Childe's First Time
The waxing crescent hangs low over Liyue. The streets are illuminated by fire lanterns, casting a soft glow on the stone path. Zhongli and Childe stand outside the entrance of Liuli Pavilion, their stomachs and hearts warm with the wholesome food and enriching conversation. They’ve been doing this for weeks now, long enough to know that this is where they part ways. Tomorrow will bring another sun, and they will begin another day, bound by their respective duties and contracts. But at this moment, as they gaze at each other, with the cool night breeze running her fingers through their hair, they can pretend that this is eternity. A capsule of eternity in their hands, a spell broken only when one of them reaches forward to kiss the other goodnight. Yet tonight, Childe doesn’t want to let Zhongli go. Maybe it’s an effect of the way his eyes shone as he spoke about the ingredients and history of the Slow Cooked Bamboo Shoot Soup they ordered tonight. Or maybe it is the sleek black-and-go