Operation: Make Zhongli Smile Forever

Part 9 - The One with the Cat

The next morning, Childe was very abruptly woken up from his dream (which involved, well, copious amounts of fighting) by three slow knocks on the door of his apartment; it was Sunday, his day off, so he ruled out any Fatui agents interrupting his sleep. It was more than likely Zhongli.

He decided to ditch the idea of getting dressed properly and slowly slid across the main living space towards the door; he only slipped on a pair of crimson silk trousers that he left on the sofa a few days prior. With a swift look through the front door's peephole to confirm that it was, in fact, Zhongli knocking, Childe opened the door to greet the man.

He looked awful . His usually pristine hair was messy and dishevelled, falling out of the neat ponytail it was usually kept in. Small scratches lined his normally pristine skin; to add to the whole sorry sight, a sizable rip in his jacket revealed the beige shirt underneath it.

"Morning Childe," Zhongli smiled, as if completely oblivious to the state he was in, "I hope I didn't wake you up." Childe grabbed the man's hand and pulled him into the apartment.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" the Harbinger questioned, pulling Zhongli into his bathroom and forced him down onto a small stool he had in the room, "who do I have to eradicate?" Zhongli chuckled.

"It was just a cat. I decided that I want a cat," the consultant smiled as Childe reached out to hold his chin to observe his injuries, "I don't think he liked me."

"What do you mean you decided to have a cat. Don't tell me that you just grabbed a cat off the street," Childe sighed, pushing Zhongli's hair out of his face; he pulled a small hair clip from the cabinet above him and pinned Zhongli's long bangs out of the way. Zhongli's silence is enough of an answer.

"You're an idiot, I hope you know that- but that's beside the point. I'm gonna have to clean these wounds," Childe stated, pulling a small bottle and some cloth from the same cabinet.

"I'm sure it's fine. I just came over to say hello, some scratches won't hurt me," Zhongli chuckled as Childe gently cupped his face in one hand, while the other gently dabbed at the scratches.

"I'd rather clean these up for you- oh, and what's with the whole cat idea?" Childe sighed, assessing the biggest cut running along Zhongli's jaw and spreading to his neck.

"I find myself missing company at home and at the parlour, and Barbatos suggested I find a feline friend to entertain me... it's harder than I thought," the Archon explained and steadied himself on the stool as Childe touched his neck with the cloth. He breathed out sharply.

"Did that hurt? Are you in pain?" Childe asked frantically, pulling his hand away.

"It seems as though I... I may be 'ticklish'," Zhongli chuckled, relaxing a little bit; Childe burst out in laughter.

"I'm so sorry Zhongli, this really shouldn't be this funny," Childe wheezed, almost through tears as Zhongli sat patiently on the stool. After a few seconds of calming himself down, Childe grabbed the cloth again and walked up to the Archon, standing between his legs and tilting Zhongli's head to the side with his free hand. With every small dab at the scratch, Zhongli's breathing hitched, causing Childe to chuckle every few seconds.

"Want me to do your hair again?" Childe asked as he stepped back after cleaning up the final scratch; Zhongli simply nodded, pulling the rest of his hair out of it's elastic and passed the jeweled back to Childe. In turn, Childe rummaged around in some boxes under the sink and pulled out a small wooden comb.

He started with the front, pulling the tangled strands through the teeth of the comb, moving each section out of the way; the sides seemed the most tangled as the comb got stuck through the strands.