ZhongChi Oneshots

Sting

Childe and Zhongli relationship status: friends

Modern Teyvat: no

Childe would do anything for Zhongli. This was evident by the amount of money he had spent on the older man. So when he asked Childe if they could have a picnic on a nice hill instead of at the Wanmin Restaurant, Childe happily accepted. He would be picking up the food since he is paying.

"Here's your pick up order!" Xiangling chimed. "Have fun on your date!" Childe laughed.

"It's not a date, silly." Did he wish it was one? Yes, but Xiangling did not need to know. Childe excitedly walked past the storefronts, and then trees and grass, until he saw Zhongli sitting on a blanket he laid on the grass.

"Greetings, Childe," Zhongli smiled. The bright sun reflected off his dark hair, leaving Childe mesmerized.

"Hey Zhongli," Childe responded. He sat down next to Zhongli. "Ready to eat?" He held out the food he had picked up.

"Yes, I am ready." They proceeded to eat. Childe struggled with chopsticks, like always. It was a hot and humid day, so he was not in the mood to perfect his chopstick technique. He ate the food with his hands instead. It was not a sanitary thing to do, but he could not be bothered.

"Childe, you are going to dirty your hands. Why are you not using your chopsticks?" Zhongli frowned.

"They're just too hard to use, and I don't feel like dealing with them at the moment."

"Allow me to feed you, then." Childe's cheeks dusted pink.

"Woah woah woah, aren't we moving a bit too fast here?" Feeding the other person was usually supposed to be a romantic gesture. Or a parental one. But they were both grown men.

"What do you mean? I just would not like you to dirty yourself, so I am feeding you."

Childe sighed. As Zhongli began to hold up food to his mouth, he saw a tiny black and yellow insect fly in his face. He stared at it in confusion.

"What is this bug?" he questioned. He had never seen any in Snezhnaya. Perhaps it was native to Liyue? Zhongli placed the bite of food in Childe's mouth and then began to explain.

"That insect is called a bee. Bees fly from plant to plant during the spring and summer in order to pollinate the plants. This makes them a vital part of the ecosystem. However, it is advised not to bother them, because they do sting," Zhongli explained with his dreamy, honey-like voice. Childe lost himself in this voice, and only remembered the older man's last sentence.

"Ah, so they are dangerous little creatures, huh?"

"Their stings are painful, but not dangerous. If you are stung, the pain will last for a couple days at most." Childe stared at the bee.

"They have such a great battle strategy. They're tiny, so they can sneak in and sting you. I'd love to somehow battle one!" Childe exclaimed.

"You would squash the bee to death. Also, they die after stinging." Childe gasped at this statement.

"They die?!" Zhongli nodded.

"If you battled a bee, you would be declared the winner after its first and final attack."

"That's too bad," Childe sighed. A bee flew by him. He started to swat at it. What annoying creatures they were, getting in his face and obstructing his view of Zhongli.

"Childe, you should not swat at it!" Zhongli warned as the bee became aggressive and started to fly towards Childe. He looked at the insect in dismay as it buzzed closer to his face.

"Get this nasty thing away from me!" he shrieked as he started running in circles, the bee chasing him. After thirty seconds, he got tired and sat down, the bee seemingly gone. Childe closed his eyes and laid down on the blanket, wanting to catch a break from the strange insects. Zhongli's eyes widened as he saw the bee return in Childe's direction.

Frantically, he pushed Childe away as the bee grew closer to him. Childe was abruptly awakened from his five second long relaxation period. He watched in horror as the bee stung Zhongli in the middle of his cheek. But the sting was supposed to hurt, was it not? Zhongli did not appear to be feeling any pain. He found it kind of hot that Zhongli brushed the dead bee off his cheek, with no evidence of any hurt or discomfort.

"Childe, next time a bee is near you, leave it alone or walk away." Zhongli told the ginger. "For your own safety, please do not attack them, as they will attack you in return. Today I was here to save you, but in the future I may not be." Bee stings were not something one needed to be saved from, but for some reason Zhongli felt he needed to keep Childe away from something so miniscule.

"You don't need to save me from a puny little bee!" Childe laughed. "You're so overprotective."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, of course not!" Childe smiled. "I appreciate that you care about me enough to protect me from something so insignificant."

"Yes, I do care about you." Childe's accelerating heartbeat was a signal to change the topic.

"How are you not in any pain right now?" Zhongli touched the small red bump on his cheek. He pushed down on it multiple times, as if trying to replicate a pain that does not want to return when you visit the doctor for it.

"In my many years of life, I have become accustomed to the feeling of bee stings. They do not cause me discomfort anymore." Zhongli stated. Because I am Rex Lapis and such minor pain does not affect me, is what he thought.

"Many years of life?" Childe chuckled. "You humor me, Zhongli. We're in our twenties, we're young!"

"Hm... I suppose we are." After saying that, Childe sprinted off. Zhongli gripped onto his hand before the younger man got away. Childe liked how it felt when Zhongli tightly held his hand. "Childe, why are you running away?" he asked with and adorable concerned look.

"I'm going to find more bees so I can get stung and become immune to their sting, like you!"

"Please do not do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I care about you. Have you forgotten?"

"How much?"

"I will not disclose of that information. Why is it of importance to you?" The older man looked into Childe's eyes for a second in confusion. Was Zhongli teasing him? Did he know that Childe happened to have a slightly romantic view of him? He turned red.

"Ahaha, I was just curious!" Childe put his arm around Zhongli as he spoke. He felt something crush under his hand as he placed it on Zhongli's shoulder. He quickly took his hand of his friend's shoulder and inspected it. There was a static blob of yellow and black in the palm of his hand.

"Hey Zhongli, I think I just killed a bee on your suit."