When a God falls for you [Zhongli x Reader]

Rex Lapis??

You wake up from the sound of birds chirping. The sun is slowly rising and again, the sky is full of beautiful colors. It's really a beautiful sight.
You get up and out of bed, opening the door to the balcony - a fresh breeze of wind hits your face, making you close your eyes and enjoy this moment.

Then you remember what happened yesterday.
»Ohh crap, how am I gonna approach Zhongli now?« you worry. But somehow you have to, and you also wanted to.
You pull a soft hoodie over yourself and decide to head to the kitchen. "Zhongli will probably come out of his room somewhen as well" you think.

You step outside and freeze for a second. Zhongli was already there, having an apron wrapped around him and.. cooks something?

»Oh, good morning, y/n. I'm making breakfast, I hope you're hungry« he turns around and smiles at you.
"Ahh he looks so cute in this outfit!!" You internally scream.
»Y-yes I do! What is it going to be, chef Zhongli?« you jokingly say, swinging yourself on a chair at the kitchen table.

»It's going to be pancakes, but different ones than the ones you can get at the Wanmin Restaurant« he answers, flipping a pancake in the pan.

»Ohh, I'm curious then about how they'll be! I didn't know that you have your own recipes nor that you could cook at all« you giggle.

»Well.. I hope you'll like them« Zhongli then says, serving the finished pancakes and getting the tea he already brewed.

»What a gentleman« you teasingly say.

Zhongli blushes a bit. »Eh-ehrm, let's eat then«

————

»Hmmmm these pancakes were even better than the ones from Xiangling!!«

»Thank you, I'm glad you liked them«

You sigh quietly.
»Zhongli..?«
»Yes, y/n?«
»Can I ask you something? And you promise that you'll tell me the truth?«
»sure«

»Why.. are you acting so weird? Is there something that you're hiding from me?«

Zhongli already saw that question coming.

»Alright, come with me.« he says, going into your room. You follow him, questioning what he's going to do now.
He sits down on the bed and pats on the space next to him, wanting you to sit with him. You do as he tells you to.

»This is going to be a longer story. Make yourself comfortable.«
»Okay, I'm prepared, go ahead« you say.

»Do you know who Rex Lapis is?«
»Uhm... I've heard this name somewhere, yes, but... I can't quite remember. Why?«

»Well, he was the geo archon back in the days, just like barbatos was - the anemo archon«

»What?? There are multiple gods in this world??«

»Yes. Every vision has its each archon. But they all more or less drifted apart due to a great war - the archon war. Well...«

Zhongli tells you all about the war, the people, how Mondstadt and all the other regions were created.
You are shocked about not knowing this till now, and about all the knowledge this man carries.

»The reason I'm telling you this is because.. some time ago, Rex Lapis, also called Morax was killed during a ceremony in Liyue Harbour, at least that's what the people believe happened«

»something is telling me that I have heard about this before, I think I was even there when it happened.. but I'm not sure. Still if I think about it now.. that's crazy.. wow..« you say. »But, why are you telling me all of this? Does it have anything to do with you-«

Then you suddenly realize it all. The way he acted, the way he talked, the thing he gave to Childe...

»Wait, are you?!« you shout in shook, staring at him

»I was, yes« he only answers.

»W-what do you mean you were? I mean you're not dead-«

»I gave up my gnosis. It also took away some of my powers.. and made me human.«

»Wait wait wait, the thing you gave Childe? You gave it away for me???«

You honestly don't know what to say at that point. You're too overwhelmed.

»I've decided to become a mortal a long time ago. I wanted to see how the people of Liyue are living, and except from that - Liyue didn't need Morax's help anymore. They evolved, became stronger and the war is over a long time already. I didn't see the loss of my gnosis coming, but it isn't a big deal. It just makes me.. more human I guess.«

You still can't believe that you spend your entire time with a literal god at your side. You kind of want to fall to your knees and praise him, but that would be.. a little weird.

»I.. I didn't know all of this.. I'm so sorry if I displeased you in any kind of way, Morax« you slightly bow down your head in shame.

»Please, call me Zhongli. I am no longer a god, and you didn't do anything wrong, y/n« he smiles

»i-is that the reason why you acted... like that? Like you don't know what you're doing?«

Zhongli blushes slightly. »Yes. I didn't know that the loss of my gnosis would give me these thoughts and feelings. I still don't know how to handle most of them, especially because I don't know most of them. So....«

»I can help you with it!!«

»....I decided to leave you for some time«

»What?!?« you spit out. »No you don't have to! I can help you with it!« you say, placing your hand on his, which then suddenly begins to glow.

Zhongli sighs and closes his eyes. »See. That's the problem. When I'm around you..«
You can see him blushing more, his hands also glowing brighter.
»..All of these.. thoughts and feelings intensify, so much that it's hard for me to control what I'm doing.«

As Zhongli opens his eyes again, he also sees you blushing, then you quickly pull your hand away from his and look down.
You know what these feelings sound like, but you can't believe it.

»Please, Zhongli..« you look at him again. »I can even help you with these kind of feelings. I know that you can get them under control.. and.. I don't want you to leave..« you mumble.

»I don't want to hurt you, y/n. I still have most of my powers, I'm afraid that I can hurt you with them. I.. see it as my duty to protect you. That's why I have to-«

»THEN STAY!« you shout, blushing like crazy. »I-if you want to protect me, stay, please... you're not going to hurt me, I'm stronger than you think«

Zhongli sighs again and gets up. »I have to think about it.«

»a-alright! But if you decide to leave then I'll follow you, simple is that« you say proudly.

Zhongli chuckles. »Well, there are more important things to think about right now. Have you already thought about what to do next?«

»Uhm, actually... Yes. My original plan was... to head back to Mondstadt...«

Zhongli looks at you.
»Mondstadt?«