Chapter Text
The event is a huge success.
The turnout, it appears, is pretty spectacular, even at its first half an hour. A stream of people wearing different masks with intricate designs from other nations arrived quickly. Considering how hard the Liyue Qixing has worked for it, it's no surprise that it would be well-received by others, too. Soon, the place is packed with masked people mingling with each other over champagne and small bites of finger foods.
But, of course, with a social event this big, the Tianquan's secretaries have made sure to employ the right people to protect it. They contacted the people from the Archons Association, an organization of the seven strongest people alive, all hail from seven different nations. That's also why this organization has a contract to work with the lowest of profiles as possible for it has the potential to incite an incredible proportion of disorder among society itself, and when asked where the hell the Tianquan found such people, she would smile and say, "Trade secret."
Looking after an event such as this shouldn't be too hard of a duty for these seven people--as long as the price is right, they're always ready.
Zhongli is one of these seven. Presenting the nation of Liyue for as long as he can remember, he adopted the codename Morax and is known as the Lord of the Rock amongst his peers for his fighting style and infamous stoic countenance (mostly for his fighting style). Although the organization has never had an official leader they abide to, the six other "Archons" consider Zhongli as their de facto leader since he's the oldest and maybe the strongest also--a debatable status since the same six people would fight for being the strongest and avoid being called lesser than the others, even though they would never admit it out loud. It's all a matter of pride, in which Zhongli has never taken any interest.
Clad in his black tuxedo that bleeds into at least three different shades of brown at the end of his pants and sleeves of his jacket, he sips on his champagne under his matching dragon mask and re-adjusts the bow tie that is constricting his neck, mentally cursing that brat Barbatos for his unauthorized "help." Zhongli hasn't worn a tuxedo in years . He does wear his suit, occasionally, but a tuxedo is a whole different business. He surely needed the help, but not from Barbatos!
He stands on the periphery to avoid socializing--even though he really likes imparting his one thousand and one knowledge on many things, but when he's uncomfortable like this, he just can't--and focus more on watching over the growing crowd. In the back of his mind, the nagging feeling of brewing trouble behind all of this sounds very plausible to him. It's no surprise since this event takes place in the Jade Chamber, the Tianquan's palace, as a show of wealth and achievement of Liyue. He knows that they have stored her valuables and important documents somewhere else (and hopefully as secure as they make it to be), but it still won't deter the people who pursue them for their own gain. Plus, the representatives of many other nations are here, who have a degree of importance to their respective nations, no doubt.
Though, Zhongli's eyes can't help but to stray again and again to a certain mop of red hair--with a small tuft sticking out on top of it.
The owner of the hair has a curious V-shaped dark red mask that looks like the laughing face of the devil, adorned with gold on the eye area and around the hole in the middle. A line of gold stretches from it and upwards to yet another smaller hole, and as if it were a rock sitting in a river, the gold goes around it and finally ends on the pointy tip on top of it. It shines ever so menacingly under the light of the chandelier, and Zhongli's mesmerized both by the fearsome glint and intricacy of it.
" Whew! The champagne is starting to get into my head!" a voice suddenly booms, and in comes a brat, making his way towards Zhongli. Some people turn their head to see the owner of the voice, and after finding out it's the menace that is Barbatos (on account of Zhongli’s perspective), they return to their chattering. Deep inside of him, Zhongli grimaces, but he's learned to school his expression into that of indifference whenever Barbatos is caught on his radar. "All of you Liyue people are so intense with your talk about laws and whatnot, so naturally, I had to down a lot of champagne! And also some of this whiskey in my flask!"
"Scram, Barbatos. This corner is mine. You can go be 'wasted' somewhere else," Zhongli hisses, enmity clear in his voice, as he folds his arms in front of him. “Baal, can you please tell this brat to stop drinking on the job?”
A crackle comes through his earpiece, followed by a loud howling of the wind. Must’ve been Baal sighing out loud. “ I tried telling him, but he didn’t listen! Barbatos, stop drinking, please! We need you sober and ready to go! ”
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Talk about intense , am I right?" the other replies oh-so-nonchalantly, grinning. " C'monnnn, Morax, lighten up! I'm just trying to make conversation with you because you look sooooo lonely! Besides," he pauses before giggling to himself, punching Zhongli on the shoulder good-naturedly (and this may be the trouble that Zhongli sensed earlier as Barbatos's voice drops into a low whisper), "you might be…. interested to what I have to say about a certain red-haired ."
Immediately, Zhongli snaps a glare at him, one so hard that might have thrown his mask to the side, but luckily, it has a pretty secure strap to go with it. For a moment, he takes in the goofy drunk face that Barbatos has and how his mask made up of two faux Windwheel Asters is now badly skewed, the intoxication so clear on his face that anyone from miles away can see it.
Never has Zhongli harbored contempt this much for someone.
Slowly, he tears his gaze away from the audacious brat and returns to watch the crowd. "I do not want to hear it," he finally mutters under his breath. "Now, go. My patience is running thin."
"He's a cutie, that one," Barbatos continues, ignoring Zhongli's threat. His eyes are now also on the crowd and-- how dare he leans his head against my arm like we're friends?! the elder thinks to himself, frustration culminating. "Snezhnayan. The one and only. Who would’ve thought, right? Like, remember when the Yuheng said Snezhnaya rejected their invitation? Apparently, they did send someone. Alone . Does that not, like, sound suspicious to you?"
Zhongli sips on his champagne as he mulls it over. It does sound strange. Snezhnaya has always been distrustful of other nations ever since the war. Indeed, it is a very sudden change of heart. No nation would do that unless they have an underlying motive. Politics, man.
"Maybe, this time, they changed their mind to come and taste Liyue's well-known delicacy Adeptus' Temptation. No one can resist it. I can guarantee that," Zhongli says, his tense shoulders now relaxing as his eyes catch the tuft of red hair once again. "Wait, how do you know he's a….'cutie' under that mask? It covers his whole face."
Again, he throws a shit-eating grin at Zhongli. Ugh . "Wouldn't you like to know, Morax boy?" Barbatos replies, and Zhongli rolls his eyes at that. "But, Celestia above, quit those heart eyes, will you? You're like a teen who's afraid to ask their crush out at a party, and I can definitely tell you're in love with him from across the room. And uhhhh….what was that? Love at first sight? Or more like….," he pauses for dramatic effect, and he has that evil, evil expression on his face, ".... forbidden love ?"
Eventually, Zhongli has had enough and grabs Barbatos square on the head to push him off from his arm as his other hand is elevated over his head to secure the flute of his champagne, glowering at him. "How about you quit your yapping before I kick you off the premises," he hisses through his gritted teeth, seething.
Barbatos pouts at that. "Aww, I thought we had a bit of a moment there, Morax!"
"Shut up. Go annoy someone else. You're ruining my mood."
Smirking, Barbatos steps back, hands up in a mocking declaration of relenting, before he turns around and waves over his shoulder. Zhongli sighs, watching at his retreating back to make sure he's going preferably far, far away from him.
After a moment, Zhongli returns to person-watching (let's be real; he's been watching only one person this whole time), sipping on his flute of champagne again before realizing that it's empty already. He looks around and realizes that none of the waiters actually have a walking route towards his direction, even the ones that have hors d'oeuvres in their trays--plus, this corner seems to be popular amongst lovey-dovey couples all of a sudden, so if they’ll excuse Zhongli….
The table for the champagne fountain is surprisingly sparse with people--well, probably because the others rely on the waiters to bring them their champagne. The people around are simply loitering around it so that they can get easier access for a refill. These guests really have to pace themselves or Zhongli might have to help drag them to their hotel rooms--which is not printed on his job description, but since he still has to exercise courtesy to the Liyue Qixing, it’s possible that he still has the obligation to do it.
Reaching to catch the pouring champagne under one of the taps with his glass, it suddenly clinks with another glass. Apparently, someone has the same idea to occupy the very same tap when there are many others available. Immediately, the two of them pull their hand back in surprise since it rang way too loudly for their liking, and Zhongli's head turns to look at the newcomer.
Oh.
It's the devil-masked red hair .
Now that he can fully take in his appearance, he can finally decide that this man looks dashing in his maroon tuxedo, which compliments his mask. And-- there it is . The pin of the Fatui is fastened on the lapel of his tuxedo, right next to the Snezhnaya one. Barbatos was correct to list him as suspicious, but he was probably too drunk to take note of this important evidence.
The Fatui is one of the governing bodies in Snezhnaya, which consists of Snezhnaya’s powerful people, both in terms of muscle and influence. Shady at best, they work in the shadows--maybe not as hidden as the Archons Association is because they have to keep up appearances in front of other nations--and for the shadows. People claim that they deal in many other under-the-table affairs, and of course, these rumors have spread so widely that other nations also come to see Snezhnaya in such a different light that maybe the shadows are the only place they could turn to.
"Oh, I apologize I…." Zhongli trails off. 'Didn't feel you coming', Zhongli decides, is a weird phrase to say, so he lets it drop and clears his throat.
Despite that, what Zhongli almost said is true. He's going to mentally note how he did not feel the presence of the other earlier, and that's definitely saying something for an instinctive, battle-hardened man such as Zhongli. This red-haired man is not an ordinary man.
"Oh, no! It's okay. I’m sorry, I’m the one who can be such a klutz at times. Silly me," the other replies, voice youthful and bright Zhongli can practically hear his smile from it.
Zhongli smiles back before holding his free hand out, offering the other for a refill. “May I?” he asks.
The other seems to be hesitating for a bit, probably not understanding Zhongli’s intention. And….he’s right to be because Zhongli was not being clear enough, so instead, he lays a gloved hand on the other’s wide-open one with his masked face turning down a bit. In embarrassment, probably. His action also catches Zhongli off-guard, and his own cheeks immediately flush red with heat.
“Oh, um….you asked me for a dance….right?” the other says sheepishly. Zhongli hates to admit that Barbatos’s right again, but he has to get it out of his system somehow: this man is a cutie. It’s funny how his first impression of him contrasts greatly with how he is acting right now.
“Frankly, I was asking for your glass, so I could refill it for you,” the dragon-masked man replies, but he makes sure to close his fingers around the other’s before he can retract it, bringing it close to his lips. “But, it would be my pleasure to dance with you, mister…?”
“Childe. You can call me Childe. With an e. You don’t have to pronounce it, though,” the red-haired says prior to facepalming. Well, technically it’s mask palming, but whatever. “Oh my Archons, that was embarrassing. I really didn’t know you would actually refill my glass after what happened earlier. I am so sorry.”
Zhongli laughs--a peal of actual laughter filled with actual mirth--and waves a hand in dismissal. “Your questioning my intention still sounds like something you should make up for, but other than that, you’re golden.” And, a joke! Zhongli really is going for the home run today (not that he’s expecting to touch the other bases…. c’mon, you guys ).
The other tilts his head. “Oh? How should I make it up to you, mister…?”
“Zhongli.”
“... Zhongli? ”
For that, Zhongli has a great idea. You know, one that could actually prevent possible security breach and whatnot since Childe is still a top priority in his 'shady characters' list (which isn't long, to be honest. There's probably just Childe and a couple of others in it).
“You should stay by my side, Childe. For the whole night.”
Childe laughs. “I see. Safe to assume that I’ve been recruited as your arm candy, correct?”
“Unless you’re not up to the challenge?”
“I’m always up for a challenge, mister Zhongli. Always. ”
Zhongli smiles widely, offering his arm to Childe like the gentleman that he is.
“ Shall we? ”