Can't Stop Loving You | Childe x Zhongli | Genshin Impact [COMPLETED]

Arc 2: Chapter 20: Golden Flower

Zhongli flung the snake away and the ground enveloped the snake on its own, buring the poor snake. Childe however, was too worried about Zhongli to care about the poor snake. The bitten area was already swelling up to the size of a tennis ball. He tore off his beloved red scarf and tied it tightly around Zhongli's forearm in an attempt to prevent the poison from spreading any further. "What kind of poison was that?" Tartaglia asked before placing his lips against the would and sucking the blood out. He felt Zhongli try to jerk his arm away, but Tartaglia gripped onto it tightly, stubbornly refusing to let go.

"It's fine!" Zhongli said quickly, sounding rather alarmed.

Oddly enough, Zhongli's blood tasted a little different. It could be because of the poison, but for some reasons, Childe didn't think so. It tasted more earthy and much more metallic than usual. He knew because he had often tasted his own blood when in fights.

Tartaglia only pulled away to spit out the blood and hopefully some poison out. However, he didn't seem satisfied and wanted to suck out more but Zhongli stopped him. The Ex-Archon seemed quite furious, rummaging through Tartaglia's bag and coming up with a bottle of water. "Gurgle your mouth." He said sternly, his expression dark.

Zhongli had never spoken to him that way. Not even after Childe mass murdered a bunch of people in Liyue. Shocked, Tartaglia obeyed, gurgling and spitting out some water.

Zhongli grabbed onto his cheeks and made him open his mouth. After inspecting it for a while, he seemed satisfied and released his grip, sighing softly. Tartaglia didn't understand why Zhongli was so shakened. "Why did you stop me?" He demanded, sounding rather furious too, "I could have sucked out the venom."

"I'm already poisoned, we don't need you getting poisoned too!" Zhongli snapped back.

"I wouldn't have! I would have spat it out! Do you think I don't know how dangerous? I'm not a kid—"

"It is precisely because you don't know how dangerous it was." Zhongli said, his eyes wide and his tone furious. "You don't know anything."

Tartaglia fell silent, realizing he was arguing about knowledge against a man that lived for over 6000 years and had the sharpest memory in the world. Watching Childe give in, Zhongli's heart lurched. He had scolded Tartaglia and he immediately felt bad. He knew that he was simply trying to help, but Zhongli wouldn't be able to take it if he got poisoned too. "I'm sorry." He said after taking a deep breath, trying to calm his heart. It would be best to keep his heart rate low to prevent the poison from spreading faster.

"... I'm sorry too." Tartaglia apologized, "wasn't think straight. Saw you got hurt and wanted to help."

The both of them stared at each other. Oddly enough, neither of them felt like they were just apologizing about the incident. It felt more than that. Then Zhongli grabbed Childe and hugged him tightly, his arms wrapping around him protectively. "Thank you."

"It's fine. It's fine... It's what friends do, right?" Tartaglia muttered. Funnily enough, they held each other even tighter when he said that word.

-

"Since I don't know, can you tell me what sort of poison the snake has?" Tartaglia finally gathered up the courage to ask. He wanted to know what was in Zhongli's blood and what was the next best course of action.

Zhongli didn't look like he was willing to share but then he realized from their argument, Tartaglia would have inferred that it was something very serious. Sighing softly, he gave in. "It's an ancient snake. Its venom is many time more dangerous than any venomous snake. Its bite is dangerous, but swallowing it is also just as dangerous. When bitten, stronger people may feel alright for the first few hours. Afterwards, symptoms like fever, chills, fatigue, nausea and dizziness can appear. It just get worse and worse up until..." He trailed off, but they both understood how the sentence would be completed.

They both sat there in silence, watching the campfire they managed to start a while ago. Tartaglia watched the fire crackle and dance, illuminating his face and warming him up. He had completely forgotten the main purpose he had came here for.

"Is there a cure?" Childe asked after a while.

"I believe so. It is the same herb we were here to get. The Golden Flower."

Tartaglia felt a sudden surge of energy and the determination to find the herb for Zhongli. "How long do we have?"

"24 to 36 hours if we are lucky."

Childe felt his hope waver slightly. From their discussion, they needed at least two days to arrive at the location. Then they still had to find it and kill whatever they might come across.

Seeing Tartaglia's expression, Zhongli smiled slightly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It is okay. I won't die that easily. Besides, it works very quickly, so we have up till the last few minutes to find the herb."

To think that he had tried to kill Zhongli a few years ago and now he wanted nothing more than to save him made him feel rather odd. Now knowing that Zhongli might die, Tartaglia regretted everything that he had done. He also had a lot of things in his heart he wanted to say but his fear kept the words from leaving his throat. He had a small internal struggle but in the end, he just scooted over to Zhongli and gently placed his head on his shoulder. Tartaglia wasn't quite sure how he might react so he braced himself for some sort of rejection, but all he felt was Zhongli leaning back against him and wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

"It is nice like that." Tartaglia said quietly.

"Is it?"

"Yeah. The peace, the quiet and the company."

And it reminded him of the past, when it was just the both of them.

"I suppose."

Then they both went silent again, quietly enjoying each others presence and the warmth from the fire.

Tartaglia had no idea how long had passed but he suddenly heard Zhongli snore loudly above him. Turning his head slightly, he noticed that he was already asleep and had to hold in the urge to laugh. Who knew Zhongli could snore? He carefully laid him down and went to his bag to grab the sleeping bag he has brought along. Childe spread it out and picked up Zhongli, finding him surprisingly heavy for a man of his build and gently laid him down. Making sure Zhongli was wrapped up nicely, Childe sat by the fire once more, his head filled with so many thoughts and questions that he couldn't sleep.