Chapter Text
It was probably the coldest day of winter yet and their mother still hadn’t come back from work. Pantalone was starting to get nervous since their mother is usually very punctual and doesn’t like to make them wait
It seemed he wasn’t the only one, as he could see Signora brushing her hair consistently even though it was already untangled, something she only does when she was in distress.
On the other side of the room was Capitano who wouldn’t stop scribbling page after page of his notebook for no apparent reason other than stress.
Not only that, but Sandrone, Scaramouche, Arlecchino and even Pierro were behaving similarly.
None of them wanted to voice the thought that plagued their minds
“Oh, come on you lot. Come sit with your grandfather here” Grampa Pulcinella gestured to the large sofa he was sitting encouraging them to sit down beside him
All of them gathered around their grandfather, the sofa wasn’t really big for everyone so a few of them opted to sit down on the floor
“I know you are worried for your mother, but believe me when I tell you all that she’s on her way” Pulcinella was met with skeptical looks, but even so, hearing those words calmed them a whole lot
“Now, what about a story to pass the time…” Their grandfather began reading one of their books to keep them distracted.
It worked since all of them got easily engrossed with the story, the hero of the tale was bright young man that was searching his lost sister
In order to find her, he had to cross all nations and speak to their Gods so they may help him with his travels.
They were around the part in which the hero confronted the evil ugly dragon when they heard the familiar bell sound coming from the main door.
All of their heads turned around at the sound to find their mother standing by the door.
They all quickly gathered around their mother to welcome her back into the house, but they quickly noticed how she was cradling something in her arms.
Instead of welcoming their mother as they intended, they were all staring at whatever their mother had in her arms.
“My, you are all here already, I do not need to call for you all” Call for all of them? For what? Did it had something to do with what she had brought with her?
“Come greet your new baby brother my children” She crouched so everyone could see their new brother more clearly
What she had in her arms was a two months old baby bundled up in white sheets. He had striking orange hair, a complete opposite of what they are used to see around the house.
He was sleeping peacefully, fully unaware of the many pair of eyes looking at him.
Was he the reason as to why their mother had come late from work?
Either way, their eyes shined at the sight of their baby brother sleeping so peacefully.
He was so tiny; Pantalone couldn’t believe that he was real
“His name is Ajax, my little Tartaglia…”
She bended over to give Tartaglia a little kiss on the forehead, which woke him up, making him slowly open up his eyes
To his surprise, Tartaglia didn’t begin to cry but instead tried to playfully grab some of their mother’s hair “My, aren’t you a little thing” their mother said lovingly
Then Tartaglia took her finger and tried to put it in his mouth, their mother let out a chuckle. Complete joy was being filled inside the house
Even Pulcinella seemed to be melting at the sight of their cute little brother.
Pantalone was wrong, this wasn’t the coldest winter day, it was definitely the warmest
Their family had grown today, a little piece added to their puzzle
Pantalone was glad that their new baby brother had become part of the family so early in his life.
He himself was still a little kid as well, but he knew from experience how hard life could be
They were an odd family. Their mother was single and still lived with her father in her humble home with her now, eight adopted children.
For what he can recall, the first one of them who was taken by their mother was big brother Pierro, who was currently entranced looking down at Tartaglia, almost in disbelieve
Pierro was just like everyone who lived under this roof, they didn’t have any place to go or had anyone in their lives that loved them.
Fortunately, their mother was filled with love and kindness, and found in her heart the space to bring everyone home to give them all the good life they deserved.
After Pierro, everyone else eventually followed. Signora, Scaramouche, Arlecchino, Sandrone…they all had a second opportunity in life and Pantalone couldn’t be more grateful about it
The day their mother had come to him was one that he will remember for the rest of his life.
She had come to his rescue an especially cold night…
Pantalone had been born on the streets, his life consisted of begging and praying he wouldn’t die the next day of some illness or injury.
And while he survived, his parents eventually died on some unknown alley where nobody could see.
Now he was alone begging on the streets, but that not always gave results, so he had to resort to stealing
He didn’t like it. He knew it was wrong, but there wasn’t much of a choice for him anymore.
The day he meets his mother for the first time is the day he stole her purse…
He ran, he ran as fast as he could until he couldn’t no more. Unfortunately, he made a bad turn and ended up in an alleyway with a dead end.
He thought it was over, he was sure the lady he has just stolen from was still trying to catch up to him
Pantalone tried to hide away but it was to no avail, there wasn’t any place to hide. He gave up, and hugged the purse while he sat down on the snowy floor as he tried not to cry, although he failed miserably at the task
He heard the lady approach so he closed his eyes, he didn’t know what would happen to him but he didn’t wish to see
A single moment passed before he felt a warm sensation surrounding him
The lady was hugging him
She tried to calm him down by rubbing circles on his back while whispering words of assurance ‘it’s okay, I understand’ ‘everything will be alright’ ‘I am here now’
Pantalone didn’t understand, why was she being nice to him of all people?! He just stole her purse!
Pantalone ended up crying harder and it wasn’t until he calmed down that she offered him to go to her home
Part of him knew it was wrong, he didn’t know her at all but the other part of him was convinced he had nothing to lose
So, he let her bring him home
And that was a decision he would never regret
He was welcomed to a warm home filled with lovely people. He found himself surrounded by brothers and sisters and Pantalone felt a happiness he had never experienced on his life
Right now, he was feeling a similar sensation. They had a new brother, such a tiny one.
He was glad that Tartaglia was different than them, that he had come home in such an early point in his life
That way he wouldn’t had to be exposed to the cruelty of the world at a young age like the rest of them.
He could grow up surrounded by love
“Now all of you, promise me something” That caught everyone’s attention, all of them looked wide eyed at their mother in close attention
“I want all of you to take good care of your baby brother. Would that be okay for you all?” They all furiously nodded their heads, eagers to be good big brothers and sisters. They promised to be the best siblings in the world, and they intend to keep that promise.
15 YEARS LATER
First days of class were the worst, they didn’t do anything at all! All they do is talk about what is going to be taught across the school year as if they are going to remember later or something. Also, they had to present themselves to the whole class even though 80% of the students already knew each other from last year!
To say that Childe was bored was an understatement, he would rather watch paint dry than being here right now.
It was recess time and he was completely alone, it was no secret that Childe didn’t have many friends.
The few friends he had were far more popular and social than him, they had multiple friends so they couldn’t always hang out with him. Since today was their first day at school after a long vacation they were unsurprisingly sought-after leaving Childe behind on his own
That was okay for him since most of the time he would just go fight bullies to pass the time but he promised his mother he wouldn’t cause trouble his first day at school so had no other option to sit down and wait until the bell rings
He let out a big sigh “This is the worst…” He guessed now was the best time to eat the snack his mother made for him this morning. To his surprise when he opened his lunch box, he found a note that said ‘remember to eat on break, loves you, mom’
Childe rolled his eyes. His mother would always attach notes like this for him and even though he pretended he didn’t care because he was already too big for them, he deeply appreciated them
He ate his lunch in silence while watching the other kids goofing around the schoolyard, most of them were in groups talking about anything while they ate, the minority of kids used the little time they had to play around
Everything was peacefully in order, that until he heard a commotion that was brewing nearby
“Kid, I’m sorry but I can’t give you anything if you don’t pay up. If you don’t have mora, then get out of the line and stop wasting my time!” Someone didn’t have the money to pay up for their food? Childe grew curious so he walked over where he heard the shouts coming from
“I apologize, I really thought I had money with me-“
“I don’t care what you thought! What’s important is that you don’t have any money, now give me back that-“ Oh no, someone isn’t going to have to go hungry today, not under his watch
Childe took the chance to sneak in and place a few mora coins in the counter that could certainly buy the most expensive item in the shop without issue
“I’ll pay for my friend, don’t worry” He had money to spare thanks to his older brother after all…
The man running the canteen took the money greedily without even counting “Mmph, this will suffice. Go move now, don’t make everyone wait”
Childe grabbed the student by the wrist and pulled him away from the student line and took him to a quieter place where they could better talk
“Phew, that guy was being an absolute asshole…” Childe hadn’t notice until now, but the student’s face was filled with surprise. Well, is not every day that a stranger is willing to over pay for some stranger’s food and drag them away.
Once the initial shock had left him, he thanked Childe “I…thank you very much for your kind action, however it was not necessary. I could’ve gone another day without eating, so you didn’t have to go through the trouble of helping me”
Ok first, who speaks like that on this day and age? Second, he doesn’t even know what compelled him to help this random student, probably because the canteen owner was being an absolute dick. And third, wow not eating lunch for the day? Not on Childe’s watch, he remembers clearly how his brothers and sisters won’t stop bother him about how he should properly eat every day without exceptions
“Hey, I did it because I wanted to, besides I have money to spare and it would be a shame to let you go hungry” Not to mention he said another day without eating, meaning it has happened before Gods knows how many times
The stranger smiled at him “You are very kind and your action is greatly welcomed. If you don’t mind, would like to know your name”
Childe also smiled at the prospect, it felt like it was the start of another of his friendships “I am Ajax, but people like to call me Childe”
The student let out a chuckle “I see, what a strange nickname. It is a pleasure to meet you Childe, my name is Zhongli”
Zhongli, a Liyuan name. This was a private school that was well renown across various countries, it hosted people from all around Teyvat, so it wasn’t an oddity to have people from all over.
He doesn’t like to brag, but he has two Liyuan friends already and he is going for the third!
As for the twins…where do they come from? Childe has no idea
But that was a question from another day
Right now, he has to concentrate and try to memorize the name he has just been given
“Zhongli…Zhongli…Zhongli…”
Zhongli looked at him confused “Is there anything wrong?”
“Oh, not at all, I’m just repeating your name so I do not forget it” Childe confessed
“Ah, I see. Then let me write it for you so you don’t forget”
Zhongli let out a tiny notebook and a pencil he carried around for whatever reason. Zhongli noticed his confusion and tried to answer his unspoken question
“I like to do sketches of objects or people when I found myself bored, so I carry this with me almost at all times”
It was an interesting hobby; Childe was sure if he was given a pencil and a piece of paper, he could only draw a stick figure
Zhongli neatly wrote his name in both Liyuan and the common tongue, although Childe couldn’t really read Liyuan he still appreciated the effort
The conversation then moved in what years they were (apparently Zhongli was one year above him, a shame since that meant he could only see Zhongli at recess) and what they wanted to work in the future (Zhongli said he wished to be a history teacher, Childe wasn’t so sure yet) and then they moved to more mundane things like what animals they like or what color is the best
It wasn’t long until Childe mentioned his family “I have seven siblings you know” He said quite proudly
Zhongli watched him with wide eyes, that pretty much the expression everyone has whenever Childe talks about the size of his family
“That’s a rather big number of siblings…I wonder what if feels like to have one, I’m unfortunately an only child”
Zhongli sounded quite sad at the prospect of having no siblings, it made Childe’s heart ache, he couldn’t imagine a world without his siblings
He decided to joke around a little to alleviate the mood “Mm, maybe I could give you my brother Scaramouche, he’s mean to me most of the time anyways”
Zhongli let out a chuckle “I appreciate the gesture but something tells me you would rather not part with your brother”
And he was right, even though he was a bitch most of the time he wouldn’t change his brother or anyone on his family
Before Childe could utter a word, the bell ringed informing everyone that they should get back to class
“Ah, a shame. I would love to continue this conversation some other time, would you be up to?”
Childe eyes shined, he was able to made a friend, and he wanted to see him again!
“Absolutely! See you next time Zhongli!”
“Likewise, Childe”
They both parted ways to their respective classes, but Zhongli wouldn’t left Childe’s mind even after the day ended