Unleashed || Childe x Reader

bonus chapter (II).

"Boo," his gloved hands covered her eyes momentarily, his lips close to her ear. His hands slid to her shoulders, massaging, his healing wounds concealed behind leather.

Yes, healing. For a man who valued the challenge of a spar, he had surprisingly toned his violence down. It started back in Fontaine. After the nation's whole affair, he had been sent back home to Snezhnaya to heal and rest up. After so, he promised himself that he would stop using his delusion unless it was necessary; being reminded of how (Y/N) reacted to his broken oath was enough to convince him to keep to his word.

The first thing he had done when his mother let him out of the house was pack his bags and visit Liyue. It was during the time of Lantern Rite, a special celebration he would never wish to miss again. It was then where he had re-established his relationship with the Adeptus, marking the event as more meaningful than before.

The Tsaritsa acknowledged his health and began giving him missions and jobs to do once more, but he spent a lot of his free time coming back to Liyue. So yes, he was in a romantic relationship with (Y/N), and yes, he still annoyed the shit out of her.

"Ah, so scary," she responded brusquely, too focused on the sheet of paper in her hands to respond enthusiastically.

He pouted at her lacklustre reply, lean body pressing up against her back as he draped over her shoulders. "You could at least pretend to flinch." He glimpsed at the contents of the letter, wondering what had gripped her attention so firmly.

She sighed, elbowing him off her. "I'm in the midst of work, Childe. Don't distract me."

"Hehe. Distracting," he echoed, grateful he had that effect on her despite being irritating. He rubbed the spot she elbowed.

"Shut up," she said, sighing in exasperation. When he finally plopped down next to her and closed his mouth, she relaxed her furrowed eyebrows. Childe extended a hand and trailed his index finger down her arm, bored. She was always so busy, protecting Liyue from imaginary phantoms. Nothing was coming. No danger was imminent, yet she insisted on sticking to her role as if one of her colleagues couldn't cover her spot for one measly day.

He watched as her body subconsciously leaned into his touch. His lips curved, the tips of his gloved fingers reaching the hem of her sleeve. Like an annoying child, he slipped beneath the material and touched her bare skin, feeling her warmth through the leather. Such warmth was good protection against the cold. She would thrive in the snow.

Yes, he had been thinking an awful lot about taking her to Snezhnaya. Teucer wanted to meet her again, and in excitement, babbled about it to his parents and the rest of his siblings. Now the whole family wanted to meet her, especially since they reckoned (Y/N) was a little more to Childe than the friend Teucer claimed she was. At least, that was what he gathered from the most recent letter he had received from home.

In response to the parchment, he had written down dates and planned a week of entertainment; the only problem was that he hadn't quite told the Adeptus about his ideas just yet. He was waiting for the best time, when she was in a good mood and she wasn't busy thinking about the city. Perhaps it would be good to bring up after they spent a night together, but he didn't want to take advantage of their mutual bliss and convince her to agree. No, she had to be in the right mind, unaffected.

Like right now.

His hand left her wrist. She glanced to the side, noticing the movement.

Childe rested his chin on his palm, looking out the window of the tavern. The Fatui part of him was kicking in, the negotiator. He knew (Y/N) well enough that she enjoyed travelling, and the snow would be a new experience for her. Something like that would be hard to reject, especially since she would be going with him. While she may not say it often, he knew she enjoyed spending time with him. That's why she let him linger around, even though she lashed at him more often than not (and of course, he loved her for it).