Glaze Lilies (Chili Flower Shop AU)

Chapter 2

The rest of the day passed with ease. A few customers came in, leaving happily with a bouquet. Venti had a lot of fun helping his father with the flowers, and the customers all found it sweet seeing him helping his father. It was after five when Zhongli finally closed up shop, moving to the back of the store to gather up the boys. Venti was helping Gorou pack up his bags, putting all their toys in so they could bring them back home.

"Alright boys, you guys rea-"

Before Zhongli could finish his sentence, the bell on the door chimed, again and again as someone pulled on it. Zhongli frowned, glancing towards the window. He waited a minute, hoping whoever was pulling on it would leave, after all they were closed,, but it only got more intense.

"Stay right here and no matter what, don't come out." Zhongli told his boys, removing Xiao from his chest, gently passing him to Diluc who clumsily held onto the baby.

Zhongli made his way out to the counter, carefully watching the door shake violently. Had it been a robber, they would have broken in by now or ran off when the door didn't open. Zhongli hesitated as he moved to the door. As he unlocked the door it flew open, a bloody man stumbling over him, the two falling to the floor. The man groaned in pain, rolling off Zhongli who quickly closed and locked the door again. He turned back, shocked to find Childe on his floor.

"What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Zhongli moved to Childe, helping him to his feet as he moved him to the counter.

"Turns out my boss isn't a fan of Glaze Lilies." Childe said with a chuckle, groaning as he shifted.

"What do you do for work that nearly gets you killed?" Zhongli snapped as he left Childe to return to the front, pulling the shades on the window.

"Banking. A little help here? I'm bleeding out." Childe hissed.

"You need to go to a hospital. I'm not a doctor, why in Teyvat did you come here!?" Zhongli hissed, moving back over to Childe.

"Absolutely not, no hospital. They ask questions. I don't know why I came here, I guess cause I didn't expect them to look for me here." Childe groaned as Zhongli removed his shirt. His body was littered with calloused scars, some newer and fresher than others and some still bleeding profusely.

"Well, the fact you are still alive is a good sign, it means they didn't hit anything major." Zhongli said, using Childe's shirt to try and stop the bleeding on one of the worse one.

"Ow! Be careful!" Childe snapped. "I thought you weren't a doctor!?"

"I'm not, my sister is though." Zhongli grunted. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing his sister.

"Hey Zhongli, are you still at the shop? I thought you would be back by now." Ayaka hummed on the other end.

"I am yeah. Do you mind coming by for a bit? And bring your medical tools." Zhongli told her.

"Are you and the boys okay? What happened?" She asked, worry now very apparent in her voice.

"Ow! Hey, not so hard!" Childe complained.

"Shut up." Zhongli snapped at him.

"Is there someone there with you?" Ayaka asked.

"The boys and I are fine, please just do this for me and don't tell anyone, especially not your wife." Zhongli instructed.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." She said before hanging up.

"She sounds cute." Childe grunted, ignoring the spots growing in his vision. He had done this before, he knew how it went. He had to keep talking to stay awake.