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Childe's eyes were like the ocean.
Deep, dark, and blue, it could scare off any normal human, with how terrifying the color of those deep blue irises could be.
...It fits him, in a way.
In old times, when Teyvat was ruled by gods and gods were ruled by war, there was no shortage of gods in the ocean. Many fought for the complete victory of the domain, and as it was there was never an ocean god who let other creatures stray too far into the deep– for those who come in cannot ever come out.
Childe is an enigma– a strange bundle of hyperactivity and barely-concealed bloodlust packed in a fallible mortal body, and he is an enigma that fits the puzzle of the old ocean quite well. Let those who stray too far in your depths be devoured, and those who pose a challenge be entertained.
Of course, all mortals have their limits– but Childe is much more different a normal mortal. His limits know no bounds and it's hard to know what makes him truly tick, unless one has spent enough time with him or were observant enough to deem him a curious threat.
Zhongli finds him.. interesting, to say the least.
No mortal should hold that amount of power coming from the Abyss. It's phenomenal that Childe has survived this long without said power consuming him completely.
That being said, Zhongli finds him interesting in other ways as well.
Childe hardly hesitates whenever he has to pay for one of Zhongli's splurges, something that the god is deeply embarrassed by, and though at first he assumed it was to get on his good side and earn his trust for business matters, he came to realize it was not just that.
Sometimes, when he is out and about during days where Childe is not often by his side, he spots the redhead by toy stalls, purchasing kites and dolls to give to little kids to play with and sometimes even playing with them. He sees him paying for people's things when they seem to have run out of money and has seen him help the eldery run certain chores unfit to do by themselves at their age.
Zhongli came to realize Childe is a kind person.
(How ironic, the pawn in his plan he expected to be a cold, uncaring demon is a person full of warmth and sunshine that makes Morax feel as if something had awakened in him, something that made him long for Childe, for his touch and his smile and the way his hair reflects sunlight.)
Childe is a Harbinger who has committed many atrocious crimes and acted far worse against certain important persons, and if Cloud Retainer or Xiao had known he had begun to develop feelings for the boy, they would have admonished him for such a terrible pick in partner, Morax, what is with your tastes? but in the end, they cannot do anything else but that– they all have done far worse things than the reckless mortal, after all.
Zhongli is used to Childe's company.
He is used to spending most mornings not seeing a tail or hair of the boy, then said boy showing up at noon to treat him for an extravagantly prepared lunch at Wanmin Restaurant or Liuli Pavilion, and then walking with him to the markets to view the new ores and carvings in stock or, on a rare occasion, going with him outside of Liyue Harbor to explore Dihua Marsh or Guili Plains.
He is used to Childe's company– it's a new sensation to get along so well with someone who feels like they know him, truly know him, even though Childe knows far too little about Zhongli's real identity as the god whose Gnosis he is after and.. a lot of Zhongli in general, really.
But he finds it does not matter, for Childe stays by his side genuinely finding Zhongli interesting and a waste not to be with, and he gives and gives yet never expects anything and return, no contracts or heavy words, just fun and good company.
When Zhongli first realizes he has fallen for Childe, he does not fret.
Instead, he closes his eyes, takes a sip of his tea, and thinks of sunlight-reflecting hair and storm-swallowing eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~
If there was one thing Childe knew to do, it was to not get attached.
In his line of work, getting attached to anyone is a fatal mistake– comrades die, outsiders get threatened or die, enemies are torn down, and everyone is in a life or death situation.
Childe would rather not drag an unsuspecting lover into the dangers and horrors of his world, thank you very much.
But Zhongli was different– as different as ‘different’ could get.
He was associated with the Fatui– or at least his workplace was– and therefore was entirely unfazed by Childe's wonderful, wonderful mentality caused by work trauma, and seemed to be more set on wringing Childe's wallet out dry with a completely straight face.
Childe wasn't gonna lie– Zhongli was handsome. Infuriatingly so. And also incredibly charming, with his deep voice that could cause a Melt reaction and calm, (eerily) glowing amber eyes that reminded him briefly of flashing, Geo-constructed shields, as well as seemingly endless knowledge about everything and anything.
Childe doubted there was anything that Zhongli didn't know or at least heard of. That man's flaws were practically impossible to find, if you ignore his blatant forgetfulness of his wallet (or even a single Mora), which somehow added to his charm and air of mystery that had Liyue's maidens muttering.
Also, you really couldn't get mad at Zhongli whenever he forgets the money to pay for overly expensive stuff, because he gets all sincere and apologetic with an almost kicked-puppy face and nearly pouted lips that could crack the hardest of hearts.
Scaramouche would laugh, sneer, and call him a smitten, biased idiot, but Childe swore he wasn't the only one. Even random tourists and Millelith soldiers could only sigh and shake their heads before pulling out their wallets.
Childe liked Zhongli. More than he probably should. Was it considered treason to fall in love with a citizen belonging to another god?
Turns out, it was. It most definitely was treason– because Childe did fall in love with a harmless citizen from a different nation belonging to a different god. He fell in love with the god himself.
..Okay, yeah, maybe it was obvious that Zhongli was Rex Lapis. But could you blame him? It's not like anyone would expect that Rex Lapis wandered the mortal realm just for fun and disguised himself (badly) to fit in. It just wasn't very.. common sense.
Childe was bad with words. Signora laughed at him for it on more than one occasion.
Still, Childe was more or less pissed off that he was used as a pawn in Zhong- Rex Lapis' and Her Majesty's plan, and even more pissed off that Zhongli didn't bother to tell him (at the very least, he could have told Childe he was an adeptus). Seriously, he thought they were friends!
(He ignored the little voice in his head that told him he thought of them as possibly more than friends, which was more or less shattered when Zhongli's real identity was revealed.)
Childe sulked the remaining two weeks he had left in Liyue away, hardly coming out of his quarters or the Northland Bank other than to do heaps of paperwork in an attempt to lessen his subordinates' workload. Then the Traveler had informed him of Teucer's shenanigans, and just like that Childe's sulky habits were burned away.
Later, in the middle of their little, Ruin Guard-happy journey, the Traveler had turned to them with serious eyes and an even more serious voice after they sent Paimon and Teucer several feet away, and told him–
Zhongli wants to talk to you.
Had it been a different person that those words came out of their mouth, Childe would have punched them in the face.
Since it was his favorite Traveler, however, he gave in and talked to Zhongli, and suddenly his life turned. Again.
~~~~~~~~
It goes without saying that Zhongli and Childe's relationship was a little complicated.
First with their statuses as immortal and mortal, and then their differing personalities and several opinions as well as political problems that were caused by them being in a romantic relationship, and everything else that came with it.
The Tsaritsa threw a fit and nearly started a war with Liyue. There was that.
In the end she grudgingly gave Zhongli her blessing to marry Childe– which both of them were very relieved for– and then Zhongli met Childe's family, with his curious older siblings and excited younger ones along with his joyful mother and silent father.
Their story wasn't an ‘all is well’ story. Obviously not– they had and will have many more rough patches in their relationship that they'll have to fix together, but communication is key and Zhongli is a stubborn idiot but so is Childe.
But it goes without saying that they loved each other– loved each other enough they would face Celestia and walk into the Abyss backwards while holding hands– if it ever came to that.
It goes without saying that they didn't have a fairy tale ending– fairy tale endings don't exist, but happy endings do, and Childe and Zhongli loved each other enough that, in the end, it didn't really matter, as long as they were both happy– then who could stop them?
Celestia could certainly try.
FIN.