AO3 header of the fic linked in the post
“Director Hu,” came the wary tone, as her Consultant walked out the house to meet them in the shade of the tree she distinctly remembered not being there before. A minor thing, she supposed, in the large scale of things. She was chatting with the Hydro Archon, after all. “Sorry~” Hu Tao said, clapping her hands together as she ducked her head apologetically. “Something came up.” “Is it urgent?” Zhongli asked, ambling over alongside Childe, of course. Furina took the boy and passed him onto Childe, who passed him onto Zhongli, who held onto him with the air of this being the most normal and natural thing in the world. Hu Tao resisted the urge to snicker at him. Just barely. “Not in the life or death kind of way,” she said, head swinging back and forth. “But in the upper six-digits fee kind of way.” “On a holiday?” Childe asked, scrunching his nose in disgust. “I know, but he did open with the upper six-digits fee offer, unprompted. So…” Hu Tao shrugged. “You know how he is, always spending everyone else’s money. Gotta fund his sprees somehow.” “Ahem,” Zhongli said, gravely, and was suitably ignored. “I thought I was funding those,” Childe observed without callousness, because he was a besotted moron who’d given Zhongli free reign on his finances. Like a lunatic. “For most things, yes,” Hu Tao agreed crisply. “But even he’s too principled to buy you gifts with your own money, so guess who foots the bill for those?” “Director Hu,” Zhongli insisted, and got his face patted gently by the boy, for his trouble.
Chapter 11! In which some matters are sorted more than others, and also the Traveler resists valiantly thee urge to make jokes about speedy pregnancies.
archiveofourown.org/works/746669...
