Two Faced // Tartaglia (R18)

Monocerous Viatrix

The Honorary Knight was fighting a group of hilichurls as she wondered about Astrea's whereabouts for a couple of days. It seems that the Cryo warrior wasn't around in Liyue for god knows how long. Slowly she found herself ruminating over the unfortunate circumstances between the two of them with a certain Fatui Harbinger. Of course, she would prefer to not disclose the letter to him yet.

While she was traveling a bit at the ruins, her golden eyes spotted a familiar ginger haired man by his lonesome, seemingly taking a rest after a good fight. Everyone knew he was an addict when it comes down to seeking the adrenaline rush of battle.

The Honorary Knight took a step towards him and stared him up and down. His Fatui uniform seemed to be slightly in tatters. Tartaglia smirked,

"Do you like what you see?"

She sighed deeply and crossed her arms.

"Cut it out, Childe. I personally think you're overworking yourself, especially after the Golden House incident."

"I'm not. There's nothing much to do today." He leaned on his back and stretched like a cat.

It seems there's no need for a reconciliation when she treats me this way. Childe mused after studying her behaviour towards him.

"Don't think I'm going easy on you even after knowing the truth about you being used by Signora and Zhongli. After all you're still a Fatui." Lumine retaliated.

He chuckled softly.

"Thanks for the heads up, comrade."

The memories of him going out of his way to aid her in missions started to consume her mind. She realized no one does things like he does. Tartaglia is erratic, his name is highly feared on the battlefield due to his ferocity. Though despite being his usual despicable self, she knew he's the type who would go out of his way to protect his loved ones. There were times when he was wise, extremely wise when courting her and giving useful advice, and as much as she wouldn't admit it outright, not even to Paimon, she was starting to respect him even more. These thoughts would still remain inside her psyche, even after experiencing the Foul Legacy transformation with her own eyes.

Childe was built differently than everyone else.

He gazed at her forlorn expression before tapping the empty space beside him.

"Come sit with me and keep me company for a while, will you?"

Lumine obliged regardless.

She reached out a couple of bandages from her inventory and gave it to him.

"You need these more than I do."

The Harbinger laughed, albeit not refusing the offer. He took the bandages and started tending to them.

"To be honest, I'm not so big on covering up my wounds. I'll sanitize them, of course but not so much with bandages. That's the mark of a true warrior."

"You're weird as usual." She shook her head, before helping him to wrap up his wounds.

"Childe, I have a question to ask."

The ginger haired man turned to face her and smiled.

"Ask away, princess."

"Is everything good with you and Astrea these days?" Lumine finally questioned. It was easier than she thought.

"It's going alright, don't worry." Tartaglia reassured her, though it didn't seem he wanted to talk more about it.

She frowned, remembering the letter from Astrea that she read.