re friends I met in Mondstadt. When they come down, I’ll be sure to introduce you all.”

“I see,” Chongyun nodded thoughtfully. “Actually, I think one of your friends is the person that I’m supposed to be meeting. Xinyan mentioned that her friend wore a big hat?”

Ajax whipped his head over towards Chongyun, eyes widening. “Wait, Mona? She’s Xinyan’s friend?”

Chongyun let out a little gasp, nodding. “That’s right, Xinyan mentioned her name was… something like Mona… Meijisu? Magicus?”

“Megistus. Mona Megistus,” a voice behind them corrected, and both of them turned to see Mona smiling at them, her brow raised. Behind her, Ajax could see that the gangplank had lowered to the dock, allowing the passengers to disembark. 

Chongyun immediately dropped into a bow of greeting. “My apologies, Megistus-xiaojie. It is good to meet one of Xinyan’s friends, especially one with your talents.”

The astrologist had the decency to look embarrassed at that, waving him off. “Oh, please, none of that. Just call me Mona.”

“Mona, then,” Chongyun nodded seriously before sticking out a hand. “My name is Chongyun. I’ve been sent by Xinyan to escort you to Inazuma City.”

“Chongyun,” Mona greeted, reaching out to give his hand a firm shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The exorcist looked around. “You came with a companion, correct? Is she still on the boat?”

Mona blinked before glancing over her shoulder. “Ah, she was with me just a moment ago. Perhaps she forgot something on the ship?”

Just then, Barbara bounded down the gangplank, appearing to almost consider running straight up to them before thinking better of it. 

“My apologies!” she squeaked, slightly out of breath. “I left my sheet music in my room.”

“No worries,” Mona reassured her before turning back to Chongyun. “This is Barbara. She’s also scheduled to be one of the performers at the festival.”

“Yes, that’s me,” Barbara said, immediately perking up. “It’s nice to meet you, mister…?”

“Chongyun,” he nodded politely. “Nice to meet you as well.”

Barbara nodded before turning to Ajax, looking almost as if she wanted to move forward but was too shy to do so. With an amused smile, Ajax opened his arms slightly, inviting her for a hug. 

To his pleasant surprise, Barbara barely hesitated before accepting, burying her face into his chest.

Ajax let out a startled laugh. “Fancy seeing you here, Deaconess.”

Barbara leaned her head away to pout at him. “Mister Ajax, I thought I told you to just call me Barbara.”

“Yes, Miss Barbara,” Ajax repeated, humoring her. “How have you been?”

Barbara pulled away and rocked on her heels excitedly, clutching at the strap holding her catalyst to her side. “I’ve been great! It was honestly such a huge honor to be invited to this festival. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it!”

Mona joined her at Ajax’s side, seemingly inspired by Barbara’s overzealous greeting to give Ajax a brief squeeze of a side hug. “That’s right. Haven’t you been quite busy with work?”

“Not so busy that I can’t take a few days off, especially when all three of you have been sending letter after letter about this week,” Ajax grinned. “Has everything been alright in Mondstadt?”

Before the girls could respond, Chongyun coughed lightly, forcing everyone’s attention toward him. “Not to interrupt, but my friends were hoping to have dinner with everyone. We should probably get going soon if we want to make it to the city by sunset.”

Barbara clapped her hands together. “Ah, that’s right! We can walk and talk along the way. Er, is it alright if I tag along?”

Chongyun nodded, a small smile gracing his face. “The more the merrier.”

Barbara lit up as they began to walk down the pier. “Ah, wonderful! Say, you’re from Liyue, right? I’ve always wanted to visit; what’s the city like?”

Chongyun appeared slightly taken aback by her enthusiasm before quickly recovering. “Well, I don’t spend as much time there as A-qiu does, but it’s very nice…”

“I must say, the food there is quite delicious,” Mona added.

The three of them began to chatter as they strolled through the Five Kasen Plaza. Ajax trailed slightly behind them, content to just watch the three of them and make sure that none of them could get swept away by the crowd of tourists around them. They had almost made it to the edge of the island when they were interrupted by someone calling to them.

“Barbara-sama?”

Barbara immediately looked up from their discussion. “Yes? Did someone call my name?”

The voice belonged to a tall man with pale blue hair who seemed to materialize out of the crowd, sweeping towards their group. Immediately Tartaglia felt his hair stand on edge–how had he been unable to sense this man’s presence?

“I’m from the Yashiro Commission,” the man bowed slightly. “We received notice that you had just arrived, and the Commissioner sent his apologies for not sending a delegation to welcome you sooner.”

Barbara immediately looked flustered. “Oh, no, there’s no need to go so far…”

The ashigaru (?) swept his gaze over the four of them, and when his eyes met Tartaglia's, an indecipherable look passed over his face. “If you would like, Barbara-sama, we can arrange for someone to escort you over to your lodgings.”

“Oh, it’s alright. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“Do not be concerned about causing any trouble. I am just here to ensure that you all make it safely to Inazuma City.”

At this, Mona appeared to have sensed something, and she carefully tucked her hand in the crook of Tartaglia’s elbow. “Rest assured, we are all perfectly capable of protecting ourselves. And this isn’t Mister Ajax or Chongyun’s first time in Narukami Island, so I doubt we’ll get lost.”

Chongyun nodded, fully serious. “I will not allow them to come to any harm.”

The ashigaru stepped back, seemingly admitting defeat. “If that’s so, then carry on. It is an honor to welcome such distinguished guests to Narukami Island. We hope that you enjoy the festivities.”

“Thank you,” Barbara said politely, and the man nodded before disappearing once more into the crowd.

For a moment, Ajax worried that the amiable atmosphere had been completely shattered by the man’s interruption, but thanks to Barbara’s efforts, the conversation quickly started back up again. However, instead of rejoining them, Mona stepped back to walk beside him.

“I assume you already knew what that was about?”

Tartaglia shrugged. “Being here as a visitor doesn’t mean I just stop being a Harbinger, you know.”

Mona pressed her lips together but, deciding against arguing any further, she tilted her chin up and away. “Well, as long as you’re aware.”

Ajax smiled at that, reaching over to pat Mona’s hat against her protests. “Don’t worry about me, Miss Mona. Just focus on enjoying the festival.”

The astrologist huffed out a sigh but nodded nonetheless as they continued down the road toward Inazuma City.

---

As Chongyun predicted, they managed to make it to the outskirts of Hanamizaka just as the sun was beginning to dip into the horizon. 

“A-qiu should be at Yae Publishing House,” Chongyun said, making a beeline toward the building.

Mona and Barbara trailed after him at a much more sedated pace, awed at the splendor of the City of Eternity.

“The sakura trees look beautiful,” Barbara gasped excitedly, catching a falling petal as it brushed past her shoulder.

“Indeed, the city is very impressive,” Mona observed, peeling off to take a look at a fireworks shop. 

Chongyun didn’t say anything as he waited for them to join him, but judging by the faint flush of excitement on his cheeks, Ajax could tell that he was starting to grow slightly impatient.

“We can take a look at everything later,” he called, attracting the girls’ attention. “Let’s not keep Xinyan and Xingqiu waiting too long.”

“Ah, right!” Barbara chirped just as Mona’s stomach let out a low but audible rumble.

Ajax had to stifle a snort, and he noticed Chongyun stiffen in an effort to keep his face neutral. Meanwhile Barbara, completely ignoring the look of embarrassment on the other girl’s face, tugged her toward Yae Publishing House. “Come on, then! The sooner we see them the sooner we can eat!”

Mona made a strangled, vaguely embarrassed noise in the back of her throat but allowed herself to be dragged along.

As they approached, Ajax could see Xingqiu and Xinyan waiting for them under the awning. Immediately upon seeing them, the two of them lit up and ran forward to greet them. Chongyun immediately made a beeline for Xingqiu, but Xinyan…

“Gege!” she yelled, slamming into Ajax’s chest with reckless abandon. “Ya made it! It’s good t’ see you again!”

Ajax laughed, accepting Xinyan’s hug with a tight squeeze of his own. “You too, Xinyan! You’ve been doing well, I presume?”

Xinyan pulled away, exuberant as always. The various musical instruments strapped to her back jangled as she bounced about, her enthusiasm infectious. “I’ve been rockin’! It’s so good to be here for an actual music festival this time around, even if it’s not the Iridescence Tour.”

Her attention swung away from Ajax and landed on Mona, who stood to the side with a small smile on her face. “Mona! How’ve ya been, buddy? Haven’t seen ya since our island escapade!”

Mona’s smile grew wider as she accepted a tight hug from Xinyan. “I’m perfectly fine, as you can see.”

Xinyan swung an arm around her shoulder. “Well, ya gotta tell me everythin’ that’s happened since we last saw each other! And while you’re at it, why don’t ya introduce your friend as well?”

At that, Barbara looked up, caught off guard. “Ah, do you mean me?”

“Well, there ain’t anyone else I don’t already know! What’s your name?”

“Oh! Um, I’m Barbara. And you’re… Xinyan?”

“That’s the name! You’re a performer as well?”

Barbara nodded furiously. “Y-yes! Mona’s told me about you…”

Ajax’s attention was pulled away from the three girls by a gentle tap against his elbow as Xingqiu bumped against him with a grin. Chongyun stood next to him with a small smile on his face, their fingers interlocked.

“Long time no see, gongzi,” Xingqiu greeted.

Ajax’s grin turned teasing. “Eh? Has it been so long since you called me gege?”

Xingqiu immediately flushed and rolled his eyes. “I- excuse me for trying to address you with the proper titles!”

Ajax pulled the boy into a quick side hug and reached over to ruthlessly ruffle his hair. “Looks like I’ll have to return to Liyue soon if you’ve already forgotten how to be familiar with me,” he sang.

Xingqiu let out a noise of annoyance, and Ajax knew at that moment that were it not for propriety, he would have shoved his hand away. “Augh, let go –”

Ajax made eye contact with Chongyun, who was struggling to hold back a laugh. “Not until you call me gege!”

Xingqiu stopped struggling and let out a sigh. “Fine, gege. Let go of my hair, please.”

Ajax stepped back at that with a grin, nimbly dodging a thin Hydro blade that Xingqiu sent at him immediately upon release. “See? Not so bad.”

Xingqiu’s face screwed up into an irritated expression, but when he exhaled it was with an exasperated laugh. “Archons, you haven’t changed.”

“Did you think I would?” Ajax replied.

Xingqiu shook his head and stared at him, eyes shining with warmth. “Glad you’re here in one piece, gege.”

Ajax responded with a genuine smile of his own. “Glad I was able to get here.”

“While this reunion is great n’ all,” Xinyan interrupted with a drawl, “I’m starvin’! Y’all sure took your sweet time getting here. Let’s get dinner first!”

Mona coughed awkwardly. “Yes, I’m feeling rather peckish myself.”

Xingqiu immediately straightened and began to lead them up the stairs to Tenryou. “I’ve already made reservations at Uyuu Restaurant for everyone. We can continue talking once we’ve been seated.”

“I’ll treat,” Ajax tacked on hurriedly.

Immediately Xingqiu turned to him, scandalized. “You will not. You are a guest.”

“You’re also a guest, too,” Ajax retorted.

“Nonsense,” Xingqiu said, waving off a hand. “I already owe you enough. Just let me treat everyone to dinner.”

“You sound too much like a grown adult,” Ajax tutted. “As the oldest one here and the one most familiar with all of you, allow me.”

Xingqiu narrowed his eyes at him, ready to shoot him a retort when Chongyun placed a hand on his shoulder.

“A-qiu.”

With a sigh, Xingqiu relented, but not before narrowing his eyes at Ajax. “We’ll continue this discussion after we eat.”

“Right,” Ajax nodded. And if he was going to sneak the server Mora before they even ordered, well, no one had to know but himself.

---

Dinner was a lively affair, as any meal with six young adults was bound to be. After everyone introduced themselves to one another, it didn’t take much time for them to strike up a lively conversation, and by the end of the night, it seemed that they all got along quite well. Ajax found himself quite content just listening to them all talk, occasionally utilizing his (marginally improving) chopsticks skills to pile more food onto their plates.

(He wasn’t sure when he graduated from ‘Fatui Harbinger’ to ‘local babushka ’, but he wasn’t necessarily against the idea.)

After the meal (which Ajax successfully managed to pay for, to Xingqiu’s annoyance and everyone else’s amusement), the six of them prepared to go their separate ways. Xingqiu and Chongyun were staying in one of the Tenryou inns, courtesy of the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s connections, and as performers, Barbara and Xinyan had travel accommodations prepared for them by the Yashiro Commission. Thankfully, Mona was able to tag along as a plus one.

“I’ll be at the opening performance tomorrow evening, gege,” Xinyan chirped before they all split up. “Make sure you don’t miss it, yeah?”

Ajax smiled warmly. “Of course. I would never. Miss Barbara, are you performing tomorrow as well?”

Barbara shook her head. “I don’t perform until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow’s just rehearsal time for me.”

“You’ll do great,” Ajax nodded. “Xingqiu, Chongyun, Mona, what are your plans?”

Xingqiu sighed. “I’ve got a signing event with Yae Publishing House all day tomorrow. Thankfully, Yunyun agreed to help out.”

Ajax smiled sympathetically – over the course of the dinner, he had overheard what a typical signing was like, and it certainly sounded like Xingqiu’s wrists would suffer. He made a mental note to drop by the booth at some point.

Mona hummed thoughtfully. “Well, the Crux is pulling into Ritou tomorrow afternoon, so I imagine I’ll be there to catch up with Kazuha. But tomorrow morning I don’t have any plans, so I might do some shopping.”

“Oh, mind if I join?” Ajax asked.

At the same time, Xinyan perked up. “Aw man, the Crux is gonna arrive tomorrow? Ya gotta make sure Kazuha catches my performance!”

“Of course, of course,” Mona nodded before turning towards Ajax inquisitively. “But don’t you have work?”

“Nothing during the festival,” Ajax grinned lazily. “A little impromptu vacation for me, we’ll call it.”

Mona shook her head. “Lucky,” she sighed. “I still have to finish this column by next week.”

“Shouldn’t you work on that instead?”

“...I’m going shopping.”

Ajax stifled a snort before turning to address all of them. “Well, I’ll hopefully see you all sometime tomorrow. Get back safely, everyone.”

“See you,” they all chorused with varying degrees of enthusiasm before Ajax turned to head back to Hanamizaka.

Once Tartaglia reached the Fatui lodgings, he stopped in front of the door.

“You can come out, you know.”

There was a low chuckle before a figure stepped out from under the shadows. Ajax recognized him as the ashigaru from earlier, but more importantly…

“Commissioner Kamisato. I wasn’t aware that you had enough free time to barge into others’ vacations.”

The Yashiro Commissioner tilted his head, staring straight at him. “And I wasn’t aware that the Eleventh Harbinger was so very close to some of our esteemed performers and guests.”

Tartaglia pursed his lips. “Your Shuumatsuban might fool most people, including my companions, but don’t think I didn’t notice them tailing us. Just leave my companions out of this.”

Commissioner Kamisato shook his head, looking faintly amused. “You’re mistaken, Lord Harbinger. I am here to ensure your companions’ safety against you .”

An irrational shot of anger flared in the pit of Tartaglia’s stomach. You wouldn’t understand, he wanted to say, but how could anyone understand? It wasn’t as if the Commissioner was being particularly unreasonable. Tartaglia could feel the fight drain out of him.

“...Do whatever you wish,” he finally said. “If you don’t trust that I would never harm those kids, then you can just see for yourself.”

The Yashiro Commissioner raised a brow, seemingly surprised by how quickly he gave in.

“But,” Childe added with a challenging glare. “If you’re going to be following me around, pick better people. Nothing’s more irritating than the feeling of sloppily trained eyes watching my every move.”

The other man let out a short laugh, and Tartaglia couldn’t tell if it was fake or not. “As I said in the note, so long as you don’t cause trouble during the festival, you can stay,” he drawled. “But sure, I’ll take your words into consideration, Lord Harbinger.”

“That’s great. Now move out of the way of my lodgings, or the trouble will start now, Kamisato-sama.”

Commissioner Kamisato raised his hands in defeat and stepped away, allowing Tartaglia to open the door. Before he could step in, he heard the other’s voice near his ear. “You’re an interesting one, Eleventh Harbinger.”

“As are you,” Childe snapped irritably. “Good night.”

“Have a good rest of your evening, Lord Harbinger,” he heard the Commissioner say airily before the door slammed shut.

As soon as he was out of sight, Tartaglia sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He could worry about the Yashiro Commission later. For now, he would focus on enjoying the festival.

I wasn’t aware that the Eleventh Harbinger was so very close to some of our esteemed performers and guests.

Ajax rolled his eyes. If Commissioner Kamisato thought him incapable of forming friendships with normal people, that was his own burden to bear.

(What a prick.)

Chapter Text

The next day, Ajax found Mona outside of the souvenir shop in Tenryou, clutching her purse in her hands.

“I’m surprised you haven’t gotten anything yet,” he said in place of a greeting.

Mona turned to him and smiled slightly. “I’ve not been shopping for very long, so perhaps something may strike my fancy later.”

“Really?” Ajax frowned disbelievingly. Knowing Mona’s chaotic spending habits, her being so thrifty was rather surprising.

“Yes, well. There aren’t quite as many astrology materials here in Inazuma compared to some of the other nations, so…”

“I guess…” Ajax tilted his head. “But, I mean, aren’t there plenty of other souvenirs to purchase here? It might be good to get something here while you still can.”

“Astrology is a passion unfettered by material desires,” Mona shrugged. “As an astrologer of my renown, I have no need for such frivolity.”

Immediately Ajax’s gaze shifted downwards to where Mona was tightly gripping her wallet before she quickly hid her hand behind her back.

“Anyways,” she said lightly. “I imagine you’d like to purchase some gifts for your own siblings, so I’d be happy to accompany you before I head to Ritou.”

Ajax’s eyes narrowed. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me.”

Mona blanched before darting her gaze away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Alright!” Ajax declared abruptly, clapping his hands together. “Let’s find something for you to remember your time in Inazuma.”

“Eh? What?” Mona squeaked, but Ajax had already started heading toward Netsuke no Gen Crafts.

“Come on, we don’t have all day,” he sang.

“I’m really fine,” Mona repeated, running after him. “Mister Ajax, please–!”

Despite the astrologist’s protests, Ajax made sure to do a full circuit around the Tenryou marketplace, purchasing a few items from each store. At first, Mona tried to refuse his offers, but upon realizing that he was going to buy things with reckless abandon, she finally gave in and pointed out the items that she wanted. By the end of the rounds, Ajax had multiple bags dangling off of each arm and was cheerfully waving to the pleased shopkeepers.

“This really isn’t necessary, Mister Ajax.”

“On the contrary, it almost certainly is,” he shot back. “It’s the least I can do.”

“You’ve more than thanked me, what with this thing,” Mona retorted, flashing the little badge from her purse.

“That was for helping Anthon,” he shrugged. “I still haven’t thanked you properly for the whole Albert thing.”

Mona gave him a look. “Don’t try to fool me,” she scoffed. “You’re just using any excuse to buy me things, aren’t you?”

Ajax grinned, obviously caught. “And you still let me,” he sang.

“You’re the worst,” Mona said, without a hint of malice. “Seriously, how long were we shopping for? I swear we’ve gone through every store in the city.”

“Psh, not that long,” Ajax scoffed, though he looked up to gauge the sun’s position in the sky. “Though, now that I think about it, isn’t it almost time for you to meet your friend at Ritou Harbor?”

Mona followed his gaze to the sky and swore under her breath. “Archons, Mister Ajax, this is so your fault.”

Before Ajax could make some sort of snappy reply, Mona tugged on his ear, hard, and his resulting yelp of surprise was quickly swallowed by the sensation of water rushing through his eardrums and clouding his vision.

---

When Tartaglia managed to pry his eyes open, he found himself staring at the crimson and orange maple leaves of Ritou Harbor. The shopping bags, surprisingly dry, flopped at his sides.

“What…”

Next to him, Mona let go of his ear and heaved a sigh, leaning over to catch her breath. “Ugh, I can’t do this very often.”

Tartaglia stared at the harbor, then at Mona, mouth agape. “Did you just teleport us?”

“Don’t get used to it,” Mona grumbled. “It takes a lot of elemental energy to do that.”

Tartaglia stared at his hands, opening and closing them to make sure that it wasn’t some sort of hallucination. The Mirror Maidens were the only humans he knew who could teleport, and they were limited to carrying only themselves. 

(Well, them and the Traveler, but she was an anomaly as always and didn’t count.)

“How…?” 

Mona stared at him, a new exhaustion present on her face. “Don’t you have soldiers who can do this? You follow the path of the Ley Lines, and…” Her voice trailed off as she caught a glimpse of a couple of ships approaching the docks. “Ugh, it’s complicated. I’m not gonna explain all that when we’re so close to being late.”

“My bad,” Ajax said unabashedly, though he couldn’t help but feel a little concerned as Mona staggered to her feet. “Er, you need help there?”

“I don’t think I’m in any position to sprint, but I’ll be fine,” Mona said, waving him off. “Just keep holding the bags.”

“Sure,” Ajax said agreeably, and the two set off for the docks at a relaxed pace, arriving just as the boats were pulling up to the shore.

First to pull up was an impressive ship with billowing red sails, one that Tartaglia vaguely recognized as the same one that was often parked on the shores next to the Guyun Stone Forest. Next to him, Mona perked up, clearly recognizing at least some of the people on board.

However, Ajax’s attention was soon stolen by the ship pulling up next to it, the flag on top of its mast billowing with a symbol that he had quickly come to recognize.

Aboard the ship, he saw General Gorou look eagerly over the harbor as if searching for someone. Upon catching Ajax’s eye, the General perked up, nodding quickly to him before running out of sight.

Ajax took a moment to check on Mona and, upon seeing her preoccupied with talking to a red-clad young man perched atop the Alcor, headed over to the boat that had arrived from Watatsumi.

As soon as the gangplank had lowered onto the dock, Ajax saw General Gorou dart off the ship, an eager expression on his face. Lady Sangonomiya followed behind him, walking at a much more sedated pace. Upon reaching the dock, she smiled politely at Tartaglia before sweeping into a bow.

“Good to see you again, Tartaglia.”

“As to you, Divine Priestess.”

As soon as formalities had been exchanged, he saw Kokomi relax slightly, offering him a wider grin. “The atmosphere is great,” she noted, looking over at the bustling harbor. “We came a little too late to the Irodori Festival last time, so we missed a lot of the festivities.”

Ajax turned to where Gorou had run off, spotting him hugging the young man that Mona had been talking to earlier. “Seems like a certain someone missed more than just the festivities.”

Kokomi laughed lightly. “That’s certainly the case. I really am quite sorry for Gorou, though. Rebuilding Watatsumi after the war has left us with less time for leisure, and with Kazuha still on the Alcor, he hasn’t seen his friend in ages.”

So that’s Kazuha, Ajax thought, staring at the way the ronin had resumed conversation with Mona, Gorou cuddled into his side. Just friends, huh?

“That’s him,” Kokomi confirmed, and Ajax realized belatedly that he had been speaking aloud as her smile turned teasing. “And that’s what I’ve been saying to Gorou, but… well. You see how it is.”

Ajax leaned back with a grin, crossing his hands behind his head. “Well, it’s good to see him act his age.”

“It is,” Kokomi agreed, palpable relief in her voice.

Just then, Mona broke off the conversation with a small wave, heading over to where Kokomi and Ajax were standing. As soon as she turned around, Ajax could see her heave a heavy sigh.

“Reunion go alright?” Ajax asked as she approached.

“It went well,” Mona replied, her smile wry. “Though I know when the conversation’s ending. It’s obvious that those two want to catch up.”

“They’re quite sweet on each other,” Kokomi noted with a small smile.

Mona blinked, suddenly noticing the other girl’s presence before immediately holding a hand up to her mouth. “My, where are my manners? I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Mona Megistus.”

“Sangonomiya Kokomi,” she replied, bowing politely in response. “It’s nice to meet you, Megistus-san. I see you’re also acquainted with Tartaglia?”

“Just call me Mona,” the astrologist smiled at her before rolling her eyes at Ajax. “And yes, I suppose, to some extent.”

At that, he tugged her hat over her head in playful retaliation.

“What was that for?” Mona complained, adjusting her hat to its proper position.

“I’m hurt!” Ajax held a hand over his heart dramatically, waving the shopping bags around with his other arm. “Did our time together in Mondstadt mean nothing to you? Or do you not want the gifts I bought you anymore?”

“I - what - you were the one who insisted on buying them!” Mona stammered, attempting to detach the bags from his arm. “And I will be keeping it all, thank you very much.”

“Aha, you’re just after my money!” Ajax dangled the bags above her head with a shit-eating grin, his theatrics continuing. “Was calling me Bruder a lie?”

“Ugh, you–”

They were interrupted by Kokomi, muffling her laughter behind her hand. “Sorry, sorry,” she said between giggles. “You two have such a funny relationship.”

Mona immediately straightened, looking flustered from embarrassing herself quite thoroughly in front of a near stranger. “I blame him,” she said immediately, jabbing her thumb toward Ajax.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Ajax said innocently.

Kokomi raised a brow towards him. “He’s certainly an interesting one, isn’t he?” she responded, to Ajax’s chagrin.

“You too?” he gasped, watching as Mona and Kokomi exchanged a look of instant kinship. Over Ajax! He couldn’t tell whether he should feel flattered or betrayed.

Thankfully, Kazuha and Gorou took the moment to approach them, saving Ajax from getting tag-teamed by his Hydro sisters. The ronin’s eyes flickered with recognition as he glanced at Tartaglia, though he did not acknowledge him past that. “Friends, we should go to Inazuma City soon if we want to catch Xinyan’s performance in time.”

“That’s right!” Mona clapped her hands together. “We should get there before it’s too late.”

“Xinyan?” Kokomi asked, sounding out the unfamiliar name.

“A friend of ours from the island trip,” Kazuha said smoothly. “She’s one of the performers at the festival.”

“I see,” Kokomi put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. “Then we should head out immediately. Perhaps on the way there, you can tell me about how that trip went.”

Ajax quickly nodded along. “That’s right, you didn’t talk about it much during dinner last night.”

“It doesn’t quite feel right to talk about it without Fischl,” Mona said sheepishly. “But if Kazuha helps, I can probably think of some interesting stories.”

Kazuha nodded his assent, and as Mona launched into a tale of towering mirages and shifting islands, the five of them set off for Inazuma City.

---

By the time they reached the city, the sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the fields. 

“I hope we’re not too late,” Mona fretted before disappearing into the crowd in a torrent of water. Kazuha and Gorou raced after her at a brisk pace, the former using bursts of Anemo to sweep around the tourists and residents milling around the area.

“Her performance doesn’t start for another half an hour,” Ajax called, but the three of them had already run off.

“Well, hopefully they can get us good spots,” Kokomi said amusedly as they calmly followed them.

As they approached the performance venue, Ajax whistled under his breath, impressed. Part of the fields on the outskirts of Hanamizaka had been cleared to make room for the admittedly impressive-looking stage. Since it was still early, the crowd was still slowly trickling in, and Ajax was able to quickly spot the three of them waving them over, now joined by Chongyun and Xingqiu.

“Glad to see you finished in time,” Ajax said, clapping Xingqiu on the back. “How was the signing?”

“Exhausting,” Xingqiu sighed, rotating his wrist. “It’s a miracle that my hands haven’t cramped yet.”

“You worked hard, A-qiu,” Chongyun nodded, taking his other hand to massage his palm gently.

Ajax smiled at the comfortable affection they shared between them, before suddenly recalling Kokomi next to him. “That’s right. Kokomi-san, meet Zhenyu.”

Kokomi immediately perked up excitedly. “Ah, you’re Zhenyu-sensei? It’s a great honor to meet you! I absolutely adore A Legend of Sword. ”

“Ah–” Xingqiu flushed, surprised at being addressed by his pen name. “Thank you for the generous praise. You can just address me as Xingqiu. May I ask for your name?”

“You can call me Kokomi,” she nodded with a smile.

“Sure,” Xingqiu nodded before his brows furrowed slightly. “Wait, you wouldn’t happen to be… Kokomi as in-–?”

She laughed slightly. “As in Sangonomiya Kokomi, yes. I didn’t know an author from Liyue would know so much about Watatsumi Island’s leader.”

“I, yeah,” Xingqiu stammered. “My family is fairly involved in politics.”

He fell silent, looking numbly at the ground. Chongyun squeezed his hand. “Um, A-qiu?”

“The Divine Priestess likes my book,” the boy mumbled to himself, visibly dazed.

At this, Ajax laughed, ruffling Xingqiu’s hair. “You just went through a full-day signing, Xingqiu. This shouldn’t be that surprising.”

“Oh dear, did I miss the signing again?” Kokomi looked a little disappointed. “I wanted to get my copy of A Legend of Sword signed since I came too late to the Irodori Festival.”

“That’s - don’t worry about it! I'm sorry I missed you last time,” Xingqiu was quick to wave off her concerns. “I can definitely sign your book right now if you have it with you.”

“Thank goodness I brought it with me, then,” Kokomi replied, pulling her copy out of her bag with a thankful smile as Xingqiu reached over with a pen. “Ah, this is so exciting!”

“Don’t get too excited, his signature is not great,” Chongyun piped up, mouth pulled into a playful grin.

“Hey, Lady Sangonomiya does not need to know that,” Xingqiu pouted at his boyfriend mid-signature..

“That’s alright,” she said kindly, though Ajax could see the amusement in her gaze as she stared at Zhenyu’s autograph. “My handwriting isn’t great, either.”

“Now you’re just being nice,” Ajax objected. “We’ve signed contracts. Your handwriting is great.”

“It’s okay, Lady Sangonomiya,” Xingqiu grinned, taking it all in stride. “I’d say my writing skills make up for my poor penmanship.”

“They certainly do,” Kokomi smiled. As the two of them continued talking, Ajax felt a tap on his shoulder. 

“Barbara!” He grinned down at her. “Perfect timing.”

“Oh, thank Barbatos I’m not late,” she sighed, slightly out of breath. “I got a little caught up in rehearsals, but I wanted to see what the stages for today were going to be like.”

“Don’t worry, nothing’s happened yet,” Ajax said, peering out at the empty stage.

Barbara sighed, relieved, before tilting her head towards Kokomi, Kazuha, and Gorou. “New friends?”

“Old acquaintances, really,” Ajax replied. “I’ll introduce you guys later.”

She nodded eagerly, and Ajax tuned back into the conversation between Kokomi and Xingqiu.

“You can just call me Kokomi, really. I’m not working right now.”

“Kokomi-daren,” Xingqiu acquiesced, returning the signed copy back to her. “Once again, your support is greatly appreciated.”

“Of course!” Kokomi giggled, though her gaze was alight with curiosity. “I must wonder, though, where you got the idea for the name change in volume six?”

Xingqiu perked up. “Oh, it’s an interesting story, I–”

The two of them were interrupted by the ear-rattling sound of an electric guitar riff echoing across the field.

“Sorry!” Xinyan called apologetically to the growing crowd before turning to the staff member next to her, gesturing as she spoke quietly.

“It looks like they’re starting soon,” Ajax remarked, noting the way the backstage crew were moving about the stage. Xinyan, her hair in box braids and her outfit decked in leather and nylon, was busying herself with the speakers. When she caught a glimpse of them in the crowd, she shot up to meet them.

“Yo, Kazuha! Y’all made it!”

The ronin waved at her calmly. “Of course. I wouldn’t miss your performance, certainly not after you’ve told me all about this ‘rock music’ during our travels.”

She grinned widely before leaning in conspiratorially. “Listen, show’s startin’ in five so I’m technically not supposed to talk to y’all right now, but I’ll make this quick! Y’all are in for a treat , I’m telling ya. Keep an eye out for the opener, I hear she’s great!”

“You got it, Xinyan,” Ajax said, mock-saluting her. 

“Break a leg!” Barbara called, waving with a smile.

“When are you performing?” Mona called up, but it was too late - Xinyan had already set off across the stage.

Xinyan waved one last time before running across the stage. Before long, the lights set up around the stage began to dim, and then glow bright.

“I hope it’s not too exciting,” Ajax heard Chongyun mumble under his breath.

“If it ends up that way, I’ve got my Kamera ready,” Xingqiu responded with a mischievous grin.

Ajax’s attention was stolen by the sudden sound of a rock guitar echoing through the field. Xinyan appeared once more, this time with her instrument in hand, and she was grinning widely.

“Hello, Inazuma!” she cried, her voice loud and enthusiastic. “Let’s get this concert started!”

Barbara gasped in pleasant surprise. “Miss Xinyan didn’t mention that she was the opener!”

“Well, that’s just like her, isn’t it?” Kazuha smiled, closing his eyes to the music. Behind him, Mona agreed with a shake of her head.

Ajax had never seen Xinyan play before, and he wasn’t very knowledgeable about music or performance, but even he could tell that the way she lit up the stage around her was something to behold. The crowd, clearly unused to this style of music, seemed a little bewildered at first, but Xinyan’s infectious energy spread through the audience like wildfire. Within the first song, the cheers from the crowd were rivaling the noise coming out from the speakers.

“Wow,” Barbara whispered, her voice almost lost to the sound of clapping around her. “She’s so good.”

“Isn’t she?” Ajax agreed, staring up at where Xinyan was sliding across the stage, hammering out a complicated but impressive riff.

In the blink of an eye–or would it be more accurate to say a blaze of glory?– Xinyan’s set ended. She waved down at the crowd enthusiastically. “Thanks, y’all! Make sure to give everyone else lots of love, too. And tune back in for tomorrow’s show – a good friend of mine’s performing, and y’all will have a great time!”

The cheers from the crowd were almost cacophonous as she left the stage. Ajax turned, grinning, to the rest of the group. Chongyun looked a little flushed, but he and Xingqiu were cheering loudly along with Gorou and Barbara, the latter looking starstruck. Mona and Kazuha were a little more subdued in displaying their enthusiasm, but wide smiles stretched across their faces.

Next to him, Kokomi let out a breath. “Exceptional. I hadn’t anticipated the style Xinyan would be performing with, but she did very well. Neither Kazuha nor Mona seemed to have exaggerated her talent.”

Ajax grinned. “Now, don’t get too tired now! We’ve still got a few more performances to go.”

Kokomi smiled freely, looking significantly more relaxed. “I’m looking forward to it.”

---

After the first series of performances ended, Xinyan met the group outside the venue, her normal outfit on but hair still braided.

“So what’d y’all think?” she asked as they approached, flashing them a peace sign.

“It was very impressive,” Kazuha nodded. “I see why you love this genre so much.”

Mona hummed in agreement. “It makes sense that you’d have an entire mirage dedicated to it.”

Xinyan laughed, hoisting the drum on her back a little higher. “Told y’all so!”

“Great performance as always, Xinyan,” Xingqiu said, Chongyun smiling next to him from where he was propped up on his shoulder. Ajax looked over to him in concern, noting the slight flush from earlier hadn’t faded from his cheeks.

“You alright, Chongyun?”

“I’m good,” the exorcist mumbled. “With events like these, my grip on my constitution wavers, and I overheat a bit.”

“You did better this time around, though,” Xingqiu said kindly, wrapping an arm around his waist before turning to Ajax. “The first time Xinyan performed, Yunyun got so excited that he started dancing on the tables.”

“A-qiu,” Chongyun complained, and this time when his face got redder Ajax knew it was from mortification. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone else about it.”

“But you were so cute!”

Chongyun let out a muffled groan into Xingqiu’s shoulder. Ajax laughed and took pity on the poor boy, turning back to Xinyan. It seemed that she and Barbara had already struck up a conversation.

“But yeah, I can definitely go over some stage tips with you tonight!” Xinyan said, bouncing eagerly on her heels. “I’m sure your singing’s gonna be rockin’, but I totally get the whole stage anxiety thing.”

“You get anxious, too?” Barbara looked a little amazed, like she hadn’t even considered it a possibility.

“‘Course I do!” Xinyan grinned. “But then as soon as I step on the stage with my guitar, I remember how much I love what I do, and then it all disappears like that!”

“Huh,” Barbara mumbled. “I guess that’s true… I’ve never performed with other artists before, so all of this is new to me.”

“It’ll be fun!” Xinyan clapped her on the shoulder. “Trust me.”

Ajax chose that moment to approach with a smile. “Great job out there, meimei .”

“Heh,” Xinyan looked up at him with a smile. “That’s a new nickname.”

“What, do you mind it?” Ajax clapped her on the shoulder. “Trying to keep up with my Liyuen in Inazuma, you know.”

“I don’t mind at all!” Xinyan’s grin was almost blinding. “And it’s real great to see so many people waiting for me after my performance. A nice ego booster, y’know?”

Huh. Come to think of it, they were a pretty large group, the fact made especially obvious now that most of the crowd had already disappeared back into the city.

 “Soon you’ll have a whole gaggle of fans waiting for you, I’ll bet,” Ajax replied. “Just like Miss Barbara here.”

Barbara laughed, but it fell a little flat. “Not really, anymore. They’ve been pretty respectful.”

The Deaconess was not a good liar. Ajax’s eyes narrowed, internally preparing to go through another underground hunting spree the next time he visited Mondstadt. “That’s not the whole story.”

“...Oh, fine,” Barbara said, wringing her hands. Ajax knew she would cave immediately. “To be honest, Mister Ajax, I haven’t performed since you left Mondstadt. I mean, I’ve been keeping up with the church choir and still sing around the house, but I haven’t done anything on a stage in a while. That’s probably the main reason why I’m so nervous.”

Ajax blinked. That wasn’t what he had expected at all. “Really? Not even once? I thought you said you would return to being an idol after a break.”

“I know!” Barbara looked even more distraught. “But then I got busy with church, and I started spending more time with the Acting Grand–my sister, and then a few months passed, and then it felt too awkward to start performing again. I mean, surely I’ve gotten rusty at this point. What if my fans hear me sing and they decide they don’t like me anymore?”

“Okay,” Ajax said slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder. “First of all, I’m sure you haven’t gone rusty, especially if you’re still singing at church and at home. Second, your fans will still adore your singing.”

“And if they don’t, who cares about them?” Xinyan piped up from behind him. “I mean, take it from me – a lot of Liyuens ain’t used to rock n’ roll, but it’s just a matter of taste! The people who care matter a lot more than the people who don’t.”

“I…” Barbara looked between the two of them before sagging. “You’re probably right. I guess I’m just still anxious.”

Ajax looked at her worriedly. Though she was no doubt in a better place than she used to be, there was a nervous air to her that he hadn’t seen before. 

“Ah, what ‘bout this?” Xinyan clapped her hands together suddenly. “How about I play backing guitar for you? So you don’t have to perform alone!”

Barbara’s expression lit up. “That would be so fun! And you’re really talented, Miss Xinyan, although…” her smile faded. “I’m not really good at the whole rock n’ roll genre like you are.”

“No need to worry about that!” Xinyan grinned. “I can play acoustic, too. And rock n’ roll isn’t the only genre I know how to play. It’s just my favorite.”

“Then…” Barbara reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a stack of sheet music. “Do you think you might be able to play this?”

Xinyan quickly scanned over the notes, humming under her breath. “Hm, yeah! This is pretty easy stuff, I can probably learn this all tonight.”

“You can?” Barbara had returned to looking starstruck. “Amazing…”

“Heh, it’s nothin’ much,” Xinyan rubbed her nose, turning to where the stage had been almost fully cleaned up. “We should tell the event organizers before they leave, though, just in case. You good with rehearsin’ this tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that’d be great!” Barbara nodded quickly. “And you’re right, we should tell them.” 

“Great!” Before she left, however, Xinyan made a point to punch Ajax in the arm. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed the unfamiliar faces in the crowd. Ya gotta make sure that I get some introductions over dinner, yeah?”

Ajax turned back. The rest of the group was chatting amicably among themselves, with Xingqiu and Kokomi resuming their conversation from before while Kazuha, Mona and Gorou fretted over a still-flushed Chongyun. “Yeah, I’ll introduce you guys later. Now go and talk to them!”

“We’ll be back with the good news,” Xinyan said confidently, and then the two of them set off toward the event coordinators. Ajax was left to himself, but instead of joining any of the conversations around him, he was content enough to revel in the background chatter for a moment, alone but not lonely.

How odd. He was hours away from both of his homes, but for a brief moment, the feeling that set over him was very familiar.

---

It was much, much later, long after the kids had turned in for the night, that Tartaglia found himself in the park outside of Tenryou.

The park served as a respite from the crowd even during the city’s busiest hours, but it was even more silent at night, with the moon reflecting into the pond from above. Tartaglia took a moment to observe the sakura petals bobbing gently in the water, not bothering to respond to the footsteps approaching him until they stopped across from him on the bridge.

“I hadn’t realized just how many people the Eleventh Harbinger was acquainted with,” Commissioner Kamisato mused quietly. “Color me impressed.”

Tartaglia bristled inadvertently. “If this is another warning–”

“I’m not here to fight,” the Yashiro Commissioner cut him off, holding up a hand. “I really am impressed. Performers and writers are one thing, but the Divine Priestess herself and her loyal general? I’ve rarely been unaware of information like this.”

“Well, sometimes things happen outside of your jurisdiction,” Tartaglia grumbled under his breath.

To his surprise, Lord Kamisato let out a short chuckle. “That is true,” he agreed. “Perhaps I’ll continue to be surprised. Enjoy the rest of the festival, Lord Harbinger.”

Tartaglia rolled his eyes, only relaxing once the Commissioner’s footsteps had disappeared. Not long after, however, a new pair of footsteps echoed in the park, ones that were familiar and much more welcome.

“Xingan,” he heard the words whispered into the shell of his ear. “I was hoping to find you here.”

“Hey, xiansheng,” Ajax said, leaning into where Zhongli stood slightly behind him. “Glad you could make it.”

“A little later than I had wanted,” he heard his partner grumble quietly. “Director Hu insisted that I finish up all of my work before I headed off. I hope I didn’t miss too much of the festival.”

“Not too much,” Ajax replied, wrapping an arm around Zhongli’s waist. “Well, except that you missed Xinyan’s performance earlier.”

“That’s a shame,” Zhongli sighed regretfully. “Her music is quite refreshing to listen to.”

“You’re in luck, though,” Ajax continued, squeezing him slightly. “She’s agreed to perform with Barbara tomorrow, so who knows? You’ll get to see a different side to her, I bet.”

“Ah, yes, the young lady who healed Anthon in Mondstadt, correct?” Zhongli nodded. “You mentioned that she was… an idol or whatnot.”

Ajax couldn’t help but laugh quietly at Zhongli’s clear unfamiliarity with the term. “Yep, and she’s making her comeback during this festival. It’ll be good for her, I think.”

Zhongli hummed, looking at him with a fond expression. “I see you’ve been enjoying your time at the festival so far, barring the young man that spoke to you earlier.”

“Ugh, you saw that?” Tartaglia couldn’t help but grimace at the memory. “I mean, I don’t blame him for acting the way he does, but… Anyway, yes, I’ve been having fun. Y’know, Xingqiu, Chongyun, and Mona are here too, as are Lady Sangonomiya and her general. It’s been fun to catch up with everyone.”

“A whole collection of younger siblings,” Zhongli mused quietly, and Ajax swatted at his shoulder with his unoccupied hand.

“Again with the siblings thing…”

“It’s true, though,” he replied, just a touch smug.

Ajax sighed. Zhongli wasn’t wrong, obviously, but there was something strangely vulnerable about the idea. The thought that even in his repression, he had craved family so badly that he had gone out and carved out a new one on his own. Even though his family was alive, and at the start of all this, his siblings were right there.

It was an odd sort of revelation. Ajax wasn’t sure whether to feel reassured or uncomfortable.

“Well, enough of that,” he said after a while, tabling the thoughts for a later, less joyous day in favor of pressing his nose to Zhongli’s collarbone. “I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“I saw you three days ago.”

“That’s a long time!”

“Before that, I hadn’t seen you in months.”

“Well–” Ajax stopped to consider it briefly. “That’s true, I guess, but that was then and this is now. The point is, I missed you, Zhongli.”

Zhongli huffed out something between a sigh and a laugh. “As did I, Ajax.”

Ajax laughed quietly and leaned up, pecking his mouth in a chaste kiss. “Let’s head back to the hotel, yeah? I’ll put your teapot in my room.”

“Sure,” Zhongli agreed fondly. “Whatever you want.”

---

The following morning, Ajax took Zhongli shopping in Hanamizaka. They had spent a surprising amount of time in front of Yae Publishing House (“The light novels here are quite different from the literature in Liyue…”) and even longer in front of Naganohara Fireworks (“They’re quite like firecrackers, but with light.” “And more dangerous, too.” “Ajax. Why are you smiling so hard.”), but eventually they emerged with a few shopping bags hanging on their arms. In a rare, impressive feat of memory, Zhongli actually remembered to bring his wallet this time around. Not that Ajax was about to let him pay, but it was the thought that counted.

Afterward, they met with Chongyun and Xingqiu at Kiminami Restaurant for lunch. Though it was originally meant to be a time for them all to catch up, Ajax was pleasantly surprised to hear that the three of them had met up occasionally back in Liyue.

“Not for any particular reason or anything,” Xingqiu said lightly.

“I believe they missed the sparring sessions,” Zhongli said primly at the same time.

“Yeah, sure, no reason at all,” Ajax teased, grinning as Xingqiu shot Zhongli a look of betrayal. “Though, actually, did you two bring your weapons?”

The two boys nodded. “We’re here by invitation from the Yashiro Commission, so it’s unlikely that we’d run into trouble, but…” Chongyun shrugged. “Just in case.”

Tartaglia grinned. “There’s a cavernous area under Tenshukaku that’s been pretty abandoned. It makes for a decent practice field if you’re up for a quick spar.”

“Oh?” Xingqiu’s eyes glimmered with excitement. “I certainly won’t pass up an offer like that. Hope you haven’t gotten too rusty these last couple of months, gege.”

Ajax laughed, remembering just how active he’d been in his time at Watatsumi. “Y’know, I don’t think I have. What about you, Chongyun?”

“Sure,” Chongyun said with a nod and a determined little smile. “I’ve been training with Auntie Shenhe, and A-qiu and I have been working together on some of the Traveler’s commissions. We’ve definitely improved since you’ve been away.”

“Then I will mediate, as per usual,” Zhongli declared, and Ajax let out a little whoop of delight.

It wasn’t until they were walking along the beach towards the caves that Ajax looked over apologetically at his partner. “You probably wanted to do something as just the two of us, huh? Sorry to get you tangled up in all this.”

“No, don’t be,” Zhongli said quickly, tangling their fingers together. “I had you to myself this morning and last night. And besides, I like watching you spar, especially with these two. You always look pleased by the end.”

“I am,” Ajax said. He watched as a few paces ahead, Xingqiu splashed Chongyun with a bit of water, only for the exorcist to retaliate by freezing up some of the drops and directing flecks of ice into his boyfriend’s hair. “Happy, I mean.”

“Because of them?”

“And you,” Ajax added softly. “And everyone else. This whole trip to Inazuma has been a lot more pleasant than I had expected.”

Zhongli smiled softly. “I’m glad.”

“Gege!” Xingqiu called from up ahead. “We’re almost there, right?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Ajax called back before turning to Zhongli. “Let’s catch up with them.”

Zhongli didn’t say a word, nodding in response, but his smile was fond and his hand was warm.

---

Evening came all too soon, and Ajax soon found himself at the venue outside of Hanamizaka once more, this time with Zhongli in tow.

Once everyone had regrouped, Ajax introduced Zhongli as his partner to them. Most of them had met Zhongli in some capacity before, giving him polite waves or smiles. Mona, on the other hand, looked the man up and down before raising a brow at Ajax.

“So this is that famous boyfriend of yours,” she teased. “You know what, I kind of get it now.”

“Really?” Ajax hissed, ignoring Zhongli’s noise of confusion and Kokomi’s muffled laugh. 

“I’m just surprised someone as serious as him would go for you,” she remarked bluntly, and Ajax’s mouth dropped open – both because in that moment she sounded just like Penelope, and because he was offended – of course he could score someone like Zhongli! Probably. Well, maybe. If he tried really hard. Truthfully, he didn’t know how he got here, either.

“Whatever,” he mumbled petulantly.

At this, Kokomi hadn’t even tried to hide her laugh, and she reached over to pat his shoulder consolingly - or perhaps condescendingly.

Ajax ignored the ribbing from his friends and cast his gaze up to the stage, where the first performance would be starting at any moment. He was fairly certain Barbara wasn’t going to be the opening act – probably for the better, considering her pre-concert anxiety – so it was just a matter of waiting for her to appear.

After a few performances, he finally got what he was waiting for as Barbara stepped hesitantly onstage, clutching her microphone tightly. Behind her, Xinyan walked more confidently, acoustic guitar in hand, but her energy was slightly subdued to give Barbara more of the spotlight.

“Um,” Barbara squeaked into the mic, looking at the crowd. Ajax had noted that it seemed even larger than yesterday. “I’d like to thank the Yashiro Commission for inviting me to perform. It’s… my first one, in a while, so I’ll consider this a comeback of sorts? I hope you all enjoy it!”

She bowed frantically, immediately endearing herself to the audience, before nodding towards Xinyan.

And then she sang.

Like Xinyan’s performance the night before, Ajax had no idea what to expect. The concept of idols was not much more familiar to him than rock n' roll, and it was only because he had seen its effects firsthand that he had any knowledge of Barbara’s skill.

But Barbara’s voice was beautiful. Against the sound of Xinyan’s masterful playing, her voice was clear and bright, carrying over the stage. Since she was one of the last artists to perform, she had opted for a more relaxed set than Xinyan, alternating between ballads from both Mondstadt and Inazuma. Though it was obvious that she was nervous at first, she quickly grew more confident, and by the end, the crowd was humming along right with her. It was captivating in a way completely different from the night before, and Ajax had never been more proud.

“Thank you all!” Barbara called proudly into the mic at the end of her set, and she was met with a litany of cheers and claps. Ajax looked over to his friends and partner, and even before he caught Zhongli’s approving nod, he saw the palpable relief in Mona’s expression. As the only other one in their group to have witnessed what had happened to the deaconess in Mondstadt, it was obvious that she had been worried, too.

It wasn’t long before the last performance finished and both Barbara and Xinyan rejoined them.

“You were wonderful,” Mona was the first to say, offering her friend a hug. “I’d say that was a fitting return to the stage, no?”

“I liked the ballads you chose,” Chongyun nodded next to her, his face decidedly less red than after Xinyan’s performance.

“And your Inazuman pronunciation was impressive,” Gorou pointed out with a fanged beam. 

“Aww, thanks guys,” Barbara mumbled, flushing red. “You all are really sweet. I’m just glad I didn’t freeze up there.”

“Nah, you did great. Knew you had it in ya,” Xinyan said, squeezing her shoulder. “Never doubted for a second.”

If it was even possible, Barbara grew even redder, hiding her face behind her hair.

“If it wasn’t for everyone’s support, it would have been even harder,” she said quietly.

“You should always take credit where credit is due,” Kokomi smiled.

“Not to mention the accompaniment was also quite good,” Kazuha said, nudging Xinyan. “I’m impressed by how easily you took to a different genre.”

“Heh, thanks!” Xinyan rubbed the back of her head, gaze moving to Xingqiu. “Hey, you got some pictures with your Kamera, right?”

“Of course,” Xingqiu grinned, holding up the device. “Had to get a record of this historical moment – Xinyan actually playing something other than rock n’ roll.”

Xinyan laughed heartily at that. “Man, Yun Jin’s going to flip when she sees this.”

“Her girlfriend,” Chongyun explained to the others quietly. Ajax saw Barbara wilt slightly at that, and managed to hide a wince.

“You know what?” Ajax said quickly before anyone could notice Barbara’s sudden change in demeanor. “This calls for a celebratory dinner, wouldn’t you say? My treat.”

“Nice!” Xinyan cheered as the rest of the party tittered in pleasant agreement. “I’ll hold you to it, gege.”

As the group (which was really more of a small crowd, at this rate) headed towards Uyuu Restaurant, Ajax reached over with the hand that wasn’t holding Zhongli’s and gave Barbara’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“You did great,” he said, and hoped she could read the hidden intentions between the lines.

Barbara’s smile was weak, but she did look proud of herself, so Ajax would call it a win.

---

With the festival coming to a close, everyone was soon set to depart for their respective nations. 

First to go were the Mondstadters, since Barbara had to head back to the church in time for weekly service and Mona had articles to write. Both girls had given Ajax tight hugs before leaving – Barbara with tears in her eyes – and promises of writing soon. Ajax waved at their boat until it disappeared over the horizon.

Next was the Watatsumi crew, who obviously couldn’t step away from the island for too long. Kazuha had decided to tag along – something about his captain not expecting him for a while – and the goodbyes were not nearly as emotional, though Kokomi had shaken his hand resolutely before leaving.

“We’ll keep in touch,” she promised with a smile. 

Then it was the Liyuens next. Ajax was amused to note that all three of them had threatened to some degree to drag him back to Liyue if his mission in Inazuma went on for too long. 

“Make sure to write as soon as you hear you can come back,” Xingqiu said resolutely. “I’ll clear up my schedule as soon as I get word, and we’ll get a rematch on that spar.”

“A-qiu missed you a lot, you know,” Chongyun added.

“Hey,” Xingqiu complained. “Don’t lie, so did you.”

Xinyan ignored the two of them squabbling in favor of pulling Ajax into another hug. “Thanks again for hangin’ out with us these past few days. It’s been real great to come back to Inazuma with you, gege.”

“Anytime,” Ajax agreed, ruffling her hair. “Say hi to the others for me when you get back.”

“I will!” Xinyan agreed, and then they were gone, too.

And then it was time to say goodbye to his partner. They had opted to hike over to Araumi so that Zhongli’s takeoff would be a little more inconspicuous, but perhaps more selfishly, Ajax just wanted a reason to delay his departure.

“I’ll write,” he mumbled, the words muffled against Zhongli’s mouth. “Make sure all the gifts make it back safely, alright?”

“Of course, xingan,” his partner agreed, bringing a hand up to his face to kiss him more thoroughly. “And you stay safe, okay? You’re doing a better job this time around, but don’t get too reckless.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ajax mumbled, winding his arms around Zhongli’s neck. “You talk a lot, lyubimyy.”

It was only after a few more kisses that Zhongli departed with no lack of reluctance, assuming his adeptus form before setting off into the horizon.

Tartaglia allowed himself a moment to watch the departing silhouette of his lover disappear across the ocean before slowly scrubbing the emotion from his face. With the heavy ache in his chest returning, he set off in the direction of Chinju Forest rather than the city.

He had scheduled a meeting with a certain Yashiro Commissioner, after all.