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Childe fumbled in the dark, blindly searching for his clothes scattered all across the room. He hurriedly put them on, cursing under his breath when he bumped his knee against the frame of the bed in the process.
Despite the pain, he tried to remain as silent as possible, unwilling to wake up Zhongli and Neuvillette. His lovers were still curled up around each other, deeply asleep. They made for a perfect picture and the Harbinger wished for nothing more but to join them, but sadly, he couldn’t.
Soothed by their embrace, he’d woken up too late, and now he was late for an important meeting at the Northland Bank of Fontaine. While he could evade some of his duties to spend time with his partners, he knew where the line stood.
He’d rather not cross it, especially when he was already testing it by paying for most of Zhongli’s expenses with Fatui money. Having another Harbinger sent to the nation of Hydro to monitor his actions was the last thing he wanted. And so, he couldn’t afford to be too careless.
Childe still took the time to quickly scribble a note so that his mates would know he was sorry for not being there when they would wake up, and that he loved them. Once that was done, he sent them one last longing look, then he headed for the busy streets of Fontaine.
People were staring at him. Childe noticed it as soon as he stepped outside. While he was used to attracting loads of attention because of his status as a Harbinger, this just felt… different. More intense. Passersby rarely appeared this shocked or scandalized when looking at him. He reminded him of the first time he had returned to Feyun Slope after the Osial incident.
Had the Fatui taken some kind of action against Fontaine that he wasn’t aware of? Surely, Her Majesty would have alerted him if that was the case. And if some kind of crisis had arisen, his subordinates would have kept him informed on the situation, even if it meant disturbing him during his private him. They knew Childe wasn’t one to punish them for petty motives, contrary to some other Harbingers. If something bad had happened, they shouldn’t have been scared to tell him.
Still, he couldn’t help but worry. He hated going into any kind of political fight unprepared. It would have been easier if someone had just attacked him on the street, shouting about whatever they blamed him for. Ugh. Why couldn’t everything just be resolved with a good battle?
He got the confirmation that something definitely was up when all the employees at the Northland Bank went silent the moment they spotted him. Childe gritted his teeth and wasted no time, and walked straight to the receptionist, who was also in charge of day-to-day affairs.
“What the hell is going on?” He practically hissed.
Sparks of electro sparkled around him as his rising anger triggered his delusion. The Fatui officer in front of him gulped, looking like they would rather be anywhere else in Teyvat.
“S-sir… I apologize in advance for what I’m about to say, but… Y-you should probably take a look at yourself in a mirror…”
Take a look at himself? What could probably be wrong enough with his appearance to warrant so much attention? He muttered a few words of thanks to his trembling employee, then he made a beeline for his office to check it for himself.
At first, nothing appeared wrong. He didn’t have any bruises or wounds on his face apparent from his latest fight, nor did his clothes look out of place. Everything looked just fine, at least until he turned his head to the side.
Then, he noticed the problem, and his face suddenly grew pale.
His Fatui mask was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he was wearing the golden and quite recognizable ornament Neuvillette always kept in his hair. Not only that, but his own ginger locks were still slightly disheveled from the night they had spent together, leaving no doubt as to how exactly he had obtained the piece of jewelry.
Childe groaned. This wasn’t how he planned to reveal his intimate relationship with the Chief of Justice to all of Fontaine.
“I’m so, so sorry,” Childe apologized to Neuvillette for what had to be the hundredth time. “I didn’t mean for our relationship to go public like that, I promise.”
After a long, awful day, and countless attempts from journalists to get an interview out of him, Childe was finally back in the comfort of his home, and in the arms of his loving mates. Though he was still upset at himself for his mistake, their presence helped to soothe his inner turmoil.”
“It is fine. I knew it was an accident, so there is no need for you to blame yourself. I also have to be truthful, although it is a little embarrassing, and to admit that my instincts as a dragon are quite pleased by how you have made all of Fontaine aware of my claim on you.”
Childe let out a sigh of relief, comforted by his mate’s words of reassurance.
“Yes, you shouldn’t beat yourself over this. We are both quite proud to have you as our mate,” Zhongli added. “Besides, the situation could have been much worse.”
“What do you mean, much worse?”
“Well, Neuvillette could have showed up at the Opera Epiclese wearing a Fatui mask. The diplomatic complications would have been quite harder to deal with.”
Childe buried his face against Neuvillette’s torso and let out a low whine. He didn’t even want to think about what a mess that would have been.
Next time he woke up late, perhaps he would just send in a note saying that he got sick and stay in bed with his mates.
The next day, Neuvillette put on Childe’s red scarf to support him, while Zhongli wore his red earrings instead of his own.
Once pictures of them appeared in the Steambird, the gossip in Fontaine simply exploded.