immortality • childe

chap. 5

It looked like the stars were brighter than usual. Moonlight lit up the path in front of the two, as they walked side by side in a peaceful silence.

Childe noticed several Hilichurl-Camps, but didn't bother to fight the sleeping creatures since he himself was kind of tired as well.

He shortly glanced at (y/n). Her hair looked silky, making him want to touch it.

The moonlight softly shone on her face, allowing the Harbinger to take a closer look at her graceful features.

She looked like she was lost in her thoughts, so he kept quiet and just stared at his feet, while they were walking towards the Inn.

—

Childe wanted to ask his companion questions, but struggled to keep his eyes open while also keeping an eye open for enemies.

'That's the reason  why I'm here after all', he quietly chuckled to himself.

'To protect a complete stranger..'.

The female suddenly stopped, making Childe look up from the floor with a surprised expression. He gave her a questioning look and slightly tilted his head in confusion.

"We can take a break if you want to", (y/n) suggested and turned around to meet deep blue eyes.

He blinked, slowly processing what she just said.

"Ohh, do you care for me?", he then asked in a joking manner while stretching himself.

"We are almost there. If you need to rest for a while, it won't be a problem", the girl kindly answered, ignoring Childe's question.

He shrugged in response.

"I'm okay. Let's keep going", he confidently grabbed the females wrist and continued to walk towards the Inn.

(y/n) was a bit surprised at the sudden contact, but forgot about it after a moment. She stared at his orange hair that glowed in the dark, making him look like a faint lightbulb.

—

"Ah.. finally", a relieved sigh escaped Childe's lips, as he entered the elevator that led up to the Inn. His legs hurt from walking and he just wanted to fall into a deep slumber.

He heard a amused chuckle behind him, causing him to turn around and look at (y/n) with a small smile. To his surprise, she didn't look tired at all.

But the female had to admit that it was quite an exhausting walk for a mortal, from Liyue Harbor to the Wangshu Inn.

It was surprising that Childe resisted on going on, without taking a break the whole time.

—

When the elevator arrived at the top of the big treehouse, Childe hurried to the reception and booked two rooms for the night.

(y/n) stood at the balcony, staring at the landscape in front of her, while waiting for the male to return.

She had seen this view countless times already, but it was always interesting for her to see how Liyue changed as time passed.

Thousands of years ago, there were no streets or houses, just trees, bushes and small villages.

A quiet sigh escaped her lips, as she stared at the view with a sad glint in her eyes.

In the past, (y/n) has met many people who she grew close to. But in the end they would all die, leaving her behind.

She was glad to have Zhongli and the Adepti around. They weren't very friendly at times, but never had bad intentions.

She hastily shook her head and turned her attention towards the Gingerhead, who appeared behind the female after three minutes.

Two keys were in his hand, and he seemed to doze off for a moment, before softly smiling at the smaller girl.

"Your room is near mine, so call me if you need anything", the boy grinned, before passing one of the keys to the female.

"Thank you, Childe. For paying and accompanying me all this time", she shot the male a genuine smile and gladly accepted her room key.

Childe happily laughed it off and leaned on the wooden railing, staring at the horizon. "It's no problem".

It was pretty quiet, since most of the people already went to sleep. (y/n) noticed how her companion struggled to keep his eyes open.

His smile slowly started to faded away, as he gazed at the night sky.

His orange hair lightly waved in the wind while he crossed his arms and quietly closed his eyes.

She didn't want to admit it, but (y/n) admired him at this moment.

When she started to walk away, not wanting to bother the Fatui, a calm voice started to speak, causing the female to stop moving.

"Say (y/n),", the male started, keeping his eyes closed. She patiently waited for him to continue.

"What do you think, is the cruelest thing in this world?"

—