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The last time Zhongli saw Childe was decades ago.
He remembers that day just as clearly. Bright orange hair framing his heart-shaped face. Beautiful blue eyes shining with unmatched confidence for both past and future battles. Lips that curved upwards to reach those same sparkling eyes whenever he smiled. His scarf flew behind him as he waved goodbye enthusiastically.
Zhongli remembers. “I’ll be back soon.” Childe had said.
Neither of them had expected ‘soon’ to stretch into decades of longing.
For a being that has witnessed the rise and fall of many while enduring through countless battles, the irony of his struggle to confess was not lost. One might think that with the experience of surviving many bloody battles that almost cost his life, summoning the courage to express his feelings would be child’s play.
Yet, everytime he laid eyes on Childe, the words eluded his grasp.
And so he suffered, a powerful god who once governed over Liyue, reduced to yearning’s slave. With every passing day, he laments his own cowardice that cost him his chance to hold his lover so many seas away in his arms, to shower him with all the affection he could give.
He never thought unspoken words could be so painful.
The moment news of Childe’s impending return reaches Zhongli’s ears, the decades of yearning and agony is washed away and what comes to shore is happiness, anticipation, and anxiety.
This time, Zhongli swears to himself, he will say those words that he had longed to say.
“Childe.” Zhongli calls out.
When Childe turns around, Zhongli momentarily freezes. The sea breeze gently rustles the faded orange hair of the once young and reckless boy who was always looking for a fight. The passage of time has sculpted the young boy into a battle hardened veteran. His hair, having grown longer, is gathered into a messily tied short ponytail. Faint wrinkles are etched on his face, along with a red eyepatch over his right eye. Once clean shaven, he now sported a neatly trimmed stubble that frames his jawline.
Childe settles his gaze on Zhongli. His remaining blue eye has lost its zest for life after seeing the many horrors of war, leaving only a blue void in its wake.
“Xiansheng, it's been awhile.” A smile appears on his weary face, a small one that doesn't quite reach his eyes anymore.
“It has.” Zhongli feels a pang in his heart.
“And yet you still look as young and handsome as ever.” Childe says, voice gruff. The cheeriness that was once carried within his voice was no more.
“You as well.”
“Psssh. A middle aged man like me looking handsome? You jest.” Childe laughs.
Zhongli merely smiles back. Back then, Childe laughed freely with his whole body. Now, his laughter was curt and restrained, as if he had forgotten how to laugh.
“I only speak the truth. Shall we go?”
“Of course. I can't express how much I've missed the food in Liyue.” Childe follows Zhongli away from the port.
As Zhongli walks up the small slope leading to the city, he notices Childe struggling to keep up with him silently. Childe leans heavily on his right foot, while his left one moves forward jerkily. Zhongli opens his lips, but closes them upon further thought.
For a warrior like Childe, and in all the times that he has known him, it would only hurt Childe more if he attempts to help. All he can do is to slow his pace, so that's what he does. When they finally reach the Xinyue pavilion, Childe all but collapses onto the seat.
“Phew! I forgot how hot Liyue is.” Childe fans himself.
“Have some tea to quench your thirst.”
Childe downs the cup of tea as if it were his lifeline. “Thanks, that really hits the spot!”
Zhongli engages in conversation while they wait for their food to be served. Childe recounts his experiences on his journey to him as Zhongli listens and thinks of how much the man in front of him has changed.
For the immortal, it is easy to forget that time continues to march forward. It changes and shapes people, for both the better and the worse, and its victims don’t get a say in it. Zhongli notes how Childe’s cheeks has sunken in after all these years. That won’t do. When the food arrives, Zhongli spares no time on filling up Childe’s bowl.
“Wait- xiansheng! That's too much!” Childe tries to stop Zhongli by blocking his bowl with his chopsticks.
“Nonsense, you mentioned you missed Liyue cuisine did you not?” Zhongli swats Childe’s chopsticks away with ease and adds another piece of meat to the bowl of rice. The rice is now hidden by the mountain of sides stacked on top of one another; calling it a bowl of rice is being generous.
Zhongli smiles to himself in satisfaction. He watches Childe lift his chopsticks again, carefully picking up the meat in his bowl. He shakily brings it up to his lips, only for it to drop onto the table with a loud splat.
“These darned sticks.” Childe grumbles to himself.
“Here.” Zhongli brings a piece of meat with his own chopsticks towards Childe.
“I can do it myself!” A faint blush creeps up Childe's face.
Zhongli merely pushes the meat forward even more. Childe bites his lips before he hesitantly takes the meat into his lips and muttering something under his breath. Humming in satisfaction, Zhongli moves to the seat beside Childe and offers him a piece of vegetable this time.
“Xiansheng!” Childe exclaims and tries to push Zhongli away. “You don't have to feed me.”
“I do not doubt your capabilities.” Zhongli replies. When Childe opens his lips in rebuttal, Zhongli takes the chance to push the vegetable into his mouth. “I would just very much prefer that no more food goes wasted.”
“Hey!” Childe pouts at him as he chews the food. Zhongli laughs. He brings a piece of fish up to Childe's lips. “This is embarrassing.” Childe says, and yet, he obediently takes the piece of fish into his lips. A small smile creeping onto his face.
Zhongli is secretly grateful that the Snezhnayan has never managed to master the art of chopsticks even after so long, but he doesn’t voice out that sentiment. The rest of the meal continues in that fashion: Zhongli would feed Childe his food and Childe would accept it graciously. If the sight of the seemingly never ageing consultant feeding an older Snezhnayan man baffles the server that comes to refill their cups of tea, he does not show it.
“I hope the meal was to your liking.” Zhongli nurses a warm cup of tea in his hands.
“It was. But I’m worried that you didn't get to enjoy your meal, you know, with you feeding me and all.”
“You do not need to worry. Watching you eat brings me more enjoyment than eating myself.” Zhongli takes a sip from the tea. “If we’re done with our meal, let us spar together again, just like the old days.”
“I would love that.” Childe says, his eye sparkling brightly at the mention of a spar.
————
Zhongli raises his spear and deflects an attack from Childe. Childe leaps back and gives Zhongli a pointed look.
“Is something the matter?” Zhongli says.
“You're going easy on me. You think I’ve grown weaker. Because of my age. Well, don’t. I’m just as strong as I was in the past!” Childe says before he launches forward again, hydro blades in hand.
Zhongli dodges the quick succession of attacks from Childe.
“Stop running and fight me!” Childe growls. He rushes forward before ducking at the last moment, aiming his dual blades at Zhongli’s legs. Or that was what it seemed like. Zhongli only realises his mistake after seeing the look in Childe’s eyes. Childe melds his blades together right after ducking, forming a spear that was aimed upwards towards Zhongli’s chest.
Childe’s blade leaves a shallow cut in his chest as Zhongli barely dodges in time. Childe does not give Zhongli any time to recover. He rushes towards Zhongli, separating his spear into two again and slashes. He then pivots on his foot, melding his blades together again and launching into a spin.
However, Childe’s blade meets a glowing shield with a loud clang.
“I must apologise. It was a mistake for me to underestimate your strength.” Zhongli uses the base of his spear to sweep against Childe’s legs. “I shall give you a fight deserving of a warrior of your strength.”
Childe leaps back and grins. “That’s what I like to hear.”
The two rush at each other, their weapons reverberating loudly in the field. It was truly wrong of Zhongli to think that go easy on Childe in fear of hurting him. If anything, Childe has grown stronger.
Childe dives down and rushes towards Zhongli like a tidal wave, his blade brushes by Zhongli’s face as Zhongli repositions himself to dodge the attack. Childe’s attacks were always fast and precise, but it used to carry a tinge of inexperience in it. Where his attacks used to be hungry and wild, now his strikes were marked by more discipline and intent — yet just as greedy.
Childe continues with his blows and Zhongli parries them. Beneath the clanging of their blades, Zhongli thinks he can hear himself laughing.
Ah. This was just like the old days. Where they would spar endlessly together like dancers, their blades coming together to form the melody of their stage until the sunset, when the curtain on their performance would drop with Childe reluctantly admitting defeat with a proclamation to defeat Zhongli next time.
Waiting for an opening, Zhongli continues to deflect Childe’s attack with his own spear. When Childe tries the same spinning attack, Zhongli takes the chance to redirect it and lands a kick on Childe. Childe drops to the ground. Zhongli takes the chance to launch forward with his spear ready to strike.
But Childe is fast. He rolls away and springs up on his feet. Childe jumps back and brings out his bow.
“Watch this!” Hydro energy gathers around Childe and his bow. A giant hydro whale aimed at Zhongli is unleashed with a loud cry.
“I believe I’ve already seen this trick before, this cannot faze me.” Zhongli summons a Jade Shield.
“That's not what you should be looking at!” In the short time before the whale landed, Childe had gotten behind Zhongli. Zhongli turns around.
But it’s too late.
Childe smashes through his Jade Shield with a hydro claymore and launches straight into a kick after, sending Zhongli into the trajectory of the whale. Then, all Zhongli sees is a huge wave of blue. Then his back is on the wet ground, the blue sky reflected in his eyes.
“I told you Zhongli, I’ve changed.” Childe's face enters his vision, his blue eye swimming with life yet again. He offers a hand.
“Indeed, it baffles me that you would employ so much energy to create a whale as a means of drawing attention away. It's truly something only you would come up with. I admit my defeat.” Zhongli takes Childe's hand and pulls himself up.
“To think that it’ll take me decades to finally hear the words that I’ve longed to hear.” Childe laughs.
To the immortal like the adepti, time is a concept that stretches on forever with no end in sight. But at this moment, Zhongli wishes that this moment would last forever. “You should relish this moment while you still can, for there will be no repeat.” Zhongli declares.
“Is that a challenge I hear? You’re on!” Childe smirks and summons his hydro blade.
“Not today, the sun is setting. We should be getting back.” Zhongli folds his hands behind his back.
“Tsk.” Childe clicks his tongue in disappointment and pouts.
————
“Hey Xiansheng?” Childe starts.
“What is it?” Zhongli replies.
At Childe’s request, the two are sitting on a hill that overlooks Liyue Harbour, watching the sunset ushering in the end of another day.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I got too heated up during our spar.” Childe brings his knees up and hugs it close to him.
“It is natural to get fired up during a spar, it’s a sign of your ambition. There is no need to apologise.”
“It’s more than that.” Childe gazes absentmindedly at Liyue Harbour.
Zhongli silently looks at Childe, sensing his uneasiness. A gentle breeze rustles Childe’s hair, the golden red rays of the sun highlighting his troubled figure.
“Do you know why I have this eyepatch?” Childe moves a hand to touch his right eye. “It was a result of weakness. A small window of carelessness. My slowed reflexes was all it took for me to lose my right eye. Pathetic, isn’t it?”
“I recounted my journey to you, but not of how time has worn this body down where it now aches daily, how it has stolen away my reflexes. I had to learn how to rely on elemental sight to make up for my lost eye. But that leaves me vulnerable to non-elemental attacks. I know you noticed this, and you probably have questions,” Childe rolls up his right pant leg to reveal a huge scar. “and now you have your answer. I had to learn how to embrace the healing properties of hydro to strengthen this leg just to keep up on the battlefield with this battered leg of mine, and that only leaves me drained faster.”
“I’m not the young man I was anymore. Even my pride as a warrior is slowly being stripped away by time, day by day, second by second.” Childe rolls down his pant leg. “Tell me xiansheng, what would you do with a blade that can’t be used anymore?”
Zhongli remains silent and ponders the question in his head.
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have posed such a difficult question to you.” Childe shakes his head with a sad smile. “Shall we head back into the harbour?” He stands up.
“I would not discard a blade simply because it has been worn down.” Zhongli starts. “Every chip, every crack, tells a tale of the battles it has fought, and the battles that it has won. I would revere it for all the battles it has won, and thank it for surviving until now.”
Zhongli rises to meet Childe’s eyes.
“A blade, though weathered, can still be a formidable foe when wielded by one who knows its worth. And I believe that’s something Tartaglia, a master of all weapons, is able to do. After all, he has managed to wield every kind of weapon, hasn’t he?” He takes Childe’s hand and plants a gentle kiss.
“...He has.” Childe replies softly, his brilliant blue eye gleaming.
“This is why,” A soft shimmering glow emits from their held hands, Zhongli lowers himself onto one knee. When Zhongli removes his hand, a golden ring is on Childe’s finger. “Childe, will you give this old god the chance to care and revere you for as long as we both shall live?”
“...” Childe stares with a widened eye at Zhongli, a swirl of emotions raging beneath it. Every single second that passes tortures Zhongli as he watches Childe with held breath. When Childe finally speaks, it is a small whisper, one only meant for Zhongli.
“...Ajax.”
It takes a moment, but when it clicks, Zhongli’s lips widen into the biggest smile he could wear.
“Ajax, will you marry me?”
“Yes, xiansheng. Yes!” Ajax smiles widely, one that reaches his sparkling eye.
Zhongli finally rises and brings Ajax closer to him by his waist, Ajax slings his arms over Zhongli’s shoulder and the two finally share a kiss filled with decades of love and longing. When the two finally break apart, their lips are red and puffy, their breaths hitched.
“I don’t want to break the moment, but are you sure? As I mentioned, I’m not young anymore. There are plenty of other fishes-”
Zhongli reaches in and gives Childe another small kiss to stop him. “I am sure, and I have been for the past few decades. Age is of no concern to me, and it shouldn’t be to you either, because you are still as charming as you were when we first met.”
Ajax removes his arm from Zhongli’s neck and steps closer into his embrace instead, burying his face into Zhongli’s chest. “Thank you for loving me.” He whispers.
“It’s nothing at all, my dear.” Zhongli smiles and places a comforting hand on the back of Ajax’s head.
“And, you should stop calling me Xiansheng.” Zhongli says.
“What else would I call you?”
“You could always call me by my name. Or maybe even, husband?”
“We just got engaged!” Ajax exclaims and frees himself from Zhongli’s arms.
“It is just a suggestion. You can take your time and choose. No matter what you pick, I will be there.” Zhongli laughs and offers Ajax his hand. Ajax smiles and accepts Zhongli’s hands.
“Любимый.” Ajax whispers.
“Did you say something?”
“Nothing!”
The two continue their walk back to Liyue Harbor hand in hand, the golden rings on their fingers shimmering brightly.