Chongyun and his mom hurried out the door. The cold, biting wind soothed him while his mom shivered.
On the street was a white car that had crashed into a pole. The pole had fell over, but the car seemed undamaged.
A girl emerged from the car. She had navy hair and was cradling a pale brown...panda!? Then Chongyun recognized the girl.
"Oh...whoops."
"Xiangling! Are you alright?" Asked Chongyun's mom, brushing her light blue hair out of her face.
"Huh? Oh! Uh hi! Yeah, I'm fine. Guoba is also fine. Oh, hey, my car is okay! The groceries in the back are undamaged. That's great, I can still make cheese, cabbage and shrimp meat rolls!"
Chongyun's mom looked concerned. "Well...Xiangling...how about I drive this car to your house instead? You can stay at our house for a few minutes. Cook something there and eat if you want to, then you can go back to your house."
Oh no, thought Chongyun. Xiangling would probably force him to eat spicy food if she had time. But on the good side, I can get new popsicles.
"Well...why not! Here, let me just get the groceries..." Xiangling smiled as she gently set down her pet panda, Guoba and went to open the trunk of her car. She pulled out two bags of food.
Chongyun led her to his house. Guoba followed them. No one spoke a word as the wind howled and scratched at them.
"So...how are you doing, Chongyun?" She asked, breaking the awkward tension between them.
"I'm fine, but um, I'm running low on popsicles. Can I ask you to make some? If you have the ingredients."
Xiangling smiled. "Of course! I have mint here," She said, holding up one of her grocery bags. "And I'm sure you have water and a fridge at your house, right?"
"We do," Chongyun said. They had arrived at the door of his house. He opened the door to let Xiangling in.
Both of the teenagers stepped into the foyer.
Xiangling looked around. "It's been so long since I've been here," She sighed wistfully. After Guoba stepped inside the house, Chongyun closed the door, shutting the chilly breeze out.
She bounded to the kitchen and set her groceries on the table before reaching in and pulling out a leafy green plant with a blue top. She sniffed it before grinning with utter delight, as she often does when she's about to cook. Xiangling took a cup of water and some popsicle molds from the fridge.
Chongyun stood there awkwardly as she bounced around, doing who-knows-what. A few long minutes later, Xiangling presented him with a popsicle mold full of liquid and sticks.
"Keep this in the fridge for a few hours, then they should be ready!"
"Alright. Thanks," Chongyun gave her a small smile. Then he carefully carried the tray to the fridge and tucked it inside.
Xiangling was about to take more ingredients out of her grocery bags when Chongyun's mom opened the door and stepped into the house. A gust of wind escaped inside.
She sighed. "Right, Xiangling, your car is outside of your garage. I'm not sure about the damages...you'll have to do more research."
Xiangling smiled. "Alright, I'll take my leave then!" She grabbed her grocery bags and skipped out. Guoba waddled after her happily. "Bye! I'll see you later!" She gave an enthusiastic wave to Chongyun and his mom. gently closed the door behind her.
"I see Xiangling made you new popsicles." Chongyun's mom noted.
"Yeah, she did. I was running low."
"Did she eat? Or cook?"
"No, she didn't have the time..."
"Well, the girl has always been an excellent chef," Sighed Chongyun's mom before going over the kitchen to finish making her own dinner.
***
Kaeya sighed as he took his fourth bottle of Death After Noon. "So, Childe...I've been noticing that lately...you've been gawking at Zhongli a lot."
This was not true. Childe was not gawking at Zhongli, but he did stare at Zhongli. There was a difference. "Gawking?" Childe took a sip of his Firewater. "No, I haven't. You're not accusing me of cheating, are you?"
Kaeya laughed. "No, of course not. Just a mere thing I've noticed."
"So, what about you? Anyone you fancy?" Childe grinned as he took another sip of Firewater.
Kaeya took a huge gulp of his Death After Noon and sighed at the way it exploded on his tongue. "Maybe a certain blonde guy..." He said, imagining Albedo and his fluffy hair. "Teal eyes. Simply stunning..."
"Not...Albedo?" Childe smirked, sipping his wine.
"What, hmm? You into him too?" Kaeya said, his words slurring together.
Childe's smirk grew. "You're drunk," He said, not giving Kaeya a proper reply.
"No, I'm n—hmm..."
Childe finished his drink, the Firewater burning him inside out, before picking up Kaeya and hauling him out of the tavern. Charles, the bartender, stared at them go.
Childe called for a taxi. A taxi did stop. It was bright yellow, standing out in the night. Green and red lights reflected on it, turning it different colors.
He pushed Kaeya in the car and buckled him up before also getting inside the car. The buzzing and honking of cars disappeared. Everything was much quieter as he shut the cab's door.
He turned to the cab driver and told him Kaeya's address.
The chauffer nodded and was about to turn around when he spotted Childe's red mask, pinned on the top of his ginger-haired head.
The result was satisfying. The cab driver's eye's widened and he sat stiff and rigid in his seat. As if he were afraid of something...Childe leaned forward slightly and met his eye. He smirked. The cab driver broke eye contact and nodded.
"Of course, sir Tartaglia," The taxi driver hurried to get going. The sooner Tartaglia was out of his cab, the better.
Childe leaned back, fished a coin out of his pocket and twirled it. It flashed in the air, reflecting the traffic lights outside the yellow car. He grabbed the coin out of the air and pocketed it.
He was bored. By the time they arrived, he was half asleep. He got out of the car, pulling Kaeya with him.
Kaeya was already asleep.
Childe was about to leave when the cab driver timidly said, "T-Tartaglia...? I—uh, t-the b-bill..."
"Of course, sir," Childe said, giving the chauffer a fake smile. "Here." He handed the driver a wad of cash.
The driver bowed very low as Childe left. Being in the Fatui certainly has its perks...
Childe lifted Kaeya to carry him over his shoulder as he climbed the steps to Kaeya's—rather trashy—house. He must've looked ridiculous. When he arrived at the white door with a gold handle, he put Kaeya down and woke him up.
"Keys."
Kaeya mumbled something. Childe sighed and dug his hand into Kaeya's pockets until he found several keys attached to a keychain. They jingled as he tried out every key until he got the right one.
The door creaked open, and Childe put the keys back in Kaeya's pant's pocket. He helped Kaeya walk to the couch, where Kaeya immediately settled on, his body collapsing.
Childe opened his phone and called a Fatui member to guard Kaeya.
I think a nice Cicin Mage will do, he smirked. Cicin Mage's were extremely pretty women that had a job of just wandering around and reporting back to the Harbingers or The Tsaritsa.
"Childe," Kaeya suddenly said. "Don't you feel lonely sometimes?"
Childe stared at him out of the corners of his eyes, but since he hadn't opened the lights, he couldn't tell what Kaeya was doing. "Why?" I do feel lonely. Bringing girls in never helped.
"Hmm...nothing."
Kaeya drifted back to sleep.
Childe stood by Kaeya's couch, anxiety and boredom seeping into his body with each moment passing.
It was dark, and Childe could only make out vague outlines of the couch and a table. He went to get a glass of water.
The cool water was nothing like Firewater. It cooled him and it flowed down his throat, soothing him. It was cold and calming, unlike Firewater, which was hot and fiery.
The doorbell rang. It was a loud sound that pierced through the silence.
Childe checked to see that Kaeya was sleeping before going to the door and opening it. He greeted a Cicin Mage dressed in all blue and white, in a very elegant and detailed outfit.
"Hey girlie? I need you to guard around this house, walk around, and in general take care of my friend. Do not do anything that my friend—Kaeya did not tell you to do." He sighed and ran his fingers through his ginger hair when he realized that his instructions had huge loopholes in them. "Or anyone with higher rank than you. Yeah, I think you get it. I'll be leaving now. And if you disobey these orders or use a loophole, I will personally make sure you are fired. Got it?" He smiled, as if he hadn't threatened the Mage at all.
The Cicin Mage nodded. The blue and white lamp she was holding flickered.
Childe yawned—his eyes drooping—as he let the Cicin Mage in and walked out of Kaeya's house.
He called for a taxi. A professional Fatui white cab appeared, with the Fatui logo in gold on the side. The chauffer dressed in a black with a mask on immediately nodded when Childe got in the car. The seats were expensive black leather, while the car could auto-drive. After Childe buckled in, he started driving to Childe's house, without Childe saying a word.
Childe was about to fall asleep—yet he noticed every single movement the chauffer made. Lights flashed in front of his eyes, but he was dimly aware of anything going on. He struggled to keep himself awake as his eyes drooped.
"We've arrived, sir Tartaglia." Said the professional chauffer, the voice penetrating through his drowsiness.
Childe yawned and got out of the cab without saying a word. He shut the door behind him and made his way to his mansion. The polished marble stairs gleamed as he walked on them. He opened the marble door with gold keys. His reflection stared back at him on gold and marble.
"Childe! You're back!!" Squealed his current girlfriend in an annoyingly high-pitched voice that pierced through his brain.
"I...just wanna...sleep," Childe murmured in the girl's brown hair as the she wrapped her arms around his neck.
This is going to be very annoying.