2024 Oneshots

☠Day 9 (Tartaglia x Fem!Reader)

The air in Liyue Harbor is thick with mist, swirling around you like a veil as you strip away most of your clothes. Silk and gold embroidery, the symbols of your upbringing, fall into a crumpled heap on the stone below. You don't bother to look back. You've made your choice.

Freedom.

That's all you're chasing as you run barefoot through the narrow alleyways, your heart pounding in your chest. The sound of the harbor fades behind you, and ahead, the dark shape of the Fatui ship looms like a shadow in the mist. You see the black-cloaked figure moving on the deck, and something in you tightens- but you push it down.

This is what you want.

You board the ship, slipping through the shadows, your pulse racing as you cross the threshold to the unknown.

For whatever reason, joining the Fatui always seemed like the answer. A way to escape the suffocating life of nobility, to carve out a place for yourself of your own, free from your family's expectations. But once you're inside, things are... different. The Fatui aren't just powerful- they're ruthless. Their cold indifference, their cruelty- it kills you, leaving you feeling like you've traded one cage for another.

Tonight, you sit in the small mess hall, watching a group of Fatui agents laughing at one of the younger recruits. The kid had messed up part of a meal, and now they're tearing him apart, mocking him like vultures circling around a dying animal.

It makes your blood boil.

Before you know it, you're standing, your feet carrying you across the room. "Enough," you snap, your voice cutting through their laughter.

The men turn to look at you, surprise flashing in their eyes before something darker begins to creep in. You realize it's too late, that you've made yourself the new target.

One of them steps forward, a sneer twisting his lips. "And who do you think you are, huh? You've been here, what, a couple'a weeks? Think you can talk to us like that?"

The others close in, the space around you tightening as they circle like wolves around prey. Your heart is racing, but you don't back down. You refuse.

Suddenly, the tension shifts. The men stop, stepping aside as someone pushes their way through their midst. The crowd parts easily for him, like water parting around a stone.

You don't need to see his face to know how it is. Tartaglia- Childe. One of the Harbingers.

His eyes land on you, sharp and assessing, and you feel a shiver run down your spine. There's something predatory in his gaze, too, as if he's just spotted his next challenge.

"I don't believe we've met," he says, his voice low, with an edge of amusement. "Who are you?"

Your throat feels tight, but you force yourself to stand tall, to meet his gaze. "I'm Y/N. I joined from Liyue, to gain freedom from my country."

A slow smile spreads across his lips, his eyes now gleaming with interest. "Bold. I like it," he murmurs, his gaze flicking to the others. "Stand down," he orders them casually, and just like that, the tension disappears. The agents back off immediately, leaving you alone in the circle of Tartaglia's attention.

He takes a step closer, the faintest hint of amusement in his voice now as he gestures toward the stairs. "Care to join me?"

You hesitate, but only for a moment. It's not like you have much of a choice anyway.

The night air is cold when you step out onto the deck, the sea stretching out in front of you like an endless dark void. There's a heavy fog over the ship, making everything seem distant. Tartaglia leans against the railing, watching you with that same unsettling smile.