Work Text:
You were busy trying to catch the mooncake crumbs spilling out of your mouth when Zhongli had asked that seemingly innocent question.
"Would you like to accompany me back to my place for some tea?"
You stopped in your tracks, tongue swiping at the corner of your lips as you blinked up at him.
"Your place?" You replied. Zhongli simply nodded with that imperceptible smile of his and you felt yourself go through the five stages of grief while thinking up a response. It was unlike Zhongli to mince his words, you thought to yourself, but this was Zhongli, and after spending months liaising with him you had discovered that he had an air of cluelessness about him that made him come off as uncharacteristically innocent, and frustratingly so.
“I believe that drinking something warm will ease our throats. After all, we did spend a lot of time together discussing, debating and—” Zhongli chuckled, watching you concentrating on eating the remaining dessert, then gestured a hand towards you, “and digesting”.
You followed Zhongli’s hand right above your lips to the look of pure mirth in his eyes and felt your cheeks grow hot. It was then that you knew, without a doubt, that Zhongli was unaware of the effect he had on you and what was there left to do but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. The noise startled Zhongli, who blinked at you curiously, and you couldn’t help but grin at him.
"Forgive me if this comes across as rude, but sometimes it is hard to believe that you are the geo archon.” Not once did Zhongli’s eyes leave you as you spoke. "You're very strange," you added, soft compared to how loud your heart thrummed against your chest.
The corners of Zhongli's lips quirked upwards. "And you have no respect for the divine.”
“E-excuse me?"
Zhongli hid a smile behind his hand that posed below his chin as if to think. "What kind of civilian ignores one’s urgent request? I will not be so offended if you choose to decline my offer."
"Is it really that urgent that I accompany you back to your place for tea?" You asked, completely ignoring the suggestion that Zhongli was to be upset if you didn’t join him for tea. “Because I was just thinking over your proposal and—”
"Yes,” he responded. You glanced back up at Zhongli, who met your eyes all too easily, and then settled with staring at his eyebrows instead. This was already too much for your heart to handle. How much further did he want to go!?
“Ok, Ok! Fine, I’ll go back to your place and have tea with you!” You answered louder than you had anticipated. But before your mind could catch up with your words, Zhongli extended his arm out for you to take.
“Come, please,” he pleaded. “I would hate to lose my houseguest in this crowd.”
*
Zhongli thought he had mastered the art of nonchalance by now, but with you by his side, holding his hand like your life depended on it—and it really felt like it did when he was guiding you through the thickening crowd—he felt himself letting go of every inhibition he had with each glance he casted upon you.
You were all smiles and breathless laughter; light on your feet as you ran through the crowd with an even lighter feeling in your heart. And there Zhongli was, relishing the warmth of your hand in his, and the glow of the lanterns above embracing the adoration in your face as you marvelled at all the beautiful festivities. He could feel his heart constricting now, and it made him yearn for the years to come where he could spend every Mid-Autumn festival watching you enjoy life as it was, and what it could be.
“I was beginning to think we wouldn’t make it out alive,” you jested once you arrived at the door to Zhongli’s home. It wasn’t really a home; he had once told you. It didn’t make sense back then, but now you knew that Zhongli didn’t really rest anywhere. This was all just a formality, whatever that meant.
Zhongli laughed gingerly. “Please, come in.” He slowly unwound his hand from yours, and gently placed a hand behind your back, guiding you in. That nervousness you thought you had left behind at the festival was making its way back into your system, making your throat close up and pushing you to nod silently instead.
“I’ll make us some tea so please take a seat where comfortable. It won’t take long,” Zhongli said, gesturing to a tiny round table on the balcony. You made your way to the round table on the balcony and as nervous as you were, you could still appreciate the wide open windows and hear the ambience of the festival goers getting ready to watch the fireworks.
Zhongli was really dense sometimes. And he really did want to have some tea with you and nothing else so you felt a bit silly thinking that Zhongli would even think about you in that way.
“Jasmine tea.” Your thoughts were interrupted by the placement of a golden teapot and teacup on the bamboo mat in front of you. “To protect your heart.” Zhongli steadied his gaze towards you and that alone had you receding back into a flustered daze.
“Thank you.” You responded, quickly bringing the teacup to your lips. Zhongli noticed your cheeks getting warm to the touch and lamented on how his fingers wished to do just that.
“My heart?” You whispered, eyes not leaving the teacup.
Zhongli cleared his throat. “Oh, I just mean that it may help prevent any ailments to do with your heart.”
“Oh, right. I see.” You didn’t know what had gotten into you, but you could feel your fingers gripping the teacup tighter anyway. Maybe it was the realisation that you had let your imagination run rampant again or maybe it was the longing that you tried to keep hidden inside. But you hadn’t even done anything to garner such attention from a man, let alone a god. So what were you expecting, really?
The dimmed candles around Zhongli’s place, and the companionable silence that shrouded you both were all things that you tried to focus on to help you remain present.
And then, fireworks.
You watched them alongside Zhongli, sipping Jasmine tea and smiling ever so often at one another. The screeches of children in the streets brought comfort to your heart that felt like it was sinking but maybe you could be content, perhaps, of what you have now.
After the fireworks had died down, you decided that it was truly time to leave.
“We still have a lot of work to do tomorrow, but I do sincerely hope you remember to take a break and join me if you can,” Zhongli said, gathering your jacket and belongings.
“I’ll be seeing you,” you said with a small smile.
“Yes,” Zhongli smiled and leaned in closer, “it is always a pleasure to spend time with you.” You looked up at him as he helped put your jacket over your shoulders and you felt your heart squeeze once more.
“And you, Zhongli.”
He really was too much for your heart to handle.
*
*
*
Epilogue:
The next morning, Zhongli felt like he really had to talk to Ningguang about what happened last night with you. Not that anything did happen, but he was sure that you expected something else was going to happen. Besides the hours of talking and then not talking… there was something that changed in your expression towards the end of the night, and it made him very worried.
Zhongli didn’t even book an appointment with Ningguang. He wasn’t even sure that she would allow him into her quarters but Ningguang happened to walk past you in the morning before you started work and saw the look on your face and call it women’s intuition, but she just knew in that moment that Zhongli had fucked up.
So when Zhongli had started explaining that he had spent the evening with you, walking around, eating, talking, and enjoying the festivities, Ningguang’s eyebrows rose higher and higher as more of your night together was revealed. But then he even had the audacity to ask her:
“Is it no longer customary for people of Liyue to invite people over to their homes for tea?”
Ningguang blinked as if she had just seen what Hu Tao and others have proclaimed as Zhongli's air-headedness for the very first time. “Depends on the context. Now if you invited them to your place after spending a whole evening together, and talking as you just told me you did, then—”
“I did.”
“Yes, I know you did and that is why I just want to say,” Ningguang sighed deeply, “really, old man?”
Zhongli blinked, not knowing what else to say against that fact.
“Were you ever this crass with Guizhong?”
Zhongli flushed. “In truth, she did most of the courting.”
"Figures." Ningguang pinched the bridge of her nose. “But how could you be so clueless about the insinuations behind such words? It is common knowledge amongst the people of Liyue that asking someone that you may or may not be courting to have tea with you —back at the place where you SLEEP — implies that you want to, to put it bluntly, have sex with them.”
Zhongli made an indiscriminate noise. Ningguang crossed her legs and waved him off. “You can take your leave now. I have work to do.”
After being kicked out of Ningguang's office, Zhongli was left to stand, shocked, in the middle of Liyue Harbour with a visible dust of pink smattered across his cheeks and too many thoughts running through his head.
How could he face you now? This god was scared.