Death of Me [Tartaglia]

chapter 7

I knock on the Harbinger's door to no response. I roll my eyes and shove the door open, having no interest in standing in the drafty hallways of the palace. His room is empty, but I can now hear the running water of his shower. 

I have time to find something to black mail him with, perfect. I scan the surface layer of the room. The only thing I note is a picture frame on his dresser. I walk over, picking up the small wooden frame. It's an old photo, with faded color, but it shows Childe and several smaller kids who look like him, probably family. I smile slightly, thinking about Mother. 

"Who invited you in here?"

I shriek, spinning to face him. I hadn't even noticed the water stopped. I then register that he is only wearing a towel around his waist. I flush turning away and putting the picture down. 

"S-sorry," I stutter. Ugh why are you stuttering yn? Get it together!

"And you were snooping? Tsk, tsk," he says. 

"I'll wait outside," I mutter making towards the door. 

"Just let me grab clothes and I'll change in the bathroom, it's fine." 

"Ok," I say, still facing away from him. 

I hear him rummaging around in the dresser I was just standing by. I cover my face with my hands, archons this is embarrassing. I should have just waited in the hallway. The image of his shirtless torso flashes through my mind again. I feel my face heat up even more. Sure I've seen naked men before, but that was the best physique I've ever seen by far. Oh gods, Yn, what are you thinking. He's the enemy. I shake my head to clear it. 

I hear the bathroom door reopen, and I hesitantly turn around to look at him. He's now fully clothed, pushing his damp hair back. He looks at me with an arrogant smirk, making my blush worsen. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't think that through," I say quickly. 

"You sure you just didn't want to want to watch me shower?" he teases. 

"Shut up! You're the one who told me to be back here in 30 minutes." 

"You're the one here early," he pauses. "So what were you doing looking through my stuff?" 

"Sorry," I mutter again. 

He laughs, "You're way less mean when you're flustered." 

My cheeks sink to an even darker red, "Shut up! I was just bored and thought I'd look at the photo." 

He looks at me, waiting for more. 

I swallow, "Is that your family?" 

He wanders over to look at the photo himself, "Ehe, yeah. I don't get to see them often, so I like to keep them close through photos." 

I small wave of sympathy washes over me. Not being able to see Mother because I know she's gone is a manageable burden because I know I'm not missing out on her company; to know your family is growing up without you must be terrible.

"That's kind of sweet," I say, looking away from his eyes. "I'm sorry you don't get to see them more."

"Huh?" I look back to see surprise on his face. "That's awfully sweet coming from you." 

"Oh," I say, flustered again. "Family is just important, you should spend time with them while you can." 

"Where's your family?" 

"It was only my mom, but she's gone now," I mutter, looking at the ground. 

"I'm sorry to hear that," he says sympathy in his voice. 

"It's fine, it was a while back," I say, shrugging off the memories that are starting to trickle back into my brain. 

A awkward silence fills the room. I want to talk to someone about my mother, I never got to talk to someone face to face about it. Sure there was Diluc, but it's not the same coming from a water parrot. I can't tell him things though, it would only make me more suspicious. 

I push stray hairs behind my ear, "Forget it. What else do you want me to do with you today?" 

He glances at the clock, 10:39am, then back to me, "What ever you want." 

"Don't start pitying me now," I snap. "I'm fine, what do you want to do?" 

"That's more like the Yn I know," he says with a laugh. "Shall we actually go investigate people, maybe find someone else who might be a traitor?" 

I roll my eyes, "Yes, so you can finally stop blaming me for things, sounds great."