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Childe POV:
"Is that understood Tartaglia?" The Tsaritsa asks as she strokes her snow white wolf companions, I bow my head "Yes ma'am". I went down to the ports, the sun was shining down but the glacial winds of Snezhnaya continue to cancel out any warmth. "Ah, Mr Childe... please board the ship, Signora is waiting for you" a recruit says while busily scribbling on a clipboard, I make my way into the huge grey ship, it was like a monster slowly creeping it's way to the destination, in this case, Liyue. I swing the cabin door open, "Ah there you are Childe..." Signora says sarcastically, "Lets just go over the plan" I say exasperatedly. I was tired of her tactics, always trying to run her own show and being so... sadistic, "You impatient little thing... okay okay, so basically you distract the Geo Archon while I locate the gnosis, and don't just rely on me to find the gnosis Childe, you also have to try and find it" she puts her lips close to my ear, "You're loyal to her majesty aren't you? Then surely you won't refuse this little request of mine, hm?" I nod. "Fine, just quit teasing me all the time" I say swatting her away like a pest, I walk out onto the deck of the boat and lean over the balcony, I watch as the icebergs slowly slowly fade away and a rush of warm sunshine wraps around my body, mmm... I haven't felt this natural warmth in ages.
A large bustling city gradually comes into view, it was very traditional and well designed, it seemed much more welcoming and warm compared to Snezhnaya, "remember the plan" Signora says to me as I step out of the ship, "Oka-" before I could finish, she disappears among the sea of crimson butterflies, typical. I pull out my files, hm okay so I'm supposed to meet this man named Zhongli as he's a trusted associate of the Fatui, I flip the page and squinted at the image. He looked like he was in his late 20's, he looked very mature and serious, his eyes are a gorgeous hue of gold and his hair is chocolate brown with a hint of orange-gold on the edges, this guy is actually pretty good looking... I slap myself across the face, that was extremely gay of me... I shake my head as I make my way to the promised meeting spot, Liuli Pavillion. I poke my head around the door and my heart did an entire flip, there he was...in the flesh, he looked even better in real life than the photo, "Um... greetings Mr Zhongli, I'm Childe the 11th Fatui harbinger" I say as calmly as possible and extended a hand, he shook my hand "A pleasure to cross paths with you Mr Childe" he gives my hand a little squeeze, huh... what was that for? I ignore it, "pleasure is all mine". Zhongli and I enjoy a lovely meal discussing over the geo archon and exchanging information about ourselves, after a few hours we struck up a rather nice friendship. "Would you like to go crystalfly catching with me at Guyun Stone Forest?" he offers, I nod, I don't often get to see too much crystalflies in Snezhnaya, sure there are a couple, but I wanted to see a whole group of them, flying together.
We make our way into the echoing cavern at the centre of Guyun Stone Forest, gentle water droplets fall from the rooftop, "wait... they're so high up, how are we supposed to catch them?" I ask curiously, Zhongli chuckled softly and summoned his geo pillar. "Woaahh... okay I'll climb up" I say as I dig my nails into the pillar and scooch my way up like a caterpillar. As I reach the top, I yell "CATCH ME!" then I leap up and cup a crystal fly, Zhongli catches me bridal style as I hold up the crystal fly in triumph "Excellent, a few more to go..." by sunset, Zhongli and I have collected bucketfuls of crystalflies. "What are we using these for?" I ask as I pick up a few buckets, "Just for house decor, speaking of that, would you like to come over Childe?" my heart skips a beat, "S-Sure!". I soon find myself standing in front of an inn, Zhongli leads me into a room in the south western direction, the door opens revealing a comfortable and historical room, "Oooo... this looks really nice" I say taking in my surroundings. I sit down on the couch as Zhongli sits next to me, a sudden rush of warmth fills up my body, why...why is my body doing this? Stay focused, I still got a job to do.
Suddenly, the doorbell rings "food delivery for Mr Zhongli?" a girl says as Zhongli opens the door, "Ah yes thank you... as for the payment...ahem..." he shifts uncomfortably on his feet, I reach into my pocket and pass the girl a pouch of mora, she smiles and leaves. "Thank you Childe" Zhongli smiles at me sweetly and my heart flutters again, I awkwardly smile back before sitting back onto the couch. "Zhongli... would it be weird if I said I..." I pause, "Hm? Is there an issue Childe?" he asks gently. "Would it be weird if I said I'm falling in love with you?" I looked at Zhongli sideways. His face shows a mixture of emotions before saying, "Well... no, and for the record I do have to admit, you have my heart beating as well" he says as a small blush dances over his cheeks. I slowly edge a bit closer, "Can we...?" I say softly, "Mm...but not too far" Zhongli says into my hair. I hold him close, taking in his scent of silk flower and old books "hmm, you're so warm..." I say quietly as Zhongli runs his fingers through my ginger hair. "Childe..." he begins, "Ajax" I say interrupting him, "Pardon?" Zhongli asks raising his eyebrows, "my true name...it's Ajax" Zhongli's face softens, "Ajax~ may I kiss you?" my entire heart exploded, k-kiss? Oh wow this is escalating really fast, I give a shy nod as Zhongli leans in. His lips gently presses into mine, my soul melts completely giving into this feeling. I bring my hand up to his face and deepens the kiss, "Mmh..." little sighs and moans of delight escapes my lips, "Oh~ so this is the 'business' you have with the ginger fatui guy..." the two of us immediately pull away from each other and look over at the door. A girl dressed in black with ruby red eyes and long brown hair leans on the door frame looking at us smugly, "Aiya... you lonely old man! Fufu~" she says covering her mouth and giggling, "Shut up" Zhongli says slightly embarassed as he throws a shoe at the girl, she dodges and runs off. Zhongli face palms, "Ugh... I can't handle that child" I sat there a little shook, "who was that?" I ask, "My boss... I work for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as a consultant" my head spun, how many jobs does he even have?
At about 5PM, Zhongli and I head back into the city, the atmosphere was different, people whispered and stared at the two of us and it was beginning to get uncomfortable. So I quietly leaned over and whispered to Zhongli, "we're getting stares for some reason" he doesn't respond, "Hey Zhongli?" he places a hand on my shoulder and points in the direction in front of us, my eyes dart over and see the same girl from earlier promoting her business using our faces on the flyers. A little twinge of worry bites away at my stomach, as I squint closer, it was an illustration of the two of us hugging quite...intimately with big letters "50% OFF ALL COFFINS! 20% OFF FUNERAL SERVICES AT WANGSHENG FUNERAL PARLOR" my blood ran cold. Zhongli marched over to the stand and grabbed onto the girl's shoulders, "Director..." he hisses, "What is the meaning of this?" his voice is in a low growl. The girl smugly stared back at Zhongli as if this was completely normal, "We gotta catch attention somehow, besides your wild spending is costing the parlor a lot gramps".
A Fatui recruit approaches me and hands me a telephone, "For you Mr Childe" he says. I pick up the phone and an ear piercing screech could be heard, "TARTAGLIA! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DISTRACT THE GEO ARCHON NOT STEAL HIS HEART YOU BLUNDERING IDIOT!!!" I hold the telephone several centimetres away from my ear waiting for the screeching to stop, "woah hold on Signora, what do you mean? I haven't encountered the geo archon" a facepalm was heard, "Zhongli is the geo archon Childe!" as soon as those words were said, my whole world stopped, "wait what?! Why didn't you tell me?" I said a bit frustrated, "I don't have to tell you everything you know... well now our original plan is ruined, I guess you have to seduce your way to his gnosis" my mind blurred, part of me is saying 'yeah that's the only way' but another part is saying 'no... I can't do that to someone I love' so I abruptly ended the call. The rest of the day went down weirdly, I couldn't think straight I couldn't act right. I tried to cover it up but Zhongli eventually noticed.
"Childe...talk to me, what is it?" I sigh before saying, "Okay so the whole reason I was here in Liyue was to distract the geo archon, which is you... I just found out, but I didn't know it was you when I came so now I fell for you I didn't want to take your gnosis by seducing you and my...colleague is just pressuring me to do the deed, and yet I still want to be loyal to the Tsaritsa and-" I was cut off, "Ajax..." my voice trails away. I look at Zhongli, "I was going to give up my gnosis to the Fatui anyway, I am the oldest god among the Seven and just a few days ago, I heard this merchant say 'your duties are done' to a recruit, which made me think 'have I finished my duties?', I thought about it and I realised that Liyue no longer needs Rex Lapis to guide them, so I signed a contract with your colleague by the name of Signora, that she would help me fake my death in exchange for the gnosis" I was shook, "I feel...surprised but a bit better now" I say keeping my tone steady. He smiles, and opens his arms "then let us continue our love for each other" I fall into his arms, feeling safe and at peace.
By nighttime, the streets were decorated with beautiful lanterns and shops were even more bustling as fireworks were let off, performances were displayed, it was happy spirits all around. Zhongli poured two glasses of osmanthus wine before picking up one glass and says while looking over the balcony, "Mmm...osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember..." I pick up the other glass, "I will be the one who share the memories~" he glances at me sideways before chuckling, "what a charmer~" we make a toast to our new found love and chug the glass of wine down, a beautiful lively melody can be heard as I twirl Zhongli around and around until he got dizzy and fell into my arms, I laugh as my body absorbs the joy and lively energy created by this lovely festival. I intertwine my fingers with Zhongli's as we watch the fireworks light up the starry night sky, I place a gentle kiss on his lips as a pink heart shaped firework lights up the sky, "I love you Zhongli" I say gently as I pull away. "I love you too Ajax... I'll love you longer than you'll live...".