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

Arc 2: Chapter 21: Journey Onwards

"Sun is up, let's head out." Zhongli said quietly, gently tapping Tartaglia's cheek.

Childe woke up with a start, he didn't remember falling asleep. When he saw Zhongli's face, he relaxed slightly, as if his presence reassured him. He sat up, scratching the back of his head as he looked around. He clearly did not remember falling asleep on the sleep bag. Perhaps Zhongli had brough him over and he sighed quietly. The whole point was to have him rest properly so the poison would work less quickly. In the end, they ended up sharing the sleeping bag. Childe could only hope that maybe Zhongli managed to get some rest.

Either way, he had no time to argue, Tartaglia packed up quickly and they both continued their journey to the cave.

The first few hours went by smoothly, up until Childe spotted a couple of treasure hoarders digging around for treasures. Memories of how they had tried to kill him flooded back and he was inevitably filled with anger and vengeance. The treasure hoarders spotted them as well and were startled, but they quickly picked up their weapons, ready to defend themselves. Tartaglia wanted to fight them, kill them, but Zhongli grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

"Hey—" he said furiously, about to yank his hand away but saw that Zhongli was grabbing his hand using his injured arm so he didn't dare. "Let me go!"

"No."

Tartaglia was furious, but he didn't quite dare risk hurting Zhongli again. "I have some shit to settle with those assholes!"

"No. Don't do it." Zhongli said again, this time much more firmly. "Please."

Childe stared at him for a bit then gave in. They both broke out into a sprint, easily losing the treasure hoarders in the wild. They finally slowed down after they could no longer see them, panting quietly as they caught their breaths. Tartaglia pulled out a bottle and shared the water with Zhongli.

"Why did you stop me?" He asked, sounding still somewhat furious and irritated. People from that organisation had tried to kill him quite a few times.

"I just didn't want to see you go down that path. Forgive and forget. It's not just for them, but for yourself too." Zhongli stated simply. He had lived a long life and he had picked up many important life lessons. He knew that anyone that hadn't lived that long might not be able to truly understand or learn those lessons, but he still wanted to try.

Forgive and forget. Those were the things he told Zhongli he wanted to do nearly a year ago, yet he was never truly able to do it. From time to time, it'd plague his mind, completely destroying his self esteem and motivation to do anything. Tartaglia was quite sure that Zhongli probably knew that he didn't forget anything at all. Yet he wasn't sure if Zhongli managed to do so or not. Judging by how he moved on, he probably did. That thought bothered Childe, how could he just forget it all so easily? And... why couldn't he?

He didn't want to continue on the topic so he remained silent. Zhongli didn't press on and continued walking. Tartaglia followed along, but he noticed how he seemed paler than before. His breathing seemed much heavier, even if his posture seemed to look just as usual, Childe could tell he was tired.

About an hour or so later, he finally couldn't take it and called for a break. Zhongli nodded and sat down, he didn't protest because he was really tired. He had tried to act normal so Childe wouldn't worry, but judging how he was acting, Tartaglia probably knew already.

He came over and gently pressed his palm on his forehead. Zhongli tried to swat it away but Tartaglia managed anyway. They both sighed quietly for very different reasons.

"You are..." Tartaglia trailed off awkwardly, remembering that he was about to say the exact same words Zhongli had said to him a year ago. "Your fever is getting worse. You should rest." He took out a piece of cloth and soaked it in cool water that he had conjured with his vision.