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Childe knelt before the Cryo Archon’s throne and respectfully waited for her to address him. He had come as soon as he received her summons, but he had little idea what it could be about.
He felt her gaze travel from his bowed head to his bent knee and back up again. “My Tartaglia…”
Childe kept quiet. He was not as attuned to her majesty’s moods as the other Harbingers (they had served longer terms under her, after all), but even he could tell something was weighing on her mind. Something she was considering, and that did not necessarily please nor displease her.
“You may rise.” She waited for him to do so, continuing to regard him all the while, until finally asking, “How are you feeling at present?”
The inquiry as to his welfare was unexpected, which was probably clear to her from the initial uncertainty in his response. “Ah…ready and able to serve your majesty in whatever capacity I am required.”
“Is that so. Ready though you may be, your condition seems to necessitate that future caution be taken.” She tossed a stiff piece of folded paper through the air towards him.
Childe caught and unfolded it. The paper was a copy of the results from his mandatory physical examination upon returning to Snezhnaya. At first glance, everything seemed to be fine. He was in the prime of his youth, the side effects from his Delusion usage were within normal parameters, and he’d only grown stronger and faster since his mission in Liyue.
Then the breath caught in his throat as he saw the final note at the bottom of the page.
“Come closer, Tartaglia.”
He obeyed. What other choice did he have? He and the life he hadn’t known was within him were at the mercy of the Cryo Archon.
She began murmuring in a soft and cold tone as he approached. “This must have happened in Liyue. Who there would dare to…” Her gaze narrowed as it flew directly to the impossibly thin ring on his finger, as if she could see through his glove to the symbol of the connection between him and Zhongli. “Ah. Morax.”
She continued staring for several long, terrible seconds. “That he would have the audacity to lay his hands on one of my Harbingers-”
“Your majesty,” Childe could hardly believe he had interrupted the Tsaritsa in midsentence, but he had already come this far, he might as well try, “if I may…?”
Her gaze shifted to his face. For the moment, he had tacit permission to say what he wanted.
“He isn’t the one at fault. I’m the one who seduced him to gain access to his Gnosis.” Childe ignored the sudden weight around his finger as he rushed onward. “This is entirely my responsibility, he doesn’t need to be involved in this.”
“Silence.” She held up a hand and he immediately fell quiet. “Regardless of that which you might think or attempt to convince me, your mate clearly does not share that sentiment. What happens next regarding your young is for both of you to decide.” She addressed the room at large, but Childe’s ring began faintly glowing gold through his glove as she said, “I know you can hear us, Morax. Consider this an invitation to Snezhnaya to confer with my Eleventh on this matter.”
Childe’s legs nearly gave out from under him. There was no way Zhongli wasn’t already on his way here.
“As for you, Tartaglia, you are dismissed for now. Consult with Morax and return here tomorrow with him.”
Childe exited the palace to find a dragon circling the sky overhead. The moment he set foot outside and glanced up, the dragon shot towards him and coiled itself around him, badly startling the guards escorting him from the premises.
“It’s alright, I’m alright.” Childe rubbed soothing circles along the scales nearest where his hands were pinned to his sides. “We’re going to talk, just not here.”
The coils loosened just enough for him to work himself free. He waved off the still-shocked guards before leading the dragon to the edge of the courtyard, careful to stay in physical contact with it the entire way there.
Once they were in a slightly more out of the way location, Childe reached up to hold the dragon’s face so they could lock eyes. “If you want to stay in this form, we can leave and talk outside the city. Or if you return to a human shape, we can go to my quarters instead.”
There was only a brief moment of consideration before Zhongli shifted back into his human form, with Childe’s hands still cupping his face. He glanced at Childe’s midsection as he said, “Your quarters will likely be the safer alternative.”
“I told you, I’m fine.” Childe let go of Zhongli’s face in favor of taking his hand instead, and began leading him to their destination. “Besides, I can’t be more than a month or two along. I can handle anything that comes my way; and even on the unlikely chance I can’t, now you’re right here with me.”
Zhongli pressed closer to him as they walked, his arm wrapping around Childe’s waist. “During your audience with the Cryo Archon, you seemed more than ready to act without me.”
Childe leaned into his touch. “I panicked. I thought I could protect you by taking this all on myself.”
"We are mates, Ajax. We share in protecting each other,” Zhongli growled low in his throat, “I should have been there with you, you should not have faced her alone.”
Childe guided him into his quarters and secured the door behind them. “I know you’re upset, but what’s happened has happened. This involves both of us, I can see that now.”
Zhongli pulled Childe close and held him there as he whispered, “If I had lost you…lost you and our children…”
“Children?” Childe’s hand suddenly went to his stomach. He'd always wanted a large family. “How many are we talking about here?”
Still holding Childe flush against him, Zhongli reached around and placed his hand over his mate’s. “You are carrying at least three of our young. Perhaps more, it is still a bit early to tell.”
“I think now is a good time for me to ask how adeptus pregnancies work, and how the Fatui doctor could even tell I’m expecting, but you don’t know how many.” Childe conducted them both to the sitting area and disentangled himself so they could sit facing each other (much to Zhongli’s disappointment, since he had obviously expected them to sit next to each other). “And also how this is even possible. I didn’t think I would have the right equipment for it.”
"Ah. I suppose an explanation is in order. You deserve to know why and how this is happening to you.” Zhongli settled contemplatively into his chair. “While there exist many key differences between adepti and humans, the numerous similarities they share enable the existence of half-adepti, such as Ganyu or Yanfei. To my knowledge, there has been little formal study on the subject, especially considering how adepti are generally private by nature. However, there is still a long precedent of children born between them and humans.”
What followed was a three hour lecture on adeptal biology as a whole, variations between different types of adepti, their reproductive compatibility with humans, and the circumstances under which their offspring could be conceived. It was more than enough to boggle the mind, as well as make Childe want to push Zhongli down and demand a practical demonstration right then and there.
However, this was a serious conversation and they only had until tomorrow before the following audience with the Tsaritsa, so he heroically held himself back and did his best to focus on Zhongli’s explanation.
By the time it concluded, Childe was of the opinion that adeptus anatomy was probably even more heretical than his stolen Abyss teachings.
“Do you have any further questions?” Zhongli regarded him through careful, amber eyes. “I am aware this is not an insignificant quantity of information to take in.”
Childe did have questions about what he’d learned, but none of them were appropriate at the moment. He could settle those later (maybe tomorrow night, if they survived their audience).
For now, they had something more important to figure out.
“What next?” Childe met Zhongli’s gaze. “What are we going to do from here?”
Without hesitation, Zhongli left his seat to crouch in front of Childe and take his hand again. He had to look upwards a bit to continue maintaining eye contact; and even though Childe was in the higher position, he still felt pinned in place by the intensity in Zhongli’s eyes.
“We will do, Ajax, whatever you want to do.” Zhongli reached for Childe’s other hand as well so he could keep a tight hold on both of them at once. “If you want to stay, we will stay. If you want to go, we will go. If you want the world, I will give it to you. Whatever you desire, that is what will come to pass.”
Childe leaned forward to press a kiss into Zhongli’s hair. “You shouldn’t say something like that to someone like me.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it’s in my nature to outdo people at their own challenges, and I’ll have to find something even bigger than the world to give you.” Still leaning forward, Childe moved their hands to his abdomen and watched Zhongli’s breathing hitch as he suggested, “Such as a family? One we raised together in Liyue?”
“A family. Together in Liyue…” Zhongli whispered, almost to himself. The amber gaze that had been burning against Childe’s became apprehensive and hopeful and terrified. “Our family.”
“That’s right.” Childe tightened his grip on Zhongli’s hands. “You, me, and an army of half-adeptus babies. We can take back control of Liyue from the humans and rule over the country again like you used to.”
“I did not retire so I could conquer Liyue anew with an army of my own creation, Ajax.” Nevertheless, Zhongli smiled as his anxiety gave way to amusement. He was radiant, and Childe knew he’d said the right thing (even if it wasn’t entirely the joke he’d played it as).
Childe laughed and kissed Zhongli once more, this time on the forehead. “Our own creation.”
“Of course. Please pardon my error.” Zhongli smiled up at Childe again for another glorious moment, before his expression abruptly shifted. “She will not simply let you go.”
“I know.”
“She will demand an equivalent price for the loss of one of her Harbingers.”
“I know.” Childe had seen firsthand how the Cryo Archon reacted upon losing a member of her Eleven, witnessed the dimension of her grief and anger.
“I must abide by the terms of whatever contract is set for your freedom.”
“I know.”
“I can’t lose you.” Zhongli’s voice wavered, then steadied with the utmost resolve. “I won’t lose you.”
Childe could feel the weight of the ring around his finger grow heavy again. “I know.”
They entered the throne room side-by-side. Due to their differing statuses as a god and a Harbinger, they should have gone in at separate times, but Zhongli refused to be parted when facing the Cryo Archon in her palace.
Childe knelt before the throne once more, while Zhongli remained standing.
In the myriad of reflections on the icy floor, Childe watched Zhongli and the Tsaritsa regard each other.
Something unspoken passed between them, before she finally addressed him. “Morax. You desire my Eleventh Harbinger?”
“I do.”
Her attention snapped to Childe. “Tartaglia. You desire to leave my service? To return to Liyue with him?”
Childe kept his head down. “Yes, your majesty.”
“What of your oath to me and to Snezhnaya? For how long had you sworn your loyalty and devotion?”
Childe forced his voice to stay even as he replied, “For the rest of my life, your majesty.”
“Indeed. If I am to release you from your position, then I will require equivalent recompense. A life for a life.” In the reflection, her eyes moved from his face to elsewhere.
Childe realized where she was looking and what she was implying at the exact same moment as Zhongli. The ground below the palace began to rumble as his mate instantly shifted to stand in front of where Childe had shot back up to his feet, heedless of the respect a Harbinger owed their Archon.
Despite the temperature abruptly dropping by several degrees, the Tsaritsa remained outwardly unfazed on her throne. “Calm down, both of you. I do not want an infant. I want a lieutenant with the blood of Morax and Tartaglia in their veins. Return to Liyue, raise your young, and send to Snezhnaya one of your eldest at the same age as my Eleventh currently - I will consider that a sufficient exchange.”
Seventeen years later, there was a violent disturbance outside the palace. Several guards were summoned as backup for the ones defeated by an unknown assailant, a teenage girl with long, copper hair and glowing, amber eyes.
They could hear her even before she came into view beyond the walls. Her voice had a mild Liyuan accent and a distinct tone of aggressive confidence as she continued shouting, “I keep telling you, I’m supposed to be here! Your archon is expecting me, there’s a contract and everything! Sure, I might be a few years early, but that shouldn’t stop her from taking me on anyway!”
An officer barreled up and attempted to take control of the scene by shouting back, “State your identity and reason for coming here!”
She knocked the feet out from under the guards she’d been running circles around, then focused her gleaming, golden gaze on the officer, who suddenly thought that getting her attention might have been a very bad idea
Faster than the eye could follow, she vaulted over the fallen guards and sped with a crackle of electro over to where the officer was standing.
“I’m your new Tartaglia,” she beamed as she seized the officer by the collar, “and I’m here to claim my place as Snezhnaya’s Vanguard.”