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“I promise, it’s not that difficult. Besides… you need a break.” Childe chuckled, the thick red scarf around his neck bunching up around him. His breath was visible in the cold Snezhnayan air. This was home.
Where he could stay outside for twenty minutes and his eyelashes would frost. Where he threw snow at his siblings. Where he could be safe.
But there was a new visitor this time.
The two each held a pair of skates in one hand, and the other’s hand in the opposite gloved hand.
“You make me nervous.”
Diluc’s nose was almost covered by a different scarf, and though he didn’t need a heavy jacket, he decided to wear one anyways. He liked the warmth, it gave him something that the delusion couldn’t.
“Come on, just a little further.” Childe pulled his lover as he led the way to the permanently frozen lake.
—
Childe made it onto the ice himself as quickly as possible.
Waves of nostalgia washed over him, remembering times with his siblings as he tucked his hands into his pockets, and skated a little further. The blades on the ice glided smoothly over the ice, it almost felt as smooth as glass.
“Come back. You’re going too far.” Diluc whined, raising his voice a bit, realizing the echo across the stretched distance.
“Oh? Are you scared?” He started to playfully coo, “need someone to grab your hands and show you?” Skating back over to where Diluc was standing, meeting Diluc who had his lips pushed to a thin white line.
Little flurries started to fall from the sky, some falling on Childe’s face, marking a freckle for the many on his rosy cheeks.
He stopped in front of Diluc, and held out his gloved hand with a smug grin on his face. Diluc nervously fidgeted with his hands before shifting his leg forwards, the blade quickly hovering back and forth before setting it down on the ice, and grabbing Childe’s hand.
Then the other leg. Now the redhead was fully on the ice, half-leaning on Childe.
“I got you. I got you.” Childe chuckled light-heartedly, he cupped his hands under Diluc’s only wrapping his thumbs around the other’s fingers.
“This way, take one leg and push it out and back, the other will go straight.” Childe still kept a firm grasp on Diluc’s hand, but distanced their arms. He was skating backwards while Diluc was (attempting) skating forwards.
“I don’t understand how you’re so good at it. The balance is.. difficult.” Diluc murmured, following the instructions of Childe, shakily pushing his leg out and back. They naturally glided forwards. The sky was overcast, and the trees were only bare, only snow covered their branches.
“You’re doing great, Firefly. Now do it by yourself.”
“Myself?”
“Yeah, you’ve gone this far. Try it.”
Diluc surveyed his surroundings. He had made it into the middle of the lake huh. Maybe he could do this, it didn’t seem too hard.
Letting go of his lover’s hands, he felt cold.
It became cold.
“Skate to me, open your eyes.” Childe giggled, as Diluc opened his eyes, he looked at Childe…
his smile could almost make the ice melt, Diluc thought to himself.
Diluc wobbly pushed, the light scraping of the blade on the ice filled the afternoon air.
“There! You’re doing it.” Childe beamed, folding his arms across his chest. “See? You’re a natural.”
“Since you’re so good at this, are you able to do the tricks on the ice?” Diluc thinned his eyes, his
“Well, it’s been a year or so, but I can try something.” Childe said, he skated closer to Diluc, touching hands again, the warmth of his lover making him warm again.
“I’ve just been trying to spare your confidence.” He chuckled in a nagging tone, and turned so flawlessly.
“Shut up, go do it.”
With that, Childe drifted off to the ice away from his lover. He took off the heavy coat that he had on, to reveal a long sleeve turtleneck.
Holding his arms out for more balance, he pushed and picked up more speed. Then more.
Taking a deep breath in, he swapped the direction he was facing, pushing his skate into the ice one more time before bracing himself to jump.
He bent his leg, and stuck the spike into the ice before leaping and turning twice in the air, and landing back on the ice with his right skate, and left skate in the air, balancing him out from his landing.
Finishing with an upright spin just to flaunt and show off.
A distance away, Childe heard a mumble,
“What was that?” Childe surely thought Diluc was eager to patronize him, but instead he heard,
“Archons, I’m in love with you.”
“Is that so?”
Diluc nodded his head ever so slightly, embarrassed to look his lover in the eye. Childe drifted ever so closely, wrapping his arms around Diluc’s waist while Diluc had to stare slightly up.
“Well I think I love you more.” Childe grinned.
Diluc took in the sight. The Ginger’s wavy hair having little speckles of ice in his hair, the prominent blonde streak that ran through the front of his hair, and the freckles on his face made Diluc’s heartbeat a little faster.
And his ocean eyes, wanting to get lost in them every chance he could get.
Diluc’s eyes widened as he stared at Childe,
“What’s wrong Lulu, giving up?” His lover chided.
“I’ll push you,” Diluc scowled,
“You’d fall before you could do anything.” Childe giggled, they were almost nose to nose.
Diluc thinned his eyes and gave a dumb grin, a second later his hands dropped to the ginger’s sides and started tickling Childe.
Childe squirmed in his spot, trying to keep his balance and push Diluc off of him.
Childe has always been ticklish. It’s one of the few things that he never grew out of.
“Stop it! You’re gonna make me fall, Luc!”
And right on queue, they both freeze as they topple over onto the cold sheet of ice together.
The physical fall was painless to Diluc.
But the fall he had for Childe was hard. He was head over heels for him. He hadn’t remembered much from Mond since he departed from his vision and came to Snezhnaya, but whatever happened then paled in comparison to now. He was happy.
Diluc was happy.
Childe rolled around to his back on the ice, a deep laugh fell from his lips as he looked over to Diluc on his left, who was also laughing just as hard.
“You’re a brat,” Childe’s rosy cheeks flushed ever brighter as he chuckled.
Diluc used his gloved hands and pushed himself over to Childe, laying his chin on the other’s chest.
2 months. 2 months they’ve been together.
‘He’s the enemy’ the other would think while sleeping next to each other, holding him in his arms. They were supposed to hate each other, but yet, their requited love hadn’t stopped.
Diluc leaned over the ginger, and planted his lips on Childe’s.
Childe brought his hand up to the back of Diluc’s neck, partially carding his fingers through his high ponytail, while Diluc cupped Childe’s face in his hands.
“EWWW!” A squeaky voice said, Diluc snapped his head up, looking over to the source of the voice.
“Anthon! Quiet!” A hushed voice quieted the other.
Two heads peeked out from behind a boulder, and back behind the rock to hide themselves.
“Sorry Lulu, they’re a bit nosy.” Childe grinned, “let me help you up.”
Childe stood first, then grabbed onto Diluc’s hands as he shakily hoisted the other back to his feet.
“Tonia, Anthon, I know you’re there.”
No response,
Childe grumbled and rolled his eyes. He started to skate slowly with Diluc to the edge of the lake, and stepped off to sink Into the snow, walking towards the rock.
“My Elegant princess Tonia, and my Lord Anthon, I seek and ask, what business do you have with your bravest knight?”
Childe stepped around the rock, thinking he would meet the eyes of his siblings, but they were nowhere to be seen…
Then there was a voice from above, it was a young voice with a lisp from a few missing teeth.
“Our Bravest knight Ajax, you go to serve another king? Is this treason? Betrayal?”
Childe looked up,
Tonia with her hands on her hips, and Anthon with his arms folded across his chest huffed. They weren’t much taller than he, but he had to look up.
“Surely not, I am only loyal to you, my lieges.” Childe bowed and rested his hand on his heart.
“Then why were you kissing! Ewww!” Anton shouted, out of his pretentious character. Pointing towards Diluc who was putting back on his boots.
“This only calls for execution!”
“Get him! Anton!”
Tonia leaped first, but Anthon soon after, landing in his brother’s arms, but sending all the three crashing into the snow yet again.
“Perish for your crime!” The two playfully attacked their big brother.
—
Childe unfortunately (willingly) lost.
The cold snow slipped through his clothes, and made a lot of his body buzz from the cold.
“You win, you win. Can we please go in now, dad is going to make hot tea or something inside if we go.” Childe shivered.
“We win!” Tonia and Anthon high five each other.
“Yes, you win. Anthon, please get off of me, I’m gonna be sore tomorrow.” Anthon, who was sitting on his brother’s torso, got off and scrambled back inside with Tonia.
Childe took a deep breath in. And saw Diluc walking up to him, the boots that Childe wore landing on the ground next to him. Then his heavy coat, which he tucked around his body.
“You have a good relationship with your siblings.” Diluc smiled, kneeling down and untying Childe’s skate.
“They’re a handful.” Childe smiled, pushing his back from the snow.
“I don’t mind them. I think I enjoy them around us.”
“Whatever you say Firefly.”
“Stop calling me that.” Diluc huffed, smiling.
—
Childe got his boots back on, only to take them off again when they went back inside a little ways away.
—
Now it’s nightfall,
The two laid in bed, Childe’s arms wrapped around Diluc’s waist yet again. (Totally his favorite place to hug, seriously, how can such a muscular man have such a small waist) Childe had his face pressed against Diluc’s back, warm and secure. Their legs tangled in a mess as the warm covers of the bed messily covered them up.
“Can I stay here a little longer?” Diluc murmured, half-hoping that Childe was asleep by now.
“Go for it, but just make sure you’re not in one place for too long… I don’t think I could bear you getting caught.” Childe hugged Diluc a little tighter,
“I won’t, it takes more than that to get me out of here.”
“That’s so corny.”
“Only for you.” Diluc grinned, though Childe couldn’t see it.
“Luc, I love you, do you know that?”
“I know… I do too.” Diluc said, pausing for a few seconds between statements, and taking a long breath in.
“Such a sweetheart.”
“Shut up.”
Alone in the cabin in Snezhnaya, it would have been cold. It would have been cold if the other wasn’t there. Before Diluc ran to the nation, he began slipping more and more from his memories, his vision left in Mondstat, and a delusion gloved on his left hand.
There’s just been a pit.
A pit in his chest, like he was missing something. He remembered the faint faces of his friends, of his father, of his brother. But those were the few things he could remember. Ever since Childe walked into his life on the battlefield, it’s like his lover picked up a lost, angry puppy. The man with the delusion had unbridled rage while swinging his claymore towards the Harbinger, the heat from the flames were relentless.
Until one good hit to the head, and the delusion holder was out cold after many nights of not sleeping and running.
What? Childe couldn’t leave him alone to freeze in the cold. He had been there many times before.
So, he carried Diluc back to his home, and through some hiccups, they started dating after a poor excuse for trying to hide feelings. Childe could thank his little siblings for breaking the ice for them.
And now they sit, exchanging body heat in the otherwise cold cabin in the blizzarding snow.
And Diluc was on the run.
He would have to leave and relocate for a while, but he will be sure to keep in contact with Childe’s family… Maybe after a while, he could settle down… have a family of his own and never return to Mond.
But that was at the back of his mind. He was happy while he was here. And while he couldn’t retain most of his memories, he was going to remember these moments in the Snezhnayan nation for a lifetime.