Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Mama!" The little boy runs toward her drawing board, carrying a piece of colorful paper. She turns her chair to him, interested in what he has to say. Putting her fountain pen down to its respective box, she shifts her full attention to him.

"I've designed the thing that made you sleepless!" He happily shows her the paper in his hand. It's a sloppily made harbor design. Oh my, it seems that our little baby has sneaked on her project. The older woman lets out a small chuckle, carrying him to put him on top of her lap.

"That's so generous of you," she scans on the freshly scratched crayons. Well, everything was in a terrible sense of shape and the boats are loaded with stickman figures but it's the thought that matters.

"Did mommy take too long to make her own?" Her fingers sneak devilishly around his small waist, tickling the poor boy. The child laughs and squirms on her lap.

"Noo! No! Mama!" he keeps giggling, holding her wrist to stop the tickling. Eventually she stops as he is now regaining his breath. It took him a short while before he started to talk again.

"I thought that mama is tired, and I want to help mama so we could play together more!" He proudly exclaims. The woman smiles as she strokes his fluffy aquamarine hair.

“Thank you. I’ll keep this secure so no one could steal your work.” She gently takes the paper from him, the boy being happier to oblige. She opens a nearby wardrobe to keep his paper and continues her break with him.

“How is your newest anti-rotting invention? Did you make a better version of it or did you work on a new one?” The woman asks while patting his back. He was stunned at her sudden question, an unpleasant memory of Dottore roasting his creation washed over him. Instead of answering, he lowers his head and hides his face on her chest, not wanting to face her. Sensing something wrong, the woman continues her idle chats.

“Do you remember the cheesecake I mentioned to you? It was supposed to go bad in a night but I tried your device and somehow it stays fresh until the next three days!” His mother exclaims. The little boy started to lift his head up, only his charming eyes peeking at her.

“Maybe if you made more copies of it, it could be distributed to the bakery and they could sell more cheesecake across Teyvat! Hmm… sounds beneficial isn’t it?” she shot him a warm smile. His deep red eyes twinkle at her suggestion. Deep inside, she is relieved somehow that she could boost his mood. As much as she wanted to talk about his field more, she isn’t great with experiments and such and specific chemical names will mostly cause her headaches. the boy lit up at the idea, but it suddenly dimmed again.

“But papa said it’s not good enough… he doesn’t look pleased” aha. Caught him.

“Ooooh look who has violated mom’s advice again?” the woman pinched his squishy cheeks softly while the smaller boy whined again.

“But I wanted to spend more time with papa too! I want to be a cool genius scientist, an inventor like papa!” the child protests. She sighed as she understands how hard it is to communicate with the said man. She held his smaller face, making his curious eyes stare directly at hers.

“You will not become him.” She sternly said, his gaze fell unsure, but her next words cheered him up.

“You are going to grow way better than him”

It has been a week since their conversation and her little scientist somehow regains his passion to create new things inside his designated lab. Sometimes he works inside her office to gain some attention from her but most of the time, he keeps himself busy with his calculations and ideas behind the door of his lab. The architect used her small breaks to peek at her only son, and joins him while eating her meal during her longer breaks. She has her most trusted assistant to look after him, but every time she has some spare time, she chooses to look after him and remind him to eat a more healthy and nutritious meal (as much as her assistant reminds him to eat healthier food, he keeps whining and uses the “I am the second harbinger’s son” card to get what he wants. They end up fulfilling his request anyway). But it’s not like he’s a total brat or something, Il Dottore’s arrogant blood flows inside him and it shows sometimes.

Finally, after she has done submitting her project, she took a small walk to Dottore’s office. She stops in front of his doorstep, touching the ice-cold handle. According to this month’s schedule, he will most likely be resting behind this door. And they had agreed the last time they met each other, an arranged meeting. She was about to turn the knob but something is keeping her. Usually, such rare times will put her in so much joy. An intimate moment with her oh, so beloved husband, at least as written in a paper contract.

None of them thought their sinful relationship will go this far, but for the sake of his title, the least they can do is make their relationship a thing. That way, he is legally their son. Nothing major tho, their marriage is way more underwhelming than she would imagine, but since Dottore specifically arranged that their marriage is only written by ink. Like it or not she'll just go with it. After all, she loved him enough to do everything he says, doesn't she? Even so, anything that happened outside of it has nothing to do with those formalities. It was all only made for administration purposes and he tends to keep it that way.

The woman grips the metal longer than intended, feeling her wedding ring sting beneath her gloves. After a solid one minute, she releases her hand from the knob and moves back. She just remembered that she promised her son to celebrate his small living anniversary (that's what he calls birthdays) outside. She smiled at the thought and turned her heels away from the doctor's office. Not that he would care. In fact, he never did care in the first place, she thought.

On the other side, Dottore waits impatiently for her arrival, fingers tapping vigorously against his wooden desk. The golden ring his wife gave him shone under the light source above him, his thick gloves now long gone. Stressful nights and days, incompetent underlings, endless paperwork, even with his segment's help, his job seems endless. The harbinger groans in frustration, how late could she be? He turns his attention to the clock, it's past two hours from their initial agreement. Well for today, he has the rest of his day off just to see her, but where the hell is she?

Today was the day he waited to spend some time with her, his only salvation when cutting the throat of helpless test subjects doesn't spark joy anymore. It is so unlike her to neglect him in any kind of way. Thirty more minutes and that's it. If she doesn't come by time, he'll just storm out and spot her inside her office, ready to scold her for the lack on her end.

20 minutes

15 minutes

5 minutes

1 minute....

An irk mark appears on his forehead. He abruptly stands from his seat, taking big steps to her studio.

...and to his surprise, she wasn't there when he opened her room with his spare key. Her room seems tidy, most likely meaning that she has done her work according to her timeline. So it wasn't her taking her sweet time with her projects. He freezes in the doorframe, trying to guess where she might be. She adores him so much. She practically threw herself, her happiness for his sake, sinking herself in the inhumane environment around the Fatui. She could've been happier outside, not to mention her brilliant concept of beauty, her creations, her lovable and gentle personality. But there she is, ruining herself on the endless workload of the Fatui, just for the privilege to see him. The thought of her pure love makes him shudder in anticipation. Her sheer adoration will never compare to anything he ever felt in his life.

None of his mortal needs spills out from his words, nor his action. He thought that she would always be there for him, obeying everything he asked for like a god-made string doll, where he had full control of her strings. Wasting his precious time on a trivial matter, such as returning the same affection as hers is utterly unnecessary. How this should play is just him receiving the end of things, not her.

He thinks through other possibilities of where she might be. And then it hits him. He turns his head to a colorful calendar with a special date circled in a thick red marker.

Oh.

Sometimes he forgets that he has a little version of him running around the palace. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, closing her door before he headed back to his office.

Dottore waits for her arrival inside the bedroom of her house, assuming she won't visit him anyway. He lets himself in and sits on her comfy mattress. His boots, mask, and heavy coat are long gone. The woman walks inside her house after a small celebration with her son, carrying the sleeping boy in her embrace. She mindlessly takes off her shoes until she realizes significant fancy boots are present near her door. She takes a gulp before she continues her walk inside, a certain Fatui cloak hanging on her coat hanger. She walked to the child's room and gently put his sleeping form on the blue bed, tucking him below a soft warm duvet before closing her door. She took her coat off on her way to her room, opening the door with a soft click. The man looks up abruptly at her form, his red eyes throwing daggers at her. The architect looks at him with a confused face before she closes the door behind her, expecting him to say something.

"Where have you been?" He calmly asks, contrasting his predatory gaze.

"It's our son's birthday!" She happily exclaims, clapping her hands once.

"There were just the two of us but it was fun nonetheless, it's nice having to spend some time outside of the palace-" lost on her own rumbling, she failed to notice him slowly walking to her direction, his right hand trapping her between the thick wooden door.

"You were supposed to be having an appointment with me." Oh? Did daddy get jealous with her little prince? She looks at him in disbelief before she stifles a small laugh.

"Dottore, it's your own son's birthday and you're not even there, it's your loss actually." she twirls the stray hair that framed his face. His eyes widened.

"And I don't actually think you'll care if I came or not, you're unpredictable" his wife slides her hand from his hair, huffing after finishing her sentence. She got used to Dottore not even sparing a glance at her. She knows how pointless their whole relationship concept is, but she still keeps herself for him because the man has ruined her brain entirely. Not like she's complaining, but sometimes a little act of affection from him would be nice. There are some consequences for being involved with such a twisted being and she chooses to go with it anyway.

'How stupid' he thought. Did she know how much he thought about her? How much did he miss her touch? How did he want her to worship him thoroughly? How much he held his primal urge to ravage her on their only shared time-

Dottore was lost in his own thoughts before she kissed his cold cheek, slipping away from his arm, and headed to her closet to pick a nightgown. Taking off her clothing piece by piece, he stares at her intently watching her wearing more comfortable clothing. The woman yawns before snuggling herself inside her sheets, the place she laid on was still warm since it was the spot he left earlier. He's still standing near her door, looking like a mannequin. Feeling his intense stare, she opened her eyes to spot him standing there like an idiot. An imaginary question mark appears on top of her head, utterly confused. And to top that, he had never come to her house uninvited, is it really just because she didn't come to his office earlier?

"You... Want to join me?" she opens her arms, Dottore slightly jumps at the invitation. Not taking too long, he quickly undoes his harnesses and other unnecessary clothing, leaving himself in his black trousers and plain blue shirt. He joins her on her relatively small bed, laying stiffly beside her. She chuckles beside him, turning off the lamp before throwing her arms around his bigger body. Dottore tensed at the feelings. Never did once they slept on the same bed, having each other's company. Why is he lying here anyway? He was supposed to be fucking her senselessly to melt his frustration away-

"I'm sorry we can't do it right here, the little prince is sleeping" she pats his upper body.

"I can't keep my voice down and my room is not that soundproof, don't want to risk that" her free hand playing with his messy locks. It feels strange, she's not writhing under him yet he feels relaxed somehow. Dottore turned his body to her direction, arms experimentally sneaking around her waist, pulling her closer. He doesn't say a word, instead, he buries his face in the crook of her neck, taking in her scent. He closed his eyes, feeling how weird it is being embraced like this. Somehow their body clicks together like puzzle pieces, such a simple gesture confusing him.

"Cuddles will do, no?" The architect chuckles at her own lame excuse. She waited for some kind of reaction but nothing came out from him. As expected. She internally sighed and decided to whisper to him a good night before falling into a deep slumber. Eventho he's closing his eyes, Dottore is still wide awake. The silent room filled with her soft breaths. Such minimal friction seems to be enough to calm his mind.

In some books he did read about how lovers would spend a moment in silence, just enjoying each other's presence without doing anything. It's not like he's illiterate or something, but the question is,

Are they even lovers?

Chapter Text

The architect shifts on her bed, only to find her blue haired companion is now long gone. Expecting nothing more from him, she woke up in disappointment before she decided to clean herself before she took care of her son. The moment she leave her bedroom, a little part of her hoped that Dottore still hang around her house somewhere, but again, only to be greeted by silence. The architect laughs at herself for her foolish thought and with that, she brushes the thought away.

---

            Too much.

            There are too many things that reminded her of him inside her office. Most of the furniture are made of metal and clear, white stone which imitates The Doctor’s lab. A box containing medical equipment, given by Il Dottore himself stood proudly on top of her coffee table. It’s not her field, really, but everytime Dottore asked for her help, of course she’s more than delighted to oblige. On usual days, she knows that she loves him so much to the point any response he gave to her felt like blessings. But now she felt that he’s just being rude, the initial feeling is replaced by an unending void inside her heart. The woman stood up from her seat, only to plop down again on the fluffy carpet beneath her. An inhumane growl found its way out from her mouth.

            It feels unfair, the uncontrolable unconditional love she felt for him, how she sacrificed her sanity to have her place inside the Fatui, just to be around him. Suddenly her stomach churns in an unpleasant way. She could’ve start her own career in Fontaine. Hell, she could’ve stay in Sumeru and let everything flow by naturally forgetting about him. She wouldn’t doubt that she will enjoy her work as long as it includes her passion in designs. Sure, there would be hardships to come, but at least she is not stuck on this nation of eternal winter with loads of paperworks for everything she works on. She won’t lost all contacts with her friends. She won’t be this miserable if only she didn’t came to the Fatui. If only she didn’t put her whole life dedicating it for Dottore.

The power he had on her without him even trying. She knows these whole predicament was mostly started by herself, but if he was declining her from the first place, she wouldn’t have gone this far. No doubt, if he would’ve neglect her from the start, she wouldn’t be this head over heels for him. The thing is, he changed and it’s inevitable.

            “Zandik? Where are you going?” the smaller girl followed his footsteps. The said boy turned his body quickly, startling her.

            “It’s none of your business.” He decided to leave her, continuing his steps. The little girl didn’t want to give up just yet. Zandik got more and more irritated, he turns to her direction again, grabbing her shoulders to keep her in place.

            “You’ll end up just like Sohreh. Not like I would let that happen to you... just... stop following me, it’s annoying.” The blue haired lad looked away from her twinkling eyes. The girl giggled at his adorable attempt on hiding his embarrassment, then she grabs his wrists gently.

            “I could take care of myself, I just want to be with you” she beams.

            “Well if you like me that much, aren’t you supposed to listen to me?” the girl pouted. The boy sighed upon her frown.

            “Look, how about this? If I could turn on the giant ruin guard inside the rainforest, you’ll get to follow me everywhere since you’ve shown worthy to follow my command. Imagine, unlimited knowledge! I’ll share what I know to you, and you’ll teach me everything you know. You should be grateful for this offer, don’t you think? How does that sound?” Zandik lifts his chin proudly, his sharp teeth showing. Her eyes gleams up in excitement. She knows well that Zandik is more than capable to turn on the complicated mechanism. If there’s anyone daring enough to do so, someone smart enough to operate the said machine, it would be Zandik himself. The smaller one nods her head eagerly.

            “Good. Watch me and you’ll never see anyone as genius as me ever again”

            It was the last time the Little Architect and Little Zandik sees each other, before the boy got expelled for landing a hand on the forbidden knowledge.

            It was his burning passion. It was his endless curiosity. It was his determination on knowledge. It was his unending pursue on everything he wanted to know. It’s his oblivious handsome face she has fallen into. His crimson eyes that glints at every operation he do. Someone being so silly yet is a pure genius himself. Not this controling, overbearing man that plays on her life as if she’s a puppet on a string. His stupid grin she used to love is no longer there, replaced with a sickening fake smile that he shows to everyone. The man that had so much power he thinks he’s a god himself, where he thinks that he should be worshipped for his capability, even by his own wife. His wife that was willing to listen to him when everyone on the Akademiya despised his presence. His wife that helped him after he’s disposed by his own village. All by pure intentions of loving him.

            When did it all came to this, not even the architect knows. She remembers when she was looking for him, right after she’s graduated, an anonymous letter  came to her mail and told her that Zandik was took by the Fatui. Just before she’s panicking, the last sentence struck her.

“I’ll be waiting for you here, to which I know you’ll do more than enough to become the Fatui’s Next Great Architect”

                                                                                                                        -Il Dottore

---

            “Miss? Are you there?” a knock woke her from her small nap on the carpet. The architect stretches her sore back before exclaiming a small “come in”. Her assistant, Anne walks in her office, bringing a cup of hot coffee with her. Anne shot her a concerned look. Her face is partly red, flustered from the way she cried earlier. Her hair is dishelved and she’s laying on the carpet like a sopping wet cat.

            She, of course, understood the predicament the architect was in. But she never bring it up unless she wanted to, or when....

            “Anne, do you think Dottore loves me?” her voice is hoarse and pathetic. Anne placed the cup on the empty space of her coffee table before she inhales.

            “Of course he loves you” they both knows that it is a lie.

            “He’s just busy, that’s all. I’m sure he can’t wait to spend time with you again” another lie. The older woman lets out a relieved sigh. Anne felt really guilty eventhough it was the architect who asked her to tell her those sweet lies, as a form of coping she said, but it really gets into her this time.

            “Uhm... Miss?”

            “Yes?”

            “This is a very humble opinion, but... Why don’t you go on a vacation? I could sense that work really does affect you these days” Anne suggest, her fingers fidgeting since she felt nervous if she does offend the architect in a way. The woman stares at her intently, as if she’s trying to intimidate her.

            “It’s just my personal opinion, you don’t need actually consider it-“

            “Anne you’re brilliant!” she jumps from her slumping position. Anne let go of her breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

            “I don’t have any urgent deadlines for this month... this is great!” the architect took some steps to her drawing table, picking a blue colored notebook. It looks like she’s looking for a certain page all so enthusiastically.

            “Mmh, I can get, like, two weeks vacation! I could just say it’s for a survey so I won’t need to use my leave allowance- win win solution! Let’s see... Sumeru... Fontaine... Inazuma... no no, Inazuma would take too much time, I don’t want to waste my time inside a ship” the woman frantically throws her papers everywhere, looking for a survey form so Pantalone could arrange her departure. Anne smiled at the mess she made because she’ll get to clean it later, but it’s a small price to pay compared to see her sulking around caused by a man that doesn’t even deserve her attention.

            “Natlan... hmph,” the architect walks around in circle, deciding to where she wanted to go for her ‘survey’.

            “Liyue! I’ve never been there before, how does that sound, Anne?” she beams, startling her assistant.

            “Anywhere you want to go, miss... as long as you’re happy” the blonde claps her hands in joy. Wasting no time, the architect shoves her unfinished drafts from the middle of her table before scribbling out the form she held dearly.

---

            “You could do better than that” Tartaglia swings his makeshift hydro blades, taunting the poor Fatui recruits, far in the middle of the Liyue mountains. More recruits tried to wound him, but he avoided every attack flawlessly. Childe changes his twinblades to a polearm, effortlessly throwing everyone in front of him in one swoop. The moment everyone fell to the ground, one recruit managed to escape the brutal attack. Only to be targeted by the harbinger with a bow that somehow appeared, replacing the previous polearm. With a smile and a calculated aiming, he managed to hit the poor man in one try.

            Tartaglia sighs in disappointment.

            “In the battlefield, there is no mercy. It is either you’re dead or alive. To become a real member of my unit, you’ll at least needed a good reflex or you’ll even get killed if I weren’t limiting my strikes” Childe crosses his arms, scolding them. He turns around to the other side before parting himself, allowing them to have their well deserved rest.

            The ginger took a long walk to the main harbor, staring at nothing in particular. His mind wanders to the architect he haven’t seen in months. The last time they met, he was having a slow dance with her and... the thought had him shook his head violently, not wanting to lower his guard. It will be three month left before he’s back in Snezhnaya to report things. Time had never been felt so long for the poor man, but duty comes first and he knows that very well.

---

            “Baby boy, pack up your things!” the architect carried the smaller boy up high, happily spinning him around. The little boy held a confused face but lits up immediately. This will most likely be a trip.

            “Where are we going?” the boy asks, his crimson eyes full of curiosity.

            “We’re going to Liyue! Aren’t you excited?” his mother beams. The small boy giggles in anticipation.           

            “Is dad coming with-“

            “No” his mother still held her large smile, grimacing at the thought of what would’ve happen if Dottore joins her small vacation, which is, it won’t be a vacation anymore. The smaller boy huffs at the realization. She noticed the drop of mood so she think about something that could cheer him up.

            “But there’s this one old lab of his in the mountains, you could use it whatever you like” she suggests. The happiness came back to his face.

            “All for me?”

            “All for you. It’s full of dead... or living ruin guards, but I know you knew way more about the details, which I trust you enough to get out of there the moment it’s getting dangerous.” The older woman warns. The boy nods his head enthusiastically. She smiles approvingly at his obedience and then she put him down. She’s thinking about an extra help about that predicament but she keeps it for herself for now.

            Right after her son left her to pack his things up, she went straight to Dottore’s office. The architect knocks his door with a particular knock, letting him know that it’s her and not other Fatuus. Without waiting for his approval, she went in and found the man is currently tinkering with a complicated looking spareparts, which didn’t pique her interest.

            “Dottore”

            “Hmm?”

            “I would need Fabian to accompany me to Liyue” her request caught his attention.

            “What for?”

            “It’s a very important occurence where I need him to look after our son in the shadows”

            “Why don’t you just look after him? You’ll do more than sufficient”

            “He’s a big boy now, I need to build up his confidence on himself by trusting him to protect himself without my supervision”

            “Which part of ‘trusting’ is that? You clearly didn’t trust him” The Doctor puts down his device. A visible irk mark appeared on her forehead.

            “Since SOMEONE who’s responsible to take care of a part in his SON’S growth BARELY took any part in it, I think it’s a bare minimum that he’ll lend one of his segment to look after his own son” she spits. Her hostileness took him by surprise but he doesn’t have any comeback to bark back at her.

            “Fine. He’ll be free in three days”

            “I need him now”

            “What the hell-”

            “What the hell Zandik” the woman crosses her arms, unamused. Dottore scoffs, decided to ignore her to continue what he was doing.

            “You’re being unreasonable. He’ll be in front of your room by afternoon”

            “Thank you, finally” she lets out her smile back, happy with the results. Then she proceed to get out from his office, only to stop when he calls her again. A little part of her hoped that it’ll be something about her, or their son, anything around their family whereabouts really. But it’s her fault to expect oh so much from him.

            “Eleventh is currently in Liyue, taking care of a new batch of new recruits. Please do check up on him for me. If he’s not in his prime condition for The Tsaritsa’s upcoming plan, it’ll be a huge disgrace on my name in behalf of the Fatui’s Doctor, a noble scholar. Flawed decision made by man just for a sudden outburst by using the delusion unwisely, he should’ve known better” The Doctor states sternly. The architect sighs, of course it’s not about her.

            “Of course, Dottore, everything for your pride” she stomps away from his office, closing the metal door harshly to the point most of his beaker glass trembles. The Doctor failed to notice why she’s all worked up today, but paid no mind to it, she’ll come back to her usual self again the moment they meet again. Just like how it used to be, as things supposed to be.

            Upon coming to her room the next few hours, a certain blue haired man is waiting in front of her office door. A frown present on the visible part of his face. A weird-borderline silly mask adorned his supposed intimidating face.

            “What do you want?” Dottore’s younger segment scoffs at her, annoyed by the fact that she’s the one who has been holding him to finish his job. The mentioned one smiles at his tantrum.

            “I would like you to follow me to Liyue! And take care of my child without him noticing... or, if you aren’t as good as I think you are, you would just easily caught by him” she explain as the man groans.

            “That little pimp? Outsmarting me? In your dreams,” Fabian stood proudly, crossing his arms. Just how fast did he turned from that to that. The architect smiles at his sudden confidence.

            “That’s the spirit! I trust you enough to take care of my son, so if there is one single scratch on his handsome face, I’ll cut one of your limb” the architect shot him a sweet smile before she moves him from her door and left him outside. Her remarks gives a shiver down to his spine but he knows better not to disappoint her at any way. He will never understand what is inside her mind, but the one thing he knows is that how she is able to support prime until he get this far feels alarming enough for him. He’ll never know how much of a chokehold she had on him so he pretty much doesn’t want to gamble with that possibility.

.

.

.

            The three arrived in the Liyue Harbor after two days worth of travel. They didn’t wear thick coats like they used to. It’s nation with high humidity and blazing sunlight, contrasting the neverending snowstorm in Snezhnaya. It’s only been five minute but the boy keeps whining about how hot it is there.

            “Mama... I didn’t know it’s very hot in here... I need refreshments...” the little boy grabs on the skirt of her sundress, clearly needing her attention.

            “I need to make sure nothing slips from our luggage... you go get something with Anne while I go to the Northland Bank, okay? We’ll meet again there” Anne’s face gone pale with her exclaim.

            “Miss, I’m sure that we’ll be lost... why don’t we stick together for now?” the woman responds abruptly. The architect caught her distress and laughs, agreeing on sticking together even with the whining baby along the way. They went to the Northland Bank for a copy of Liyue map. While the architect is talking to the receptionist, the blue gremlin enjoys the moment of solitary in front of the fan in the corner of the room. Not a normal sight for a Fatui bank.

            “I’ve got the map and pinpoint our inn... let’s go there and take some rest before walking around.” And with that, they left the bank for their well deserved rest. Later that day, they went for a stroll at night, warm lights radiates from small shops. They decided to have a dinner at a certain stall that says Wanmin Restaurant and ordered anything the child wants. Well of course he can’t finish every single one of it so it is why his mother didn’t order anything.

            “Most of the food here tasted strong compared to anything in Snezhnaya” he comments while munching on jade parcels. The taller woman nods in agreement, oblivious on the way Anne struggled to look normal trying to hide how the spiciness affects her mouth.

            “Yeah, most of the thing I ate there tasted bland compared to Sumeru’s specialities... maybe it’s because it’s harder to find fresh herbs on a weather like that, you must import things and it took some time” the mother pokes his nose with the clean end of her chopsticks, earning a small whine from the little boy.

            “Do you like the foods here, Anne?”

            “I would... pretty much prefer Snezhnayan cuisines...” Anne took a glass of water after finishing her meal, emptying its content immediately. The architect giggled at her struggle before ordering another batch of drinks for her lovely assistant.

---

            Tartaglia came back from collecting a debt in a small village at the outskirts of Liyue Harbor. All he wanted to do now is go back to his inn and clean himself. At his way back, the harbinger heard a familiar laugh from distance. Not believing his own ears, he tried to track where did the sound came from, and when he did he couldn’t believe his own eyes. Isn’t that...

            “Let’s head back, it’s your time to sleep,” the woman pats the smaller kid softly. Tartaglia wonders who are the two other people sitting with her. But before his mind wanders further, he couldn’t take off his eyes from her. The thin blouse she wore fits her perfectly while her hair flows gently, caressed by the night breeze. Warm light illuminated her smiling form, Childe swore there are sparkles adorning her pretty face. It felt surreal to the point he thought that it was a dream, seeing her so casual than ever. He weighted his option to greet her or not to greet her. What if he won’t see her again?!

            While he’s still debating with himself, a gentle voice calls him.

            “Childe?” the ginger flinches, everything happened so sudden he only managed a nervous “hi?”. The architect invites him over the table and he walks there groggily, mostly because the small boy doesn’t seem pleased, eyes practically throws dagger at him. The architect introduces him to her assistant and her son. More than happy to know that it’s her son, Childe’s face turns happy to introduce himself.

            “I’m Ajax-“

            “Childe. Ajax. Tartaglia. The eleventh of the eleven harbinger” the boy states. Well thats cold...

            His mother laughs nervously before apologizing for his rude manner but Childe paid no mind. Kids are unpredictable he said. After a small chat, Anne reminded her that it’s almost past the little boy’s bed time.

            “Ah... yeah, I think we should head back. Where is your inn, Childe?” Tartaglia told her where it is and apparently the same as where she’s in. An inn in the middle of the bustling city and near the Northland Bank, the Fatui’s usual it seems. Childe is beyond delighted to know that they won’t be departing soon, let alone living temporary close to each other, can he even ask for more?

            They decided to head back together, but the baby boy doesn’t seem like he likes the idea so he whined to his mother so she’ll carry him back. He doesn’t like the fact that the eleventh harbinger is so friendly with his mom.

            “Aww, baby, aren’t you a spoiled one?” she pinches his cheek with her free hand, earning a giggle from the previously frowning boy.

            “I could help you with that,” Tartaglia opens his arms widely, offering her to carry her son instead with a wide smile. The boy glares at him menacingly before he held her tighter, not wanting to touch the man at any way. His heart breaks a little but he shoves the feeling away, awkwardly resting his arms back on his sides.

            “It’s okay Childe, he’s just shy”

            “No I’m not! He’s a bad harbinger!”

            “Watch your mouth young man,” the architect was about to mention his father jokingly but she held it back for the sake of his innocent heart. Childe looks at the boy challengingly.

            “My, aren’t you a playful one? Do you want to know more of the big bad harbinger?” Tartaglia teases but the younger boy just hisses, not wanting to see his face. Anne follows behind them in an awkward manner, this sure will be a very long trip.

Chapter Text

This fic was originally planned to pour out my frustrations towards Dottore about how I like him yet he's sooo (yeah you know what he's like)
I've done the third chapter (5,6k words) in which the fourth will be the last one, but the third one actually revolves mostly about reader and Tartaglia in which I'm not really sure if I should post it here or nah (this is supposed to be a Dottore fic), or should I wait until I've done the last chapter, should I add more tags? I'm not sure
Honestly I'm struggling wether this is still count as a Dottore centered fic or no
Lmk what you think