Chapter Text
Where did he go wrong?
Childe had returned home for a visit during the holiday season, a box stashed with him on the boat ride home, ready to give to his siblings when he’d arrived. Everything was perfect- the sea was agreeable, a light snow falling from the heavens, and the sun warming up his chilled face- nothing could possibly ruin it.
So why was he running at full speed through the woods?
He didn’t even grab his coat on the way out. Everyone at home was present and safe, everyone.. Except for Teucer. Their mother had approached him with a worried expression, wringing her hands. His youngest brother- his precious, innocent little brother- had been missing for nearly two days. According to Tonia, he had left to find something special for his return.
Was it his fault, then?
No, don’t blame yourself for this.
Childe had told himself he’d never return to this part of the woods. Never. Never, never, never never never-
The man came to a sudden stop, the snow piling up around him ever faster as the snow started to grow heavier, falling faster, faster faster-
There was blood. So, so much blood. He could remember this place vividly, as if he were here only yesterday. This place, this archon-forsaken clearing in the woods… had been where he had fallen, and where he emerged.
Putting two and two together- the fresh blood, the missing brother, the abyss .. He didn’t want to even consider the outcome, but the results came far too fast.
Laying against a tree, a gash in his arm and his clothing torn, lay the ever familiar head of dirty ginger hair. Childe got his legs moving again and collapsed next to his brother, gently moving his body closer to himself, taking a bit of his shirt in his mouth and tearing a good sized strip of fabric in order to stop the bleeding. He pressed a couple fingers to the artery in Teucer’s neck, heaving a sigh of relief when a steady pulse was felt.
He was alive. Thank the archons, thank-
“Big.. brother?”
Childe lifted his gaze, watching as Teucer opened his eyes, his heart shattering as he looked into pits as equally deep as his own. Those horrible, dead, lightless eyes. Was this how everyone else had felt? Had his mother been this torn over her discovery, the realization that her little boy could never possibly be the same? All this, and Teucer wasn’t even as old as he had been. Childe brought his brother closer, pressing him into his chest, trying to steady his breath and watching as the snow continued to fall around them.
Teucer had grabbed his arm. It was a tight grip, his hand was shaking- he spoke up once more.
“Brother.. Ajax …” His brother started pulling himself away from the hold, looking up at him with a dazed look in his eyes and the traces of a smile on his face. “Teacher says hi, Ajax..”
Childe picked himself up, Teucer in one arm (he couldn’t walk now, he must rest), and a damaged bag in the other. His chest aching, and his limbs numb from the cold, he brought his brother home. He’d thought for sure the family would be ecstatic upon their return, but his mother took one look at the expression on his face, the wound on the younger’s arm- Childe looked away, unable to watch their mother’s heart break for a second time.
He took Teucer upstairs to his room, carefully helping him change into some better clothing, all the while speaking to him in a hushed tone to keep his attention. The younger had been out in the cold for so long, after everything he’d just gone through.. Opening up the bag his brother had with him, his eyes widened. He carefully extracted the burning red orb from the fabric container and pressed it into Teucer’s hands, watching as another smile graced his small face.
“Aren’t you proud? I even got a vision, just like you.” .. He sounded so tired. Childe smiled back at him, gathering up the tattered and bloody scraps of material and setting them aside before sitting on the bed next to his brother.
“That’s quite exciting, huh, Teucer.. pyro, too-” The man sighed, resting his head against the headboard. “It suits you.” He pulled the younger into his side, watching the ceiling before it all turned to black, sleep finally taking him after the long day.