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

Arc 3: Chapter 29: Second Sphere

There were just some things that people can't do together without feeling more comfortable with each other. Saving each other from a huge, terrifying, ice Lawachurl was one of them. Though neither of them had returned to how they were like it the past, it was quite obvious. Tartaglia often threw insults absentmindedly at Zhongli. Zhongli would retort with simple yet effective words.

They found an abandoned camp site and decided to stay there for the night before they started looking around the cave. Just like before, they started a fire, but Tartaglia noticed that Zhongli was still shivering.

He smirked, as if satisfied and amused that the Ex Archon was feeling cold despite being pretty much covered up. Perhaps Zhongli was too used to the warm Liyue climate.

"Never seen a god shivering before." Childe started, leaning back leisurely against a rock as he watched Zhongli.

"Neither have I seen a leader so weak that their subordinates shoot them without hesitation." Zhongli snapped back. He was getting tired of Tartaglia constantly targeting and tossing insults at him. At first he felt uncomfortable with Childe being so quiet, now he would give up just about anything for him to become quiet again.

Tartaglia's gloating expression disappeared and was replaced with one of anger. It seemed Zhongli had hit a nerve. "I'm not weak."

"Are you now?" Zhongli asked. Positions were reversed, now Zhongli was the one pissing Childe off. He knew more than anything that Childe was not weak, but compared to himself, he was almost nothing. "Who was the one that got cornered by a Lawachurl and got  shot? Who needed saving?"

In a flash, Tartaglia had gotten up and rushed over, holding Zhongli by the collar. His sapphire blue eyes fiery with anger. Zhongli remained as calm and composed as ever, looking up at Childe with his amber eyes. Tartaglia had his fist clenched and readied for a punch but he hesitated. Flashbacks to the past flashed in his mind. The times when they were happy together and all that they had gone through to be together only to fall apart shortly after. It hurt Tartaglia that their relationship had turned into this but they were not meant to be. He couldn't stay with Zhongli without repercussions. Not to mention he was sure that Zhongli probably hated him after everything that had happened. He had made a promise and broke it.

Zhongli looked up at Tartaglia, waiting for the hit and submitting to it. He refused to fight back. He hated how he had pointed his spear at Tartaglia once and he was never doing it again. He still loved Childe very much but knowing that he didn't want to be together, he tried very hard to suppress those feelings. Looking into Childe's sapphire eyes, he noticed how dead they had become. Zhongli knew something was bothering him as always and he knew better than to ask. It wasn't like Childe would tell him anything. He didn't understand why Childe always tried to tank everything on his own. Zhongli really couldn't be happy with him like that.

Both of them peered into each others eyes, searching each other for answers to their own questions. Neither of them came up with anything. Childe released Zhongli and humphed softly before stomping back to his seat. Neither of them spoke again. They had too much to think about.

-

They woke up at the break of dawn. They packed up whatever resources they could find.

"Hey." Childe called out, still not quite meeting Zhongli's eyes and tossed him something light. It looked like something he could wear. "Wing glider. Somewhat old but it looks fine."

Zhongli opened up the fabric to see that it was indeed a wing glider. It must have originally been white, but because of the way it was kept, it was slightly grey and some parts of it had turned yellowish. "Thank you." He murmured quietly as he placed it on.

The pair journeyed into the cave carefully and cautiously. They dodged falling ice and gave any Hilichurls a wide berth. They didn't have time to fight now.

Tartaglia was in awe at the place they were in. It was certainly much colder, but the ice formation and cave system was quite spectacular. "Down there." Childe pointed. Surely, the both of them could see the ice shard that they had seen before where the Lawachurl was. "Let's glide down."

"Mm."

They leapt off the edge and opened their gliders. Slowly but surely, they made their descent to the lowest part of the cave. Childe was actually starting to feel cold despite being used to the cold climate in Snezhnaya. Something about the ice and the fact that there was no sun made everything much colder than the outside.

When he was close enough to the ground, he closed his wings and dropped to the ground, landing on his feet and bending down so he didn't break his legs. Zhongli followed shortly afterwards.

"Is that... a seelie?" Tartaglia asked, seeing a bright orange floating thing that looked very much like the seelies he had seen in the wild. He never really had the time to interact with those things.

"A warming seelie." Zhongli corrected. He knew that this creature was harmless and went over to it. The temperature around it seemed less cold around it, making him feel a little more comfortable. The creature started moving and Zhongli followed it. Tartaglia watched curiously, jogging over to follow along.

The little creature brought them to a small little statue, which it fused with and produced a chest. The pair searched through the wooden box but came up with nothing very useful. Looking around, Zhongli noticed other similar statues as well.

"Ah, I think I know what to do."