-MORNING-

Scaramouche

"Holy shit!"

Scaramouche opened your door and stood there staring at your bed.

Scaramouche

"First it was the tent sex, now this?!"

Childe

"Scaramouche, we didn't have sex! You were being a big baby and you kept on pushing me around on the bed so I chose a better option! At least Y/N doesn't kick me off the bed!"

Scaramouche

"Sure, sure, I'll totally believe everything you say."

You

"... Huh?..."

You'd woken up just a bit later than they had.

Scaramouche

"Y/N! You slept with Childe!"

You

"Yeah, I'm pretty much aware of that."

Childe

"Yeah- We only slept in the same bed, nothing more."

You

"Pfft, Scara's still going on about this?"

Childe

"He's been talking about it since I woke up!"

Scaramouche

"I know it's true!"

You

"Okay- Cut the bullshit and get ready. We're gonna check out another domain."

Childe

"Again?"

Childe complained.

You

"Yes, again."

Scaramouche

"Why don't we just look for it above ground? The underground's so shady."

You

"Because, Scara, through these deadly and painful months of looking for the device, all my clues led to it being hidden in the underground. Even though it doesn't really feel like it, I know I'm getting closer."

Scaramouche

"Let's not go into any domains that are just like the last one. That one was way too much."

You searched the underground area for weeks. Nothing. Childe and Scara accompanied you on your journey, and every other domain you discovered was nearly empty.

You

"Shit... I'm running out of places for us to go."

Scaramouche

"Good! I'm getting tired of this shit, man!

Childe

"Surely there are more places, right?"

You

"We've gone to almost every marked spot on the map... At least we have a few clues?"

Scaramouche

"Yeah, 'a few'."

Childe

"Y/N, what if wherever this device is, it's on the map but it's just not marked?"

You

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. We know that it's more in the northern part of the map, but we just don't know where. So I guess we'll spend another 7 days looking up north?"

Scaramouche

*Sigh* "I guess so..."

You

"Oh, that's right... Remember when we picked up a bunch of stuff that we thought would be useful later on in the other domains?"

Childe

"Yeah?"

You

"Empty your bags. We'll see if we can find anything."

You three took your bags, turned them upside down, and began shaking the shit out of them. A bunch of things fell out.

A rolled-up piece of paper fell out of Childe's bag, but he quickly grabbed it and stuffed it back in before you could notice.

Scaramouche looked at Childe for a moment, noticing his suspicion.

Scaramouche

"Childe, what was that?"

While you were busy sorting through the items on the table, he whispered to him. You were going through stacks of papers and maps they'd gathered, but none of them seemed significant.

Childe

"Uh..."

Scaramouche

"Pfft don't tell me it's your love letter to Y/N."

Childe

"Hehe... I really wish it was."

Childe smiled awkwardly, tapping his foot and looking away.

Scaramouche snatched Childe's arm and dragged him away from you.

You

"Hey, where are you going?"

Scaramouche

"I just gotta talk to Childe about something."

You

"... Alright then."

You didn't think anything of it and kept rummaging through the objects.

Scaramouche

"Okay come on, what is that paper?"

Childe

"It's not really a big deal!... It just has to do with um... Nothing important."

Scaramouche

"Lemme see!"

Scaramouche jumped up and down, attempting to take the paper from Childe, but Childe teased him by waving the paper around in the air. Scaramouche couldn't get it no matter how hard he tried because of their obvious height difference.

You noticed them and wondered what they were doing, keeping a wary eye on them. Scaramouche looked at you when he suddenly realized you were watching them, then awkwardly waved and smiled.

Scaramouche

"Hey- If the paper isn't such a big deal then why can't I see it?!"

Childe

"Because!..."

Scaramouche

"Because what?!"

Scaramouche was now all over Childe, touching him all over. You continued to watch them with an even more concerned expression.

You

"Uh..."

Scaramouche

"Give it!"

Childe

"It isn't a big deal! Why do you want to see it so badly?!"

Scaramouche

"Because you've got me intrigued! Let me see or else I'll tell Y/N it's your love letter to them."

Childe

"Fine!"

Scaramouche

"Y/N! Childe has a-"

Childe

"Hey- I didn't mean that literally!"

Childe put his hand over Scaramouche's mouth to keep him quiet.

You

"What is it?"

Childe

"See what you did?! Now Y/N's walking over here!..."

Scaramouche

"Why can't Y/N hear about this paper either?"

Childe

"Because, Scara, it has something to do with the device!"

Scaramouche

"So? Y/N and I deserve to know."

Childe

"Yeah- But don't you remember? We're only supposed to be using them to get to the device. It's not like we're going to let them have it."

Scaramouche

"Oh shit... Um- Y/N, go back!"

You

"But you just-"

Childe

"We're talking about um... Stuff!..."

You

"What kind of stuff?"

Scaramouche

"It's... It's about Childe's crush!... Yeah."

You

"Oh shit! Lemme hear."

Childe

Idiot!... Y/N's not supposed to be interested!...

Scaramouche

"Yeah- But like this crush is... Super... Top secret..."

You

"So? Lemme hear."

Childe

*Sigh* "I'll tell you later."

Childe spoke to Scaramouche quietly enough that you couldn't hear him.

Childe ended up telling you all these made-up stories about himself and another person who didn't exist. 

-BACK HOME, NIGHTTIME-

Scaramouche

"Are they sleeping?..."

Childe

"Yeah."

Childe shut the door to your room to ensure that you were sleeping soundly.

Scaramouche

"Alright, you've made me wait long enough, what's the paper about?"

Childe

*Sigh*

Childe took it from his pocket and handed it to Scaramouche so that he could read it. He averted his stare from Scaramouche, expecting a negative reaction from him.

Scaramouche

"You're kidding!"

Childe

"Shit."

Scaramouche

"You've known all along! What the hell?!"

Childe

"I know, I know, Scara. I'm sorry."

Scaramouche

"And we went through all that trouble?!"

Childe

"I know!... I just... I needed to hide it."

The paper that Childe was desperate to cover up was a letter sent to him from Fatui Headquarters three days prior. The letter stated that they had discovered the location of the device and were prepared to send Childe to retrieve it for them.

Scaramouche

"What's Y/N gonna do when they find out about this?!"

Childe

"Stop yelling so much! You'll wake them up... I- I just... I'd feel bad."

Scaramouche

"Feel bad for what?"

Childe

"I mean- Come on, Y/N's been looking for this device for what, six months? Maybe even more, and it's like... It's like it's just being given to me as some birthday present. It doesn't feel right."

Scaramouche

*Sigh*

Childe

"I can't do this anymore, watching Y/N go out every day so excited to get the device just to find out that it isn't even in the underground."

Scaramouche

"So all along it's literally just been hidden on the upper area?"

Childe

"Yeah, basically... And Y/N was always so positive that it was hidden here, underground."

Scaramouche

"So what do we do now?... Are we just gonna leave Y/N here with nothing else to say to them? We just leave and never come back, leaving them super confused? We have to tell them. You have to tell them."

Childe

"I'll tell them!... I just- I don't know anymore, okay?..."