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

Arc 4: Chapter 41: Reconciliation

"Zhongli..."

"Mm?" Zhongli hummed.

"Zhongli... Something is happening to me."

Zhong turned around to see Tartaglia... but also not Tartaglia at the same time. One of his eyes had turned black and red and his skin was becoming scaly. Both his pupils were slits and his hands were becoming claws. It was almost like he was becoming a dragon.

Zhongli dropped anything he was doing and rushed over. Childe tilted into his arms, covering his ears with his half claw hands.

"I can hear him Zhongli. Durin. He's going to take over me." He whimpered softly, his nails digging into his scalp as he desperately tried to keep his hold over his own body.

"Hold on. Hold on, please." Zhongli tried using his power to draw the parasitic soul inside Tartaglia but he was blocked out by the old and powerful spirit that had already awoken. It was too late

"Zhongli I can't see. Zhongli? Where are you?"

Tartaglia flailed in his arms, trying to find his lover. He couldn't see, hear or feel anything. Zhongli was yelling right before him, holding onto him tight but he really didn't know. Everything was dark and cold and he was afraid. He could feel his consciousness fading away, the darkness was enveloping him, drowning him. Childe struggled, but he was no longer in control of himself anymore.

'Tartaglia' suddenly smiled, his eyes fluttering open to reveal a pair of crimson red and black eyes. Dark energy exploded from him, throwing Zhongli backwards.

"Ahahaha. Interesting."

Zhongli landed gracefully despite being blown off rather unglamorously. His expression was serious as he watched 'Tartaglia' quietly, trying to assess the situation. He knew he couldn't hurt him. It might not be Childe anymore but it still is his body.

'Tartaglia', or rather, Durin turned to see Zhongli and his smile grew ever wider. "Oh Morax. Do you remember me?"

Zhongli woke up from yet another nightmare. It felt like it had been getting worse ever since he told Childe and he honestly did not know what to make of it. He knew it was just a dream but it left him very worried and extremely jumpy. What if it was truly a memory? What if Tartaglia really became a monster? That thought bothered him very much. He slipped out of bed and went to make himself a nice cup of tea. Zhongli wasn't sleeping any time soon so he figured he could get up and do some work.

He nearly jumped when he heard someone knocking on his door. Zhongli placed down his cup and walked over, opening the door slightly to see Childe. For a moment, he was reminded of that... that thing in his nightmare. He brushed it off for now, from what happened last time, he knew that Childe didn't want to talk about it.

"Ajax." He said, managing a small, tired smile. Zhongli was surprised to see him after Childe just seemed to disappear for a few days. And honestly, he was quite happy to see him, even if it was so late at night. It reassured him to see that Childe was just Childe. No crazy claws and evil, murderous, red aura.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I over reacted. It's just... I..."

"It's alright. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings too," Zhongli said softly, opening the door, "please, come in."

Tartaglia slipped his shoes off and entered the house. The place looked just like what is usual. Everything was neat and tidy, the place was well lit with warm light.

"Tea?" Zhongli asked.

"Uh, sure."

Zhongli busied himself with getting the warm water to boil again as Tartaglia sat down at the table in the kitchen. He stared at his back quietly, wondering why Zhongli was so willing to sacrifice so much for him. It was probably the reason why Zhongli had to disappear for a little bit to regain his powers. Childe had done nothing but hurt him yet he was still so willing to give up so much for him... Tartaglia really didn't deserve him. He wished he could do even a fraction of whatever Zhongli had done for him in return.

"Here." Zhongli gently placed down a cup of tea in front of Childe.

"Thank you."

Zhongli nodded. As he sat down, he noticed something familiar looking sticking out of Childe's pocket. "What's that?"

"This? Oh... Just a broken vision you left behind." Childe said, taking it out of his pocket. "Do you want it back?"

"No, I don't need a vision to use my powers." Zhongli said as he picked up the visions. His amber eyes glowed gold as he channeled his power into the vision. The dull brown vision turned yellowish golden, glowing gently as it pulsated a faint geo energy. "Here."

Tartaglia blinked a few times, staring at Zhongli and the vision. Even without being in love, he was still giving things to him. "Aren't you supposed to give it to someone else that deserves it? I have one already."

"There's no rule saying I can't give someone a second vision. It's an existing vision that I repaired. Not quite the same as granting someone with a new vision." Zhongli placed the vision on the table and slid it over to Childe. "Besides, you want to be powerful, no? This will help you."

Tartaglia took it. The once cold and dull vision felt warm in his hands. "You... you know?"

Zhongli nodded, "things are coming back with my power... though I think someone is trying to keep it from returning."

"Do you want to talk about it? The memories and all. I don't mind listening." Childe asked. He wanted to at least do something for Zhongli after all he had done for him. Listening wasn't much but he wanted to try.

"Yes. I just... I remember little things. I don't know why but all the bad things are coming back." Zhongli said softly. "I..."

Zhongli hesitated, afraid that he might say something wrong and hurt Childe again.

Childe reached out and gently took his hand. He noticed the hesitance and wanted Zhongli to know that he would listen to anything. "It's okay. You can tell me, whatever it is. I promise I won't overreact again."

Zhongli looked into Tartaglia's sapphire eyes and found reassurance. He nodded, "alright. I saw... I remember something where you turned into something else. Into a monster. I want to know what happened."

Childe sighed quietly. The memories of what happened still pained him. He hated how he mistrusted Zhongli. Durin had planted some fake memories to manipulate Childe while he was still getting used to being a zombie.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." Zhongli said, sensing that it probably wasn't a great memory.

"No. It's just... I don't know how to explain. From the start, I got... a little injured and some evil being took that chance to use my body as a host. You saved me and... well, this evil thing grew stronger. It took over me and you saved me again but at a large cost." Childe summed it up. He subconsciously looked away from Zhongli out of guilt. "I... I did a lot of bad things. I didn't trust you..."

Zhongli squeezed Tartaglia's hands this time, sensing how he seemed to be slightly unstable. "It's okay. It's in the past now."

"Really?" Tartaglia asked. He wondered if Zhongli was saying this only because he didn't remember it or if he had truly forgiven him.

"Yes." Zhongli nodded, "I don't hate you for it. I know better than anyone that we all make mistakes."

Childe searched Zhongli's eyes to find nothing but sincerity and he smiled. "Thank you. I—" Tartaglia paused before he said 'I love you'. He knew that they weren't there yet, especially since the conversation they had. "Ah..." He glanced away awkwardly.

Zhongli noticed it and it didn't take him long to figure out what he wanted to say. His chest felt uncomfortable knowing that he wasn't letting him say it. He felt bad that he didn't like Tartaglia the way he liked Zhongli and wished nothing more than to return the feelings too. It hurt to watch Childe act this way, Zhongli could tell that he was trying to hide his feelings to make him more comfortable.

Zhongli took Tartaglia's hand and he jumped a little, as if shocked. He smiled at Childe, "no, thank you for sticking with me."