Work Text:
Childe sighed as he walked along the outskirts of the city. He wasn’t allowed to have any of the information about the man they’d captured, which he considered to be stupid. He may be the Vanguard, reserved for dealing with difficult cases that required more violent force, which this case miraculously did not require, but he still figured he should be kept in the loop about who the person was and why he decided to try to destroy the Fatui.
All he had gotten was a name. Diluc Ragnvindr. He didn’t even get to know where the guy was from, but judging from his name alone, Childe guessed the man was probably from Mondstadt. What a Mondstadter was doing in Snezhnaya on a mission to kill every Fatui soldier he found was lost to the Eleventh Harbinger. From what Childe had learned about Mondstadt, most of its people were rather peaceful. They didn’t like fighting. So then why had this Diluc character come storming into Snezhnaya looking to murder members of their military?
Childe shook his head but then stopped, his eyes snapping over to what he’d spotted in the corner of his vision. There, splayed across the snow, was red hair. Bright red hair. Childe walked closer and froze, his eyes widening.
It was Diluc. There was no way it wasn’t. His clothes were tattered and he was covered in dried blood. He was also not moving and was incredibly pale. Childe couldn’t even tell if he was breathing.
Childe should have left him there. He should have turned and walked away. What in every Archons’ name made him reach down and pick the injured man up was completely lost on him. But he did it anyway. He carefully shifted Diluc around so that he could pick the man up, and then he started the walk back to the palace.
He was surprised that he made it all the way back to his private quarters in the palace with enough luck to avoid running into any other Harbingers that might have recognized Diluc. Once inside, Childe shut the door behind him, made sure it was locked, and headed to his bedroom, where he carefully laid Diluc down on his bed. He needed to assess his injuries, but to do that, he needed to clean all the blood off of him first.
Childe left Diluc in his room and headed to the bathroom to run a bath. As the bath was filling up, he checked on Diluc again, but wasn't surprised to find that the man hadn’t even moved. He checked his heartbeat and was relieved to find that he had a weak pulse at least. ‘He should be fine. I can do this.’ Childe thought. ‘I’ll make sure you’re alright, Diluc.’
He returned to the bathroom and shut off the water, testing it one more time to make sure it wouldn’t be too hot or cold and then went back to his room. He picked Diluc up again and carried him to the bathroom, where he carefully stripped the man’s tattered clothes off of him and lowered him into the tub.
From there, scrubbing the dried blood off of Diluc’s body proved only challenging because of the fact that Childe had to move the man around. He was careful with everything he did, though. He didn’t want to worsen the injuries on the redhead’s body.
Speaking of injuries, there were a lot more than Childe thought there’d be. He winced as he scrubbed the dried blood around a gash on Diluc’s chest. “I’m so sorry.” He mumbled. “They really did a number on you, didn’t they?”
Once Diluc had been cleaned up, Childe managed to get him out of the tub and dried him off before wrapping him in a towel and carrying him back to his bedroom, once again laying him on the bed. Now, he just had to worry about disinfecting wounds and looked for anything that looked particularly bad.
Childe reached for one of Diluc’s legs after finishing up with the wounds on his upper body and he froze, his eyes widening. The redhead’s leg was bent at a terribly awkward angle, clearly broken. Childe reached over and carefully worked on resetting the bone. The snapping sound it made made Childe feel sick to his stomach. He swallowed nervously and checked over the rest of Diluc’s body again. No other breaks, just his leg. Childe let out a soft sigh of relief and finished up cleaning the rest of Diluc’s wounds.
After that, Childe chose some of his clothes that were a bit big for him and dressed Diluc in them. He then took the blankets that had been on his bed and put them to the side to be cleaned and grabbed some fresh blankets from his closet to cover Diluc up. Now it was just a waiting game. And a whole lot of hoping.
~~~
Childe slept on the couch that night. When he woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was rush to his bedroom to check on Diluc, who was still sleeping in the same position he’d been left in. His breathing wasn’t so shallow now, though. Childe breathed a soft sigh of relief. What he had done had worked. Diluc would hopefully wake up soon.
Childe was quick with checking over Diluc’s injuries. A few of them had bled through their bandages, so he changed them quickly. He had also managed to wrap Diluc's broken leg in thick enough bandage that it would be permanently held straight for the time being. He figured he’d check it once a week and change the bandages. That way, it wouldn’t be without bandages for very long.
After making sure all of Diluc’s injuries were fine, Childe slipped out of the room to make himself some food. He also brought a glass of water back to his room with a spoon. If he had to spoon feed water to Diluc, so be it. He had to make sure the man stayed hydrated if he was going to heal properly.
And so his day was spent in a rather peaceful way. He periodically went to his room to check on Diluc’s condition, give him water, and make sure none of his bandages had been bled through or change bandages that had been on for a while. He was thankful for the peace and quiet, but he knew he could only stay in this environment for so long before the whispers in his head got too loud. For now, he’d relish in the peace and simply take care of Diluc.
Which was a poor decision. On multiple occasions, Childe reminded himself of what an awful decision he’d made bringing Diluc, a fugitive of Snezhnaya, back to his private quarters in the Zapolyarny Palace of all places. He felt like an idiot, but he just couldn’t bring himself to kill Diluc or to toss him back out in the snow. Some part of him was strangely attached to man, even after only watching over him for a day now.
‘I don’t know what I’m doing, but there’s nothing I can do to back out of this now.’ He thought as he made dinner that night. ‘This is my fate now. If he goes down, I’m probably going right along with him…’
~~~
The second day didn’t yield any different results in Diluc’s demeanor aside from fewer bloody bandages. He was healing rather quickly, thankfully, but he just wouldn’t wake up, which was worrying Childe. At this point, he’d probably gone a few days without food. He didn’t look too thin, but then again, when Childe had found him, Diluc had looked thin. Probably from the fact that he hadn’t been eating well since he’d been in Snezhnaya. There were signs of thick muscle along his body, but they had deteriorated over time due to lack of work and proper nutrition.
Childe continued his schedule of periodic check-ins on all of Diluc’s injuries and spoon-feeding him water to make sure he stayed hydrated. Every now and then, Childe would try to grab Diluc’s hand and squeeze it in hopes of eliciting a response. Diluc never moved, much to Childe’s growing worry and disappointment.
“C’mon, Diluc. You can’t sleep forever.” He mumbled, holding onto the redhead’s hand and tracing his fingers over the many scars there. He wondered how Diluc had gotten them all. “Wake up, please? I didn’t drag you out of the snow for you to die here.”
~~~
It was the third day that yielded a result. This time, when Childe tested squeezing Diluc’s hand during his morning check-up, Diluc’s fingers twitched in response, like he was trying to squeeze Childe’s hand back and just couldn’t quite do it. The Harbinger grinned when he realized that it wasn’t just his hopeful imagination. “That’s it.” He mumbled. “C’mon, wake up.”
Diluc still didn’t move aside from the occasional twitching of his fingers, but at least he was beginning to respond. Then, as the sun was starting to set and Childe was once again spoon-feeding Diluc more water, Diluc’s eyebrows furrowed and he turned his head to the side, sighing. Childe stared at him with wide eyes and then let out a relieved laugh.
“If you would just open your eyes already, things would be much easier, Diluc.” Childe prodded, reaching up and gently shaking his shoulder. Diluc’s only response was a soft huff, like he was irritated that someone would even dare try to wake him up. Childe was a little disappointed that he still didn’t wake up.
~~~
The fourth day was interesting. When Childe walked into the room, Diluc had managed to get ahold of a pillow and had tucked it against his side. There weren’t any signs that he had woken up. He most likely would have tried to get out of bed if that were the case. But he was moving more. Childe was hopeful that he would wake up soon. ‘Maybe he’ll finally wake up today.’ He thought as he brushed Diluc’s bright red hair out of his face.
Childe had finished his lunch and went to check in on Diluc afterward, immediately alarmed at what he saw. He was awake! And trying to sit up in bed to most likely try to run. Childe rushed over to Diluc. “Whoa, whoa. Diluc, lay down.”
Diluc squinted up at him, obviously disgruntled at having woken up in an unknown environment. “Where-?” The scratchy sound of his voice and the wince on his face were clear signs that his throat was probably sore and dry beyond belief. Even with Childe’s efforts of spoon-feeding him water constantly.
“Shh, don’t try to talk right now. You don’t have to worry.” Childe couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his face. Diluc had finally woken up! He started carefully fixing the blankets over Diluc as he continued to speak. “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.” Childe stood up and turned to walk out of the room, realizing when he was halfway across the room that Diluc was probably in a hell of a lot of pain right now, too. “I’ll bring you some pain medication, too.” He said, then slipped out of the room with the hope that Diluc would stay put.
He was quick with getting everything together. He made his favorite soup, which he liked to call ‘A Prize Catch’, and brought that back with some painkillers and water, setting all of it on a tray to carry back to the room. As he walked into the room, he spotted Diluc laying there, glaring up at the ceiling.
“You’re glaring at my ceiling like you want to set it on fire.” Childe said as he set the tray of stuff on the nightstand. “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.” Diluc had turned his glare on Childe, but it had slightly softened into more of a look of confusion. ‘He’s probably trying to figure out who I am.’ Childe reached down to help Diluc sit up, and the redhead immediately tried to scoot away, a look of alarm crossing his handsome features. “It’s alright. I’m just trying to help you sit up so you can eat.” Diluc still looked wary, but he stopped trying to get away and allowed Childe to help him sit up and lean back against the pillows.
Childe sat down on the side of the bed next to the injured man and grabbed the bowl of soup, holding it out to him. When Diluc shook his head, Childe frowned and looked at the soup, opening his mouth to ask if he didn’t like seafood. Then, Diluc shook his head again and lifted one of his hands. It was terribly shaky. Childe’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape as he finally got the message. Diluc couldn’t hold the bowl by himself. “I hadn’t even thought that you’d be weakened by the cold and loss of blood. Sorry, Diluc. Here, I’ll just feed it to you. You need to eat.” He chuckled nervously before holding a bite of the soup out to the redhead. When Diluc only narrowed his eyes suspiciously, Childe sighed. “You’re thinking I’m trying to poison you, aren’t you? Diluc… Fine. Watch.” Childe took a bite of the soup and tried to offer a bite to Diluc after he had swallowed. “Can’t be poisoned if I was willing to eat it, right?”
Diluc still looked a bit wary, but he relented and took the bite of soup. Childe silently cheered. He also noted that the redhead didn’t seem to dislike the soup, which made him particularly happy. It didn’t take as long as Childe thought it would for Diluc to finish the whole bowl of food. “Good job! You ate all of it. I was worried you’d only eat a little and then stop. Alright, time for some water.” Childe grinned at Diluc before setting the bowl aside and grabbing the glass of water. He held it up to Diluc’s lips and watched as he drank some of it before carefully taking it away. He wanted to chuckle at the glare the redhead leveled on him, but he held up the pill to show the injured man. “Here. Pain meds. You’re probably going to need it.” Childe carefully slipped the pill into Diluc’s mouth and helped him wash it down with water before letting him have the rest of the glass. He was a little surprised that the redhead didn’t try to drink faster, but he figured that he was smart enough to avoid making himself suddenly sick.
The second Childe set the glass down on the tray, Diluc spoke. “Who the hell are you?” He growled out. His voice was still a little scratchy, but it sounded much better.
Childe wasn’t all that bothered by the hostility. It was understandable. “Hey, you can talk. That’s great. Call me Childe. I hope we can be friends, Diluc.” He answered, smiling at him.
Diluc only narrowed his eyes in an even sharper glare. “How do you know my name?”
“No member of the Fatui doesn’t know the name Diluc Ragnvindr.” Childe chuckled. That was a lie. Most lower ranks probably didn’t know anything of Diluc Ragnvindr yet, but they’d learn soon enough. “You’ve made quite the impression.”
“So you are a part of the Fatui? Why did you save me, then?” Diluc frowned, confused.
Childe sighed. It was going to be a while before he had Diluc’s trust. “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.” He explained. “I think you’re too incredible.” None of that was a lie. Childe did find Diluc to be quite the impressive man. And he was handsome to top it all off.
“Who are you really? What’s your rank in the Fatui?” Childe knew that question was coming. Diluc wasn’t going to trust him if he lied, so he figured his best bet was honesty.
“Ah, I knew that question would come up. Well…” Childe paused. For a moment, he reconsidered lying. Then, he shoved that idea out the window. “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 Childe like he was stupid. Childe would have winced if he didn’t also believe he was an idiot for making such a terrible decision.
“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.” He explained. Actually, it should have been something the other Harbingers thought he’d never do. He was the Vanguard. His purpose was to kill. Not to heal. “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.” That wasn’t a lie. The Tsaritsa would not allow her Harbingers to kill one another without severe punishment.
“You really don’t care, do you?” Diluc still looked a bit confused.
“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?” He figured getting a good spar against Diluc after this would be a nice reward.
“I’d like to know what you want your reward to be now.” Diluc’s confused look turned into a suspicious scowl.
“Well, I haven’t really decided, so you’ll just have to wait. But once I’ve decided, I’ll let you know.” That was another lie. Childe had decided, he just figured it would be better if he waited until later to admit it. “Don’t worry, you’ll still be alive by the end of it.” Childe didn’t put all that work into spoon-feeding this man water just to kill him in the end.
“You’re a strange Harbinger.” Diluc mumbled, his scowl softening slightly.
“You know, the others say the same thing all the time.”