Sometimes life changes for no reason. The interesting thing is whether these changes are good or bad.
Does waking up in an unknown world with many people who develop a crush on you count as a nice thing?
Just in case that somebody will wonder, from now on 'speech/thoughts' will be "speech/thoughts" because my writing program stopped being a bítch about it.
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"Oh Zhongli... eh... Sorry for worrying you? I didn't mean to... vanish for that long... Okay, I didn't mean to vanish at all, but that's life I guess."
The Archon observes the big pointy thing that is tied to your back. "Is that a... spear?"
"Mh. Life also decided to give me a chance to learn basic self-defense."
"...What did actually happen?"
"Nothing too-....", you look at Zhongli's serious expression. "No lying, right... Right. Nothing that should be discussed in a public place. Do we really need to talk about that though?"
Zhongli nods. "Yes, we do. Based on the fact that you are downplaying this matter, I am quite certain that this is something that should be talked about. We can go to the funeral parlor for some privacy."
Sighing defeatedly you follow the tall man.
A short walk later, you arrive at your destination. You take a seat at the table in the kitchen while the Archon takes a few things out of a cupboard. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Thank you for the offer but nah." Waiting for Zhongli to finish preparing his own cup, you take out Rosa who has fallen asleep in your pouch and gently caress it in your hands.
Some minutes later, Zhongli sits down at the opposite side of the table and stares at you in silence.
Taking it as a sign to start, you speak up. "Well, apparently I am a desired person even when people don't know that I know too much. I was really close to getting shipped to Snezhnaya after getting sedated by a drink. A drink that Childe gave me."
"Childe? In what way would he benefit from you? As far as I understood he only took care of you to motivate Aether to cooperate."
"A mixture of me being good at taking care of his brother, him being able to annoy other people and him kinda... liking me?"
The man opposite of you puts down his cup. "Him liking you?"
"It sounded like that. No guarantee though."
"...Why did you trust him to begin with? You knew well enough what kind of person he is. If you sought for my protection and not for his, you wouldn't have had that problem."
"But that wouldn't have been a reasonable decision in Aethers eyes and I couldn't just tell him that you are the Geo Archon to gain his trust for that decision. Everything should follow its natural order and telling Aether more than he should would destroy that."
"You are too fixated on the Traveler. If you make every single choice dependent on him, then you will find misery sooner or later.", the seriousness in Zhongli's voice makes the atmosphere even more tense then it already is.
"What else am I supposed to do? I don't have a family, I don't have a home or any place to belong to! I don't want to live the rest of my life as a random lonely NPC without knowing why the fúck things are like that! I am not doing everything just for Aether – I want to know why-" Noticing that youve squeezed Rosa so hard that it woke up, you lower your volume with slightly teary eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice like that. I am just..."
Before you can end your sentence Zhongli's gloved hands pull you into a soft and comforting hug. Not having enough willpower left, you accept the embrace and focus on the warmth the Archon's chest radiates instead of on the painful frustration inside your heart. The two of you stay in that position for several minutes, completely in silence.
A undefined time later, you feel Zhonglis face against the top of your head. "You don't have to bear all that pain alone. You can always come to me. I don't want to see someone who is so dear to me suffer.", he whispers.
"I didnt even know that I had that pain inside me to begin with. I must have been too occupied with all those things happening around me... But why would you want to help such a random idiot like me? It's not like you don't have your own share of problems that you have to deal with."
He does not answer and remains still for a moment. But then, he gently lifts your head up so that you face him. The next thing you know are smooth lips against your own. You and the whole world around you, Rosa included, freezes. Upon realizing what is happening your face heats up and your heartbeat quickens up as if it is running for its life.
Distancing himself again, Zhongli looks at you with a gentle smile that graces his lips. "Now it is my turn to apologize. I kissed you without asking for a permission first, but I do believe that the message is delivered best this way. I love you more than anyone else and I want you to know that no matter what, you will never be lonely or forgotten. Despite that, you are free to back away or to slap me if you want to. I admit the impatience from my side."
Still overwhelmed by the confession, you stumble forward back into Zhonglis chest, which the male mistakes for you accepting his confession.
"I am so happy...", he whispers.
Suddenly the door swings wide open. "Mr. Zhongli, you haven't... Huh?'
The appearance of a familiar voice wakes you up from of your stupor. You quickly back away from Zhongli and see the face of the first Liyue character you have met.
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