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

Arc 3: Chapter 30: Ruin Grader

"Look around. Don't get lost." Zhongli instructed.

"Shut up, I'm not a kid."

But... Childe got lost. Zhongli headed deeper in so he went up. He walked around, killed some hilichurls to test his shoulder and walked around more. Now he had no idea where he was.

Then he spotted a rather large thing that didn't quite look like a ruin guard. It was much larger, more colorful and looked much more dangerous. Around it, he noticed a circle of runes around the machine and something that looked like an activator.

Being the curious boy he was, he went to touch it. Three runes lit up, the other nine remained dark. It didn't take Tartaglia too long to figure it out.

Perhaps this would help with the forcefield around the ice shard at where Zhongli should be around.

He found the other three activators swiftly, activating them one by one until all the runes lit up. Another chest appeared, but nothing else seemed to be happening...

Up until the machine started whirring softly. Its engines purred softly as its eye lit up. The ruin grader stood up slowly, its long arms connected to a hand that was clenched in a fist, ready for a fight. That was when he realized shit was about to go down.

It wasn't a difficult fight, but it was a long one. Childe's bow attacks proved rather ineffective on the hard metal used to build the ruin grader and he couldn't stay too long in his melee stance. Not to mention how he had to keep dodging attacks. Especially when it started spinning. (I can relate. 1.4 Floor 12 chamber 3 second half—)

His stamina wouldn't last with how long it would take to take out the machine.

Tartaglia found himself wishing his partner was around to help out. And it seemed like they had some psychic connection because Zhongli appeared a couple seconds later, quickly grabbing the attention of the ruin grader. Childe found himself smiling happily but quickly wiped it off his face. He thought about what Zhongli had said the previous night and his expression turned dark.

"Shoot it, I'll tank." Zhongli said simply. He had his shield formed, easily tanky the brute and powerful attacks from the ruin grader. He kept stabbing the machine with his spear until it locked onto him only.

"I can deal with this alone!" Childe cried out while shooting the machine with hydro infused arrows.

"No you can't."

"Yes I can!"

"Shut up and—" Zhongli's shield wore off and he was sent flying into the stone wall. The impact was so strong that the wall cracked and pieces chipped off.

"ZHONGLI—" Childe was cut off rudely when the ruin grader shot a laser beam at him. He had to sprint to escape it but his stamina was at an all time low. He braced for the hit, raising an arm to find nothing hitting him.

The Ex Archon stood in front of him, his translucent golden shield glimmering brighter than before. Tartaglia breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the gods that he was okay. "Zhongli." Childe hadn't expected himself to sound so relieved.

"Mm." Was all he had in response to Tartaglia. Truthfully, he didn't know how to feel or what to say. He could hear the relief in his voice and he wasn't sure it was a good thing. Though it definitely made his heart feel a little better knowing that Childe at least still cared a little bit for him.

Zhongli called another meteor, immobilizing the ruin grader for a couple of seconds. The couple of seconds was enough for Tartaglia to deal massive damage with his hydro spear with one hard strike. The ruin grader's eyes stuttered and went out. It tilted forwards and collapsed, completely broken.

Childe jogged over quickly, grabbing Zhongli and checking on him. Aside from dirty and slightly ripped clothes, Zhongli seemed fine.The usual habit of him making sure Zhongli was okay kicked in. Ever since the fight where Childe almost killed Zhongli, Tartaglia would always check on him if anything happened. "Are you okay? Looked like a nasty hit from just now."

"... I'm fine." Zhongli said quietly, obviously not expecting the concern. He thought they'd broken up and Tartaglia didn't care that much about him anymore. He had tried to keep himself from fussing over Tartaglia as well but with his current actions... "Are you okay?"

Childe saw the genuine concern in his amber eyes and suddenly felt awkward and extremely guilty. After everything, Zhongli still cared. Not to mention he came to his rescue and tanked a fair few hits for him. Though it was a teamwork but Childe still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. He had tore apart his heart yet he still came for him no matter what.

"I..." Tartaglia paused. The words were stuck in his throat, simply unwilling to come out. He wanted to apologize but at the same time, he didn't. Childe needed to keep Zhongli away from himself as much as possible. To keep him safe. Maybe he'd just tone down with his sharp tongue as an apology for now. He just felt really bad and didn't know what to do to keep that distance between them.

"Thank you." He ended up saying. He managed a smile and pulled away, taking a few steps back and the distance between them was back there.

Zhongli's expression remained straight but he was frowning on the inside. It was obvious Childe wanted to get close but just kept pulling away just before anything. It was very frustrating at the very least to Zhongli. He walked over and knocked the back of Tartaglia's head and continued walking as if nothing happened.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"For getting lost." Zhongli answered simply. But in his mind, he also added on 'for hiding things, for being an asshole and for not telling me what is going on'.