Mafia AU

[misfittoys]

[ A tale of two people leading double-lives and the inevitable misunderstandings that follow ]

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Distant Resonance

[misfittoys]

[ Giddy.

It's not a word usually used to described Tartaglia, Vanguard of her Excellency outside the context of bloody and vicious combat, but for the past weeks that is unfortunately how his subordinates would describe their too-young and unpredictable boss. His phone never strays too far from his fingertips, hopeful glance sent to the screen every time he receives a text. Random books and scrolls about Liyue culture and traditions serve as paperweights for various reports and tactical maps that are strewn messily across his desk. And on more than one occasion, he has eagerly pestered the staff for recommendations for flowers, gifts, and high-end ingredients for cooking.

The Fatui's guard dog is in puppy love. But with who? And perhaps even more baffling, how?

Said guard dog is currently using a book entitled "Customs of Liyue: Silk Flowers" as a coaster for his coffee mug as he ponders over his next assignment. While the Tsaritsa had been gracious enough to let him tag-along in missions to expand their territory after the scuffle they had with the Syndicate, his main objective had not changed: find Rex Lapis — an extremely difficult task to do normally, but even moreso as it seemed like he fell off the face of Teyvat after the "incident".

But Tartgalia can be patient. And it's a well-known (not even) secret, that Rex Lapis without fail makes a yearly appear at a gala function with the Qixing that will occur this Friday. It's business and it's a statement, letting everyone know who truly runs the city of Liyue, and who he allows to be figureheads in his city. It's the worst of all options to try to take a shot at the mafia boss considering the security that will be present there, but beggars cannot be choosers.

So Tartaglia flips through the blueprints to the Jade Chamber as he sifts through the latest intel Katya put on his desk. How quaint. By all reports, it seems that Rex Lapis has taken on a new lover, and one that he must be fairly public (or sloppy) about if this information was able to reach his ears. There is no description of the person yet, just a list of sightings the two of them have been seen together: the charity benefit made in his old associate Guizhong's name, the failed meeting (at least from the Syndicate's perspective) between the Syndicate and the Fatui, and —

The Museum of Chess — a few weekends prior.

Childe's blood runs cold as he reads the last location over and over. Five times with one being the name falling in a whisper from his lips and still the letters do not rearrange themselves. Still the name of the place where he and Zhongli had foreplayed a game of chess together before slipping away to where the cameras couldn't see weighs heavy like a noose or a gun pointed to his head.

Mister Zhongli was Rex Lapis's lover.

The more the realization turns over in his mind, the more it made sense. He'd brought flowers to the charity event, completely out of place in the bustling black market made for those who lived more in the darkness than the light. He'd been out of the way in the kitchen, not a part of Rex Lapis's force when Tartaglia had encountered him, terrified and armed only with a serving tray. That night in particular plays over in Childe's mind in perfect clarity.

Did Rex Lapis not care about Zhongli's safety? To leave him unguarded in such a volatile place. To let even this amount of information slip through his fingers to be scooped up by his enemies. The report crinkles in Tartaglia's hands as he sees a flash of red.

Suddenly, this mission was becoming a little. more. personal.

. . .

Zhongli.

Ten minutes and some quick searches later, Childe is glued to his phone with a much more serious expression as he carefully crafts the perfect message: ]

Hey, xiansheng! 😘😘 I got tickets to an art gallery opening this Friday night. It's the same guy who made that tea set you showed me last week. Wanna go?

[ Tartaglia has always been practical. He always prepares (and sometimes even hopes for) the worst outcomes just for the thrill of it. But this— in this, against all odds, he hopes he's wrong in his suspicions and that Zhongli will say yes. ]