Chapter Text
Heavy, slightly hurried footsteps echoed through the empty hallway of the Zepleyarny palace. The long, large coat of The Jester rippled behind him as he scoured through his surroundings.
In one hand, he tightly gripped a back of candies, something sour, he never bothered to learn the name. He simply remembered its packaging and picked it up if he saw it. And while he knew this was the best moment to learn its name, with the product in his hand, he was too focused on other things to worry about that.
Besides, the boy would recognize the sound it made, let alone the name.
“Derek.” His voice echoed, deep and authoritative. He took a pause, before calling out again, in a much more gentler tone than his usual one.
If the boy heard his name being called in Pierro’s (as he calls it) “Second big boss of the Fatui” voice, he’d never let himself be found. Especially not when he was clearly upset with him.
And if Pierro were to be honest, he found no reason for the boy to be upset with him. He was simply stating facts. Of he were to let him wander freely, he were certainly get in trouble. The palace is no place for children.
Although, he was the one who brought him here. After days of begging and pleading to see the palace, Pierro had naively allowed him to accompany him on a routine visit.
Naively, because he’d thought the boy would behave and listen to the clear and necessary rules so he wouldn’t get into the trouble he knew he always found himself in.
However, when they arrived the boy immediately tried to separate himself from Pierro, inclined to explore on his own. He’d been stopped by Pierro, of course, which only led to what could be described as a meltdown.
He could barely recall what the boy had scream-cried at him, other than “Stop coddling me!” before he’d wiggled out of Pierro’s hold and ran off somewhere.
Pierro had tried to follow as closely after the boy as he could, but being smaller, he was extremely quick and was immediately lost.
So Pierro wandered, holding the candies he’d brought to keep the boy somewhat distracted when he finally needed to tackle the business he came here for. Which only—ironically—made Pierro more restless knowing the boy had nothing he liked here to focus on.
He rounded a corner, coming upon a pair of Fatui soldiers making the rounds. They were talking, not entirely focusing on the task at hand, though one had noticed Pierro almost as soon as he’d come into view and elbowed his comrade.
They stood at attention, clearly nervous. “Sir!”
Pierro stared at them, taking a moment to weigh his options, and the consequences of them.
“Have either of you seen anything out of the ordinary?” He chose to ask, being careful to not disclose anything specific, or that he in particular was looking for anything.
As such, he swiftly remembered to pocket the candies in his coat.
The soldiers looked at each other, surprised at the question, but not daring to ask for clarification.
“No sir, nothing out of the ordinary.” The one who’d spotted him first replied, firm in his answer.
“I believe I saw something behind a curtain near the kitchen earlier.” The other one countered, pointing behind him. “But I was heading for my shift, so I wasn’t focusing that much.”
Pierro nodded, not entirely surprised at the information, but disappointed he didn’t think of it at any point before. The boy is a child, and children get hungry. And he’s always enjoyed the food of Snezhnaya.
“Thank you. Return to your patrol.” He half-ordered, dismissing the pair by walking past them.
He watched the pair hurry off out of the corner of his eye, before returning focus to ahead of him.
The kitchen was a floor below where he was, but if he was quick, he’d be able to catch the boy. And potentially get an explanation for his comment.
He turned another corner, feeling for the bag in his coat. They were his only bargaining chip in trying to get the boy to listen to him. It was a hassle, but it worked.
The distance to the kitchen from where Pierro was was still some distance away, so he walked in silence, passing the occasional soldier or two.
He truly didn’t understand the boy. But he could admit it to it being his lack of experience with children. After surviving Khaenri’ah and partnering with the Tsaritsa, he had no time to be anywhere near children unless absolutely necessary. And it was almost never necessary for him to be around children, unless he had a reason to visit any of the Fatui’s orphanages.
So many of the boy’s behaviors evaded him. Every denial of specific foods, necessary downtimes, every time he cried over menial things, and especially his denial of any sort of boundary or rule.
The last one especially annoyed him. Every time he tried to set a rule or put the boy in his place, he would get annoyed or angry and complain about Pierro “coddling him”. On a few occasions, he had cried.
He never understood it. Pierro wasn’t the coddling type in the slightest, and many of his rules were basic; Don’t go out at night. Bed time by seven. Stay by his side when out. Don’t interact with strangers (especially Fatui members or Fae). Simple.
He believed so at least, from the bits and pieces he could recall from The Knave when she talked about the children at the Hearth. It was his only lifeline, since he couldn’t directly ask her due to that option revealing the boy to someone else. He didn’t doubt The Knave would keep him a secret, but it would be easier to keep knowledge of the boy to himself.
As he steps onto the designated floor, he hears a scurry of footsteps, heading away from him. He can recognize them in a heartbeat, and immediately follows them. He doesn’t start running, as it would draw too much attention from the more staffed area. But he’s walking quickly with a purpose, and not once moving his gaze from in front of him.
He rounds a corner just as the figure falls to the ground. He’d tripped on the carpet, dropping whatever he was holding. Pierro slows to a halt, before carefully approaching the boy.
“Derek.” He kneels down behind him. He initially goes to reach for the boy, before stopping when he hears sniffling.
The boy lifted his head, locking onto Pierro’s face immediately. His own is scrunched up, the expression he makes when he’s ready to cry. Staining his lips is still fresh and still running blood from his nose. It had clearly been bleeding long before he’d fallen face first onto the (now definitely stained) carpet.
“Pierro…” The boy drawls out, voice small and shaky. He’s quick to latch onto the arm Pierro had extended, burying his face into it and begins sobbing.
Pierro is taken aback, flinching at the growing wet stain on his sleeve. But he puts his other hand on the boy’s head regardless, in an attempt at comfort.
“Why are you crying?” He asked, smoothing out the boy’s blonde hair which had become messy.
He doesn’t answer, just continues crying. He’s shaking under Pierro’s hand, and he can feel the short, forced breaths he takes. He was attempting to stay as quiet as possible.
Pierro is lost. The boy has cried, certainly, but it was usually because of him, so he’s never sought him out before. Now he was crying over something else, and actively wanting Pierro’s comfort.
He removed the hand on the boy’s head, and reached into his coat. He felt around for the bag of candies, and pulled them out. He holds them in front of the boy as an offering, shaking them to get his attention.
He takes a moment to look up, but when he does Pierro can see the light form in his eyes as he stares at the bag.
“You can have them in my office, Derek.” He lets the boy hold them despite this, and he clings to them as tightly as he still does to Pierro’s arm.
“But first, pick up your things.” He pointed to the items the boy dropped when he fell. Now looking at them properly, they appear to be pastries, meaning he had definitely gone into the kitchen.
The boy nodded with a sniffle, finally letting Pierro go and trotting over to the food. Looking down at his arm, he grimaced at the blood and tear stains on the fabric. But it would be washed, much like the boy’s face needed to be.
After some seconds, the boy walked back over holding his snacks. So Pierro holds out a hand for him to grab. The boy looked at it, before rearranging how he held everything so he could hold Pierro’s hand.
“I would like an explanation when we arrive, Derek.” Pierro’s words were an order, but had come out decently gentle. So the boy nodded, agreeing easily.