《Scaramouche's POV》

The two stood there, staring at the tall ginger man. He looked both well put together but also carefree.

Y/N turned to whisper into Scaramouche's ear, their eyes still fixed on the redhead, "Who's that??"

Scaramouche rolled his eyes, "Don't mind him. He's just a minor annoyance." He made sure to emphasize the "annoyance" part, purely so that the man could hear him.

Y/N took a closer look, staring intently at him. That made Scaramouche a bit nervous.

"His clothes.. he's a part of the Fatui!" Y/N said.

Scaramouche froze. He didn't like what was about to happen next.

Y/N slowly turned to him, "How.. how do you know this man?"

He didn't answer, he just kept looking at Y/N, then back at the ginger. He never felt so unsure of what to say in his whole life. Scaramouche was one who never found himself at a loss for words, he always knew what to say, even if it was only lies. But in this moment, he was stumped.

The tone in Y/N's voice rose, "How do you know him?"

The ginger man stepped up, "He and I go way back. We ran into each other a while ago, and he totally beat me up real good! He's pretty strong, I'll give him that."

Scaramouche was shocked. The man who he had an everlasting feud with just.. helped him? Was he drunk or something??

The man walked closer to the duo, "You could say we're rivals!" He winked at Y/N, "Anyway, I'm Childe, number 11 of the Fatui Harbingers!"

Y/N's eyes widened, "So not only are you a Fatui, you're a harbinger??" They turned to Scaramouche, "Why do you keep getting involved with such evil people?"

Scaramouche chuckled nervously. He really dug himself into that one, didn't he. There's no way he could tell Y/N the truth now. It was obvious they hated Fatui, finding out they were traveling with one this whole time wouldn't end well for him.

"Childe, I would like to speak with you. Alone." Scaramouche said, obviously angry at him. He walked away from Y/N, forcefully grabbing Childe's arm. He was definitely stronger than he looked considering he was vertically challenged.

Scaramouche pulled Childe aside, "What was that about? I don't need any help from you." He yelled. His real self was finally showing through that facade he'd been using for the past few days.

"I see you've found a special someone~" Childe teased.

Scaramouche swiftly stepped on Childe's feet, causing him to yelp in pain, "HEY what was that for??"

"For interfering," Scaramouche started walking away.

"Hm, It'd be a shame if your little friend were to find out who you really were~" Childe said, playfulness in his voice.

Scaramouche slowly turned towards him, still obviously angry, "What are you saying?"

"You're always manipulating everyone else, maybe it's time you're at the end of that for once," Childe snickered, "Plus I thought this would be quite amusing for me! The longer they don't know, the worse their reaction will be. I wouldn't miss that for the world~"

Scaramouche just looked at him. He hated to admit it, but Childe was right. The longer they kept it from Y/N, the more they'll hate him.

Usually he wouldn't mind if he was hated, especially by some random adventurer. But for some reason, he didn't want Y/N to hate him. He wanted them to be the one person that didn't know him as the 6th harbinger, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. And if that meant receiving help from someone, and Childe of all people, then so be it.

"Fine," he sighed, "What do you want in return for keeping my secret?" Though he gave in, he still was upset about it. He had been holding back all this anger so he might as well let it all out now.

"Hmm," Childe grinned, clearly enjoying himself, "Let me hang out with your little friend for a bit."

Scaramouche grew angrier, "What?! No way! Like I'd let you do that! You'll just go on and tell them who I am, like the obnoxious little slob you are! Plus we have work to do."

Childe rolled his eyes, "Well, guess I'll just go have a quick chat with them about our 6th harbinger-"

"As if!" Scaramouche yelled, "Okay, okay. You have 5 minutes. If you do as much as to touch them or even breathe on them, I will make sure you'll never touch anything again, understood?!"

"Don't worry little dude, you can have them all to yourself, they're not my type anyway," Childe smirked, winking at Scaramouche as he walked away.

Scaramouche scowled, angrily folding his arms as he watched him walk towards Y/N.

♢♢♢

《Your POV》

That whole situation was confusing to you. But maybe that would explain the looks you and Scaramouche were receiving. Perhaps Scaramouche was known as some undefeated beast who has defeated countless Fatui, and a Harbinger at that. They were probably just scared of him. Personally, you thought that was kind of cool.

Suddenly, you could sense someone walking up to you, thinking it was Scaramouche you turned around, "Ready to-"

There was Childe, the 11th harbinger, "Hello there."

You took out your sword, which you never really used, pointing it towards him, "Don't come any closer, you nasty Fatui."

"Hey, chill out! I just want to talk," Childe said, sitting down at a nearby table. Immediately, people noticed him and fled the scene. Those Fatui really were infamous.

"What do you want?" You asked, a stern tone in your voice.

Childe found that amusing, "Ooh quite fearless, aren't we?" He signaled for you to sit down, "Please, stay a while. I want to talk to you about your little boyfriend over there."

You cautiously sat down, gripping your sword tightly, "He's not my boyfriend."

"Hm, he might think otherwise." He whispered.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing~" Childe chuckled, obviously having fun while teasing you, "How long have you been traveling together?"

You slowly set your sword down, not taking your eyes off the harbinger. Did he somehow talk Scaramouche into letting him talk to you?

"About 5 days. Why?"

Childe raised his eyebrows, almost like he was a bit surprised, "Oh wow! He really has changed. I wonder what made him decide to keep you."

"Keep me?! I'm not his pet you know. This is a mutual thing, it's just until we finish our research." You snapped at him. You were a bit proud of yourself for sticking up to him like that, after all, he was one of the most dangerous people in Teyvat.

"Right, your research," Childe nodded, "So remind me what you're researching?"

You stood up. You've had enough of this nonsense, now you understood why Scaramouche didn't like this guy, "If you're done asking stupid questions, Scaramouche and I have work to do. Now if you excuse me."

As you were leaving, Childe spoke, "I'd just be cautious if I were you."

You looked back at him, concerned, "Why would I need to be cautious..?"

"No reason." Childe now sounded serious. Completely different from the way he was acting a few moments ago.

You glared at him and walked towards Scaramouche. He seemed nervous. Once he noticed you he walked up to you, "What did he say to you?"

Scaramouche seemed really worried, it was kind of strange. Maybe he was just worried for your safety?

"He was just asking weird questions. Like what we were researching, when we met, stuff like that. Haha, he thinks you're my boyfriend." You laughed.

Scaramouche sighed of relief.

Suddenly, Childe walked up to them, "So you guys need any help with your research?"

Scaramouche quickly stopped him, taking your hand, "No I think we're done here." He dragged you away towards the entrance of the city.

You looked back at Childe, thinking about those words he said.

"I'd just be cautious if I were you."

You couldn't tell if he was trying to warn you, or just trying to scare you, "Hey Scaramouche, do you know why Childe would tell me to be cautious around you?"

"He's probably just jealous that I have a loyal travel companion and he doesn't." He answered without looking back, him still holding your hand. You laughed at the fact that Scaramouche was acting a bit childish.

You made it to the outskirts of the city, where the two of you found a place to sit and rest.

You sighed, leaning on a rock. You had to admit, this whole journey had been very confusing for you. It's almost as if involving yourself in Scaramouche's mysterious life was causing you stress.

Honestly, you didn't mind it. You actually enjoyed Scaramouche's company, and these past few days were quite thrilling.

You glanced over at Scaramouche, who had taken off his hat and seemed to be.. asleep? You shook him, after all this wasn't the best place to stay for the night.

Was he that tired? You thought about how he said there were people he'd rather not meet. You guessed he was exhausted from talking to people all day.

Just as you started to stand up, Scaramouche grabbed your wrist. You looked back at him, surprised. He had a very vulnerable expression, he almost looked sad.

Scaramouche pulled you back down, embracing you in another hug. You weren't expecting it at all.

Awkwardly, you decided to question him, "Are you.. okay?"

He pulled you closer, tightening the hug, "I am now."

So many thoughts were going through your head. This man, the one who could clear out a whole Fatui camp by himself, the one who was able to defeat a Fatui harbinger, was giving you a loving hug? It seemed so out of character for him, but you guessed even the toughest of people have a soft side.

And with that, you hugged him back, hoping that he would soon be back to his normal self.