"I don't know the first thing about opera."
Zhongli snorts at that, thumbing at his chin. Childe grins back. There isn't a point in lying, and even if he did, Zhongli would still drone on and on, seemingly forever.
Childe never minds, enjoying the stories and the deep tone of his voice. It's addicting to listen to at times, particularly on quiet nights, their heads tucked together as they share dinner at Wanmin Restaurant.
"I wasn't sure that you would want to come with me, but I'm pleased that you agreed." There is a pause as Zhongli sips at his tea, his brow furrowed. "I… must admit. I wasn't sure you would forgive me."
"Oh, I haven't."
Zhongli blinks and they meet gazes. Suddenly that golden-eyed stare makes a lot more sense. Childe always felt as though Zhongli would see right through him, right into him. Maybe he can. Childe doesn't pretend to know the whims or wills of Gods.
"Childe—"
"That doesn't mean you aren't my friend though." Or more, needles Childe's brain. He promptly ignores it.
"Surely great friendships cannot be built upon… such disagreement."
Childe shrugs. "I disagree with my mom every time that we talk, and I love her." Just like I love you—No, no, he refuses to think that, despite the way that it rings in his head. Childe sighs softly. He is the most pathetic man that he knows.
"Besides," continues Childe, "part of me is impressed. I can't believe that I never noticed. In retrospect, you stick out like a sore thumb."
"Quiet about that—"
"Literally no one is listening." Childe looks around and no one pays either of them mind. "See?"
Zhongli rubs at his brow before relaxing. "I'm sorry, I'm just… unused to being exposed."
"Mr. Zhongli—"
"Zhongli, please." A pause. "I would think we're beyond nicknames and titles, Childe."
Ajax, Childe thinks instead, wishing to Celestia above that he could hear his proper name drip from Zhongli's lips. Maybe one day. No, definitely one day.
Childe opens his mouth to speak, but the music of the opera starts. The lanterns around the seating area dim and the stage flares to life. Childe and Zhongli turn to watch as Yun Jin steps out in all her finery. She is truly a master of her craft. Anyone can tell. Childe has no idea what he's watching, but he's captivated by her song, and the way she expresses her face.
And then he turns back to Zhongli to watch him instead. Zhongli's eyes are glued to the stage. He seems relaxed, but he is tense, his fingers curled tightly around his little teacup. White-knuckled for sure, underneath those damnable leather gloves.
Zhongli feels Childe's gaze, his eyes flickering over. "I am sorry, Childe," he finally says so softly that most would have missed it.
Childe doesn't because he's barely paying attention to Yun Jin's performance, wholly entranced by the softness of Zhongli's sharply-cut face. "Zhongli—"
"I do think that keeping you in the dark is something that I regret. I do not regret much."
"Oh." Childe swallows thickly, his tongue caught in his throat. Tell him, tell him, tell him. "Zhongli, I—"
He doesn't. Childe chickens out in the end because that is what he does best. Always a coward at the end of the day, despite his fighting prowess and the way that battle spreads pleasure through his gut.
"I have no idea what she's saying," he eventually finishes, waving towards the stage. "My Liyuen is terrible. Narrate for me?"
Zhongli smiles then, a small upturn of his mouth. It's blinding though, in a way that Childe isn't likely to forget. "Very well, then. This opera is about two lovers separated due to their differences, and their inability to communicate. It is a trial, relearning and growing in their relationship with each other."
That isn't what the opera is about. They both know it, but Childe listens to Zhongli spin a tale in that lilting baritone voice of his.
"So what happens to the lovers?"
Zhongli watches him, not the opera, with a golden-eyed and heated gaze. He reaches out and takes Childe's hand into his own. The leather of his glove is warm as he thumbs over the back of Childe's knuckles.
"I don't believe the second part has been written yet. But I do believe that it's never too late to start."
Childe smiles.