dinner - zhongli/tartaglia

why

^this is characterization practice for Zhongli and childe, multi-chapter

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The sun's rays shone through the gaps in the curtains, bringing with it a calming ambiance with the amber hue it casts over surfaces of the furnishings, specks of dust floating through the air.

The tense atmosphere was suffocating, but nothing he wasn't used to. Work in the Northland Bank is tiresome, with people having to repay debts (debt collecting was uneventful,) take out loans, and manage finances.

Now, one may think that the Northland Bank is usually empty due to the Snezhnayan upbringing and large amounts of Fatui presence, yet that is the complete opposite. It was the largest bank in Liyue, and almost everyone had been to the Northland Bank once, be it to insult it, admire it, or just do what is supposed to be done at a bank.

The room behind the customer service desk was where Childe sat, filing paperwork and signing deals, the light commotion from the lobby as background noise. The golden trimmings on the wall and the expansive lobby presented a palatial interior compared to most Liyuen businesses, attracting the wealthier clients to the Snezhnayan-owned building.

Childe sighed, dropping his pen to run a hand through his ginger locks. Today had been a long day, not getting to leave the bank, stuck doing boring work instead of going to fight some treasure hoarders or train some new recruits.

Now, since recent events have changed a lot of things, he didn't even have an excuse to leave, where he would usually say he was going to discuss plans with Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, but instead he would take the parlors consultant out to eat at different restaurants (with Childe paying for all of it) while getting a mini-history lesson on every little rock or flower-

But that was over. Zhongli-- no, Morax, Rex Lapis, God of Geo, anything other than Zhongli-- had tricked him, manipulated him, then tried to pretend he didn't do anything wrong.

Yes, he may a little too salty about it, but he was mad. He and Zhongli-- Morax had spent so much time together, grown close, and stayed by each other's side almost 24/7, just for it to end up being fake, lies, made up.

It wasn't as if he hated him, he actually quite enjoyed his company, it just isn't the most pleasant feeling to know your closest friend wasn't actually your friend. All of that time together, pointless.

Another sign escaped past his lips as he re-focused back on his work, picking his pen back up and-

A woman peeked her head around the corner-- Ekaterina-- and once she saw that Childe wasn't busy (in her eyes,) she proceeded into the room.

"Sir Tartaglia, there's someone from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor asking for you at the front desk." She spoke, bowing her head down respectfully. "Normally we wouldn't bother you about something like this, but he was overly persistent."

He raised a brow. He didn't plan anything with the Funeral Parlor recently, what could possibly be so interesting that he had to lengthen his workday just to oversee?

He nodded slightly, pushing his chair back and standing up, smoothing his clothes out before walking out.

The walls were the same outside of the backroom as they were inside, grandiose with gold trimmings and expensive furnishings. His eyes wandered around the room meaninglessly until he caught sight of a familiar brown coat and long brown hair in a long ponytail-

Oh- oh no.

What could Zhongli want with him? Their "friendship" was unsalvagable, if even that. He'd completely forgotten that Zhongli worked at the Funeral Parlor