Chapter Text
Familial love, friendly love, romantic love, love came in many different forms. The retired Rex Lapis, now known as Zhongli, was a very knowledgeable man. His once stone heart gradually softened over time and had developed an affection for mortals. He was an expert in almost every field except for romance. He understood the concept of romantic love based on seeing the things mortals did but it was still an unknown territory to him. Being exclusive with someone was not something he thought he wanted or needed until he met her. From the moment he met her, he knew she was not from this world. Something about her was different than the numerous amount of people he had encountered during his six thousand years of living. As they grew closer and developed a friendship, he often caught himself thinking of her. If he discovered something interesting, sad, or infuriating, the first person he thought of sharing it with was her. Without realizing, he was falling in love.
Today was another normal day at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Zhongli was in his office doing his usual paperwork when he heard a gentle knock at his door. “Come in,” he replied without looking up.
The door creaked open and the person entered the room. “Um…” they said.
Zhongli could recognize that voice anywhere. He stood up to greet his visitor. “Lumine, what brings you here?” He walked towards her and offered her a seat. “Would you like some tea?”
“Ah, no, I’m fine thank you.” She sat down across from him. “I’m here because I decided to take you up on your offer.”
“Are you speaking of preserving the history of Liyue?” Lumine nodded. “I’m honored that you decided to swing by but aren’t you busy?”
“I have some free time today so I came here.”
Zhongli couldn’t hold back the tug on the corners of his lips. “Instead of taking the day off to rest or have fun, you’d rather spend time with me?” The way he worded it made Lumine’s cheeks turn red. How adorable.
“That’s right,” Lumine admitted. Her answer threw Zhongli off guard. He didn’t expect her to be so direct and honestly it made his heart skip a beat.
“Instead of discussing Liyue’s history, why don’t we go do something today?” he asked.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to take up all of your time.”
“If it’s time you’re worried about, there’s no need. I have plenty of time. Shall we go?” He escorted her out of the room. After informing the Ferrylady he’ll be out all day, they were in the bustling streets of Liyue. “Speaking of which where is Paimon?”
“Xiangling came up with some new recipes and she needed someone to try them out for her. Paimon offered to taste test for her because it was an opportunity for free food.”
“That’s very like her,” Zhongli said.
“It is. Sorry if you wanted Paimon to tag along.”
Zhongli shook his head. “Quite the contrary. I’m glad it’s just the two of us.”
Lumine felt her cheeks growing hot. “I’m glad it’s just the two of us as well,” she confessed. Paimon was nice to have around but for this one time Lumine was happy she wasn’t around.
Zhongli beamed at her. “I’m pleased to hear that. Is there anything you would like to do today?”
“You mentioned going to operas before. Can we go to one?”
“That isn’t a problem at all. Let us go.” They started walking together but today the streets of Liyue were crowded more than usual. Lumine began lagging behind Zhongli. This didn’t go unnoticed by him. He spotted her in the crowd and made his way to her. He held his hand out to her. “So we don’t get separated from each other.”
Lumine took his hand. “Thank you…” She could feel the warmth from his hand radiate through his gloves. His warmth had a soothing effect to her. It made her feel secure and that nothing in the world could go wrong.
Zhongli couldn’t help but notice the difference of their hand sizes. Her hands were much smaller and delicate compared to his. He was in awe. All he could wonder was how these small pair of hands fought for and protected many people. “Truly mysterious,” he said to himself.
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“Today’s a perfect day to go see the opera. One of my favorite performers is performing today.”
Lumine’s eyes lit up and her lips curved into a smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Seeing her smile made him want to protect it at all costs. He knew it was impossible but he wanted to protect her and make her feel happy as much as he could. “As am I,” he responded. When they arrived at the theatre, they were immediately seated to best seats of the house. Zhongli was an esteemed visitor so it wasn’t any problem to get the best seats without reservation. Throughout the entire performance, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. For once he wasn’t paying attention to the entertainment but was focused on someone else. Seeing the many facial expressions Lumine made amused him the entire time. After the showing, the pair continued going to places that Lumine was interested in.
The light in the sky was gone and was now engulfed by darkness. The sky was so clear the moon was shining brightly and the stars were glittering. Nights in Teyvat were truly a masterpiece. Lumine and Zhongli were relaxing on one of the many cliffs of the Huaguang Stone Forest after a long day filled with fun. They were looking up at the sky in silence just appreciating the view and each other’s company. A couple of minutes Zhongli felt something lean against his arm. He turned his head to see she had fallen asleep. “We did walk around a lot today. Rest well Lumine.”
The gentle sunrays peeped through the curtains, brightening the room. After a good night’s rest, Lumine’s eyes slowly opened. Panic flooded within her when she realized she was on a bed and in a room. She let out a sigh of relief when she came to the realization she was in Zhongli’s room. “Wait…” She gasped and immediately sat up. Her sudden movement elicited a motion next to her. Lumine slowly turned her head to see who she was sharing this comfortable bed with. Lo and behold it was Zhongli peacefully sleeping. “I...What?!” she whispered to herself.
“Hm?” Zhongli opened his eyes and saw Lumine next to him with a shocked expression. He sat up as well. “Good morning Lumine,” he said in his usual tone.
How can he be so calm?! “Good...morning?” she replied. She took a peek at his bed attire. He was in a silky golden pajama set and his hair was loose. Even in his bed attire he’s good looking.
“My apologies. I must have walked back to the bed in my sleep.”
“I-I’m sorry!” She bowed her head.
“Hm? What for?” Zhongli was genuinely confused as to why she was apologizing.
“I intruded into your room uninvited!”
He let out a deep chuckle. His morning chuckle made Lumine feel giddy in the inside. “You didn’t intrude. I brought you here on my own accord. I’m sorry I brought you to my room without your permission. You looked too peaceful asleep, I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“I’m so sorry for falling asleep! Please wake me up next time!”
“Next time?” He arched his eyebrow.
“!” Lumine could feel her cheeks turning beet red.
Zhongli was satisfied to hear she wanted to come see him again. “Then I have permission to bring you back to my room next time.”
“I-” No words came out of her mouth. She didn’t know how to respond to his statement.
Zhongli got out of bed and held his hand out to her. “Shall we have some breakfast before you have to go?” She meekly nodded and took his hand.
Without a word she seated Zhongli at the table. “I would like to make breakfast as my way of saying thanks if that’s okay with you.”
“It isn’t a problem at all.”
“Thank you.” Zhongli looked at Lumine with fondness as she collected the proper ingredients and began cooking. There were many rumors of how amazing her cooking was and he was excited to finally try it. Lumine set down two bowls of porridge and two plates of savory crepes.
“It smells amazing Lumine,” he commented.
“I hope it’s to your liking. I can’t say that I’m as amazing as Xiangling but Paimon and I have been surviving okay with my cooking.”
“Thank you for the food.” Zhongli got a spoonful of porridge and ate it. Lumine anxiously waited for his reaction. She remembered Xiangling telling her how he often gave tips on how to improve and bring out flavors in her dishes more. “It’s impeccable,” he said.
Lumine couldn’t believe her ears. The highly intellectual Zhongli didn’t have any other comments. “Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to make the dish better?”
“I’m positive. There is no need to add unnecessary ingredients to an already perfect dish.”
His comment made her entire day already. “Thank you,” she grinned.
“By the way Lumine where do you and Paimon spend nights?”
“We just camp out wherever we can.”
“Even in terrible weather conditions?”
“Yep.”
“My place is always open to you and Paimon.”
Lumine almost choked upon hearing his offer. “I couldn’t impose on you like that.”
“Is that so? Can I have a moment of your time after we finish eating?”
“Okay.”
After finishing breakfast, Zhongli guided Lumine to his office. He seated her and set down two cups of freshly brewed tea down on the table. He sat down across from her and slid a piece of paper at her. Lumine looked at him with a curious expression.
“May I ask what this is?”
“A contract.”
“A contract? I haven’t asked for one.”
“I’m requesting that you make one with me.” He looked straight into her eyes. “Lumine, I have grown attached to you. I often catch myself wanting to share things with you and thinking about you. There’s this strange feeling in my chest I have never experienced before. It seems to occur whenever I think about you or see you. I believe it was what mortals call love.”
Her entire face turned red. “Are you saying…”
“Yes. Last night I came to the realization that I have fallen in love with you. If it is alright with you, I wish for you to bind yourself to me as a lover.”
Lumine giggled. “I don’t think couples do these kinds of things.”
Zhongli felt a bit embarrassed. “I apologize. I don’t really know much about these things so I must learn.”
“Don’t be sorry, I like the idea. I think it’s nice to have our own little thing.” Lumine happily wrote down her name on the paper. “I’m new to this as well so I guess we’ll learn together.”
“Thank you for accepting this contract. There is no expiration to this contract as I have no plans on letting you go. Since I am the one that requested for this contract, you are the owner of it. Only you will be able to break the contract if you wish to do so. I will abide with the punishment that follows.”
Lumine carefully folded the paper and put it in her bag. She put her hand on top of his. “Don’t worry, that won’t ever happen.” Zhongli looked at her hand. “Oh sorry, I’ve wanted to do this.” She was about to take her hand off of his but he linked their hands together. He leaned forward and kissed her soft lips.
“And as for me, that’s what I’ve been wanting to do.” Before Lumine could say anything there was a knock on the door.
“Lumine are you in there?!” Paimon huffed.
Lumine let out a gasp. She had completely forgotten about Paimon. “Paimon you may enter,” Zhongli replied in her stead. The door swung wide open and Paimon flew in.
“How could you forget about Paimon?! Xiangling was nice enough to let me sleep over but her panda was scary! Paimon thought she was going get eaten!”
“I’m so sorry Paimon. I-”
“Lumine was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday so she slept the entire day. I hope you’ll be understanding Paimon,” Zhongli said. He gave her a knowing nod and she gave him a small smile.
“Oh...Are you feeling better now Lumine?”
“Yeah I feel a lot better now.”
“In that case, I’ll forgive you! Next time don’t forget Paimon! Come on let’s go! We have a lot of people to help out today!”
“Okay. Paimon can you go ahead of me real quick? I promise I’ll be out soon. There’s just something I have to tell Zhongli.”
“Okay but make it quick!”
After making sure Paimon left, Lumine ran up to Zhongli. She grabbed his collars and pulled him in for a quick kiss. “Until next time!” She quickly ran towards the door.
“Lumine,” he called out to her.
Lumine stopped at the door and looked at him. “Yes?”
“My home is your home. Feel free to come to your beloved’s home anytime.”
Lumine was blushing uncontrollably. “Thanks...Perhaps I’ll drop by sometime soon with Paimon. See you.” Lumine swiftly ran half in embarrassment and half in not wanting to make Paimon wait any longer.
There was a smile on his face as he leaned against the desk. His fingers brushed against the warmth she left on his lips. “I think I can begin to understand why mortals have such a blissful smile on their faces when they see their loved ones.”
Zhongli and Lumine understood there would come a time where they’d be at a crossroads for she was not from this world. Until that day comes, they want to make as many unforgettable memories as possible. “I hope she retains memories of me, even when she goes back to her own world.”