Glaze Lillies - Zhongchi - Mafia AU

4

After an excruciating hour of being stitched up by a man that doesn't like him every much, Childe was asleep. He was given the medicine he has been receiving for the past 4 days along with quite a bit of pain relievers. As a result he was out cold.
He had vivid nightmares as a result of the pain and medication. His body was strong and resilient but his mental was shattering.

—
Zhongli was found consulting with Ningguang about the current situation and his concerns with what The Tsaritsa was up to. This was the third man she's sent in, in the past 2 years. And they were slowly getting more and more higher up in the ranks.
For a while she was only having low life ruffians bother Zhongli's slow life.
But it went quiet for a while. Then Childe was sent his way.
He was curious as to the random big wave. Did she think she was catching Zhongli off guard? She did honestly but not in the way she probably was expecting.

Don't get me wrong, The Tsaritsa is very intelligent and sly. She's really good at hiding her motives when she wants to. But a lot of the times she just belts out her plans to the world in hopes of a good challenger.
And she's always had an interest with going one on one with Zhongli. Even if he shows no interest whatsoever.

Lady Ningguangs shiny gold finger claws made a sound as she picked the delicate chinaware up, listening to the older man rant on and on about how the situation was unfolding. She sipped the tea with unmatched elegance, so much that anyone would fawn over her.

She pondered the situation.
Ningguang was basically second in ranks to Zhongli. She dealt a lot with money and was in charge of the most respected of the Liyue Mafia. Nothing reached Zhongli without going through her first. She was smart and tactical. She gives lots of thought into each movement she makes. She holds a lot of authority even over Hu Tao and Xiao. But not nearly as much as Zhongli of course.
She and Zhongli had been friends for a long while. They were acquainted in school then finally teamed up when Zhongli took down her makeshift crew. One that she formed naively and at a young age. Unaware how easy it would be for her to climb the ranks on her own.

She set her tea cup down. Then she spoke.
"What bothers me the most is how nothing has happened below you. Typically after you have whatever man that was sent to you by The Tsaritsa, killed or tortured for a few days, there comes another line of men to try to get you. I feel she's up to something big."
The elegant lady finished talking, pressing a gold claw to her chin as she thought.

Zhongli nodded in agreement.
"Then do you feel as keeping him like this is unsafe? None of his clothes or body parts have been wired. I had Xiao do an inspection, nothing came up. He didn't have a phone or wallet on him either.
I would say he was sent here as a distraction of some sort, but he seemed caught off guard when we got and tied him up. Plus if he were aware of being a distraction then wouldn't you think he would've told us some useless information by now? To get us worrying about something other than what The Tsaritsa would be planning?"

Ningguang listened very intently. It didn't make sense. "Hm that would explain the most.. he isn't conscious he's being used as a distraction. Something for Morax to play with. How foul that Tsaritsa is."

"Yes, he was probably told he could come in here and easily rid of me and my men."

As the two pieced it together quickly, nodding and humming in response to another. Keqing has gone upstairs with Hu Tao. She was requested to help clean the sheets while Childe was out. Since Zhongli had decided against letting him use the bathroom for the next couple of days.
Keqing and Hu Tao were both very strong, but dead lifting a grown man who was pretty built proved a lot harder than assumed.
They struggled but got it done. The old sheets were now brown as the blood dried and they slightly stunk from the bodily fluids. The room didn't smell very pleasant either, so Hu Tao took it on herself to clean it up a bit.
After she had finished that, they found themselves enjoying tea with Lady Ningguang, Zhongli, and Xiao.

—

—
It was around eleven pm when Childe woke. He felt like shit. His head hurt and he was really warm but cold at the same time.
Great, now he was sick and being tortured. The worst possible timing.
As he gathered himself he looked around. His legs were numb but the sheets were clean. He wasn't bound to the bed this time, but he still couldn't move.
His body was starting to fail him.

The unthinkable started to cross his mind. To just confess to Zhongli, to admit everything and have the older man praise him and repair everything he's done. Childe hated. Hated. Thinking this was but he couldn't help it. He didn't know how much longer The Tsaritsa was expecting him to last. He wasn't made aware how brutal Zhongli was going to be. He was tired of it.

So many things he could think of doing besides laying here and taking it. He even pondered taking his own life. It had barely even been a week and he didn't want to do this anymore.
He always prided himself on his resilience and now he couldn't. He was ashamed. It made him want to break down. But he couldn't cry. He was always physically incapable. It was painful. This stupid cursed world.

As childe zoned out, sitting in silence and pain for about half an hour, the door to his room was opened. And shut very quietly.
The footsteps were even quieter.
Childe felt a weight on his bed. He slowly looked over, it was the one and only.
He felt nothing but resentment towards that man, his mere presence left a sour taste in Childe's mouth.
He scowled at him. Only receiving a smile.

Slowly, Zhongli ran his fingertips up Childe's stomach, placing his hand gently on his chest.
"Listen to me. I just want to talk."
He spoke kindly, and his voice was as soft as his touch. It made Childe want to throw up.

"I know how you feel about The Tsaritsa. I understand how you see her, and how nothing I can say with waver that. But please consider my next few words.
I am willing to give you a break, for a small amount of information. All I want to know is, was it The Tsaritsa who gave you this job directly?"
Zhongli locked eyes with Childe. The question seemed innocent enough. And Childe couldn't think of any way that may help them gain any knowledge on the situation.

He only stared at Zhongli. Was it worth it? At this rate he was going to die. What was the break going to be like? No more drugging? Being able to eat real food and shower by himself. It was ever so tempting. But the break could also be no torture for a set amount but still being bound and whatnot.

The way Zhongli looked at him made him dizzy. He was getting sick. If he could recover before even more torture he could last longer.
"What kind of break?" Childe asked, his voice was horse and broken.
He hasn't spoken in a while. The last time he made noise he was screaming.

Zhongli smiled, sliding his hand down to lay on Childe's stomach. "Oh, you would get to eat and use the bathroom, I won't drug you for three whole days, and you'll get to stay in another room. But of course you'll never get to leave my sights."
Childe pondered it so hard it gave him a headache.

He sighed heavily looking at Zhongli. It was worth it, and if it compromised anything that was on The Tsaritsa.
He could possibly recover fast enough to escape this hell.

"Okay.." he coughed lightly and looked away "I was technically sent here by The Tsaritsa, but she didn't say it directly to my face.." he felt guilt swallow him whole the second he finished speaking. He wanted to die right then and there. Until Zhongli cupped his face with both his hands, a bright look on his face.

"So good. I'm so proud of you." His words felt so sincere. It felt.. nice?

Childe had almost forgotten he had just spew information that he promised to never even think of.
He smiled, at Zhongli. But it quickly left his face once he realized what he was doing.
Still, the older man leaned, moving Childe's hair to plant a very soft kiss on his forehead.
The ginger choked on air. What was that?
Frozen with shock he watched as Zhongli stood straight. Announcing something before leaving.
He didn't hear it though. He was still distraught from what just happened.
Conflicted on how it made him feel. His stomach burned with.. embarrassment? Hate? He couldn't tell.

————

Notes:

I'm so sorry for the late update and the short chapter !! I've been so busy and March sucked. I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter !!!!!