Work Text:
Now, the treasure hoarder hung off the ground as his legs kicked back and forth desperately, Childe was snarling in their faces. The team had split up to search the hideout. Childe could only hope the traveler found Teucer and got him out.
"Please, please! It wasn't even our idea! We were just paid to grab the boy! Honest!"
"Where-" Tartaglia slammed the man into the wall, wood cracking from the impact. "IS MY BROTHER?"
"The back!" The man screamed, blood starting to pour from a cut on the back of his head. "There's a trapdoor behind the house. If you go down to the cellar, we have him down there."
"If you're lying to me-" Childe dropped him to the ground, so that his monstrous glass eye from his mask seemed to stare down on him in judgement. "I will find you, and you will wish I only killed you here." With that, he left. He could feel the wear on his body already, but there was nothing he could do. He could deal with it. He could deal with this a thousand times over to protect his family.
When he finally got to the trapdoor, he flung it open. He practically just fell down the stairs, letting gravity pull him down faster. Faster. He felt the air around him crackling. Even in his Foul Legacy form, he couldn't go fast enough. A door at that end muffled a very very familiar cry. With one raised hand, Childe aimed and threw the electric polearm, busting apart the door. When he got through the door, his heart dropped.
Teucer was tied up on the floor. His hands bound behind his back and tears and snot pouring down his face. He was wailing and shaking from each gasping breath. His left cheek was purple and swollen, his eye above it couldn't be held open. Blood was crushed around his nose, smeared across like he had wiped it before having been tied.
The floor beneath Childe cracked and smashed, the rock and dirt kicking up into the air. His breath came out in ragged spurts. His throat hurt, like it was closing in on itself. Tartaglia's hands were shaking as he pressed them into his thighs to not show how badly they trembled. He wanted to scream, to beat them all until no one would be able to recognize their corpses. In fact, that's what he would do. The men, staring wide eyed and slack jawed in horror, saw only a flash of purple. That was the last thing they saw.
Aether finally came down, obviously having been taking down treasure hoarders upstairs. "Childe, reinforcements are on the way." He paused at the sight before him. He had followed the signs of battle and the elemental traces left by the Foul Legacy to get here. Never did he expect the gore before him. He thought Childe would have stopped himself in front of Teucer, but one look at the boy and he understood. "Teucer...."
The boy was staring at his big brother, only one eye able to train upon him. And the look hurt the traveler's heart. Betrayal. Horror. Fear. Childe dropped Foul Legacy, probably unable to hold onto it any longer. He collapsed into a puddle of blood and..... were those teeth.... in the.... oh. Aether looked away, frowning. "We need to leave. Can either of you walk?" He went over to untie Teucer, Childe having a tough time even staying upright on the ground.
Without a word, Teucer stood up and held Aether's hand. His little hand held on so tight, but his eyes never once left his brother. His lips trembled, and in a soft, broken voice he whispered. "Are you really my brother?"
"Yes." Aether answered, seeing the shattered look in Childe's eyes. His eyes glistened and his head fell down. "Teucer, I know that everything is confusing. But just know that your big brother loves you very much. And there is nothing that he wouldn't do for you. This... saving you... was one of them." He felt Teucer's grip tightened, but he just shoved his face into Aether's side. Aether felt very trapped between the two brothers. "Paimon..."
Paimon came and held Teucer's hand so Aether could go check on Childe. "I need you guys to go and get him to safety. I'll follow behind later."
"Absolutely not. They wanted to exchange for you. Look at you. You're practically all set up and gift wrapped for them." As he talked, Aether was already pulling Childe's arm around his shoulders to help him stand.
As they got up and raced upstairs, as fast as they could with Childe's exhausted state, shouts came from around both sides of the building. "Quick." Childe's voice came out almost as a sigh. "Go through the building. We can't take them all on right now."
Aether had paimon and Teucer lead, putting him and Childe between the advancing attackers. They ran through the hallways, but of course they ended up running right into the group. "Upstairs." They all scrambled up, Aether practically just dragging Childe up as his legs dragged most of the way.
One they made it upstairs though, there came a dilemma. "Was there another set of stairs back down?" Aether glanced nervously at Paimon, who was fidgeting her tiny fingers. "Is it just Paimon that realizes we just got trapped?"
"We're fine." Childe stood up a bit straighter, his voice a bit stronger. "Keep going until we find a window at the front of the building." With no time to lose, they all continued on. Flipping open rooms, hoping to find one with a balcony or an easier drop below. The last room they hit was even worse, windowless. They ran out to backtrack, and made eye contact with a large group of angry men at the end of the long hall. "Inside the room, quick."
At this point, Teucer was sobbing again. Aether couldn't blame him. Childe kept flinching towards him, but stopped. Obviously not knowing how to deal with their relationship while also trying to keep him safe.
"What now?!?" Paimon was flying around like a moth. "It's a straight drop."
"You can fly." Aether sighed.
"But what about you guys? Paimon won't leave you all!" She stomped her foot mid-air.
"Can you take Teucer down with the air glider?"
"Maybe?" Aether would definitely try. And if all else failed, would use his anemo powers to try and break their fall.
"Go. Please. I'll follow behind."
"Liar." All eyes went wide as they landed on Teucer. He'd been so quiet this whole time. His bottom lip stuck out and his mouth contorted into a strange frown, as he tried to hold back his tears. "You're a big liar, big brother."
"Teucer..." Childe sounded so defeated but he didn't deny anything. How could he? "Once this is all over, we can sit down-"
"Stop lying to me!" He screamed, just in time for the door Childe was holding shut with his body to jostle as people tried to force their way in. "You're trying to make me leave and I'll never ever see you again." The small boy ran and clung onto his brother, even as Childe begged him to go with the traveler. "Please don't leave me. I don't care about what you did. I don't care if you're scary and can turn into a monster! I still love you, big brother! I don't want you to stay!"
Ah, Aether thought. Teucer had overheard what Childe said earlier. The kid clung tight, Childe looked torn between hugging him and pushing him away. He started to reach down, his voice gentle. "I promise you, I will go with you."
"Pinky promise?"
The door lurched but Aether rushed forward to help Childe hold it shut. "Pinky promise."
Aether and Childe shared a look and counted under their breath. Whe. They hit three, Aether grabbed Teucer and ran towards the window, gliding wings set to unfurl. Childe was right behind them. They had a split second where the room was silent, the the door burst open. Aether got up in the window and was dragging Teucer up when all of a sudden, the child screamed. There was a tiny inhale, followed by a small gurgle. Aether's eyes widened to see Childe stuck through the heart with a sword. His body leaning over Teucer, his blood covering the boy's face and clothes. Childe's hand slipped off Teucer's shoulder, having pushed him out of the way. Only the upward push of the sword kept his body from collapsing onto his younger brother.
The room was chaotic. There was no moment of silence, no time to process what had happened. Men were shouting. More weapons were swinging around, especially in the traveler's direction. Teucer was screaming, clawing at Childe's arm as if to drag him back into the living with brute force. Aether didn't have time to waste, he was practically on autopilot. Paimon had already floated out the window, hovering outside so as not to block their escape, while also not knowing what just happened within. Kicking, screaming, punching. Teucer was fully having a meltdown and Aether squeezed him tightly to his chest and jumped. Childe had trusted him to get Teucer back safely.
With a sorrowful weight in his heart, Aether took the fall. Wings caught the wind and they safely glided away. This would give them a good enough head start to alert the millilith. Aether would keep his promise to Childe to keep Teucer safe, even if it killed him. He knew Childe felt the exact same way, to the very end.