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Zhongli love Childe, would always love Childe with a love that stained his fingers and lips like a pomegranate, needy and ruinous and wine-dark, consuming like a midnight sky on a starless night against a weak and trembling moon trying not to be swallowed whole. The love that he held for Childe is deeper than the ocean and as vast as space, like two lonely atoms at the beginning of time gravitating towards one another.
But why does the Geo Archon loves the youngest harbinger this much? He's ruthless and merciless. His eyes are cold and his harsh words are as sharp as a sword. Why did Zhongli love this young man? Is it because of his soft hair that have the same color as the sunset? Or is it because of his deep ocean like blue eyes that shines whenever he talks about his family? Zhongli doesn't know the answer. The only thing that he knows is that he loves this mortal standing right in front of him, a huge grin plastered on his beautiful face while he talks about his younger brother.
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Zhongli closed his eyes, ready to die. But, he didn't feel any pain, he wandered what went wrong. Yes, he's an archon but he already gave up his Gnosis. He can still live long, but he can die.
He slowly opened his eyes, he was struck with a worse kind of pain. The ravenette gasped, tears started flowing down from his eyes.
"𝙏𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙖, 𝙬𝙝𝙮...?" Zhongli sobbed, looking at the youngest fatui in front of him. It was Childe, his beloved. Smiling at him, shielding him from the three arrows behind his back.
But why would Childe do this? Why would he betray Snezhnaya and turn his back on Tsaritsa?
For Zhongli, for his lover.
"𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚.." Childe said, coughing out blood. "...𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚." He continued with a soft smile. He slowly started wiping Zhongli's tears with his shaky fingers.
Tartaglia succeeded. He killed everyone who's against Zhongli. He protected his beloved, he did his purpose. Now, he can rest.
"𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚." Zhongli said, holding Childe's hand so tightly like his life depended on it.
"𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙄'𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪.." Childe mumbles before collapsing into the ground, Zhongli catching him and slowly puts him down. Laying the others head on his lap.
"𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚." Childe tries to speak, reaching up to touch Zhongli's soft cheek. "𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪." Childe said before heaving his last breath with a sad smile.
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There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it means giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater.
But, sometimes it doesn't.
Sometimes it is nothing more than gritting your teeth through the pain and start moving forward. For a better tomorrow, not just for yourself, but it's also for the sake of others.
Wasn't love supposed to heal? Then why did it leave him with his heart in his stomach and his hands feeling ice-cold without the warmth of anybody else to hold it?
It was too domestic, too painful to come home to when the bed was empty and cold and the only ones around weren't capable of fixing the gaping hole inside of him. It's hard to accept the fact that Tartaglia is gone.
Zhongli said he love him, he promised to protect him, he promised forever.
But, he still failed 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣. He failed both Guizhong and Tartaglia.