Runaway

Chapter 4 ~ Babysitting

"Mmmm..." Zhongli rolled around in bed, expecting Baizhu to grab him and force him to stay in bed longer. But to his surprise, no one was there. And the bed smelled different. He got up, groaning at the pain in his legs, before rubbing his eyes and looking around the room. Except, this wasn't his and Baizhu's bedroom. He sat there confused for a bit before remembering the incident last night. He was not with Baizhu anymore...He was free. The thought of freedom from all that stress made him realize that Baizhu had no more control over his life anymore. Breaking out of his blissful thoughts, Zhongli remembered that he was in nothing but his boxers and that his clothes were on the floor. But when he got up, those articles of clothing were gone. Instead, there was a seemingly comfortable white turtleneck with black jeans. Zhongli got out of bed and went to the shower. Drawing a bath for himself, the brunette spent extra time on his matted hair, dried blood forming in clumps. It took him about half an hour but he finally got it done. He quickly dried his hair and got changed, worried he was taking too long.

Z: Still, what if Baizhu finds me. And what about them?

Clouds of fear invaded his mind once more. He shifted his focus back on eating something and went downstairs. It was pretty easy considering the stairs were right in front of him and the amount of noise coming from a room led him to where the owners of the house were.

"Teucer! You need to eat your food or you shall not go outside!" Zhongli recognized the voice of the woman who fussed over him last night.

"But mama! I'm not hungry!" The other voice was higher in pitch but it sounded like a boy.

"C'mon Teucer, open up." Now that voice he knew. Zhongli quietly stepped into the kitchen, still anxious about the people living there.

"Oh, hello dear. Come join us!" The woman waved him over. The brunette gave a small nod and sat next to Childe. "I see the clothes bought for you fit you well."

"Thank you, miss." Zhongli shifted awkwardly as he took a plate from her.

"Did you sleep well?" Childe asked him. He nodded in response, deciding not to tell them his troubling thoughts. Speaking of his thoughts, Zhongli remembered he needed to text his mom. He took out his phone and looked for her contact. He hadn't talked with her in months.

Ningguang

Z: Mom?

N: Li? Are you alright? Do you need us to come over?

Z: I'm alright but yes, you can come over. Some things are better explained in person.

N: Booking a flight now.

"Mister? Do you want to know what Mr Cyclops did?" The small boy sitting next to Childe excitedly leaned over to Zhongli.

"Uh...Sure?" The brunette had no idea of who this Mr Cyclops was but let the boy ramble to him.

"Now Teucer. Calm down." Childe ruffled the boy's hair before turning to Zhongli. "Sorry about him. He usually talks this much. And Mr Cyclops is his toy, if you're wondering."

"Ah. It's fine. I have a younger sister." Zhongli told him.

"That's sweet." Childe chuckled as he got up and helped his mom wash dishes. Zhongli stared after him.

"So, Zhongli, if it isn't a problem, do you mind babysitting the kids today?" Childe's mother gave him a nervous smile. "Me and Ajax both have work. It's usually the maids but since you're here..."

"I don't mind at all. When will you be back?"

"Around 5 pm to 7 pm. Ask Vlad or ... if you need anything."

"I thank you for your kindness."

"It's nothing really."

Zhongli smiled at the woman before getting up. He then remembered his kids. Tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of Baizhu now targeting them. Childe seemed to notice this as he walked up to Zhongli and placed a hand on his shoulder, startling the shorter male.

"You seem down, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah! Just thinking, that's all." Zhongli waved his hand, dismissing the question.

"Well, here." Childe gave him a piece of paper with numbers written on it. "Just in case."

Zhongli nodded and went to watch the 2 leave for work. He stood at the doorway, receiving a little kiss from Childe's mom on the cheek as if he was one of her own children.

"Now, dear, if you need anything just ask."

"I will!" Zhongli called after her.

"Mister?" Teucer tugged on the corner of Zhongli's shirt.

"Yes?" The brunette bent down so that they were eye level.

"Are you taking care of us today?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, mama and big brother trusts you, so I do too!"

"That's very nice of you, Teucer."

"Teucer! Get inside or you'll have a cold!" A girl that looked the age of 12 with the same ginger hair came running down the stairs. Zhongli ushered the small boy inside and shut the doors.

"Oh! You must be the boy big brother brought back!" A boy with ginger hair just like his siblings and emerald green eyes like his sister excitedly walked up to Zhongli. "I'm Anthon and that's our sister Tonia!"

"I'm Zhongli. I assume that Childe is your brother?" Zhongli gave a small smile at them, still quite shy.

"Yep! Big brother is the best!" Teucer was holding up a toy ruin guard. "Big brother made this for me!"

Zhongli just giggled at them. They then proceeded to bring him around the place.

"Guys? I'm home!" Childe entered his house. He expected to see a lot of chaos as per usual but instead, an almost peaceful silence greeted him. Suspicious about what happened, Childe looked around for them. When he entered his room, a sight that made his lips curl up into a smile. There on his bed was Zhongli surrounded by his siblings. It seemed that all the playing knocked them out. Childe grabbed his night clothes and went to sleep.
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