More Than Meets The Eye

Chapter 12

It was another three or four months before Childe finally started to trust Zhongli a little more with the basic things. Day-to-day life had shown that his injury affected a lot more of his functions than Childe first thought, which resulted in Childe hovering around like an overprotective helicopter whenever he could. It ended up being pretty similar to the way that Childe had practically raised Teucer, except instead of raising a little brother, he was raising his adult boyfriend Zhongli.

Childe didn't mind, though. It gave him an excuse to be with Zhongli whenever he could, and he liked watching as Zhongli figured out how to unlock a door for the first time, or how to check out a book at a library. All simple things, really, but Zhongli had simply forgotten how to do them. Actually, some of those he might have ever known how to do in the first place. Did Zhongli even need to go to libraries? He was pretty wealthy, so he could probably just buy whatever book he wanted instead of borrowing it from a library. Childe had eventually asked about it, and gotten laughed at with the words 'Yes, of course I go to libraries. What, do you think I'm some kind of brute who can't appreciate literature?'.

That reply had successfully done two things: one, confirm that Zhongli did indeed go to libraries and had simply forgotten how to check books out, and two, indirectly call Childe a brute because he tended to avoid libraries unless they were absolutely necessary. The only time Childe would ever really go to libraries was when he needed something for his classes (which he decided were completely useless - he'd learned nothing new in the past three months and was convinced that he knew more about business than his professor did) or when Zhongli dragged him to one. 

On the extremely rare occasions that Childe simply couldn't get away from work or class, Zhongli would do his best to explore Liyue on his own. The first few times, it had resulted in Childe receiving frantic calls in the middle of lectures or as he was serving customers, with Zhongli asking in an extremely panicked voice how to use a traffic light. Somehow, the constant questions and calls felt right to Childe - they showed him that Zhongli needed him, and feeling needed by someone was something that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

He wondered sometimes how it would be if the accident never happened. How far along would their relationship have been? They would have been dating for, what, three years and eight months now? In all honesty, that was a lot more than Childe thought he'd ever last with someone. He remembered what his parents had told him a little before they'd kicked him out so long ago - something about how he'd never find someone who actually wanted him. For a while, he'd believed that, too. He'd let the thought consume him entirely.

Then, he met Zhongli, who wanted him no matter his flaws, no matter the mistakes he'd made and the problems he'd brought. He met Zhongli, who loved him for over three years and loved him still (or at least Childe hoped he did) even after losing memory of him. That's why Childe held him so close, so dear to his heart. Because when all others turned away, abandoned him, left Ajax behind and only saw Tartaglia, Zhongli welcomed him with open arms. That's why, no matter what, no matter why or when, Childe would always be there when Zhongli called.

It was one such excursion that brought them to the grocery store, with a very confused Zhongli and a very happy Childe. Unlike most other things that Childe had to teach Zhongli, he knew for a fact that Zhongli had never known how to go grocery shopping in the first place. It was never too late to learn, though. And that's what they tried to do for over four hours, from the process of making a list of food needed to actually going and buying the food at a price that wasn't too astronomical. Sure, Zhongli was wealthy, but even he might suffer some financial issues if he spent hundreds of mora on a single apple.

And so, what had meant to be a quick trip to the store ended up being dragged out for four hours, but Childe would be a fool to complain, and he was no fool. Those four hours were filled with laughter and soft touches and inside jokes, and for those four hours, Zhongli's memory loss faded into the background. It wasn't important now. Sure, it meant that Zhongli had to relearn some things, but the barrier between them that had been so painfully there because of Zhongli's lack of memories was now completely gone.