Of Calm Calamities

Of Calm Calamities (9)

Only when they were both running out of air did Zhongli pull away, though he still hovered over Childe's bed as if he were protecting him from something. The look in Zhongli's eyes was absolutely inhuman, and Childe couldn't even begin to comprehend how he ever though that Zhongli could be a mortal. It took a moment for Zhongli's gaze to return back to normal, but Childe swore to commit that look to memory. Hell, if he could, he'd burn it into his mind so that every time he closed his eyes, he'd see that beautiful expression on Zhongli. Childe fell backwards onto the bed, grinning like a hyena and completely ignoring the pain that shot through his abdomen. Sweet Tsaritsa, that was so worth it.

"What was that for?" Zhongli's voice was several tones lower than usual, and he seemed reluctant to pull away. He remained hovering where Childe had pulled him, his hands trapping Childe against the mattress.  Okay, so that definitely wasn't a sight that Childe expected to see but oh boy was it wonderful.

"It's a thank you," Childe replied, "for putting up with me for so long. Couldn't have been easy to take care of a half-dead idiot, right?"

"Ah." Cheeks red, Zhongli slowly pulled away to sit back in his chair. He looked away, as if facing Childe was too much for him at the moment. "It was my pleasure. I don't think I would have been able to live with myself if I made the conscious choice of putting the matter of your health into someone else's hands. You mean too much to me for that."

Great, now there were two blushing idiots in the same room. "And just how much do I mean to you?" That probably would've sounded a lot better if Childe wasn't lying in bed with a massive cut through his stomach, but he couldn't exactly do anything about that.

Zhongli's eyes gleamed with something that Childe couldn't quite place, though he decided that he definitely liked it. "Enough for me to move mountains and create palaces for you, if it were to make you happy."

The laugh that left Childe was pure and innocent, like the sound of a babbling brook passing through a lively forest. "Considering the fact that you're, you know, the geo archon, I don't think that would be too much of a challenge for you, but point taken." 

A few seconds of silence passed before Childe fully realized what Zhongli was saying - holy fuck, was he confessing right now? Wait, surely not. This was Zhongli. Zhongli wasn't exactly the best with emotions or hints. Hell, Childe wasn't even sure that he'd picked up on his very obvious attraction to Zhongli, and it had been going on for months. But then again, Zhongli had taken so much care of him, and he definitely enjoyed that kiss - or, well, he looked like he enjoyed it. Friends didn't just kiss each other, especially not with that expression. Childe wasn't too experienced in friendships, but he definitely knew that kissing wasn't something that happened platonically. Yeah, okay. Zhongli was definitely confessing, and Childe's little comment had ruined the moment. Great. That was just great. 

"And how long have you felt like that?" Childe asked in a pathetic attempt to salvage the moment.

"Months." If Childe had still been eating, he would've choked again. No way. No way, no way, no way. There was absolutely no way that they'd both been unknowingly pining for one another for months without realizing the other's intentions. The shock on Childe's face must've been very obvious, because Zhongli tilted his head in confusion. "Childe, we've been dining together almost every day for over three months. Did you really think my feelings for you were solely platonic?"

Now it was Childe's turn to look away in embarrassment. "I don't want to talk about it," he managed, hiding his head in the softness of the pillow.

"Did you really not know?" The usual depth of his voce was gone, replaced with a light and airy tone that only made Childe blush harder. "Were you really not aware of the fact that each of those dinners was a date?"