Chapter Text
Childe leans on the railing of the ship as it approaches the docks of Liyue Harbor. He already knows that Zhongli would be waiting for him, as he always does, like the sappy man he is.
It’s alright though, he’s come to love it.
Ekaterina, who is returning to Liyue from a brief visit to her family, gives him a knowing look. He’d be worried about her suspicions about his relationship with Zhongli, but he knows she won’t tell. It’s none of her business, and he’s keeping tabs on her anyways just to be safe.
Sighing, he briefly peels himself away from the railing. Just because he’s so eager to see Zhongli, doesn’t mean he can be so obvious about it. Ekaterina is smart; but it’s only a matter of time before everyone else figures it out if he continues to be so obvious about it. It’s already a little strange he continues to see the consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor long after the original arrangement ended. The “maintaining foreign relations” excuse will only hold so long.
As he feels the sharp looks from the citizens down at the harbor, however, he knows that it’s still believable for now.
He lets out a breath as he makes it back as he hears the blaring of the ship’s horn signifying they’ve docked into the harbor. Knowing his things will be delivered to his apartment, he steps off the ship and tries not to look too excited when he sees Zhongli waiting for him.
“Nice to see you again Xiansheng,” he says, taking his place next to him. “Let us head to Wanmin restaurant, my treat!”
Zhongli chuckles. “It is nice to see you again, Childe. I hope the trip here went smoothly, no issues, I hope?”
“None at all!”
As they fall into their usual chatter, he can feel eyes on him as they walk. It is no secret that the Fatui had a hand in the release of Osial. He is the reason they feared for their lives. However, he knows that they also think that the Fatui, or more specifically him, might also be the reason for Rex Lapis’ death.
Obviously, he didn’t. He’s literally walking with the man himself, ha! He even somehow managed to gain his favor, despite everything. Who else could claim to have Rex Lapis as a lover?
Even though, officially, no assassin or any cause of death was found, it’s a very common belief that he’s the one responsible. Everyone has great respect for the Qixing, but even they have trouble understanding why the Fatui have been allowed to remain when they are clearly a threat. Though, Ningguang does keep a close eye on them.
Truth is, no one wants to make an enemy of the Fatui, or Snezhnaya. Even those working for the Fatui, and the harbingers themselves, know it. Once you’re in, it is your life from them on. If you try to leave, you have made yourself an enemy of the Fatui.
And everyone knows what happens to the enemies of the Fatui.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he tries to ignore the weight of the stares. He knows Zhongli is looking at him, too. They both know how precarious his position here is, and sooner or later the other shoe will have to drop.
Which is why I'm here, he thinks. None of them matter. Until the shoe drops, he will return to Liyue and spend time with the people who matter. The chef at Wanmin restaurant has always been kind to him, and his daughter, although eccentric, treats him like everybody else.
When they arrive, Zhongli turns to him. “Is there anything new you want to try, or just the usual?”
“Nah, just the usual for today. Maybe I'll try something new another time”, he says. He’s pretty familiar with most Liyuen dishes at this point, and many more left to try. Still, sometimes it’s comforting to spend time with your boyfriend while having an old favourite for lunch.
Handing him a mora pouch, he lets Zhongli order for them as he looks around. Everything has been peaceful lately, and he knows Lantern Rite is approaching soon. Everyone is in a festive mood, and shops are slowly beginning to start selling knick knacks and supplies for the coming festivities.
As he scans the crowd, he spots a familiar face right as Zhongli returns with their lunch packed and ready to take home. “Ah, it’s Madame Ping”, Zhongli says, pleasantly surprised to see an old friend.
“Shall we go say hi?”
To his surprise, he shakes his head. “No. We can always see her another time”.
His jaw drops a little. Sometimes, Zhongli can act a bit like the aunties and uncles back in Snezhnaya who never miss an opportunity to catch up when they run into each other. He never lets such opportunities go.
As if sensing his disbelief, Zhongli replies “Our food will get cold. And I've missed you dearly, so for today, I would merely like to spend the afternoon with you, if that is amenable to you?”
Face flushing, he has to look away. “If i’m amenable-! Who taught you to be so smooth?”
Zhongli, face full of fondness, just replies, “No one. I only speak the truth.” The matter of Madame Ping Forgotten, they go home to Childe’s apartment.
The second they enter, he releases a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and relaxed. While he considers Liyue a second home of sorts, he still has to be careful. Being at home, where no one can see them, is a welcome reprieve.
“Why couldn’t Sneznaya and Liyue be neighboring countries?” He moans as he collapses on his couch. “I’m not built to be a seafarer.”
Zhongli chuckles. “I imagine that with constant missions, that it must be tiring for you.”
“Tell me about it,” he says, letting out a huff. After a few moments, he sits up and begins to eat the food that Zhongli laid out on the table in front of the couch.
They begin eating and the room is enveloped by a comfortable silence. It’s just him and Zhongli, alone, together. When you work a career like Childe’s, moments such as these are far and few in between.
The sound of them eating is then interrupted by Zhongli putting his chopsticks down and having a thoughtful look on his face. Some time passes before he finally speaks.
“My dear Ajax, have you ever… given thought to staying here, in Liyue? Permanently?”
His heart drops at that. “You know why I can’t, Zhongli,” he says, voice wavering.
“I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I may no longer be the Geo archon, but make no mistake, that the Fatui would all be dead on the ground before they get to you.” He says, face hard and eyes slitted. It is easy to forget what Zhongli is, until moments like these. Normally he finds it very hot, but right now…
“Yes, and then your cover would be blown, a war would start, and at best we would be watching our backs for the rest of our lives. I don’t want that for us.” Appetite gone, he pushes his bowl to the side. “This is as good as it’s going to get. Which is why I am still surprised you still choose to be with me. It must get tiring.”
He shakes his head furiously. “You sell yourself short. Every moment with you is worth it.” He pauses, then starts again. “We could fake your death.”
Ajax pauses. He thinks about it. But, unfortunately…
He shakes his head. “It won’t work. They would investigate it immediately. At the very least, they would want to retrieve my body, or whatever is left of it, for the funeral. Even though Signora was nothing but ashes, they still collected it. Even if you found a body of someone recently deceased that looked convincingly like me, Dottore would immediately know it wasn’t me.”
“And besides,” he says, flopping backwards onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling with a heavy heart. “It would be the same thing in the end even if we pulled it off. We would be on guard forever, hoping that no one recognizes me. So that’s that.”
For a long time, silence fell between them. Neither of them dared to speak, feelings of despair thick in the air.
After a while, he feels his weight shift as Zhongli lays beside him on the couch, scooting close to him until their sides are touching. He pulls an arm around Childe’s shoulders and pulls him close.
It is an impossible situation, he knows. At any moment, it could all come crashing down. For now, he lays his head on Zhongli’s shoulder and focuses on the warmth of Zhongli’s body against his own, and closes his eyes.
Neither of them move for a long, long time.
Zhongli sleeps in his apartment that night. Childe would normally discourage this, fearing that someone could see Zhongli leave his house after seeing him come in the day before and suspect something, but neither of them wanted to separate after the conversation they had. Just for once, he decided to take the risk.
Zhongli had been more clingy this morning, reluctant to part ways. In the end, he is convinced to leave, reminding him of his job at the funeral parlour. Before he left, however, he had held him close and then… rubbed his face against his own, eyes glowing gold and slitted like a snake. Childe didn’t say anything as Zhongli did this, feeling the gentle hum of his Geo energy.
It’s probably a dragon thing. Perhaps it’s like with cats, who rub their faces against their owners so they smell like them.
After that, they parted, and Childe was left alone.
He takes a moment to think, tapping his fingers against his desk.
Technically, he is on a vacation of sorts. Officially, he’s just here until he’s assigned another mission by her majesty the Tsaritsa. Regardless, it means that without any assigned tasks, he’s free to do anything he wants with his time for as long as he’s here.
He should do something relaxing.
Which is how he ends up fighting his way through Domains. When he last ran into the traveler, he had mentioned how he’d been “farming” domains to get artifacts and materials, whatever that means. He hadn’t really known what the artifacts did, but perhaps Zhongli would know what to do with them.
What caught his attention however, was the fighting aspect.
Apparently, each domain has a set of challenges, most of them involving defeating waves of monsters and some involving obstacles. So of course, he asked the traveler for the name of every single one, and he’s kept that information tucked away until now.
Looking through the names and locations of all the ones in Liyue, he starts with the closest one. Fighting hordes of enemies, the feeling of their bodies turning into particles, the blood rushing in his veins… it fills him with adrenaline.
He continues forwards until he realizes he’s entered the Minlin region, where Jueyun Karst is. And what do you know, there’s a domain right in the center, called Taishan Mansion.
I wonder if I'll run into any of the Adepti, he thinks, making his way up. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see me!
He met them once, after they had officialized their relationship. For the first time since Osial, the Adepti all gathered together in one place, and it was to announce that Zhongli had taken Childe as a mate (and boy, did it hit him to realize that he’s not just Zhongli’s boyfriend, he is his mate). It was just a little embarrassing, but Zhongli claimed it was important to him. The Adepti are like his family, and he wants them to get along.
Childe, of course, knows it’s a nice way of saying, “so the Adepti don’t kill you on sight the next time they see you.” It was clearly needed though, because Xiao looked like he would love nothing more than to skewer him with the sharp end of his spear.
It went… decently well considering that their first impression of him was less than stellar. Which is to say that they begrudgingly accepted Rex Lapis’ choice, knowing he is stubborn and won’t change his mind. They, especially Cloud Retainer, kept throwing Zhongli glances that judged him on his bad taste. Childe would agree, but Zhongli chose him and that’s that.
As he reaches the domain, he glances up at the sky, noting that the sun is beginning to set. This will have to be the last domain if he wants to get home in time, and he’ll have to be quick.
He walks around the large body of water in front of the domain, reaches the large stone doors, and pries the doors open.
Or, at least, he tries to. The second his palms make contact with the door, the soothing blue glow of the domain abruptly shines a bright gold, blinding him for a few moments as his eyes adjust. Eventually, the glow lessens to a tolerable level but he can hear the sound of stone turning and shifting from within the domain.
Then, all of a sudden, the doors open slowly, revealing a large network of obstacles and large amounts of monsters from within. This isn’t what the traveler’s notes described, he thinks as he walks inside. I was supposed to be some strong mitachurls and the like, wasn’t it? The gold glow too, was new.
Immediately he hears a ”Yah!” as a hilichurl comes running towards him. Should be easy enough.
He was so wrong.
What follows are what has to be the longest hours of his life. On top of completing puzzles, he has to fight through what he can only describe as reinforced enemies as he fights for his life within the domain. Even the hilichurls seem much much stronger, faster, smarter, and deadlier than a regular hilichurl.
He has to use everything he’s learned throughout his life, both in the Abyss and in the Fatui, to make his way out. At first, he relished in the challenge, blood sinking and laughter escaping his throat as he slaughtered them. It slowly morphed into pure focus as he realizes that the domain isn’t ending. It feels as though the domain has no exit and he is trapped here forever.
He wonders how much longer he can take, just managing to get out of the way of a berserk ruin drake when he strikes it down, jabbing a spear into its ‘eye’ and all of a sudden, the domain shifts once more, opening a wall and revealing the usual tree, looking as normal as usual.
Wary, he walks up to it slowly, until he’s right in front of it. Seeing that nothing is happening and there’s no other exit, he touches the tree with his hands.
The glow intensifies, and the usual particles surround him, engulfing him, and he can no longer see at all. He yells out as the particles heat up to a point that he feels like his skin is burning, consuming him, until all of a sudden, all at once, his body is lifted and he’s somehow dropped back outside the front doors of the domain, fall mildly cushioned by the cool grass.
He doesn’t move as he collects himself, instead focusing on breathing as the crickets chirp all around him and a cool breeze flows over him. He barely notes that the sun has set and the moon is high up in the sky.
Slowly, he gets up on shaky legs, and walks towards Qingyun peak.
He doesn’t know why.
All he knows is that the still writhing energy within him is pulling him in that direction, that the domain was simply the beginning.
He walks and walks, reaching the base of the mountain and begins the ascent upwards. At some point, he reaches the point where he has to climb and so he does, until he reaches the top and reads what is written on the stone tablet.
It’s another puzzle, about three divine birds.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
The less said about his struggle to figure it out, the better. By the time he got all of the statues pointing in the right direction, the sky was just beginning to lighten again when he activated the wind current. Pulling open his paraglider, he makes his way up.
He isn’t one to be afraid of heights, but he has to admit he’s never been this high up before. He refuses to look down as he reaches a platform, and begins carefully jumping from platform to platform until he reaches the top of what appears to be a very small island with a seating area and a desk. Choosing to ignore the contents of the desk, he takes a moment to sit and rest his exhausted body.
The energy within him is no longer writhing, now more of a gentle pulsing. With a sigh, he looks out at the view now that he is on safe ground.
Zhongli is surely beside himself by now, he knows the man worries for him a lot. He has a right to be, he gets himself into all sorts of trouble.
He always gets himself out in the end anyways. Just not this time.
This time, he can feel he’s gotten himself into something he can’t take back. The strange, warm energy clings to him in a similar way the abyssal taint used to, way back as a child. In the end, he had to accept it and take it in order to survive. No one survives in the abyss without becoming one of its many monsters.
Will he accept this energy or let it go? What is it doing to him?
All he wanted was to take a vacation, kiss Zhongli, and fight. He wants a lot of things. He wants, more than anything, to keep everyone he loves close.
Is it too much to ask for, he thinks. I want to protect my friends, my family, my Zhongli.
He remembers telling the Traveler, “If you make a promise, you keep it. If you make a mistake, you apologize. and if you give someone a dream, you defend it to the end”.
He wants this dream of his so badly it hurts. He would do anything. Anything to defend the dreams of those around him.
He gasps, feeling the energy pulsing inside him again. This time, it seems to make its home inside him instead of feeling like it’s invading his insides. Then, once again, he feels a pull.
This time, it’s calling him towards the sea.
He takes a deep breath, then takes a leap, opening his paraglider and gliding down towards the salty sea below.
He shivers as the waves roll over him, soaking him. The pull is calling him downwards, and he hesitates. But he can’t think clearly, and there’s something safe and comforting about the water around him.
So down he goes.
Wading further into the water until his feet no longer touch the ground. He pauses for a moment, taking one last moment to look behind him at the harbor.
Then he turns back around, and dives under the deep blue sea.
When the sun rises up, peeking up over the horizon and bathing the sky in a beautiful blue and yellow, there is a disturbance in the water. Unbeknownst to anyone, Childe rises back up the surface, swimming until he reaches the shore.
He was at the bottom of the sea, he knows he was, even though it feels like a blur. By all means, he should not be alive. He feels as though he’s gone through the wringer, and drags himself onto the beach. Whatever it was the energy did to him, it seems to be over, now dormant within him.
His limbs feel awkward and unsteady, so he's forced to crawl forwards until he’s under a nearby tree. Before he could lay down however, out of the corner of his eyes, he catches a glimpse of a pool of still, clear water next to him. Turning towards it, he leans in until he can see his reflection.
For a moment, he thinks he’s hallucinating. Or he’s died after all. Maybe this is a product of a fever dream.
Because…
Staring back at him.
Is a dragon.
