I went to work and somehow this spawned from my downtime. I'm so happy to be writing my babies again. Enjoy!

Zhongli's feet dragged as he left the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. He was thoroughly exhausted but did his best to maintain his composer as he politely waved to the people who greeted him on his way home. Normally he loved to slowly walk home as he took the time to talk with people on his way, but now... Now he was determined to get home with as little stops as possible. The sun had just started to get lower in the sky as he climbed the stairs to his home. Jamming the key in the door and using his body weight to push the door open, he sighed in both frustration and relief when he was greeted with darkness and silence.

As much as he desperately hoped that someone was home, he was also relieved that no one else would have to see him like this. He did not have the energy to engage in conversations or even move. He loved listening to people and telling them stories, but nothing sounded interesting to him right now.

He toed his shoes off and lazily kicked them together and against the wall before shrugging out of his outer jacket that seemed to weigh more than the heaviest mountain as it bared down on his shoulders. He dropped it on the back of the couch and threw his gloves down next to it. His vest followed and was draped across the back of another chair as he stalked to the kitchen. He hiked up his sleeves as he eyed the random fruits and snacks on the counter, he had no desire to eat and instead grabbed two distinct bottles off the counter.

He shouldered open the patio door and practically dropped his body down to sit. He loved this spot. It was in the perfect location to people watch while still providing privacy to anyone on the patio. He easily popped the seal on one of the wine bottles as he watched people scurry about as they got off work, went for food, or rushed to shopped. Liyue always had such a relaxing atmosphere but today it felt suffocating. The thought of having to go to work again tomorrow loomed over his head as his body and mind protested the idea violently. He wanted nothing more than to crawl away somewhere and disappear for a few days at least.

He tipped the bottle to his lips and took a few large gulps. The taste was remarkably close to that of his beloved Osmanthus wine from years past. He smiled as he thought of the fiery red head from Mondstadt that actually managed to create such a stunning replica based off Zhongli's description alone. His absence from their home burned a hole in his heart as he tried to stubbornly ignore the feeling. The rich scent of the flowers in the mix made his skin long for the touch of the man who had used his medical expertise to mix herbs and help create the wine. A gorgeous green filled his vision as his skin pricked, he wouldn't be coming home tonight either due to visiting a patient in a nearby town. Zhongli drank more of the wine to shove the feeling further down.

Zhongli let out a hum at the pleasant buzz that had started to fill his head as he downed the wine. He did his best to ignore the thoughts that continued to swirl in his head as he watched the people below him continue to buzz around. Zhongli scowled slightly as he watched them move seemingly without a thought in the world. It wasn't fair. Zhongli had retired from his position as an Archon, but still he was plagued with too many things that needed his attention. His people were doing well without their god, but things still lurked in the shadows, dark things that a mortal should go their whole life without knowing. Grand schemes filled with an almost childlike hope for the future constantly pestered him. He still wasn't sure if the plan from the queen of ice would work, but old contracts and a silver tongue had him giving up his gnosis to the cause.

He didn't regret the actions from his past, but it was days like these where he wasn't sure of the future, and it made a panic crawl beneath his skin. Was this really what was best for his people? Was this really something that could be pulled off? He had been a fighter and a strategist for so long, but even this was beyond the scope of his knowledge. He had been strong for so long. He had been responsible for so much for so long. The cracks in his armor that had been filled with a brilliant gold were starting to expand once again. Old pains and worries from the past plagued his mind as he finished the first bottle.

His hands went for the second bottle without him even thinking of it. He barely noticed the subtle pop of the seal as his mind spiraled. What was he expected to do? The organizer of this grand plan had specifically said that the only thing he needed to do was give up his gnosis and enjoy his retirement for the foreseeable future. He hated only having part of the answers. All his years in this world, all of the knowledge he had gained from studying every topic there was and getting more hands-on experience than one should have in their life, and yet there was still something floating out there that he didn't fully know. Some god he was.

His mind continued its spiral as his eyes gazed at nothing. Rooming almost as fast as his mind as he took in nothing. His unfocused gaze missed the way ginger hair streaked by. The form returned a few minutes later and glanced at the window that overlooked the street. The form abruptly stopped when it noticed the lack of light coming from the inside. It lingered for a moment staring, before another form approached and stole his attention.

Childe almost jumped as he was abruptly startled from his own thoughts at the sound of one of his recruits speaking and handing him a folder. Childe nodded at him and accepted the papers, he glanced at the setting sun low in the sky. With it being this hour, why weren't there any lights on? The recruit lingered for a moment, seeming to be waiting for an answer or some other instructions. The Harbinger quickly glanced at what he was given, barely trapping the annoyed groan in his throat at the extra work he's going to have to do to complete this task. He discovered that the recruit was probably waiting for an acknowledgement from him for his own report. Childe quickly confirmed everything he needed to and ushered the recruit off. He knew he should technically get started on this new task, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

The feeling stabbed at his heart and riddled his mind to the point that he knew he wouldn't be able to get anything else done tonight. He mumbled as he stomped over to start the climb up the stairs to the apartment. He easily let himself inside with his key, but he couldn't stop the frown that tugged at the corner of his lips when he still didn't see any lights on in the entire apartment. It was eerily calm to the point that Childe felt his skin prick as he walked inside. Childe started to pull his shoes off, but stopped when he noticed the state of the shoes against the wall. To anyone else, nothing would have stood out, but to Childe, he immediately started to figure out why he had such a feeling of unease. Zhongli would never have let his shoes be so sloppily stored when he has always meticulously placed them in the same spot every time he was home.

Childe quickly fixed the shoes and tugged his own off but before he could sprint through the apartment to find their owner, he was stopped dead in his tracks by the sight of Zhongli's jacket not being hung up. Childe sighed as he started to get an idea of what was happening. He glanced around and found the random pieces of clothing. He gathered everything and carefully hung everything up in the closet by the door. Zhongli might not have been able to do it when he got home, but he would definitely complain the next day if they stayed that way.

Right before Childe turned the corner to go down to the bedroom, a breeze tickled the back of his neck and forced a shiver down his back. He spung around and could barely make out a shadow in the corner of their patio, leaning against the wall and looking into the distance. Something in Childe's heart tightened the longer he looked.

Childe was frozen in place as he tried to think of what he should say or do, but the second he saw Zhongli raise the bottle to his lips he was moving before he even knew what happened.

"Xiansheng?" Childe called gently as he stopped Zhongli from taking another sip.

Zhongli had long stopped paying attention to the world around him as he descended further into his own mind. He wasn't thinking of anything in particular as a pleasant fuzz had taken over his head and swirled around. The lights blurred his vision enough that he didn't notice the door to the patio being opened slowly and a form appearing. He raised the bottle back to his lips, but his brow furrowed when he felt something stop him. He didn't understand what was happening, but a soft warm exploded in his hand as something covered it to stop its movement.

"Xiansheng?" A voice barely above a whisper broke through the haze in his mind. That voice...it sounded so sad for some reason. He didn't understand... why was the voice sad? What happened? Zhongli's eyes slowly tried to focus on the form in front of him. A brilliant blue more vibrant than the sparkling waters from his beloved Harbor captured his vision.

"Let go." The voice instructed him. Zhongli still wasn't sure what it wanted, but he relaxed his hands. The mostly full bottle was gently pulled away and placed next to his previously discarded one. The form started morphing into beautiful ginger hair, pale skin littered with freckles, and a sharp red accent in the scarf that was loosely bound around his neck. The voice said something again, something asked tenderly, but with a lot of concern, but he couldn't make it out.

Zhongli tilted his head in confusion at the noise. The voice tried again, a little firmer this time, but it was still pointless. Zhongli could only hear the relaxing lull of the voice, but he still failed to make out what it was saying. He thought he heard a sigh, and then he felt a squeeze on his hand. The warmth that covered his hand slowly slipped away from him. He tried to follow it, but it was too agile for him. The voice immediately started up again. Zhongli still couldn't understand what it was saying, but he got the idea. It wanted him to wait. He leaned back against the wall again with a slight frown. He wasn't quite sure why he was following this voice so easily, but there was something so familiar and comforting about it that he didn't even think to question it. It was like he trusted its owner with his entire soul.

The form returned a few minutes later, and that warmth came with it. Zhongli felt his hand flipped over and something was placed in it. His head tilted in confusion again, as he wasn't sure what he was expected to do. With a little encouragement, he discovered that the form was coaxing him to eat what had been placed in his hand. Zhongli obliged without any argument and hummed when the sweet fruit flavor exploded in his mouth. It was a nice contrast to the wine he had been drinking earlier. Oh, that was right... his wine...his hand started drifting to the side again, intending on finding the bottle once more, but his hand was instead met with a different glass. A glass? That wasn't what he was using. He tried to wave it away, but all of his attempts to find the bottle again were completely thwarted and he found the glass securely in his hand. He huffed, clearly, he wasn't going to win this...whatever this was. He resigned himself to taking a few sips of the clear liquid in the glass.

Childe had to hold back the chuckle as he watched Zhongli's confused face pout slightly at the realization that the glass, he had been forced to drink from only contained water and not his wine. He was grateful that Zhongli wasn't fighting him on eating the apple as he continued to cut it up. Concern was still clawing its way through him the second he saw Zhongli sitting outside, but as he sipped the water and nibbled on the food, it seemed he would be okay. Okay, but he was clearly exhausted. It was a type of bone tired that Childe was all too familiar with. A kind that settled deep into one's soul and refused to budge no matter what a person did.

However, that also meant that Childe knew better than anyone what would help with that. Zhongli was a god, and a very proud one at that. He might have given up his Gnosis which meant that he wasn't the same powerful Archon he once was, but he was still the same god who had fought his way into having a seat among the seven before he had gained his Gnosis all those years ago. Asking for help was not in his nature. He had been through wars, famines, anything that a person could think of Zhongli had survived. He needed to be strong not only to keep himself alive, but also to be able to protect his people.

That was until now. Now he had seen the age of the gods coming to a close. He knew that in order to move forward, he needed his people to learn how to do it without relying on him. That's why he had given up his Gnosis after helping to prove to his people that they could fend off disasters on their strength and knowledge alone. It was one of the hardest things he ever had to do in his life, but never regretted his decision.

Childe always saw how hard he worked, and he couldn't even begin to list all of the things Zhongli had done for him to help him get through the dark parts of his life and help him remember to take care of himself. He saw himself in the way that Zhongli's shoulders were slumped forward, how his control had slipped slightly, and his pupils turned into slits and his eyes had more of an amber tint to them than they usually did. Childe knew that part of this was due to the amount of alcohol that Zhongli had clearly consumed, but the other reason his mind was as fuzzy as it appeared to be was due to the soul-consuming tiredness that had started to overtake him.

Childe felt like kicking himself for not seeing the signs sooner, but that was something he could deal with later. As a matter of fact, he wasn't sure if Zhongli would have even accepted his help soon with how prideful his Morax side can be. Zhongli refused to seem weak in any way, even in his retirement, but Childe could never see anything weak when it came to the man sitting before him. Even now, Childe could see the strength he had for holding on for so long.

He didn't even notice the tear that slipped down his cheek until he felt a thumb smooth over it. Childe started a little and flinched away, but when he looked back, he saw a little light had returned to Zhongli's stunning eyes.

"Zhongli?" Childe asked tentatively.

"Hello, Baobei." Zhongli gave him a soft smile. He was still a little confused about what was happening, but all he knew was that one of his precious treasures was crying, and he couldn't have that.

"How are you feeling?"

"I don't really know." Zhongli hummed as he dropped his hand. His brain was too fuzzy, and he felt too tired to even try and think of how he should answer.

"Okay, here." Childe held out another piece of the apple he had been holding. Zhongli took it without question.

"Do you know if you've eaten anything tonight?"

"I don't think- wait what time is it?" Zhongli suddenly sat up faster than he should have as the world swirled uncomfortably around him. He moved his hand to brace himself against the wall, but Childe was faster and had already grabbed his shoulder to steady him; carefully keeping the knife pointed away from both of them.

"It's late." Childe answered, he wasn't sure if it was the best option to tell Zhongli about how long he had apparently been sitting out there, but there was no way to hide the dark sky and the stars glowing overhead.

Zhongli groaned as he started to connect all the pieces. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't." Childe cut him off abruptly. "Do no apologize for how you feel."

Zhongli huffed; he had used that same line several times with Childe in the past. It was weird to be on the other side of those words, but it felt nice to hear how he said it with such conviction.

"I just don't want you to worry about me." Zhongli admitted. His boys had enough to go through, he didn't need to add to their workloads.

"I'm going to worry about you no matter what you do. It's part of the package." Childe scoffed. He really wished Diluc or Baizhu were here to help him convince Zhongli that he was allowed to struggle, and it didn't mean that they loved him any less.

"It's not what you signed up for." Zhongli mumbled enough that Childe almost missed it.

"The hell did I sign up for then?" Childe scolded gently.

"I'm a god, I shouldn't be-"

"Even gods can grow weary, love." Childe didn't know where Zhongli's train of thought was going, but he cut it off quickly. It didn't matter if Zhongli was at the height of his power or if he could barely move, Childe would love him regardless. So would Diluc and Baizhu, and they would remind him of that as many times as he needed to hear it, and then a few more times for good measure.

"You're not going to let me argue this one, are you?" Zhongli asked without a hint of annoyance.

"Oh, absolutely not." Childe confirmed. "You might as well give up now."

Zhongli couldn't stop the laugh even if he tried. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly had a feeling that maybe it would be okay after all. Despite his mind's best effort.

"Now come on, let's make some food, or Baizhu will kill both of us." Childe reminded him. Thoroughly aware of the fact that he hadn't eaten yet either and nothing would protect them from the wrath of Baizhu when he found out they weren't taking care of themselves.

The two of them carefully walked together back to the kitchen. Childe started gathering ingredients while Zhongli leaned against the counter and sipped his water. His brain still felt fuzzy, but it was for a different reason this time as his whole body was flooded with love as Childe rambled on as he cooked for them. His brain might not be very kind to him at the moment, but his heart was determined to make up for it. He didn't know what the future held, but he knew that so long as his boys were by his side, they would be okay.

I hope you all enjoyed the story! If you have a second, please leave a like or comment to tell me what you think. They help me to improve and help to keep me motivated to write more. Don't forget to check out my profile for more stories and head over to Kiera540writing on Instagram for updates. See you next time! ~Kiera540