Can't Stop Loving You | Childe x Zhongli | Genshin Impact [COMPLETED]

Arc 1: Chapter 6: Liyue Tour

"Why is it suddenly so crowded?" Childe asked quietly.

"It's the Lantern Rite Festival." Zhongli started explaining, "on the day of the first full moon each year, the people of Liyue celebrate Lantern Rite. At nighttime, everyone in Liyue releases Xiao Lanterns and the Mingxiao Lantern into the bright night sky."

"Ah, I've heard of this, but I arrived in Liyue last year just after this was over." Childe said. He spotted the large lantern under construction. "Who's that?"

Zhongli recognized the adepti and smiled slightly. He was happy that he was being acknowledged. He hoped the adepti was resting in peace. "That's Skybracer. During the Archon War, the gods fought violently... Myself included," he lowered his voice slightly, "mount Tianheng started collapsing, threatening to crush Liyue Harbor and her residents. But Skybracer came and asked for his antlers to be cut off to prop up the mountain. He continued fighting in the war even when he was bleeding after his antlers were cut off. Eventually, he passed on in battle, the blood he bled turned into Bishui River."

Childe looked up at Zhongli, his expression half pity and half disgusted. "That's… a big yikes."

"It really is." Zhongli agreed solemnly. "I'm glad that he is being honored. Let's keep going."

As they were walking, Tartaglia caught the scent of the grilled fish from a stall. He stopped, causing Zhongli to stop as well as he stared longingly at the fishes. He knew he couldn't eat them because he needed to keep his identity hidden, but still…

"I'll cook some for you when we go home." Zhongli said, trying to comfort him.

"Really? I'll be waiting." Childe beamed at him.

Zhongli stared again, feeling his heart flutter in his chest. He couldn't see his smile, but his eyes shone brightly. He wanted to preserve that light, he wanted Tartaglia to be happy like that all the time.

"You're staring again."

"Ah, sorry, let's go."

-

"Where did you get this stuff?" Tartaglia asked, picking up a wick material Zhongli took out from his bag. It reminded him of the fur of the hilichurls roaming around outside. Still, Zhongli couldn't have gotten it from them, right?

"I went out while you were recovering at home. I figured you would want to learn how to make Xiao Lanterns." Zhongli said. "Now watch and learn."

He stood at the crafting table with Childe peering at him working at his side. Zhongli pieced the lantern together easily, making it look really easy, but Tartaglia knew it was not easy. He learnt that lesson with the chopsticks.

Soon enough, it was Tartaglia's turn to try making the lantern. Needless to say, it was disastrous. Childe couldn't handle little things gently and he simply didn't have the patience. It was his first attempt at it too, so it ended up being a failure.

"How do you always make something so hard look so easy?" Tartaglia muttered under his breath as he stared at the mess he just made. He felt bad to have wasted the materials. Zhongli could've used them to male a perfectly well Xiao lantern. Sighing softly, he tossed them into the bin nearby.

"Experience, I suppose. I am over six thousand years old." Zhongli said as he handed his own lantern to a child that was watching them eagerly. Childe smiled underneath his face veil. His husband was such a kind person, he felt lucky to have met him. 

Wait, husband? No, friend. He meant friend, Tartaglia told himself firmly. They were just pretending, that's all. For some reasons, it made his heartache.

-

"... Woah, I've never really stopped to appreciate the architecture of this place. Even though I've been here so many times," Childe said as they made their way up to the Yujing Terrace. They made a few detours, often getting distracted as Childe spotted more things he wanted to see. There was a noisy group of people and Tartaglia was being nosy, so Zhongli let him go check it out.

Zhongli lost himself in his thoughts, trying to figure out what his heart was trying to do. 

"Zhongli."

His eyes widened, spinning around quickly.

Then he focused on Childe and realized that it was he who called out for him. Zhongli seemed to deflate a little, he thought that she came back. He thought he heard her voice.

"Oh, what was up?"

"Just some dumb guy doing magic tricks that I busted in a few seconds." Childe shrugged.

"Ah…"

They both fell silent for a moment, looking at each other.

"Do I look like her, Zhongli?"

Zhongli blinked a few times, tilting his head curiously. He hadn't realized that he was being so obvious. "How did you know?"

"I learn things from you," Childe said, smiling slightly. He went over to Zhongli's side, taking his hand as he started walking. "Can you tell me about her while we walk?"

Zhongli looked like he was about to say no, to shake his head and say it was none of Tartaglia's business. Then he sighed and gave in. "I suppose. Her name was Guizhong. She was the goddess of Wisdom and had her own people in her own land. We just happened to meet each other and became friends. Back then, I was much younger, much less humane and much crueller. I just did my job and killed many without really feeling anything. I didn't have friends until she took me in. She was the first one that really got to know me. And she was also the first one I really got to know. Naturally, things started to change. I learnt to become more like a human. I started feeling things. We became close and stayed that way. When the war came… She lost her life fighting. I couldn't leave her people, so I brought them here and built Liyue."

Childe was a good listener. His attention stayed on Zhongli up till the very end. He hadn't realized that Zhongli knew a lot of things. Sometimes, he seemed so human that Tartaglia forgets that he was also a god that lived for more than six millennia. After listening, Tartaglia had a burning question that he just had to ask. "Did you love her?"

Zhongli paused, then nodded. "I suppose I did. I wish that I was there to save her. I should have told her earlier." He said quietly, looking down at the floor.

Tartaglia had never seen Zhongli the way he was before. He never thought that the Ex-Archon could look so lonely and sad. Now that he thought about it, it must have been really depressing to live for so long. Watching the people he cared about slowly wither away and die one day must be painful. He gently nudged Zhongli, running over so he stood in front of him. He held both hands gently, smiling as he said, "well, I'm sure she knew you liked her, being the god of wisdom and all. Don't blame yourself for things you can't control. It's okay to make mistakes, but make sure to learn from them, so tell the people you care and love about as soon as you can."

Zhongli looked at him and smiled, making Childe's heart speed up. "Wise words." 

That night, Childe couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to suppress the thoughts in his head. He couldn't tell if Zhongli was being nice to him just because he reminded him of the woman he loved. He was wondering if Zhongli was treating him nicely so he could do the things he wasn't able to do with Guizhong. And honestly, the thought of it being true hurt. It felt like there was a void in his chest, growing larger each day because he knew that Zhongli probably did not see him the way Tartaglia saw him. Every once in a while, he would notice Zhongli looking at him, yet it felt like he wasn't looking at him, but at someone else. 

Childe buried his head into his pillow in frustration. He didn't want it to be true. He wanted to hope that maybe they could truly be friends or maybe even more.