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Childe hadn’t really been sure where he stood with Zhongli after the whole Osial fiasco and was worried about any future interactions being more than slightly awkward. How were you supposed to interact with someone who you thought you knew, but it turns out you really didn’t?
He had debated with himself about if he should talk to the consultant for days, and instead of facing the problem, Childe had simply gone out on a debt-collecting spree. There would be no overdue loans while he was avoiding every single one of his problems. Andrei had complimented his work ethic, saying that he had never seen Childe so motivated about his job at the bank before, and although Childe knew it was meant to be a compliment, it really only made the lack of Zhongli in his life over the past few days even more apparent. It was hard to be productive or enthusiastic about debt-collecting when before, he could just have gone for totally-not-romantic evening strolls with Zhongli by the docks while calling it ‘information gathering’.
He had to admit it: he missed those times. Childe almost wished that Zhongli’s little ‘deal’ with the Tsaritsa and… ugh... La Signora (he couldn’t stand that woman sometimes) had been a little more discreet so he could keep living in ignorance of the fact that Zhongli was actually just Rex Lapis in disguise.
So yes, he was a bit conflicted about what he wanted to do regarding this situation.
Zhongli, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have the same reservations. According to Ekaterina, he had come by the Northland bank a few times to inquire about Childe’s whereabouts, but Childe had been out every single time he had asked. It wasn’t that Childe wanted to avoid Zhongli, per se, but he needed some time and space to figure himself out.
Zhongli was probably confused about why Childe hadn’t gone to meet him for dinner, or even why he hadn’t been there like the knight he always claimed himself to be in his letters to his sister, except one armed with a wallet full of mora instead of a sword. He could, of course, be armed with a sword quite quickly if needed, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that to Zhongli, Childe was probably nothing more than a speck of dust in comparison to the thousands of years he had been a god, so of course he wouldn’t get hung up over this the same way Childe was.
Regardless, Childe didn’t care if people (read: Ekaterina) called him a coward (for the last time, he wasn’t a coward), he would figure things out with Zhongli at his own pace. And if that pace happened to be slower than watching grass grow, well, that wasn’t his problem, now was it?
(It kind of was, but admitting that would be like admitting Ekaterina was right. Childe had too much pride for that.)
When he returned to the Northland Bank after a long day of collecting debts from various individual people and businesses around Liyue, he felt the good kind of tired. It was the kind of tiredness that happened when you had a good workout, or when you simply crashed after the adrenaline rush of finally succeeding in something, or, in Childe’s case, bringing a lot more local business to the Wangsheng Funeral parlour.
He yawned as he walked into the bank and his shoes made noise on the carefully polished floor as he walked. When he stretched his arms above his head and then rolled his shoulders backward to get rid of the tense feeling in them, he felt his shirt ride up slightly and expose his stomach. A few giggles came from some of the women who were also in the bank, and Childe decided to humour them with a playful wink, which only made them giggle more and whisper amongst themselves.
He heard the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind him and he froze. The deep voice was as familiar to him as Ekaterina’s was and it was one he hadn’t heard in a little while. Childe tried not to grimace as he turned around, already knowing that Zhongli was the one standing there.
“Childe,” he said with that calm and composed voice of his, “it has been a while.”
Childe nodded awkwardly and looked everywhere but at Zhongli’s eyes. He didn’t know what it was about them, but he swore that the man could simply look at anyone and they would agree to do whatever he wanted them to do. Maybe that was why Childe himself hadn’t hesitated to open his wallet and pay for anything that Zhongli wanted. It would definitely explain some things.
“So it has,” he remarked cooly and decided to wait for Zhongli to say something. He was the one who had come to talk with him, so he hoped that the man actually had a plan for this.
They both kind of just… stood there.
After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Childe decided to speak up.
“So, um, Xiansheng… was there something you needed?”
Zhongli glanced around the bank before he nodded. “Yes, but I do not believe this is a conversation fit for public ears.”
The women who heard this declaration began to whisper even more frantically and started shooting glances at the two of them. Zhongli didn’t seem to care about the attention, but Childe also didn’t want to have this kind of discussion anywhere where someone could hear about it and spread it as Liyue’s gossip of the day.
“Alright,” he sighed and gestured to the stairs that would lead to his ‘office’. It was an office in name only, really, since he never used it; however, it would do well enough for this.
He offered Zhongli a chair, and the man took a seat with the same grace that he always seemed to have. His posture was impeccable and it kind of made Childe feel bad for slouching in his own chair, but he brushed the thought aside and looked up at Zhongli expectantly.
“I wished to apologize for what happened,” the man began. “I had not realized that you would feel hurt or upset.”
Childe sighed. “I don’t think I was hurt by the deception itself - that happens all the time in my line of work. I’ve been deceived and used before and it will happen again, that doesn’t bother me.”
He leaned forward in his chair and made sure to stare right at Zhongli.
“What hurts the most is that it was you deceiving me. I’ve never had my guard up around you, so I suppose I should have expected you to be able to hit me where it hurts.”
Zhongli looked down at the table, and Childe could swear that he saw Zhongli’s hands clench up a bit in his guilt. “It was never my intention to do that to you. I am truly sorry.”
He looked so genuine and so (dare he say it?) pitiful when he looked at him that way, that Childe could only sigh and look away.
“I can’t stay mad at you if I try,” he muttered, and Zhongli looked at him with a slightly confused and lost expression.
“Childe? Did you say something?”
“No, it was nothing,” he replied, waving him away. “I accept your apology. Honestly, I’m surprised that you still even want to talk to me. I did try to drown the entire harbour.”
Zhongli chuckled slightly, bringing a hand up in front of his mouth, and Childe tried to not find it endearing.
“But you didn’t, and if it wasn’t for my plan in the first place, you never would have been involved.”
He smiled at Childe. It was a struggle to not let how stunned he was show on his face.
“I have been missing our evening outings as well and I hope that you are amenable to continuing them,” Zhongli said, continuing the conversation as if he hadn’t just given Childe a heart attack simply by smiling. “I am glad that you were actually here today so I could ask.”
Childe flushed red. “Xiansheng, if I didn’t know better, I would think that you’re asking me out on a date.”
Zhongli looked up at him with an adorable slightly confused smile on his face. “Is that not what those have always been?”
That was it. Childe was dead. Gone. Deceased.
Somebody go apologize to his family for him because he had just been killed by the man he (kinda, sorta, definitely) had had a crush on for the past few months.
“Um, well…”
Wow Ajax, how eloquent, he thought. How about you just go stumbling over your words for the rest of the day just to be extra impressive?
Zhongli reached across the desk and grabbed onto his hand.
“Would seven tomorrow night at Wanmin work for you?” he asked, and all Childe could do was nod wordlessly. If he opened his traitorous mouth right now, he definitely wouldn’t say anything coherent.
With a quick squeeze of his hand (he absentmindedly wondered what that would feel like without their gloves in the way), Zhongli stood up. “I will see you at the restaurant. For our date.”
“Yeah. I’ll uh… see you there.”
So he had a date. Cool. He could totally handle this.
He totally couldn’t handle this, Childe realized as he frantically tried to figure out what he was going to wear, what he was going to say, and even what he would order.
He had gotten halfway ready before Andrei popped by and reminded him that he had another debt to collect that day, and he had to completely undo everything he had just done because there was no way in hell he was getting his nice(er) clothes dirty before meeting up with Zhongli that night.
The date was still on his mind though, and unfortunately, he found himself distracted. Naturally, he was imagining running his fingers through Zhongli’s ponytail - maybe even brushing his hair for him in a totally not homoerotic way - at just the wrong moment while he was fighting a group of Treasure Hoarders. A sharp pain pulled him out of his daydream and Childe pushed the pain to the side instead of caring about it, and made sure to make their deaths extra satisfying.
Childe sighed as he looked at his arm, already knowing that it was broken. He snapped some branches off of the nearby trees and used those with his long scarf to create a makeshift splint that would last him until he got back to Liyue Harbour. Naturally, it was his dominant hand too.
He grimaced, but hopefully, it wasn’t too bad.
Upon returning to the bank, Ekaterina took one look at him and his arm before ordering him to turn around and go straight to Bubu Pharmacy, since apparently, Baizhu was qualified to treat things like that. Not wanting to deal with her displeasure, Childe obliged.
A couple of hours and several thousand mora later, Childe left the Pharmacy (which he thought really should be called a doctor’s office and pharmacy at this point) with a cast on his arm.
He wouldn’t even be able to hold a fork with his arm like this, let alone something requiring finesse like chopsticks. The shallow part of his mind was happy that at least this time he had an excuse for not being able to use them.
Getting ready (again) for the date went a bit slower than it had before, but Childe managed as well as he could given the situation. He probably should have taken some painkillers or something, but he forgot in his rush to make it to the Wanmin Restaurant in time.
Zhongli was already engrossed in a conversation with Xiangling and Chef Mao by the time he arrived, and only the pain in his arm made him remember not to lift it up and wave. Xiangling caught sight of him and eagerly turned to greet him.
“Welcome back- what happened to you!?”
Childe laughed and tried to seem nonchalant, knowing that her outburst had drawn Zhongli and her father’s attention. “I was a bit distracted today, but don’t worry. I heal fast.”
Zhongli looked only somewhat concerned as he sat down for dinner (Childe pretended he wasn’t disappointed), and Xiangling brought out the dishes that the consultant had ordered before Childe had arrived. She was about to give him a pair of chopsticks but hesitated for a second before setting them down.
“Um, will you be able to eat with your arm like that?” she asked nervously.
“Don’t worry,” he laughed. “I’m ambidextrous.”
Xiangling smiled shakily and set down the chopsticks. “Just holler if you need a fork, okay?”
He smiled back. “I will, thank you.”
Zhongli gestured to his seat. “Come and eat, and let your arm rest on the table.”
Childe sat down and struggled to hold the chopsticks in his left hand. He already knew that he probably looked more than awkward, but couldn’t really do anything about it. He groaned as yet another Jade Parcel slipped out of the grip of his chopsticks and fell back onto the plate.
“Xiansheng… you won’t take pity on me and help me out?” he whined. Screw dignity.
Zhongli glanced up at him and sighed, skillfully picking up the dropped parcel with his chopsticks. Childe closed his eyes and opened his mouth, expecting to be fed, but when nothing was placed in his mouth, he opened his eyes and frowned.
Zhongli had put it in his own mouth instead. Betrayed once again.
“Xiansheng, why would you deceive me like this?”
“Oh?” Zhongli asked with a small smile on his face. “You said you are ambidextrous, is that not correct?”
He pursed his lips slightly into a pout. “It is, but-”
“Then you are capable of feeding yourself. You may use a fork if that would make it easier,” Zhongli told him. Childe pouted, but gave in and used a fork for the rest of the meal. It was still a pleasant date, and he made sure to embarrass the stoic funeral parlour consultant by giving him a loud kiss on the cheek at the end of the meal, much to Xiangling’s delight.
“How about another date tomorrow night?” Childe whispered into his ear while giving him a tight hug. Zhongli shuddered slightly, making Childe laugh. “Does Xinyue Kiosk sound okay?”
Zhongli flushed red and nodded. “Yes, that sounds fine.”
“Will you feed me next time, Xiansheng?” He asked, only half-joking. Zhongli looked away.
“Is that necessary? You would not be embarrassed?”
Childe shook his head. “Not at all, it’s sweet. Are you, perhaps, the one who would be embarrassed?”
Zhongli’s silence was the only answer he needed.
(Childe arrived at the restaurant the next night for their second date with his other arm in a cast and a large smile on his face. Zhongli only sighed and shook his head, but ended up feeding him the entire meal. Somehow, it tasted even better than usual.)
(“Hey, Xiansheng?” “Yes, Childe?” “Maybe I need to break my arms every time we have a date so you will feed me from now on.” “... Please don’t.”)