𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 [ 𝘼𝙐 𝙕𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙞 +18 ]

7: Sinister Mist

Childe woke up hearing Zhongli's voice calling out to him. The first thing he noticed when he came back to consciousness was that he was no longer as cold as before, a little weight on him and quite a lot of heat on his stomach, along with a comforting warmth. He opened his eyes, finding himself stretched out on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar place, However, he could tell that the smell was familiar to him, as well as being able to feel another essence that made his stomach roar in hunger. He looked up into the golden eyes, strangely not feeling nervous about not knowing where he was. Guilt settled back in his chest when he saw the scar under his eye.

"Are you okay?" Zhongli asked, sitting in a chair next to him. Childe nodded, his throat still aching. "I'm glad, I think you went into hypothermia, I'm not sure," to tell the truth his clothes were a bit damp, that still gave him a bit cold. Luckily, Zhongli had noticed that, as a change of clothes lay at the foot of the bed. Childe sniffed, noticing a pleasant smell of food increasing. He turned his head toward the nightstand, stumbling across a bowl of soup. Zhongli helped him up, placing the pillow on the back of the bed. Childe sat up, leaning back on the cushion. He felt exhausted.

"I'm sorry..." Childe whispered, apologizing for everything. Because of his scar, because of calling him late at night, because Zhongli had to be doing all that.

"Don't worry," Zhongli replied, picking up the bowl and holding the spoon, bringing him a tablespoon of soup. Childe opened his mouth, letting the brunette feed him the food. "It's okay, besides I was already looking for you before you called me."

Childe widened his eyes at his reply, noting the delicious taste of bamboo shoot soup sliding down his throat, warmth invading him.

"You were looking for me?" Zhongli nodded, sighing.

"I went to the brothel and they told me they fired you, so I've been looking for you all afternoon and night, until you called me, how could you go so far?" He didn't seem upset, wasn't he mad at him? After everything he had said and done? Zhongli gave him another spoonful of soup.

"I don't know..." he whispered, answering his question, looking away from his golden eyes to the room, looking at the shelves with books. A photograph caught his attention: a Zhongli of at least nine years old was smiling next to a rather young girl, around twenty-five. Both were smiling in the photo, in the background Childe could distinguish what would be a somewhat cloudy sky, the light with which he had taken it was not ideal either. Who was she? Maybe it would be his sister. He rubbed his eyes, still seeing a little blurry.

He noticed the golden eyes on top of him, another spoonful.

"Do you want to see the photo?" Childe looked at the brunette, blinking the question several times. Well, maybe he hadn't been very discreet in observing him after all. He nodded his head.

"If you don't mind," he added. Zhongli set the plate on the table, getting up and walking over to the shelf, carefully picking up the frame and returning to his seat. He handed him the photography, which he took in his still-warm hands. Now that he looked at the photo more closely, he could tell in their expressions that it was not total happiness. They were smiling, but their faces... They emanated a strange feeling, which unfortunately for him was not unknown.

He remembered Zhongli's words when they fought, that he too had lived through hell. What did he mean by that? Curiosity was eating at him, but he didn't want to intrude too much on the other's life, either. After all, he had only saved him from freezing to death in the street, and even if he wasn't angry he sure had his regrets. Childe didn't want to upset him any more than he already had —and was— doing.

Zhongli was looking at him, perhaps for him to say something.

"It's your sister?" He asked, seeing how young she looked. Zhongli gave a bitter little laugh, denying. Childe pursed his lips, seeing the soft smile on his face twisted into... Discomfort? Who was that woman then? "If you don't want to tell me that's fine, you have no reason to do that," he whispered, handing him the photo back.