For Archon's Sake

Parley

Childe blinked several times, waiting for the bite of Sneznayah's bitter chill before he realized where he was. Still half asleep, he carefully looked around the room, really taking everything in. The sun had barely risen, casting a soft pink onto the furniture. Gauzy cream-colored drapes left his bed a washed-out rose. Bookcases full of all kinds of texts caught his eye, some leather-bound, some brightly colored. The bottom halves of them held books that looked much older than him and were likely worth more than the royal collection back home. There was a glass of water awaiting him on the nightstand next to a steadily dripping candlestick, which he gratefully drained, albeit slower than he would have liked. As he put the glass down, he noticed the folded crane he still had yet to throw away. He gently picked it up, admiring the way it fit perfectly into his palm, each fold crisp and perfect. Unmarred and painstakingly perfect.

This room looks nothing like mine. There are no chips in the wall. No cold stone to greet my feet in the morning. No servants that look at me, scared shitless.

He remembered all of last night. The food neatly arranged on the tray, the tilt of Zhongli's head, and his unwavering gaze as Childe repeated the tale his swordmaster had given to him. He remembered the soft smile, the warm hand that was placed on his face with care as the consultant bid him goodnight.

Childe crushed the crane in his hand as his stomach started to turn over. He shouldn't have let a foreign ambassador get that close in the first place. And certainly not in that manner. It was stupid and unprofessional, a lapse in judgment-

"I'm not such a bad guy."

"I know."

Childe let the crane fall out of his hand, the paper ball making a quiet thunk as it hit the floor. And heaved everything he ate last night right onto the very sheets he laid in.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zhongli's eye twitched as he gingerly collected the soiled sheets and placed them into a basket. "I will be throwing these away, obviously." Childe looked out the window, grunting in response. Zhongli pursed his lips and went to help Childe to the bathroom, but a raised hand stopped him. "I can manage," Childe rasped. "I apologize for ruining your sheets. The Northland Bank will see to it that you are reimbursed. Please excuse me." He clenched his teeth as he swung both legs out of the bed, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. Zhongli reached towards him with worried eyes. "Damn the sheets! Childe, you are in no condition to-" "I said,'' he hissed, feeling every bit the frigid storm that plagued his homeland in winter, "That I will manage. This is far beyond the scope of the agreement my queen has set. I will not have you coddle me like a nursemaid." Zhongli pursed his lips. "That did not seem to be an issue last night." And Childe knew that five minutes at Rex Lapis' statue didn't do a damn thing as he said, "I'll be gathering my things after bathing. I've better things to do than play house with a consultant. Send Hu Tao my thanks, but I'll find my own living arrangements." Zhongli's face fell. "That wasn't my intention-" "We both came here to fulfill a contract. Unless it pertains to that, I want nothing more to do with you." The brunet stiffened, and slowly pulled a piece of folded parchment from his inner coat. "You have a message from the Fatui. I'll, um..." He backed away a few steps slowly, almost as if he was giving the Harbinger time to reconsider.

Childe kept the unwavering ice in his eyes as he replied, "I will read it when I've cleaned up." A beat of silence, then Zhongli raised his chin. "Then I will take my leave. Please let me know if you need assistance packing your things." He swallowed and quickly added, " Lord Childe." And Childe didn't look back as the consultant quietly shut the door.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zhongli was barely listening to Hu Tao's rundown of the funeral parlor's operations. "Since you got through that pile you agreed to for our....arrangement so quickly, we have a bit of wiggle room to reevaluate our potential clients and what services we could offer future customers," she explained, reorganizing her cluttered mess of papers. "Right." "And we need to fix our pitch to the Adventurer's Guild. I'm sure we could get them to come around!" she said, pumping her fist into the air. "Yes. Not a problem." Hu Tao frowned. "There's a giant fish behind you. It's flapping and moving about. Could mess up your suit." Zhongli just stared listlessly out of the window. "Uh huh." Hu Tao sighed. "Alright, who pissed in your tea?"