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-漫~*'¨¯¨'*·舞~ . ~舞*'¨¯¨'*·~漫-
We both stared in silence as he gazed at my eyes intently. "Um, a-are you okay, sir?" I looked at him head to toe.
He's dressed up traditionally and he didn't look like he's from Liyue because of his outfit. He didn't say a word and we just continued our little staring contest. I began sweating a little as the tension in the air was slowly building up.
"Who ar-"
"(Y/N)."
A voice called behind me as Zhongli looked at me first and then the man in front of me, there was another moment of silence before Zhongli's brows furrowed at the person.
"What is your business here?" He asked sternly, not taking his eyes off him.
The man sighed and covered his face with his hat, "Nothing, that's fucking what." The man muttered under his breath and walked away.
I watched the man slowly disappear into the crowd and went back to Zhongli, "You know him?" I raised a brow.
That was weird, he was looking at me like he knows me or something. He curses a lot too.
He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, "Yes, but fret not, I will make sure he won't cause any threats here." He looked away with a frown, deep in thought.
Threats? Is he an enemy? But it would make sense that he is since he didn't look too friendly, but rather intimidating. He was almost the same height as me and he has a huge hat, but when I saw his eyes, I felt like I've stared at them before.
"Who is he, Zhongli?" I asked, since I didn't get to ask the man himself, I thought Zhongli might know.
He exhaled and furrowed his eyebrows, putting his hands behind him. "I don't think I should be the one telling you since I do not know much of that man either. But I am sure he works under the Tsarista," He gestured.
'A fatui harbinger?' I thought in my mind as I remembered his face clearly when he was staring at me.
That was a very dangerous situation, why is another harbinger wandering around the harbor and why do I feel like... I know him?
"I-I should stop him!" I blurted out and summoned my sword, but Zhongli held my hand and lowered my sword.
"Calm down, (Y/N). I doubt he will cause any commotion at this time. He is probably here for some other matters," He reassured as my chest slowly heaved up and down, dismissing my sword. "We should go back and settle down with some refreshments, yes?" He said with his soft voice and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Sure.." I agreed and we began walking back to the Pavilion.
He is right but that guy is a fatui, he seemed more dangerous than Childe and could wipe out the entire harbor easily. It was a good thing he didn't see me as a target and maybe I saw him before too but... when exactly?
"You seem to be stressing about some things lately, are you sure you are resting well enough?" He rubbed my back gently, looking down at me.
"Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed," I replied, sweating a bit. Definitely trying to not make it obvious.
"Hmm," He hummed and closed his eyes for a bit, "If you cannot rest well, you can come to me for some tea which can help you relax, plus I know a lot of aromas that are best for you. You like Mugicha tea, correct?" He reassured with a small smile.
"Thank you, Zhongli. I appreciate that." I couldn't help but smile because of his thoughtfulness. "Ah, by the way, did Childe.. really promise anything to you?"
"Promise?" He stopped in his tracks and turned to me.
"Yeah, that he wasn't going to do any commotion in the harbor anymore?" I questioned, gesturing.
"I do not recall him making a promise with me. Knowing Childe, he still doesn't trust me fully after the incident." He crossed his arms, "Is there a problem with this promise you say..?"
So it wasn't Zhongli, but who? But Childe is known to goof around a lot so he's probably just making up things.
"Never mind. He's probably kidding around and you know, fatui things." I laughed it off and just smiled. Maybe he meant that their plans in Liyue are laying low for now.
"I see, if anything bothers you, please feel free to ask me. Shall we go now?" He began walking again, I just nodded in agreement and followed him behind.
Just as we were about to go back we met with Childe and Paimon outside the Pavilion having a loud conversation, "(Y/N)! There you are, don't go leaving Paimon again!" She called out and flew towards me, causing me to stumble a little.
"Y'know, we were kicked out because that kid was yelling so much." Childe rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue in another direction.
"I'm not a kid!" Paimon yelled out, "Help me, (Y/N)! He was about to feed me poison and I would turn into a crab mind slave!" She cried out, tugging on my skirt to wipe her welling up tears.
'Just what happened..?' My eye twitched at her as I rubbed my forehead.
"Ah, we shall pay-"
"It's fine, Zhongli-sensei." Childe cut him off and smirked, "I already did," He gave him a toothy grin.
"REALLY?!" Paimon gaped at him, but for me, it wasn't a surprise anymore.
"Well I did say I was gonna pay for anything you like, I'm a man of my words." He winked and placed a hand on his chest proudly.
"I appreciate that... again, Childe, please accept my deepest thanks." Zhongli smiled back and gestured.
'Man of my words my ass,' I rolled my eyes.
"Anyway, what took you guys so long?" Childe gestured, making Paimon nod.
"There were just some matters in the way, but worry not" Zhongli replied calmly, making Childe look at both of us suspiciously. "Shall we go for some refreshments before we part ways? It is still early." He announced, making Paimon drool again.
"CAN WE GET BEER!?" Childe cried out, mumbling multiple pleas under his breath.
"PAIMON WANTS JUICE!" She cheered in excitement.
"Hmm, I suppose those are not good options. So we shall go with tea," Zhongli smiled innocently as his face brightened in a delightful smile.
"FUCK" Childe crashed down on his knees and wept, as Paimon just nods her head in agreement.
"After all the crab mind slave thing, Paimon is fine with tea!" She smiled in amusement, crossing her arms.
"Let's go, shall we?" Zhongli called as we all followed him to his place.
We entered Zhongli's place and the first confusing thing was that his home actually looked really rich, but Zhongli- well never mind. There were jade statues lined up on the counters on the walls and the walls are made of gold. This is definitely not his place.
"Zhongli, can you make a jade statue of Paimon too?" Paimon asked and went to one of the statues, eyeing it closely.
'Oh, please no...' I rubbed my forehead and turned away from the sight.
"Y'know, pie face. There is an urban legend where you can duplicate yourself and that other you will haunt y-"
"IT'S PAIMON!" She yelled out, causing Childe to laugh hysterically.
"Sure, fly mole!" He smiled and continued chuckling quietly.
I looked over at Zhongli who was starting to gather the ingredients for tea so I went to him, away from their bickering. "Can I help?" I asked as he nods in agreement, giving me the pestle to grind the herbs into powdery particles. After we were done making tea, the two finally settled down to drink with us.
Now that there's finally peace and quiet, I thought I could talk to Childe about the man I met earlier. I'm sure he knows who that man is and why he's here.
"Childe," I called and turned towards him, putting my tea down.
"Yeah?" He placed his cup down and looked at me.
"Do you know a man with a big hat with traditional-ish clothing?" I squinted my eyes at him as his face turns into a frown, "Maybe... a fatui harbinger like you?" I added.
He looked away, thinking intently, and turned back to me, "Nope." He simply replied and took his glove off to hold his cup of tea.
"I'm serious, I saw him earlier. What's he doing here?" I sighed, crossing my arms.
"Dunno," He crossed his legs and turned away again.
He's definitely hiding it. "I'll just find him again then" I got up from my seat impatiently but I felt a hand grab mine just as I was about to stand up.
"Scaramouche, the person you met."
-漫~*'¨¯¨'*·舞~ . ~舞*'¨¯¨'*·~漫-
"It was definitely her, that girl," Scaramouche muttered under his breath, palm over his mouth as he walks back and forth in his office.
He thought intently, trying to remember that traveler's features. He couldn't form a word when he first saw her, he was too busy debating with his own thoughts like there was an angel and a devil version of him arguing in his head.
He remembered those eyes staring at him before and warming his heart every time, and the voice that always called out to him even though he wasn't in the mood. He never thought he would encounter (Y/N) again, after all those decades.
"So... why am I here again? A damn cupid to make you two fall for each othe-"
"Shut the fuck up," Scaramouche hissed at Dottore, sighing aloud. "I should've called someone else other than your stupid ass," He clicked his tongue in irritation.
"I'm offended," Dottore rolled his eyes sarcastically, signing some papers on the table.
Scaramouche ignored his comment and continued walking back and forth, looking outside the window occasionally. He didn't know how to face (Y/N) again and that moment when he saw her, he was scared and happy at the same time. It was a good thing Zhongli had entered the scene before he was going to snap or something.
"You do realize the traveler is our enemy, right?" Dottore stated, breaking the silence.
He's right, things were happening too fast. He wasn't sure what to say and now that she's sided with the people who rival the fatui, she might've seen him as an enemy because he's a harbinger. Which makes it harder for Scaramouche.
He was scared about the outcome of their encounter and that it might happen again. Everything started for him when she died, but now, will everything end because she's back?
He stared at the view in front of him and crossed his arms, "Even so, I still need that second chance. I can't let her go again."