Chapter Text
If you were to tell Ying that an exact replica of her co-star Ajax, or rather the character he was playing as, “Childe” Tartaglia, the Eleventh Harbinger, would pop out of her script in the middle of tonight’s read-through, she would not believe you.
Even if it did happen in front of her very eyes, she would believe it was some kind of SFX, hi-tech prank done by Ajax himself with the coordination with her other castmates. She wouldn’t put it past her older brother, Kong, to be the one behind it all considering how much he liked to mess with her, or that perhaps it was the little ones like Nana and Kělì. Ajax always did like to spoil those two, and perhaps this was some kind of game the two children had formulated out of their creative, young minds.
Of course, all of that was impossible considering two things. One, Ajax was right beside her, the two of them watching in shock and disbelief as the pieces of paper flew around their living room like an invisible gust of wind had suddenly entered their home, and she knew for a fact that the air conditioning wasn’t enough to have the script separate from its clip and suddenly form a circle of all things. Two, this was happening in their home at 3 in the morning, and unless an intruder suddenly broke in just to fuck with them, there was no way this was a simultaneous figment of their imaginations!
Actually, it was 3 a.m. so maybe she was just sleep-deprived and hallucinating? Maybe all those lucid dreaming tutorials online were finally effective?
She pinched herself once, twice, thrice… damn it .
Okay, calm down, Ying. There was still a man lying unconscious on their floor. Who happened to look exactly like Ajax, except this one’s hair was definitely naturally ginger and not dyed for a TV show. He was wearing the authentic Tartaglia attire as well, the confusing but undeniably slick grey and dark red with what she presumed was the real deal Hydro vision hanging on his belt. She was a little scared to touch it.
“AJ… oh my God AJ, you’re seeing what I’m seeing, right? What… what the fuck do we do now?” she said with a panicked voice, too overwhelmed by the recent turn of events because who the fuck wouldn’t when the only possible explanations were her either going crazy or an actual, bonafide fictional character had popped out of no where like she had accidentally triggered a “3AM VLOGGER CHALLENGE” out of no where.
By comparison, though clearly frazzled as well, her housemate was far less frantic than her, and for that she was thankful— someone had to be the calm and rational one, and there was no way in hell it was going to be her.
“Well, he’s breathing, and he doesn’t look ill, so at least we don’t have to worry about a dead body,” he joked, but it came out dry as he stood back up from observing his vitals.
“You know, I’ve always been more of a science, there’s no way magic exists , guy… but how the fuck else would you explain this fuckery?”
Okay, he was alive, which was obviously a good thing but that meant there was a whole new barrage of problems to freak out about. She remained kneeled down by his side even though Ajax tried to get her to relax, rubbing her shoulders to get her to breathe and trying to convince her to get some rest and let him be the one who waited out his lookalike’s awakening.
She refused immediately, sleep being the last thing on her mind. At the very least, they could keep each other company until something happened. In any case, there was no one else but each other they could confide to about this.
No one would believe them. Sure, he looked identical to Ajax, but people were bound to twist it into a hidden twin, or a dedicated and downright obsessive fan. Plus, if he were to go out in public, if he ended up doing something less than pretty he was sure the media would go hog-wild and have it negatively affect the reputation of this world’s Ajax, and she would never want to see that happen.
“He can’t leave this place,” she began, her thoughts finally becoming a little less muddled, “but he can’t stay here with us either. How do we get him back into… uh, Teyvat?”
“Murder,” he joked, immediately warranting him a slap to the arm from Ying, “looks like those swordsmanship lessons really helped you, huh! But… I doubt we’d be able to do anything. It would probably be up to him and whoever’s helping him out from their side.”
A part of her was concerned. Was there someone to help him out on the other side? Though the two of them had some special privileges in learning some plans for the future seasons of Genshin Impact, neither of them knew of Tartaglia’s future. After all, they had just finished Season 2: Liyue and she was still in the middle of going over the Season 2 two-part special and Season 3: Dragonspine scripts when all of… this happened. They hadn’t even begun filming for those two, who could say how little they actually knew about the magic of that world.
Still, he was right. There was nothing they could do, so she finally got up from her spot to crash on the couch, resting her body against an already waiting Ajax, who continuously rubbed circles on her arms to somehow soothe her.
“Try to get some sleep, lyubimaya. I’ll wake you up when something happens, don’t worry,” her words of protest died as soon as she felt his lips kiss the top of her head, his other free arm coming to stroke her hair gently. “Please.”
“... I’ll try,” she responded, letting her eyes finally shut tight after a tiring early morning. Sleep granted her mercy upon hearing Ajax’s quiet murmurs and words of comfort, spoken little lullabies that finally steadied her breathing. When he kissed that same spot another time, she was already too unconscious to register it.
【✦🌢】
Ajax gently shook Ying awake as soon as Childe showed signs of consciousness, standing close and keeping guard as she dove back to her initial spot kneeling beside him, a clear mixture of worry and anticipation on her face. It was just like the blonde to wonder about his well-being or how his appearance could suddenly affect their way of living, but honestly he was more worried for her .
Don’t get him wrong, he loved this character and he loved every chance he got to portray him, but there was a lot of uncertainty left up in the air. For starters, who could say where in the timeline he would be coming from, and what his current mental state was, where his morals lied, and what he currently thought of Lumine, her character. If by any chance he was at the point where he would want to harm the star of the show, and looking at Ying reignited that, he had to be there to step in.
Of course, his skills would pale by comparison to a Snezhnayan warrior, but would rely on his shock to catch him off-guard.
When the man on the ground shifted, the blue orb by his hip moved as well. Shit, he should’ve confiscated that just in case.
“Is this… the afterlife? Have I somehow ascended to Celestia?” Childe finally spoke up, and he had to wince at how similar their voices were. Right, he really just gave up on giving the guy a different voice and ended up using his natural voice anyway. Ying was still speechless, but the Harbinger was quick to notice her. Even from where he stood, it was easy to see how Childe’s expression had softened from confusion to something fond.
I see. So that’s where their dynamic’s headed in the future. Would our director take this course of direction in the show as well? Would Lumine be left completely without a partner instead? Would she go to have multiple romances but inevitably end up with one? These could all affect the ratings, and with how people get… I wouldn’t be surprised if one wrong move would result in backlash. Everyone has to be careful.
“Lumine,” the yellow blonde flinched, “you’re wearing such weird clothes. Is this the heavens you spoke of? No, it would be impossible for someone like me to get in there. Did you perhaps take me with you, angel?”
Angel? Well, he wasn’t surprised. The actress was always dressed in white on the show, and at the moment her cotton nightgown was of the same hue, plus it looked soft and fluffy to the touch like a cloud. It was an honest mistake to make.
“He called you Lumine. This is the real deal, Ying,” he called out, momentarily distracting her from the man still lying on the ground.
“Oh, and the flashing lights didn’t give that away already, AJ? He’s- mmph?”
Red. He was definitely seeing red right now and suddenly murder wasn’t out of the question. How dare he kiss Ying?
It didn’t matter in the slightest that they were essentially different versions of each other, that he played as him in a show— she was off limits to even, no, especially his doppelganger!
Still he stayed in his spot, knowing the delicacy of their situation, frowning at the sight and watching the shock on her face increase with every second passed and unmoving like she waited for him to finally separate from her.
“Childe, you-”
“You… taste different. It’s usually sunsettias.”
“ Taste different? ” she had yelped her thoughts out loud on accident, her honey gold eyes immediately searching for his own as they shared a knowing glance. His, and most likely hers as well, suspicions were correct. Childe and Lumine had become entangled with each other.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the former finally taking notice of his surroundings, probably taking the time to observe the difference in atmosphere, furniture, technology.
Then their eyes finally met, and Ajax can’t deny the weirdness of staring at his own face without a mirror available, and this faux mirror not even being capable of mirroring his expressions but instead making one of its own. The ginger, rather, natural ginger stared at him with wide eyes, clearly shocked to see someone look exactly like him save what must’ve been an odd choice of clothing.
“Hello, Childe. I’m Ajax,” he began as an introduction, watching the man shift upright to a sitting position and stare at him incredulously. Fine by him, he had every right to, but he had no plans of getting closer as he leaned against a pillar. There could only be one person dominating this conversation, and for now that would have to be him. “Though I suppose you are, too. As for that lady you just kissed, her name is Ying, not Lumine. It would do you good to remember this on your stay here.”
The time was 4:33 a.m. and though the sun was bound to rise in a few hours, he had a feeling their night was going to extend for a long while.