zhongli x childe short stories

the moon is beautiful, isn't it?

Zhongli and Childe celebrate Moonchase together. (They kiss a lot)

Liyue Harbor bustles busier than usual.

Childe watches as millileth string lanterns between lampposts and wonders what the occasion is. Something to ask Zhongli when he sees him later, he decides.

The air is starting to get a little cooler in Liyue. He had arrived in the middle of a sweltering summer. His movements were made slow and sluggish, and he was sure he had sweated out so much of the liquids in his body that his vision wouldn't even work anymore.
The air was now a much more comfortable temperature. It was nowhere near the biting colds of Snezhnaya, with its comforting sting. It was calm and comfortable, and Childe sighed in contentment as a cool breeze swept through his hair.

He hummed a cheerful tune as he continued on his stroll. His eyes landed on a marvelous sculpture of a rabbit. The craftsmanship was great, and the jade it was carved from was such a clear color. He wondered what Zhongli would think of it. He dared not purchase it for him without his approval first. Childe shuddered at the memory of the last time he had tried to do so.

"Xiansheng!" Childe had called out happily.

Zhongli's eyes brightened upon seeing him, and he looked oh-so-lovely as he smiled at him.

"I've got a gift for you," Childe had proudly stated before presenting Zhongli with the earring he had purchased.

Zhongli's smile grew wider, and Childe perked up with pride. But the moment was short-lived when Zhongli's brows had scrunched together as he examined the earring presented before him.

Zhongli's smile was back just as quickly as it had disappeared. Zhongli had stated just a little too loudly that he loved it and reached to put it in his ear. But Childe knew something was wrong.

"If you don't like it you could've just said so, Xiansheng! No need to pretend! I'm no fragile flower, I'll be able to take it!"

Zhongli sighed.

"You really are clever, Childe. Is this the wit of the notorious 11th Harbinger?" Zhongli had mused, an eyebrow quirking up.

"The earring you have gifted me is beautiful, Childe, truly. I greatly appreciate the sentiment," Zhongli swallowed hard before continuing, "However, it is... a fake."

Childe could feel his heart stop right then and there. No way he had just given Zhongli a fake earring.

"But," Childe spluttered in denial, "that can't be! The shopkeeper promised me this was the finest cor lapis mined from the tallest mountain in Liyue! There's got to be some mistake!"

Zhongli only shook his head slowly, and Childe groaned. It was just his luck to get duped and embarrassed like this. He sighed.

"You can give me back the earring, Xiansheng, I'll teach that guy a lesson. How dare he mess with a Fatui Harbinger? What does he think, that I'm just some stupid, bumbling, foreigner? Does he know who I am?"

Zhongli gives an amused smile at Childe's angry murmuring.

"I'll show him," Childe continues, seething and oblivious to the world around him, "That guy will regret messing wit-"

Childe is interrupted by a hand to his shoulder, and his face is met with Zhongli's serene smile.

"There's no need for that, Childe," Zhongli mused. "Fake or not, I'd like to keep the earring. It's quite lovely. You have a good eye, Childe. I'll treasure it."

Childe had flushed hard then, basking in the praise.

Zhongli had not since been seen without the earring. It always warmed Childe's heart when he saw it dangling happily by Zhongli's neck. He had lost count of the number of times he'd thought of reaching out to still it, hand close enough to feel Zhongli's warmth before cupping his face in his hands. But that would not be appropriate; Zhongli and Childe were friends, and friends do not lovingly caress each other's faces.