Chapter Text
“I thought that you’d be more opposed to the cold,” Childe breathed in the Snezhnayan cold. His words lingered as little puffs of air before dissipating into the wind. The freezing temperature bit at his nose, ears, and pretty much anything it could get its hands on.
Truly, it’s home sweet home.
And after almost an entire year in Liyue, he got to experience it with the man walking beside him.
“Why would I be?” questioned said man, who wore his familiar dark brown waistcoat that hugged his waist and slim black trousers. Childe looks at his own clothes. He wore a light gray jacket with a fur hoodie, his uniform and undershirt, two layers of pants which did wonders in making an illusion of ass curve that could maybe compete with half of Zhongli’s, snow boots entirely unseen as they are completely sunk into the eternal white of his nation, and his signature scarf properly wrapped around his neck instead of his usual casual toss across his shoulders.
Childe looked back at Zhongli. And then he looked back at his own clothes again.
“I don’t know, xiansheng,” Childe said. “Maybe normal human beings wear a lot more than what you are right now in such freezing temperatures.”
Zhongli finally looked down at his attire.
“Ah. Yes.”
“Even reptiles are afraid of cold weather, right?”
Zhongli sighed, “Childe, my exuvia form is that of a dragon-qilin, not a lizard.”
“Huh. High school didn’t teach me dragon anatomy.”
“I thought you entered the military at 14?” Zhongli inquired.
Childe laughed, “What? Did you think the Tsaritsa neglected the education of her Fatui? How horrible do you think of my archon?”
Zhongli pursed his lips, “My apologies. I did not mean to offend you.”
Childe only waved his hand, “I’m just kidding. Don’t worry about it!”
He sighed, “Well, let’s get you something real to wear or else you’d stand out. We’re a few hours away from the nearest village and I’m sure they’d have some furs we can hide your adeptus status with.”
The former archon smiled with a little bit of eye crinkle, betraying a fraction of his real age.
“Thank you, Childe.”
The younger man felt his heart soar.
Somehow, despite everything, Childe still liked Zhongli. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an understatement but he really did try (at first) to be resentful and hate the adeptus. But what was he supposed to do when Zhongli apologized sincerely while holding his hand?!? With that little apologetic smile he does whenever he borrows (takes and never returns) mora from him?!?!? How was he supposed to forget the months of walking along the man, dining with the man, and sometimes even cuddling with the man in his abode surrounded by the rocks Childe bought him?!?!?!??!??
Anyways the important thing is that when Childe wrote in a letter in Inazuma to Zhongli a few months after the apology (because Zhongli wanted to be pen pals and wow if his list of people he loved that he wrote to on the daily basis just grew by one) about taking a short vacation visiting his family, Zhongli replied. And Zhongli replied back that he WANTED TO SEE HIS FAMILY. Childe did not totally grow his ahoge like, 30 meters long that whirled like a helicopter propeller flinging him across the ocean to the front of Zhongli’s door. Nope! In fact, like a normal human being, he rode on a really, really slow boat while staring longingly across the horizon like a totally not lovesick buffoon- and then propelled himself as a whirlpool of hydro energy to Zhongli’s house as soon as the boat docked. Like a normal human being!
And of course, Zhongli opened the door, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. When the adeptus saw who it was at his door at 2am at night, he gave Childe a soft smile, “Welcome back. Would you like some tea?”
Childe would like Zhongli’s tea very much. And a lot of other things from him. But tea is good enough for that night.
He was a very lucky Snezhnayan man that night, however, because he was pretty sure that he felt something warm press onto his forehead for a second before he fell into the realm of dreams. No complaints about the tea, but clearly this was the big winner by a long shot.
“Ah.”
Zhongli’s slight exclamation brought Childe out of his memory.
“Hm? Are you okay there, Zhongli?”
“Yes, it’s just, although I do not feel the temperature of the cold, this form of mine still seems to suffer from…” Zhongli placed a finger up to his lip, where a small crack shaped and a tiny droplet of blood formed.
Split lips.
“I suppose my lips were not properly moisturized and the cold caused it to crack.”
Childe stepped towards Zhongli, “No worries, I know how to fix it.”
And before Zhongli could ask what it was, the younger man pressed his own lips onto Zhongli’s. A second passed and Childe stepped away after quickly giving the bleeding spot a quick lick.
“Better?” Childe asked smugly.
Zhongli did not answer the question, nor did the expression on his face do so either. But Childe laughed adoringly and grabbed the other by hand and they continued on their way to the village in the slightly less frigid cold.