Work Text:
Two souls.
Their paths cross.
Not knowing that they were destined for more.
—
Hello.
My name is Zhongli.
These were the two lines that were supposed to be Childe's soulmate's first and last words to him, apparently. Yet to Childe, they sounded more like a greeting said together.
Who the hell would say their name as a final sentence to their soulmate? Maybe his soul mate was a weirdo.
And not to mention 'hello' as a first sentence, heck, it was more like a first word, how in Tevyat was he supposed to know who his soulmate was when their first word was literally said by everyone who had ever crossed paths with him?
But he had something to work with that most people could only dream of having, which was a name, and that itself would have already narrowed the pool of people he had to search for by millions. Yet despite scouring the Internet ever since his words first formed, he had never managed to pinpoint which exact Zhongli his soulmate was. Search results had always yielded thousands of Zhongli's, and that number was just increasing by the year as more Zhongli's were born.
So after 25 years of living and not being able to find his One yet, Childe had long given up. He was well past the age where most people would find their soulmates, and so he didn't bother actively looking for them anymore.
That was until one fateful day.
—
The sky was bedarkened and weeping, as if someone had forced the clouds to pour out rain in the galleons, covering the whole land in its misery. Traffic slowed to a crawl, drivers all weary of the lack of vision on the road, while pedestrians ran towards the nearest shelter to seek refuge from the pouring rain.
Ajax was no exception.
He was barely half way home before the heavens poured open abruptly, forcing him to run to take refuge under the nearest tree.
Damn it, Ajax thought. How was he going to get home like this?
He circled around underneath the tree, determined to try to spot a proper shelter nearby through the blur of rain, gaze so focused that he didn't realise that he was on a path of collision to someone.
They both gasped at the same time as their foreheads bumped into each other.
"Hey, didn't see you there."
"Hello." Ajax heard the man breathe, and he looked up to see a beautiful man clad in a fitting brown suit blinking back owlishly at him.
The man looked… Amazing. Like he was straight out of one of the gay porno magazines that he used to read under his blanket before he came out to his parents.
"You look really beautiful." Shit. He was not supposed to say that out loud.
Ajax watched as his lips curved upwards into a smile. He looked even more angelic smiling like this.
"It's alright." The man laughed. "You're the first person who has ever told me that. Most people find my features too feminine for a male."
Ajax frowned. What? This man was clearly beautiful. Those people were absolutely out of their minds. "Well, screw society's standards. It's their loss that they can't see that you're a beauty."
"Thank you." He smiled again, and they both basked in comfortable silence under the backdrop of the rain, before Ajax remembered why he was circling the tree in the first place.
"Oh yeah, I was actually trying to find the nearest bus stop. Do you know where it is?"
The man's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Ah, yes I do. In fact, I was planning to head there as well."
He cocked his head to the side and folded his arms, before continuing on speaking. "It is my usual bus stop that I take to go home, but given the rain today I was thinking of taking a cab instead. And it so happens that the cabs are easier to hail from that bus stop. Would you be heading there as well?"
Damn. Ajax thought to himself. He could listen to this guy speak on the most boring topic for hours. His silky smooth baritone voice was seriously hella soothing to his ears.
"Yep. I can't walk anywhere in this horrible rain. I'll take a bus home from there." Ajax waved a hand casually. The man hums in reply.
Well, at least that saved him sometime from running around in the rain to find the bus stop. "Hey," He nudged the man beside him again, who turned to look at him with those golden brown eyes. "Do you happen to have an umbrella that we could share?"
"About that…" The man opened his briefcase and peered through it for a moment. Talk about old fashioned. Ajax hasn't seen a briefcase in awhile. Everyone only wore backpacks or carried around a more modern leather sling bag around from where he worked. This man looked like he worked in a more professional setting, perhaps he was a businessman?
He shook his head and closed the case with a click. "I'm afraid I have left mine at home. But we could use my briefcase as a cover, if you don't mind."
Ajax raised a brow. "You sure? That thing looks hella expensive."
"Ah, I assure you that it is waterproof and relatively old. I was planning to replace it sooner or later, anyways."
"Well if you say so, then I wouldn't mind."
The man moved to press flush against Ajax as he circled an arm around his waist to pull him close, while holding the briefcase above their heads.
Ajax felt his heart skip a beat. His cheeks felt warm despite the cold rain whipping up a storm all around them. “I- I can hold us together. You can hold the briefcase.” He offered.
They counted to three, before dashing off into the rain, away from the safety of the tree. They ran and ran, laughing as they dodged past cars who honked at them furiously, and squeezing past the crowd of people with umbrellas as they rushed to beat the red light at the crossing.
At last, they collapsed against the wet seats of the bus stop giggling like naughty children, their whole body completely soaked.
“That briefcase…” Ajax struggled to catch his breath, “... was absolutely useless.”
The man burst out into a fit of laughter, deep voice chortling without restrain, and Ajax felt himself laughing too. His laughter was absolutely contagious.
“Well, who can deny that it still helped us to keep our heads dry, at least?” He smiled.
Without warning, he started peeling off his soaking brown suit coat and Ajax looked away instinctively. It felt private, to watch another man undress. But the man only gave Ajax a puzzled look. “You should take off your hoodie too, else you will catch a cold soon.” He said.
“You’re right.”
He made sure the other wasn’t looking before he shot side glances to admire the man’s figure. His white inner button down was wet, and it clung to all the contours on his body, leaving little to nothing for imagination. And if he looked closely, he could see pretty pink nipples peeking from underneath-
“So, what do you work as? I suppose you just got off from work.”
Ah. Ajax snapped out from his lewd thoughts. He was truly disgusting. Fantasizing about a man he just met.
“I’m actually a marine biologist, specializing in narwhale knowledge and expertise, to be specific. I work in Fatui. What about you?”
“Fatui Incorporation.” The man pondered. “To be able to work for them at such a young age… That is truly impressive. Not many are able to join their ranks this fast. I suppose congratulations are in order." He smiled.
Ah. Not this again. "Thank you. I'm actually really embarrassed to admit this to people that I don't really know. They tend to look up at me with some sort of wonder and treat me like someone I'm not… Or relatives who try to obviously get closer to me in order to pull the connection card for themselves.” Ajax shuddered in disgust.
Thankfully, Zhongli got the cue to move on. “I guess it's my turn now. I work as a lecturer and researcher in Liyue University, mainly teaching geology.”
Ajax’s eyes nearly popped out of his socket. “No way! That was the university I used to go to!”
They shared stories from the university to each other, expressions animated as they talked about their experiences. Time passed by in an instant, Ajax felt like he had known the man for a lifetime despite only meeting him once.
Was this how meeting a soulmate felt like? Perhaps this was the closest Ajax could come to doing so. He hoped that his partner would be able to keep up this same vibe too, if he ever came across them.
“Ah, excuse me for stopping the conversation for a bit… but I realised I had forgotten to hail a cab.” The man stood up, hand outstretched to try to grab a cab’s attention before Ajax stopped him with an incredulous look.
“No one’s gonna be able to see you raising your hand in this heavy rain, pal.” He chuckled. “I think you should try to use the app instead.”
There was a pregnant pause where Ajax was expecting a reply from him, yet the man froze, expression blank and mind scrambling for a response.
Eventually, he spoke up. “I see, but…” The man pushed his glasses upwards slightly, using his hand to shield his embarrassed face. “I...uh…As much as I hate to admit it…I do not really know how to use these… ‘apps’ that you speak of.”
What.
“Archons, what are you, 80?” Ajax burst out laughing and the man blushed crimson red.
“I assure you that I am only 30 this year…”
His blush was the same shade as his rosy red lips, and when he looked down shyly, Ajax could see every individual eyelash and the droplets of rain water that were caught between them. Geez. He had the strangest urge to reach down and gently wipe the water off for him.
“I was joking, of course I’ll help you out! Count it as repayment for sharing your briefcase with me earlier.”
Ajax fished out his phone and made the man mimic what he was doing on his own phone. He tried not to judge the man’s phone. It looked like it was a decade outdated. Although he supposed it was cute, in a way.
“You press this and…then that…then this…” Ajax felt like he was teaching his grandmother how to use her device. The man looked so young, yet felt so old at heart compared to Ajax, who felt like an overgrown teenager.
“Alright, cab successfully booked!” Ajax cheered. “You should commemorate this, ‘My first time using a phone to book a cab.’” He tried mimicking the other’s deep voice, and the man shook his head, a smile dancing across his lips.
“Perhaps I should.”
“You’re seriously considering it? Hey, why not let’s take a picture together? I could send it to you afterwards.”
“That would be nice.”
Ajax pulled the man towards him by the shoulder, the latter colliding into him an omph before he readjusted his shirt. Warmth blossomed in his heart as he flashed his heartiest grin at the camera. A memento for the both of them to remember this chance encounter by. Two strangers whose paths collided into each other through a heavy rainstorm. Strangely enough, he didn’t want this moment to end.
Perhaps… He could ask the man for another meet up.
The camera flashed, capturing the two in an eternal smile.
“Hey, erm… I was wondering if you would like to-”
“Ah, it seems like my cab has arrived.” A car pulled up to the bus stop just as he said that. The man stood up, patting off the rainwater from his body as he straightened out his outfit. “This was truly an amazing night with you. I hope our paths will cross again someday.” He started walking towards the cab.
“Wait! I realised I haven’t even gotten your name yet!” Ajax yelled, standing up to try to catch one last glimpse of the man as he boarded the cab.
“What is your name?” He shouted.
Ajax saw the man giving the driver some instructions before he turned back to Ajax one last time. A final smile gracing his face.
“My name is Zhongli.”
The door clicked shut with a heavy thud and the cab drove off, leaving Ajax alone at the bus stop.
Zhongli? That was a nice name. Such an elegant name fitted the man’s appearance. He mused.
Wait.
Zhongli?!
“No, no- WAIT!!!!”
Ajax took off after the cab in an instant, footsteps thundering across the road as he chased after the car, which disappeared into the distance, its silhouette getting smaller and smaller by the second.
Rain fell like daggers all around him and soaked his dry outfit wet once again. Yet this time, he didn’t care anymore.
This couldn’t be their last meeting. This can’t be! Not when the spark between them just ignited.
Everything that happened after was a blur. All he remembered was running, running, and running. His heart pounding in his chest as his tired legs begged for him to stop. Yet he couldn’t.
There was a blinding flash of light and Ajax heard a string of curses as he shielded his eyes from the bright light of the cars who stopped in the middle of the road to blare their horns at him.
“What are you doing on the road?!”
“Hey move man!”
Ajax collapsed onto the road, his legs finally failing him as he sat on the floor and wailed, heart broken and head a mess. Some passersbys pitied him so they dragged him off the road and onto the pavement, all of them chiding him for his reckless behaviour.
But he didn’t listen to any of them. Nothing mattered anymore.
Not when his soulmate was gone from his life forever.
—
Miraculously, he managed to make it home, somehow.
The consequences of spending the whole night out in the freezing rain was starting to catch up on him in the form of a leaking nose and a feverish chill in his bones.
He plopped down onto the sofa in his living room as he nursed the warm cup of water in his hands.
Was this it? He thought bitterly. Was this how his love life started and ended all in one night?
Maybe he could try reaching out to Zhongli online, somehow. He hasn’t considered that yet. Would emails work? He knew where Zhongli worked at now, so he should be able to dig out some information on his contact number.
He refused to believe that fate was so cruel. Maybe… he could be the first case in history where the soulmate’s last words weren’t their actual last words.
With renewed hope, Ajax took out his phone and started scouring the net. He turned on the television with the remote right next to him, intent on providing some background noise to fill the silence as he searched.
But nothing could have prepared him for what he heard.
“Breaking news, a horrific crash right outside the roads of Liyue Harbour took the lives of two, a driver and a passenger. Police say that the rain and poor visibility was the cause of numerous accidents tonight, this being one of them. One of the victims was a highly acclaimed lecturer at Liyue University, Mr. Zhongli Lapis. The university had sent their condolences upon receiving the news…”
Crash.
The mug in Ajax’s hand shattered into a million pieces onto the floor.
Then, on the television screen they showed a tribute photo of Zhongli who was wearing a short sleeved shirt, wrists exposed for the world to see.
Ajax’s words were written there in unmistakable scraggly font.
Hey, didn't see you there.
What is your name?
—
Two lovers
Destined to meet
Yet their fates cut short
Leaving a weeping widow
And a restless soul