[ᴄʜɪʟᴅᴇ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ: ᴀ ᴅᴇᴀʀ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛᴏʀ]

Chapter 12 [Happy Lantern Rite!]

???

"I know... Listen- I'm gonna get you back home. When this earthquake is all over, I'll bring you back home. A-And you won't have to be all covered in blood and rain, okay?"

You

"Hm...?"

???

"I'm so sorry..."

You squinted your eyes a little, trying your hardest to open them on your own.

You

"... Childe?..."

Childe

"Yes!... Yes, it's me!"

You

"What is... Why-"

Childe

"I'll explain everything later but right now, I want you to rest, alright? You're... Uh... You're really hurt right now."

Childe's eyes were red and puffy because he was sobbing so hard. As you lay on his chest, unable to move, you could feel his shaky breaths and racing heartbeat.

You

"I told you to... Told you to not leave."

Childe

"And I'm sorry about that... I really should've listened."

With your massive headache, you couldn't think straight and were forgetting things as the seconds passed. You were trying to recall what had happened, but after being knocked out for a day and suffering from a headache, nothing came to mind. You could only recall minor details.

Childe said sorry repeatedly in a crackly voice as he placed his hand on your head, bringing you closer and hugging you tight in that small cave until the earthquake ended.

It took an eternity to end, and Childe almost lost all hope at one point. The earthquake came to a halt when the moon rose. He'd gotten used to it to the point where he could still feel himself shaking while holding you in his arms.

-TWO DAYS LATER-

Sitting up straight in your bed, your eyes opened in terror. You panicked and looked around the room - your room.

You

"... Huh..."

Scaramouche sat in a chair next to your bed, his chin on his palm with his eyes closed.

You

"... Scaramouche?"

Scaramouche

"... Hm?... Oh!..."

When Scaramouche saw you were awake, his eyes slowly began to widen.

You

"Is that you?..."

Scaramouche

"Yeah... Yeah, it's me."

All of the previous occurrences began to flood your mind as soon as you were finally awake and more alert.

Scaramouche

"You were-"

You

"Childe. Where the hell is Childe?"

Scaramouche

"... Oh shit."

Running straight out of your room and into the hallway, you flung the blanket off of you and hurled it on Scaramouche. Childe was carrying a tray of food at the end of the hallway as you turned your head in both directions to glance down both sides.

Scaramouche

"Y/N, wait!-"

Childe hadn't seen you approaching him yet. When you got close to him, you gave him a strong slap across the face and caused him to drop his tray of food. The water glass broke, spilling all over the place.

Additionally, the plate cracked, and the food was left all over the tray. He immediately fell to the ground as you kicked him in the stomach. Along with that, he hit the back of his head on the ground.

Scaramouche

"Y/N, no!"

You were practically on top of him as he lay on the ground clutching his hurt head with both of his hands, punching his face much harder than you had slapped him before.

You

"Explain to me what the fuck that was for!"

Childe

"Y/N-"

Scaramouche

"Oh no..."

In distress, Scaramouche was walking around in circles frantically with both of his hands on his head.

You

"You knew damn well that wasn't the deal!"

Childe

"I know! And I'm sorry!"

You

"Oh, you're sorry?! That's all you have to say?!"

Childe

"Wh-"

You

"Are you not going to explain to me what that was for?! Stabbing me in the fucking stomach and leaving me there for a day?!"

Childe

"I-"

You

"Fucking explain!"

Childe

"I didn't want to hurt you!..."

He shouted over your voice while making a slight whimpering noise.

(shut up i know you like hearing him whimper smh 🙄)

Childe

"Do you think I wanted to do this?!"

You

"!..."

Childe

"Godamnit Y/N- I had no other option but to do that or else I and everyone close to me would've been killed! And I know that's selfish of me, but I never wanted to hurt you! I would never!... If anything, blame the fucking fatui!"

One of your hands was pulling on his hair as the other was positioned to hit him across the face once more. You took a deep breath in and one long breath out as you started to calm down while slowly releasing your grasp on his hair.

Childe noticed you were starting to back away while he was still gasping for air and looked at your frustrated expression. He glanced at you again after noticing a small bloodstain on his shirt and wondered where it came from.

Your hands, which were also stained with blood, were now in your line of sight. You suddenly realized that your gut was literally bleeding out, and you turned to look at Childe.