fortuity | zhongchi

19

"DOES THIS RING A BELL?"

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childe ran after him, "heyyy! i'm just kidding of course!" he wasn't in fact kidding. the man did have the tendencies to be over melodramatic at times. the ginger spun him around to face himself just to see a pouting zhongli. childe was dumbfounded, "no way you took me seriously." the brunette struggled in expressing his feelings and he was evidently embarrassed by the way childe reacted, "hm." the ginger tried his hardest to supress his laughs, finding this current zhongli adorable.

he cupped his cheek, "i'm sorry, it wasn't c — corny at all." he then imploded with laughter. zhongli squinted and pursed his lips, "whatever." childe wrapped his arms around zhongli's neck, giving him a warm hug with a smile, "mr. zhongli, don't cry." now zhongli felt mocked, "i am not crying! how dare i be judged like this." the brunette argued but eventually returned the hug.

"you're into me a lot aren't you?" childe teased, still hanging on to him. the older was quiet, making childe grow tense. anything zhongli does — or doesn't do, never fails to make his stomach twist uncontrollably. even cracking a light joke won't permeate his barrier, as zhongli takes them so seriously. "it appears so." zhongli murmured a delayed reply.

childe slowly let go of him, scratching his cheek that was strikingly warm, "ehem..." zhongli stared at him for a short while, as if he was contemplating. the ginger grew conscious, "what? is there something on my face?" the brunette shook his head and walked away to tend to their luggages, "no." childe got distracted by his movements and followed in gathering their belongings.

their stay was about to end and they were getting on the road soon so the two went to pack things up. too bad time had flown so quick, childe wished they had spent more time together alone. zhongli, who was apparently well acquainted with a few of the staff members, apologized for the... mess, they left behind in the bedroom. although, zhongli had already cleaned up what he could as this was a sort of private, personal beach house rather than a hotel.

the pair got on the road after they've put their stuff into the trunk of the car and returned the keys to the cashier in the main lobby of the resort. this time, childe had offered to drive and after a long dispute on who was gonna take the wheel, zhongli let him have his way. childe considered how the other did a great amount of — driving last night so he thought he could do him a favor. zhongli on the other hand was worried childe's legs were still sore.

the drive only lasted a short while, despite it being roughly an hour and a half away from home. childe let zhongli take a well deserved nap while he quielty played songs on the radio. he would occassionally glance to his side and admire the sleeping beauty beside him although making sure to not look away from the road for too long.

zhongli woke up from slumber just a few minutes before they settled into the city. "morning sunshine, or should i say afternoon?" childe gave him a sweet smile. the older rubbed his eyes as he squinted from the glaring sunlight harshly disrupting his sight, "good afternoon, love." the boy was surprised by the way he was addressed, "love? moving fast now aren't we?"

zhongli rested his head on the seat, "sunshine?" childe scoffed, "okay look, it's a normal thing to say between ordinary people it doesn't mean i —" "are we just ordinary people though?" the brunette interrupted. childe was left speechless, "...you have a point." zhongli laughed through his nose and sat up with fuller attention to his surroundings, a bit more awake now, "besides, we've already skipped a couple steps in building a relationship. pet names are nothing compared to what we've done."