Eyes of Perception

Chapter 19

Four months. 

He stared ahead of him, his mind blank. He really should've gotten some more sleep last night, the exhaustion was starting to catch up with him. He silently wished he was back in the comfort of his bed, encased in a warm pile of blankets with warm hands snaked around his waist to hold on him close. The thought of soft lips brushing against the skin of his neck, kissing him awake, sent a shiver through his whole body, and a dumb smile tugged at his lips. He could get used to this, sleeping in the same bed as Zhongli and waking up by his gentle touches.

"Lord Tartaglia?" A knock on his door, followed by the creak as it opened to reveal Ekaterina stepping forward. "Are you alright? You've been in your office for a while but I haven't heard anything."

Childe made a sorry attempt at covering up his expression with an overly-focused look instead. "I was just, um, analyzing the trends of the time period when the most loans were taken out. It might help with the expansion of the bank?"

Ekaterina raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Okay, okay, I give up," Childe sighed, raising his hands in defeat. "I was daydreaming. A little. Not even enough to be considered daydreaming. And it didn't even get to the good part, y'know?"

Ekaterina pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes shut tightly. "I'd really rather not know about your exploits with Mister Zhongli. For the sake of the stability of the bank, keep that knowledge to yourself."

"But I just-"

"No. You've already wrecked enough havoc with your display of personal matters."

Subconsciously, Childe tugged his collar a little higher, the hickeys he'd earned a few nights ago still on bright display. There weren't a lot of people that could make him sheepish, but Ekaterina was certainly one of them. Okay, he had to admit, he was being a little extravagant with flaunting his relationship everywhere, but in his defense, he only had four more months of it, and then that joy would be taken from him. But he was going to ignore that.

"What, have you decided to start chastising your boss?" Childe asked with a grin in hopes of getting her flustered. 

She, as a matter of fact, did not get flustered. "Lord Tartaglia, if I may give you a suggestion. Though I do not have the authority to give you repercussions, at least pretend to be doing some work. Northland Bank has a reputation to uphold, after all, and you staring into space for hours on end doesn't do much to improve it."

Childe collapsed onto his desk in defeat, sending a flurry of pages flying up. "Fine, fine, I see your point."

Ekaterina visibly winced. "Lord Tartaglia, please refrain from causing a mess in your office. If I remember correctly, those reports were rather important."

"Sorry," he groaned in response, pulling himself up. "Just... haven't had the best day." As in, he hadn't been able to fall asleep properly because Zhongli was right there, holding him the whole time, and Childe's heart had been beating too fast, too hard. Dating for months, and he still couldn't stay calm. And now, the ticking clock had decided to come to mind again. Four months. Four months. Four months. 

Ekaterina gave him a sympathetic smile. "If it makes you feel better, the bank received a letter from Mister Zhongli directed to you."

His face practically lit up as Ekaterina placed an envelope on his desk, the seal of the funeral parlor still unbroken. Ekaterina shook her head fondly before stepping out once more, the door closing with a click. He waited one second, two, three, to make sure Ekaterina really was gone before he carefully opened the envelope, making sure not to damage its contents.