Chapter Text
Cold. Everything was cold. The numbing feeling hurt, but not as bad as the injuries that littered the man’s body. He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. He had no strength left. Not even enough to open his eyes and take in his surroundings. He remembered the pain. The laughter and voices that jabbed at him while he writhed in pain. He had tried so hard to remain silent. It was rather unfortunate that he broke in the end.
They had left him in the snow to die. Diluc Ragnvindr, the man who stormed into Snezhnaya with flaming chains that made the snow scream as the chains snaked through it. Even with the melting snow hissing and screaming all around him, it didn’t drown out the screams of the Fatui agents caught by those chains. Now, Diluc was facing the consequences. He would die here in the snow and his Vision that had been left at home in a nation far from here would go blank. ‘I’m sorry, Kaeya. I’m so sorry.’
~~~
Diluc woke up to warmth all around him. His eyes slowly blinked open and he winced at the brightness that was coming from… somewhere. Diluc was having a hard time figuring out where. He felt dizzy and his whole body felt like a massive bruise. ‘Where am I?’ He thought, staring at the ceiling of whatever room he was in. ‘Wasn’t I… No, I was definitely buried in snow before this, right? Why is it so warm now?’ He finally looked down and blinked a couple times before his eyes widened slightly. He was under a pile of thick blankets, all of them blue or white. He frowned, and looked around the room, noticing that most of the room seemed to be colored in shades of blue or white with only highlights of other colors popping here and there. It seemed to be a bedroom. His eyes landed on the door and he was tempted to try and get up and try to make a run for it. Wherever this place was, it couldn’t have been good. There was no way he wasn’t still in Snezhnaya and he needed to leave as soon as possible. As he started to get up, though, the door opened.
“Whoa, whoa. Diluc, lay down.” A man rushed across the room and gently laid the redhead back down on the bed. His hair was ginger, aside from a single gray streak, and it was short and looked messy. His eyes were a deep blue color, but they looked strangely dull. He also had freckles scattered over his face, particularly on his cheeks and along the bridge of his nose.
Diluc glared up at him. “Where-?” He winced, gritting his teeth against the pain in his throat.
“Shh, don’t try to talk right now. You don’t have to worry.” The man smiled down at him and fixed the blankets over him carefully. “You’re safe here, Diluc. Just focus on resting. I’ll go make you some soup and bring you some water. That’ll help your throat.” He started to turn and stopped suddenly, seeming to be thinking. “I’ll bring you some pain medication, too.” And with that, he left the room.
Diluc blinked as the door shut, staring. He was lost in a whirlpool of questions, confusion making his head hurt. ‘Where the hell am I? Who is he? Why is he helping me? What’s going on?’ The questions kept spinning, one after the other. Diluc reached up and rubbed his head, groaning. Out of all these uncertainties, one thing was perfectly clear to the injured man. He was completely at the mercy of this stranger.
Diluc eventually shook off all the questions and decided to take in his injuries. He lifted the pile of blankets and looked down at himself, noting that his left leg seemed to be in a cast. ‘It must be broken. There goes my idea of making a run for it.’ He thought, frowning. That seemed to be the only major injury he had. He did notice that his hands felt shaky and that he could barely hold the blankets up long enough to get a good view of his presumably broken leg, so he must have lost a lot of strength while he was sleeping. ‘Lack of food and water, probably. And possibly blood loss.’ Diluc sighed and let the blankets drop. He stared up at the ceiling and noted the sharp pain from certain spots. He guessed that those must be cuts across his body. ‘It’s not as bad as I initially thought. I mean, I’m alive. It must not be that terrible.’
“You’re glaring at my ceiling like you want to set it on fire.” The other man walked back into the room and Diluc looked over at him. He had a tray with a bowl, a small bottle, and a glass of water. There was a spoon sticking up out of the bowl. “Take it easy, alright. Unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to go anywhere for a little while, but judging from that look, I think you already knew that.” He set the tray on the nightstand and started to reach down to Diluc, who tensed and tried to scoot away from his hands. “It’s alright. I’m just trying to help you sit up so you can eat.” The ginger man tried to reach for him again, and this time, Diluc let him. He carefully pushed Diluc into a sitting position and helped him lean back against the pillows.
Diluc watched as the man picked up the bowl and held it out to him at first. Diluc shook his head, frowning. He couldn’t say that he couldn’t hold the bowl by himself. He just hoped he got the message across. The man looked confused and glanced at the soup for a moment before opening his mouth. Diluc shook his head again and lifted one of his hands, revealing how shaky it was. The man’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape as realization dawned in his eyes.
“I hadn’t even thought that you’d be weakened by the cold and loss of blood. Sorry, Diluc.” The man chuckled before holding a bite of the soup up to the redhead. “Here, I’ll just feed it to you. You need to eat.” Diluc’s response was to narrow his eyes at the spoon. “You’re thinking I’m trying to poison you, aren’t you?” The ginger man sighed. “Diluc… Fine, watch.” He took a bite of the soup he made and then held another bite up to Diluc after he swallowed. “Can’t be poisoned if I was willing to eat it, right?”
Diluc finally relented and started to eat the soup. It tasted like tomato soup, but there were bits of seafood in it. It was interesting, but Diluc liked it. It was kind of different from what he was used to. Before either of them knew it, the soup was gone. The man looked at the empty bowl before looking over at Diluc with a grin. “Good job! You ate all of it. I was worried you’d only eat a little and then stop. Alright, time for some water.” The man grabbed the glass and held it up to Diluc’s lips. The redhead drank some of the water before the glass was suddenly removed. He turned to glare at the man only to find that he was holding up a pill now. “Here. Pain meds. You’re probably going to need it.” He said, holding it closer to Diluc’s mouth. Diluc carefully took the pill and the ginger man helped him wash it down with more water before letting him have the rest of what was in the glass. Diluc drank slowly, careful of the fact that he had eaten on an empty stomach. He didn’t want to throw everything back up.
The second the glass was removed and set back down on the tray, Diluc turned to the man and narrowed his eyes. “Who the hell are you?” He growled out. His voice was still rough and his throat was still a little sore, but it was much easier to talk now.
“Hey, you can talk. That’s great. Call me Childe. I hope we can be friends, Diluc.” The man answered, smiling at him.
“How do you know my name?” Diluc asked next, glaring at him.
“No member of the Fatui doesn’t know the name Diluc Ragnvindr.” Childe said, chuckling. “You’ve made quite the impression.”
“So you are a part of the Fatui? Why did you save me, then?” Diluc wanted to get every answer he could from this man.
“I saved you because you’re strong. To be able to kill so many Fatui agents and end up barely injured by the time you’re captured by not just one, but multiple Fatui Harbingers and even surviving the torture and being thrown in the snow is incredible. I’m not letting a life like yours go to waste.” Childe explained. “I think you’re too incredible.”
“Who are you really? What’s your rank in the Fatui?” Diluc asked.
“Ah, I knew that question would come up. Well…” Childe paused, seeming to think of his answer. “I don’t think you’re going to like this answer very much, but I don’t want to lie to you. I want to earn your trust after all. I’m Tartaglia, the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers. But please, just call me Childe.”
“A Fatui Harbinger saved me from the other Fatui Harbingers that wanted me dead? Do you have a death wish?” Diluc stared at him. He was shocked. Did he not see that he was betraying his own people by taking Diluc in like this? ‘He must really be stupid.’
“We betray each other all the time, Diluc. This is nothing. Me stealing a kill from them and helping that person heal shouldn’t be something they think I would never do.” Childe shrugged nonchalantly. He really looked like he didn’t care at all. “The Tsaritsa wouldn’t stand for us killing each other, so it’s not like they can actually do anything to me to begin with.”
“You really don’t care, do you?” Diluc muttered.
“Not really, no.” Childe chuckled. “Anyway, I’ll keep you here until you’re fully healed. Then, after I decide what my reward will be, I’ll send you back to Mondstadt, safe and sound. Deal?”
“I’d like to know what you want your reward to be now.” Diluc scowled at him.
“Well, I haven't really decided, so you’ll just have to wait. But once I’ve decided, I’ll let you know.” Childe said, smiling at him. “Don’t worry, you’ll still be alive by the end of it.”
“You’re a strange Harbinger.” Diluc mumbled.
“You know, the others say the same thing all the time.”