Words : 4172

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Currently, you're now in Wanmin Restaurant while staring blankly at the pieces of black chopsticks that you're holding between your fingers. There is completely nothing in your mind as you do so except for one thing.

But the fragrance smell that went through your nostrils had your head perked up, forming a wide smile when the owner of the restaurant walking over to your table with the dish that you ordered on the plate,

"Here you go, my daughter's famous Wanmin Restaurant's Boiled Fish!"With a wide grin stretched on his chapped lips as the corner of his eyes wrinkles, he placed your order in front of you and leave to serve other customers.

"Finally!"Pulling close the hot bowl slightly closer to you with your lips parted to dig in your delicious-looking spicy cuisine through the grumbling sound that was coming from your bowel as if it was telling you to hurry up and eat it.

"[Y/N]-chan, there you are."

Of course, there would be someone there to interrupt you at this moment.

"I know why you are here, Tartaglia, but can I enjoy my food first?"Giving him a sweet smile you could muster currently, he returned the gesture by doing the same and shook his head in denial,

"Hmm, no."

"Then handle that case yourself."You turned your head back to your food, deciding to ignore the whining male behind you and took the empty seat opposite of yours.

"Oh, c'mon [Y/N]! Let's do this together when we're the only Harbingers in Liyue and our age is also the same!"

"Just because of those reasons, you don't have any right to interrupt me from eating my meal."

"Mhm, okay then."He agreed nonchalantly and not saying anything afterwards until you spoke up,

"Oh? You aren't going to pestering me like you always do? How nice of you-"

"But with one condition."

"I said that too fast, am I? I should've seen that coming."With a sigh, you lowered down your chopsticks and look at him straight in the eyes with an unamused gaze,

"Then, hurry up and tell me. We don't have every day."

"Feed me, please?"

You gave him a look despite already knew if he said something, he didn't plan on taking it back so you'd be wasting your energy if the two of you start having a fighting talk.

He patiently waits for you to make a move with a sweet innocent smile displayed on his lips as if giving you the courage to do so. In defeat, you wordlessly took a small piece of goujon cut fish and placed it inside his mouth, watching him chewing and swallowing it down.

You swore the eyes of his has a twinkle as he's trying to hide the flushed color across his cheeks from being visible and if he failed to do so, he'd make sure to make an excuse.

"Wow, this is quite delicious. Especially when you feed me. Let's do it again?"You copied his earlier action and shook your head in refusal,

"Haha, no."

"Aw, fine. I'll be waiting in Northland Bank. Don't make me wait for you too long, [Y/N]-chan."He stood up from his seat and pinch your cheek softly before walking out of the restaurant.

Funny, when you two are not in a relationship and he treats you like his girlfriend. You probably did assume his actions towards you incorrectly as he has been knowing you since you were some innocent and naive little kids.

Who would ever think those kids turned out to be two of the most dangerous among the Harbingers.

' I wonder if he ever remember how the two of us met. '

That's the question that keeps lingering in your mind recently.

Finally snapping yourself out from your recalled memories, you softly grunt in vex when your food is getting cold, not wasting any more time to finish it.

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Putting on a smile like you always do as an act, you paid Chef Mao the correct amount of your food before heading back to the Northland Bank when an unknown boy stopped in front of you.

Quirking an eyebrow, you decided to ignore him by walking straight past him but he once again halted you from walking any further when he called out for you.

"Onee-san! Onee-san! Over here!"

"Hm? Me?"You walked over to where he is standing, watching him looking at your face closely and back at the photo in his grasp then back at you and to the photo again multiple times.

Though, your eyes narrowed down at the picture in his hand. It was your face.

The main question is, how in the world did he get that from?

Did the Millelith send a kid to be a spy on you? If that's the truth, even as the Fatui Harbinger, you couldn't bring yourself to hurt a kid. Maybe forcing him to spit out pieces of information is a bit harsh.

However, judging by his outfit, he's definitely from your homeland which is quite rare to find in Liyue.

"Ah! It is you! The onee-san in the picture! "

He pointed his index finger with a bright vivid grin spread across his lips and showed to yourself the picture of yours that he's currently holding to you.

"Look! You exactly look alike!"

"That's . . . great."Narrowing your eyes at the picture, you soon switched your gaze to the unknown boy to bestow him a gentle smile,

"Why don't you tell this onee-san what's your name and where are your parents? And also, where did you get this picture from?"

"My name's Teucer!"He smiled brightly, jumping up and down in excitement, "Both sister Tonia and brother Anthon are all way back at Snezhnaya and my brother is in Liyue. But I'm all on my own, and I don't know where to find him . . . "

Those names sound familiar. Where have you heard them?

"Now hold on there," You gasped and kneel down to his eye level, the question of how he got the picture of yours is now forgotten,

"So you came all the way from Snezhnaya all by yourself? That's quite- no, that's ridiculously dangerous, you know."

Maybe his brother is one of the traveling merchants? If that's so, you can ask Ivanovich if he know-

"But I came all the way from Snezhnaya to look for my brother in Liyue! My brother is the greatest toy salesman in Snezhnaya!"

". . . what?"

"Oh, I think this is the part where I give you this . . . Here you go!"Without any hesitation, he gave you a very hefty pouch that has the common currency design on it,

"Onii-chan said I should take it with me. He said, 'Find a nice person to give this to, and they will take good care of Teucer. If Teucer found this beautiful lady in this picture, she'll take you to see me.' "

As soon as he finished his sentences, you suddenly got a damn brilliant idea of whose little brother he is.

"Well then, Teucer. Let's go see your brother."

Standing up, you were about to walk over to where you two are heading when a smaller hand suddenly holding yours, making you to look at the owner of child-like hand with wide eyes which softened afterwards,

"Alright! Finally, now I get to see my brother! Thanks, beautiful onee-san!"

"Just onee-san is fine."

"Okay!"

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After being greeted by Vlad, you walked inside the Northland Bank hand-in-hand with the little boy that you recently met. The sight of the Childe; who is now talking with Ekaterina- had the grip around your hand loosened, watching him running over to his older brother with a bright smile.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!"

You brought up a hand to stifle the yawn from escaping your mouth, making the corner of your eyes slightly teary and made your way to the two.

"And this beautiful onee-san that you told me about brought me here."With a smile, Teucer gestured his hand for you and you only nodding your head while rubbing your eyes with the back of your hand,

"I'm sleepy . . ."

"[Y/N]-chan, I already told you to not make me waiting for you too long."Both his hands were placed on his hips, mimicking a look when he's angry though he isn't.

"Huh, I wonder whose brother's fault made me late- Not you Teucer, it's not your fault at all."You gave the younger orangish haired boy a sleepy apologetic smile and Tartaglia cleared his throat to have your attention.

"As I was saying, I remain Snezhnaya's greatest expatriate toy seller, currently attached to the Liyue Branch of our Institute for Toy Research!"He declared out loud, not knowing if he should be prideful in front of his younger brother or in embarrassment of saying this in front of you.

"Excuse me but what?"Bewilderment flashed across your face while the Childe averted his gaze away from looking at you in the eyes and you returned your gaze back at the younger male,

"That's right! My brother's the greatest! He's Mr. Cyclops' bestest friend!"

"Woah, and here I thought I am his best friend."You murmured when an arm wrapped itself around your shoulder, pulling you closer towards the owner who is laughing with a hearty laugh.

"Aw don't be like that when you're my partner!"

He then leans closer to your ear, the two of you remained watching the slight hyperactive kid to not let him disappear from your sight,

"I'll explain to you later but for now, please play along."

"Onee-san, is that true?"Tilting his head slightly to the side, you found yourself falling completely to his action and nodded your head after making an eye contact with the Childe,

"Yes, I'm his partner in selling toys."

"Cool! You two must be quite close to each other."

"We are."The way you two said those words simultaneously caused the two of you to look at each other in surprise,

"You two even said the same thing at the same time."He stated in awe and you cleared your throat while Childe clapped both his hands together. The way you two are trying those blush from showing is pretty adorable.

"Okay, that's enough. And-Ah, yes. Ekaterina. We will deal with the issue of that outstanding payment right away."

"Onii-chan, are you and onee-san going off to sell toys now?"Frowning at his older brother sure had a pang of guilt to hit his chest but what can he do?

"That's right! As much as I'd love to catch up a little longer, Teucer, duty calls!"

"Not we -"You blurted out and look at the two siblings, "Only me. I'll deal with it while you go and catch up everything with Teucer."

"Are you sure?"Tartaglia asked again, concern laced in his words and across his face and you nodded your head in confident,

"Remember, it's always family first."You smiled and push him towards the door from his back while holding Teucer's hand with your other hand,

"Now go before I change my mind. Hope you two have a nice day."

Heaving out a tired sigh once you closed the doors, you glanced over towards the female who patiently waiting for you at where she's standing and spoke in a wary tone,

"[Y/N]-sama, would it not be a little improper to ask you to deal with . . . debt collection?"

"Oh, not at all, probably."You waved and did some little stretch, "I'll handle those ruffians in a blink of an eye."

"Ah, [Y/N]-sama, you're here."A male's voice with the resource coming from behind you, all you did only turning half of your body to look at him,

"A new batch of fresh recruits to Liyue that the motherland has dispatched have just arrived, and I'm afraid we must trouble you to speak to them . . ."

"Do I have to?"You groaned and he only nodding his head,

"I must apologize for troubling you, [Y/N]-sama, but they are already waiting for you at the south of Lingju Pass . . ."

"As you know, every new batch of recruits must be baptized by the Tsaritsa's will through the words of her Harbingers-

"I know, I know. This has always been our rule so no need to remind me."

"Yes and at present, [Y/N]-sama and Childe-sama, you two are the only Harbingers in Liyue. Please, everyone is standing in formation and waiting for you to bestow this honor upon them . . . But I can tell Childe-sama about this matter if you're busy-"

"No, no, you don't need to. I'll go after I did the debt collecting."

Before you receive more job than you want, with a nonchalant smile you left him hanging and leave the bank quickly.

Much to your surprise, you saw Tartaglia waiting for you while leaning against the red-colored bridge fence. Eyes seemingly gazing at something and you walked up to him. Following his gaze, you could see Teucer jumping up and down with other kids around his age at the toy store.

"Don't you want me to explain this?"

He broke the silence between you two and you look at him, finding him already staring at you for your reply.

"I do have some time for now so care to tell me of this toy seller thing? I don't know you have a part-time job at the Granny Shan store. I always thought the Fatui paid us with a quite amount."

"I only told him that so that he'll look up to me."He chuckled and exhaled a low breath to switch his gaze back to his younger brother,

"In the eyes of a child, working with toys must be the best job imaginable, right? I don't want my family to have anything to do with the Fatui's . . . or should I say, Snezhnaya's . . . darker side. The older ones already know that I serve the Tsaritsa. But Teucer is still so young, and in his eyes . . ."

"By the way, I saw Felix entered just now."He left his sentence left unfinished to change the topic, "Is everything alright?"

You turned to look at him with a smile but he could detect the resentment in your voice when you spoke in sarcasm,

"Guess who has to do someone's job."

Not wanting to feel your wrath, apologizing beforehand sure is the right choice when it comes to you.

"I'm sorry for dragging you along."

You knew how much he loves his siblings based on his story where he would tell you when you two have free time. So you couldn't bring yourself to be angry at him at all. With a sigh, you pay his shoulder and walk away,

"I'll be going now. As you said, duty calls."

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"Now, then. I wish you all glorious victory - for Snezhnaya, for Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, and for yourselves. Dismissed."

"Yes, miss!"

Making sure they left the location completely, you brought your hands up to massaging your temples with eyes shut closed.

You are so tired. Unbelievably so.

But you forced yourself to walk back to Liyue Harbor the only things that you aware of is: The soft mattress underneath you, the warmth of the sheets around you. Everything is waiting for you when you returned.

That's it but you didn't expect the siblings are waiting for your return.

"I thought you two already left."

"Well, Teucer insisted to see you."The two turned their heads to look down on the boy who rummaging something in his pockets before pulling something blue-colored object and show the item with his palms wide open,

"Onii-chan, onee-san, on my way here, I found these starconches."

Those were indeed beautiful, but the sudden realization managed to kick away your sleepiness upon seeing the familiar beautiful oceanic colored shells with a white star in the middle on your palm,

"Did . . Did you went to Yaoguang Shoal?"

"Probably, "He shrugged, "I even found a flying Mr. Cyclops when there is a nice guy who helped me watching it closer when the flying Mr. Cyclops fell on the ground."

The two of you stared at the child in pure horror,

"Oh my Lord, Tartaglia, you really need to stop spoiling him too much."You whispered which is loud enough for the said male to hear as he nodded his head in agreement,

"I'm also thinking the same, [Y/N]."

Running his gloved hand through his soft short, choppy orange hair he did a mental note to say about this matter to Tonia.

"Now Teucer, I'll arrange up your trip back to Snezhnaya so while I'm doing so, stay close with [Y/N]-onee-san and don't run off."

"Alright! Bye-bye!"Once he turned his back over you too, you glanced down at Teucer when you felt a slight tug on your sleeve.

Upon seeing his smile, you're always wondering how childhood innocence so vibrant and free.

"Onee-san, do you want to know a secret?"

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After giving Teucer a goodbye hug and a gift; a chaos device that you got from defeating a ruin guard-he left the Liyue Harbor with a wide smile on his face, even promising to smile until he arrives Snezhnaya which you two told him not to because it will hurt his cheeks.

The two of you waited still, watching the silhouette of the ship slowly disappearing from the view. A moment of silence filled in the air except for the sound of bustling that is coming from the largest market harbor.

"You know, "You started which instantly breaking the atmosphere you two had, "Teucer told me what you wrote in the letter."

His whole body froze. Teucer didn't tell you that, isn't he?

"O-Oh? What is it?"

"He said that if you ever had the chance, you'd quit your job."You then close your eyes to enjoy the cold ocean breeze against your skin, "Wonder if that chance ever come."

"It's all up to you, actually."He stated without hesitation, he look at you dead serious in the eyes. Yes, that's the face he always wears if he wants people to know he is serious and you're one of them.

"If you quit from being the Fatui, then I'll also do the same."He added.

"Oho? And why is that? Mind to tell me?"

"Well, it seems useless if I didn't get to see your face every single day and that one time, you told me you wanted to go on an adventure when you met that exotic clothed traveler."He reasoned, scratching the back of his head.

"Hmm, you are not wrong."You chuckled but startled afterwards when he suddenly took both your hands in his large ones, feeling the warm touch of your gentle hands against

"[Y/N]."Shivers crawled up to your spine at how low husky his voice can be, especially saying your name with that kind of voice. It does send heart fluttering. His hand rested below your ear, his thumb caressing your soft cheek.

When you felt his lips against yours, the world fell away into the dust. How it was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. Just a sweet and innocent kiss which is something you didn't expect from someone like him.

The light from the sunset behind him managed to make the image of his far more breathtaking than usual when he pulled away to look at your in the eyes. He could see wind-stirred waves in those mesmerizing orbs. If one were brave enough to enter their depths, all else would blur and you'd fall so deep in love that you'd choose to stay there, no matter what. Of that, he's completely sure.

"I love you, [Y/N]. I really do."His lips pursed into a thin line to suppress the red hue from blossoming on his cheeks before curling the corner of his mouth into a smile,

"You know, falling in love with you was the easy part; it's admitting to myself that it happened that's hard. You see I've had these very efficient defences for so long and you didn't even notice them. How rude."He pouted but shortly afterwards, his bashful smile returned as he continues,

"Oh well, I guess they were meant for others and you had your own door. I could ask why, but what's the point? You're here and I'm so glad, even if I'm sometimes hiding, imagining a distance instead of seeing you right there."

"That's why, if we ever get a chance to quit Fatui, let's go on an adventure all across Teyvat and grow old together."

The color of your face is now exactly like his or maybe much worse. Eyes still widened in shock which soon slowly softened and brought up a smile to your face.

In front of the male is the girl that he fell in love with for the first time and as soon as you two lock eyes together, he knew you are the one.

And boy, right when you smiled at him, his fear of getting reject whisked away like a bunch of fruit-flies caught in a heavy gust of wind. It was a good sign, isn't it?

Excitement rushed through his veins. Happiness flared in your eyes and for the first time in a while, it began to in his too. Even if the world around him started collapsing, his heart would not get crushed as long as he's looking at you

"Is this a proposal? If so, then it does sounds good to me."You said with a voice that barely more than a whisper.

His smile was one of happiness growing, much as a spring flower opens. You could see how it came from deep inside to light his eyes and spread into every part of him. A person smiles with more than their mouth, and I heard it in his voice, in the choice of his words and the way he relaxed. It was beautiful.

"Really? Did you mean it?"

You smiled a little and nodded your head, a smile with a twist to it, like the smile of a child who is determined not to weep but failed miserably when the tears cascade from your eyes down to your rosy cheeks.

You finally showed him the side that you barely show to the world. Only him.

"I love you too. Took you long enough to tell me that. I thought it would take my whole life to get you to say that."You joked and he shook his head with a grin,

"Oh please, I'm not that kind of coward."He rolled his eyes and quickly looking back at you to make sure it wasn't a dream. Your warmth was enough to prove it.

"Then let's make a pinkie promise."

"Honestly, "You laughed while trying to wipe away the tears with your sleeves from your face but he stopped you from doing so and hold your small face in his hands, wiping away the remaining tears with his thumbs instead, "Who make pinkie promise nowadays? I thought that kiss should be enough."

"Oh c'mon, we need to loosen up once at a time. Let's sing this together like old time."

"Alright, alright."

He held out his pinky finger out as you to lock yours with his with the thumb was pressed against each other's,

"You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life. You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again."

Before you could pull your hand away, he took this as an advantage and pulled you towards his firm chest with his free hand, resulting in you being trapped in his warm embrace. He inhaled the fragrance scent on your hair that he has grown to love since the two of you were nothing but innocent kids.

"Ah, that nursery rhyme brings back so many delightful memories, don't you think so?"He laughed softly with his forehead rested against yours, looking straight into your glistening [ color ] orbs and you nodded your head with a soft hum.

"Indeed it is."

Yes, this is exactly how the two of you met and fell in love with each other.

It all started from that simple pinkie promise to meet again.

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I swear if Childe didn't come home, Imma be doing all his chapters being angsty af.

I can't do that to Diluc tho-

I'm F2P and I already cried when I didn't get Childe and if that happens to Zhongli too Imma just go cry again.

Already AR 35 and way too lazy to ascend more currently and I don't have any 5-star characters except the traveler LMAO-