No Matter What

2

I hold Xiao with my good arm, before kneeling down beside the ginger-haired man.

"Oh man," I say, looking over his body to check for other injuries. "Are you alright? Sir? Can you hear me?" I receive a groan in response, his face buried in his arm as he lay there on the warm walkway. I frown. "I'm going to call an ambulance, just keep still. Don't move, okay?"

I keep Xiao close under my arm as I reach in my pocket for my phone, but the second it's in my hand, the man sits up.

"No, no!" he says quickly. "I'm fine, really. I'm used to it." He reaches for the end of his shirt and tears off a long piece, to my shock. I watch blankly as he starts to wrap the wound on his leg with the cloth, tying it tight. With that, he stands to his feet, offering a hand to me. "See?" he says, "all fixed."

I gaze up at him, then eye his hand, before taking it and standing up with him. I let go of his hand quickly after to take Xiao's, but once I'm level with the man's eyes, a breath catches in my throat. I didn't realize this man was...this handsome. I was so focused on getting my son back alive, I wasn't really looking at him. Now, I can't seem to stop.

"Uh, yes," I spill out. "Thank you very much for saving my son, uh..."

"Childe," he says, giving a smirk. "Well, it's Tartaglia, but I just go by Childe. And it's no problem. Anything is worth saving the life of a kid. Anything."

I nod, though the way he says the second anything is slightly threatening. I brush it off, returning his smile. "Truly," I say, "I am extremely grateful to you. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my son."

"Childe!" The three of us all turn to see a young boy darting toward us. This boy is also red-haired and appears to be a miniature version of the man in front of me. He practically face-plants into Childe's stomach as he stops, looking up at him. "Where did you go! You said you were gonna wait by the bathroom for me and you weren't there." He pouts, then his focus turns to my son and I. "Who are these people?"

I smile. "My apologies, my name is Zhongli. This is my son, Xiao." I direct the introduction to both of them, remembering I hadn't yet told Childe our names either. "And who might you be?"

The child looks at his bigger version, before pointing at his own chest. "I'm Tuecer."

"Nice to meet you, Tuecer," I say. "Your dad is a hero you know. He just—"

Childe clears his throat loudly, turning to Tuecer and taking his cheeks in his hands. "Why don't you go look at the penguins over there?" he says.

Tuecer frowns. "But I don't wanna look at the penguins. I already saw them."

"Okay, how about the monkeys?" Childe says, remaining patient. "I'll be right over there, okay?"

"Fine." Tuecer throws one more look at Xiao and I, then darts off. He doesn't seem to notice Childe's wound at all. But I can't help but notice it seems Childe didn't want the kid to know about his rescue. A humble man, I assume. Something about that makes him even more attractive, if that's even possible.

Childe turns back to me and smiles. "Sorry about that."

"Is he your son?" I ask.

"Little brother," he nods. "I'm watching him until tonight, than he's going back to the motherland."

Little brother. So maybe he isn't a father. If so, how old is he? "Are you Snezhnayan?"

He chuckles. "Is it that obvious I'm not from here? Yeah, he's taking a flight back home around 6 today, but I thought I'd treat him to the zoo before he leaves."

"I see," I say. "So, what's two young men like you doing traveling alone to another country?" I realize how weird it sounds after it comes out and immediately regret the question. I don't want him to think I'm some creep. Thankfully, my son being here can possibly make up for it. Dad's are typically less creepy, right? Maybe not.

He smirks with bravado, and for a moment, I feel he's onto me for other reasons. "Well," he says, "I'm and adult. I think I'm old enough to make those calls."

A smile creeps across my face. Thank God. I can't deny my attraction to this man. I know he only saved my son as a kind civilian doing the right thing—I don't even know if he's gay. He could have a girlfriend for all I know. Or a wife. But for some reason, I don't want this to be the end for us. There's something drawing me into him that I can't seem to shake. I, in no way, want to say goodbye.

I realize I'm staring when Childe shifts awkwardly in his stance and scratches the back of his neck.

"Well," he says, "guess I'll go catch up with Tuecer at the monkey exhibit. It was nice meeting you two." He flashes one more smile, before making a start in the direction Tuecer has gone. I bit my lip, trying my best to restrain myself from calling out his name.

"Wait." Too late. He stops in his tracks and turns back toward me, looking me up and down. I'm embarrassed by my actions, it isn't like me to pry, but I can't shake this feeling. I need to see him again. "Uh, thank you again. I feel the need to repay you somehow. Will you...allow me to buy you dinner? A-as a thank you, of course. Please. You saved my son. I must."

"Oh no, no," he says. "You don't need to do that, really. It's nothing at all. Anyone would save a child in need if they could. You don't owe me anything."

"I want to," I say quickly, nearly cutting him off. I'm not one to ever blush, so why are my cheeks so hot? I haven't known this man for more than ten minutes, and he's already changing my entire demeanor. This hasn't happened to me before. This is how I know there's something about him I need to discover.

His mouth opens, but no words come out at first, just an indecipherable stutter. Now he's gone red, and for a moment, I think he's going to run and reject my offer completely. But he doesn't. Instead, he turns toward me again, scratching the back of his neck once more.

"Uhh, yeah, okay," he says. "But it would have to be another day. Like I said, I'm taking Tuecer to the airport at 6 tonight."

I have to hold back my smile, remaining neutral as I nod. "Yes, I understand. That's fine. I'm free." I hold up the arm still in a cast and allow myself a small smirk. "Would you mind exchanging numbers then?" I'm unsure why I've convinced myself he'll refuse. Without phone numbers, how would we know where to meet?

He is hesitant, but eventually agrees. I give him mine, and he saves it in his phone before bidding me farewell for now and heading off. I watch him leave, stupidly wanting to follow him, though I know I can't. That would be far too crazy. Never have I met a person make me think such thoughts as these.

Xiao is ready to leave, and I don't blame him. His first experience at a zoo and he is nearly eaten alive by tigers. He'll never like zoos again. I take his hand. But as we walk down the path toward the exit, all I can worry about is whether or not Childe will call me.
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TO BE CONTINUED