Chapter Text
Nervousness wasn’t a common reaction for the Traveler, even in the face of danger she was steadfast and unassailable. Yet here she stood in an elevator taking her to the top floor of Northland Bank, where a mysterious commissioner awaited her, as she toyed anxiously with the tails of her scarf. When the elevator jerked to a stop, the lights flickered above and Lumine couldn’t help but think that Paimon would say this was a bad idea if she were here, but the commissioner had requested that she come alone, an even worse idea where Paimon was concerned. In reality, Lumine had no choice but to accept the commission because the payment was well over the average commission rate at 50,000 mora, which had Paimon drooling nonetheless.
Tension knotted tightly into her stomach as the doors slid open in front of her, the bright lights of the room behind the door lit up around the shape of a person.
She squinted for a second against the lights and as the human figure came into detail her heart sank.
“Hey girlie.”
Without a second thought, Lumine reached for the elevator button and the doors began to slide shut. There was no amount of mora that would make her deal with the man in front of her. How could she be so blind? Of course it was him. Childe Tartaglia, whatever his fucking name was. All Lumine knew was that they fought weekly, he lost weekly, and he pissed her off every time they spoke. The man flaunted his wealth, which probably wasn’t even his, and always found a way to make a scene. It was absolutely embarrassing being around him in public and she never dared to be alone with him, he was insufferable.
“Hey, wait!” he shouted, sticking his hands between the closing doors. “Hear me out, Lumi. I need your help.”
Lumine bristled at the nickname, her left eye twitching in irritation as she eyed him critically. The doors pulled back open and Childe stood before her, his palms open in a placating gesture. In just a moment, a number of things caught her eye: The way he stood, his shoulders slumped, his guard down, and the customary glimmer of playfulness gone from his puffy eyes. Something was wrong with him, something serious, and that same gut feeling of needing to help when someone was in trouble stirred inside of her. This is what got her into trouble with every passerby who asks for help and she couldn’t help but feel like this was going to be no different.
With a heavy sigh, Lumine stepped out into the hallway and frowned at Childe with knitted brows. She intended to make her displeasure very clear. “What do you want? And even if I say no, you still owe me the 50K for even coming here! Under false pretenses, might I add!” she nearly shouted, her finger sticking into Childe’s chest.
Childe smiled tiredly, the bags beneath his eyes becoming even more pronounced, and a small glint returned to his eye. Perhaps that was the most infuriating thing about him; the way he looked at her. It was always this small teasing smile and a mischievous flash in his eye when she was being serious. It was like she was a joke to him and it pissed her off to no end.
“Do you want to come into my suite? I’d like to discuss the details of my commission.” he asked, sweeping an arm out toward the door directly across from the elevator.
Lumine rolled her eyes and began strolling toward the door with her arms crossed, he played the gentleman but she’d heard stories about him. He got around and was far from a gentleman! The rumors danced in her mind as she crossed the empty hallway, a blush creeping up her neck as she recalled one story that involved a barmaid and some rope but - now was definitely not the time for that nastiness. Childe was gross, for sure.
He followed behind her, quietly, and opened the door to his grand suite. Lumine suppressed a small gasp when the door whooshed opened in front of her and a burst of cold air greeted her. The room behind the door was immaculate, covered in golds and cream colors, clean furniture and gleaming tile floors. It was the definition of opulence and honestly, it made her hate him even more. He was such a show-off.
In the room before her there was a small kitchen off to the side, she could see through the open door, and a door on the left that was closed. Immediately to the right was a coat and shoe rack with a small loveseat nestled against the wall. Bookshelves lined the remaining walls, even stacks of books and loose pages surrounded the loveseat, and it made Lumine wonder how many of these he’d actually read. They were probably just for show. Childe cared about one thing and one thing only: dispatching his enemies. She doubted the blockhead had time for reading when all he did was pick fights and make trouble around Liyue.
“Please have a seat.” he said, closing the door behind him, kicking off his shoes and hanging his scarf. “Make yourself at home. Do you want a drink?”
“No.” Lumine said flatly as she made her way over to the loveseat against the patterned wall.
Childe moved to sit beside her, tucking a leg under him to face her, with an arm thrown across the back of the loveseat. She desperately wished the man had a bigger couch because she could feel the warmth from him and it made the skin beneath her skirt prickle.
Prickle with hate. She reminded herself, as there was definitely nothing soothing or sexy about being in Childe’s presence.
“Firstly, I apologize for using such underhanded methods to get you here. I feared that if you knew it was me who made the commission, you’d assume something nefarious or Fatui related.” Childe spoke with knitted brows, he was being serious for once and it made Lumine scowl.
“So you anonymously lured me here with the promise of Mora for some mysterious purpose and someone how that is less nefarious than Fatui business?” she asked incredulously. Where was this man’s head at? Oh wait, she knew, up his own ass.
In the most infuriating manner, Childe tossed his head back and laughed out loud. “You make a compelling point, comrade. It wasn’t my best plan.” he said, putting a hand to his forehead. “I’ve been.. Distracted lately but the commission really isn’t about Fatui business. It’s personal.”
Lumine narrowed her eyes. Somehow that was more unnerving than her potentially becoming involved in Fatui transactions for Mora. She didn’t know much about Childe’s personal life, other than he did care for his family back in Snezhnaya. She had briefly met his brother Teucer and had an adventure that resulted in him somehow beating his own ass with his delusion in order to hide the truth from his brother. But that was his business and Lumine did her best not to look too deep into it. Instead she stayed on the surface thought of the lies and deceit he was capable of, even to the family he loved so dearly.
After a moment of silence, Lumine nodded, indicating for Childe to continue speaking.
“I know it doesn’t seem like it, Traveler, but my reputation isn’t as sterling as yours. Even among the Fatui, I am somewhat of an outsider, hence my post here in Liyue but it works out. I need your help in Qiaoying Village.” he said, not looking at her. He was being vulnerable but still secretive, Lumine could tell she wasn’t going to get much more than this.
“You need tea? Just go to Yanshang Teahouse, what do you need me for?” she asked exasperatedly, beginning to get frustrated with Childe’s roundabout ways.
“I need- wait. You know that’s not a teahouse, right? It’s a- nevermind. I-” he shook his head fiercely. “I need you to come and vouch for me, Lumine. The community leader is not going to take kindly to a Fatui Harbinger traipsing through and asking for tea, even with Mora in hand. I need you to come with me and help me convince them to make a special tea for me.”.
Childe was looking directly at Lumine now. Staring deeply into her eyes with a pain more fierce than she’d even seen in their battles. This was something very crucial to him and he was right. Lumine had yet to have been to Qiaoying Village but she knew the reputation the community leader had for protecting their ceremonial tea. Childe would most likely not be welcome there but what made him think she would be? And when she asked as much, Childe huffed.
“You don’t realize how special you are, Lumine. You’ve saved Liyue from a certain calamity, daily you help its people in crisis, save people from danger, provide them with the things they need, do you not realize how revered you are among Liyue? The stories of your deeds go far beyond Qingce Village and the Dihua Marshes, people in Fontaine and even Snezhnaya know your name, Lumi. You’re special.”
His gaze was piercing and with each word Lumine felt her cheeks heat up. She wasn’t used to such high praise, I mean, sure the townspeople praised her when they were thankful for her saving them but that had a reason. Right here, sitting in Childe’s fancy suite, she had done nothing to warrant such sweet words and it made her squirm in her seat.
She breathed deeply, willing her heart rate to slow down and the tingling of her skin to stop before she spoke.
“I - I can’t help you, Childe. I don’t know who you think I am but I’m not this special person. I’m just me and I have commissions everyday and I have to look after Paimon-” she began rattling off excuses but Childe cut her off.
“500,000 mora.” he said, still staring at her intently.
“What?” She returned without hesitation.
“Five hundred thousand mora, Lumine. I’ll pay you, out of my own pocket. This isn’t dirty Fatui money, it’s my money. I need you, Lumi.”
Lumine’s eyes widened. That was… a lot of money… That’s at least a month’s worth of commissions, for what? An escort mission? “You can’t be serious, Childe.” she said frowning, her disbelief evident in her expression.
“Lumine. I’m very serious. I need to get to Qiaoying Village and I need to get the ceremonial tea. I'll pay you double that if you want it, I just- I need your help. I will leave you alone forever if you do this for me.”
The desperation in his voice was clear and there was a small part of Lumine that felt insulted by the idea of him throwing even more money at her, but it was quelled by the sheer hopelessness that was in his azure eyes. Although the offer of eternal peace from Childe was compelling in its own right.
She sighed. “Fine. 500,000 mora when this is done. Just because you so graciously offered.” she smiled insincerely.
Childe’s shoulders slumped as he heaved a great sigh and leaned back on the couch. All the tension in the room seemed to dissipate, all of it hinging on Lumine’s agreement.
“Thank you, Lumine.” he breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We can leave tomorrow morning.”
She nodded once. “Can I leave now?”
Childe nodded, silently, and as Lumine stood up from her seat to let herself out, she could have sworn she saw one quiet tear running down his cheek from beneath covered eyes.
She didn’t say anything. This was clearly an emotional moment for him and she didn’t understand how she fit into it, but he was distressed and she was never one to turn down the downcast.
Lumine made her way out of the suite and into the elevator once more, wondering what the hell she had just agreed to. Paimon was going to be pissed. This trip was going to take at least 5 days but when she got home, she was going to be rolling in mora! And not to mention, Childe’s promise to leave her alone… a promise that she was unsure he’d uphold but even the possibility that she’d never have to hear “Hey girlie” ever again was enough for her.
She walked through the empty Northland Bank, directly avoiding the non stop staring of the tellers and employees, all wondering what she had been doing there so late in the evening. She shot a sharp look their way and began her trek home, instantly feeling even more nervous than she had begun the evening.