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“Did you get what you need?”
Dainsleif plops the basket of groceries down onto the wooden floor of their quaint little cottage as Zhongli tends to their humble garden outside. It's rich with their favorite crops, such as carrots, Sweet Flowers and the like.
Giving an audible grunt back, the blond sticks his head out of one of the windows.
“Is that a new plant?”
Zhongli laughs at the blunt delivery and oh my , it's such a hearty and pleasant one to hear. Dainsleif can no longer recall when he started to enjoy hearing it, but it doesn't matter in the slightest.
“These Sumerian roses were a gift from Buer. I wanted to see if we could add them to our daily cuisine, as I'm very curious about their taste.”
Dainsleif quirks an eye. “You've never eaten them before?”
The brunette waves dismissively with a dirty hand. “These are genetically modified variants produced by a student of the Akademiya, and are said to be sweeter than the regular kind.”
An off-shade flower is held in his gentle hands, as he carefully arranges it in the fertile soil.
“I've lived for thousands of years, of course I've tried them before. What kind of person do you take me for?”
The blond snorts. “Only a month ago did you finally muster up the courage to try Xiangling’s Boiled Fish.”
Zhongli's expression turns sour in an instant. “Pardon me, but seafood tastes despicable. Slimes, however, are the worst ingredients to ever grace the art of cuisine.”
“Whatever you say, oh mighty dragon,” he rolls his eyes in reply, as Zhongli snorts at his display of sarcasm.
He thinks back to how much time has passed. Xiangling is now managing the Wanmin Restaurant after the position was handed to her by her father, with the loyal and sweet Yaoyao as her faithful assistant. They've both matured into fine young women and will no doubt make even more of a breakthrough in the culinary world.
Before those several years passed, none of them thought that they would end up this way. The playful banter that they now engaged in was almost nonexistent then, as the tense air completely overshadowed any form of cordiality between the two individuals. After all, the Twilight Sword held a deep contempt for one of the persons who he thought was responsible for condemning his nation. Meanwhile, the Geo Archon said nothing.
However, this did not stop the Traveler (bless their heart) from exerting an ungodly amount of effort and patience into getting them to be nice to one another, even if it meant arranging stupid excuses to pair them into doing the same tasks from time to time. One of those tasks involved transversing to Fontaine to forage Lumidouce Bells, in which they needed to set up camp in the wild for several nights.
On one of those nights, the Khaenri’ahn woke up to see the usually well-kempt Zhongli restless and submerged in what seemed like a nightmare. Bracing himself, he slowly approached the sleeping individual.
“Sorry, I'm so sorry,” he heard flustered words escape from the slumbering man’s lips. “I'm so very sorry.”
He didn't understand what was happening.
With apprehension and a slight bit of hesitation, he gently touched the other man's face and watched as his eyes slowly opened.
“I'm so sorry, I didn't want to do it.” He stared at him with a glossy half-lidded look. “I never did.”
Dainsleif had no clue of what he was referring to but he went with it anyway. “It’s alright, I forgive you. Now go back to sleep.”
The dragon man promptly went back to the land of dreams and now the former knight was left alone to process what he had just done.
They didn't talk much after that, as the air was so tense that not even Zhongli could fill it in by rambling about random Teyvat facts. They refused to look each other in the eyes after that incident.
The next night though, Dainsleif finally had enough and initiated a conversation as they were roasting fish by the campfire.
“What were you talking about at that time?”
Zhongli looked up from his pondering, twisting the skewer back and forth in his hand.
“Pardon?”
“You were saying something last night, blabbering about apologies and all of that nonsense.”
“Ah.”
Zhongli then exerted all of his focus on counting the scales on the cooked fish. Seeing the attempt at evading the topic, Dainsleif let it be and remained quiet as well.
After a long moment of silence, the consultant finally spoke up.
“It was never meant to happen.”
The Twilight Sword raised an eyebrow, as he continued.
“I cannot divulge on it due to the contract, but—”
“Save it. I understand. “ No, he didn't.
His golden eyes cast downward in guilt.
‘You have no idea how much I want to tell you, but a contract is a contract.’
They parted shortly after the commission was done.
—------------------------—
They avoided each other to the point that even the Traveler was too stretched thin to find a way to pair them together again.
And so the next time they met, it was when Zhongli returned home from work to find a ragged Dainsleif bleeding out on his hardwood floor.
“Where's your medicine?” the blond rummaged through his belongings with one hand as he pressed tightly on an abdominal stab wound with the other.
The brunette, after breaking out of his stupor, promptly manhandled the other to a corner while tossing some cushions towards him. “Stay here and don't move.”
Too tired to protest, Dainsleif barely nodded as he focused on pressing down on the stab wound and not spilling his blood even more on Zhongli's pristine floor.
The person in question finally came back with a wooden box and a basin in tow and set it down on the floor next to him. Taking a damp cloth, he gently dabbed the gash, making sure to cause as little pain as possible. Meanwhile, the former knight tried to muffle his sounds of pain, but to no avail. Nothing can escape the sensitive ears of a dragon and thus Zhongli made sure to be even gentler and slower than before.
After rubbing in the necessary herbs to mitigate the pain, Zhongli wrapped the wound nice and tight but not too much as to cause discomfort.
“I'm sorry for barging in,” the blond rasped. “I didn't know where else to go.”
Inside, Zhongli's heart yearned for the validation he thought he didn't need. For Dainsleif, the prized Twilight Sword of Khaenri’ah, to think of him as his first contact? How peculiar.
But it felt very nice.
—------------------------—
Safe to say that the incident had brought them together, even if it was only a bit. Small steps do matter after all.
When the Traveler had heard of this, they thrust a fist bump into the air as Paimon gave them a quizzical look.
—------------------------—
Over time, the energy between the two gentlemen changed, from downright hostility to mutual understanding.
At one point, Dainsleif had descended upon Zhongli's home with a bottle of alcohol in hand.
The owner looked up from his morning newspaper with an inquiring look.
“Osmanthus wine,” he lightly shook the bottle. “Care for a drink?”
Zhongli scoffed. “I don't see why not.”
—------------------------—
“For the love of Celestia, could you please just sit down?”
Hu Tao perked up from her meandering and grinned. Zhongli didn't like the implications of that grin.
“No no no, I'm just curious! You said that he couldn't die right?” He groaned in response to her enthusiasm and held up a hand as she slammed her hands onto his piled desk. A few stray papers fell and he bent down to pick them up.
“C’mon, when are you going to let me meet him? It’s not like I bite! Pretty please, just for me?”
The tired consultant sighed. “And that attitude is exactly why I will not introduce you to him in the meantime. Now if you will just calm down and–”
The parlor’s chimes rang through the air, signifying the arrival of a new customer. Hu Tao immediately took off into the direction of the lobby and Zhongli was left to finally clean up his mess in peace. However, his ears picked up on the unmistakable timber of a certain individual from the same direction she was headed in and he groaned even harder.
‘Speak of the Abyss and he shall appear.’
He quickly packed up and made his way toward the entrance to find his boss pestering poor old Dainsleif with invasive questions and coupon deals. Even better (or worse), Hu Tao did not look even the slightest bit guilty about it.
“Did you know that we’re having a sale on coffins right now? It’s all the hype at the moment! Just bring a buddy or two with you and you get to pay 40% of the price of three coffins! You can’t miss out on this good deal!”
“I’m afraid to disappoint you ma’am but I don’t think I’ll be able to use it–”
“Oh, no worries! We also cater to customers who want to be buried outside of Liyue, that’s another deal I’ll get into later– “
“No you don’t understand I–”
“We also have this–”
Zhongli cleared his throat loudly for everyone in the room to hear. The two stopped their squabble momentarily to look in his general direction.
“Ah, my esteemed funeral parlor consultant! What brings you out here–”
“I got this for you.” Dainsleif handed over a basket filled with goods to the man as Hu Tao’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Oh my days, is your name Dainsleif by any chance?” The blond was mildly surprised that she knew his name but nodded nonetheless.
“Aw shucks, and I thought I would be getting a new potential customer. Oh well.” She waved him off and made her way towards Zhongli. She punched him lightly in the arm and whispered quietly enough that only the two of them could hear. “Go get him big boy, I know how much you like him.”
Zhongli madly blushed at the sudden implication and before he could reply, she was already gone. Possibly off to pester another employee of her establishment– he secretly prays for their poor soul.
He didn’t notice Dainsleif slowly approach him until he spoke again. “What was that about?”
Zhongli dismissively waved a hand in response. “It was nothing.”
He frowned, narrowing his eyes. “Does she know?”
“She’s a very clever lady.”
“Ah.” The blond didn’t know how to respond properly.
A few moments were left silent until Dainsleif spoke up once more.
“Third Round Knockout?”
“Absolutely”, the consultant smiled. “I’m famished.”
—------------------------—
“Are you sure you’re okay with leaving your partner to do Abyss runs alone?”
Dainsleif waved him off. “It’s fine, she can handle it herself. Plus, she has contacts if she needs any help.”
He refused to add the part where her armor-clad hand gave him a few hearty pats on the shoulder for “good luck” and to “go get your man” while brandishing a thumbs up. Damn her and her devious smile. She must be corroborating with the Traveler because they currently seemed highly suspicious.
“Ah, well if you say so…” Zhongli pointed up to the night sky. “As I was saying, that constellation up there is Lapis Dei which is the depiction of the God’s Stone, which symbolizes strength, endurance….”
Dainsleif slowly closed his eyes as he listened to the other man drone on and on about constellations. He may have had a tired, no good, very bad day but the brunette’s baritone narration redeemed it for him at the very least. This man could have become a storyteller at the Third Round Knockout with how soothing his voice was, but he guessed that he preferred his role as a funeral parlor consultant instead.
He yawned as he stretched his tired limbs. Maybe she was right, and he did need a break after all. He owed her a favor after this, and he didn’t like those implications. Already imagining the manic grin on her face when he got back, his soul fell into the land of dreams.
“Hello? Earth to Dain?”
Dainsleif snaps out of his reverie by the sound of snapping fingers. He looks up to see Zhongli frowning at his puzzled expression.
“What?”
“I asked you five minutes ago what you wanted to eat for dinner.”
“Ah.”
The blond hesitates for a while, trying to scramble his brain for any dish he particularly craved in the past few weeks. “Are Jade Parcels good with you?”
Zhongli nods. “I’m alright with having them, but I’m not sure if I could cook them as good as Madam Xiangling’s. Her’s is out of this world, and I would like to learn the recipe from her someday.”
“Then let’s head to Wanmin Restaurant. We should be able to reach it by evening if we leave now.” Dainsleif tugs his coat off the clothing rack. “I’m also really craving Qingce Stir Fry to boot, and no one can make it better than Yaoyao.”
“Very well then.”
After grabbing their necessary valuables, the two men venture out of their small home into the direction of the flickering Liyue Harbor.
On the way there, Dainsleif and Zhongli were walking through Liyue’s striking scenery when a sudden thought popped into his mind.
“Zhongli, you do realize that the secret to Xiangling’s Jade Parcels are slimes?”
The man in question whipped around fast. “Excuse me??”
The Traveler had long since left Teyvat with their sibling. Right before their departure, they made them both promise to do something very important :
“When I'm gone, please keep each other company. It doesn't matter if I'm no longer here, I want you to maintain your friendship as if I'm still around.”
And they did just that, although they cannot say it was an easy journey. It took what, many months? Or even years for them to foster a deep sense of companionship with each other— though some will say that they're now much closer than that.
In fairness, they're not inclined to disagree with those sentiments.