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He carried you on your side, your arm slung over his shoulder as you both entered a dark, inconspicuous cave. “This should do.” As you went in deeper, both of you stopped, and he gingerly placed you on the ground with your body slumped against the wall.
“Hold on.” You felt his hands let go of you as he moved away. You couldn’t see him well as you heard him move in the darkness, but after a while, light illuminated the inside of the cave. Warmth instantly filled the atmosphere, and your eyes fell on a small campfire on the ground.
You gripped your side hard as you felt another wave of sharp pain amidst your broken, heavy breathing. He took notice of it; nothing ever escaped him. In just a few strides, he was immediately at your side, crouched, and his face was at the same level with yours.
“Let me take a look,” he said coolly, his eyes fixed on your hand covering your side. His stare lifted from your waist to your face, his intense amber eyes boring into yours. You flinched a little and looked away, and you were certain it wasn’t because of the pain.
“May I?” He asked you in the same collected tone, his hand outstretched towards your waist. Still looking away and a bit embarrassed, you nodded at him. You released your grip from your bleeding waist, and soon you found his fingers lightly touching the hem of your top.
You held your breath as he carefully lifted your clothes just beneath your chest. Amidst the pain, you felt your face grow warm, your heart beating fast. In other circumstances, you had idly imagined yourself in a similar situation with the man before you. But not exactly this kind of situation. You were deeply wounded -- with your energy slowly depleting -- and if not treated right away would surely lead to serious consequences. His cool fingers touched your aching skin while he examined your wound, and you hissed as you felt another sharp pain.
There was really no one else to blame but yourself, you thought. If it hadn’t been for your stupidity, none of this would have happened. The Geo Archon would have quickly ended the battle on his own, but in your impulse to prove your worth, you stepped in to offer assistance. And you could fight; in fact, you possessed great strength and skills that were famed across the lands of Teyvat. But you weren’t of the same caliber with the enemy; his strength was far superior than yours. But, this didn’t hinder you from stepping in to fight. In your desire to help your companion, you drew out your sword and stood in between him and the enemy. But it was a delusion you wanted yourself to believe in. He never really needed your help, for how could he when he was a god, and you -- only a mere mortal?
A mortal, made of flesh and blood. Your abilities and (self-questionable) beauty were bound to the constraints of the human vessel, while he was a celestial -- perfection, excellence. Even in his human form, he was ethereally beautiful. Your eyes gazed over his pale, unblemished porcelain skin, which then traveled towards his dark, black hair that lightened to amber hues down to its tips. Your gaze then traveled along his strong arms, now exposed as he rolled up his sleeves. His immaculate hands, now ungloved and equally exposed, gently fluttered over your skin as he tended to your wound.
You admired the deity before you, and you felt your heart swell in both joy and hurt, at the same time. For such a long time, you had loved him. From the very first time you had laid your eyes on him, you had wanted him. And in the adventures that you had undertaken with him, in the battles that you had accompanied him in, there was really no one else whom you’d fight for. No one else whom you’d serve. No one else whom you’d gladly give your life to. No one else but him.
And yet, although he was the cause of your joy, he was also the cause of your loneliness. The source of the conflict in your heart. As far as you knew, the affection you harbored for him was not reciprocated. During all the time he had spent with you, his demeanor towards you had always been professional and distant. And how could he possibly feel the same way? You were only human; you could never satisfy him. Your wisdom and knowledge of the world and even beyond earthly matters were nothing compared to his. Your weakness might even disgust him, and your beauty might bore him. He was eternal, and you were ephemeral. Time was on his side, never aging, while it never would be on yours, your body eventually turning to ash and withering away.
But as you watched him care for you, you couldn’t help but notice how there was a feel of extra gentleness in his touch. Something that wasn’t there before. His fingers, although methodically worked on closing your wound, also gingerly touched your skin as if you were delicate. You watched his usually stoic face soften slightly when he had finally closed your wound, and for a brief moment, saw relief wash over him. As soon as he had covered the wound, his hands then travelled to your face, tending to the minor bruises and cuts. There was something comforting yet puzzling about his touch as you felt his fingers linger for a while on your skin before moving on to the next wound. As your eyes fell on his usually impassive face, there was again a hint of softness in his eyes that was more pronounced than before. And even though his gaze flitted over your wounds, to you, it felt more like they were searching your face. You saw how his eyes drag themselves painfully slow from one area to the next with a lingering softness. As if memorizing your features. As if taking in the sight before him. As if you were a precious thing to behold.
He finished tending to the last wound on your face. “There, all done.” His words hinted at the finality, and yet his fingers still lingered on your skin. You stared at his amber eyes and held his gaze. Is it possible? Baffled by his gesture, your widened eyes frantically searched his face for signs of reciprocation, of any indication of a returned affection. Anything to confirm your suspicions. For your dreams to be realized. To give you hope that it is possible for someone like him to love someone like you.
As his hands finally lowered and his fingers left your face, you reached out to grab his hand, your fingers gently closing around his. You felt the warmth of his skin, of blood flowing through his veins. For a moment, you had forgotten who he truly was and believed he was just the same as you: completely human, someone who was easily within your reach.
You smiled softly at him, the corner of your eyes crinkling. “Thank you,” you breathed out as you continued to gaze tenderly at him, not caring if your emotions were already giving you away. It felt like eternity when Zhongli’s slightly surprised eyes held your stare, and after a while, he finally returned the smile.
Instinctively, your thumb ever so gently brushed against his fingers. As you released his hand and he looked away from you, you noticed a glint in his eyes that certainly wasn’t there before.