Messenger of the Harbingers [Genshin Impact]

𝟝 (𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕨𝕠)

TW : BLOOD, INJURIES, SWEARING, MENTIONS OF DEATH. ANGST TO COMFORT.

You finally reached the 'Golden House'. Your legs were shaking and tried giving up on you, but there was no time for you to rest.

Everything was silent, but silence was the thing you wanted to hear the least right now. In the dark of the night, everyone was already asleep and it was the most peaceful moment of the whole day.

But you hated that silence. You just needed to hear him and know that he was okay. His voice would fill up the silence and it would be more than just a peaceful moment.

As you rushed to the door and opened it, the sight before you finally hit you and left you speechless. Only then you noticed how silent it actually was.

Tartaglia was sitting in his own pool of blood and his breathing was heavy. He was clutching the left side of his waist as it seemed like it had the biggest wound.

The sudden opening of the door startled him, but as soon as he saw you his eyes grew wide.

"- CHILDE!" - you screamed as you ran to him.

He just smiled. Maybe he was too weak to say anything, or perhaps he thought that he was hallucinating from the loss of blood. Either way, he was happy. At this hurtful moment, at least he got to see you, right?

"- Don't move, you idiot!" - you shouted as you summoned some water from your vision into your hand.

"- This might hurt, but bear with it. And don't you dare to fall asleep, you dumbass!" - you shouted once again.

You put your hand with water right above his injury. There was a huge gap on his waist's left side, which looked kinda sickening. But that was something you cared the least about. As your hand started to glow, the injury started to heal. You wish you had the power to fasten the process, but you weren't that capable just yet. As you were doing your best to concentrate, tears started spilling from your eyes. They didn't go unnoticed by Tartaglia, as he slowly raised his left hand and brushed off your tears.

"- Good thing I didn't promise you anything. I would surely be dead by now..." - he laughed.

You didn't say anything, in fact, hot tears started rolling down your cheeks even faster. Only a minute after, you managed to close up The Harbingers' injury and he seemed to be feeling just a little bit better. His body was still covered up in bruises and was aching, so he couldn't do much.

Once again, you were met with silence. You didn't know how to put your thoughts into words. Neither did Tartaglia. Both of you were sitting on the ground. Suddenly, you felt your emotions get too overwhelming.

"You-.. You!.. You absolute irresponsible child! You said that everything was going to be fine, but if I would have gotten here a minute or two later you could've been dead! I-" - you choked on your words. At this point, you were a sobbing mess as you covered your face with your hands. You really wish you had your mask with you right now.

Meanwhile, Tartaglia stared at you with worry covering his whole face. Immediately after you covered your face, he flung to hug you. He buried your head into the crook of his neck as he held you tight. This way both of you could reassure each other that both of you were alive and well.

"I-... I'm so, so sorry, honeybun..." - Tartaglia whispered and he buried his head into your hair as he inhaled your scent, which was surely comforting and soothing.

He was in pain. Damn, his whole body was aching, but right now - just for a few minutes - he wanted to hold you. He cherished you, he really did.

That exact moment Tartaglia promised himself that he would always get out of the battle alive, just to see you again.

You both stayed like that for a few minutes, but the silence was cut short as you decided that it was time to take Tartaglia to the Northland Bank to meet Signora again. But before that... Did he manage to secure the gnosis? You wanted to ask him, but you were also afraid that he's too exhausted both physically and emotionally to answer your questions. It's like you were thinking out loud because Childe answered your question before you managed to ask it.

"- The gnosis... It was not there... I-I don't know what, why or how everything happened it just-... It wasn't there..." - Childe whispered.

You separated from the hug and looked up to see the Geo Archons body in his glorious dragon form. It was exquisitely hung on a wall like the finest piece of art. As you looked down once again, you were met with Tartaglia's blue eyes staring at you. After a moment of silence, you stood up and helped Childe to stand up too.

"- We need to get you to the Northland Bank and tell everything to Signora. She will know what to do, if not, she is the one who is currently in contact with Tsaritsa. With that, we should receive her orders for any further matters." - you spoke.

Tartaglia seemed to comply, as he was leaning against you, one hand hanging around your shoulders.

And just like that, you both slowly made your way back to Liyue Harbor, and then - the Northland Bank. For once today you appreciated the nighttime, as everything happened away from the prying eyes. Unfortunately, the events at the bank weren't as heartwarming as you'd expect.

As Signora and Zhongli revealed the truth of them using Tartaglia as some kind of distraction, it was safe to say that it took a toll on Tartaglia's mental health.

The way back to the hotel was silent. Tartaglia seemed to be lost in thought and you did not want to pry. Maybe it's for the best to leave the poor thing be for a while, he had enough on his plate already.

As you reached his room and you were about to say your goodnights, all of the sudden Tartaglia hugged you again. His head hung low on your shoulder as both of his arms were around your waist. He started sobbing. You were startled by his actions, but you hugged him back after a moment. After a minute of crying into your shoulder, Tartaglia spoke :

"- C-can you stay with me tonight?.. Please?" - he choked on his sobs.

"- Of course, anything you wish." - you rubbed his back as you led him inside of his room.

There you pushed Tartaglia right into his bedroom, as he understood the message and took off to the bathroom to change. You did the same in your room.

As both of you were in much more comfortable clothing, you helped him into his bed. As he laid his head on the pillow and snuggled into the blankets, you sat next to him and combed through his hair with your fingers. That seemed to calm down Tartaglia by a whole lot as he sunk lower into the pillow. Soon, he closed his eyes.

This side of Childe was something you would see only behind the closed doors. On the outside, he was a Harbinger - cruel, powerful, and quick-to-action. On the inside, however, he was just a touch-starved child that wanted to be taken care of and reassured that everything is going to be fine.

As you thought that Tartaglia was sleeping, he spoke :

"- Can you... Sleep with me tonight?.. It's okay if not, it's just that your presence is always so comforting and I don't want you to stay up all night watching over me, because that's probably what you would do, anyway." - he spoke slowly, as he was almost half-asleep.

You chuckled. He was just a big, big baby.

"- Of course." - you spoke softly.

Without another wasted moment, Tartaglia pulled you under the blankets and buried his head in the crook of your neck once again. He insisted on being the little spoon that night, as he just wanted to be held.

Shortly after, both of you fell asleep, knowing that everything is going to be okay.