Thought the ginger with incredible excitement.
The ginger quietly sat down beside the... unconscious looking man. Zhongli, passed out, was sleeping with his head on the pub table and a glass in his hand. Childe was fascinated to see him this drunk. He put his slender fingers over the other's cheek. After a couple of minutes of him staring at and admiring Zhongli, suddenly, the brunette began to slowly wake up.
"Ah... something's tickling me, on my cheek... it's cold... feels so nice..." - were the thoughts of Zhongli before he slowly opened his eyes. What he saw before him was... Ahh, it's Childe, the cute ginger boy... waiitt...
"Y-you, you idiot!" - suddenly shouted Zhongli
The ginger was surprised for the other to shout like that.
"I was waiting for you, and, and you, you didn't even show up! How mean!" yelled the brunette.
He turned his head so his face would face the other way, avoiding to see Childe.
"That is so cute..." thought the ginger while trying his best to not let out his squeaks.
"Awww, come on, don't be mad at me!" Childe stood up and hugged Zhongli from behind.
Due to it being so comforting, the brunette fell asleep again.
"E-eh?" stuttered the ginger.
The ginger ended up piggyback riding Zhongli back home. He tried getting into the house, but the door was locked, so he looked around for a key. He found the key under the door mat, and unlocked the door. Jeez, that's such a bad place to put your key at. Zhongli should really be more cautious...
As Childe walked into the house with Zhongli on his back, he was welcomed by a cute black cat. It ran off to the bedroom, as if trying to show where it is, but the ginger already knew. He laid down Zhongli on the bed, and sat near. He was just sitting, admiring him. Without realizing, he started to caress the other's hair, face, lips... However, he finally came back to his senses, and to leave quietly was the best thing to do. Just before getting off the bed, the half-asleep Zhongli grabbed Childe's wrist, as if he didn't want him to leave.
"H-huhh?..." The ginger was very confused. "Is he still sleeping?"
He gently shook Zhongli, to check if he's actually sleeping, and accidentally woke him up.
"Huh.." he slowly opened his eyes. "Heeeeyy... it's the cute ginger boy!", the brunette hiccupped. He hugged Childe by the waist, and fell back to sleep with a warm and safe setting.
Astonished, Childe waited for a bit and... got up. He left the bedroom with the cat and Zhongli inside, and walked out of the house. With one hand he had to lock the brunette's house door, since the other was occupied covering his pink, bright and glowing face...
~
The view started to get clearer. "Oh. It's the ceiling. Huh." But suddenly, it hit.
"ARGH?!"
An incredibly sharp pain in the head area, being a result of drinking so much last night.
"Owww, my head... why did I drink so mu... wait..." Zhongli sat in silence for a little while.
"How the hell did I get home? Wait wait wait wait WHAT HOUR IS IT?!"
There were many questions going trough Zhongli's head, but no one could answer them at the moment. As to why Zhongli is so worried about time? Well, it's Monday - a workday, of course.
Time showed 7:46 AM. Working hours start at 8:00 AM. Guess who's going to be late?
The brunette quickly got up, got ready and stormed out the door. Not even the cat could properly react to that lighting speed of a leave.
Since the town was not so big, Zhongli's workplace was not that far away, meaning he could walk there by foot, not needing a car.
"Well well well, look who's late byyyy... 1 minute!!! You're not usually late, our dear good consultant!"
"Ah, sorry director Hu, something came up at home suddenly, I apologize." Zhongli bowed down
"Heyyy, no need to get so serious! I was joking. It's not like you killed someone, hehe" Director Hu brightens up with a creepy smile.
"Ah, I see. I'll get right to work, then." he said while walking to the office.
"No! Ah, hold up. Would you like to have some tea?" asked the director
"Ah, I guess I have some time to spare. Sure."
"So, what did you want to discuss, Director Hu?" the employee asked
"I'm afraid to tell you this, however, there's a big contract that's been signed today early morning. Meaning, you have... A LOT... to take care of. But no worries!!! I already contacted the pathologist!" the director quickly said
Ohhhh... Seriously. This has happened before. I had hell of a time. This can't get worse, right?
The director saw Zhongli lost in thought. She hesitated to say something, but...
"The contract... is with the Fatui" carefully said Hu Tao
"Okay, I see." Zhongli took the last sip of his tea. "I'll get going, then."
"E-eh? But-" Hu Tao got cut off with the slam of a door
"Uh-oh.."
---
...
"I knew it. I knew this was going to happen. I felt it in my blood."
Zhongli sighed, placing his head on his office table.
Today's going to be a complicated day...
Why was Zhongli so disappointed and pessimistic after hearing director Hu's news? Well, last time the funeral parlor signed a contract with the Fatui, the workload was insane. That's due to the fact that the Fatui had the Funeral Parlor deal with a lot of deceased people. Obviously, the workplace has enough employees to deal with the deceased, however, Zhongli is the only one there to deal with the document work. Dealing with so much work in such a short period of time is almost impossible. Even if Zhongli's a really skilled worker, that one time was too much.
I don't get paid enough for this...
