Chapter Text
After a whole morning of uninteresting lessons on state affairs followed by a spontaneous yet uneventful training session with the new Fatui recruits to stretch out his stiff limbs, Childe found himself wandering towards the gardens just outside the palace — a place he had taken a liking to for being the one place he can train in peace and quiet without distraction… or getting reprimanded for doing so. Childe had always taken interest in the art of combat, fuelled by the captivating stories of heroes in the past told by his father and dreams of making his family proud by joining the military as his father had and receiving the honour of protecting their nation. Almost everyone knew of his love for the art of combat. In the beginning, from when his father had first allowed Childe to accompany him to the palace’s training ground, the last thing he had expected was to be kept at the sidelines, only to watch as a spectator because what good would it be to train a child of nobility in combat when he could have guards at his beck and call.
But of course, that had not stopped him.
If his father would not train him, then Childe would train himself — and the gardens were the perfect place for just that, with a large pavilion in the centre to provide shelter from the snow and complete privacy save for the gardeners who came to tend to the flowers each sunrise and sunset. The guards, well, they were easy enough to dismiss from their posts… or even sneak away from if he had to.
The plan worked, until one day he had unfortunately been caught red-handed sneaking home late after spending too long lost in the adrenaline of his training. From then on, at least, he was allowed to train as and when he liked on the condition that he passed the entry test into the Fatui — which he did with flying colours, making him what might be one of the youngest members. His father hadn’t exactly been happy, but at least Childe wasn’t running around doing dangerous stunts without proper training. And, well, if people spoke rumours of him bribing his way into his position, a simple spar was more than enough to silence their loose mouths.
With his skill, it had been no surprise that the Harbingers of the Fatui and even the Tsaritsa herself had caught wind of the whispers about a new recruit able to take on dozens of fully grown men by himself.
His appearance and position as a noble was the perfect cover, honestly. Everyone thought him to be a harmless young master with too much energy and money, but the Fatui crest on his uniform and the mark atop his head spoke otherwise of his prowess.
The gardens still did remain his favourite spot for some peace and quiet though. Pretty much no one went there, with the gardens serving as more of a decorative sight for foreign visitors than anything — Snezhnaya was much too cold to be sitting around outside doing nothing. And yet, as he made his way to the gardens on one of the coldest days of the season, Childe was surprised to find that he was not alone.
Right there, among the falling snow and glorious blooms of the royal gardens, was a figure huddled on a bench just by the bed of roses in full bloom, the hood of their cloak pulled so tightly around themselves such that their face was barely visible.
Definitely not a local… Childe frowned to himself, watching the person shiver despite what looked like layers after layers of clothing on them. Well, whoever it was, he sure couldn’t leave them freezing out in the cold. With a soft sigh, he took a few steps forward and approached the freezing figure, “Hey, are you alright?”
The first thing he noticed as the stranger seemed to wake up from his apparent nap was that he had impossibly pretty eyes. The longer he stared, the more he found himself falling into that piercing amber gaze — twin suns he could barely look away from.
“Yes, though it is… quite cold,” came the quiet reply.
Hearing this, Childe couldn’t help but laugh a little, “Well you’re in Snezhnaya of course! Here, you can take this for now.”
Searching the small bag he brought with him, Childe held out the small flask of hot coffee he had made in the morning before heading out. It wasn’t much but it would probably keep the other warm until they went indoors.
“Thank you.” The man with the lovely golden eyes said, carefully sipping from the flask.
“Come on, let’s get you somewhere warmer before you freeze to death out here Comrade!” Reaching a hand out in offering, he smiled expectantly. The other seemed to take a moment to process the words, looking between Childe’s expression and his hand before finally taking it. Now that he was closer, Childe noticed the obviously expensive material of the other’s clothes and the insignia on the clasps that held his cloak together. So he’s from Liyue, huh… Finally his classes could be used for something.
“So, what’s your name?” Childe asked as they walked across the compound, if anything Ekaterina probably knew about foreign visitors more than him so it would probably be better to return to his mansion than figure out things on his own.
“Zhongli,” The other replied, voice like warm honey now that he was no longer looking as if he would drop dead from the cold at any given moment.
“Zhongli,” Childe repeated, the foreign name rolling off his tongue with slight awkwardness but otherwise accurate enough, “You can call me Childe! By the way, what were you doing out there in the middle of the snowstorm? As far as I know most people wouldn’t exactly like the cold… much less taking a nap out there!”
Zhongli frowned, head tilting the slightest bit to the side as he thought of a reply, “I had simply been looking for somewhere quiet and stumbled upon the gardens to rest… but it seems I may have forgotten the time.”
Hearing this, Childe couldn’t help but laugh. Wanting to find a quiet place was understandable, meetings often left him with a pounding headache afterwards. But deciding that falling asleep in a foreign land out in the snow would be fine… now that was something. Then again, who was he to judge?
"They are, aren’t they? If you want I’ll get some for you later!” So Zhongli was visiting Snezhnaya in the middle of winter, a strange choice if you had to ask Childe. Probably the son of some important foreign business person… he thought, because why else would someone like Zhongli be going around in expensive clothes and be hanging around so close to the palace of all places in the middle of winter. Anyways, if he remembered correctly, Liyue was well known for their silks and other materials.
Hearing this, Zhongli seemed to brighten up, “Would that be alright?”
“Of course! No one will notice a few missing flowers, barely anyone goes there.”
“You shouldn’t steal though,” Zhongli muttered, fixing an unusually stern gaze on Childe, “that would be inappropriate, would it not?”
“Please, Zhongli, you’re starting to sound like my tutors!” Childe shook his head with a laugh, “It’ll be fine, promise! I always used to get flowers from the garden for Tonia to keep in her room.”
“Tonia?”
“She’s my sister!” He grinned proudly, “If she was here she’d probably insist on decorating your hair with flowers. She tried with mine but it was too short! She’ll definitely love braiding them into your long hair or something.”
“I see…” Zhongli hummed, “Guizhong does often say that I would look nice with flowers.”
“They’d probably get along then,” Childe said as the guards opened the gate to his residence near the palace grounds. Walking up to the counter in the middle of the room, Childe plastered a smile on his face as he leaned over the table, “Good evening, Ekaterina!”
“Master Childe, what is it now? Are you not instead supposed to be meeting with—” The woman at the table spoke up, looking between the two men in front of her. “Ah, it seems you’ve already met.”
Childe raised a brow at this, “Hmm? What do you mean?”
The morning was pretty much a rush of mess to him, with the stacks of papers on his desk left unorganised and a packed timetable that would only calm in the late afternoon. But there was no way he could have forgotten something important… Unless…
“Sir… You haven't read the letter I handed you in the morning, did you?” Ekaterina sighed, hand coming up to massage her temples. Shaking her head in disappointment, she then turned to Zhongli with an apologetic smile, “My apologies, Mr Zhongli.”
“No worries,” Zhongli smiled before turning to face Childe once more. “It is nice to meet you, Tartaglia. I do apologise for not having recognised you earlier. Allow me to introduce myself again, I am Zhongli, from the Hall of Guili in Liyue. Despite the formalities, I assure you I am not here for political reasons. My… coworker, Guizhong, had ‘forced’ me on a vacation. However, it seems that your Tsaritsa had somehow caught on and communicated that she would be sending someone to accompany me while in her nation. I do apologise for the intrusion. If it is too much trouble I could—”
Hall of Guili… wait wasn’t that the division of the palace that worked with the emperor himself?! The gears in Childe’s head turned endlessly as he glanced between Zhongli and Ekaterina. Archons, he’d really done it now. As far as Childe knew, said letter still remained unopened on his own desk… which meant that Zhongli had probably been waiting around somewhere for him… which meant that —
“Nonono, it is completely alright, Zhongli! I should be the one apologising here…” Childe smiled sheepishly, “I think the guest room should be prepared with your belongings in them. Ekaterina, would you kindly show our guest to his room to warm up?”
Great, just great, the one letter he had not managed to read that morning and turned out to be the most important. Archons, the Tsaritsa was going to have his head if she heard of it. Forgetting about an important and leaving them to wait out in what was arguably one of the coldest seasons of the year — what a great start to his career.
Well, if all he had to do was accompany the man for a week or two, it shouldn’t be that hard, right? After all, with how quiet and polite he was, Zhongli didn’t seem like he could be the type to cause any trouble at all… so why then would he have to be put under supervision?
It didn’t take long before Childe got the answer to his question.
Honestly, for someone who looked just about his age and seemed to have the knowledge of a walking library, Zhongli might as well be utterly hopeless in navigating the outside world. In the few hours they’d been out, the poor man had almost gotten lost, scammed, and even robbed multiple times in the short few times that Childe left his side to settle with the shopkeepers during their little shopping trip — for Archon’s sake, Zhongli had somehow even managed to leave his wallet at home and not even notice until he attempted to make a purchase. How could someone so naive work with the Emperor of Liyue’s personal hall?!
They had begun their journey with the goal of giving Zhongli a tour of the capital city, with Childe planning to show him the various stores, attractions and even food of the area. And yet, what had instead happened was Zhongli stopping at each and every roadside stall possible and listening to the vendors' long story of whatever tourism scam they had thought up to push sales — he definitely had to get Zhongli a change of outfit, the man stood out too much in his elegant brown and gold outfit which seemed to be all he had in his wardrobe. Seriously, who would wear a fitting suit and a cloak and deem that enough to survive the cold of Snezhnaya? Sure, the man looked good — especially with the way the details at the waist and along the outer coat served to bring attention to his lithe physique — but where was the practicality in such an outfit??? The almost silken material was way too thin and poor at keeping any heat in. There was a thick cloak… but that evidently had not been much help if their first meeting where Zhongli almost became a snowman in the garden was something to go by.
“Zhongli, come over here,” Childe said, already moving towards the destination he had in mind, “Yulia! It’s me.”
“This… you do not have to…” Despite his words, Zhongli had already begun to wander around the store, carefully sifting through the various fabrics and designs on display.
“Don’t worry, dear. I’ve got you.” The store owner, Yulia, joyfully popped out from behind the counter, “My oh my, you’ve got quite the catch here Ajax dear! Don’t worry, by the time I’m done with him he’ll be the most dazzling gem, while being kept nice and warm of course.”
Leaning against the counter, Childe watched in amusement as Yulia flitted around Zhongli, hastily taking his measurements and holding up a variety of colours up to him in all sorts of combinations, even going so far as to have him change into all sorts of clothing pieces. All the while, Zhongli had stayed calm and moved just the way she had wanted, perfectly maintaining whatever poses Yulia put him in to take measurements with. It was almost as if he was a living sculpture being shaped by an artist’s wishes.
“Now go run off on your way, I’ll have everything sent to your address first thing next morning.” Yulia winked as she practically pushed them out of her store.
“It’s nice to see Miss Yulia so enthusiastic about her craft… her skill in clothes making is exceptional as well, and the quality of fabrics in her collection is absolutely divine.” Zhongli commented, blinking as the door of the shop closed and locked behind them.
“Of course! She’s not one of the best in Snezhnaya for nothing.” Childe laughed, “We should probably head back, it’s getting quite late. Don’t wanna be caught outside in the dark in case a snowstorm arrives out of the blue after all!”
Well… That and the fact that his bank record would probably be marked as suspicious if they spent any more. From food, to accessories, antiques, and even things Childe wasn't even sure Zhongli would have a purpose for… Zhongli had pretty much bought everything and anything they had encountered. Then again, it’s not like Childe could be mad for long. Zhongli was infuriatingly convincing with those pretty golden eyes and gentle smile. Archons, Zhongli was definitely going to be the death of him. They barely knew each other yet Childe couldn't help but gravitate towards the other ever since that fateful day in the gardens.
“Thank you for indulging me, Tartaglia,” Zhongli said all of a sudden. Ah, there that damned smile was again. “I will certainly make sure to repay you later on.”
“You can just call me Childe, Zhongli,” Childe said. After all, barely anyone outside of the Fatui called him Tartaglia and the name was attached to… much more sinister acts of his. He'd rather Zhonli not get entangled in such matters... “It’s alright, really, just take this as my apology for leaving you hanging yesterday. Furthermore, you are our queen’s guest, after all. It is only right that your stay in Snezhnaya be as comfortable as possible.”
“In that case… at least allow me to cook. I recall you were interested in Liyue’s cuisine?” Zhongli offered, “While the ingredients may not exactly be the same I do believe I am able to recreate a dish with sufficient accuracy with what is present in your estate. I cannot accept staying in your house without contribution, no matter how short of a period.”
“It’s a deal then!” Childe laughed, “From tomorrow then, it’s much too late to prepare for dinner tonight. I believe I do have some leftovers from lunch, if that’s ok with you.”
“That will be enough.”
“Well, don’t you look happy lately.” Ekaterina commented, watching as the harbinger practically skipped back into the mansion after his routine morning training session where he would usually be endlessly complaining about how it was ‘boring’ or ‘a complete waste of his time’. If anything, the drastic change in behaviour had scared the poor recruits even more, some even thinking that the harbinger was planning some deadly plot to torture them behind their backs and getting caught off guard when the man was somehow the most lenient in the past few days he’d ever been during their months under him. “It’s because of that Mr Zhongli, isn’t it.”
“Ekaterina—”
“Just remember to watch yourself, it wouldn’t do well to have the wrong ears find out.” If something happened, there was no denying that it would be absolute chaos. With his title of Tartaglia, there was no shortage of enemies who would gladly latch onto any weak spot he showed — even if that came in the form of a foreign dignitary, and especially not if Childe continued to show them his favour.
“I know,” Childe sighed, “just a few more days left…”
Somehow, their time together had passed in the blink of an eye… Just a few more days till Zhongli would have to return to Liyue, and his mansion would return to its usual state of business. He had to admit, the Liyuen did bring a certain warmth and vibrancy to their home… It would definitely not be the same without him here. But Zhongli was merely a guest after all… it was not like Childe could do much about it. If Zhongli was a noble, perhaps he could request Her Majesty the Tsaritsa for permission on the basis of establishing diplomatic ties with Liyue…
“Childe, you’re back!” Zhongli’s voice broke through Childe’s thoughts as the man wandered into the main hall, several bowls organised neatly on the tray in his hands, “For today, I have prepared Slow-Cooked Bamboo Shoot Soup. Usually, I make this dish with butt-end ham provided by Yuehai Pavillion’s gourmet chef, freshly hunted pork belly from Springvale’s finest and fresh bamboo shoots from Qingce… But the taste should not be too different. I do hope it is to your liking. Ms Ekaterina and the rest may have some too, I seem to have over-prepared...”
“I’m sure it’s delicious,” Childe grinned, sitting at the table and taking a spoonful of the soup, savouring the way it warmed him from the inside. The soup was light, perfect to consume at any time, and yet satisfying enough to take the edge off of any hunger while leaving you craving for more. One thing’s for sure, Zhongli was absolutely amazing at cooking. If this was what the man could do with whatever was in storage, Childe could already imagine the delicacies he could come up with had he the proper ingredients of whatever quality he deemed ‘perfect’. “Zhongli, are you sure you aren’t thinking of opening a restaurant here?” He joked.
Zhongli frowned, “That will be highly unlikely. The dish takes far too much time to prepare to be suited for such a thing.”
“It was a joke, Zhongli!” Childe laughed at the serious expression on the other’s face as he actually considered the idea. “Say... I was thinking about something, Zhongli.”
“What is it?”
Taking a breath, Childe rushed out his next few words before he could rethink, “Wouldyouliketosparwithme?”
At this, Zhongli stared at Childe for a few moments, silence hanging between them as he processed the words. “Well, I do not mind. Perhaps later in the afternoon? It would do no good to engage in such activity after eating.”
At this, Childe let out a sigh of relief. He’d been wanting to ask that for the longest time. There was just something in the way Zhongli carried himself with such ease in elegance, not in the delicate way of a trained nobleman but the carefully calculated precision of a warrior.
Oh he was going to enjoy this.
Right, he’d almost forgotten that Zhongli’s new clothes would be delivered the day before. Zhongli had returned to his room to change into warmer attire to wear to the outdoor training ground. Yulia had certainly outdone herself.
The general shape and style of Zhongli’s outfit remained quite similar to his previous one, though in a much more suitable material to handle cold in Snezhnaya. The fur-lined coat, however, had to be the highlight of the whole look. It was a beautiful masterpiece of a deep grey that was almost black, detailed with gold and accented with an underlying layer of red that showed whenever Zhongli moved, almost like a companion piece to Childe’s own pale grey and silver set.
“Childe?” Zhongli called out, stepping into the open space of the training ground and approaching Childe who had for some reason been standing completely still as if frozen in place, “Are you alright? Perhaps we should spar another day—”
“The clothes suit you well.” Childe cleared his throat, realising that he had been staring. Well that wasn't good, it wouldn't do him any favours to be distracted by his sparring partner... lest he get a clean hit to the face. “Is there any weapon you’d prefer?”
“...I do tend to prefer the polearm, but any weapon is sufficient.”
“Polearm it is then!” Childe said, walking over to the weapons rack to obtain two wooden versions of the weapon and handing one over to Zhongli, watching as the other weighed the weapon in his hands for a moment before gripping it firmly.
“Let us begin,” Zhongli nodded, lighting the stick of incense by the edge of the arena.
At that, Childe lunged forward, movements nimble as he closes the distance between them in a clear offensive. As expected, Zhongli parries the hit with surprising strength, forcing Childe to retreat slightly. So he was right, Childe grinned in excitement. There was absolutely no way Zhongli was just any other Liyuen citizen, not with the way he manoeuvred his way across their little 'battlefield' with such elegance and precision, not a single movement wasted.
The fast beat of his heart is all that Childe hears as he allows the adrenaline to take him. The two fall into a dangerous dance, matching each other’s moves perfectly and moving in sync with each other. Where Childe is wild and aggressive, Zhongli is calm and steady — almost like an immovable statue of stone.
If anything, Zhongli was definitely holding back, and that just made Childe want to push on harder and harder, to see what could crack that impeccable defence. This is the mistake he makes, for as Childe dived in for what he expects to be a final hit, Zhongli dodges to the side at the last moment, breaking his previous flow of blocking and almost sending Childe barreling to the ground with his own momentum had he not reacted in time.
Just then, Zhongli spoke up for the first time since they had begun their sparring session, “Ah, it seems that we’ve run out of time.”
Right there, by the side of the training ground where a sizeable crowd of spectators had gathered to watch, the stick on incense laid spent.
“A tie, then.” Childe laughed, returning their weapons to the racks and sweeping his sweat soaked bangs out of his face.
“It seems so.”
Somehow, Zhongli still looked immaculate as ever, not a single speck of dirt on his coat or hair out of place, unlike Childe who might as well look like he’d been running laps around the courtyard for days on end.
And as Zhongli smiled at him once more, Childe thinks that it was perhaps a good thing that Snezhnaya was numbingly cold or else he would be facing a much more embarrassing problem to hide than just his reddened cheeks — at least that he could blame on the exertion and adrenaline of their spar. He looks good in Snezhnayan cloth, I wonder how he would look if—
Stopping the traitorous thought provided by his unhelpful brain in its tracks, Childe decides he definitely needs a shower. An icy cold one, preferably.
Daily spars become an almost constant thing between the pair, between shopping trips and sightseeing across the different landmarks. With each day, the crowd of curious recruits that gathered around them seemed to increase in size — word spread fast among the Fatui, and what better than news of their harbinger finding an equal in a mysterious foreign visitor to generate attention?
As expected, Zhongli had caught the attention of pretty much all of his men. Understandable considering how the man was not only absolutely stunning but an amazing fighter as well. On days when Childe was too caught up in his duties, Zhongli tended to accompany him to train the recruits. Honestly, sometimes it was as if Zhongli's only flaw was his terrible lack of ability to manage his mora...
But of course, all things had to come to an end eventually.
The days went by fast, and soon came the time they both refused to acknowledge — the day of Zhongli’s return to Liyue. After all, the man did not belong to bone-chilling cold Snezhnaya's endless snow but instead to the warmth and safety of Rex Lapis' protection in Liyue. Still, it was almost unusual to see Zhongli return to his usual brown and gold attire, having become accustomed to seeing the man in the greys and reds of Snezhnaya.
“Thank you for your kind hospitality, Childe.” Zhongli broke the silence between them as he laid their food out, glancing out the window every once in a while as his items were carried into the carriage that he would officially commence his trip back to Liyue in. “If you ever have plans of coming to Liyue, do inform me. I would be more than glad to return the favour.”
“Of course!” Childe nodded, idly stirring the cup of tea Zhongli had brewed him that morning. It had just been a week, he told himself. After this, they were going to return to their usual lives and finally Childe’s bank account could get a well deserved rest. It had only been a week since their acquaintance… Yet why did Childe feel he was bidding farewell to someone dear? “I will definitely look forward to that, Zhongli. Liyue seems like a wonderful place.”
“Indeed, it would surely be quite an enriching experience. While I am not against our continued communication, experiencing something far surpasses the knowledge you are able to gain from simply hearing of it.” Zhongli said, before standing up from his seat, "Ah, it seems I may have forgotten something. Hold on for a moment."
Childe watches in confusion as Zhongli actually rushes back into his room before returning with an ornate box which he places in front of Childe. "A few days ago, I had encountered a Liyuen merchant within the city and had these specially made. A symbol of my gratitude, so to speak. Though if you do come by Liyue you might find that mastering their use will come in handy."
Within the box, laid a pair of chopsticks, much like the pair Zhongli had brought around with him to use during meals — save for the elegant gold detailing. Well, learning chopsticks shouldn't be that hard. If he could master all sorts of weapons, learning how to use a pair of utensils should be a piece of cake. "I accept your challenge then, till we meet again in Liyue."
“Till we meet again." Zhongli repeated, the wind blowing his hair about wildly as they stepped out of the warm protection of the home and into the chilly winds where Zhongli's carriage awaited.
“Zhongli wait—”
Before Zhongli could reply, Childe hurriedly pulled a small package out of his pocket. “The roses from the garden, I had them preserved by a skilled artist and fashioned into a paperweight. Fresh flowers wouldn't exactly survive the journey, you see. They are much too delicate for that and it would be a shame if they did not survive in Liyue's climate.” He explained as Zhongli took the delicate box from his hand.
“Thank you, Childe. I will cherish it.”
And with that, Childe watched as Zhongli left for good, making sure to imprint in his memory the image of those brilliant golden eyes and vibrant smile which he had first encountered among the roses.