𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 | Xiao x Reader

14

It felt like years passed before you finally arrived at the Golden House, but you knew it had really only been a few minutes with how fast you were running. Your mind was going haywire, and it felt like you were being tugged in two opposite directions as you decided what to do.

One one hand, by siding with Liyue and the Adepti, you would be betraying all you'd known for thousands of years. The fatui had never been particularly kind to you, but they were still, in some strange sense, your home.

But, at the same time, you'd come to care for Liyue so much these last few days, and you knew you couldn't let harm come to the nation of geo, whether it was Morax's or not. So, you pushed past the people guarding the outside of the building, flashing your fatui badge as they did so.

It didn't technically give you authorization to enter the building, considering you were just a diplomat while in Liyue, but seeing such a low number stopped them from protesting anyway.

You pushed the doors open, your footsteps clacking against the pristine floors. Based on how you could literally see your reflection in them, you had to give props to whoever had recently waxed them. Not even the maids in the Tsaritsa's palace usually did that good of a job when they cleaned.

"Ah, Y/n." Childe's voice echoed throughout the space. You turned, seeing him at the center of the big circular room. Sighing, you made your way down the stairs quickly, coming right up to the ginger haired man, who wore a smug expression on his face.

"I see you got my message." He put his arms out as if to hug you as you came over, but you pushed them away.

"Don't play that game with me, Childe." You spat, eyes narrowing at him. He put his arms down in surprise, smiling sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I know I've been keeping a lot from you about the mission," he admitted, "And I'm sorry, but it had to be this way. Like the Tsaritsa said, she knew you'd be too emotionally involved and it could prevent us from completing our goal."

"Don't give me that," you replied, "Clearly I wasn't so emotionally invested that you couldn't bring me on this assignment at all. Just tell me what the fuck is going on already." He pouted, as if your words had hurt his feelings, but you knew better.

You and Childe had never gotten along, and you knew the way he was around you was all an act. That was what made him so frustrating; you couldn't even figure out who he was exactly, because he hid it under layers and layers of smugness and smooth talking.

"I can't tell you," he admitted finally, "But just know, this is necessary for us to get the gnosis."

"I could have gotten the gnosis myself if you hadn't gone and done this!" You shouted back, "What the hell is happening?!"

"I thought you didn't want to be the Geo Archon?" He replied, confusion on his face as you sighed.

"I don't." You clarified, "But I was on the way to see Morax before I was so rudely interrupted. I could have convinced him to give it me peacefully instead of doing this, Childe. But that's irrelevant now, considering you're about to go through with whatever insane plan this is." Suddenly, you could hear shouting outside, and you turned back to Childe with a heavy glare.

"The traveler is on their way," he explained, "Everything will make sense in time, Y/n. Trust me, it'll work out, one way or another. Just make sure you're out of sight while I fight them." He readied his weapons, making sure they were at a place on his back where he could easily take them out when he needed to.

Nudging your shoulder, he gestured for you to get out of the way, but you didn't budge.

"And what happens when they beat you?" You asked, crossing your arms. Both of you were well aware of the traveler's strength at this point, so you knew it was a when, not an if.