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Chapter Text

The sky was beautiful the last day Childe saw it as an unmarried man.

The sun had been blazing in all its glory, rays caught in crystalline flakes of snow, scattering color upon Childe’s fair skin.

He’d relished in it as he did every morning, unknowing that it was probably the last time he’d ever be witnessing one of Snezhnaya’s famous ‘pleasant’ days for a long while.

You see, the beauty about forced marriages is that sometimes when you know one of the parties involved will fight against it, you just…. withhold that information from them.

Important information, such as the date of the wedding, the identity of the future spouse, or... well, the fact that a marriage was to occur at all.

Far less hassle, the Tsaritsa said, than attempting to convince Childe to go along with it.

And so it was. The only hard part would have been getting Childe to be present at his own wedding without letting him know he was being married if the Tsaritsa hadn’t thought that far ahead already.

“Prince Tartaglia. The Tsaritsa wishes for you to return to your chambers to prepare for the meeting.” The attendant trembled. It was with fear; lying to the son of the Tsaritsa never works out for anyone, but Childe would put it down to the new attendant being unused to the biting winds of Snezhnaya.

So, he went. Storming through the halls of Zapolyarny Palace, Childe brushed past more people than usual in his efforts to reach his chambers.

Finally at the top of the highest tower in the palace, Childe burst into his chambers, knocking over two low-level Fatui grunts with the door he’d swung open. Standing in the main room was Pulcinella, examining the elaborate outfit he held in his hands.

The suit comprised of white trousers and a red shirt with a white vest, but everything else paled in comparison to the hulking coat that paired with it. Furred on the inside and at the collars, the intricately stitched symbols depicted the Fatui and its Harbingers, undoubtedly a message of power.

This was where Childe first began to get suspicious. “My, my.” He towered over the fifth harbinger, putting every extra inch of height granted to him to good purpose. “Is there a reason I’m being decorated so elaborately?”

Pulcinella merely shot him one glance before thrusting the clothes at Childe, quietly moving to the adjoining study. “Put that on. You’re running late.”

---

Out of pure spite, Childe made them run later, taking ten minutes and the help of multiple attendants to put his clothes on. The coat was heavy and a pain to wear, but Childe refrained from complaining once he saw the look in Pulcinella’s golden eyes.

“I hope you’re happy. You’ve lost any time you had to prepare yourself.” The short man swung and marched through the doorway, causing Childe to nearly run to catch up with him.

“Why would I need time to  prepare myself ?” Childe caught up to Pulcinella, jogging as comfortably as he could in his coat. “It’s just a meeting. I’ve done this time and time again with multiple foreign dignitaries. I don’t understand why I’m dressed like this or why we’re  running .” The last word was targeted at the poor agent that had been running behind Childe to speed him up, who paled and slowed his pace.

“You’re not just meeting with any dignitaries. They’re from Liyue.”

Oh.  Oh , that cleared up some of Childe’s misgivings.

Liyue and Snezhnaya… to say they hadn’t gotten along well would be the understatement of possibly the millennia. They’d never quite regained equal fitting after the archon war, never mind the Cataclysm, and their archons' mutual distrust of each other made establishing civil connections a pain in the ass.

The previous Cryo Archon had not particularly liked Morax either, possibly why the Tsaritsa had kept the cycle of dislike going.

Not helping matters was the fact that Liyue had no established monarchy, making all those from Liyue look down upon Snezhnaya and their queen. As if they weren’t just as firmly under the iron rule of their own archon.

“And they’re not just here for an argument,” Pulcinella looks at Childe like the next words hold more weight than they should. “They’re here to finalize a peace treaty.”

The words hit Childe like an arrow to the heart.  Peace treaty . That he’d been told fucking nothing about.

He caught the venomous words on the tip of his tongue behind his teeth. Better to confront his mother directly.

As they approached the palace’s largest ballroom, Childe felt less like a diplomatic prince and more like a pig, trussed up for slaughter. Since when are meetings, even those with Liyue, held in their biggest fucking ballroom?

Not to mention the state of the ballroom. Flowers were strung up everywhere, servants running everywhere with bundles of decorations and fresh blooms.

This was beginning to seem less like a diplomatic meeting and a lot more like a... funeral or even a wedding.

Tsaritsa, I hope this isn’t a funeral.  Childe’s thought process took a dark turn.  I’d much rather this be a wedding. 

As they burst into the busy ballroom, the imposing figure standing in the center commanded Childe’s attention.  

His mother turned to face him, something grim lurking in her eyes. Childe was not unfamiliar with that expression in the Tsaritsa’s eyes, but he rarely had it directed at him.

Her eyes were very much on him.

“My dearest and most loyal son.” The Tsaritsa swept towards Childe, expression melting a little to bring warmth to her cheeks and the corners of her smile. “Today is a special day.”

It was at that moment that Childe actually thought to look around the ballroom and not just at his mother.

Ribbons, streamers made from thin paper, flowers upon flowers.

None of that was the most shocking thing.

That honor went to the aisle going down the center of the room and the newly constructed altar awaiting Childe at the end of it.

The last thing Childe thought before the realization hit him was simply ‘ I take it back. I’d prefer a funeral .’

“Congratulations!” His mother smiled. “You’re getting married today!”

---

In hindsight, perhaps the Tsaritsa should have given Childe some warning beforehand. Just a little. For what followed was the first time the attendants of Zapolyarny Palace would ever witness their Prince and honored Harbinger, His Highness Tartaglia, have a temper tantrum.

Childe screamed curses, channeling the spirit of a drunk old sailor as he attempted to yank his coat off his shoulders, kicking at the air as if that would somehow erase his wedding from existence.

The attendants might have been shocked, but the Tsaritsa and Pulcinella simply watched him warily, aware of exactly what would happen the moment Childe realized his own  family  had deceived him.

It took fifteen minutes and one word from the Tsaritsa to yield an alive but snotty Childe in a rumpled coat, hair almost as wild as his eyes.

“Seriously? You’re basically going to sell me, and you didn’t even bother to tell me? What am I doing this for? Who am I even marrying? How could you?”

The Tsaritsa simply waited for her son to shut up before coming closer, placing what might have been an affectionate hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, my son. We retained this information from you only because we were afraid you would react exactly how you are now.”

Pulcinella wanted to turn, to avoid the display of affection, but his eyes were glued to Childe’s face as it went through varying hues of red. “For what it’s worth, Childe. You’re doing this for the sake of your nation. This was the final step in the peace treaty we have drawn up with Liyue.”

Childe whirled towards the mayor, the anger that had dissipated with the Tsaritsa catching fire in his eyes again. “You. You have lied to me as well. I will not forget this.”

Pulcinella knew Childe would never forget this. For a man who often struggled to remember what he had eaten for lunch the previous day, Childe was capable of holding grudges for years.

He was robbed of the chance to reply by the sounds of people strolling through the ballroom doors, talking in varying degrees of volume, but all undoubtedly talking about one thing: Childe, practically twitching with rage in front of them.

Childe took a deep breath before turning to face the group, met with the decidedly unwelcome faces of the rest of the Fatui Harbingers.

Their expressions varied. Pierro stony as always, Dottore’s face alight with joy at the thought of Childe’s suffering, Columbina vacant and spaced-out, Il Capitano’s expression unreadable (what are you supposed to read through that mask), Scaramouche looking at the décor of the room in disdain, Sandrone searching Childe’s face as if she might be looking to program her machines to feel betrayal and was using him as an example, Pantalone smiling at Childe as if he might feel pity if he had a heart, and Arlecchino looking at him with real sympathy at being so callously betrayed by his own mother, despite their mutual dislikes of each other.

Looking at them, Childe felt wrath claw its way even higher up his throat, bile rushing to join it.

They  knew . They knew that this was going to happen and they didn’t tell Childe. Didn’t even drop a single hint.

Thank goodness Signora was on assignment and he didn’t have to deal with seeing her smug face as she watched him flounder.

It was fucking sickening. He’d been training with Scaramouche  yesterday , and not once had he said anything at all.

Not even a little “Oh, by the way, you’re getting married tomorrow. Prepare yourself a little.”

You’d think being their loyal vanguard and their prince might’ve meant the harbingers would assist him a little.

“So you knew.” It was the first thing that left Childe’s mouth, dripping with venom.

It was Dottore who spoke up first, relishing in every barb. “Of course we knew, Childe. Who do you think helped arrange this pretty little party for you? Who do you think just authorized the entry of a Liyuean party into the palace?”

“Leave it to Dottore to be needlessly cruel.” Pierro stepped ahead of the doctor, cutting him off. “For what it is worth, my prince, we were under express orders to withhold this information from you. This is a duty you must perform for your nation. You have made a fantastic prince and harbinger, but it is now the time for you to go past that and make a fantastic groom and representative of Snezhnaya.”  

Perhaps the wrong thing to say, what with Childe’s left eye twitching with annoyance. “My duties to the nation are simple, Pierro. Ask questions, shake hands, scheme, and kill. Nowhere in that did I expect to be sold off to Liyue like  cattle .”

Childe knew he couldn’t escape this. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t go down fighting.

Let them drag him to the altar in chains. Let them force his tongue into making his vows and let them gag him and throw him in a cart to be hauled to Liyue. He would not stop fighting.

Or at least, that’s what he was thinking until his mother laid a hand on his shoulder again, sending a chill down his spine. “Please, Childe. We can argue later.”

After I’m married, then.  He didn’t let that leave his lips.

Pierro was, in all technicalities, correct. This was a duty to his nation. One that would bring peace to two nations on the edge of war.

Childe exhaled through his teeth, noting with relish the disappointment of Dottore and Scaramouche that he hadn’t exploded. “Alright. Who am I marrying?”

At this, the Tsaritsa’s expression shutters again. “We’re not sure. It wasn’t specified in the contract. However, I made sure to promise it would be a person of good character and high enough standing for you to be protected and safe at all times.”

Of course. Morax hadn’t bothered to specify who Childe would be marrying.

“Do they know that they’re marrying me specifically?” Childe hoped they didn’t. Nobody would willingly marry Tartaglia.

“They do not. They are also under the impression that it is a Snezhnayan noble of high standing.” The Tsaritsa was no longer the person looking at Childe. It was instead Childe’s mother that gazed into his eyes, reaching to smooth some of his hair back into place. “It could’ve been anyone else, my son. I only chose you because you are the only person I trust enough to do this. You are one of the only people who could handle an arranged marriage to a person whose identity none of us know. You are my only soldier capable of infiltrating Liyue.”

Childe tried and failed to not let his mother’s praise go to his head. “What do you mean, infiltrate? This is a peace treaty.”

It would’ve been really stupid to think that Snezhnaya would readily sign a peace treaty with Liyue without some kind of backup plan.

The Tsaritsa’s smile widens into a grin. “Morax has something of mine. It is your mission, if possible, to sneak into his palace and retrieve it for me. Other than that, your mission is to have a happy married life. In case something goes wrong, or your partner is in any way untoward: hitting, anything… then simply kill them and return home. It is stipulated in the terms of the contract that should any domestic harm come to you, you are in your full rights to kill them and return.”

That settled something that had been thrashing in Childe’s heart. Only his mother could ask something like this from him and have him actually do it.

He should’ve trusted her. He shouldn’t have reacted with violence first.

Lost in his thoughts, Childe didn’t notice when someone practically half his height walked up to him and thrust something in his hands. He looked down to see Scaramouche, glaring at him. “The file regarding the details of your mission, Childe. Keep it on you. We don’t have the time to fuck around and find out. The delegation- sorry, wedding party, should be almost here.”

Though it was probably insane, Childe swore he saw a little pain in Scaramouche’s eyes. Perhaps some regret regarding the fact that he let Childe walk into this blind… maybe he’d even miss him.

“Dottore, one thing.” The Tsaritsa enveloped her son in her arms. “Was Morax with them?”

The mere mention of Morax had Childe’s muscles stiffening. The Archon of Liyue was not someone to be trifled with, never mind the fact that Childe was slated to steal something from his house.

“Yes, my queen.” Dottore bowed as he said it. “There was a tall man in a white hood, emanating the power of geo. Along with him and the humans were two Adepti.”

The Tsaritsa smoothed down Childe’s hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Be ready, my son. Be strong.”

Strong, huh? That he could do.

---

By the time the delegation strolled into the ballroom, it had been restored to its former beauty (before Childe had begun trying to destroy all the décor), and the mightiest of Snezhnaya’s forces stood to meet them.

Fatui of all ranks lined the walls, sprinkled in with palace staff and commoners invited to witness this monumental occasion.

The Harbingers stood next to the altar; Childe in their ranks until he would be called to the altar to marry whichever poor Liyue businessperson had agreed to this arrangement.

The Liyue Delegation walked down the aisle to meet the Tsaritsa with their heads held high. It consisted of ten very stern-looking humans, two adepti: one green-haired with wild yellow eyes, and another with baby blue hair and eyes far kinder than her companion’s.

Of course, in front of them strolled the Geo Archon himself.

Despite the protective wards in Zapolyarny Palace, Childe swore he felt the ground tremble in its master’s presence.

Magnetic, and positively alluring.

Powerful.

Morax was all those things, and if there was one thing Childe had never been able to resist, it was power.

His golden eyes seemed to slice into the walls of the room and the hearts of everyone he looked at, before finally settling on the Tsaritsa at the end of the aisle. He breezed over to her, making not a sound as he pulled down the hood to reveal the rest of his face.

Childe could swear he’d made a strangled sound as his throat closed up. Luckily for him, so did the entire room.

He was otherworldly in his beauty. Divine even. He must have consulted the most beautiful of humans before sculpting his face to look like this when in human form. Dressed in long, flowy robes, he wore the symbol of the dragon on either side, as if his own presence wasn't dragon enough.

Long nose, fluttering eyelashes, plenty of that beautiful brown hair with the golden tips… he looked like he had been conjured from Childe’s most wild dreams, and perhaps his best nightmares.

As if Childe had stopped dreaming about him from the first time he’d ever seen him.

Fucking beautiful bastard. 

And as if Morax could hear what Childe was thinking, his gaze slid from the Tsaritsa to him.

Suddenly Childe could no longer bear the weight of that stare. He broke eye contact first, instead choosing to look at his hands, clasped in front of him.

“Morax.” The Tsaritsa’s voice carries, professional, a mile away from the soft tone she’d had when reassuring Childe. “I welcome you to Zapolyarny Palace.”

“It is our honor.” Morax’s lips stretched in what may have been a smile.

Celestia help me. Why does he sound like that?  Morax’s voice was smooth and deep. Childe could totally imagine what he sounded like imposing the Wrath of the Rock upon those that deserved it.

Perhaps it was morally wrong to be entertaining sordid fantasies about sexy archons when he was about to marry someone else but come on. Childe was being sold to someone he didn’t know. He could spare a minute to imagine the archon of his future spouse telling him things he really shouldn’t be.

It was possible nervousness and paranoia had just driven Childe insane and he was about to go get married while well out of his senses. Wouldn’t be the first time Childe had done something important when completely blank.

“Shall we continue, then?” The Tsaritsa motioned Childe to the altar and he went, swallowing his misgivings as he took his mother’s hand.

“This is my son, His Highness Tartaglia of Snezhnaya. Those more familiar with him know him by the name ‘Childe’. As per the terms of our arrangement, he is the Snezhnayan whom I wish to marry to one of your subjects for the sake of our peace treaty.”

Childe’s heart was in his throat, hammering wildly with abandon. Morax was looking at him in the closest thing a god could show to shock, hands curling by his sides.

The other members of the delegation exchanged glances and murmurs while the two adepti displayed their surprise more blatantly, the green-haired short guy shifting into what would be a defensive position if he bent a little more.

Surprisingly, the first thing Morax said wasn’t “fuck no” or even “over my dead body”. It was “Not subjects, my lady. Citizens. Those living in Liyue are citizens.”

Nobody but Childe could feel the Tsaritsa stiffen next to him, could hear her breaths getting a little more and more shallow. “Absolutely. My mistake. If you would, please do escort the citizen who consented to be a part of this arrangement to the altar.”

None in the Liyue delegation moved. None save for Morax himself.

He walks to the altar, the movement causing the blue-haired adeptus to snap out of her shock and retrieve a piece of paper from her pouch and follow after him.

Was Childe to marry the adeptus?  Not bad , Childe thought.  There are worse things in the world than marrying a beautiful, no doubt capable woman. 

But no. The adeptus did not step up to stand to face Childe.

He felt his stomach sink.

Morax had stopped in front of him and was now facing him.

Nononononononono

“Morax? What is the meaning of this?” Childe is the only one who could hear the panic in his mother’s voice.

Nononononopleasenonono

“I fear I do not have a citizen for this arrangement. My advisors and I have discussed this at length, and I have devised that it is a necessary sacrifice for my nation. I will be marrying the Prince of Snezhnaya today.”

  Absolutely. Not. No. Not to him. 

Childe spun to face his mother, fear plain and clear on his face as he tried and failed to get out the word “No”.

The Tsaritsa would save him. The Tsaritsa wouldn’t let her only son be given to the most infamous dragon in all of Teyvat’s extensive history.

She simply stared at him impassively, any fear well-concealed under her ice-cold façade.  

No… 

There would be no saving by his mother. Not today.

He would be sold to the Geo Archon, for the measly price of peace.

Peace…. something Childe could not jeopardize. No matter how much he wanted to, no matter the roiling urge to scream and fight and run and kill, boiling in his chest.

“If that is your opinion on the best path to take, Morax, it shall be so. We shall continue.” The Tsaritsa waved a hand to the officiant and moves away from the altar.

Leaving Childe there. To sell his soul to a dragon.

He had done a great many things before. He’d fought and he’d emerged victorious. He had survived the abyss and everything that lurked in its deepest corners.

This was perhaps the first time Childe was unsure of his survival in a long time.

---

The officiant rambled on for what seemed like ages, speaking in both Liyuean and Snezhnayan, voice trembling with every word.

Childe didn’t exactly feel much better. If anything, he probably felt worse.

The officiant wasn’t going to go home with Morax at the end of the day.

Morax, who was looking at Childe like he was prey. And Childe hated it. He was not prey in the least, was a predator if anything, reduced to a flushed and terrified groom in front of the Geo Archon.

That was totally on Morax for dropping the “I will marry Childe” bomb so late. Distantly, Childe knew the Tsaritsa did the same thing with Childe, but somehow it felt so much worse when it was Childe’s head on the chopping block.

And it wasn’t just as simple as that. His own mother had done this. She had dragged him to the stage, placated him, and then pushed his head onto the chopping block and held him there.

All Morax was doing was swinging the axe downwards.

Speaking of, Childe knew Morax noted every time he shook, knew he saw the constant clenching and unclenching of his fists at his sides.

The dragon knew exactly how uncomfortable he was making Childe, and he was relishing in it.

“Ahem.” The sound of someone’s throat clearing caught Childe’s fleeting attention again, and he shifted his eyes to find the officiant staring at him expectantly.

“Oh, yes. I, Tartaglia, Prince of Snezhnaya and Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, take Morax, Geo Archon and Ruler of Liyue to be my lawfully wedded husband within the binding laws of Teyvat. I pledge to him my soul, my body, my thoughts, and my…”

He choked on the last word.

My love . How was Childe supposed to pledge that to a god he was basically being forced into marrying?

“Your Highness?” The officiant asked, visibly shaking now.

And for the first time in years, Childe feels an abyssal pull.

Say it, boy. Don’t back down now. Prove them wrong. 

Prove them wrong. The Tsaritsa, the Harbingers, and Morax, who is looking at him like he is an annoyance.

“My love. I pledge my eternal and undying heart to him. Until death or extenuating circumstances do us part.”

There. He’d said it.

And Morax held less apprehension in his gaze.

“Now for you... sir… my lord…” The poor officiant shook in his shoes as he addressed Morax, who simply shot him a small (canine-bearing) smile.

“I, Morax, Geo Archon and Ruler of Liyue, Take Tartaglia, Prince of Snezhnaya and Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers to be my lawfully wedded husband within the binding laws of Teyvat. I pledge to him my soul, my body, my thoughts, and my eternal and undying love. Until death or extenuating circumstances do us part.”

Morax had pledged his love away so easily that Childe almost felt threatened.

There was a mixture of emotions swirling in Childe’s heart. Fear, betrayal, some pride, but most of all: hatred. Pure, unstoppable hatred.

He hated the god in front of him with all of the heart he had just pledged to him.

“Your Highness. Do you take Morax to be your husband?”

No hesitation. Quick and lethal, like the strike of a blade. “I do.”

“And you, My Lord. Do you take His Highness to be your husband?”

“Yes.” Morax smiled genuinely for the first time, revealing the sharp canines he’d neglected to change in his human form.

“Then I pronounce you both wedded in the eyes of Teyvat, Celestia, and the Heavenly Principles. You may kiss each other.”

Oh, shit, I forgot about that part . In his defence, Childe was a little otherwise preoccupied.

Morax hadn’t if the way he was grinning at Childe was any indication.

Fuck it. He wasn’t about to let the god win that too.

Childe cupped Morax’s (flawless) face in his hands as he brought his lips to his, rooted firmly to the ground by the sudden zap of electricity coursing through them.

Morax responded in kind, rising to Childe’s non-verbal challenge.

His lips were... unfairly soft. Crafted by the gods, Childe thought, feeling delusional, thoughts turned to sticky honey.

After a whole minute and a thorough exploration of each other’s mouths, Childe and Morax broke apart to the cheers of the ballroom, and multiple pairs of eyes bored into the back of Childe’s head.

“You’re married now! Go… uh… go.” The officiant turned and ran out of the room as fast as he could.

Then the flower-throwing began.

Childe examined Morax for one fleeting second before turning to face the people whose faces he truly needed to see: the Tsaritsa and the Harbingers.

He could see his mother putting up a strong face: could see the tremble in her red lips and the pain in her icy eyes. Strands of platinum hair had fallen from her elaborate updo, and it said a lot to Childe that she hadn’t even tucked them back in.

The Harbingers, on the other hand… They all looked terrible. Hyper aware of the mission Childe had in his hands and the imminent demise awaiting their prince if he were to be found stealing from his new husband. Terror in a few pairs of eyes at the fact that Childe had been passed off to a dragon, like some sort of delivery parcel.

The only outliers to the careful masks with cracks of the rest of the harbingers were Dottore and Scaramouche. Dottore looked nearly overjoyed at the prospect of Childe getting an up close and personal look at a dragon, never mind Morax himself. Scaramouche looked pale, absolutely horrified for what could happen to Childe.

It was sweet. Childe hadn’t known that little Scarymouche cared.

Finally, he looked Pierro in the eyes, and mouthed “Duty to my nation, huh?”

It would serve them all right if he was delivered back to Snezhnaya in a month in a casket.

And then he turned to face his husband.

---

The festivities were large and enthusiastic, but Childe couldn’t exactly bring himself to give a shit.

He was sitting in his room, watching as attendants gathered up the pieces of his life and carefully packed them into trunks to be taken to Liyue.

His clothes were folded and neatly packed. His weapons were put into scabbards and separate cases. His trinkets, his belongings… all packed away.

Childe was almost convinced they were going to butcher him and pack him away next.

It certainly sounded preferable to anything else that could happen to him in the upcoming future.

He only dimly registered the opening and slamming of the main door to his chambers, unsurprised when the Tsaritsa flung open the door to his bedroom, Scaramouche trailing behind her.

Not exactly the Tsaritsa, per se. This was his mother, hair wild and blue eyes panicked.

“My son. My baby. I didn’t… I didn’t think…”

“You could’ve stopped it.” Childe shoved away the hand that reached to comfort him. “You could’ve backed out.”

Her face fell and she tried to reach for her son again, failing. “I couldn’t have. You know I couldn’t have…”

“Get out of my room. Let me not see you for the foreseeable future. And perhaps if the next time we meet, it’s when you’re standing over my open casket, then good fucking riddance.”

She backed off. Looked at Childe with large, hurt eyes, and left the room and his chambers.

Scaramouche watched her go in silence.

“And what are you doing here? Come to rub my marriage in my face- “Childe was cut off by Scaramouche throwing himself into Childe’s arms.

That was new. And unexpected.

Surprisingly nice, though. The man could hug.

Reluctantly, Childe returned the hug, wrapping his arms around Scaramouche. “Are you okay, pissy rat?”

“I’m sorry, Childe. I may be a callous piece of shit but even I wouldn’t want you married to a dragon. Morax, no less. I would’ve told you if I hadn’t been ordered not to.”

Even more surprising than the hug. Harbingers were known to not look out for anything other than their own best interests.

Must be  really  bad to worry even Scaramouche.

Childe let him go, not before giving him a weak smile. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. And even if I’m not, I’d like to tell you before I go that you’re one of the only harbingers I might’ve considered a friend. Also, if Her Majesty picks another boy to be Prince and replace me, then make sure he’s uglier than me.”

Scaramouche blinked up at Childe warily before coming back to his senses and redeveloping his bitchy personality. “That’ll be hard, Childe. Not a lot of men out here uglier than you.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s the Scaramouche I know. Take care of the palace for me.”

Childe didn’t wait for a response before leaving. He just signaled to the attendants to bring his trunks and left his chambers.

In the main hall of Zapolyarny Palace stood the Liyue delegation, led by the newly married Morax, who watched Childe approach with derision.

“Shall we go?” Morax asked Childe when he was close enough to hear him.

Childe shot one last glance at his mother, standing to the side with her façade fixed firmly back in place.

“Why not, husband?” Childe could feel the evil in his smile, somehow. “I’m incredibly excited to see my new home.”

Yet as they left, Childe turned back to face the palace before hearing hissed words carried on the air.

Be careful, child of the abyss. Play with fire for too long and you’ll get burned.

Chapter Text

So. It had been a day.

Honestly, Childe didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but he hadn’t been expecting to be loaded into a carriage like luggage and left there, hands balled on his thighs as he awaited the arrival of Morax.

Rather, his Insufferable Majesty of a Husband Morax. He had spent the fifteen minutes before Childe had been put in the carriage blatantly ignoring Childe, as if pretending the problem didn’t exist would just make it disappear.

Good try! However, Childe was immune to disappearing. He was like a very stubborn stain on your favourite nightwear, or a particularly insufferable fly.

Or at least such was his sad attempt at humour, thumbs twitching as he strained his ears to catch the conversation occurring right outside the window.

“Dangerous…” “Not a good idea…” “Idiotic…” That green-haired adeptus really disliked Childe. It stroked his ego to some extent.

Morax’s voice was muffled and undecipherable, considering he did not seem nearly as livid as his attendants. He was plenty livid, though- it seems marrying the heir to Snezhnaya had not crossed his mind as a possibility.

And being honest, even if the Tsaritsa had basically done the same thing with Childe, Morax had come into this arrangement with the knowledge that he was going to get a human locked in matrimony with history’s most famous dragon.

Childe was still swimming in the endless sea of his negative thoughts when the carriage door swung open and Morax somehow fit himself inside, continuing to avoid Childe’s gaze.

Typical. You get married to a dragon and he spends the whole journey ignoring your existence while sitting right across you.

Amidst the stern talking from outside the door, the carriage began to move, beginning with a lurch.

Surprised, Childe looked directly at Morax once again. “Is nobody else joining us?”

Morax’s cor lapis gaze flitted towards him for the first time since they had walked out of the doors of Zapolyarny Palace, disdain still among the emotions displayed in them. “We’re freshly married. Nobody would dare disturb our… celebration of our happy union.”

“Ooh, yeah, real happy union.”

“I’m well aware neither of us think so and neither do the people that saw us today. But you must understand, Childe, that the people of Liyue will think that I would only broker peace for an advantageous but desirable marriage. So put on your joyous face if you must. From here onwards we pretend.” Morax was now looking directly at him with full attention, as if everything that came out of his mouth was a test of sorts, feeling for Childe’s limits.

His words did stoke a fire in Childe. As if he didn’t know how to play nice. Hell, Morax knew that Childe knew how to play nice. In their one previous meeting, Childe had strolled into the room with the blood of a would-be assassinator on his gloves and proceeded to smile politely by the Tsaritsa’s side the entire time.

“It’s not Childe to you. If you absolutely must refer to me, call me Tartaglia. Or better, His Royal Highness Tartaglia.”

Morax sat up straighter. “Of course, your royal highness. In that case, you must call me Your Majesty when referring to me.”

Yipes. Childe didn’t really care.

---

The ride lapsed by in dead silence, neither husband having anything to say to the other until Childe pulled back the curtains of the window to see the rolling scenery of Fontaine passing by.

“How are we in Fontaine? It’s been seven hours at the maximum.”

“Enchanted carriage.” Said carriage slowly began to halt in front of a large building. “Come with me.” Morax waited for the carriage to be at rest before pushing open the door and exiting.

No matter how little his desire to follow his husband anywhere was, Childe was desperate to escape the stupid carriage, especially now that night had fallen.

The stars glimmered in the darkened sky as Childe looked up at them, shining brightly on what was certainly a dark day for him.

Until they began to warp in his vision, twisting into a deep purple energy, writhing with hatred so potent Childe could feel it on his tongue, in his throat.

Son of the abyss. Abandon us not.

Childe violently shook his head. Archons, shut the fuck up. I don’t have the time to have abyssal hallucinations right now.

He blinked and the stars returned to their normal white. What a time to be hallucinating.

He couldn’t lose his marbles so soon into his marriage. It was rather unbefitting for a Snezhnayan prince.

When Childe turned to face Morax, the god was watching him with apprehension on his face, the rest of the Liyue delegation walking into the building with hoods covering their faces.

“Is something wrong?” Morax’s eyes were narrowed with suspicion as he examined Childe with his burning stare before pulling up his hood as well.

“Absolutely not. Come, Your Majesty. What exactly is this building?” Childe fell into step with Morax as they entered the building, which turned out to be a hotel, judging by the lobby.

“We need to rest. Rather, you need to rest. Follow me.” Morax walked towards a stairway at the back of the lobby before giving Childe even one chance to protest.

This was shaping up to be a fantastic marriage.

---

“No.” Morax levelled the short green guy, whose name was apparently Xiao, with a glare. “This is unacceptable.”

“My Lord, you must understand, it is not. You are married. You must keep up some semblance of being such. Also, they don’t have any other free rooms.” Xiao implored, occasionally glaring daggers at Childe.

Like it was his fault they had to share a room? Childe didn’t even know they’d be staying in Fontaine for a night before continuing to Liyue.

“He’s right, Your Majesty. It is better for us to just quietly retire right now.” Yeah, he may have not known, but as if he would pass up the chance to piss Morax off.

Morax had to take a deep breath before looking at Childe once more, hand raised and signalling Xiao away. “Then take leave, Xiao. Don’t stay awake too late.”

Like he was his father or something.

Xiao bowed smoothly, then turned to Childe to bow stiffly, as if it physically pained him to do so, then left.

Childe let out the breath he had been holding in his throat, surveying the slightly lavish room.

Not bad at all. There was a bed, drawers, a small kitchenette… really, what did Morax want?

Morax himself simply took a seat on the edge of the bed, looking at Childe with an expression that screamed “You made this bed. Now live in it.”

So, he did. Childe went to his smallest trunk, already in the corner of the room and dug out a simple cotton shirt and sleep pants before spinning and going to the washroom to change without asking Morax first.

The washroom was every inch as nice as the rest of the room, clean and painted a lovely shade of blue. Childe reached out to touch the frame of the mirror, touching real gold.

Nice. Spare no expense, hmm? He thought before his attention was caught by his own reflection.

He looked the same as yesterday, just dressed in finery and slightly grimy. Everything had changed yet at the same time nothing was different and it was terrifying and possibly for a weaker human, nightmare inducing.

Lucky that Childe was not a weaker human. He was barely human sometimes.

Yet as he observed his own reflection, it changed, warping into a young, pale boy, ginger hair matted and body covered in splashes of blood.

Eyes full of life, of love, eyes that dulled as Childe looked on.

Do not forget your roots, child.

Fucking abyss. As if Childe could forget his roots when he kept having visions of them.

The illusion broke with the fading of the voice in his head and Childe rushed to change, discarding his coat on the floor, desperate to get rid of it.

Then he picked it up and folded it neatly, but the relief of the weight off his shoulders was euphoric.

Childe left the bathroom, arms straining a little under the weight of that archon-forsaken coat, only to find his new husband still in the exact same place, only this time, significantly less dressed.

Morax was lounging on the bed, reclining against sky-blue sheets in only his half-unbuttoned shirt, his coat neatly draped over the back of a chair as he thumbed through a book that he didn’t really seem to be paying attention to.

Rather, his focus seemed to be mainly on Childe, scrutinizing his shirt and causing a flush of embarrassment to rush up to Childe’s cheeks.

Yeah, sure. Judge my shirt. You barely have yours on. Somehow keeping his eyes away from Morax’s exposed torso, Childe walked to the other side of the bed and pulled away the sheets, sliding in and facing the wall to shut Morax’s gaze out.

Morax shut the book he was reading and offered it to Childe, lightly smacking his turned-away figure with it to catch his attention. “You took this out of your trunk when looking for your clothes. I thought you’d like it back and I hope you’ll forgive me for taking your belongings without permission.”

Childe snatched away the book before returning to his original position, only looking at the cover long enough to see it was one of the records of his training with the Fatui.

Morax already knew what he was. This was no surprise to him, Childe was sure.

“Thank you. I’m going to sleep. Please care not to disturb me.”

“Alright.” Childe could feel Morax’s smile as he felt someone warm and large join him under the covers just before the lights were switched off.

And as usual with the disappearance of light came the shadows. Lurking always out of sight yet only coming out to play when Childe was at his most weak, most vulnerable, most susceptible to being preyed on.

They envelope him. Swallow him whole, if not physically, emotionally, drag him back to the abyss where he belongs.

He hadn’t told anyone, not even his mother, that the abyssal taint was growing worse. He simply grit his teeth and bore it, bore the weight of his own childish decision.

It was his fault, and this was his price to pay.

Welcome back again once more, my child. We left things on a sorry note last time I spoke to you-

Suddenly, a rush of blinding, searing energy through him, cutting through the darkness lurking in and around him.

Golden waves upon waves, obliterating the lingering touch of the abyss’ darkness, erasing the pain of Childe’s existence.

There was a scream trapped in his throat, his hands ready to claw, his head shockingly free of blinding pain, yet he didn’t do anything.

Because a pair of strong brown arms wrapped around him, pulling him against the source of that wonderful glimmering power, anchoring him firmly in the real world and yanking him away from the edge of the abyss that lived in his mind.

“Now, this. This is a fact about you that I did not yet have knowledge of.” Morax’s lips formed the sharp words into Childe’s hair, a statement to which Morax only received a strangled groan in reply.

“Mark my words, Your Royal Highness Tartaglia of Snezhnaya. You may be consumed by the abyss. You may revel in your abyssal taint. But not near me. Not near my people. I will keep the abyss at bay for as long as it poses a threat to Liyue and its citizens. I will hold you to me every night if that is what it takes. You will not invite the abyss into my territory, nor into the man who is now my husband.”

Another wave of golden energy and Childe was ready to get on his knees and beg the Lord of Geo for forgiveness, but on the heels of this wave came the soft seas of sleep, and it was just so tempting.

Childe succumbed. What else could he have possibly done?

---

Childe awoke to the blazing sun, birds chirping, and the surprisingly missed absence of Morax’s arms around him.

He lay alone in the bed, left to nothing but his thoughts. This spelled trouble and Childe was probably fucked but… it had been months since he had gotten an undisturbed nights sleep.

And it felt so fucking good. So had being held by Morax like that, but the second thought was more dangerous to Childe as a whole at the moment, so he was ignoring it.

He stretched and twisted himself in a few different ways before rising, gathering a formal shirt and pants on his way to the washroom.

He’d find Morax later. No big deal. It was definitely not like Childe may have married a dragon, but Morax had directly invited the abyss into his house or anything.

Ten minutes and a quick shower later, Childe walked back in the bedroom to find Morax standing there, looking even more edible than he had yesterday in a different outer coat, this one red with golden trim.

Mercifully, Morax didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it either. “A coat for you. Look alive.”

He offered the coat in his hands, which Childe gingerly took. “Listen, Your Majesty, about last night-“

“We needn’t speak about it. I have made my intentions regarding the action I will take concerning it clear. All I want to know is why your mother would keep it from me in the contract.” Morax turned to leave.

“I- uh. She doesn’t know. That it’s gotten this bad. She adopted me when she found me on the edge of the abyss in a forest near a fishing town and I was already fourteen and already tainted but we’d had it under control until… until recently. I didn’t want anyone to know. It’s my fault it’s not in the contract, not hers. I’m sorry.” Childe hated the way he stumbled over his words, hated the way his confidence dwindled under Morax’s golden stare.

“Would this control have anything to do with the Tsaritsa’s infamous crown jewel?” Morax’s eyes darken, amber instead of gold.

“I… No comment.”

“I see. Well then. No need for anyone else to know, is there?” To Childe’s surprise, the corners of Morax’s mouth lifted in amusement.

“No.” The crushing relief hit Childe like a polearm to the head. “No there isn’t.”

---

The carriage ride to Liyue was a lot less awkward and a lot more bearable, mainly because Morax was sitting in another carriage with Xiao, leaving poor Ganyu in the clutches of a bored Childe.

“So once again, tell me why you’re working for Morax of all people?”

Ganyu shook a little (Understandably. This was the fifth time Childe was asking her the same question) before repeating her answer again. “Because as an adeptus, it is my honour to work for My Lord Rex Lapis, to protect all of Liyue against threat, both external and internal.”

“Okay, Ganyu, that’s the diplomatic answer. I’m Morax’s husband now. Give me the truth.” Childe leaned forward imploringly.

“Fine! This is the fifth time you’ve asked so I’ll tell the truth. It’s because as an adeptus it is my birth right to work for him. Got it?” Ganyu snapped, slapping her hand over her mouth when she realised what she had done.

“I got it the first four times. I just wanted you to be honest with me.” Childe grinned. “You know what, now that you’ve been honest with me, I will offer you the same courtesy. Ganyu, I need a friend. My husband doesn’t count, and Xiao hates me. Therefore, you are my best option!”

Ganyu stopped short. “You want me to be your… friend.”

“Yes! I don’t want to walk into an unfamiliar court completely blind. I’ve never been to Liyue before. The one meeting with His Majesty I attended in the past was held in neutral territory. Sumeru, actually.”

Childe could see pity for him on Ganyu’s face. He needed help and this was the best way to get it but there was no denying the little urge in him to actually have a friend. He rarely made those.

“I’ll be your friend, Your Royal Highness. It’s not fair to leave you in the Liyue court with no allies. I think you’ll find me quite helpful!”

Childe’s sigh of relief was short-lived, because the carriage began to slow to a halt and instinctively, Childe knew he was about to walk straight into the lion’s den.

“Welcome to Liyue Harbour. More specifically, the Jade Chamber.”

It was beautiful. Childe looked up at it, just floating in the air, and suddenly felt very small.

Inconsequential in the sequence of things.

The other carriages in the procession rolled to a halt, Morax and Xiao climbing out of the first one that stopped.

“It’s stunning.” Childe knew Morax could hear the honesty in his voice, because the god smiled a little as if happy that Childe approved.

“It is not my compliment to take. You may send your regards to the architect, Lady Ningguang.”

Xiao rolled his eyes before gesturing to the path upwards. “You may go first, honoured guest.”

I’m a great honoured guest. All guests steal things. Childe kept a smile on his face to make sure it didn’t betray his thoughts.

“He is not a guest, Xiao. He is my husband. You will do well to remember that his presence is, in the best-case scenario, not temporary.”

Childe could see Xiao physically resist the urge to roll his eyes. “My apologies, My Lord.”

So, the Adepti didn’t call him Morax. They knew him as Rex Lapis. Childe was sure this held some importance, especially to his mission, but he was having trouble focusing at the moment.

He blindly followed the entourage to the Jade Chamber, barely taking note of the crowd gathering below him, too overwhelmed to think.

Until finally, standing on the edge of the Jade Chamber’s pavilion, Morax stopped short and took Childe’s hands in his.

“Citizens of Liyue.” His voice boomed, probably reverberating in the valleys. “After years of unnecessary tension and conflict, we have finally brokered a peace treaty with Snezhnaya.”

Childe inhaled sharply as the people gathering below begin to scream and cheer, their admiration for Morax put on full display.

“In exchange, we have arranged a political marriage that has already occurred. Between me and the Honourable Prince of Snezhnaya, His Royal Highness Tartaglia.”

Annnddd pin drop silence. Wow. That stung.

See, Ajax? They don’t want you. Nobody wants you apart from me. The abyss hissed in his mind.

Oh, for the love of the Tsaritsa, shut the fuck up. Nobody asked you about your opinion of me. Childe retorted in his thoughts, well aware of how insecure it made him feel.

Then Morax put his hand on Childe’s arm and the abyss’ thoughts dissolved in his head. “Your silence speaks louder than words, my people. But do know that this is the best course of action that could have possibly been taken, and Tartaglia is a capable man and a just ruler. For the citizens of Liyue to judge based on mere rumours… I should’ve thought you all knew better.”

Wow, what a blatant fucking lie from Morax! And yet it made something in Childe’s heart accelerate, finally being validated in front of a crowd such as this.

The Tsaritsa had never bothered to do so. Any scrutiny Childe faced from Snezhnaya was always his to bear, even as a child.

It made Childe want to melt into a puddle on the Jade Chamber, and the sun wasn’t even that strong.

“Any protests?” Morax finished.

None from the crowd, now surveying Childe as if he was a wholly new person.

Then began the cheering. Screams and shouts and promises to buy action figures of Childe and nothing had ever felt better.

“Come, Tartaglia. You must make yourself at home.” With that finishing line, Morax led Childe into his home.

---

Childe sat on his new bed, agonizing over when the correct time to open the mission scroll was.

The living arrangements had come as nothing but a shock. A whole wing, with an elevator of all things that opened to a living room, connected to which were two bedrooms on either side.

Childe had been given the West bedroom and promptly made himself at home, refusing for attendants to unpack his things. He’d have liked to take the time by himself to assure everything was arranged as he wished.

Mainly, he was nervous- after Morax’s promise the previous night, he knew who the East bedroom belonged to. They’d have to discuss sleeping arrangements.

More important was Childe’s mission, and he’d finally built up the courage to open the scroll.

Childe sat at the desk in his new bedroom and flipped open his favourite butterfly knife, heating it up over the candle he lit before slicing through the wax seal binding the scroll.

He unfurled the scroll and set aside the knife, mentally preparing himself.

Then he read all of it.

Then read it again.

And again.

In shock and horror.

After twenty minutes of pure panic, Childe set down the scroll, put his head in his hands, and resigned himself to his fate of near-certain execution.

Then he wondered who he could make a Liyuean traitor.

---

Their first official event as a married couple was lunch, which got over quickly and smoothly, without much drama.

Much drama. One of Morax’s advisors fainted when Childe passed him a pair of extra chopsticks and had to be carried out on a stretcher.

Morax barely looked in Childe’s direction, and after lunch holed himself up in a room with his advisors that Childe was barred from entering.

So, Childe took a detour, to the roof of the Jade Chamber.

The air was clean and crisp, and it didn’t physically hurt to inhale the way that the air in Snezhnaya had been.

Until Childe smelt something else on it. Not abyssal taint, but something close to it, something similarly twisted.

He turned to find Xiao watching him on the balcony, dark green energy rising from his skin as he glared at Childe unabashedly.

“What happened to you?” Childe questioned shamelessly. “You reek of death.”

Xiao’s face shifted into a scowl. “Karmic debt, accumulated from years of killing monsters to protect Liyue.”

“Oh. Cool!” Then Childe made what could’ve been a bad decision. He felt around in himself for the call of the abyss and he yanked it to the surface of his skin while still trying to keep the voice quiet, revelling in the shock and horror on Xiao’s face as the adeptus watched dark purple tendrils of abyssal taint twist and turn their way down Childe’s arms.

“You… you’re-“ Xiao started, hitch audible in his voice.

“Yes. Yes, I am, so I can understand how you feel. Not what you’re going through, but how you feel.”

Something in Xiao’s expression cooled, a type of understanding that was only known by those suffering under the consequences of their own actions.

“Tell me, Xiao. Do you want me gone? In a peaceful Snezhnaya where I can do Liyue no harm and still have brought peace to our nations?”

Xiao’s answer was immediate. “Yes. I’ll do close to anything.”

Childe didn’t mean to, but he felt a grin spread on his face. “What if I told you I need to steal something that is important to my queen from the Jade Chamber? Something powerful?”

“I would help.” Xiao swallowed, shame already surfacing. “I would betray my lord for the safety of Liyue.”

“Good. You’re my ally as of now.”

“What do you need to steal?”

Childe turned to face the sky.

“The Crown Jewel of the crown of the Tsaritsa. The Snezhnayan power gem. The one thing that could rid me of abyssal taint forever.”

Chapter Text

Childe was a bitch of a husband.

In just three months he had managed to lie to his husband repeatedly, piss Xiao off to extreme lengths, and had made absolutely no progress in his mission to retrieve the power gem.

Very competent! Very awesome. Call for the party organizers because Childe is in the building!

He was making no progress with Morax at all. They had their meals together and smiled in public but behind closed doors, they said very little to each other and then like any other normal married couple climbed into Childe’s bed every night to coax the abyss out of him then have Morax obliterate it.

Normal married couple things.

When Childe had insisted they share a bed in the hotel all that while ago, he had been trying to show Morax that it had been a bad decision to marry Childe, hoping that in the best-case scenario Morax would divorce him and then send him off with the Tsaritsa’s belongings as a sorry for divorcing him and that in the worst-case scenario it would scare Morax off.

None of that had happened. All it incentivized Morax to do was get into Childe’s bed and hold him close.

Childe desperately wished that it wouldn’t feel so good and the next time it just… did. It was infuriating.

Less than Morax, the more worrying thing was his impending mission.

No hints as to where the power gem could be at all. Even Xiao couldn’t find anything as to where it was kept or what it was kept in, and he was one of Morax’s most trusted adepti.

Childe was getting nearly desperate, and it had been three whole months since his marriage to Morax. Three fucking months of being absolutely useless and just hanging around the Jade Chamber doing absolutely nothing while Morax spoke to advisors and actually ran his country.

The cherry on top to all of this was the fact that Childe wasn’t allowed to leave the Jade Chamber at all because of the threat of assassination. Most of his time with Morax was spent silent and if he was talking, it was to ask when he could go outside.

Morax was always dismissive about that question. Childe had begun to think he would never be able to see Liyue outside of the walls of the Jade Chamber.

He understood it was somewhat effective precaution against assassination, but he was beginning to feel like a hamster repeatedly running in its stupid little wheel in a glamorous cage.

Super glamorous cage, though. The Jade Chamber was huge… but the personalities of its inhabitants were larger.

Unfortunately for Childe, he had run into the Tianquan Ningguang and the Yukong Keqing on his fifth day, both of whom had looked him up and down and turned their noses up to the air before walking away.

Nevermind that Childe had been about to tell Ningguang how much he loved her creation. It seemed like he would never get the chance, considering that it was possible that she’d rather die than speak to Childe. Oh well.

Childe drummed his fingers on the railing of his balcony, looking at the view of Liyue Harbor with some derision. (The balcony had an invisible force field to prevent Childe from jumping. He’d already tried.)

There was no possible way for Childe to locate the power gem. He hadn’t been told anything and he wasn’t allowed to communicate with anyone in Snezhnaya until he proved himself to be a loyal and trustworthy husband (just political marriage things) and considering his little Liyuean traitor also knew fuck-nothing, the odds that Childe would fail his mission and stay hitched to Morax were high.

I mean, staying hitched to Morax didn’t seem too bad…

Nope. Childe shook the thought out of his head before resuming the drumming, mind whirling with possibilities and also the image of Morax shirtless.

Wait. Wait. There was an idea somewhere in his mind. Childe just had to find it.

Son, your task is impossible. Just give up and return to me… Childe cursed Skirk again for never telling him he’d live with a very pessimistic voice in his head for the rest of his life.

He ignored it instead of fighting back, determined to figure out what his idea was…… There. There it was. That was it!

Childe fled from the balcony, almost knocking an attendant down as he raced into his chambers. He then sat at the desk where he’d received some of the worst news of his life and began writing a letter.

He wasn’t allowed to contact his allies in Snezhnaya. He was allowed to send a letter to an innocent Mondstadtian friend, who was a respectable businessman with definitely no shady dealings at all.

Come what may, Childe was going to find a way to fulfil his mission.

---

“You want to send a letter. To Diluc Ragvindr.” Morax lounged in his chair, only one eye open to scrutinize his husband. “You’re aware he detests the Fatui, yes?”

Childe clutched the letter closer to his chest, trying to act every bit the homesick fool. “Your Majesty, I promise you, Diluc and I are the best of friends! We tried to kill each other once but now we’re besties!”

If the backstory hadn’t thrown Morax off enough, the use of the term ‘besties’ seemed to do the trick. “Alright. I will send your letter, and I will not read it, to protect your privacy. Husbands are supposed to trust each other.”

Uh, yeah, and husbands were also supposed to love or even like each other. Not like anything about this relationship was conventional in any way.

Nevermind that! It certainly wasn’t Childe’s place to comment, what with the abyssal taint and the threatening aura and all.

Childe, in all his delusions of grandeur and solving his mission, couldn’t see the way Morax opened both eyes to look him up and down. Could he feel it? Yes, but it was easy to just associate the chill down his spine with trepidation instead.

Childe opened his eyes and blinked to clear away the images of him going home to a big celebration, making proper eye contact with his erstwhile husband, who was staring at him oddly. “Something wrong, your majesty?”

“No.” Morax cleared his throat. “Nothing is wrong.”

Taking the weird looks as a polite invitation to get the fuck out of Morax’s office, Childe skipped away, happier than anyone in the Jade Chamber had ever seen him. Then, he sat down to write a letter.

---

To: Master of the Dawn Winery, Diluc Ragvindr [Dawn Winery, Mondstadt]

From: His Royal Highness Tartaglia of Snezhnaya, Eleventh of the eleven Fatui Harbingers, Harbinger of Doom [Jade Chamber, Liyue]

Dear Diluc,

I’m aware it’s been over a year since we last spoke, but I couldn’t help but think of you, especially now in my new position.

I yearn desperately for a friend. And when I think of friends, I think of you.

To keep this letter short and simple, I would like to invite you to Liyue to stay with me for a few weeks.

Yours,

Childe

P.S: Bring one of your coats for me to keep. <3

---

So. Morax lied, and he read the letter.

He wasn’t exactly subtle about it, what with what happened the day after Childe got Morax to send the letter.

“What is this?” Childe looked up from his book as he swung his legs over the window-seat where he was sitting, seeing Ganyu holding a very large package.

“It’s a delivery for- uh, for you.” Ganyu gently set the box next to Childe, fidgeting with her hair as soon as her hands were free. “It was sent by His Lordship. I’m a little unsure as to why-“

She was interrupted by the sound of Childe emptying the box onto the seat, sending about five coats tumbling out of it.

“Why you would need so many coats in Liyue. I hoped you’d have some reason…”

Childe gaped at the multicoloured assortment of heavy winter coats, rifling through them only to find the seal of what he was told was the best boutique in Liyue. “His Majesty sent these?... Ganyu, tell me, do you think he read my letter?”

Ganyu’s cheeks pinked, which was answer enough for Childe. “I suppose he may have done so. For what it’s worth, having read the letter, is it possible His Lordship is perhaps… jealous?”

“About what? The coat thing?”

“Yes.” Ganyu took a pointed look at the coats. “I think it may be about the coat thing.”

The postscript in the letter was code invented by Diluc and Childe, indicating that the sender required extreme discretion in the matter and meant that the receiver should bring a weapon. Not that Morax needed to know that.

Regardless, the thought that Morax would be jealous of Diluc to the point that he’d buy five coats was not just baffling, it was a little thrilling. Just a little.

“With all due respect, my friend, that’s insane. It’s His Majesty, after all. He probably just thinks the Snezhnayan in me misses wearing coats, as if I didn’t bring multiple myself.” Childe blabbered, stuffing the coats back in the box. “Now, if possible, could you take this back to your lovely boss?”

Ganyu sighed, which was the furthest she’d argue on any topic, and took the box from Childe’s outstretched arms. “Of course. I’ll be sure to give him your regards.”

Two days after that incident, Morax came barging into Childe’s bedroom, coats in hand.

“If these gifts are not to your liking, why return them via Ganyu and not directly to me? Surely I am not so unapproachable a husband that you cannot handle face-to-face interaction with me.”

He was that unapproachable a husband, but Childe had discovered over the past three months that Morax had a little tendency to be blind to his faults when it came to social interaction. It was possible that six thousand years of having everyone kiss his ass no matter what a bitch he was had done that to him.

“Of course not, Your Majesty. It’s simply that I’ve been a little busy.” Childe stretched his legs out on his bed with an insouciant smile on his face.

“Doing what? Reading? Scaring the lives out of my courtiers?” Morax scoffed, warily watching the way Childe’s pants rode up at the ankles. “You need not lie just to spare my feelings- I assure you, you hold no bearing on them.”

Smile fading, Childe stood to snatch the coats out of his Absolutely Adoring Husband’s arms. “Whatever. Have you yet received a reply to my letter?”

At this, Morax’s demeanour stiffened. “Not yet. If I may, Your Royal Highness- or shall I say, Your Majesty, why exactly are you so invested in this letter? You have been here for three months, and Diluc Ragvindr is the only thing you have showed this much interest in. Be honest with me.”

Ganyu could’ve been right about that jealousy thing. It’s not like it was completely inconceivable to be attracted to each other despite hating each other. Childe had surreptitiously been fanning himself every time Morax deigned to climb in bed shirtless.

“He’s my friend, Morax. Like you said, it’s been three months. I have nothing to do here- everyone in this palace except for Ganyu hates me, I can’t go outside, all of Liyue hates me too, and the chefs are getting really tired of my penchant for early-morning snacking. I cannot make the best of a bad situation because I am basically a bird in a very pretty cage. I just need to speak to someone who doesn’t have it out for me right now. Honest enough for you?”

That was maybe a little more than Childe had originally intended to say, but what’s done was done. Morax simply gazed at Childe with something akin to pity before moving to the door. “Alright. I’ll notify you as soon as your letter gets a reply.”

Childe sighed as soon as the door shut before flinging himself back onto the bed. It had been a shitty three months.

---

One Month Later

Where the fuck was the reply from Diluc? Did it always take the man thirty days to write a single letter from Mondstadt to Liyue?

Childe huffed the whiny words under his breath as his attendant told him that there were, in fact, no letters for the day. The attendant trembled and made to run as soon as Childe dismissed him. He was oh so very loved in Liyue, definitely.

Childe flung himself on his bed, head in his hands in exasperation before he ran his hands through his hair with the air of a man defeated as his brain raced through every single possibility for what to do next.

With no assistance from (the very legal businessman) Diluc, and no helpful information from Xiao, Childe was very quickly approaching a dead end regarding the power gem issue. He had no leads, no new information regarding where Morax was hiding the power gem. The only remaining possible source was Morax himself.

Which was not helpful, considering that Morax hated his husband- as much as anyone could hate their regular night-time cuddler. For the past month, ever since the coat incident (that Ganyu had taken to calling Coatgate, after some political scandal that Childe couldn’t understand) Morax and Childe had been less patient with each other.

Morax couldn’t even civilly ask Childe to pass the salt at breakfast. He just pointed at the salt shaker and grunted.

Despite that, the sexual tension between them had been thick enough to cut with a knife. That whole enemies-to-lovers phenomenon was some seriously heady stuff. It seemed like Ganyu was on tenterhooks just waiting for them to snap and get caught in a compromising position in a wardrobe.

To have to get information out of Morax, Childe would have to go to absolutely unreasonable lengths. There was one teeny-weeny idea in his head- just one possibility that part of him didn’t want to explore fully.

Now, Childe was no stranger to seduction. He’d seduced, he’d been seduced, anything and everything. It was a blessing to have such pretty, soulless, eyes. The only flaw in the “seduce Morax” plan was… well. Everything.

It’s not like Morax found Childe repulsive. Childe was sure that if he reached back one night when they were pressed together and felt around, he would find rather solid proof that it was the opposite. But Morax was closed off and terrible at being civil, so only someone really stupid would attempt to seduce the dragon king.

So, Childe unbuttoned the top of his shirt and walked over to Morax’s offices, because there was no choice but to be really fucking stupid sometimes.

---

“Come in.” Morax’s voice practically resonated through the closed door of his office, and Childe could swear that he could feel the vibrations in his bones. It was very possible that Childe was simply nervous, but he was trembling so hard that he could barely register that fact. Speaking to Morax even partially civilly was hard enough- how was he supposed to seduce his husband?

The door swung open under Childe’s hand, opening enough for Morax to see Childe standing in the doorway looking significantly more dishevelled than usual, shaking like a leaf. “Is something wrong?” Morax raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“Yes. Something is wrong. I haven’t seen you for a while.” Childe attempted to slink over to the desk, swaying his hips in what he must have assumed was a seductive manner (it was not seductive). He hooked one arm behind Morax’s head, pressing himself up against his elusive husband.

“What on earth has gotten into you, your Royal Majesty?” Morax used the title with derision and a little bit of shock, forgoing ‘highness’ for the higher version. His hands curled over the sides of his chair as he began to register the ginger in his lap.

“I just missed you is all. Don’t tell me that you aren’t even a little bit attracted to me…” Childe pressed a cold thumb to the centre of Morax’s lips. Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind, he knew that he was behaving in a completely irrational and idiotic manner. Somewhere a little less deep, he would like to get into Morax’s pants.

Morax let out a groan that he couldn’t help before snapping his lips shut in anger. “And what if I am? Is it a crime? You do nothing except be infuriating at all given times, only spending your days with Ganyu and your books, ignoring me and scaring everyone else. Do you truly believe that I am unaware that you tried to jump out of a balcony during your second week here? This is a political alliance, your Royal Majesty. Now tell me what you want.”

Indignation got the better of Childe as he lept out of Morax’s lap, staggering against the desk. “Excuse me? I’m ignoring you? You’re ignoring me! You’ve locked me in your gilded cage and refuse to let me out- I have been ripped out of my nation, my home, and practically sold to a man who does not care about me! You have no right to sit here and call me infuriating when you’re nothing but a neglectful pompous asshole with no empathy for those you steal from their homes!”

Was that a little overboard? Yes. Was that dramatic? Yes. Childe regretted almost all of it the moment it left his mouth. He regretted it even more when he saw one of Morax’s regal brows twitch in annoyance.

Morax stood, stalking the two steps to his desks before using his arms to cage Childe in. “You truly feel as if I bought you?” Childe felt his breaths go shallow and his heartbeat speed up at the proximity as his brain attempted to mentally count Morax’s eyelashes. “I do believe that is what I said.”

The dragon cornering him made a ‘tchh’ sound, dipping his head lower. “That is not what I asked. I asked if you truly felt that way. I would like an answer.”

Childe could feel Morax’s breaths at the juncture between his shoulder and neck, and he stuttered a bit before answering. “If I did feel that way, any blame would lie with my mother. Not with you.”

Morax looked back up at Childe in surprise, the first emotion Childe had seen written plainly in his expression ever. “Do you mean that?”

This time, Childe did not hesitate. “Yes.”

Upon further recollection, every time Childe obsessively thought about what came next, he was not sure of who moved first or why. All he would remember was the sudden movement and the heat of finally having his husband’s mouth upon his as he felt his lips fall open.

The kiss was hot and insistent, Childe’s hands curling into the length of Morax’s hair like he’d wanted to for four months (soft, as he’d been expecting. Damn dragons and their haircare routines) as Morax moved his lips against Childe’s. He hooked his legs around Morax’s waist, pulling them closer to each other and pressing their chests almost flush against each other.

Childe gasped when Morax surprisingly gently lifted him by the hips, flipping him over facing the desk to get better access to his neck.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, the kissing would’ve been great- if Childe had not seen on the desk what he thought he saw.

“Stop. Morax, stop-“ Morax stopped the moment he heard Childe begin, the tension of the moment breaking apart in mere seconds. “Is everything alright?”

Childe scrambled for the piece of paper, breathing heavily as he read what was written on the fine stationery.

Mondstadtian stationery, signed and stamped with the seal of the Dawn Winery.

---

To: His Royal Highness Tartaglia of Snezhnaya, Eleventh of the eleven Fatui Harbingers, Harbinger of Doom [Jade Chamber, Liyue]

From: Master of the Dawn Winery, Diluc Ragvindr [Dawn Winery, Mondstadt]

Dear Childe,

Your letter was awaited with great anticipation, and you have no idea how happy I am to have finally received it.

I am currently en route to Liyue. Considering that I have business in Fontaine as well, I have decided to travel directly to Fontaine via ship and come to Liyue as soon as it is over. I shall have arrived at Liyue in two weeks.

I hope you are prepared to receive me, and that your new husband has been notified of my arrival.

Do let me know when to come to the Jade Chamber.

Love,
Diluc

P.S- I have indeed packed extra coats to bring along with me. You need not worry.

---

His hands shook with rage as Childe looked at Morax with plain betrayal in his eyes, watching Morax’s flushed face pale.

“This is dated two weeks ago, Morax. Why wouldn’t you tell me about this? Why were you hiding it from me?”

Morax simply brushed the front of his shirt as if to brush Childe off of him, avoiding Childe’s gaze. “I saw how eagerly you anticipated this letter, and decided it was in the best interests of security that I do not inform you until Master Diluc has arrived. He is scheduled to arrive at the Jade Chamber tomorrow. All the preparations have been made.”

Childe rolled his eyes in exasperation, buttoning his shirt with clear anger in his actions. “Right. Whatever. Forget everything that just happened. I don’t go around kissing people that hide my letters from me.”

He stormed out of the office, ignoring Morax’s calls for him to stop walking away and stay.

Later at night, when Morax slid into Childe’s bed, Childe would pretend he couldn’t feel the euphoria of the abyss leeching out of him, pretend he couldn’t see that Morax’s hair was purposefully dangling on his shoulder, pretend his breaths against his neck had no effect.

That was a long night.

---

The horns blared as three carriages rolled to a stop at the Jade Chamber, Morax and his courtiers standing to the left, Childe and Ganyu alone to the right. Neither had spoken to the other since the previous night, not even after waking up together.

Xiao stepped forward and unrolled a scroll, clearing his throat. “Announcing the presence of Master Diluc Ragvindr of the Dawn Winery, and that of his younger brother, Master Kaeya Alberich-Ragvindr of the Dawn Winery.”

The carriage doors opened and out stepped the brothers Ragvindr, Diluc’s flame hair practically catching the sunlight as crimson eyes coldly assessed the situation.

He immediately noted the distance between the so-called happy couple, bowing in Morax’s direction before stepping towards Childe.

“Childe, my friend. It is so good to see you after so long.” Childe allowed himself a grin before wrapping his arms tightly around Diluc, pretending he couldn’t feel Morax’s eyes practically bore themselves into the back of his neck.

Kaeya grinned at the display of affection, copying his brother’s respectful bow towards Morax (with a lot less apparent respect). “If it isn’t his Royal Majesty Tartaglia. I am honoured to once again be in your esteemed presence.” Diluc quickly reached over to give Kaeya a solid knock to the back of his head. “Don’t patronize.”

Morax stepped forward with a glare levelled in Diluc’s direction, expression softening as if to put him at ease. “I am pleased to welcome you to Liyue, Masters Ragvindr. I hope your journey was pleasant.” Childe side eyed Morax from the corner of his eye, worried he would say something to put Diluc off.

Morax didn’t know that Diluc was here with weapons and the intention to help Childe steal something from his husband, of course. It was unarguably better that way. Diluc dipped his head towards Childe’s ear, whispering so as to not be heard by the adepti. “They’re in the trunks in the third carriage. Make sure your dear husband doesn’t search them.”

Childe smiled and nodded as if Diluc had simply complimented him (on what? The unhappy marriage?) and moved towards the carriages. “Allow me to manage their affairs…”

He trailed off when Morax raised a ‘silencing’ hand, silently fuming at the undermining of the order. “If I may, my husband. I believe the most imperative thing to do would be first to search the carriages and trunks.”

Fuck fuck nooo fuck fuck fuck.

See what happens when you try and be smart?  The voice in Childe's head had been blissfully silent, but had apparently returned to make a bad situation worse. Stop playing your games. Come back to me... 

Childe suppressed a nervous swallow as Morax moved to the third carriage, pulling out the first trunk as both Ragvindr brothers watched with trepidation. Then he flipped it open, only to find a few coats, black rimmed with red, with copper buttons- identical to the coat Diluc was wearing.

The realisation set in and Morax’s jaw just worked as he snapped the trunk shut before he turned to face Diluc apologetically.

“I apologise for the rudeness. It was a necessary measure- you understand, for security reasons.” More like jealousy reasons, but okay.

Childe pasted on his brightest smile before ushering everyone inside and requesting Ganyu to escort the Ragvindr brothers up to the Jade Chamber and their rooms inside before turning to Morax with his demeanour completely changed.

“Do not insult my comrades, husband. And never try to play me for a fool again.”

Childe then simply turned around and walked away, leaving Morax to the mercy of the consequences of his own actions.

When he made sure that Morax was not looking anymore, he took the fastest way upstairs, running to make it in time for a private conversation before lunch began.

“So,” Diluc turned to face Childe, both of them standing in the Jade Chamber dining room, alone before the lunch service started. “Tell me about the power gem.”

Chapter Text

“Are you fucking stupid?” Diluc was practically shouting, incredulous red eyes fixed to Childe’s guilty face. “You’ve been here for four months and so far all you’ve accomplished is befriending a useless adeptus and making out with your husband- who, mind you, who you don’t even like?”

Childe scoffed, falling into a chair at the dining table before taking a peek at Diluc’s (slightly flushed with fury) face. “He’s not a useless adeptus usually- he’s just not been very useful in my current efforts. And unfortunately for all of us, I do like my husband!”

Diluc gripped the back of the chair closest to him in an effort to not grip Childe’s neck instead, odd noises emerging from his throat. “What the fuck did you just say? Do you not understand that liking your husband only makes things far worse for us? You are risking your life to steal from his palace, but you’re more than happy to eat his ass on the side? Look at me, Ajax, and tell me you’re joking.”

Did that really just come out of Childe’s mouth? It wasn’t like he could take it back with the chair under Diluc’s hands groaning under the pressure of his anger, and Childe certainly couldn’t pretend he’d never said it. “Forget that, Diluc. I need to know if you see any possible way for my mission to succeed. Morax, and any feelings I may or may not harbour towards him, are not of your concern.”

Childe eyed Diluc as the latter dropped into the chair he had been attempting to break, head in his hands. “As much as I loathe to ignore it, I will put that aside. Your priority is the power gem and returning to Snezhnaya. Understood?” Childe didn’t get the chance to answer before Diluc continued speaking, “Listen closely. There’s one possible plan I think could work.

Step One: You and I lay low for the next two weeks. I’ll get Kaeya to be himself, which will no doubt distract most of the Chamber’s staff. You and I are going to spend so much time together that Morax will feel alienated, leading him to become very angry with me.

Step Two: I will go to Morax and ask for a tour of the Jade Chamber’s antique hall. You will ‘accidentally’ stumble upon us and insist on coming along, clinging to me the entire time. While I distract the Geo Dragon, you will search every nook and cranny of the hall for any sign of the power gem.

Step Three: If we have not located the power gem by then, we’ll continue searching. However, if we have, we will stage a suitable diversion- something like an explosion or an uprising with the weapons I’ve smuggled in, and you’ll make off with the power gem. When Morax catches you, which he undoubtedly will, wait until he lays a hand upon you and claim a breach of your marriage contract- invoking the power of the Tsaritsa will undoubtedly have you safe. Even if you’ve stolen his property, your marriage contract is so binding that he won’t be able to touch you. You will then hop on the next ship back to Snezhnaya, while Kaeya and I will claim guest rights and leave due to emotional distress.

Is the plan understood?”

Diluc looked deep into Childe’s dead eyes, as if waiting to see disapproval or reluctance, but was only met with confusion. “What is it?”

“Well,” Childe fiddled with his gloves, embarrassment flushing red on his cheeks. “It’s just that I didn’t even know that the Jade Chamber had an antiques hall.” Diluc rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand. “Of course you didn’t. I have a feeling you didn’t even know the terms of your marriage contract.”

The look on Childe’s face said more than enough to confirm Diluc’s worst fears. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Ajax? Could you not have read the document you signed on the worst day of your life?”

Childe raked his hands through his already unruly hair with building panic, flashbacks of the day lingering in the corners of her consciousness. “I didn’t have time to, Diluc! I was busy being dragged to the altar! Even if you would’ve taken the time to read the contract if you were in my place-“

He stopped at Diluc’s raised hand, on edge because of the set of his shoulders and the tension in his jaw. “Ajax. It’s okay. You couldn’t have known.”

A little part of Childe relaxed, and he slumped further down in his chair, head sinking to the table. “What else is in the contract that I don’t know about, Diluc?”

“I haven’t read it either. The only information I am privy to is the terms of termination in the case of abuse. There is only one original and one copy- the copy is with your mother, and the original is in the Jade Chamber right now. Whatever the terms of the contract are, they must have been fair for your mother to agree. You don’t worry about it. There are more pressing issues to consider.”

Childe hated being in the dark. He hated it almost as much as he currently hated his mother, with the wrath of a five-year-old that had had their doll snatched away from them. Unfortunately, there were worse blunders to be examined at the moment.

He lifted his head from the table to look at Diluc with imploring blue eyes, blinking almost innocently. “Diluc?”

“Yes, Ajax?” Diluc replied, gears visibly turning in his head.  

“I think there’s something else happening in Snezhnaya. I think there’s something my mother never told me about the power gem. And worst of all, I think we need Morax to help us.”

Diluc’s head dropped back into his hands.

“All right. What do we do about it?”

“We work on your plan for now. Then we find the truth.”

---

STEP ONE:

Laying low was easier than he’d originally thought. With his relationship with Morax steadily on the fritz and Kaeya occupied harassing Ningguang and Keqing out of their minds, Childe had the time to enjoy time well spent with his best friend.

They took walks around the gardens of the Jade Chamber, they ate meals together, and they generally wiled away their time as Kaeya played the role he played best: that of an annoying fucking gnat. He spent his days tailing Ningguang, asking questions about the chamber and Liyue and any topic he could get his hands on.

Unsurprisingly, Ningguang and Keqing were both very tight-lipped: no matter, Kaeya would deliver his information to Diluc and Childe every night anyway, as succinctly as possible. That was why Kaeya had come along, after all. He was skilled at unknowingly worming information out of people in a way that Diluc was simply not.

Their efforts paid off about a week into the functioning of their plan, when Keqing accidentally let slip that Morax was indeed hoarding his ‘spoils’, as you could put it, in the antique room of the Jade Chamber and also in another, hidden place. The moment she’d said it, Keqing had slapped a hand to her mouth in horror and refused to speak to Kaeya any longer, leading Kaeya to believe the information was indeed true. If it wasn’t, Keqing was a fantastic actress.

Diluc, to give him credit, didn’t crow too much about being correct- about the antiques room and about laying low. Childe and Morax had been ignoring each other even more pointedly ever since the arrival of Diluc, even if Childe could constantly feel golden eyes boring into the back of his neck. It may have been petty (incredibly so), but Childe felt a thrill every time he purposefully stood a little too close to Diluc or took a “subtle” whiff of his hair.

It got so obvious that even others were beginning to get worried, as evidenced by Childe’s run-ins with the Adepti.

“Your Majesty, if I may ask a intrusive question?” Ganyu asked blandly, shuffling through papers she’d been given. “Why, Ganyu, I do believe I told you ‘Childe’ would suffice.” Childe answered playfully, wilfully ignoring her tone.

“Your Majesty. Are you having an affair with Master Ragvindr?” The question shocked Childe enough to jump out of his seat, where he had been attempting to knit. It was handy that the window he had been looking out of overlooked the gardens where Diluc was currently taking his tea, and maybe Childe had been peeking, but in their quest to get Morax angry at Childe, they’d forgotten others might make assumptions.

“No? Archons, why would you think that? I am a married man, Ganyu. And Diluc and I have been friends forever.” Childe knew exactly why she’d think that.

Ganyu accepted his paltry excuse and went back to her paperwork and lighter tone, but Xiao certainly had not. The adeptus had cornered him on the terrace once again, fuming almost.

“Why am I being told that the ginger prince is sleeping with a Mondstadtian businessman? Don’t lie to me, Childe, I know I am committing treason for you, but it is another thing entirely to assist you in covering up an affai- oh.” Xiao swung his spear with immortal strength and speed the moment he noticed Diluc standing in the shadows behind Childe.

Childe sighed with the weariness of an overburdened man, shoving Diluc a few more inches away from him. “I am not having an affair. Trust it is part of our overarching plan- and meet Master Diluc Ragvindr, who runs a very reputable, very trustworthy business in Mondstadt. He’s here to help me acquire the power gem and leave as fast as possible.”

Diluc sketched a bow in Xiao’s direction, face solemn. “My pleasure to meet you, Alatus.” Childe noted the look of immediate shock on Xiao’s face, that was quickly covered up with a sort of diplomatic seriousness. “Master Ragvindr. I will not ask how you came about this information, only that you do not repeat it to others.”

“I have no interest in doing so. Please forgive my insolence-“ “Okay, shut up. Work this out later. We have a situation on our hands.” Childe interrupted to inform Xiao of all the newly acquired information.

Xiao huffed. “I should have known His Lordship would have kept his spoils in the antiques room. It makes sense- and Adepti are not allowed in that wing of the chamber. I cannot help you with this.”

Despite Childe’s disappointment, Diluc had a different, slightly more convoluted plan for Xiao. “You act as part of Morax’s guard, yes?” “Yes, I do. We spend much time together in the day.”

“What do you feel is his opinion of his husband?” “Diluc, I fail to see what you’re trying to achieve with this line of questioning.”

Xiao hesitated enough to shut Childe up, before speaking again in a more hushed tone. “I believe His Lordship is quite annoyingly enamoured by his husband, and I fear he has been for a long time. You should have seen him these past two weeks- he’s just been teeming with rage, really. He dislikes you. A lot.”

Childe ignored the red in his cheeks to whirl towards Diluc, “What was that for?”, only to be interrupted. “Change in plan. Childe, you’re going to make amends with your husband.”

---

STEP TWO

“I still don’t see why you would change the plan.” Childe fumed on the way down from the terrace, refusing to look Diluc in the eye. Diluc stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder, turning his friend to look at him. “Listen. Morax is not known to fall in love easily, and it is quite the miracle he seems to hold some affection for you. For you to fall all over him instead of trying to make him jealous? It is a guaranteed distraction. The more convincing you are, the faster you are back home with the power gem.”

Diluc’s words made Childe look away, awash with shame for the real reason he was hesitating: he had a sneaky feeling he didn’t have to fully pretend to be enamoured with Morax. It was really quite stupid- why did he only fall for people that treated him badly? It’s not like he was Teyvat’s nicest person towards Morax either, but the heat that stirred in his gut belied his true feelings well enough.

“I understand. I’ll do what you need but-“ Childe cut himself off at the sound of approaching footsteps, breath hitching with a small amount of panic to see Morax himself at the end of the stairs, watching Diluc’s hand on his shoulder with slitted eyes. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Diluc removed his hand from Childe’s shoulder, “You are not, Your Majesty. I was just about to take my leave, in fact.” That traitor ran down the stairs as fast as possible, gave Morax a shallow bow, and fled, leaving Childe and his husband behind.

“Your Majesty.” Childe did his level best to sound welcoming. “What can I do for you?” Morax, eyes still narrowed, beckoned Childe to the bottom of his stairs. He followed, gasping in surprise when he was suddenly shoved into an open wardrobe that had (conveniently) been next to Morax, breath going shallow when Morax stepped in after him and shut the door.

There was no light in the wardrobe other than the harsh glow of Morax’s eyes and the gentle pulsing of Childe’s vision as Morax shoved Childe against the back of the closet with odd gentleness, boxing him in with his arms.

“Listen, husband,” Morax hissed the word, “If you do find it suitable to commit infidelity, I would politely request of you to not do it quite so openly. It is deeply humiliating. (Was that a voice crack?) I understand you are unhappy about my hiding the letter from you and the distance between us, but for you to quite openly seek pleasure with another man is simply-“

“I am not cheating on you, Your Majesty.” Childe didn’t expect the words to be quite so vicious coming from his mouth, but he carried on anyway. “I understand how it may have appeared, but Diluc and I are friends. Friends. That’s it. I have no interest in an affair, no matter how strained our relations are.”

Morax didn’t believe him. That much was apparent in his eyes, but not in his hands, which were moving down to circle Childe’s waist almost tenderly, like Morax couldn’t help himself from wanting to be closer.

“What can I do to help you believe me, Morax?” Childe implored, hit with the sudden realisation that he would be quite sad to betray Morax like he was about to. They didn’t have much longer left together if all went well, and Childe hadn’t gotten to process the diplomatic emergency he was about to cause.

Morax’s eyes closed as he let loose a weary sigh. “You do not need to do anything. If you say you have been faithful, I believe you. We are not close enough to warrant otherwise.”

That send a spike of pain straight through Childe’s heart. Huh. Wonder why his heart, of all places.

It was only as Childe saw his husband about to slip through his fingers, along with his last chance to make amends, that the unwelcome voice chose to make a visit.

Child, come back to us. Look at yourself- you bring ruin to all you touch. This is humiliating… you are humiliating everybody. You never should have been saved by the Tsaritsa. You should have been left among the mangled corpses of your family; you should’ve been killed for what you did. Death was not solid enough punishment for you.

Childe whimpered, he swore that he wouldn’t make the sound, but he did, and Morax paused as he made to open the door only to look at Childe again and see a small halo of darkness encircle his head. “Don’t go. Help.”

Morax surged backwards to catch Childe in his arms and send a burst of power through him that quelled the sorrow in his bones, temporarily cleansing his soul of whatever abyssal stain had chosen to make an appearance. The relief had Childe crumple into Morax’s chest, tears leaving small stains on his white shirt.

“Tartaglia? …Childe?” No response. “Ajax?” At this Childe lifted his head to look directly into his husband’s eyes, no matter how hard it was. In them he saw real worry, and that only sent a stab of shame straight into his gut.

“Morax. I’m sorry. For everything.” Childe wasn’t sure what he was apologising for. Maybe he was. He didn’t know. It was a lot.

Unfortunately, Morax didn’t know either. “For what? What are you hiding from me? Am I truly such a bad husband that you must drive yourself to these lengths to keep a secret from me?”

To tell him was suicide. To not tell him was to drown in this abyss of guilt- unwarranted guilt. Childe hadn’t wanted this. He hadn’t wanted to be a pawn in this game whatsoever, and his mother had dragged him into it by the skin of his teeth.

“Did I ever tell you how I came to be the Tsaritsa’s son?” Morax’s breathing became more quiet. “No, you have not. We have not been that close-“

“I fell into the abyss when I was fourteen years old.” Admitting something, admitting anything, maybe it’d take the weight of shame off of Childe’s chest.

Maybe he could make up for what he had done by telling Morax about it instead of trying to tell Morax the truth.

---

I was just fourteen, and I’d left home because I craved adventure. I couldn’t live without it, couldn’t breathe without feeling stifled if I wasn’t free.

My mother and father were incredibly loving people, don’t get me wrong- I was their adored son, and I was somewhat popular with the kids in the village, despite being so hesitant. I had friends, Morax. Enough that I was almost never bored, so that the restless energy in me was always kept occupied.

But that day, there was nobody to keep me company. Everyone in the village was on holiday because of the summer season or they were occupied with their homework and I could swear it was the most bored I’d ever been, and I never could function the way everyone else did.

So I packed up my bag and I left without telling anyone. My brother saw me leave but he kept my secret, because he knew the kind of destructive force I could be if I wasn’t entertained.

Like kids do- do you know how kids make up little stories in their head? I pretended that the sticks were markers to treasure and that the birds were my guides and I got thoroughly lost in the forest. I roamed for about two hours before I realised I’d lost my way despite knowing the forest like the back of my hand.

And I was scared, because by this point the predators in the forest had smelled me- but it didn’t take me long to hear this voice. Sweet, cloying, so heavy in my ears that I had no choice but to follow. It led me gently to this rift in the forest floor- glowing purple and black with stars scattered around it... and then not of my own volition, I jumped right in.

I won’t go into detail about my life in the abyss. I will not speak of my master or the things she taught me, or the things I went through.

After three months, I crawled out of the abyss. I kept the touches of it on me- you’d know about that. You know about what lives under my skin. But at that point, I didn’t, and neither did my mother or my sisters after they found me in the forest.

It had been three days, they said.

I knew differently.

A week passed without major incident. I had changed, Morax. At the root of my being, I wasn’t really myself anymore. What part of me used to crave adventure now craved battle, hard-fought and long-winded.

My old friends didn’t like that, so I lost them. My father was beginning to get worried, and my mother had begun asking my siblings to stay away from me.

What hurts the most is knowing that she was right, Morax. She was right, and I know this because the first time the voice spoke to me in my head after caused something horrible.

… horrible. I-

.. The voice said to me, “You are not made for this, child. You were built for something else, something new. You must get rid of your worldly tethers.”

It was like I was p-possessed. Like I was being controlled, like some sort of PUPPET. I didn’t choose it. I didn’t want it.

The last thing I remember doing in sequence was picking up the knife my father used to gut fish.

I woke up next among the bodies of my entire family, from my parents to my youngest brother. Bathed in blood. I was covered in it, covered in their blood. I felt everything shatter. I felt myself shatter.

Don’t you understand? I can still see flashes, I can see the look on my father’s face when I drove the knife into him, I can see the terror in my siblings eyes, I can see the way my mother reached out to me one last time-

I was going to end it all. I knew then and there that I didn’t deserve to live anymore, and I had picked up the same knife and I was going to just slit my throat so I could go in peace, right then and there.

The Tsaritsa stopped me. She’d been on an expedition to the outskirts of Snezhnaya, and she had stopped in Morepesok for a night’s rest. Instead she found a mass murderer and made him her son.

She’s never been able to stop the abyssal taint. She’s never been able to help me. I’ve never been able to help her.

Morax? You married the wrong murderer.

---

Morax simply stared at Childe with his eyes wide as Childe harshly wiped off a tear that he hadn’t even realised he’d cried. Morax just cradled Childe’s head in his hands and pressed his forehead to his.

“I killed many during the Archon war. They still know me as a murderer and warmonger.” Childe blinked up at his husband with bafflement. “You and I,” Morax threaded a hand through Childe’s, “are two sides of the same coin. I am simply a willing participant.”

“I do not truly believe, Ajax, that you are as bad a person as you say you are.”

“I must be, if my soul still remains stained- Morax, we have fought each other too long to pretend I am not ruined beyond belief.”

Morax shut his glowing eyes to let the truth of the statement sink into him. He’d been fighting his feelings for years, ever since that ill-fated meeting at Sumeru. He’d been lying to everyone and to himself about the truth of this marriage alliance: that he would not have gone through with it if it had not been Childe, that he would have let war rage if he could not have him.

He had not done all of that for Childe to stand in front of him crying in a wardrobe.

“If you are ruined beyond belief, I am ruin itself.”

Childe’s head shot up at that, at the weight behind the words.

“If you are broken, I am the gold that will put you back together.”

Morax pressed a steady hand to Childe’s chest, where his heart was.

“If you are lifeless, I am immortality. I will breathe life back into your veins.”

Ajax gripped Morax’s chin in an attempt to see what he was playing at, but only found truth in his eyes.

[Ajax, not Childe, not Tartaglia. Ajax, the bleeding boy that had left so much destroyed in his wake.]

“I have spent too long trying to forget you for us to be such horrid husbands. I have felt like this forever- whether or not you choose to accept this despite every time I have denied it, despite all the ignoring you I have done, despite my threats and your evasions.”

Heart open, bleeding. Sliced to the quick in a hasty attempt to tell the truth.

Ajax’s chest heaved with the exertion of telling the truth, of crying when he hadn’t meant to. He shivered at the memory of blood on his hands and in his hair.

He shivered more when he drew Morax closer to him and pressed his lips to his.

They stood like that, frozen like statues, connected on a surface level but not really- until Morax tilted his head and kissed Ajax more deeply.

Ajax felt his back hit the back of the wardrobe as he threaded his fingers through long brown hair, could feel the brush of Morax’s lashes against freckled cheeks, felt his blood light on fire and his tears evaporate.

Morax broke apart to sigh softly, before leaning back in for more.

Five minutes passed as they indulged in each other, as they tried to bury memory with pleasure, until Morax took the liberty of unbuttoning the first most button of Ajax’s shirt.

They’d already forgotten that they were fighting, and they’d really need to speak later. For now…

“Your Lordship?” The door of the wardrobe swung outwards to reveal Ganyu and Xiao standing with wide eyes as they took in the scene in front of them. “Oh.”

Ajax jumped away from Morax, a hot flush of shame overtaking him as he tried to straighten his clothes and fix his hair. Morax just adjusted his coat. “Is something wrong, Ganyu?”

“Y-Yes.” Ganyu stuttered, clearly caught off-guard. “A missive from the Balladeer has arrived. He is due at the Jade Chamber in five days. He says he brings with him important information- there was this note for His Highness-“

Ajax rushed forward to take the note, unfolding it in a hurry as Morax watched warily over his shoulder.

---

To: Childe

From: Scaramouche

We’re out of time. You need to know the truth. The coats aren't the only things hiding something. 

---

Liar. Childe ignored the voice in his head and instead spun to Morax. “I- oh, Archon.”

“What is it?” Morax reached for his shoulder then hesitated, as if remembering his hasty and botched confession of feelings.

"Call Diluc and Kaeya. We need to talk about the truth- we need to prepare for war.”

Chapter Text

Fourteen years ago, Morepesok, Snezhnaya

Through the biting winds of the freezing Snezhnayan midwinter, Yelizaveta felt a palpable burn in her throat as she inhaled deeply.

She had followed the trail of human blood throughout the dense forest to a lone house near a frozen-over lake and had made peace with simply standing outside the house, waiting for at least a flicker of movement- only to see blood splattered on the windows.

Yelizaveta shivered, the cold getting to her despite her high temperature tolerance. She had her hands buried in a thick coat made of leather and fur, but could still feel little pinpricks of chill crawling up her arms.

“Liza…” A gruff voice sounded from behind her as her companion placed a large hand on her shoulder, which she brushed off almost immediately to a sigh. “Either you go inside, or we get going. We can’t wait around here forever.”

Go inside.

Now.

Go inside.

Trust your instincts.

Trust yourself, Yelizaveta.

Yelizaveta squared her shoulders and opened the door. The first thing that hit her was the tang of iron hanging in the air, cloying, thick, heavy. In her nose, in her throat. She had known death before, but the feeling of it in the house was like a shroud.

Second, she processed the sight of the bodies on the floor. A middle-aged man and woman, possibly in their 40s. Then children, the oldest of whom could not have been over nineteen years old. His body lay over his mother's, as if in an effort to protect her from the fate that had met the rest of their family. The rest of the bodies lay scattered around the room- which would at one point have been a cozy living room, suitable for a fishing town like Morepesok.

They were clearly a family- almost all pale and freckled, with hair the colour of burnt oranges and blue eyes, glassy and wide open. It hurt Yelizaveta’s heart to glance upon the body of the youngest child, who had to be at most two years old.

“Oh, Archons…” She fell to her feet, clasping the child’s face in her hands. He had been stabbed clean through, and quickly: as if the murderer had not wanted the child to suffer. Yelizaveta gently lay the body down next to the father, who wore an expression of more than horror- betrayal, even, his mouth open and limbs stiff.

Yelizaveta stood up to look around the house for the weapon but knelt back down when she heard a stifled sob come from one of the bodies that she had presumed to be… well, deceased. She reached for the curled-up ball, only to rear back in horror as she saw the fishing knife that the young boy held in his hands.

The boy didn’t look up, gaze firmly in the direction of his bloody hands, clutching the knife that had killed his family, blood splattered on the side of his face that Yelizaveta could see. It didn’t take much deductive work to realise that the young teen was likely responsible for the deaths of his entire family.

Then the boy finally looked up at her, and Yelizaveta stifled a scream at the sight of his eyes, blue and dead. Any life that could have been in them had leeched away. Yelizaveta had seen more life in the eyes of her mother, who had been a member of the most brutal squad in the Snezhnayan army.

He blinked at her, unfeeling and unmoving. Then he brought the knife to his own throat, and Yelizaveta finally screamed.

“What?” Her companion burst through the door, stopping short at the gruesome sight in the house. “Liza, what…”

Dearest Liza, you have wasted your entire life doing nothing- don’t you want a single achievement on your list of failures?

Yelizaveta moved on instinct, yanking the knife out of the teenager’s surprisingly strong grip. She spun and flung the knife in her companion’s direction for him to pick up before yanking the child’s arms behind his back and clamping down in a vice grip.

Yelizaveta screamed in a voice she had never heard from herself before. “Call the palace! The guards! Anyone! Someone must bring him to the Tsaritsa’s healers immediately!”

Good job.

Present Day

“Your Majesty…” Childe jolted, unused to the usage of the title, and certainly not in such a respectful tone.

The Jade Chamber’s Situation Room (an apt name) was gloomy. Not because of the décor, but because of the moody fog that had settled over everyone present, due to a particular dragon’s pissy behaviour.

Childe glared at Kaeya, who was fingering the collar of his formal shirt and grinning at Morax, and inclined his head at the attendant that had so pitifully been trying to catch his attention. “Yes?”

“Another missive has arrived- this time from The Knave.”

Arlecchino was already contacting him- something rare even in the best of times.

He ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated motion, messing up the already messy waves before taking the letter, embroidered with the stationery of the House of the Hearth. “Thank you.”

Childe glanced upwards at the motley crew seated around the giant table that occupied most of the Situation Room, all of whom were trying to ignore the others presence. Diluc was poring over a map of Zapolyarny Palace, Kaeya was measuring their forces and contemplating whether to poke the grumpy dragon, Ningguang was checking Liyue’s fortifications, Keqing was drafting a missive to be sent out across the nation, and Morax, in the centre of it all, was just sitting there and looking blue.

If that was the team that they had assembled to carry out the next stages of Scaramouche’s plan, they were well and truly fucked.

Childe made to open Arlecchino’s letter but was stopped by an elegant clear of a throat. “Your... Majesty, if I may...” Ningguang levelled clear, cutting eyes at Childe, “Why is it that we are in the situation room, where there does not seem to be an actual situation? Just half an hour ago, you and His Majesty were in a wardrobe. Now, we are preparing for war. I think we would all much appreciate if you perhaps elaborated upon what the purpose of this meeting is.”

Ningguang, formal as she was, was incredibly skilled at cutting to the quick. It was threatening to the point where Childe felt as if he had been stripped naked in front of a crowd and was being asked why he had a freckle on his left asscheek.

“Lady Ningguang, I hope you know that I would never try to waste your time.” Ningguang raised an eyebrow, as if to indicate that she, in fact, did not know that. “We are here because I have received an update from the Balladeer, who has informed us that my mother- I mean, the Tsaritsa is moving onto the next phase of her plan.”

“Respectfully,” Ningguang folded her hands together, “We are not aware of what exactly this plan entails. I understand that you are her son, but if we are to all risk moving against the Tsaritsa, should we not know why? After all, peace between our nations has only been recently won- by your marriage.”

Childe wished he could answer that. He really, really did. The only issue was that to answer Ningguang, Childe would have to know what his mother intended to do. Unfortunately, he already looked like enough of a fraud- if he fessed up to not actually knowing what his mother’s plan was, he was eighty percent sure that Ningguang would burn him at the stake.

He instead looked at his husband, who was finally making eye contact with him instead of angrily glaring at the table. Morax’s gaze burned through his façade almost instantly, leaving Childe flushed and more than a little embarrassed.

“I… I suppose it is time to come clean.” Everyone at the table leaned closer towards Childe, the sudden suffocation causing him to push his chair away from the table. Even Diluc and Kaeya looked puzzled, and those fuckers already knew his secret. Morax narrowed his eyes, suspicion evident- as if he already knew what Childe was about to say.

“The Tsarita has some of her power concentrated in a medium known as the Snezhnayan power gem. It’s usually set in her crystal crown, as the centrepiece gem. It was- let’s say taken- by a Liyuean agent about a year ago. Ever since, she’s been searching for it everywhere.

Not only is the power gem the crowning jewel of her gemstones, it is incredibly powerful. It is a beacon of purification- and can clear infections like abyssal taint immediately. That’s why it was imperative that the power gem be returned.

I was sent here not just as part of the peace offering, but also in my capacity as a Harbinger, to bring the power gem back.”

Childe saw Ningguang and Keqing’s eyes widen, and he quickly raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I am incredibly sorry for my withholding of information. The power gem is incredibly important to me because… because I have been infected by the abyss, and my condition has been dwindling in the recent past due to not having the power to cleanse the taint from my body.”

Keqing had initially been looking at Childe with disgust, but her expression quickly included pity. “I cannot speak for my countrypeople, but I can assure you that even though your intention may have been to thieve, you did not mean harm to us or our nation.”

Childe relaxed a little but stiffened at the expression on Ningguang’s face. The Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing may have been quick to forgive, but Ningguang certainly would not be. Despite that, Ningguang did look as if she sympathized with Childe- and that was enough for him in the moment.

He continued, “However, I have suspected for some time now that my mother- the Tsaritsa’s motives for attaining the power gem may not be as simple as I have believed them to be until now. She is cunning- and while I believe that her end goal is peace, I fear for the means that she may be undertaking to achieve it.

Thus, we need to start working against her, as discreetly as possible. From the Balladeer’s correspondence, it is safe to assume that he is on his way to Liyue right now to fill us in on any holes in the Tsaritsa’s plan. The first step that I personally suggest is that we find the power gem ourselves, to not only benefit me by cleansing the abyssal corruption, but also to prevent it from getting in the hands of my mother or anybody loyal to her.”

He cast a quick glance at the Ragvindr brothers, who weren’t looking at him after his emotional confession, but rather at Morax, who Childe had been avoiding looking at. Once he had gathered the courage to look at his husband, Childe assessed the complex myriad of emotions on his face- furrowed brows and narrow eyes- and came to no conclusion.

“Husband.” Morax’s voice rebounded around the room, making Diluc flinch and Keqing wince. “May I speak to you in the other room?”

ohcrapfuck

Childe’s lips curved into a demure smile. “Of course.” Maintaining his fake demure-ness, he followed Morax out of the Situation Room and into the hallway, where Xiao and Ganyu waited in position outside the door. Well, Xiao was waiting. Ganyu was anxiously pacing. They looked up at Childe and Morax wordlessly as Morax led Childe into a nearby room that he’d never seen before, and returned to their positions outside the Situation Room with a wave of Morax’s hand.

They entered the room, which turned out to be full of priceless antiques, spanning across centuries of Liyue’s history. Childe paused at a loveseat that had to date back at least 500 years, opening his mouth to ask a question- but being stopped immediately by the crash of Morax’s mouth on his.

“Agh-“ Ajax moaned into his husband’s mouth, slightly taken aback but mainly kind-of-sort-of-really-badly-hoping-for-this, wrapping strong arms around Morax’s neck as Morax lifted him. Ajax moved his legs around Morax’s waist, shuddering against his strong torso as he gave into his inhibitions for one blissful, stress-free moment.

Morax bit down on Ajax’s bottom lip, moaning when Ajax shuddered against him. He spun himself around to sit on the loveseat (was that safe?) and ensured Ajax was seated carefully on his lap before taking his face in his hands and kissing him deeper.

Morax, Ajax thought deliriously, smelled ridiculously good. To ensure his husband knew just how much Ajax appreciated that Morax took hours in the bathroom, Ajax broke away from the kiss and buried his nose into Morax’s neck, taking a deep inhale before pulling away.

“How do you always smell like Glaze Lilies and,” Ajax leaned back in for another sniff, “Rain?” Morax’s eyes were half-lidded and what Ajax was saying seemed to be flying over his head, but he blearily replied before he went back in for another kiss. “I bathe in scented oils.”

“Woah, hold it!” Ajax, without force, pushed Morax’s face away. “Trust me on this- while I really appreciate that you are a fantastic kisser, I feel like we haven’t talked about what’s happened today.”

Morax opened his eyes fully to look at his husband (who was still straddling him) and smiled gently. “We can talk about whatever you want, bǎobèi.” Ajax blinked away his surprise at the sudden term of endearment. They were graduating to nicknames already?

“Are you… unhappy with the way I confessed my story about my past to you? I know it was rushed and abrupt and emotionally charged but- ““Why would I ever be unhappy with you opening up to me? In fact, I am of the opinion that we should do it more often.” Ajax scoffed at the soft expression on his husband’s face. “Alright, then. What did you say about ‘having felt like this forever’?”

Morax’s face suddenly paled. “I did hope that you wouldn’t bring that up.”

Having identified a sore spot, Ajax continued to poke. “Surely you haven’t been so consumed by me ever since our first meeting that you made up your mind about having to have me and you went into the agreement with our mother knowing that you would end up married to me, and that was your end goal? Surely you haven’t been able to stop thinking about me since that attempted assassination at the Sumeru Akademiya?”

Ajax stopped at the look of horror on his husband’s face. “Oh, Archons, tell me you surely haven’t.”

Morax buried his face in the juncture between Ajax’s neck and shoulder, as if embarrassed. “Perhaps. Maybe.” He mumbled.

“I’m flattered, xiansheng. A little creeped out, but mainly flattered.” “Xiansheng? That’s new. Have you decided to pick up on the Liyuean terms of endearment?” “If you get to call me bǎobèi, I get to call you xiansheng. Unless you’d like me to call you something else. Maybe ‘mudak’.”

Morax suddenly shoved Ajax off his lap, the latter gasping at the sudden movement. “Do you really think that I could be the Archon of a nation and not pick up the language of my greatest threat? I speak fluent Snezhnayan.” Ajax moved back up and sat down next to Morax on the super-expensive loveseat, muttering under his breath. “I expected nothing less from you.”

“If we are talking about everything that has happened today,” Morax began, sounding apprehensive- a lilting tilt to his voice. “I would like to apologize for assuming that you were committing infidelity with Master Ragvindr. I would also like to ask if you are... comfortable, with our recent relationship developments. I know it has been a little quick. Perhaps too quick. The first time we ever kissed was that time with the letter- which I would also like to apologise for, by the way- and even though I have been enamoured with you for years, I am aware that you have not been.”

It was awkward and messy, and, to Childe’s addled brain, a little endearing. Even more so that it was coming from Morax, the dragon that Ajax had essentially been sold to, who was known for killing and maybe even eating the people that had pissed him off. Ajax had also been wondering if the rumours were simply that- exaggerations, because Morax had certainly not been participating in anything but petty jealousy and administrative work.

“I’m fine. I am well-known for intense love-hate relationships.” Ajax ran a hand down Morax’s arm as assurance, despite the furrow in Morax’s brows. “And to respond to your first apology- it’s also fine. It was maybe sort of the point.”

At Morax’s silence, Ajax continued. “Which brings us to the elephant in the room. Are you not angry about my deceiving you?”

Morax stayed silent. “Listen, Morax, I really am sorry. I will apologize for my deception of you, but not for being loyal to my mother back when… I was still loyal to her. I was desperate for the power gem. So desperate that I got Diluc and Kaeya here to help me, and I got them to smuggle weapons in with the coats. Sorry about that, by the way. Please don’t do anything to them.”

At that, Morax cleared his throat and spoke. “Under usual circumstances, bǎobèi, I would be incredibly angry. However, these are not usual circumstances- in that I was already aware of your so-called deception.”

Ajax leapt off the loveseat, and whipped around to angrily face Morax. “What.”

“I already knew. I knew when you opened your mission letter from the Tsaritsa. I knew when you recruited Xiao. And I knew about the weapons with the coats. I was simply acting out because of …jealousy.”

Ajax scoffed. “To be frank, I’m quite offended. Did you not view me as enough of a threat? When did you even realise to start looking?”

“No, I never underestimated you.” Morax shook his head. “Did you really think you could try to thieve from a dragon without me realising?” Ajax kept his head firmly in a different direction as he allowed Morax to pull him back on his lap.

Morax licked a stripe up the side of Ajax’s neck, swallowing the groan that came with the action. “You must know- I am incredibly possessive, and I do not let my things go easily.”

“Okay, xiansheng, I am a person. Secondly, that doesn’t really answer my question- ngh- does it?”

Hesitant, Morax paused to suck a love bite on the expanse of Ajax’s pale skin. “You are not going to appreciate the truth when I tell it to you.”

“That doesn’t stop me- stop it for one minute- from wanting to know.” Morax stopped it for a minute. “The reason I was not worried about you stealing the power gem from the Jade Chamber is because the power gem is not in the Jade Chamber.” Ajax spun around wildly, falling off the loveseat in horror and bruising his poor left asscheek.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

---

Back in the Situation Room, everyone was in the same positions as they had been in when Morax and Childe had left, except they all looked a little more annoyed (except for Kaeya, who was waggling his eyebrow).

Morax took a seat, this time next to his husband, and cleared his throat.

“It is indeed true that the power gem was, in fact, taken by a Liyuean agent. They had been on a diplomatic mission, but it ended… let us say, less than favourably. As revenge, the agent slipped into the vault, stole the power gem, and made away with it.

Unfortunately, they never made it back to the Jade Chamber. I received word shortly after they left Snezhnaya that they had gone missing after docking at Liyue Harbour, and I went myself to investigate the issue of what had happened to them.

As far as anyone at the port knew, their ship had docked without issue at the harbour- however, they never made it off the ship.”

Morax paused to let the news settle as Ningguang’s expression turned grim. “Osial.”

“Precisely,” Morax inclined his head, stray strands of brown hair framing his glowing eyes. “I believe the power gem is being guarded by Osial, in the bottom of the sea. To retrieve it, we must face him head on.”

Osial, the infamous sea monster? The Tsaritsa’s power gem was in the hands of a notorious Morax-hater?

One day, Childe would be able to look back at the events of his life and laugh about how ridiculous the things that happened to him were. This day was not that day.

As Childe dropped his head into his hands, he could hear Diluc speak for the first time in the meeting. “Is it possible to get the power gem back from Osial? Has anyone yet tried?”

A cacophony begun, Morax, Ningguang and Keqing responding at the same time: “I do not enjoy speaking to Osial,” “It will require an elaborate plan to successfully do so,” and “Are you crazy?”

They fell silent once again to cast disapproving glances at Keqing, who hid her face in her hands. “Sorry. It’s just that we in the Qixing have been trying to find a way to infiltrate Osial’s lair for years, and we have been unsuccessful at every single turn. It would be a fool’s errand to try to thieve from him.”

“Keqing,” Childe stood up and banged his hand on the table, “I regret to inform you that I may indeed be crazy. Besides, I was sent here to steal from Morax. How hard could stealing from another primordial entity be?”

Kaeya, who had laughed when Childe had smacked the table, raised his hand. “With all due respect, Yuheng, in all your prior attempts to infiltrate Osial’s lair, you have not had our abilities. Let us help you find a way to successfully complete this mission. Diluc and I have taken sufficient time off to spend more time here.”

After a few beats of contemplation, Morax stood. “It is decided, then. We will devise a plan to… take the power gem from Osial, as we wait for the Balladeer to arrive with his information. Is anyone opposed to this?”

No hands went up and Childe heaved a sigh of relief, causing Diluc’s mouth to twist in a slightly amused smile. “All right, then. Here’s the plan.”  

---

Two days later, Childe stood at the busiest fishing stall in Liyue Harbour, bundled up in one of the coats that Morax had gifted him ages ago. The winds, despite not being at the level of the Snezhnayan winds, were strong enough to be a slight bother in Childe’s case. In Kaeya’s case, he stood shivering next to Childe, despite wearing two coats and a scarf.

“W-why is it so fucking cold today?” Kaeya stammered through chattering teeth. “I r-really miss Mondstadt.” Childe scoffed and punched Kaeya in the shoulder, offended by the assumption that it was ‘so fucking cold’. “You wouldn’t survive a day in Snezhnaya, comrade. You’re lucky that it was Diluc who went on the Fatui Murder Spree and not you.”

Kaeya narrowed glacial eyes at Childe in amusement. “What a way to downplay it.” His hair fluttering in the wind, Childe grinned back at him. “I like to think that I’m quite skilled at downplaying.”

“Good morning.” Ningguang swept in their direction, hair pulled back in an elegant updo and a shawl arranged artfully around her shoulders to fight the breeze. “Are you ready to proceed?”

Childe shrugged in response. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The three of them began the trek from Liyue Harbour to Juyeun Karst, an uncomfortable silence hanging around them like a cloud the entire way. Kaeya tossed the coin he kept in his pocket up and down, a movement that Childe knew he performed to relieve his nerves (Childe had unwittingly been the cause of such on many an occasion).

Despite any misgivings, Childe had to admit that Juyeun Karst was one of the most stunning places that he had ever seen. For someone that thrived among cold, grey slates of ice and crystalline snow, he felt almost out of place in the splendour of the giant trees and serene waterfalls. He filled his lungs with the crisp air, carrying the scent of herbs through it.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Ningguang whispered, her voice still sounding loud under the quiet. “You’re here to put your neck on the line.”

Yeah, yeah, but couldn’t he enjoy the ambiance? The wind around him stirred leaves of a myriad of hues into small tornadoes, and he reached out to pluck a particularly beautiful mustard-coloured maple leaf out of the air, surreptitiously tucking it into his pocket. “What are we waiting for, then? There are better ways to seek out our enemies than... well, standing here.”

The downward twist of Ningguang’s mouth and the raise of Kaeya’s left eyebrow told him that he was toeing a dangerous line, but Childe gleefully tuned them out and hopped off towards the entrance of the domain that Ningguang had pointed out, a rush of glowing gold signage covering a path carved into the side of a cliff.

Walking through the shield sent a rush of fear racing down Childe’s spine as he threw his head back to combat the feeling. He vaguely heard Kaeya gasp behind him, but he was too preoccupied by the sprawling sight in front of him to pay too much attention.

A domain had expanded in front of them, revealing floating rocky islands connected by shimmering golden paths and a gigantic, powerful waterfall behind them. The islands led to one lone island floating above them all, larger than the rest. Ningguang stepped in front of Childe, the heel of her shoe disturbing the smaller rocks littered among the path they stood on.

“That,” She pointed at the large island that Childe was afraid she’d point at, “Is your final end goal. You must pass Cloud Retainer’s trial and meet her to get the Sigil of Permission that we’ll use to infiltrate the lair of Osial.” Though Childe had never felt any real affection from her prior, Ningguang was looking at him with traces of sympathy in her slightly soft eyes. “Master Alberich and I can go no further- we will await you here, when you successfully complete your task.”

Awww, she had faith in him. Childe fought off the grin that threatened to take over his face, instead reaching over to clap Kaeya hard on the shoulder. “Oof-“ “See you guys soon.” He skipped away, his trembling hands betraying that he was a lot less confident than he looked.

With a deep inhale of the flower-scented air to steel himself, Childe gingerly stepped onto the golden road that connected them to the first floating island. His hands became steadier when he didn’t immediately plummet to his death, so he kept moving- taking extra care to not peer off the side of the bridge.

Wind whooshed in his ears as he took the hesitant step onto the first rock, a few pebbles falling from the side of the platform as Childe got his full weight on it. It seemed solid and dependable enough for Childe to have faith in some Adepti magic, so he took a moment to survey his surroundings.

The bridge hadn’t seemed that long or high when he’d been walking, but a quick look back confirmed that Ningguang and Kaeya had been reduced to specks in the distance- too low behind him for comfort. Childe swallowed, images of being stranded on the tallest mountain in Snezhnaya on his 16^th birthday as a military training exercise coming back to him.

“It’s fine,” He whispered to himself, the sound carrying and echoing against the desolate walls of the domain. “This is fine. I am fine. I was fine at 16 and I’m fine now.” There was a pyro monument at the edge of the platform, that had already been activated- another golden bridge shimmering right after it.

It seemed that someone (for once) was on Childe’s side. He made his way upwards, inching closer to the finish line platform by platform, all the previous challenges having been already cleared: he could see slime residue still scattered on the rock and multiple lit up elemental monuments. On the penultimate platform, he made the mistake of looking down- the sudden rush of air from below causing him to stumble backwards into the last elemental monument, that was unlit.

It was Hydro, beckoning to him with metaphorical open stone arms. Childe did his best to breathe through the lump of terror in his throat, chest tight with fear as he raised the bow he always carried strapped to his back with shaky hands and took aim, gathering elemental power to the end of his arrow with the power of his vision.

The moment the hydro-infused arrow struck the monument, it lit up a stunning blue with a deafening sound, causing Childe to raise his hands against the sudden burst of power. When he relaxed, he’d made up his mind to waste no more time- running up the bridge and vaulting onto the final platform with a flourish.

There had been a woman peacefully meditating as she floated in the air, one elegant leg folded above the other as she chanted under her breath, her long green hair blowing in the breeze as if even the wind moved in slow motion for her. Childe, however, had destroyed that serene sight by landing about three inches away from her.

She’d moved backwards in a dash of wind, narrowly avoiding Childe’s boots in her head, and had cracked open lush green eyes behind her surprisingly modern, red-rimmed glasses. The words that Childe had been about to say were stuck in his throat at her preternatural beauty (he was also not great with authority figures if he was being honest).

“Ahem.” She cleared her throat, standing up to face Childe, her yellow tassel blowing in the wind that she had at her beck and call. “Can I help you, Harbinger?”

Childe jumped, grip on his bow tightening. “Yes! Uh... Um. I’m incredibly sorry, my lady,” He sketched a polite bow, “But I was expecting someone... a little more…. Crane-like. If you understand my meaning.”

The woman that Childe innately knew was Xianyun, better known as Cloud Retainer, cocked an unimpressed eyebrow (as powerful women were wont to do around Childe). “One will do their best to withhold any comments that one may have regarding your crude statements. Ask what you have come to ask for.”

Childe wrung his hands, tucking them back in his pockets in a nervous fashion. “Why were all the challenges cleared for me?” Xianyun’s jaw dropped open in a move that Childe felt was uncharacteristic for Adepti that weren’t Ganyu as she scoffed incredulously. “That is your question? Please do not do me the disservice of climbing all this way to act like a buffoon.”

At Childe keeping his mouth shut still, Xianyun sighed and waved her hand in the air. A blade of cool wind came rushing towards Childe, which he dodged deftly and, having immediately notched an arrow in his bow, took aim towards Xianyun. She laughed, tone both arrogant but endeared, and made a motion to stand down.

“Thus is why. There is no need for you to prove yourself to me, Harbinger. I am well aware of your prowess in battle- why should one waste their time battling slimes when we could instead be discussing why you were sent here?”

Childe couldn’t help himself- his eyes drifted towards the block of Cor Lapis that glowed softly behind Xianyun, a movement that she instantly caught. “One has known Rex Lapis for many years. As a dedicated servant of his, One has spent much time directly by his side- and it is becoming increasingly evident that he is… enamoured with you, so to speak.” She pulled a delicately decorated fan out of thin air and waved it at Childe’s neck.

He rushed to cover the hickey that his asshole husband had left with his hand, flushing red. “Okaythankyouforyouropinion. The real reason I have come to speak to you is to ask for a Sigil of Permission.” Xianyun’s gaze turned instantly hard, pinching at the corners. “Should one ask what you plan on doing with it?”

Childe’s lack of answer was enough for Xianyun to cross her arms. “One will honour your request as it comes from Rex Lapis. However, one will require assurance- will your actions moving forward cause harm to Liyue or its citizens?”

His goal clear in sight, a weight lifted off Childe’s chest as he told the honest truth for once in his life. “I will put my own life in the way of any harm that may befall Liyue. That is my promise.”

Satisfied, Xianyun waved her hand to summon the Sigil of Permission, which Childe immediately reached his arm out for. “Then go forth and succeed in your goal. On a more informal note, tell Rex Lapis to remember that a mixture of violetgrass and Cecelia oil will suffice to remove any indications of passion that he may leave in the future.” Childe’s grip around the sigil tightened to a death grip. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to.”

With one last wry smile, Xianyun blinked- and the platform Childe stood on disappeared, causing him to plummet downwards at a faster rate than he could have ever handled. He scrambled for the power of his delusion as he fell, the ground getting closer and closer before a bolt of dark green flashed before him and strong arms gripped him tightly.

Xiao flashed them down to the platform where Kaeya and Ningguang stood, now gripping each other in terror as the domain crumbled around them, the platforms falling and bringing large chunks of rock plummeting down with them. “Go!” Xiao shouted, shoving them all towards the shield they’d entered through.

As Childe stumbled out into the fresh air of Juyeun Karst, he heard the inside of the domain collapse behind him as Xiao darted out of the domain. He glared up at Childe, relief flashing on his face. “I was sent just in case Xianyun decided to pull one of the pranks she occasionally plays on humans. I have to say that I am glad you are okay-“ He was cut off by Childe fisting the material of his top with a trembling hand. “We need to talk.”

Leaving Kaeya and Ningguang behind to brush dust off their clothes, Childe marched Xiao over behind one of the towering trees and grabbed his shoulders. “You were never betraying Morax at all.”

It wasn’t a question, and Xiao knew it- he just hung his head. “I am too bothered by karmic debt to worry about human relationships…” Xiao peered up at the heartbreak in Childe’s eyes and softened. “But I did yearn to tell you. I… have come to see you… as…. a friend.” Childe began glowing, a smile lighting up his face despite Xiao looking like he had swallowed a rock. “Oh, good golly gee. Not one but two Adepti friends? I’m just winning the jackpot, aren’t I?”

Childe let go of Xiao, the Yaksha quickly darting back and smoothing his top down into place. “At least you now have an excuse for how utterly useless you were.” Childe turned tail and ran out of reach of Xiao’s spear.

---

Morax stood at Ajax’s vanity, brandishing a pestle made of Cor Lapis as he gently smashed violetgrass and Cecelia oil together in the matching mortar. Ajax lounged on the bed behind him, watching lazily as a servant cleared out his wardrobe to shift it into Morax’s larger walk-in closet. “Why do you need a walk-in closet? It’s honestly wasted on you, you wear the same three outfits all the time.”

Ajax had taken a peek inside once- just dark coats and traditional clothing in yellow, gold, and brown. He was making up for Morax’s desolate lack of clothing variety by moving himself in full-time. Until then, Morax had been content just sliding into Ajax’s bed at night and wrapping arms around him to diminish the growing abyssal taint inside his body.

The servant left with the third crate of Ajax’s belongings, and tendrils of violet darkness snaked their way up his arm. Morax turned to the bed, mortar in hand, and sighed when he saw Ajax’s hand, bound by dark magic.

“Are you sure that finding the power gem will resolve this issue?” He sat on the bed, dipping a gloveless hand in the mixture he’d prepared. “Yes, xiansheng. I am sure. According to my mother, it was the only thing keeping me in check from ages fourteen to twenty-seven. Ever since it’s been gone, the taint has been acting up.”

If you keep ignoring us in favour for your saviour of light, child, you will never recover from the rejection of the call.

He’d been hallucinating less and hearing the voice far less often than any point of time in the last eleven years, thanks to just being next to Morax and his ocean of golden power. Ajax closed his eyes against the voice in his head just in time for Morax to press two long fingers dipped in the shockingly cold mixture to the tender spot in his neck, the rush of relief causing him to relax and spread out with a moan.

Morax rubbed the mixture into Ajax’s skin with circular motions, hyper focused on his task with a shocking amount of tenderness. It was a display that would make anyone think that they had been married for decades, as opposed to five months (four and a half of which had been spent in animosity). Ajax shuffled, moving a hand up to thread his fingers through Morax’s.

So Morax had been pining after him for years. Understandable, who wouldn’t want to fuck Ajax after seeing him effortlessly kill? Ajax, however, was reeling from the sudden shift of emotions within himself.

At first, he’d been absolutely terrified of Morax- convinced that the dragon would eat him or send him back to Snezhnaya within a casket. After, he’d been consumed by his mission- even if he’d acknowledged Morax’s jealousy, even as he entertained the occasional hate-fuelled make out session.

Ajax fell hard and fast. Everyone in the Zapolyarny Palace knew it- it was a running joke among the Harbingers. He had just begun falling for Morax… when? He didn’t even know when (maybe when Morax didn’t eat him the first time the taint had overtaken him). But it didn’t take a genius to know that while Morax fell first, Ajax may have fallen harder.

He shot a glance at his husband, who was still rubbing in the mixture, long hair framing his face like a curtain of burnished brown and gold. Ajax admired his chiselled features and long eyelashes, that almost touched his cheek when his eyes were closed, before his sight finally fell on his lips, gleaming with saliva and his nightly ointment.

“Morax?” The dragon hummed in acknowledgement, withdrawing his hand to gather more salve on his fingers. “What was the first thing you liked about me?”

At that, Morax looked up, smiling in amusement. “I am spending time that I could be spending governing my nation to instead heal a mark I was more than happy to leave on you. Do you need to question my dedication to you? I am simply glad to finally be able to show it.”

Laughter erupted from deep within Ajax’s chest as he batted away Morax’s fingers. “It’s not that I’m questioning you. You were letting me steal from you- that’s a lot for a dragon, is it not?” Embarrassment flushing on Morax’s face indicated that it indeed was a lot. “I just want to know what drew you to me first.”

With his free hand, Morax shoved Ajax back onto the bed so he could go back to gently massaging his neck. He thought for a minute, fingers still moving in practiced circles. “Your hair.”

Ajax snorted incredulously, unable to jolt upwards the way his muscles wanted him to because of Morax’s hand still weighing him down. “My hair?”

“Your hair.” Morax affirmed, fingers pausing. “It was the first thing I noticed about you,” the hand that was holding Ajax trailed upwards from his chest, “and when I saw it, I just wanted to twist it around my fingers and pull.” He did exactly that, pretending not to notice Ajax’s rapidly increasing pulse through the fingers that he had on his neck.

“I- I see. If it makes a difference, the first thing I ever liked about you were your eyes.” Morax had sly sin woven throughout the upward pull of his lips as he rose to put the mortar and pestle in the bathroom sink. “I understand,” he called out behind his shoulder. “I do have quite the stunning pair.”

A huff escaped Ajax as he stood and made his way to the vanity, examining the now-gone spot on his neck. “Crap, Xianyun really knows what she’s doing.” Morax’s responding laugh echoed from the bathroom. “I do not doubt her when it comes to a good herbal remedy.”

Ajax was no stranger to passion, but domesticity was a deeply foreign feeling to him- and the past two days had been filled with enough of it to hurt Ajax in the heart, especially when he thought of what was coming next.

“Xiansheng.” Ajax thought that he would never get tired of seeing Morax’s shoulders stiffen and relax with pleasure when he used the pet name. “Do you think that I’m going to die tomorrow?” Ajax had stood up and made his way to where Morax was washing the equipment in the sink, wrapping battle-scarred arms around his torso, barely covered by his dark-brown silk robe.

Ajax felt Morax exhale in contemplation by feeling the rise and fall of his chest before looking up into the silver bathroom mirror, where Morax was already looking at him. “I do not believe so. You cannot die before you have at least eaten some golden fried shrimp.” Ajax buried his face in Morax’s back (he’d been avoiding the shrimp because he hated seafood) and laughed. “Is that your way of saying you believe in me?”

Morax turned and buried his nose into the top of Ajax’s head. “I suppose it is.”

The dripping of the not-fully closed tap of the sink was distracting, but Ajax just looked up at his husband with a comfortably clear mind and drew a finger cloaked in darkness up his face. “There’s something that I need you to do for me.”

---

The next day their motley crew gathered at the docks of Liyue Harbour yet again, this time with Diluc, Keqing, and Morax in tow. Kaeya, Ningguang and Childe had come more prepared for the chill than the rest, smugly flashing their coats to a shivering Keqing. Diluc had a coat on- because he always had a coat on, because he was overemotional.

Kaeya, face buried in fur, raised a hand to his forehead to peer at the horizon. It was dawn, and they’d yet to see the ship that they’d been promised would show up for them. “Is this pirate you speak of coming or not?” The question was directed towards Ningguang, who had made the travel arrangements (allegedly being more competent than any of them when it came to the workings of mortals). She stood, stalwart, looking outwards at the sea with something akin to excitement.

Childe adjusted his scarf, eyeing Ningguang with suspicion as Morax draped an affectionate arm around his waist. “Is there a reason that you’re so excited, Ningguang?”

Morax cocked his head, a sly smile spreading on his face (he lost all dignity when not in the palace). “Did you say pirate?” Ningguang ignored the direct question from her Archon as a ship appeared on the horizon, Kaeya jumping for joy and almost knocking Diluc off the pier with his hip.

By the time Morax had pulled the quarrelling brothers apart, the ship they had seen docked a short distance away, dropping a small sailboat with a few distinct figures down that began sailing to the pier. For the first time in all his months of knowing her, Childe saw Ningguang fiddle with her sleeves in nervousness.

The sailboat finally docked, two hooded figures stepping off onto the pier, the first pulling off her hood with a flourish. Thankfully, Childe recognised her from having overheard a conversation (multiple conversations) about her during his previous stint at the docks. A quick exchange of looks confirmed that Kaeya was also indeed aware of this particular pirate.

“Captain Beidou.” Morax outstretched a polite hand that Beidou shook instead of bending to lay a kiss upon. “Archon! Always wonderful to be contacted by your employees.” Beidou spared Ningguang a quick once-over, quickly shifting her gaze to the Ragvindrs.

Her surprise at seeing Diluc quickly faded as it was replaced with a grin, but that did not dispel the apprehension on Diluc’s face. “Master Ragvindr. How’s the business?”

“The business, as you’ve put it,” Diluc’s eyebrows furrowed, “is doing absolutely fine. Thank you for your concern, Captain Beidou.”

“I don’t know if anyone’s ever told ya this, but you’d be a little more successful if you stuck to just trading in secrets.” Despite Beidou’s teasing, Diluc looked nonchalant, but Childe knew him well enough to see the outline of his balled-up fists through his pockets.

Sensing tension, Kaeya stepped in with his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Now, brother, let’s not make enemies of the pirate on this coast that can hold the highest liquor of anyone I’ve ever met. Pleasure to see you again after you drank me under the table, Captain Beidou.”

Beidou grinned a grin that could light up the entire harbour and slapped Kaeya on the back before slinging her arm around his shoulders through the fur coat. “My brother in eyes. After we’re done here, what say you we catch a drink and catch up?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Childe could see Ningguang tensing in apprehension. Anticipating some need for troubleshooting, he broke away from Morax and slung himself in-between Beidou and Kaeya, beckoning towards the other hooded figure. “And if I would be pleased to make your acquaintance?”

The hood that was pulled away revealed a beautiful man, pale and red-eyed- reserved to the point of shy in his mannerisms. He didn’t have the chance to introduce himself, but Childe took keen note of the style of his clothes- Inazuman, when the borders of Inazuma were currently locked down. Interesting.

“Ah, this,” Beidou charged forward, “Is one of the newest additions to my crew. His name is Kadehara Kazuha- he’s Inazuman, as you probably could’ve guessed.” Kazuha waved a hello before bowing in Morax’s direction, who had the decency to incline his head back despite some visible discomfort.

“Okay, let’s go.” Beidou led Kaeya, Diluc, and Keqing into the boat one by one, leaving Childe to climb in himself. He appreciated it- you didn’t grow up in a Snezhnayan fishing town without knowing your way around a boat. Childe shot one last grin at his husband and Ningguang before clambering effortlessly into the boat, seating himself comfortably next to Diluc (who was always a good seatmate when it was chilly).

Beidou waved a goodbye before Morax took a sudden step towards the boat, taking Childe’s face by the chin and tilting it upwards. He leaned in, breath warm against Childe’s cheek before he pressed a (relatively chaste) kiss to his lips. Childe stared at his warm eyes in shock as Morax gave him a slightly offhand grin that he rarely displayed. “Come back to me whole tonight.” He whispered against Childe’s cheek before stepping back, ignoring the baffled looks of everyone present.

Kazuha had the common sense to start rowing, with Morax and Ningguang on the dock slowly becoming small figures in the distance, but Childe’s face burned where Morax had touched him, leaving him almost sorry that he was sitting next to Diluc-The-Furnace. Luckily, nobody brought up what had just occurred, leaving Childe shuffling his feet in the boat as Diluc glared at him.

He and Diluc had been fake-mad at each other for the past week. After the miserable failing of their original plan (and, mind him, Diluc’s own change of plans), Diluc had been made aware of just how wrong he had been about almost the entire situation. He’d ended it making a deal with Morax to keep all the weapons he’d smuggled in- just under strict supervision.

As things stood, Diluc was still unhappy with Childe for being unable to sort out his complicated feelings for Morax earlier. That unhappiness seeped through both of their coats and into Childe’s bones, causing Childe to gently elbow him.

“No hard feelings, right?” Childe whispered into Diluc’s ear, flushed red from the chilly sea-winds. “No,” Diluc sighed wearily. “No hard feelings. I just wish you’d stop putting out. You’ve ruined many a mission doing just that.”

“What??” Childe moved back in false offense before dropping his voice again. “Don’t tell Morax that.”

Diluc grinned, the light of dawn catching his flame-coloured hair and eyes with the movement. “I wouldn’t dare to dream of it.”

Before Childe could strike up conversation with Beidou about Ningguang, a large shadow fell upon the little sailboat- cast by the ship towering over them. She stood and proudly declared, “We’re here!”

With some help, everyone made it easily onto Beidou’s ship (known as the Crux, they learned) before being introduced to the crew. Beidou pulled Childe aside into the Captain’s Cabin, shutting the door behind them before lighting the lamp that stood on her desk.

“So,” Beidou slid into the chair behind her desk. “The Tianquan tells me that you’re breaking into Osial’s lair.” Childe ran a frustrated hand through his hair, that was already off from the humidity, before responding sullenly. “Yes. We know you know where it is. We just know now how to have the best chance of infiltrating it.”

Beidou stayed quiet in contemplation for a moment, her hands clasping together tightly before she turned a discerning eye on Childe. “I do hope you know how much danger you’re trying to put yourself into.” At that, Childe gave her his most reckless grin- one that split his face open in two, the one he gave every new batch of young and untested Fatui recruits. “I thrive in it.”

A beat passed as Beidou scrutinized him before she let out a booming laugh and shook Childe’s awaiting hand. “Oh, I like you. I see why His Majesty the Archon is so enamoured by you.”

---

Daylight had properly fallen by the time that Beidou finally called the ship to a halt, in front of a most tall and imposing mountain range- deathly falls easy to imagine upon looking at the jagged peaks of stone. She stood on a barrel teeming with wine to address her crew, steady despite the rocking of waves against the ship. “Welcome to Guyun Stone Forest, where Morax pinned Osial down with these spears of rock centuries ago. A popular tourist spot- and where you’ll find the entrance to his infamous lair. I hope you’re ready.”

Quietly, Kazuha handed out packs of food, water, and ammunition to all of them, slipping something extra into Childe’s pack. “Be careful,” He murmured to Childe, just out of earshot for everyone else. “Play your cards wisely.” Childe gave Kazuha his most confident nod, steeling himself for what was to come as he slipped his new supplies into his handy travel pack.

The shining sun blinded Childe before he raised an arm to protect himself as the sailboat hit the water and Keqing and Kaeya took up the oars, both rowing with steady hands. They rowed according to Beidou’s instructions- and just as she’d said, when they were a few kilometers off the coast of the main island, they alighted upon a lone island that only had a small cave with an even smaller shrine in front of it.

As they disembarked, Childe made a beeline for the shrine, tripping over the mounds of fine sand that his boots just kept finding their ways over. He approached carefully, hyper-aware of the Liyuean tendency to enchant rock to explode at an intruder’s touch- even as Keqing appeared next to him in a flash of purple, reaching a gloved hand towards the geo magic keeping the shrine closed.

“Is that okay to do-“ “Watch.” Keqing’s hand went right through the magic, the golden curtain shivering for a second before exploding into hundreds of pieces as Childe and Keqing ducked for cover. Inside was a treasure chest left behind by some overambitious adventurer, packed to the brim with food and weapons. Diluc cast an approving eye, having finally reached the shrine with Kaeya- the latter immediately rooting through the chest for anything useful.

Keqing made quick work of sorting their new equipment, laying tarps out in the shrine and tucking her hair up in a more secure bun as opposed to her usual flowing ponytails. “We can set everything up here- we don’t know what’s inside Osial’s lair, and it’s better to pack light and useful as opposed to sliding down there with heavy packs.”  

The sun blazed in the baby blue sky, still so bright that it pained Childe to look at it- the shadows told him that it would soon become noon, and time was passing shockingly fast. “Keqing?” She looked up from overseeing Kaeya’s work on the tarp. “Is it just me, or has time been moving faster ever since we made it onto the island?” She glanced at the same shadows that Childe had been eyeing, head dropping into her hands.

“None of the soldiers have ever been in the correct state of mind to elucidate exactly.” As Yuheng, Keqing had been one of the lead investigators on the solving of the befuddling case of breaking into Osail’s lair- unfortunately, she had never been able to make it onto the actual island, having resigned herself to read reports from the terrified Millelith soldiers that the Crux picked up and dumped in Liyue Harbour. This experience, while limited in terms of practicality, had at least tipped Morax off to the fact that they’d require Xianyun’s sigil of permission.

Childe ensured his bow was secured to his back as Diluc shrugged off his coat, revealing a tightly stretched shirt and breastplate that Childe vaguely remembered resembling those which the Knights of Favonius donned. Kaeya jumped up from his completed tarps and grinned when he spotted what Diluc was sporting, lounging against a cold stone wall of the shrine.

“Not so against the Knights now, eh?” The frown that inhabited Diluc’s face was amazing to watch spread, and he spat out a quick retort. “As if you’re a dedicated protector of Mondstadt.” (Kaeya’s job was to spy on the inner workings of the Knights and ensure that they didn’t stumble upon Diluc’s Definitely Legitimate Business. Their Incredibly Lawful Business.)

They’d all donned thick boots before they’d even left the Crux, provided for by Beidou- who’d refrained from telling everyone where she’d gotten them, which posed a reasonable amount of doubt among them. The boots did smell like fish and brine, but the smell was nostalgic to Childe, the familiarity of leather hugging his feet almost too much to bear.

However useful the boots may turn out to be, they were clumsy on sand- made, clearly, for scaling rocks to scout islands and fish from far-up cliffs. That resulted in some very awkward trudging through sand to the mouth of the cave that Keqing had pointed out, while she effortlessly flashed above the sand with her power of electro.

She stood straight-backed against one wall of the cave’s opening as the rest of them desperately brushed sand off their boots, before their collective attention turned to the inside of the cave. A few meters in was a circular shield of glowing blue magic, effused with the power of the seas. Effectively blocking any entry into the cave, it stood impenetrable against the might of the high tide.

Kaeya cleared his throat, bringing everyone’s attention to him- his compatriots and likely every sea crab in a 5-meter radius, with the way the simple sound bounced across the walls. Decently embarrassed, he lifted his vision- glowing a blue lighter than that of the shield, beckoning.

The aforementioned ‘abilities’ that he and Diluc possessed likely just were those of wit and charm, but he was right- it was useful to have two able and talented fighters on their side, no matter them being two that could effectively combat elemental hydro with their gifted visions. Kaeya raised his arm gingerly, frost forming at the end of his palm. It accumulated until it was a swirling ball of pure cryo power- before Kaeya shot it towards the barrier at full force with a flick of his finger.

The barrier froze immediately, cracks already forming in the thick ice from the force with which it was formed. Kaeya tucked his hand behind his back once again, beads of perspiration nowhere to be seen on his forehead- Childe had seen him create larger and more imposing towers of ice before, this was barely a sweat to him.

Diluc slung his claymore out of its sheath on his back before running at the ice barrier at full speed, claymore alighting in flames as he spun himself towards the barrier with full force. It shattered on impact, no match for the combination of cryo and pyro working against it- also clearly the least of Osail’s barriers. Keqing peered into the yawning chasm that had opened behind the barrier before looking back at Diluc, who was re-sheathing his claymore. “Hey, can you create a sustained flame?”

From then on, it was a surprisingly easy walk downward. For anyone less-equipped, it would’ve been more of a climb- but Childe said a quick prayer of thanks for Beidou’s hindsight. At Keqing’s behest, Diluc led the way, holding a small ball of fire over his hand to see what was ahead.

After what felt like hours, the path finally widened into something that resembled a cavern. They took turns hopping downwards, Diluc pulling a wooden torch out of Kaeya’s pack that he then lit alight and buried into the ground. The rising flames illuminated the inside of the large cavern- including their final barrier.

“This one,” Kaeya eyed the towering wall of magic, “may be harder to break through than just by freezing and shattering.” Childe had just opened his mouth to make a smart-ass remark when he felt a tug from his pocket, a magical call.

He dug through it and produced the sigil of permission, that was now glowing gold- alight with life, burning with desperation to get closer to the barrier. He closed shaky fingers around it tightly, calling back to everyone standing behind him. “I think I have our ticket inside,” Childe begun, sounding a lot more confident than he felt: his guts had turned to goo and his stomach to butterflies awhile behind. “But- I propose that only I go forth and the rest of you stay back.”

Protest erupted, but Childe only had to raise a hand to halt it. Diluc and Keqing looked like they were burning with rage, and Kaeya with confusion. However, in Childe’s mind, it was bafflingly clear- he was meant to go inside, and a secret there called to him.

“It’s stupid to reveal all of our cards immediately.” His thoughts flashed back to Kazuha’s advice. “So, I should go alone- let Osial think only one human was stupid enough to try and defy him. If you guys lie in wait until and unless shit goes horribly wrong, he won’t know to prepare for all of us. He’s dormant enough to have not sensed how many of us entered the tunnel.

Keqing folded her arms over her chest, annoyed not just at his decision but also at the sensibility behind it- and moreso pissed that from the Archon’s husband, it was likely a binding order. Kaeya made his way behind a boulder to prepare ammunition, seemingly convinced of Childe’s ability.

But Diluc stepped forward, stray red strands escaping his tight ponytail. Under the glow of his fire and the magic barrier, he looked ethereal- like the young man desperate for retribution that Childe had met in a swordfight all those years ago. Rage painted a good colour on Diluc, especially as he tenderly caressed the back of Childe’s neck to bring their foreheads together.

It had been a stellar month, as their friendship went, despite the threat of Morax at every corner. They had spent time together, time enough to be the friends that they only were in the more demanding of their letters. But under the mixed light of the cavern, they were 18-year-old boys again, bloody and bruised after a demanding fight, huddled together in the bleak Snezhnayan winter. They were wracked by fear and a thirst for revenge.

Diluc withdrew, hesitantly removing his hand from the back of Childe’s neck- as if he were afraid that doing so would mean letting go of Childe forever. “You’ll live through this. There has to be worse awaiting you.” Childe flushed a pleased shade of pink, though he looked more purple because of the barrier. “Oh, yeah. I haven’t gotten you to try the really good firewhiskey yet.”

Silence from Keqing and Kaeya as Diluc breathed in deeply, before he too retreated in a move of faith in Childe that he’d scarcely before seen. “Make it out in one piece and I’ll go through your marriage contract with you.” “I’m sure you will.” Childe replied, turning his back on the people that believed in him to face the barrier.

This was hydro- he knew it, he lived it, he breathed it. It was not the artificially manufactured shell of his Delusion, imbued with stolen power- this was his birthright, the lifeblood that raced through his veins.

He raised a now-steady hand and extended the sigil of permission to the barrier, watching it glow bright gold- what would have been the brightest gold he had ever seen, but had been dulled by his soft memories of Morax’s arms and rushing power.

Yes! Yes! Go further- go to what is awaiting you- MOVE!

‘Oh my Archon, just shut up.’ Childe thought viciously, watching with no small level of triumph as the sigil of permission blazed through the barrier and caused it to part. Not to be outdone, the barrier itself split apart like a wave being pulled in two different directions, agonisingly slowly- a freak of nature. The sigil, now devoid of all golden light, fell to the rocky ground, and Childe made no move to catch it. He let it blow past and stood taller.

Before he walked through the impossibly parted waves and into Osial’s territory.

---

In Liyue Harbour, Morax was seated inside the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, where Ningguang bit her lip with worry next to him. The opulent red decorations of the Director’s office were not enough to distract him from the letter clasped between his long fingers, that he was rereading yet once more.

Hu Tao, the infamous Director, sat across from her Archon, brewing tea in a pot without no small amount of trepidation. She was used to Morax turning up at unfathomable times to foist dirty work upon her employees, but certainly unfamiliar with both having the Tianquan here and with the look on Morax’s face.

“Your Majesty,” Ningguang began, voice suspiciously shaky. “May I inquire to the contents of the missive that you are reading?” As she spoke, she inspected it- the stationery was fine, elegant. It had red borders, and a familiar symbol.

That of the Fatui. There was no mistaking the nature of the paper- dense and thick. This was a letter from the House of the Hearth, the Fatui base of operations in the Nation of Justice. At Morax’s evident lack of answer, Ningguang stood up and went to go order around the Millelith soldiers stationed outside.

However, she soon rushed back inside, looking white as a sheet. “Your Majesty, there is a visitor here for you.”

Morax put down the letter with a heavy heart, standing up and making in the direction of the door, a renewed sense of purpose burning in his heart. Then he threw the letter into the fire.

---

From: The Knave, The House of the Hearth, Fontaine

To: Tartaglia, The Jade Chamber, Liyue

Your Majesty,

It is with a great deal of sadness that I pen this letter down to you. As you are aware, I have a feasible amount of affection for you- as colleagues go. I kept the details of your marriage a secret at the Tsaritsa’s behest, but I fear that her actions have crossed a border that I approve of.

I do not enjoy personal frivolities. However, you are aware of my penchant towards family- as I am of your strained bonds with yours. I have no doubt that you would have made a very good older brother if you had the chance to be one.

It is such that I must inform you the truth of what your family has done- has been doing. This is nothing short of treason, but I fear that my queen is going beyond what I deem acceptable- in my view, in this case, I will value my fealty to the prince.

The power gem is not what you think it is- I am not supposed to be privy to this information, but I will disclose it to you nonetheless. It is, in reality, ͓̽s͓͓̽̽t͓͓̽̽e͓̽a͓͓̽̽l͓͓̽̽i͓͓̽̽n͓͓̽̽g͓̽ ͓̽t͓͓̽̽h͓̽a͓͓̽̽t͓̽ ͓̽w͓͓̽̽h͓͓̽̽i͓͓̽̽c͓͓̽̽h͓̽ ͓̽y͓͓̽̽o͓͓̽̽u͓̽ ͓̽h͓͓̽̽o͓͓̽̽l͓͓̽̽d͓̽ ͓̽m͓͓̽̽o͓͓̽̽s͓͓̽̽t͓̽ ͓̽d͓͓̽̽e͓̽a͓͓̽̽r͓̽.

---

The rest of the letter was lost to the blazing flames of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour’s Director’s fireplace.

---

As the barrier snapped back into place behind Childe, Diluc couldn’t shake the chill in his bones. Intuition was something he had scarcely relied in before having met Childe, having worked mainly on rule and regulation prior to the Harbinger’s disastrous impact on his life. It was intuition then that guided him then to dart out from behind the rock formation he had been hiding behind.

He made a run for it as Kaeya shouted a warning behind him, but he wasn’t going for what Kaeya assumed he was- he wasn’t going after Childe. The door to that opportunity had already been slammed shut.

Diluc instead dove for the sigil of permission that now lay discarded on the rocks in front of the barrier. Keqing was trying to tell him that after the dissolution of the barrier it wouldn’t work, but Diluc was used to bleeding for hope- he sliced his hand open on the rocks as he grabbed the sigil.

Keqing was partially right- in Diluc’s hands, the sigil lay almost completely devoid of whatever magic had been powering it earlier in Childe’s grasp, but if he thought desperately, he could feel a small spark. The tiniest remaining bit of hope.

Diluc brought the sigil to his chest, kneeled, and prayed.

---

The inside of Osial’s lair was nothing like Childe had expected: where Childe had imagined damp walls and towering chains, there was what looked like an arena.

Childe was oddly comforted, because he knew arenas, he knew how to fight. Combat raged its way through his blood, addled his brain with its heady promise of sweet victory. He could do this.

He snuck his way through the thick foliage that masked the barrier that he’d made his entrance through, making for the closest of the multiple piles of treasure that lay scattered around the arena, all gleaming with gold.

The arena was made of rock- not just made of rock, but rather eroded rock, as if the constant force of the ocean had shaped the initial stone cage into something else entirely. The stone was light grey, almost imbued with the power of hydro, cracks filled with rushing blue power.

In the centre of it all was a circular platform, raised about two inches off the ground. With the blue tendrils of power coming from it, it seemed to be the source of all the power in the lair. Instinctively, Childe knew that was where Osial lay. He just had to avoid the centre of the arena while looking for the gem.

The power that the gem emanated was innately familiar to Childe, having been used to placate him from his abyssal fits for as long as he could remember. The way it suppressed abyssal power was dramatically different to the way that Morax did: where Morax’s power drove light into Childe’s chest in controlled waves, the power gem was chilling. It solved the issue by turning the abyssal power into a rock of ice that sat heavy in Childe’s gut- uncomfortable, but not half as painful as being possessed by the abyss.

It was for that power that Childe reached out for in his search, going from pile to pile. In every pile he felt nothing, no trace of that ever-familiar caress, even if he could feel his lungs being crushed under the mounting pressure of abyssal power in him.

Come, child, you are so close. Come home. You are right here… you are right above us…

The lair was too far underground for Childe to not hear the abyss’ call, he rationalized. It would be more abnormal to be so close to that where you were remade and not feel the urge of homecoming. It was in the midst of his distraction by these thoughts that Childe did not feel the tendrils of oceanic power slowly leech closer and closer to him.

After Childe emerged from his tenth unsuccessful pile (only a hundred more to go!) a whip of abyssal power suddenly lashed out from his hands, successfully fending off one of Osial’s pursuing tendrils. Childe was knocked backwards by the force of the attack, barely landing on his feet after doing about three somersaults in the air. He reacted quickly, unsheathing his bow before the tendrils had another chance to attack.

“Haah,,, to think that you mortals, even after all these years, insist upon underestimating me.” The voice boomed around the arena- pebbles shaking and breaking off from the ceiling, the water that surrounded the arena beginning to thrash as if agitated.

“Osial?” Childe notched an arrow in his bow, having dipped the tip in a vial of poison that Kazuha had handily slipped into his pack, aiming it at the platform. Exactly as predicted, a swell of water rose from the space where the platform raised, forming into one menacing head.

Osial’s head was large, imposing, and would spark terror in even the most prepared of warriors. His eyes were water, but you could see his pupils split like serpents if you squinted- most terrifying, however, were the multiple rows of razor-sharp fangs he revealed when his mouth opened.

“Nonsense, human, drop that puny dart and speak to me.” Darkness spread from Childe’s fingertips to the rest of his body, his clothes going from his usual Snezhnayan battle-wear that he’d worn specifically for the occasion to the darker version of the same getup that he wore during more difficult battles.

Osial just sighed wearily as Childe snapped his electro delusion into place at his belt, preparing his hands, cloaked in darkness, to wield his spear of lightning. “If you put down your weapons and simply spoke to me, you would lose a lot less.”

His voice was ancient, befitting of the god of the deeps. It struck a chord deep in Childe’s heart; where he had thought that the divine no longer scared him, Osial challenged that notion by striking fear in his gut. However, if there was one lesson that his mother had effectively imparted, it was that you had to sometimes hear deities out.

Childe lowered his spear- keeping it at a height where he could effectively wield it, but not high enough to be in an offensive stance. “Osial- I have respect for you. I appreciate that you are not killing me. May I ask why?”

Osial’s head shook in what was either amusement or annoyance, bearing its threatening fangs at Childe again. “So, the child of the abyss will listen to me, then?”

He swallowed. “Yes.”

---

There hadn’t been any sounds of fighting from past the barrier whatsoever, which concerned Diluc more than any battle could have. Childe fighting was normal. Childe not fighting was cause for extreme worry.

As he opened his mouth to say precisely that, there was violent shaking from the tunnel where they’d entered from, rock raining down into the cavern.

Kaeya poked his head out from behind his boulder of choice, armed to the teeth. He brandished his sword, prepared to face the threat head on.

Snapped out of her reverie where she was trying to set up a system of communication, Keqing snapped to alertness, only to watch more rock rain down as the cavern shook.

“What’s going on?”

---

Osial huffed, the tendrils of blue power returning to their source to put Childe more at ease. “I assume that you are here for that pesky little power gem.”

Without the blue in the floor, the arena looked simple, like your average abandoned tournament arena. Childe looked up from his examination of the cracks to incline his head in assent. “I would greatly appreciate if you handed it back to me.”

The monster’s maw split into what may, terrifyingly, have been a grin, as a chuckle emanated deep from below the ground. “Fool. You mortals are all such fools.”

“I am inclined to agree with your assessment,” Childe replied, staying stagnant against Osial’s bait. “but I do believe that the power gem was stolen from Snezhnaya, and consequently picked up by you.”

“That is truth.” Osial conceded. “What I wish to know is why you want it so desperately. Have you no idea of its true purpose?”

Grip tightening on his electric spear, Childe inhaled the salt in the air deeply. “It is what keeps me from succumbing to madness. I do quite enjoy not being mad.”

Dare you call your guidance madness?

“Is it.” Osial hummed, terrifying because it shook the sea and ground. “I regret to inform you that your assessment of the power gem was deeply wrong.”

“What?”

“The power gem does not contain abyssal power, young fool. It harnesses it- it leeches power from one’s own soul to make another stronger. Continual exposure to the power gem does not heal people of abyssal sickness, it drives them mad by stealing everything they ever had.”

Despite his years of training against shock, Childe couldn’t help it- his spear fell from his hands, and he fell from his stance- to his knees, to pressing his head against the floor. Osial drew his head backwards, being surprisingly considerate of Childe’s personal space.

If the power gem had indeed been doing the opposite of what his mother had claimed, that meant she had been exploiting him for the sake of power, didn’t it? If all she had ever done was to make use of him, hadn’t she succeeded? He was, after all, her most finely honed instrument of war.

“Child. We do not always need to give into what people want from us.” Osial’s words, despite making Childe’s head spin, drove him to his feet. He felt dishevelled, bloody where the stone floor of the arena had left cuts, insane with rage. Unhappy with his so-called family. Anything and everything.

“Why are you helping me? You detest Morax.” There was a crack in Childe’s voice and a deeper one in his heart when he thought of Morax, who had entrusted him with the future of his nation.

The water swirled a little faster at the mention of Morax. “Do you look like Morax? I am helping you because it serves my best interests. Now focus on the matter at hand.”

He shook, trembling from sudden cold and sudden heat and the sudden spin. Still he raised his head to Osial, still he balled his fists. “Does that mean that I am doomed from my prolonged exposure to the power gem?”

Osial’s head shook. “No- you are especially resilient. That is, after all, why it is you here facing me alone, is it not?”

The electro delusion on Childe’s belt thrummed with life, power, rage. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” This time, Childe was sure that Osial was grinning, “That you must destroy what has been siphoning your life from you- and you must rise to your revenge. Achieve your own retribution.”

His breath was ragged with anger, cracked by betrayal. His laugh was manic, hurting. “Do you mean to say that the abyss has been helping me, as opposed to harming me?”

“Stupid fool. No, of course not.” Osial cracked open a disappointed slit-pupilled eye at Childe. “I mean that if you foil your mother’s plan and achieve what you are meant to, you could regain your initial power, without the abyssal corruption. Every surge you have felt, every voice you have heard, it is not simply of your own making. Rid yourself of the source of such notions, and your power was bloom as it was meant to.”

Deities had a way of speaking in riddles, but for once in his life, Childe heard every word with shocking clarity, understanding it with every corrupt bone in his body. His laughs continued, bitter and betrayed. “Are you asking me to do what I think you are?”

Osial flared webbed ears at the reckless young man in front of him. “Finally, you understand.”

From behind the head, something rose out of the platform- a gigantic, beautifully glittering diamond, that was black under the surface.

Sentimental as he was deep down, Childe blinked away hurt tears at the sight- he’d been sold for what he thought had been peace but had been his mother’s agenda. He had been used throughout his life, had the deaths of his family exploited and used against him for the simple sake of the Tsartisa’s accumulation of power. And he was finally looking upon the cause.

Osial laughed, this time from all the way in the deep, as Childe rose into the air. His electro delusion glittered at his hip, but he snapped his granted vision into a hollow that formed in his chest. His limbs elongated, the agony of the transformation blissful, satisfying after months of relative inaction.

It never got easier- had never been, not since the first day Skirk had held him close, slit his throat, and whispered to him to let the power flow. Childe’s neck snapped back, his hair growing longer, his clothes replaced by armour. Armour on purpled skin, the suggestion of a galaxy of stars hidden on his body.

Childe had risen into the air, but the Foul Legacy touched the ground, wielding its hydro-electro combination of power. He had a target- he had a bleeding heart. He had it all in the palm of his hand, and he was going to do right by himself for once: by committing grand treason.

He rose into the air once more, power swirling around him as he aimed for the glowing diamond that Osial held so carefully for him to destroy. Childe was moments away from avenging himself when he heard the barrier he had entered through shudder- before splitting open.

Osial roared in rage as his magic faltered, the dust crumbling away to reveal one figure alone standing tall, while three more ducked for cover behind him.

Morax stepped ahead, the foliage shrinking away from his steps as the dragon approached. He looked like the Morax that Childe had left on the pier- but simultaneously different. He towered taller than usual, horns sprouting from his forehead, a tail parting the air behind him. He wielded his infamous spear, the one that had vanquished Osial previously.

Childe, blinded by anger, could scarcely care that his husband had arrived. “Stay back.” The words came out guttural and angry, as they usually did from the Foul Legacy. “I am busy right now.” Morax reared back, clearly surprised at Childe’s reaction- or the distance between Osial and Childe.

“Morax.” Osial growled. “I was so close to letting your pretty little husband go without a scratch on his skin.”

Hair swept by the air, Morax scoffed, finally looking like the dragon that Childe had been sold away to. “You may try to harm a hair on his head. I am only stronger- and only more unafraid to trap you once more.”

Osial shook his single head. “This is pointless. I am naught but one part of the glory that I once used to be.” Childe, fed up of their nonsense, hurled his spear at Morax’s feet.

Though it didn’t explode as Childe usually willed it to, it did its job of shutting the quarrelling deities up. It allowed Childe to rise into the air once more, this time solely targeting the diamond. He dove, snatching it up from its protective shell of water, the resistance mild before Osial let go.

“What are you doing?” Morax screamed, yanking Childe’s spear from the ground. Then he seemed to note what Childe was clutching, and the fight went out of him in one breath. The reaction wasn’t lost on Childe, and he spun to face his husband.

“Don’t tell me, Morax, don’t tell me that you knew what the power gem was doing to me, and you kept it from me. I swear on every archon, including you, that if you were hiding this-“ “I was not.” Morax’s unfamiliarly sharp tone gave even an enraged Childe pause, and he took a few more breaths than he’d allowed himself in the past few minutes.

“It was in the missive from the Knave.” Morax stepped into the arena, nearing Childe, the dragon version taller than him even when Childe was in Foul Legacy. “She elaborated on the details that Osial here no doubt has given you already. I came here because I needed to tell you before you tried to use the power gem to cleanse yourself.”

Childe exhaled a sharp breath, hanging his head for a minute. “We’ll talk later. Help me now or get out of my way.” Morax looked deep into his eye, before nodding and rising into the air, gathering the purifying power that Childe was ever so familiar with in a palm. He moved closer, closer than anyone had ever dared to come to Childe when he was in Foul Legacy, and pressed the power into the palm that did not hold the power gem.

Gratitude was a word not strong enough to describe the rush of feelings that Childe was boiling in in the moment, but he inclined his head at Morax to indicate that he appreciated whatever was happening. Then he cloaked himself in the purifying power and tossed the power gem onto the ground.

It vibrated as it hit the ground, looking as angry as Childe felt. He took one last, long look at the proof of his mother’s betrayal, every breath that filled his lungs filling his heart with the images of his childhood.

The family he had lost after his sojourn into the abyss- being ripped away from their corpses by two screaming people, living the last of his teenage years training for war, being forged into the weapon that the Tsaritsa wanted more than anything. Memories of the way the gem made him feel, of the chilling forewarning that he was being drained of everything he had.

Childe gave himself one moment to feel it all- then he stomped down, hard, shattering the reason for his mission into thousands of tiny pieces.

---

Childe had been expecting some kind of sudden rush of power or some upgrade or something, but was met with only silence before a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist. He leaned his head back into Morax’s chest, shaking suddenly with the onslaught of emotions that the past literally 15 minutes had been.

Osial’s head had withdrawn back below the platform, his sage advice exhausted. The arena began trembling, no doubt a warning to leave as soon as possible to avoid Osial’s wrath. Childe couldn’t have cared less, burying his head into Morax’s chest, his mask gently removed by dextrous hands and snapped instead to his belt so he could cry more easily.

He could have and would have stayed there forever. They would turn to stone together, immortalized further in their love for each other, in their shared hurt, in their comfort.

Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a very familiar clearing of a throat. Childe spun to where the barrier had been, destroyed by Morax, where a young man clothed in an Inazuman fashion stood, red and purple colours standing out among the slate and blue of the lair.

“I did forget to mention.” Morax laid a supportive hand on Childe’s shoulder. “The Balladeer has made it from Snezhnaya.”

Scaramouche stepped onto the arena floor, the tassels of his hat waving behind him in the air as he carefully approached. Childe snapped out of his Foul Legacy, collapsing into Morax’s arms for one moment before righting himself, back in his regular clothes, ready to speak to Scaramouche.

One purple eyebrow raised; Scaramouche shot Childe a Look. “Your Foul Legacy’s… refractory period, shall we say, seems to have significantly lessened. A few months ago, you’d be unable to move a limb after having been in the form for even a few minutes.”

Childe glared back, now standing completely by himself, Morax only a few steps behind. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Keqing, Diluc, and Kaeya stood awaiting their return as Childe furiously stormed past all of them into the cavern where they had been, stopping short at the sight of the mouth of the tunnel blocked by rock. He looked back at Morax, who had the decency to look a little bit sheepish. “Sorry.”

“How did you guys even get in here?” Childe shook his head, pausing when Scaramouche pointed upwards- to where a perfect hole was in the ceiling of the cavern. Another look at his husband confirmed to Childe who had created it, and Childe took a moment before sinking to the floor.

Scaramouche stepped near, removing his hat to peer at Childe better. “Am I about to watch you have your second temper tantrum ever?” He backed a few paces away at the look on Childe’s face, standing next to Diluc instead- where they both narrowed eyes at each other (the memories of Diluc in Snezhnaya were fresh for some).

Morax knelt next to Childe, restoring Osial’s barrier with a wave of his hand. “What do you propose we do now, Bǎobèi?”

Leaning his head against Kaeya’s boulder, Childe closed his eyes. “We go home. Then we prepare to kill the Tsaritsa.”

---

Thirteen years ago, Zapolyarny Palace, Snezhnaya

Yelizaveta’s companion watched her pace around the room anxiously, her ragged skirt getting caught under her heels constantly. He cleared his throat to catch her attention and gestured for her to sit in the chair that was near the fireplace.

“Liza, you are stressing yourself out beyond measure. If you keep behaving like this-“ “What, I’ll die? How could it ever get any worse?” She leaned forward in the chair, her head in her hands. “If the gods find out about this-“

Her companion moved to put a kettle on the little stove in the corner of the room that they were temporarily inhabiting. “They won’t.”

It served little to lessen her nerves, but rather to worry her further. She stretched a little, folding frozen fingers together as she listened to the sound of the Fatui recruits training in the yard outside.

“The child we rescued. How is he?” Her companion paused, leaving silence in the room, only interrupted by the sounds of the water in the kettle boiling. “He is… fine. Perhaps a little eccentric and reckless, but a great warrior’s spirit lies deep within him. He seems to get along with everyone, even if they are turned off by his… personality.”

Yelizaveta massaged her temples, feeling a headache build. “Alright. Thank you for the update.” Recognising his dismissal, her companion poured her a cup of hot water and left her to her own thoughts.

She held a hand near the fire, relishing in the feel of warmth after having spent the day outside in the cold. She was still looking at her hand when she plunged it in the fire, watching, waiting to see if it would burn- if she would smell charred flesh, have some confirmation that she was normal.

The tendrils of darkness made their way out of her will and onto her arm, protecting her hand from the flames.

Accept us, Yelizaveta.

Yelizaveta broke the mug.