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Rain. It was never a problem for the young Harbinger. As a matter of fact, he rather enjoyed the rain. It was always cold and snowing in Shneznaya, there was hardly any other weather variation so he basked in whatever weather he had the time off to enjoy, with rain being no exception. He tilted his head back to further feel the delicate raindrops splashing onto his face, the liquid soaking his ginger locks. He wiped his face with his hand and shook out his hair. There wasn't much he could do about his soaked clothes but he wasn't worried about that.
He was mostly worried about where Zhongli was. They had agreed to meet at Wangshu Inn at 2pm sharp, it was now 2:15pm and Zhongli was very rarely late. Though, what Tartaglia had failed to notice was that Zhongli had been standing on the deck of Wangshu Inn with an umbrella for the last 15 minutes. He had arrived at 2pm in the dot, punctual as ever. However upon noticing the males clear enjoyment and content, he elected to leave him for a while. Zhongli liked that he could see this side to Tartaglia, he liked the way that Childe looked at the enemy, hungry with lust for battle and his eyes filled fire before he unleashed his Delusion and the way his facial expressions changed so frequently when he was busy charming Kaeya, Cavalry Captain of Mondstat or playfully making fun of Aether and Lumine whenever they all visited. But nothing could ever compare to the way he looked when he was completely at ease, his features soft in content and relaxation. Times like this were rare, with him constantly being on edge as a Fatui Harbinger in Liyue. Zhongli smiled slightly to himself and shook his head as he made his way down the steps until he got close enough to Childe to hover the umbrella over his head.
Childe opened his eyes slowly to see why the rain had stopped, only to be met with a large umbrella. He scowled, spinning around to see who was behind him. His expression instantly softened as he realised that it was only Zhongli.
"Well, someone took their damn time. I would have expected more punctuality from Rex Lapis himself~" Childe hummed, his words playful as a grin spread across his face.
Zhongli only sighed and shook his Head. "If you had paid enough attention, Ajax, you would have seen me standing on the deck in the rain for the last almost twenty minutes." He hummed before giving Childe a small smack across the shoulder. "Before you say anything about why I did not disturb you.. You did look at peace and you do not get moments like that very often as your job is demanding and your loyalty to the Tsaritsa is ruthless and knows no bounds. You deserve a break."
Tartaglia opened his mouth to retaliate before falling silent. Zhongli wasn't wrong. He did overwork himself, anyone could see that if they weren't extremely dense but he had just never seen himself as being entitled to enjoy these small breaks. The little things in life like standing in the rain or meeting up with a certain 'friend'. Friend.. That's all they were, him and Zhongli. A God of old could never settle for a heathen like him, a man who has killed and stripped innocent people of their youth. He knew that Zhongli wasn't an angel sent from above, that he had also had to be a cruel god at times but Childe still couldn't shake the idea of being unworthy due to the amount of blood that his beloved Tsaritsa had caused him to spill, the blood that hung over his conscience like a nagging pain that would never go away.
He shook the feeling from his head and sighed softly before glancing at the dark haired male beside him. "Where are we going then, oh great God Morax..?" Tartaglia nudged his shoulder gently with his fist, shooting him a wink.
Zhongli raised his eyebrow, seemingly suspicious of the ginger's flirtatious behaviour. He knew Tartaglia was a tease but for him to be so bold with using the name Morax was new. "Well, if you would be so kind as to accompany me to Liyue Harbour and you shall see what I have planned." He spoke softly, the baritone-like voice sounding like velvet to Childe's ears.
The rain had stopped just a little prior to the ginger had spoken, small patches of sun peeking through the clouds. They began to walk, a slight skip in Tartaglia's step despite his damp clothes still sticking to him. The walk to Liyue harbour must have taken at least an hour and a half, but neither of the two men seemed to mind. It was hardly silent as the two of them engaged in idle chatter except for when they had to sneak past a Hilichurl camp of course. Naturally, Childe had rushed into the middle of the camp to battle them, only for Zhongli to have to come and help when a Mitachurl happened to appear from inside the hut in the camp. Zhongli sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose whilst Tartaglia looked at him with a sheepish grin.
"You must stop rushing into things without thinking, Ajax.. You're extremely strong, yes.. But you need to be careful especially when using your Delusion and Foul Legacy." Zhongli scolded, he hated parenting the male because he was old and mature enough to know these things, yet he still didn't care.
"Zhongli, you're just worrying too much! I don't just use my Delusion willy nilly.. That would be idiotic!" Childe protested, sticking his hands in the trousers that were now dry.
"No, you're reckless and you don't care about yourself as much as you should. The Foul Legacy weakens you as does the Delusion. You should use them as little as possible.." Zhongli was frowning at this point, his eyebrows extremely furrowed as he tried once more to drill his concern into Tartaglia's brain.
"Yeah, yeah.. Whatever, almighty and powerful Rex Lapis.. I'll be more careful with what I do and when I use the Delusion, don't worry about me so much! Your flawless complexion will start to age and you'll get worry lines." Tartaglia teased, nudging Zhongli's shoulder as he continued to walk ahead. He could see Liyue Harbour in the distance, the lanterns surrounding the pier glowing as the sky grew a little darker. Childe's eyes lit up as he saw the lights. He had been inside Liyue Harbour when the Lantern Rite had been happening but he had never seen it from a distance before and it was breathtaking. The colours, the glowing light from the xiao lanterns, every single light twinkled in the evening sky.
Zhongli glanced towards him, noticing that he had stopped walking. He realised what the ginger was looking at and his features instantly softened, a small smile creeping up on his features. "It's truly beautiful, isn't it?" Zhongli hummed.
Tartaglia just nodded, still admiring the view of Liyue as he began to walk again. They made it to Liyue Harbour with no time to spare, waving a hello to Beidou, Kazuha, Aether and Lumine who were talking on the bridge as they entered the city.
"Hey! Zhongli, Childe! Come over here..!" They heard the shrill screech from Paimon as she floated towards them with speed. "Don't think you two can get away with a small wave! Come say hello to the travelers properly!!" She huffed as she tried to drag the two men over, failing miserably. They both sighed in sync as they made their way over to the small group. The twins were smirking at the two of them, nudging each other and whispering.
"Hey, what's so funny you guys?!" Tartaglia exclaimed, pointing towards them and frowning. He looked at Zhongli who just shook his head softly and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Lumine giggled, looking towards Beidou and Kazuha who both had the same reaction as Zhongli. "It's not often we see you two hanging out! What's going on..?" She smiled, elbowing Aether to stop laughing.
Zhongli raised an eyebrow in disbelief at her words. "It's the lantern rite, I thought that Tartaglia and I could spend some time together. Seeing as he is always busy with Fatui matters and I am busy at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour dealing with Miss Hu Tao and her… antics for business.. Or we are both busy dealing with you two and your escapades…" He gave the blonde girl a small nod to show that he wasn't serious about the last part, they both enjoyed spending time with the twins, even if they were both energetic and tiring. They were both still better than Fatui recruits or crying customers for the funeral parlour.
Beidou shushed the twins and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ignore them two, I swear they're on somethin' today, I'm telling ya! They were like this when they came to meet me at the Jade Chamber! Kazuha didn't look too impressed with either of them.." She laughed a little and took a swig from the bottle in her hand before patting Kazuha on the shoulder and giving him a warm smile.
"Anyway, we'd love to stay and chat but we really have to head out..! Big things planned with the Lantern Rite and all!" Childe waved goodbye and promptly began to leave, grabbing Zhongli's wrist and dragging him along too. Once they had gotten out of the sight of the group he sighed in relief and leaned against the wall. After a moment, Childe turned to Zhongli and stared at him for a few seconds before speaking. "I know that you wanted to come to Liyue Harbour, but I might have already made plans within the hopes of us coming here anyway…"
The dark haired man just looked at the other with slight confusion on his face. "You already made plans for us to do something here..? Then why did we meet all the way at Wangshu Inn..?"
"I wanted to spend more time with you." Tartaglia admitted, a flush spreading across his cheeks as he averted his eyes from Zhongli's piercing gaze. Before he could say anything, he grabbed his hand and began to lead him up the steps in front of them and towards Liuli Pavilion. Tartaglia nodded to the lady at the door and she let them both inside.
"Reservation for two.. Under the name of Tartaglia." His voice rang through the restaurant as the waiter, Hongru, simply nodded and showed them through to their table. The restaurant was dead, not another soul in sight. Zhongli didn't know at the time that Childe had rented out the entire restaurant for the evening just for the two of them. As they sat, Hongru placed two menus in front of them and nodded before waking away.
"Ajax, this.. This is exciting. I'm used to just dining at Third Round Knockout with Miss Hu Tao and Miss Yanfei." He glanced down towards the menu and scanned it quickly before nodding.
Tartaglia hummed softly to the music that was playing in the background. "Well, I thought that if I planned to go there, you wouldn't enjoy it so much since you're there all the time with business meetings and what not." He waved his hand to beckon Hongru over to the table. "I'll be having the noodles with mountain delicacies, and you, Zhongli?"
"I'll have the cured pork dry hotpot, thank you." He nodded and closed the menu, handing it back to the waiter as he nodded back and scurried away to the kitchen. Zhongli caught himself staring at the ginger male, admiring the way his features looked so relaxed and gentle in the dim lights of the restaurant. The curve of his nose, the way that the light made his eyes shine like crystals gleaming in the sun. His perfectly cut jawline and cheekbones, his lips and how plush and soft they looked.. Zhongli snapped himself out of the trance as Childe turned his head to look towards him. "I must say, Ajax.. You do look breathtaking today.."
A flush quickly spread across Tartaglia's cheeks, his eyes widening and a small, sheepish smile forming on his lips. "I personally think that the breathtaking one here is, uh, not me..! In fact, I think that it's you.." He was punching himself internally. He didn't want to fuck this up. Childe had been silently pining over Zhongli for months, waiting for the perfect time to tell him that he had developed feelings for the man, only to be inevitably shut down when Zhongli in fact didn't feel the same way. He wouldn't be too surprised if he didn't. It wouldn't be right for him to reciprocate Childe's feelings, not after all that he's done..
Zhongli chuckled lowly before shaking his head slightly. Childe was mentally beating himself up at this point. "Ajax, relax. I think that seeing you in this state, all flustered and bothered is rather adorable.. It's not very often that I, a God of old, get to sit here and see someone get all muddled up because of my presence. So please, let me indulge." A small grin crept upon the brunette's face as he leaned forward slightly, face close to the other man's. "I don't think I can seem to get my head around exactly why a Fatui Harbinger such as yourself, someone so skilled and valued as a soldier, would fall for someone like me. A lonely God of old, someone who was worshipped and then just disappeared to live life as an unknown adeptus amongst mortal men.." He mused, placing his hand on Childe's chin, tilting it upwards to look at him better.
Childe's face was a crimson shade of red at this point. "I, uh.. I.." He cleared his throat and began again. "Because you're not just a God to me.. You're not just Rex Lapis or Morax.. To me, you're Zhongli. You are a man that truly cares for the nation of Liyue and your determination to keep Liyue safe whilst also placing it in the hands of humans is astonishing. I love everything you do and I am no better. I am a Harbinger, a Fatui Harbinger. I am not worthy of this kind of affection from anyone, I like you because of who you really are. I can never live up to the things that you have done for Liyue. Never. I applaud you, I envy you and I am full of intense love for you, Zhongli.." By this point, he was being forced to look towards Zhongli who was silent and saying nothing. He didn't have to. His expression told all.
Zhongli's hand fell from Tartaglia's chin. "Don't put yourself down."
"..What?"
"I said, don't put yourself down. You're more than the organisation you work for. Ajax, you are the strongest and bravest mortal that I know. Not only are you smart but you know how to self preserve and you have been through hell and back to get where you are today. You are worth so much more than you think. Take it from an old god, you are worthy of anyone's love." Zhongli placed his hand on Tartaglia's cheek, caressing it lightly with his thumb. The younger male leaned into his touch, a soft whine escaping his lips when the hand was removed after a moment. He nodded, drinking in all the praise he was getting, enjoying it thoroughly.
He waited for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Zhongli, I-"
He was interrupted by Hongru placing two steaming bowls in front of them both, nodding at the two of them before hurrying off back to the front of the restaurant.
Tartaglia frowned and sighed a little. "Zhongli, I think I'm in love with you." The words spilled from his lips as Zhongli just smiled. Childe looked at him with a confused expression. Oh shit. Was he about to get ridiculed..? He'd never live this down, shit, shit!! Could he even face Zhongli if he denied his feelings, he'd have to leave Liyue, go on a mission in Mondstat. Or even better, go to Sumeru where he would be sure to never embarrass himself like this again.
"Ajax? Ajax.. Oh Archons.. Ajax!" Zhongli raised his voice a little to snap the ginger out of his thoughts, he knew that he was overreacting. Typical of the Harbinger. Tartaglia looked at him, the feeling of anxiety filling his chest. "Ajax, you're so oblivious.. I've been trying to drop you hints for the last few weeks. Even Aether and Lumine have tried to help you see them. I spoke to Beidou and Ningguang too, they offered some helpful advice. Something along the lines of this.."
Zhongli stood and strolled over to where Childe was sitting opposite him, swiftly sitting on his lap before holding his face gently in both hands and kissing him. The kiss was full of passion and love, it took all of what Zhongli had to keep himself from going further due to the public setting they were in and he knew better than to do that yet. Tartaglia, on the other hand, had grown bright red. From his forehead down to his chest was flushed as he leant into the tender kiss, placing his hands on Zhongli's hips.
Thoughts were whirling through his head as he struggled to think straight. Zhongli eventually pulled away, his eyes half lidded and full of lust driven hunger. "Why don't we get out of here?"