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Peering out from the balcony of his office, he could make out the forms of his two agents near the docks. Just barely. Childe smiled to himself and pat himself on the back. It was about time those two met. It was the least he could do after the whole mess just weeks ago.
Childe sighed, resting his head against his palm as he stared at the lights that shone brightly against the night sky. The laughter of the children reached his ears, tugging at his heart in a bittersweet way.
If he closed his eyes, he could pretend he was back in Snezhnaya, setting up decorations and cooking with his siblings for their festival. He wished he was able to bring his siblings along to experience this festival. At least, he knew what to write for his next letter to Tonia.
“Childe.”
At the sound of his name, Childe opened his eyes and jerked back in surprise. “Z-Zhongli?!” His eyes snapped to the man’s face before peeked over the balcony to see Zhongli standing on a geo construct that was poking out of the ground far below them. “Are you crazy?!”
Zhongli’s face does this weird thing where he doesn’t know whether to smile or be bemused. He settled on gathering his thoughts as he cupped his chin. “No one saw, and I am careful."
“That’s not— You… Ugh, nevermind.” Childe pinched his temples and held back a sigh. “Why are you here?”
“Ah…” Zhongli held up a bottle of alcohol and what looked like…
“Is that a lantern?”
“Yes, I thought to celebrate with you since you were eager to go before…” He explained awkwardly before clearing his throat. “May I?” He gestured at the balcony.
Childe arched an eyebrow as he focused a deadpan stare at the ex-archon. Celebrating the festival with Zhongli of all people was the last thing he wanted to do. Childe opened his mouth and then promptly snapped it shut. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and stepped away. “Fine.”
As Zhongli landed gracefully on his balcony, the pillar retracted, disappearing into the ground like it was never there in the first place. He placed the bottle between them as he sat down next to him on the bench.
“This year's Mingxiao Lantern is dedicated to Skybracer, an adeptus that sacrificed his life to protect Liyue.” Zhongli started. He popped the bottle open and handed it to him. “You will see it once they are ready to release it.”
Childe hummed noncommittedly, trying to not make it seem like Zhongli had his attention because he was still angry with him, damn it. But it was hard to ignore him when he attracted eyes, even if he was quiet.
He took a big gulp of the bottle, vaguely recognizing the taste before handing it back to the owner.
“To keep the village from being crushed, he cut off his antler, blessed with Rex Lapix’s essence, and braced them against the mountain. But his duty was not yet finished.” Zhongli brought the bottle to his lips and took a sip before continuing. “He kept fighting, protecting Liyue against other gods until his life was no more and his blood became the Bishui River.” He tilted the bottle in his hand as he gazed out at the sky, eyes full of nostalgia. “He always liked dandelion wine.”
For a moment, Childe almost fooled himself into thinking that Zhongli was still the consultant with impulsive spending habits. Here Zhongli was, acting as if he didn't slap Childe with the truth and rubbed salt into his wound by giving his gnosis to Signora. Childe decided to get to the point. “Why are you here?”
Zhongli blinked. “To celebrate—”
Childe snorted and snatched the bottle to take another gulp. He kind of wished it was fire-water so he could get drunk. “You can’t expect me to believe that Morax wanted to spend his time with a pawn like me, right? Why? Do you want me to put on another show for you? Pretend we’re friends so you could laugh at me again? Or maybe you want to—”
“No.” Zhongli cut him off firmly with a frown. “That was not my intention to make you feel that way.”
Childe resisted rolling his eyes and turned his face away, so he doesn't have to look at him. He berated himself for not rejecting Zhongli in the first place.
“I hate seafood. Especially octopus.” Zhongli said, throwing Childe off guard from the sudden declaration.
“Uh, what?”
“They’re slimy and have this odor that I do not agree with.” He continued. “I also found it baffling when you took the plate of fish and was going to eat the whole dish while holding your chopsticks like they were forks and spoons.”
“T-That was one time!”
“You’re impulsive, always looking for trouble in the wrong place.” Zhongli cupped his chin as he mused. “You thought it was a good idea to face four ruin guards at the same time and came back all battered, yet you still wanted to attend our dinner. You can also be quite stubborn.”
“Hey,” Childe’s eyebrow twitched as a vein pulsed against his forehead. He forced his lips to smile. “Do you want a fight? Because I can fight you right here and right now.”
Zhongli dared to laugh at him. “But that’s what I like about you.” Excuse him, what now? “Your face lights up and softens when you talk about your siblings, and you went out of your way to make me your special dish even though I cannot eat it. You’ll eat anything, but you enjoy seafood the most.
“And the way you fight, ripping through your enemies like a tidal wave. I found it beautiful. Your eyes have this brightness to them whenever you’re out near the beaches, and you love to hold starconches by your ear and listen to them. Oh, and you have this habit of playing with your ring when you—”
“Enough! Enough!” Childe slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up. He was sure his face was red, judging from how his cheeks felt like they were hot enough to cook an egg. “Where are you going with this?”
Pushing his hand aside, Zhongli pressed his lips together, his brows furrowing like he was… nervous? “I was told ah… a friend showed me that I had made a few miscalculations. So, I came here with items as peace offerings.”
Childe blinked and then blinked again. “You… You’re apologizing?”
“Yes. I had not realized that I made you think our friendship was nothing more than a ploy to my plans.” He explained. He took a moment to take a sip. An act Childe recognized for the man to gather his thoughts. “I truly enjoy our outings. I have not known how I took that for granted until recently.” Zhongli turned to him, pinning him in place with his gaze alone. “Childe, I apologize for hurting you.”
Childe gaped at him like a fish. His mind still hadn’t caught up to what was happening. Was he drunk already? Off of dandelion wine??
But then a lightbulb went off in his head. “The traveler put you up to this, didn’t they?”
Zhongli’s eyes darted away as he covered his mouth in mild embarrassment. “They may have… gave me a little nudge. But my apology is all my own.”
The Traveler and their little friend were too nosy for their own good. Childe made a mental note to get back at them later.
He snorted, leaning back to take a swig out of the bottle and handed it back. “Because it’s a festival, I’m going to postpone our fight later.”
“Of course.” Relief flashed through Zhongli’s eyes as he nodded. “If that is what you wish.”
"I'm still annoyed with you," Childe stressed. He crossed his arms and turned away to say lightheartedly, “But your peace offerings satisfy me for the moment.”
Zhongli chuckled and reached beside him to hold up a lantern. “It’s about time Liyue should be releasing the lanterns. Would you like to try to send one up as well?”
“Oh?” Childe looked at it closely, noting the design on it as well as the strange stone in the center of it. “Yes, let’s! Wait, what do you need to do?”
“Nothing. The plaustrite shard within it has the ability to make some things levitate. Its abilities are quite fascinating. Here.” Zhongli moved to hand it over to him, but Childe placed his hands over his, stopping him.
"There's only one, and you brought it all this way.” He grinned at the look of surprise on Zhongli’s face. “Let’s release it together.”
Zhongli was momentary still before he nodding, giving him a look of serenity in return. “I would like that.”
Childe glanced at him and then back at the lantern. Slowly, they let go, and Childe watched in awe as it floated with nothing but a shard of stone instead of flames. The lantern wobbled slightly before steadying as it went up.
“It reminds me of something similar we have back home…” Childe smiled softly as he watched it float up to the others in the sky. "It's beautiful, huh?" The lack of response had him turn to catch Zhongli staring at him.
His face flushed once more when he realized they hadn’t let go of each other’s hands. Zhongli closed his eyes, squeezing his hands with a smile.
“It is indeed.”