you got a brief shot of confidence. if i can look jester in the eye, this should be easy. you turned around, tartaglia's grip never faltering as you looked at him dead in the eye. but... the words got stuck in your throat.
why can't i say it?
tartaglia knew it already. there was no way you could say that. your actions showed him how you thought of him as more than just a superior. you cared for him.
"you can't say it, can you?"
you took a deep breath, twisting your arm and ripping it out of his grasp while looking away. "i'm doing this for your own good."
"and i'm doing this because i think having an official friend and ally in such a lonely and toxic environment would do us both some good, wouldn't you think?"
if i accept and be his friend... it'll end badly.
if i don't accept and be his friend... it'll end less badly.
he clearly sees me as a friend, and i see him as more than a friend. but... the future is inevitable.
"you won't leave this alone, will you?"
"no," tartaglia said.
"why are you so desperate to be my friend, my lord?"
"well... we work well together. we've become good comrades since our last mission, no? why wouldn't i want to be friends with you?"
you sighed. maybe... i'll just be vague about it.
"i'll consider it then."
"consider what?"
"i'll consider being your friend."
tartaglia gave you a small smile. "i'm glad."
"you look so pleased with yourself," you looked at him with your neutral face. "why?"
"because now i have a genuine friend in the fatui."
"i didn't say we were, and how do you know i'm genuine."
"well you wouldn't have exactly said all of that if you didn't mean it."
you kept your mouth shut, tartaglia laughing at your demise as both of you began to walk back to the hotel to get some rest. after you got ready and flopped on your bed, you turned over and looked at the ceiling. friend...
the next morning, you met zhongli as planned. he was punctual and you knew that, so you made sure to be 10 minutes early. both of you drank some tea together and made some light conversation when he took you to a secluded place in liyue to train.
"i want you to imagine yourself as a boulder," zhongli said, steadying you by putting his hand on your shoulder. "close your eyes Y/N, imagine golden strings of energy flowing into your vision."
the first step was awakening it further. you had received it, yes, but you needed to awaken it in order to actually use it. "a connection has to be formed for you to feel comfortable using it" as zhongli put it. you could have used it right off the bat, but you needed this extra step.
you took a deep breath, holding your hand out in the direction of the rock where your vision was resting. you imagined it, energy that flowed into your vision. it was bright, so bright that you squeezed your eyes even more shut as you felt an overwhelming amount of power flow through your veins and seep into your heart.
"control it," zhongli commanded, keeping his grip firm. "you need to steady it, right now you're drawing too much energy from it that it's overwhelming. create a constant flow of your power."
you nodded, eyes remaining closed until you imagined a river, trying to get the golden glow to imitate it. it was a struggle, but you finally figured it out. your energy began to even out, and you felt a lot more powerful, but not overwhelmed.
"that's it," he praised. "you've done well. open your eyes, Y/N."
you cracked open one of your eyes, seeing your vision glowing in time with your heart beat. a smile spread across your lips, very delighted with your progress.
"now Y/N, we need to discuss your weapon of choice," zhongli said. "a weapon is your medium to use your vision more effectively. tell me young one, what weapon do you use most often?"
you shrugged, "i use them all proficiently. any weapon would work. which weapon do you use?"
"i use a polearm," he said, summoning it and showing you his vortex vanquisher. "why don't we start with a polearm first? once you understand the foundation, by transitive property you should be able to apply it to any weapon you desire."
you nodded, "alright."
"let's work on your elemental techniques," zhongli said. "i believe once you master the basics, your signature moves will come easily to you."
it was a tiring three hours of work, but finally you were able to execute the basics of using elemental energy. who would have thought that fighting with a vision was so difficult? well, arguably fighting against vision users without having one yourself was quite hard, but now that you had a vision, what could stop you?
the thought alone at how much power you could accumulate made you motivated to work harder.
you and zhongli did some talking and decided on a few techniques that you could use (a/n: i will talk about your vision techniques in the next mini chapter!) which went quite smoothly. on your way back, you saw tartaglia in a nearby field training the recruits.
"is that tartaglia," zhongli asked from next to you.
"yes, he's training the recruits right now."
"you must be curious," zhongli said. "why don't you go over there and check? i actually have a meeting to get to."
"yes sir," you said, bowing. "i'll take my leave now."
zhongli nodded, walking off while you ran in the opposite direction to see what tartaglia was up to.
"are none of you capable of doing 100 pushups," tartaglia said lazily, twirling a fan-shaped leaf in his hand while gazing at the recruits who were below the hill. "how have you all managed to make it this far? cheating?"
they all yelled "no" back, tartaglia simply sitting there with a bored look on his face. "then prove it recruits! 100 more, now."
"yes, my lord!"
they all dropped again, continuing their pushups. tartaglia groaned in annoyance, it's not a difficult task... how have they gotten to this point?
he heard footsteps and sensed someone's presence, looking over and seeing you walking over. a smile came to his face, "Y/N!"
"hello my lord," you said, your usual face was replaced with a small smile. maybe i can be a little warmer to him. there's no reason to be hostile or anything. you looked over the hill, seeing the recruits doing pushups. "what's up with them?"
tartaglia sighed, "they couldn't do 100 pushups within the time i gave them."
"well... how long did you give them?"
"30 minutes."
"oh... that's pretty bad for recruits."
"see? you get it," he sighed, leaning back on the rock. you took a seat near him. "you could probably do 100 pushups with one hand!"
"i probably could," you chuckled. "but that'd hurt, so i'm not going to try."
tartaglia laughed as well, the sound making your heart flutter. "it is a vital part of training though, Y/N. i'm trying to beat the basics into this group."
you tore your eyes off of him and looked at the recruits, "we'll see who prevails."
your body tensed when you felt tartaglia touch your head, feeling him take something off of your head. "sorry Y/N, i was just getting this out of your hair."
when you looked at what it was, it was a small dandelion. you looked at it in shock, "what's that doing here? dandelions only grow in mondstadt."
"the wind brought it here," tartaglia said matter of factly. "but i'm shocked too, i didn't realize that it could carry it all the way over here. hey Y/N?"
"yes?"
"did you hear about the urban legend?"
"which one?"
"if you wish on a dandelion and blow the seeds, it'll come true!"
you gave him a confused look, not knowing what that even meant. wishes can come true... because of a plant?
tartaglia burst out laughing at your confused face, and you still stared at him. "what's so funny?"
"you reminded me of a snow owl," he said, holding his stomach. "your expression... don't tell me you've never heard of it?"
"i haven't," you said matter of factly.
"well, why don't you give it a try then?" he held the dandelion towards you, some of the seeds partially missing from it. you gently took it from his hand, looking at the flower in wonder and twirled it in your hand.
"how many wishes do i get," you asked, still transfixed by the plant.
"one," he replied. "so make it count."
you closed your eyes, thinking of a very good wish before blowing on it and letting the seeds scatter.
i wish that tartaglia has a happy life with no regrets.