Build a Boyfriend

6

Childe woke up with a vacant spot in his bed. He searched frantically for Zhongli but there were no signs of him. Not even the box that he'd been shipped in. All that remained was a note in front of his door. 

Sorry about your defective product. We made sure to give you a full refund. Unfortunately this model is unfixable and has to be recalled. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

"What?" Childe dropped the note. "He's just...gone? But he was fine yesterday! I was here...and-" Childe sunk to the ground and started sobbing. "Why? Why did he have to get taken back?" His heart tore into two all over again. Was there no one out there for him? 

Childe grabbed his keys and went to the nearest bar. Twas the ritual- to get drunk after a breakup. If you could even call it that...

...

"Hic," Childe snorted. "Can ya believe it?" he cackled, slamming his glass down on the table. The redheaded bartender was not pleased with his behavior. 

"Can you do something about this?" the redhead glanced to Kaeya, at the other end of the bartable. 

"Why do you want me to do something about it?" Kaeya chuckled, taking a sip of whatever was in his glass currently. "We don't have anything to do with each other anymore, Diluc, Childe is not my responsibility."  

"Then why were you so keen on trying to warn him that his new lover was an object?" Diluc crossed his arms. "Do you really mean to tell me you didn't do that to try and protect him from this?" he gestured to Childe. 

"It's none of my business," Kaeya slammed his glass down. 

"Then why were you with him in the first place?" Diluc sighed. 

"That was-" Kaeya stared into the glass. 

"Ahahaha," Childe stood up and made his way out. 

"Wait, at least take an-" the door slammed shut. "Umbrella..." Diluc muttered the last word. "Are you sure it was okay to let him leave like that?" he asked Kaeya.

"I told you, it's none of my business," Kaeya said simply. 

"You know what's none of your business?" Diluc walked over directly in front of Kaeya and grabbed his shirt collar, pulling his face close to his and glaring into his eyes. "Fooling around with people's hearts whenever you please and not even bothering to fix them after smashing them into pieces. You weren't with Childe for a week or two you were with him for months, Kaeya, months. What the hell were you thinking? Why even stay with him that long if you were just going to chea-"

Kaeya grabbed Diluc's hand and pried it off of him. He stood up and placed his hand on the counter, glaring back into Diluc's eyes. "I did not cheat on anyone. Despite what you may think, I do have a conscience, and we were never in a relationship to start with. He is the one who got serious so I cut it off!" 

"What are you-"

"I have only ever cared about one person," Kaeya grabbed his wallet and slapped money on the counter to cover his drink. "Everyone else is a mere distraction. I've always told them I wouldn't ever catch feelings and they always fall for me anyway." Kaeya put his wallet back into his pocket. "I'm not the villain you make me out to be," Kaeya turned on his heel and left. 

Childe walked in the rain, wandering aimlessly, not really knowing where to go. He ran into someone, muttered an apology, and then fell face-first into the sidewalk. "Are you quite alright?" the stranger asked, grabbing his shoulder. Childe stared at him, unable to make out his face.

"No, I'm not," he muttered and then blacked out. 

"Sir?" the stranger shook him lightly. He sighed, grabbing his arm and trying to help him up. Realizing it was futile, he slung him over his shoulder and carried him to the nearest hotel. "I can't just leave him there, however, I'm not sure I should be doing this either..." he muttered, walking into the hotel. He went up to the front desk. 

"Uhm..." the lady stared at him and then the body. 

"I'd like a room for two please," he said as if he wasn't holding someone. 

"Sir?" 

"Don't mind my friend here," the stranger smiled a bit. "He got a bit too drunk." 

"Oh, okay," she smiled, accepting that answer quite quickly. She didn't want to think about what it would mean if he was lying. 

"The room, please." 

"Right," she nodded, typing away. "Here is the key," she handed him a keycard and took his card for the payment then handed it back to him. 

"Thank you very much."