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Chapter Text

The peak of the Flower Weaver’s festival drew near with the rescinding twilight, allowing the namesake stars of Vega and Altair to peek through the curtain of dusk and witness the celebration of their everlasting love. People of all sorts made their way across to the bridges, to the docks, to the closest body of water they could find-- where they would soon scatter flowers at the first sight of the Deneb star bridge, to honour the ancient fish adepti who had helped the Flower Weaver Vega reunite with her beloved Cow Herder Altair. 

"Today we honour a tradition passed down from a time before the establishment of our golden harbour." The storyteller fanned away a stray Gingko leaf that fluttered towards him, before he closed said fan with a snap, pointing the tip towards the sunset dyed sky. "Legend speaks of a beautiful adepti named Flower Weaver, who had fallen in love with a cow herder for his kind soul and golden heart."

"However, the seeds of their love were sown amidst turbulent times." The storyteller warned with a hushed whisper, a hand gesturing to the sea beyond the harbour. "Osial, Overlord of the Vortex, had summoned the Deluge of Three Moons, ravaging the inhabitants of Dihua Marsh and the Guili Assembly. And the Cow Herder, a mere mortal as opposed to his divine lover, was feared to be alongside many who perished in the fray.”

“When the news reached the Flower Weaver, she was inconsolable, and even before she kowtowed upon the azurite floors of Rex Lapis’ floating palace to beg for aid, the Lord of Geo already knew of her plight, for all the flowers of Liyue had wilted, crying with her.

“But the Lord of Geo was already entrenched in warfare with Osial and his forces, protecting and guiding those who had managed to escape the storm towards the safe harbour we reside in today.” A snap, and the storyteller’s fan was opened once again, this time revealing a school of Dawncatcher fish painted with hues of silver and gold. “And so he called upon Tide Seeker, who had also been moved by Flower Weaver’s tale of persevering love, and thus called upon her fellow clan members to swim against the might of Osial’s rage, forming a bridge between the stranded inhabitants of the storm and the safety of the mainland.”

“It is said that Tide Seeker had personally guided a haggard but living Cow Herder back to Flower Weaver, who had cried with joy, all the flowers on the earth blossoming in tow. The two lovers then declared their eternal gratitude towards Tide Seeker and her clan, providing the most fragrant of flowers to their benefactors as thanks.”

“And we honour this act of gratitude even today, at the end of the monsoon season, where we will soon scatter flowers into the rivers and seas for the descendents of Tide Seeker to enjoy.” The storyteller finished his tale with a flourish, scattering sweet flower petals to the delight of the squealing children sitting in the front row. “While her children may not have the same awe-inspiring power that bested storms of old, some say they still retain the power to reunite lovers and bestow protection upon them, and that those who seek such blessings should speak their wishes into their most favourite flower before scattering them to the waters.”

I wonder how the people might react if I told them that there was never any Tide Seeker. Zhongli mused, his golden gaze ever watchful from his adeptal palace at the peaks of Jueyun Karst. He directed his adeptal scrying tool away from Liyue Harbour and towards Qingce village, where he smiled at how children merrily adorned each other with flower crowns, whilst the adults paraded around with flower bouquets, ready to toss them into the waters.

The truth of the matter was that the Flower Weaver’s festival was merely a scheme cooked up by a shrewd florist from Liyue Harbour to increase their profits, and the little lie had transformed into a full blown tradition after marinating itself in time. But Zhongli figured the festival-- while founded upon a lie-- wasn’t hurting anyone nor did it damage the wildlife, and was even helping the economy, so he had let it slide.

He would carry the truth, allowing him to perceive and prevent real threats to Liyue’s prosperous way of life. The balance between inciting societal progress and upholding ancient tradition was incredibly delicate, and he was one of the rare few who had the power and influence to correct these scales.

Ironically enough, just as he was about to ponder about those fitting into such a criteria, a member of the aforementioned few had just walked into his office.

“Are you not going to join them my lord?”

“And you would have me toss flowers into the river, risking further indignation from an already irate Cloud Retainer?” Zhongli looked from the scryer to find Madame Ping entering his office chambers with her own flower crown, undoubtedly a gift from the children of Liyue Harbour. She had always been a troublemaker, even in her youth, and to see her still causing chaos till this day elicited a small grin of his own. “Have you no self-preservation?”

“The mortals venturing near her abode to pick Qingxin flowers this time of year have little to do with the silk flowers upon my crown. She is not one to berate me on baseless accusations.” Madame Ping laughed airily, her hands then gesturing at the scryer, bringing his attention back to the tool once more. “Again, my lord, do you not wish to join them? Surely the experience is better than looking through a water mirror-- it is less lonely, for one."

Zhongli blinked owlishly, his brows then furrowed as he directed a confused stare at his old friend. "I am unsure if you speak with impudence towards my authority, or with worry towards my well-being."

"A bit of both, as usual. But more of the latter-- someone reminded me that you were basically a princess trapped in a tower like the Mondstadt fairytales of old, which raises some cause for concern." 

He balked. What in the world? "I am far from such a thing. We adepti are protectors-- akin to living in watchtowers as deity guardians as opposed to prisoners-"

"But you have been doing it for so long that you have accidentally trapped yourself in your own duties." Madame Ping had the gall to chuckle, taking a single silk flower from her crown and placing it on Zhongli's table. "For you, my lord. From a concerned little girl who has yet to be instilled with awe of your achievements, and so dares to worry that the great Rex Lapis could suffer from loneliness."

There was a tense silence-- a second passed, then another, before Zhongli let out an exasperated groan, fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose. "I assume you yourself are the little girl in question?"

"Hah! Your sense of humour is as wondrous as ever my lord. But alas, this flower truly is from a child of three, not three thousand." Madame Ping let out another laugh as she watched Zhongli gingerly pick up the silk flower, its pale petals seemingly golden in the last light of the setting sun. “Little Ling had politely asked me whether Rex Lapis was going to enjoy the fragrance of the flowers, borne of the earth that he had so dutifully nurtured.”

“Speak your mind-- without the pretense, I implore you. ” Zhongli let out a sigh for the nth time, setting the silk down as his eyes narrowed at the ever present grin on Madame Ping’s features. “I am in no mood for riddles. Surely I have garnered enough respect for that.”

“I will, when my lord respects his subjects enough to stop dodging their questions." The sparkle in Madame Ping's eyes betrayed the wizened facade she adopted. “Again, I will ask-- isn’t it lonely to watch your people enjoy the festivities from an isolated distance?”

Zhongli hummed, contemplative. This high up, he figured he was closer to the stars than his people down below, their bodies like colourful specks of dust, the city lantern lights like guiding fireflies, the sounds of their hustling and bustling deafened by the sound of strong winds. As Rex Lapis, he was undoubtedly proud of his domain, of how it flourished and thrived.

As Zhongli, well --

Such a beautiful view, and he secretly lamented how few he could share it with-- it was unbecoming of Rex Lapis to summon his illustrious adepti on such a petty whim. The worth of their time was beyond that of such a mundane request, and an unfair trade was blasphemous in the land of contracts, especially from the mouth of its archon.

Thankfully, he was still immortal at the core, so he knew that these unwanted feelings, like most other things, will fade with time. Thus, he elected to ignore it.

“Loneliness is… beneath me.” He ended up responding with a curt tone, his arms firmly set behind his back as he gazed back into the water mirror, the images of a colourful flower parade shimmering back to life. “I am confident that my place is here.”

Madame Ping, however, didn’t seem satisfied with his answer. In fact, she even dared to tut at him as she placed her hands on the edge of the water mirror, overriding his command to change its view to that of the clear waters between Stone Gate and Dihua Marsh. 

“My esteemed lord, you have yet to answer my question.” This time, it was her turn to sigh. “I see where Alatus gets his stubbornness from-- like master, like servant. Moving mountains would have been easier.”

“This level of disrespect is truly--” A flash of pale white interrupted his train of thought.

Within the water mirror, hundreds upon hundreds of cecilia flowers floated down the river, the astonished crowd gathered at the nearby boardwalks gasping at the sight, some in awe, but a good majority looked confused, mumbling with regards to how they somehow managed to pop out of nowhere .

Cecilias were also notoriously known for being exclusively found amongst the harsh winds of Starsnatch Cliff, far from the reaches of the people residing near Stone Gate.

Which meant that whatever this was, was his fault.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear . Barbatos somehow always managed to be simultaneously discreet yet glaringly inconspicuous, and this time, Zhongli managed to spot him in the form of an emerald finch with subtle anemo markings, his tiny body comfortably nestled in one of the cecilia flower crowns bobbing merrily down the river.

The accompanying wind sang in the language of old, indecipherable to mortal ears but clear as a summer’s day to his adeptal self. Its lyrics were sickeningly saccharine like the sweet flowers abundant between both Liyue and Mondstadt, lavishing the most tender of affections towards its intended recipient. Of course Barbatos would be so disgraceful as to use his archon powers for such insipid actions.

Zhongli found it distasteful beyond belief, the way Barbatos kept mocking the Vigilant Yaksha with his drunken caterwauling. “This transgression towards Alatus will not go unpunished--”

“ Transgression ? My lord, surely you see this as a serenade?”

“Serenade? For Alatus? Preposterous .” Zhongli huffed, the essence of his Vortex Vanquisher manifesting in the palm of his hand. There was an urge for a meteor, but such a construct would ruin the festivities, and rationality came before his ire for that drunken bard. Such inconveniences needed to be dealt with in person.  

“I’ll hurl that menace back into the taverns whence he came.”

“He's already done this much-- at least let the flowers reach Wangshu Inn before they disappear."

"You knew about this ." A rising temper warmed his blood, eyes narrowing. Silly of him for thinking that Madame Ping would visit him on her own accord, to even think that--

Wait. That was not the point.

"Barbatos." Yes. That was the point. That sad excuse for an archon. "He roped you into his schemes." 

"You would have struck him down before he could even explain, and so I volunteered to be the mediator. But fear not my lord, there are benefits to Liyue as a result of his scheme-- particularly for one of its most dutiful protectors." Both of them watched Barbatos starting to warble along with the tune. Despite the comical scene, her lips were a thin line, brows furrowed for just a split second. "Alatus, he... has not been well, especially with the recent infestation at Wuwang-- but this is perhaps not news to you."

“It isn’t.” And it was sobering to admit that he was unsure of the solution to this dilemma. He had tried providing the best of medicine to stave off the evil karma, but his dear loyal Alatus had kept to his contract even to this day, continually taking on the burden of karmic debt for the sake of Liyue. Medicine could only help so much before it too, became poison.

An amendment to the contract, while seemingly the most reasonable solution, was in fact the least feasible-- it would be a grave insult to Alatus. Moreover, with Bosacius missing for two centuries and counting, it was likely that he was the last of his ranks, and thus it was ever the more vital that Alatus tended to his duties. As much as he held a great degree of concern with Alatus, Liyue will always come first.

He hoped that one day, the lingering hatred that plagued the land would finally fade, and the illuminated garuda could finally don his mask not for battle, but for song and dance amongst the flowers. But until then, he must endure.

Surely having Barbatos tempt him in such a way must be infuriating.

But when the flowers reached their destination, Alatus was already there waiting, a lone figure silhouetted against the night sky, on the roof of Wangshu Inn. Golden raptor eyes widened at the arrival of cecilia flowers, a stark contrast against the other familiar Liyuen foliage floating on the river.

Whispers of the wind seemed to caress Alatus' entire being, his hair fluttering aside to reveal reddened cheeks and a dumbstruck expression. Even with the recent intake of karmic debt leaving grotesque wounds across his features, there was somehow a simple innocence that persisted, something Zhongli thought had been thoroughly destroyed by his previous master.

Cecilia, tell him how much I love him so. The wind sang sweetly, its last note sounding more like a coo. For often he forgets his heart is of rarest gold.

"I…" Alatus took a tentative step forward, wounded hands gingerly outstretched to seemingly caress the wind back-- an impossible feat, but the young adepti tried it nonetheless. "Lord Barbatos?"

Barbatos was silent amongst the cecilia flowers, watching with rapt attention as Alatus made his way down to the river, hands tenderly cupping one of the cecilia flowers into his palms. His mouth moved, uttering the smallest of whispers to the flower before placing it back upon the water, letting it float amongst the others.

But no matter how soft, how quiet–  Zhongli would always hear his subject's words, their calls, their wishes .

Lord Barbatos you– I mean– thank you for your comfort through flowers and songs, but– and I hold nothing but deepest gratitude to you, and maybe even– no, this affection… I cannot. My duty… and you are another archon while I am bound to my esteemed lord. Please forgive me. I am honoured but I am truly sorry.

An uncomfortable swell of emotion rose from Zhongli's chest to throat as he watched a dark melancholy encapture Alatus' lonely figure, the yaksha bowing to nothing before swiftly disappearing back into the darkness of the night. The mirror images wavered back into the crystal clear waters after, leaving Barbatos’ fate unknown. A sobering few seconds of silence festered between Zhongli and Madame Ping before the latter broke it.

“That’s… strange. This was not the order of events we had discussed.”

“Barbatos has always been fickle.” But what was once annoyance and irritation faded into something more worrying, especially when the scrying tool did not revert back to Barbatos’ figure upon Zhongli’s command. “I shall greet our guest before he wanders into more trouble.”

“My Lord–” Madame Ping’s words warped out of earshot before she could finish, the golden walls of the Imperial palace fading into the backdrop of Wangshu Inn as he teleported to its bridge in the form of a golden hawk. The cecilias were even lovelier in person, their ivory petals reflecting pale yellow in the light of the lanterns. Swarms of people were now gathered at the waterside, enjoying how the flowers twirled and danced upon the smooth river currents, thankfully making his abrupt entrance from the air less conspicuous.

As expected, Barbatos was still floating in his cecilia flower crown, barely conscious as his vessel was starting to enter the waters of Yaoguang shoal.

What a foolish excuse of an Archon. Zhongli picked Barbatos up with ease, flying them to the top of a mountain nearby, far from the curious gaze of mortals. There, he returned to his mortal form and brought Barbatos to the palm of his hand, where the finch began to stir, his eyes barely opening before he let out an indignant chirp, tiny eyes immediately closed shut again.

“I guess I got petrified before I could enjoy the festivities. Boo hoo.”

“Would you rather be ash? I hear the Raiden Shogun is particularly good with her lightning bolts– your vehicle was bound for Inazuman waters prior to my intervention.” Zhongli hissed, eyes narrowed. But a singsong reply never came, only laboured breathing from the tiny finch before him.

A sigh left him, a mixture of pity and worry settling weirdly at his core. Thousands of years had passed and he had yet to fully comprehend the enigma that was the inner workings of his old friend. 

“Why do you do such asinine things when you know you are approaching your limit? And to be so bold in your actions before cowardly disappearing for Celestia knows when.”

“But Alatus liked it, didn't he? Hehe.” Barbatos’ words came out in pained wheezes, the sound tugging at something in his chest. “You and I both know he could never let himself reciprocate, so–”

“Your fondness is a burden to him.”

“His duty is a burden to him. I'm just reminding him that he's allowed to be happy. And before you call me an irresponsible lout and toss me back across the border–” Zhongli huffed, indignant at how well Barbatos knew him sometimes, the beginnings of a geo pillar indeed manifesting beneath Barbatos’ place. “--I know it can’t be helped, when your contracts have been dealt. But just so you know! I think they totally blow! They are literally the antithesis of my entire being! The total opposite of freeing!” 

“Your stanza is failing. You must truly be ailing.” Zhongli countered back. But Barbatos, chaotic? Definitely. Irresponsible? Far from it . Barbatos had his begrudging respect because he would lay down his life for his nation and it showed. He did not like the way Barbatos operated, unpredictable with haphazardous plans and no failsafe whatsoever, but it did not mean that he did not acknowledge Barbatos as an archon who loved his people.

And, this fondness included one of his own subjects, it seemed. The revelation was confusing, but intriguing.

However, he could see that Barbatos was in no shape to retort nor answer to his musings, the tiny finch now glowing with anemo energy, undoubtedly returning to his original form to conserve his energy. A sigh left his lips. “How long will you sleep this time?”

“Maybe… a hundred years, five hundred… who knows?” The glow of his being grew brighter and brighter until he was naught but a glowing ball and his words a faint whisper. “Hey now, don’t grow too lonely, old friend. Time is like the wind, you know? Lifts the light and leaves the heavy– you can’t keep clinging on to the past.”

Shameless and a hypocrite. Barbatos still clinged onto the same mortal form time and time again. He was in no position to advise him on the matters of guilt and grief. But arguing with him now was a waste of effort, for the anemo archon was now a sleeping wind wisp of pure anemo energy, floating in the palm of his hand. 

Barbatos then dispersed himself into tiny little Dandelion seeds, swiftly crossing the border between Mingyun and Vindagnyr, undoubtedly heading towards the land of gentle breeze and verdant pastures.

Sleep well, old friend. And there went one less companion, with no timeline as to when he would return– if he would return.

"Happy Flower Weaver festival indeed." Zhongli murmured, feeling the fatigue in his bones, his heart heavy as he looked across the ocean from his place upon the top of the mountain, past the calm waters of Yaoguang shoal. In his mind, he argued that the loneliness Barbatos insisted was not the same as solitude, which he felt pertained more to his circumstances. But, well–

The image of Alatus releasing the cecilia flower into the water haunted him, the scene undoubtedly a lonely sight to behold.

How different was it, juxtaposed to his distanced gaze from his palace beyond the clouds? Was this what Madame Ping saw?

Celestia help him– lonely? Yearning? Him? Surely not.

Blockhead! The immediate chastising retort in his head sounded like a mix of Guizhong and Barbatos, to which he scoffed, shaking his head at the thought. Rock did not wither like flowers, nor were they sporadic like the wind. The Geo archon would weather it all, steadfast and steady.

But perhaps… if his subjects saw issues with his solitude and expended unnecessary energy worrying for him, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to raise morale. Hmm, perhaps the economy even.

It’s settled then . Zhongli hummed in contemplation. Time for him to make up a new tradition for the populace.

—

—

“This was not what I meant when I told him that he should do something about his lone rock status. It was more of a ‘stop being so dang uptight so people would be less scared to be your friend!’ but noooooo. He just goes off the deep end! Ugh! Curse his blockheadedness I just– I can’t believe how the first thing I hear after my super short twenty year nap is someone asking for my blessings to win Morax’s stupid challenge! For his hand in marriage! Can you believe it?”

“Technically, the terms of his contract state that the reward was merely permission to court him.”

“That’s basically marriage and two kids with that traditionalist! I’m telling you he’s finally lost it, Dvalin! The old man’s gone off his rocker!”

“You’re barely a hundred years younger than the Geo Archon, Barbatos. Such similarity in age, actually, has posed a problem.”

“Huh?”

“There are those who think the anemo archon is similarly looking for a bride. A considerable number of challengers have asked Andrius and I for your hand in marriage. As you would expect, the former is very unhappy with this, and I would suggest clearing this up via a dream to the Knights of Favonius post haste, lest the wolves of Wolvedom take matters into their own hands. 

“What? You mean I have to clean up after Morax’s mess this time? Forget this. I’m going back to sleep after telling the Grandmaster my heart belongs only to wine and song-”

“Also. That young adeptus that you were so fond of– he was quite upset at the rumours despite my insistence that they were false.”

“No. You’re joking. You have got to be joking– nooooooo it took me three hundred years to even get him to talk to me— damn you Morax! You oafish buffoon you–”

Chapter Text

"Long live Rex Lapis! May he bring forth a prosperous new year!"

"Venerate our illustrious lord of geo with this cor lapis infused incense! Eighty percent off!”

“Quick, the dragon dance performance at Feiyun Commerce Guild is gonna start!”

“But there’s the lion dance performance at Chihu Rock! We gotta go rub its head for good luck!”

“Liuli Pavillion is selling their special dragon’s beard candy for half price today! Come on, we have to try some!”

“There’s a noodle making session at Xinyue Kiosk though! The head chef is gonna be making the longest longevity noodles ever! He wants to make it at least six thousand metres long in total to commemorate Rex Lapis’ heavenly status as the oldest living adepti!”

It sure is lively here. Ajax’s hands held an assortment of candied fruit snacks, a trade off for some information as to where he could find the birthday boy in question, to which the old lady boss had talked his ear of about the multitude of traditions pertaining to procuring luck from the god of wealth himself.

Which, in essence, was basically a bunch of folklore with barely any concrete information to further his goals. Except for that one decent lead, which he managed to weasel out of her after buying ten skewers and giving nine of them out to the children waiting in line behind him.

“I’m just joining in on the celebratory mood! It’s Rex Lapis birthday after all! A whole six thousand years old!” And with those words spoken, hook, line and sinker– these people were superstitious to the nines during holidays like these, being so closely reliant on their archon as they were. People were more generous, presenting as the best version of themselves when the adepti were supposedly watching them more closely on days like these. Information too, was a resource that could be more readily obtained with the right attitude.

The snack’s actually pretty good too. He mused, biting off the last candied strawberry of the skewer before chucking it into the bin, his hands now sticky with rock sugar syrup. Thankfully he’s got a hydro vision, water coalescing to form a thin sheen over his palms to wash away the candy residue.

Now, with a tummy full of candy and feeling like he just got a crash course on Rex Lapis’ supposed favourite snacks, he’s headed off to Huaguang stone forest with a bottle of osthmanthus wine, to wish the Prime Adepti good tidings on behalf of her Illustrious Highness, the great Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya.

And maybe if he was really lucky , he would have to fight Rex Lapis’ powerful adepti before getting there– now that would be the real treat.

—

So.

No adepti so far, but he’s wiped out three groups of treasure hoarders who tried to rob him, got rid of two hillichurl camps, and faced off seven baby dendro slimes. The last one was the most annoying, what with the little buggers following him everywhere and aiming for the back of his knees every single time , only to bury themselves with the foliage when he wanted to teach them a lesson. He only managed to shake them off when he reached the base of the mountains and got some vertical distance between him and the slimes.

And of course he still had a ways to go after climbing for a good few hours, the domain where Rex Lapis dwelled probably high up above the soaring stone peaks, hidden by suspiciously clear skies despite there being rain at the base of the mountain. The Tsaritsa did mention that Rex Lapis commanded adepti who were engineering geniuses, and it would be no easy feat to enter the mysterious Jade palace without explicit invitation. But the challenge of it all just got Ajax more fired up than ever.

I should get more information about the palace and come back another day. Ajax figured he’s got good information about the terrain now, but he’s already been around the block searching for an entrance to no avail, and the vibrant orange hues painting the skies were indicative of the impending dusk. He should start making his way back to Liyue harbour, or at least start setting up camp in a safer location--

"What brings you here amongst the stones of Huaguang?"

Ajax jumped back on reflex, stance defensive against the stranger that had all but materialised out of nowhere behind him. Said stranger looked incredibly out of place amongst their natural surroundings, donning a three piece and a coat that looked more suitable for an opera attendance. With that being said, however, he was also mysteriously carrying sizable cloth bags in his hands.

No one normal would be roaming these mountains. Perhaps a crazed herbalist? No, didn't seem right-- Ajax couldn't see any sort of picking basket. The man also looked too refined to be a treasure hoarder stupid enough to trepass on adepti territory. Perhaps he could be a cleaner of the unsavoury kind? But surely the divine retribution of the adepti would outweigh whatever punishment the Qixing could come up with.

Or . Ajax had to physically refrain himself from bouncing on the spot with excitement at that train of thought. One of Rex Lapis' adepti has graced me with their presence. A worthy opponent.

"Good sir? Are you alright?"

"I could say the same to you, good sir." Ajax replied, giving a nod in greeting. "But for me, you could say that I am, well, sightseeing . More or less."

"This is the home of the adepti, the divine deities that protect Liyue." The stranger man had not answered his question, walking past him to put his things down, which, strangely enough, happened to be… containers of food? Very strange. But what was more interesting to Ajax was the glowing geo vision hanging at the small of his back, a blessing by the same archon who ruled over these lands. "The adepti are benevolent by nature, but to seek their ire by trespassing on their place of respite may grant you a terrible fate."

"Maybe I'm here to offer them my gratitude." Ajax chirped, finally bringing out his bottle of premium osthmanthus wine, all nicely packed in an extravagant wooden box. It seemed like a good decision, considering how the stranger's eyes brightened, his shoulders a touch more relaxed. 

Come on, bite already Mister Adeptus. Ajax tried egging him on, shaking the drink in hand for emphasis. "A good drink especially on this auspicious day. Wouldn’t you agree?"

The stranger blinked owlishly, amber eyes almost glowing with the light of the setting sun, sharing a contemplative look between them, before he all but picked up his belongings, and gestured to the bridge nearby with a tilt of his head.

“My name is Zhongli, owner of Huaguang teahouse, a resting spot for the rare traveller or herbalist that comes this way.” Ajax followed Zhongli across the bridge, mostly with caution, but also with a small hint of curiosity. “Today is an auspicious day for you indeed, for the adepti are all busy with celebrations for Rex Lapis, and have no time to punish those who dare present such a lousy watered down excuse for osthmanthus wine as an offering.”

“ Really? ” Ajax squinted at the wine bottle within the open box, the golden label honestly more ostentatious than anything. He had an inkling when he tried it at some function at the Jade chamber, the stuff being weak as hell, but he had chalked it up to having a high tolerance with alcohol in general. The Tianquan did serve it at her function, and it was the most expensive thing in the store when he bought it, so he thought maybe it was what the people of Liyue preferred.

“That brand of wine is greatly overpriced considering the mediocre quality of its ingredients. The inflation, I suspect, is due to it being served at the Tianquan's business seminar two months ago. Word on the street is that a close friend of Tianquan had gifted it to her as a comical joke, but did not think that she would have actually served it to her guests.

Goddamnit. Ajax mumbled under his breath, familiar with the rumours about the strange relationship between the Tianquan and the Captain of the Crux fleet, but not about their supposed petty prank war. Honestly never would have guessed.

“So you may have been, ah– misled .” Scammed was the word Ajax thought of, much to his irritation, but the feeling slowly transformed into something else when he noticed Zhongli settling his bags down again, this time right in front of a blank rock face.

Was Ajax going to witness some ancient adepti art to reveal a teahouse of great splendour? One that preferentially would lead to an entrance to the Jade palace?

Alas, what he witnessed was not quite it, but still surprising enough.

A rock at the bottom of the wall started to move, rocky grey shifting to that of brown, before manifesting itself as geo slime with a tiny squeak, its yellow eyes peeking at the Zhongli with familiarity.

“Good evening. Thank you for taking care of the place while I was gone. I have procured some goods for you and the others as well– please enjoy.” Several large open containers filled with aromatic greens were carefully placed on the ground before the geo slime, the elemental being squeaking and bouncing in obvious delight. “Oh, and please let my guest in as well.”

And with that being said, Ajax watched as the large rock face suddenly started rumbling, revealing itself to be several geo slimes disguised as rocks, the whole family of them making a beeline to the pile of greens with similarly happy squeaks. They also revealed an entrance to a quaint but solid tea house built into the mountain face, Zhongli gesturing to said entrance with flourish.

“Please come in. I suspect that once the adeptal celebrations cease, there will be an overnight downpour, making the hike down the mountain most perilous. Thus, I recommend staying the night before making your way back."

"Wow." Ajax let out an impressed low whistle. "I hope this stay isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg."

"Trust me when I say I have no need for Mora." Zhongli coolly replied. "I only ask that people pay what they can afford, and that you perhaps regale this solitary shopkeeper with stories of your own."

“If you say so." Ajax slowly made his way up the steps and past the entrance, still mesmerised by the slimes behind him, crowding joyfully around the greens "I didn’t know geo slimes could eat food.”

“They don’t– they are pure elemental beings that feed off the energy of the rich earth, especially places with ore reserves such as the mountain we are standing on. A lesser known tidbit is that they are also very fond of decorative foliage, and as such most wear clovers on their caps. My dinner today had many of such decorative pieces that were about to be thrown away, and I figured that they would appreciate them.” Ajax then watched Zhongli close the door behind them after the last of said slimes bounced into the building with cucumbers cut into the shape of lotuses, following another showcasing a variety of koi-shaped carrots. 

“Is that your geo vision power?" Ajax let out a low whistle, impressed. "To control geo slimes? Could you technically raise a whole army of them?"

"They are not under my control. These slimes are... pets , for lack of a better word." Zhongli let out a small laugh. " A whole army . Goodness, you have a very active imagination, good sir."

"Childe. Call me Childe. That's not my real name but-- oh wow . That entrance was definitely not real either."

The inside was much bigger than what it looked on the outside.

It looked like the inside of the Northland Bank rather than a mountainside teahouse, if he were to be entirely honest. Soft glowing lanterns decorated a high ceiling, sturdy varnished wood lined the floors, and the cream walls showed off rows upon rows of beautifully crafted shelves containing assorted jars, bags and boxes– which Ajax assumed was Zhongli’s tea collection. Beautiful painting scrolls and geometric windows filled the space between the shelves, the former depicting Liyue’s countless sceneries, from the quaint mundane of Qingce Village to the bustling brightness of Liyue Harbour. A grand stage stood right at the opposite end of where the entrance was, ready to hold a captivating performance. Less grand were the two doors on each side of the stage, perhaps leading to some sort of living quarters, or maybe even the kitchen.

There were even two miniature waterfalls on each side of the entrance with geo crystal flies fluttering about, clear steaming spring water flowing from a bamboo spout in the wall and down the rocky– oh. Wait. So upon closer inspection, those were not miniature waterfalls, but rather a pile of geo slimes, looking like miniature mountains with their yellow eyes blissfully closed, enjoying the running spring water. The only reason he could tell was because there were a few who had just joined in, their caps showing off the assorted vegetable decorations Zhongli had provided at the entrance.

“Now I really hope this stay doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg.” Ajax did little to hide his gasps of awe. “You own this place?”

"A very very generous gift from the adepti, for which I am not -- just to clarify. You are not the first one to make that assumption. I am just a, well, friend -- so to speak. A humble disciple that has long since retired, now more accustomed to pouring tea than fighting demons." Zhongli placed his bags down onto a nearby table before gesturing to a seat. "But I also have little means to contact them if you seek to have your wishes fulfilled, so save your breath if that is your request."

"Little means is better than no means." Ajax gratefully accepted Zhongli’s offer, while placing his things in the seat beside. "How about it, Zhongli? Help this keen bean wish Rex Lapis a happy birthday more personally?"

Zhongli huffed, clearly miffed at his insistence. "Let me clarify-- communication with the adepti lies in the exceptionally rare visit, which consists of them visiting me, not the other way around. I have no means to instigate a connection from my end. And besides, I have advised that your osmanthus wine gift was not as of a high quality as you had hoped."

Dammit. Zhongli didn't seem like he was lying, and Ajax couldn't work out a good reason for him to lie either.

His disappointment was immeasurable, truly . Ah, well, it wasn't as if getting acquainted with Rex Lapis was a formal mission from the Tsaritsa. Technically, he just had to make sure Northland Bank was on top of debt collection, rack up a disgustingly huge amount of Mora for the glory of Scheznaya, and then he was free to do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't have the Qixing kick him out of Liyue. 

But what's a guy gotta do to get some good training in? The monsters and bandits in Liyue were boring and weak as hell! Babies from his hometown could wreak more havoc with a butter knife! It's so peaceful, too peaceful-- and it's apparently thanks to Liyue's all powerful Rex Lapis and his adepti, slaughtering all that could endanger their prosperous land. Which was all fine and dandy if they could just leave one or two of the stronger ones for Ajax to work with.

Or if they could just fight Ajax themselves-- even better! 

And it was just pure coincidence that he had heard that, to receive a one to one audience with Rex Lapis and gain his favour, there was an ancient series of challenges, including winning fights against his powerful adepti force.

Winning favour from the geo archon for the good of Scheznaya, while getting a one of a kind sparring session in? Of course Ajax was going to see if the rumours were true.

But alas, like everything worthy in life, achieving that goal wasn't so straightforward.

"There is no need to rush. Time may flow as the rivers do, but the adepti will be here long after their waters dry. The excitement lies in the scenery of the path, more so than its destination." Zhongli's calming tones resounded within the empty shop. "Worry not."

"Was my disappointment that obvious?" Childe let out a laugh, watching as his host swiftly walked through the door to the left of the stage with the rest of his food containers, before returning with a tray carrying a tea set, a bowl of congee, an assortment of side dishes and… chopsticks . Great. “Say, being a friend of the adepti, surely you would know what they would like? Maybe you can even help suggest a proper gift?”

“Once upon a time, yes. But I feel as if I have lost touch for quite some time now, so I do not know if I could be of much help. Also, please help yourself to the food.” Zhongli sighed as placed the tray onto the table and he sat down across from him, his movements somehow graceful as he poured the tea into two cups. “Today’s brew is chrysanthemum, an anti-inflammatory with a subtle hint of sweetness, pairing well with the heaty side dishes prepared for your congee.”

Ajax wished he could just dig in– he truly did. Instead he struggled not to make a fool of himself, and ended up having to use the chopsticks like a skewer at times. 

As expected, Zhongli looked at him funny, bearing the same confused expression  the waitresses did, whenever he requested if they could kindly provide forks and knives to eat his dumplings with. “Childe, Harbinger from Snezhnaya or not, you need to be more adept with the chopsticks, if you are to savour Liyue’s gastronomy in its truest form.”

“Oh? Harbinger ? That’s a pretty unique label to give to a random Snezhnayan you’ve just met.” The tendrils of hydro power were congregating just at his fingertips, outwardly nonchalant but his entire being on alert. He was hoping he could have a nice pleasant chat, already taking a liking to mister Zhongli and mysteriously worldly ways, but a fight against a geo vision user who used to train with powerful adepti? That would suit him just fine.

“I do not know you personally, however–” The other blew away the steaming vapours of the tea in his hands, eyeing Ajax with an amused look past his cup. Ajax returned his gesture with a confused stare. “Your uniform is similar in style to those guarding the Northland Bank in Liyue Harbour, but much higher in quality and personalised, indicative of a high enough rank that would allow such adjustments. Coupled with recent rumours of a harbinger taking on the role of head debt collector and manager of the Northland bank, a fair conclusion can be made.”

“Furthermore, I have seen your skills first hand, when you cleared the path ahead of me.” Zhongli put down his cup, his hands now folded with chin settling upon them. “Your skills with your hydro vision were truly magnificent– your stances with the hydro shashka in particular, were incredibly reminiscent of the legendary mercenary warriors of old Snezhnaya, the very same ones who would come to be the founders of the renowned Adventurer’s guild. Few have managed to capture the same sort of surgical precision in their swings as you have, but…”

“ ... But? ”

“Your timing…it–” Ajax’s swelling ego had bursted the moment he heard Zhongli’s next words, the latter punctuating his sentences with a silver of a laugh. “There is room for improvement. You could have unearthed and gotten rid of the dendro slimes had you attacked them just as they peeked, instead of enduring their presence for a whole hour. Your stamina is another facet that could be improved– your melee stances are powerful but are dealt in sporadic bursts, which leaves you open to attack during the down times. Wasting your powerful swings on mere slimes was, in hindsight, perhaps not the best decision if stamina was limited.” 

He was there the whole time and I didn't notice him at all? An annoyed grumble escaped Ajax’s person, his chopsticks pointed at Zhongli accusingly as he shot him a glare. “You saw all that and didn’t help me?”

“You seemed like you enjoyed the exercise of battle, alongside the fact your skills are undoubtedly that of a seasoned warrior, Sir Harbinger. I would have helped if you were truly in danger.”

Who even is this guy? Ajax mused. “Really now? Even for Fatui?”

“If you respect the laws of the Liyue, its people will treat you with equal respect– that is the contract Rex Lapis had bequeathed to all of Teyvat since the establishment of this nation. I intend to honour it.” Zhongli went back to sipping his tea, just as calmly and elegantly as before. “You have been nothing but respectful, if not amusing even– so you are an esteemed guest.” 

But then there was a small smirk, Zhongli’s eyes seemingly glowing gold. 

“Plus, if you do end up making trouble, I could just round up an army of dendro slimes.”

“You wouldn’t dare .” The spoken threat was clearly a jest just based on the pure mirth in his tone, but if that wasn’t obvious enough, Ajax’s grin was from ear to ear. “I’ll have you know my slicing precision also applies to vegetables of all kinds– I’ll be able to raise my own geo slime army to counter yours, one fun shaped vegetable at a time!” 

A second of pause. Then another. And then there was a full chuckle from Zhongli, deep and rich and warm, his amber eyes crinkling with unrestrained mirth. 

Huh. Ajax realised he had just sat there dumbfounded for another good few heartbeats, his person just soaking in the sound.

"You are amusing indeed, Childe. Even if Rex Lapis wasn't happy with your offering, I'm sure you could charm your way into his good graces."

" Ah ." Right, the offering. Mentally shaking himself out of his stupor, he then remembered that the wine was still sitting there beside him, the item apparently dead weight based on Zhongli's advice. "Do you want this instead? It's going to go straight into the bin otherwise."

“Let me have a closer look." Zhongli's gloved hands took the wine box from Ajax, his sharp gaze now scrutinising every aspect of the item. "Fascinating. Despite the mediocrity of the wine, the box and the other complementary small goods are not as so. The box is made out of high quality sand bearer wood, based on the almost marble-like colour and its fine wood grain."

"Also, wine boxes of this size usually come with complementary china and tea cake." True to his word, there were indeed extra items in the box, revealed after Zhongli worked out some hidden latch mechanism.

No wonder the stupid thing was so heavy! 

"Ah yes, see here-- this style of tea cup is called the Gaiwan, a term for lid and bowl of such Liyue make. Its design is also most intriguing." A pair of reddish brown cups with lids was placed on the tabletop, one with a golden dragon and the other a phoenix. "It is as if one has carved out areas in the glazed ceramic to depict a soaring dragon and blazing phoenix respectively, but upon further inspection, the ‘holes’ are actually just areas of thinness, so one could still hold drink, but also have the light pass through said areas and have the dragon scales and phoenix feathers change according to the colour of the drink within. Most ingenious."

"And these tea cakes are expertly compressed tea leaves." Zhongli opened golden wrapped packages to reveal a palm-sized mossy looking slab, embossed with another dragon and phoenix design. "While it can be eaten directly, it can also be portioned to make tea. This one in particular is made of oolong leaves, and has also been compressed into cake depicting an intimate dance between a dragon and a phoenix which--"

Something must have caught Zhongli's eye, because he paused mid sentence and immediately went stock still, wide eyes and mouth slightly agape.

"Uh." Ajax scooted over to have a better look at the tea cake to see what was so interesting, but to his untrained foreign eye, it was just another bunch of leaves. "I didn't get scammed with the tea leaves did I?"

After an awkward long pause, Zhongli finally spoke, tone mysteriously cautious , almost hesitant. "No, wine aside, these are high quality gifts. It is just, well, how do I put this-- you wished to give Rex Lapis these ?”

I didn't even know about the extra stuff in there, but sure. Ajax figured it wasn't that big of a deal, so he didn't mention it. "Uh, yeah? I bought the most expensive one I could find, hoping it would impress." Ajax found Zhongli's attention flitting between him and the gifts, clearly troubled. Ah well, he wouldn't have known the tea stuff was in there if it weren't for Zhongli so--

"You know what? I think you should have them, Zhongli." 

" What? " It was almost comical, the way Zhongli lost some of his composure and gripped the tea cake a little too hard, indents forming. The other grimaced at the realisation that he was deforming the cake, his lips downturned. "Oh. Oh dear, my deepest apologies--"

"Nah, it's really no worries. It's yours anyway." Ajax took the tea items and pushed it towards Zhongli  "Like I said, I want you to have it."

"I, well--" Geez , people from Liyue sure did insist on the observance of all kinds of formalities. Zhongli flushing red from embarrassment over this small little thing was just another example added to an already long list. "But this is a gift originally for Rex Lapis--"

"But he's not here. You are." Ajax smoothly countered. "And you seem to like it, so take it." Shrugging, he also gave a wink, continuing with a hushed whisper. "Also, I think-- after talking to you, I might actually go with something else for the Geo Archon. But if you do ever see him, don't tell him I told you that."

" Oh ."

"Oh?" Did he offend? Ah fuck--

" You pass . In fact, you are the only one to pass in a very long time." The sounds of wood scratching on wood were loud in his ears, his eyes then finding Zhongli towering over him with bright eyes blazing. "Please follow me to the sparring arena outside."

Huh ? Wait . Ajax blinked owlishly as he watched Zhongli set the food and gifts aside and summoned a spear--

Wait.

Wait! The challenge!

"So you are an adeptus!" Ajax was so excited he was practically vibrating on the spot. In fact, he had even leapt out of his chair and summoned his hydro blades in no time at all.

Zhongli still had the gall to shake his head in disagreement, but Ajax took his silence as a wordless confirmation. He just had to be an adeptus, what with the spear he held glowing molten gold like its owner's eyes, geo energy pulsing in powerful waves, almost as if a mountain was about to fall upon him.

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought Zhongli was the geo archon himself.

Oh he was so excited to kick ass--

—

--and then he got his ass handed to him.

But he was still manic with glee because wow , how could he not? He hadn't been pushed to the brink like this for ages, all his skills put to the test against such a worthy opponent.

Zhongli was an absolute tank, a powerful beast with strikes that had cracked boulders where Ajax had dodged, and yet there was also an elegance to his attacks, a deadly dance that got Ajax mesmerised and wanting more.

Too bad it ended so soon, with a wheezing Ajax covered in cuts and bruises, pinned helplessly to the ground by his opponent, a glowing spear pierced just an inch away from his face.

"Like I said, what you have in raw strength cannot compensate for what you lack in timing and stamina. So, do you yield?" 

Dammit, Zhongli didn't even seem to be out of breath, while Ajax had to resort to wheezing laughter. 

"Well, what do you think, Mister Zhongli? Should I yield?" Ajax grinned, wild and feral, his body bruised but his heart still raring to go. Usually, Ajax would have cut the small talk, dealt a sneaky fatal blow, then make his getaway-- he was bloodthirsty, not stupid; he knew when to pick his battles, and Zhongli was definitely on a whole other level.

But somehow, he wanted to prolong this battle for as long as he could, for as long as Zhongli would let him. Maybe it was because Zhongli was just so… so interesting.

"I think that you, Childe… you have potential." And then there was a small hint of a smile, and Ajax's heart was now thundering, deafening in his ears. "I would like you to yield, but I think, in the long run, I would like to see you again."

" Really ?" Ajax didn't care how pathetic he sounded, if it got him a chance to duke it out like this again. "Then I yield!"

And just like that, strong arms lifted him back up into a standing position,Ajax wobbling in place from how wrung out he felt. But while he really should be recuperating from his injuries-- Zhongli also mentioning something something resting in his chambers something something working out the contract and whatnot-- everything was white noise, because his brain was telling him that he needed to train right now if he was to come even close to defeating Zhongli, and he needed to quell those urges or he was going to combust.

"Thanks for the battle Zhongli!" He was going to be dreaming about this for ages , maybe even copy some of the moves Zhongli executed to adapt into his polearm stance. Best to try it now when his memory was still fresh. "It was amazing! See you later!"

"See... you? But Childe, did you not want to--"

Didn't want to… what? Too bad Ajax already jumped and glided away from Huaguang stone forest, the rain Zhongli predicted now battering hard against his glider, the teahouse owner now nothing but a blurry silhouette in the distance, his voice overpowered by the deluge. 

Oh well. I'll apologise with a gift next time I see him.

---

---

"Was that an earthquake? Wait! There it is again!"

"It's just storming-- it was even forecasted days ago."

"An earthquake? Right before the new year? We're doomed!"

"I told you it's not an earthquake! Stop spouting blasphemous things! No sane creature is stupid enough to anger the geo archon on his birthday."

Chapter Text

So maybe gliding out in the cold wind and rain for hours on end, all the while running on very little sleep, was probably not the brightest idea.

Thankfully, despite the unrelenting cold that grappled him, he didn't have to worry about his job during his sick leave; Ajax did all the debt collecting before the new year, and unsurprisingly enough, no one wanted to go against their contracts in the most auspicious two weeks of the year, starting right after the Emperor's Birthday and ending with the Lantern Rite. So, in terms of fulfilling his actual harbinger responsibilities, he had that under control.

Three cheers to the god of contracts! Three cheers to the contractual virtues that made his job easier! Now if only whatever god of good health could be as nice to him, because his cold had lasted him all week when it usually went away in two days, and by the time he got back to the store that sold the osthmanthus wine, the storekeeper had told him that they were all out of the gift boxes, but thankfully they had more of those tea cakes in various other flavours, so Ajax bought the whole lot.

Maybe it was overdoing it a bit, but Ajax just wasn’t well versed in tea culture, and neither did he have the slightest inkling as to what sort of tea Zhongli liked. Best to keep his options open especially after the last fiasco with the osthmanthus wine.

And it was just his luck that there were barely any monsters on his way to see the mysterious adeptus of the tea house– no slimes of the annoying dendro kind either! Ajax made good time with the lack of distractions, arriving at the familiar looking mountain side before the afternoon sun could rise to its peak.

“Mister Zhongli!” Ajax yelled. “I bear offerings!”

Silence.

“Mister Zhongli?”

An eagle’s screech could be heard in the distance, but otherwise, nothing.

Looks like the guy’s not home. Ajax pursed his lips when he was met with more silence. Ajax then scrutinised at the familiar rocky face’s lack of a tea house entrance; he was sure this was the place, but just to be sure…

“I’ve got stuff for you lil’ guys too!” Ajax chirped, reaching into his saddlebag to procure the many miniature flower crowns he had constructed on his way here, the small little things made out of the sweet flowers and mint he found along the way. After gently knocking on the wall, he scattered them on the ground, and waited.

For a good few seconds, there was nothing. But then there was a shift, one of the rocks near the top of the wall dropping to the ground with a soft thud, before it hesitantly rolled towards where the flower crowns were.

A soft squeak emitted from the baby geo slime, the creature’s golden eyes nervously peeking from its rocky cap, looking at Ajax with an expression not unlike a puppy waiting for a treat.

Ajax laughed at the sight. The little fellas were actually pretty adorable when they weren’t bumping at his knees.

“For you my liege. May your reign be ever prosperous.” He gingerly placed one of the flower crowns on its little cap, as if coronating the creature. In response, the geo slime looked at him with shining wide eyes, before it proceeded to jump in a circle around him, squeaking in delight.

Which was really heartwarming and all, if it weren’t for the fact that a good thirty or so pairs of yellow eyes started staring at him from the wall, almost blinking in unison.

“Uh. I don’t know if I made enough but, um–” Ajax blinked owlishly back at the wall of slimes. “Help yourselves?”

It was as if the wall came apart at his command.

“Woah! Woah –” Thankfully his reflexes were good and had jumped back to a more secure spot in time, otherwise he would have been bumped off the mountain and he would have had to climb the dang thing again.

Fortunately his reflexes were also amazing , because immediately after avoiding the stampede of geo slimes, he noticed a glint in the distance heading his way, and so he leaped away again, a jade spear lodged right in front of where he stood. The geo slimes had all but squeaked in fright, chaotically dispersing and heading straight back into the tea house through its now open entrance– but at least the little guys all managed to carry his whole stock of flower crowns with them.

What bloodlust! Ajax brought his hydro blades out with a manic grin, eyes darting about, hoping to catch sight of his attacker before the jade spear rematerialised back into its master’s hands.

But instead of a wisened and reserved golden gaze, a fierce and tempestuous one appeared in a wisp of dark smoke, eyes widened in shock just for that split of a second before narrowing at Ajax once more.

“Leave this place if you know what’s good for you, mortal .” The stranger stood at the roof of the tea house entrance, a sharp tone complementing his piercing glare. “The punishment for disrespecting the sacred adepti grounds of Huaguang are grave.”

“I’m just here to give the owner of this tea house some gifts!” Ajax replied, the reassuring weight of the tea cakes in his backpack a reminder of his personal mission. “But if you insist on a fight, well who am I to say no– ”

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Mister Zhongli!” A quick glance to the entrance found the tea house owner in question walking out with a terrified looking geo slime in his hands, a crown of sweet flowers askew upon its cap with how much it was shaking. “I’m about to take on another one of the adepti challengers! But don’t worry, I’ll definitely make sure your gift stays in one piece–”

“A suspicious trespasser– likely mentally deranged. I am planning to dump him in Qingce.” Within a blink of an eye, the stranger with the jade spear had reappeared next to Zhongli, which had caused the geo slime in his hands to let out a loud frightened squeak, leaping out of his grasp to bounce behind the safety of Ajax’s legs.

Zhongli looked conflicted as his attention flitted between the stranger and Ajax, his gaze stern as he set his arms akimbo. It was only after a tense few seconds that Zhongli let out an exasperated sigh, his eyes then apologetic as he turned to the other spear wielder. 

“Let me deal with this one.”

An expression of shock painted the other’s features, his mouth slightly agape. “But the Rite of Descension–”

“Has been thoroughly prepared and ready to be performed upon Yuheng’s call tomorrow. Worry not.” Zhongli’s brows furrowed, his fingers now pinching the bridge of his nose. “I will deal with this swiftly. You are free to leave.”

“But–”

“ Xiao .” Both Zhongli’s tone and aura turned dark and foreboding, sending shivers down Ajax’s spine even though he wasn’t even the one being reprimanded. “The patience of Rex Lapis wears thin.”

Ajax felt a small tinge of sympathy for whoever this Xiao was with how quickly he paled, eyes bright with a conflicting mix of frustration and remorse. He stood ramrod straight at the address, the hilt of the jade spear knocking twice upon the rock before he bowed deeply. “My sincerest apologies. I shall take my leave and reflect on my actions at once.”

And sure enough, he disappeared in a wisp of black smoke, leaving no trace of his existence behind. It was only then the geo slime behind him tentatively made its way back into the tea house, giving Zhongli a wide berth as it did so.

"Ah. I should not have said it with such austerity. He was only fulfilling his duty, after all." Zhongli sighed for the nth time today, shaking his head. "If Barbatos hears of this…"

“Wasn’t that adepti working for Rex Lapis? What has the anemo archon got to do with him?" Ajax had a feeling that Zhongli was a powerful adeptus, but to work so closely with Rex Lapis for his own Rite of Descension, and to even command individuals within his adepti ranks? He must be an incredibly senior adepti-- no wonder he had practically swept the floor with Ajax.

"Why are you here, Childe?" Zhongli's ire was now directed at him, and all at once he felt like that little terrified geo slime. "I thought you had decided to leave."

"Was I not meant to come back? You said you wanted to see me in the long run right?" Ajax gave him a nervous grin. He hesitantly got his backpack and presented the bright coloured packages of tea cakes within, all in one piece, just as he reassured. "I got you more tea cakes."

Zhongli’s brow furrowed even more at the sight, lips pursed.

“Although these new gifts are not unwanted… what do you stand to gain from this?” There was confusion now, the man’s eyes narrowed. “I had determined your first gift sufficient, and yet you left to procure more?”

“Uh– I felt bad? Last time it was as if I gave you someone else’s trash, what with the osthmanthus wine being dud and all.” Ah , Ajax had just realised he hadn’t bought presents for Rex Lapis’ offerings this time round, but he had already gained an amazing sparring partner out of Zhongli, so technically his own personal goals were met.

And if he was nice to the adepti that Rex Lapis worked so closely with, Zhongli might be able to put a good word in and then he’ll really be set.

“Since I knew you liked those tea cakes, I got you some more to compensate for last time.” Ajax continued, making long confident strides towards Zhongli before handing the tea cakes over. “And it’s also a thank you for giving me such an awesome spar– which, by the way, I would love to have a repeat of.”

“You felt that the trade was one sided and opted to correct the scales posthaste, despite having the upper hand in our initial agreement.” There was a contemplative look on Zhongli’s face, his hands weighing the tea cakes as if assessing its value. Finally after a long stalemate, there was another sigh from Zhongli, but this time it was half exasperation half fondness, and was even accompanied by a hint of a smile– barely noticeable but definitely there! 

“Your honesty and honour is noted, despite your… less than favourable timing .” 

“Hey! It’s not like I wanted to dawdle! I just caught a cold for the first time in forever and was pretty much forced on sick leave. Took me about a week to recover and was bored out of my mind the entire time.” Ajax protested, recalling how Ekaterina and the others had practically threatened to tell Pulcinella on him when he was merely slumped over his office desk sniffling. “I wanted to get more of the teacups you liked as well, but they were sold out by the time I properly recovered.” 

“ A week ago? There– you travelled all the way back to Liyue Harbour that evening after our spar? In the storm? ”

“Yeah you don’t have to remind me– I’ve got more than enough people on my back about it. I just wanted to quickly get back and then make preparations to see you again as soon as possible.” For another spar! Ajax mentally added. He didn’t voice it, seeing as Zhongli seemed kind of busy with the Rite of Descension preparations right now, and it wouldn’t be as fun sparring with Zhongli at less than his full strength. “Didn’t think about the consequences, to be honest–”

A sudden warmth on his forehead had crashed all train of thought, bare calloused fingers then tenderly ran through his hair, sending shocks that had him frozen on the spot.

Worried eyes scrutinised his face, and this close, Ajax could see the flakes of gold against warm earthy brown in his eyes, alongside a diamond shaped pupil that further cemented the hypothesis of Zhongli being otherworldly– ethereal even. 

And when Zhongli let out a thoughtful hum, it sounded deep and primal, akin to a rumble of a dangerous beast.

Never had Ajax been in such a dilemma, where he wanted to simultaneously lean into the warmth and flee from the fire.

“I appreciate the sentiment.” Zhongli’s warm breath ghosted his bare face, immediately eliciting goosebumps all over. “But not at the expense of your health. Silly boy .”

And right on cue, his stomach just did a weird flip, his heartbeat racing and his head feeling kind of lightheaded and spinning, even though Ajax was so sure he was over the symptoms of his cold–

“Childe? Are you alright–”

“Haha? Yah! Haha! I mean yee I’m perfectly fine what do you mean–” Hoo boy. He maybe had a bit of trouble breathing too– what the hell? This was worse than the time a newly recruited Ajax kept electro charging himself when training with the electro cicin mages. 

“Your temperature is rising.” A frown, and only when the comforting warmth went away had Ajax realised that Zhongli's gloves were off. And then his mind was a blur again when there was a familiar warmth of a hand at the small of his back. “You are still unwell, aren’t you?” 

“N-No?” His voice hadn’t cracked like that since he was a teenager, which was mortifying . “No! I’m fine, honest!”

“Come. I have medicinal tea for ailments like these.” It wasn’t even a suggestion, with the way Zhongli had practically manhandled him into the teahouse and past the mysterious door at the side of the stage, then zigzagging through a series of weirdly long hallways before plopping him down at an incredibly fancy bed in an even fancier room.

“Uh–” Ajax could barely form a coherent thought before the bedroom door slammed shut, Zhongli previously saying something about staying put while he brewed his tea. 

And when he finally shook himself out of whatever stupor he previously was under, Zhongli was already back with a small bowl of foul smelling liquid.

“No.” Ajax stared at the black void that Zhongli had placed in his hands. There were even strange looking jelly chunks that somehow crunched when he used the spoon to stir. “Forget poison-- this thing looks like it’ll become sentient and kill me with its own hands.”

“I assure you most could only dream to even have a drop of what you have in your hands right now.” Zhongli huffed. “Drink.”

“Okay , but know that I have a hydro vision, and if I immediately spit it out because it detects poison, that poison’s gonna be on you –” But Zhongli was already two steps ahead of him, one hand grabbing the bowl from his hands whilst the other firmly handling his jaw open. “ --guh! ”

“Drink.” Zhongli reiterated, and it almost sounded like a soft coo. But then again, Ajax was starting to feel increasingly woozy when he started to swallow the bitter tasting liquid, so everything sounded fuzzy and vague. “It will help you get better.”

He gurgled in protest one last time before everything went black.

—

—

“The hour is upon us.”

“O great Rex Lapis, Liyue humbly seeks your benevolence and wisdom once more, to guide us towards continued peace and prosperity.”

—

—

By the time he roused from his slumber, the soft rays of dawn's light were starting to peek through the windows.

Ajax yawned, stretching from what was a really nice sleep, his whole body rejuvenated and much lighter than usual. Not to mention that his bed was incredibly soft and there was a comforting fragrance of silk flower incense--

Wait . Silk flowers?

Upon further inspection, the chair next to his bed seemed to be holding an amused Zhongli in a casual brown silk robe, carrying a tray with a huge pile of buns and a steaming drink.

"Good morning Childe. Today's breakfast consists of lotus paste buns and a cup of warm soy milk."

Ajax looked at Zhongli, and then back at the window. Shit, how long had he been asleep?

Wait. The reason he felt lighter was because he wasn't even wearing his usual clothes.

Thankfully Zhongli had the decency to leave him with his underclothes, but his outerwear was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a silver blue silk robe with a glaze lily motif, the material feeling sinfully smooth on his scarred skin.

As if reading his mind, Zhongli had placed down the tray upon the bedside table and pulled out one of its drawers, revealing a fresh looking set of his standard uniform. "Worry not, your clothes have been washed and dried. However, though the material is sturdy, I find its thickness more suited to Scheznayan winters than Liyue summers, which raises several concerns."

"I-- Uh, rather it be heavy and sturdy than have it light and delicate." Ajax hesitantly reached out for the uniform, only for Zhongli to slam the drawer shut, a hand then gesturing at the breakfast tray.

"Eat first."

" Um." Ajax hesitantly grabbed a bun and bit into it, whilst trying to keep eye contact with Zhongli at all times.

Well, trying being the key word here, because Zhongli's gaze was so intense, Ajax had to look away at times, lest the air between them delved into unsalvageable awkward territory.

Weirdly enough, there were also pleased rumbles from Zhongli whenever he finished a bun, the adeptus always picking up the plate to offer him another.

"I'm good, thanks." Ajax was already on his twelfth bun before Zhongli was finally satisfied with the amount he ate-- which was definitely way more than his usual fanfare.

This definitely had to be the weirdest kidnapping scenario he had ever participated in.

"Good. Replenish your strength." Zhongli placed the plate back onto the tray before handing the cup of soy milk to Ajax. "After all, there were more impurities than I had initially predicted. The medicine had kept you unconscious for nearly two days." 

" Two days? How-- ack-- " The soy milk went down the wrong pipe when he yelled in the middle of sipping it, his body wracked with choking coughs as he tried to confront Zhongli. “Two days!”

“But you are feeling better, no?”

“After two days! I have work back in Liyue Harbour, Zhongli.” Not that his subordinates dared to question the workings of a Harbinger, nor did they care if he wasn’t at Northland Bank more often than not; as long as he got the debtors coughing up mora on time, they could really care less.

But Zhongli didn’t need to know that–

“Then I shall send an official letter from the adepti to the Northland Bank detailing the circumstances surrounding your whereabouts.”

Okay maybe Zhongli needed to know a bit of how he worked. Just a bit.

“No! It’s okay!” Ajax placed his finished cup of soy milk onto the bedside table to free up his hands, waving them about as he shook his head. “It’s easier if I just went back and explain the whole situation myself–”

His words were cut short when his hearing picked up multiple footsteps sounding in the distance, coming from the bedroom entrance and down the hallway.

"... and the Liyuen wedding industry is going through a huge upheaval because of what Rex Lapis had predicted. Venues are already getting booked out for the whole of the upcoming year." A soft female voice, footsteps light with clacking heels.

"Inconceivable! For there to be a potential consort for our esteemed lord? After all this time? One must assess." This one was weird, four clacks at a time with each step, their female thrilling voice reverberating unnaturally– an adeptus perhaps?

"No more cooking challenges. The adepti have evolved past the need for cooking challenges." A hoofed quadruped with an equally worldly infliction to their deep male tones– definitely an adeptus, or at the very least a magical beast.

"One can assure that only you among the adepti have evolved to lack taste."

"Hush, the both of you.” A lower female voice, wisened with age as they walked slowly on flat shoes. “It has been many moons since Rex Lapis has gained interest in anything beyond his duties. If his predictions truly indicate a presence of a potential mate, this is a most auspicious event that must be handled with care--"

Ajax’s mind ran a hundred miles a second, trying to control the whirlwind of thoughts that all seemed to arrive at the same conclusion–

Rex Lapis is here.

And Ajax was in a silk robe playing hooky with one of his adepti advisors.

" Ah .” Zhongli reflexively looked at the door with a surprised expression on his face, then almost immediately recovered himself with a subtle cough, returning to the dignified gentleman Ajax was so used to. “I did not expect them to make such connections so swiftly. But fear not, they won't hurt you– I will not let them."

"That's not the problem!" Ajax jumped out of bed to yank the drawer out of the bedside table, snatching his uniform. If Rex Lapis was here and he wasn't looking like the ferocious eleventh harbinger that he was, his fellow harbingers would never let him live it down.

He would also keel over before bringing shame to her great Majesty the Tsaritsa.

"Childe what--"

"It-- it's embarrassing ! I'm not ready for this! If Rex Lapis--" He hissed, feeling a bit frantic and probably looking a bit manic with how quickly he shed his robe and donned his uniform. "Look I'm really sorry but I've got to go I promise I'll be back-- holy shit! "

The expletives came after a loud rumbling noise, which, to his utter shock, was actually him accidentally punching through solid rock whilst flailing into his uniform, a cool morning breeze now blowing through a fairly large hole in the wall next to the bed. Ajax looked through the hole to find the grounds of Huaguang stone forest shifting pink and gold in dawn’s light.

“Uh!” Ajax didn’t know how much walls in the adepti realm would cost to replace, but it was probably a substantial amount. “I’m so sorry–”

Zhongli, however, did not seem angry, and even looked delighted, his person strolling to the hole with hands behind his back, inspecting its size with a bright golden gaze. “Wonderful, the medicine seems to have worked splendidly. Unfortunately such strength can only be permanently achieved with regular ingestion of the medicine, but your dose should last you a day.”

Now, the bloodthristy part of Ajax’s mind was ecstatic at the possibilities Zhongli mentioned, but the rational part was much louder, screaming at him with topics along the lines of “ What the fuck was in that medicine?” and “Rex Lapis is probably going to discover how you had one of his adepti hand feed you buns in bed.”

With the strange footsteps increasingly close, Ajax had to make a decision fast. He looked at Zhongli, who was also watching him closely, albeit with a puzzled expression, eyebrows raised.

Sorry Mister Zhongli. "I’ve really got to go– does this lead to the real outside or am I gonna be sucked into a weird adeptal realm?"

"That is indeed Huaguang stone forest but you don't have to--"

He leaped and glided off into the stone forest once again, whatever adepti realm magic holding the tea house together had unfortunately cut off what Zhongli had to say-- again .

---

"He is usually quite extroverted and charming, except when one brings up his status as Rex Lapis' potential consort, where he then becomes painfully shy. Thus, please refrain from referring to me as Rex Lapis in front of him, and utilise my mortal alias instead."

"But to disregard your heavenly status! My lord, that is--"

"My status does not constitute my entire being. Furthermore, I am quite… fond of this one, and would like to keep his company if possible, at least as a friend. So I advise against pressuring him with the expectations of a consort at this point in time."

Chapter Text

So.

Ajax should really start finding another good apology gift for flying off on Zhongli--  again .

But he's already bought up all the tea cakes in that one tea shop! And besides, what could he get that met the expectations of an ancient adeptus, one who had access to fantastical things outside the realm of what he could purchase?

Maybe I could make a custom order for those tea cups he liked . They were still out of stock when he checked yesterday, the shopkeeper frantically bowing in apology as she recited a spiel about how dragon and phoenix themed items were unavailable unless pre-ordered, and even then, the prices have more than tripled the last time he bought them.

Something about Rex Lapis' predictions about romance during the Rite of Descension had apparently made such items almost impossible to procure. 

If it gained the favour of Rex Lapis, surely it would be something of value to Zhongli as well… right?

And so, he went back today and paid almost six times the price for a pre-order, the same shopkeeper now stuttering and fumbling with the heavy bag of Mora he deposited on the shop counter.

"S-Sir we really can't expedite the process." The shopkeeper's wide eyes flicked back and forth between the bag and Ajax, looking extremely conflicted. "Those cups are handmade and we cannot rush the artist in order to maintain consistent quality--"

"Ah, then please relay it as a tip and a thank you for producing a previous set I had bought." Ajax smiled, emitting an air of nonchalance, which worked out beautifully with the shopkeeper looking a lot more relaxed and a lot more in awe. "The recipient really liked it, and I was hoping I could get more for him."

"Your… the recipient-- " The shopkeeper went back to stuttering, her eyes wide with shock. "Y-You were the one who bought the fifteen teacakes! And um, the recipient wants a-another tea cup set?"

"It's alright. I can afford it." Ajax hummed, flipping a display book with different tea cup customisation features available. There were ones that even had compartments for flaming flower stamens to help keep the cups consistently warm-- very nice. "He, uh, comes from a special background-- super traditional olden day Liyue kind of person. He says he's happy with it but I want to make sure he really really likes it.” Oh, apparently there were cups that mimicked the shape of a fruit. Interesting. “Mora isn't an issue. Special items have to be made for a special person, you know? His, uh, family is also kind of hard to please so–"

"Oh… oh ! Congratulations sir!” Ajax reflexively stepped back when the little old lady seemed to perk up, leaning into his personal bubble with eyes shining. “I initially thought– well it seems silly now that I think about it! For you, even as a foreigner… to have spent so much mora on them, you clearly knew it wasn’t meant to be a souvenir– how silly of me!”

Ajax should probably feel more insulted about how he had been labelled a clueless foreigner, but to be fair, he was a clueless foreigner. Confused too, what with her congratulating him and everything. Now if only the lady could actually help this clueless confused foreigner.

“It seems Rex Lapis' blessings have even reached our esteemed foriegn guests-- how wonderful! Why, just the other day, the Feiyun commerce guild's second son came by to buy a mist flower tea set, which I’m sure is for that exorcist boy–”

“Um, about my order–”

“Ah forgive me, the air is bustling with excitement for new beginnings. You remind me of the time I met my own wife! She’s the one that makes the tea cups you see. Ironically, I was the one who belonged to a famous clan of artisans, while she was a grocer’s daughter who was the first in her family to take up clay making.” For emphasis, the storekeeper pointed to an old yellowed photo of two young ladies with a variety of claywork in front of them, hands dirtied with mud but their smiles bright. “Why, it took five full tea sets before my grandparents properly accepted her into the clan. And look at her now! One of the most sought after claymakers, teaching not only our grandchildren, but also the disciples in my clan the ropes while I found my calling in business–.”

“I hope I don’t have to buy five full tea sets.” Ajax laughed airily, trying once again to steer her back into helping him with Zhongli’s gift. “So, about that order–”

“Oh don’t worry my dear, I think I shall relay your plight to my Weiwei– I’ll tell her about how there’s someone out there that needs more than one tea set to impress! You will get every bit of your mora’s worth in this gift– let this contract be set in stone, the great Emperor Rex Lapis be my witness.” The lady turned into a whirlwind of activity, grabbing stacks upon stacks of papers and scribbling on them with an impressive speed. “Does your special someone have a name? I could add in a personal message if you’d like."

"Zhongli." Ajax truly was taken aback at the efficiency of little old ladies when on a mission. “His name is Zhongli.”

“Zhongli! A fine name.” More hasty scribbling with swift flicks of her horsetail brush. “And your message?”

“Hm.” He pondered. “ Fight me” seems too much like a threat, and “sorry for gliding off on you” honestly sounds awful.

“How about something along the lines of…” Ajax hummed. “Thank you?”

“ Thank you? Unconventional … but short, simple and sweet! I love it! I’m sure he’ll love it too!” More scribbling, and then a heavy stamp landed upon the parchments with a loud thump. “Done! When the order is ready, I’ll send you a letter saying that it’s ready for pickup. Now shoo! Go spend time with your family and beau and whatnot, it’s Lantern Rite!”

“Uh, my what–”

But he was booted out of the shop involuntarily before he could seek clarification, the shopkeeper swiftly guiding him out of the shop, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder before rushing to the back of the shop with a loud “Ah Xiu! Take over the front counter, I need to find your mother!”

—

---

"Come one come all! Let your Xiao Lantern be blessed by the gospel words of Rex Lapis-- let this be the year be the year you find true love! May your marriages shine bright with our Noctilucous jade infused candles, your wishes for a prosperous union be seen by the heavens above-- ah! you sir! The dashing gentleman in the suit! How about a Lantern for you and your son?"

"Blasphemous! How dare you address--"

"I will have two, thank you. I think I would like the yellow one. What colour would you like Xiao?"

"I--"

"Xiao! What an auspicious name for the Lantern Rite festival! Only the best Xiao lantern for Xiao here, and maybe one for the missus too?  

"Oh. The blue would actually suit him well. I'll have the yellow and the blue, as well as one of every colour so my companion here can choose at his leisure."

"L-Leisure!"

"O-One of every colour! Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but I would need to see-- oh!"

"Would that be enough? Or does one require another pouch?"

"T-This is more than enough s-sir-! I'll pack your purchases right away!"

---

---

"Thank you for your purchase!"

And then Ajax walked off with what was most certainly the most overpriced pieces of bamboo and paper he had ever laid eyes on. But the festive mood had gotten to him, especially after seeing Nadia and Vlad sneakily buying lanterns for each other, their wishes an open secret to the close knit group that was the Northland bank.

Actually, to be more specific, the Northland bank employees were a close knit group. There was a prominent disconnect between them and their employer -- not surprising, considering his revered harbinger status.

It was to be expected, and yet--

Ajax sighed as he watched the beautiful gilded edges of his Lantern glint in the light of the setting sun, its ribbon tassels fluttering in the light harbour breeze. 

Tonia would have loved the festival, with how fond she was with the romantic side of the world, the hopeful one with princesses and balls and dreams coming true. Inquisitive Anthon would come up with the wildest guesses as to how's and who's of the world. And Teucer-- oh little Teucer would run around the block multiple times as he squealed about wanting to try anything.

His father though -- well, his chest hurt to think about him, so he should just stop his train of thought. Problem solved. What did he care about disappointment when his pay check was objectively improving his family's quality of life tenfold? How could that be disappointing? The old man's living like a king now!

Ah, whatever. Ajax grumbled under his breath. Despite the grievances, he still missed his stubborn old man, among other things-- his mother's bony fish stew for one, flavourful and nutritious despite its poor ingredients. There was also the warmth of the old cobblestone fireplace, the way he and his siblings would gather round in their threadbare blankets, to fill their bellies with their father's stories when there was nothing else. And how could he forget the warmth of the Snezhnayan sun as its rays reflected off pure white snow, their whole family then gathering said snow to build snowmen for one another.

Liyue's own sun had long sunk into the ocean by the time he finished his musings and scaled the cliffs of Mount Tianheng. He made it to the peak just in time, right before the hundreds of lanterns below him lit up in succession at the sound of the ceremonial gong from Yuehai Pavillion. 

The much anticipated Yun-Han opera troupe hired by the Tianquan subsequently flew out of their hidden positions in an acrobatic flourish, like birds soaring out of their cages into the streets of Liyue Harbour with their colourful bright costumes and sweet melodies, singing a bittersweet ode to the adepti who had sacrificed his life for the safety of their city, before transitioning into a song of hope, wishing a prosperous future for Liyue. 

Their resounding voices lifted spirits, as if propelling the released lanterns to ascend ever higher into the heavens. It looked like a scene from a fairy tale, the floating lanterns like fireflies dancing upon the water's surface. It was undoubtedly magnificent, grand-- opulent . A festival worthy of the God of wealth's blessings.

And the thing about things being so much, was that it made you feel so little.

Well, here goes nothing . Ajax released his Lantern, allowing it to join the masses, its light was soon obscured by the sheer number of similar looking lanterns as they headed towards the ocean. 

Hungry for food, then raised hungry for validation. Ajax watched as the lights now started to float heavenward with the ocean breeze. And I'll most likely die hungry for power.

And he didn't really mind about this matter of fact. Everyone eventually dies someday, but not everyone gets to live .

He wanted more fights, more challenges, more reminders about what it truly meant to be alive . Heralds and warriors of Khaenri'ah could not break him. Snezhnayan harbingers barely made a scratch on him. So he must move on to the next on his path to greatness. 

And what harm could a little bit of wishing do? He could use all the help he could get.

"I wish to become stronger." Ajax affirmed, eyes shining as the Lantern Rite came to a close, the lanterns all hidden above the clouds now. "I want to become stronger for myself, my family, and Snezhnaya."

---

---

"I wish I could feel worthy of belonging in this world."

This unspoken wish clinged onto the last of the Lanterns leaving Liyue, to which he could only hope that whatever lonely soul on Mount Tianheng could find solace in the near future. He himself did not have the capabilities to grant every single of his subjects' wishes, nor was he obliged to, but somehow such longing struck a chord in him.

In his hands, an exquisite yellow Lantern carried precious cargo, his very own wish-- hoping to seek guidance to those who have ascended beyond mortal realms, to ask old bygone friends for advice.

If those same bygone friends saw him now, they would have thought him an imposter, partaking in such pitiful mortal whims.

But time was relentless-- ancient rivers dried and mountains crumbled. After so many thousands of years, fatigue weighed heavy on his soul.

He was so incredibly tired and admittedly… lonely.

"These lanterns once guided lost warriors homes in times long past, lit by those who wish them home. But now I light one to seek guidance from you, my friends, as cliche it may seem.” He had raised his lantern to the skies for emphasis. “There is someone whom I have grown incredibly fond of. He is, however, a mortal general from another land and the other adepti have yet to assess his suitability as an Emperor's consort.”

"But I find myself… finding these matters trivial over having him by my side. I fear my head is too clouded for sound judgement. And so, if this union is to be blessed upon your wise judgement, please send a sign."

And then he released his lantern, the lone light floating merrily away from the palace balcony and into the canopy of clouds.

---

---

Of course a stray golden Xiao Lantern landed on Ajax right when he got back down the mountain. What were the chances?

They were all supposed to be blown towards the sea, courtesy of magical adepti magic and whatnot. But one obviously didn’t make it, the candle long extinguished and the structure crumpled-- unsurprising, when it had practically flown right into the back of Ajax's head.

It would have been a beautiful Lantern, the paper a sweet flower yellow as it boasted an extravagant design depicting soaring dragons over raging tides. The bamboo skeleton was also painted with an exquisite shade of gold, with cor lapis decorated tassels attached to each edge.

Ah. Ajax mused as he looked over the lantern. The yellow was similar to the colour of Zhongli's eyes.

How was the adeptus doing anyway?

Did he participate in the Lantern Rite festivities, considering the adepti's supposed role in granting wishes? Or was he enjoying the light filled sky with a cup of tea in his hands, accompanied by crystal flies and geo slimes?

Somehow the second image pushed itself to the forefront of his mind and stayed there, his imagination painting Zhongli as a  prince from Tonia's fairytales, regal and poised amongst the magnificent stone formations, yet solitary-- isolated in his tea house haven as he gazed upon a distant lantern filled sky.

The more Ajax thought about it, the more curious he was.

---

And then Ajax made the incredibly stupid and impulsive decision to travel overnight towards Huaguang tea house.

By the time he was halfway up the rocky mountain that housed Zhongli's tea house, he had just realised that Zhongli was probably with the other adepti. Or maybe he had travelled to Liyue harbour to watch the lanterns there. Hell, he could even be sleeping -- it was closer to dawn than dusk by now.

Ajax hesitated climbing the last set of rocks, his teeth gritted, fists clenched.

What was wrong with him? What in the world was he doing here--

"Childe?"

Ajax whipped his head towards the low baritone voice, and found Zhongli peering at him from above, clad in the same luxurious brown-golden robe he wore the last time. "It's late. What are you doing here?"

"I- '' There was hesitation in his voice, underlying doubt. The answer didn't come naturally because he didn't know he had one in the first place.

Zhongli's amber eyes seem to glow in the night, and Ajax felt surprisingly small under the heavy gaze, eyes roving until it settled on the--

Huh. Ajax didn't even realise he was still gripping the ruined lantern from before. He must have dragged it all the way from Liyue Harbour.

What was he doing ?

"I- Uh--" Ajax shuffled his feet, his person still being scrutinised by Zhongli, the adeptus' expression a confusing mix of surprise and… amusement?

"It's not a gift!" Ajax swiftly hid the offending thing behind his back. But then Zhongli's eyes fell, which made Ajax's heart clench and forced his mouth to hastily add a "I have another gift and it's way better than this-- but it's not ready yet! This was some random lantern that crashed into me and it reminded me of you. The colour scheme… matches your robes?"

Zhongli's expression rose as quickly as it fell, his subsequent airy laughter setting him right on edge, his stomach feeling like he swallowed a hundred crystal flies. "So you traversed the rocky terrains of Huaguang in the dark of night, all the way from Liyue Harbour, just to convey such sentiments?"

Ajax winced.

Yeah that sounds stupid doesn't it.  

"What can I say? I'm not the type to hesitate on my feelings!" Nervous laughter was utilised to counter Zhongli's knowing smiles, the sharp planes of his features and laughter lines emphasised by the glow of surrounding geo crystal flies, which, now that Ajax thought about it, seemed to have spawned out of nowhere.

And they seemed to keep multiplying, if he was to be honest.

"Uh." Ajax gestured at the growing swarm of crystals flies. "You got a little--"

"Oh." The crystal flies dispersed with a wave of Zhongli's hand, which was then used to hide a harrumph from the man. There was a redness to his cheeks, probably due to the biting chill of the night wind. "Ignore them. They are attracted to geo energy."

Ajax narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "The hydro crystal flies in Fontaine don't do that to me."

"Then take it as a sign of our difference in power."

"Hey!"

Another laugh, golden eyes crinkling. "I never said you were the lesser one. That was your own conclusion."

"Oh I'm coming up there! Just you wait!"  Ajax climbed up the last set of rocks with gusto, but almost fell backwards when he got to the top because Zhongli loomed way too close to the edge, close enough for Ajax to see the curve of his eyelashes.

"Zhongli?" Ajax couldn't really lean back, lest he fall off, to which he would have to climb the mountain all over again. "You okay?"

" Splendid ." Zhongli smiled widely, before walking him back to the tea house with a hand placed at the small of his back, the skin there feeling like it was burning despite there being a solid layer of clothing in between. "Come, you must be cold and tired."

"Um, I really should--" Unfortunately a yawn escaped him unwillingly, and Zhongli let out a small tut before resorting to two hands to guide him back into the warmth of the tea house.  

Which, to his confusion, had a whole lot of lanterns lining the floors in piles, all with different varieties of colours and styles.

"Wow, you guys really are busy with granting wishes huh." Ajax let out a low whistle as he shimmied out of Zhongli's grasp to peer at the different piles. "How do you pick which wish you grant?"

"The adepti do not grant wishes. These lanterns are personal purchases." Zhongli's deep voice resounded throughout the empty building, his person walking past Ajax to inspect one of the many piles. "In times long past, chaos roamed the land, and the citizens of Liyue only wished for protection. The adepti readily offered such protection, establishing the association of the adepti and the ability to grant wishes. Now in times of peace, no longer do people seek constant protection, replaced by mundane petty desires."

"However, I do not find this troubling." Zhongli held up a beautiful blue lantern, its silver edges interwoven with intricate noctilus jade stones. "In fact, for the people's wishes to shift from grave to light-hearted is a testament to the prosperity of Liyue. I hold nothing but pride for such a development."

"To cleanse the land and defend our safe harbour-- that was the first contract in Liyue." Ajax watched Zhongli bring the blue lantern to one of the tables, placing it gently onto the fine wood. "And with such peaceful times, sometimes one does wonder if this contract has reached its fulfilling conclusion, or will one have to be on constant vigilance for the rest of eternity."

"Honestly? I think you've worked hard enough. It's so peaceful here that the strongest monsters are just local pests and the occasional ruin guard." Ajax made his own way into the seat adjacent to Zhongli, his fatigue now hitting him full force, causing him to rest heavily upon the tabletop with arms folded, head tilted in its dip as he gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "You deserve a good long break. Hell, maybe even retirement!"

"Retirement?"

"Yeah!" Ajax let out a yawn, eyes starting to get heavy, the image of Zhongli fading in and out, but he forced himself to stay awake. "You know, do the things you want to do-- maybe work on a hobby, go on nice little strolls, and spend the rest of your days surrounded by loved ones."

"That… does sound very tempting. Intriguingly desirable, despite its domestic simplicity." Ajax thought he had seen Zhongli make a painfully forlorn expression, but he had rested his eyes just at the beginning of it, so he wasn't sure if he had imagined it. "I do like a good stroll, especially when the glaze lilies are in full bloom, or when the gingko trees turn gold. How about you?"

"I love strolls! Beach strolls especially. I'll bring you one day." Another yawn unintentionally left Ajax's person. Surely, Zhongli wouldn’t mind if he closed his eyes for just a few seconds right? As long as he kept listening and replying. "Love picking up the pretty seashells. Used to sell them for food money, but I would always keep the nicest ones for myself."

"And what else?"

"Lotsa' things!” A loud yawn, his head feeling increasingly heavy. He was also starting to slur just a tad bit. “Good food and a good fight to work off that good food. Love me a good story too."

"A grand feast in your honour, and then a spar. A storytelling performance." That deep rich velvety voice was very soothing. Very nice. "I could give you more. Anything. Everything. " 

"You… hm-- gonna grant my wish mister great adeptus? I'm that special?" His voice was but a tired whisper, the scent of silk flowers and incense lulling him into the land of dreams. 

" Incredibly special . Even those beyond the veil agree, for they have guided you to me." There was the weight of something on his shoulders, something warm and fluffy. "What do you desire, dear Childe?"

"The world and beyond. The stars and moon and more." And then there was weightlessness, like he was being carried by a steady force. "I wanna make sure the people I love want for nothing."

"Of course." The deep satisfied rumble was the last thing he heard before he succumbed to sleep. "Sweet dreams Childe."

---

---

"Our lord has been acquiring an assortment of material goods out of sentiment? The affliction must be severe."

"One believes the term you are seeking is "affection.""

“Cease your squabbling! More importantly– Conqueror of Demons, you have mentioned that you have met the subject in question? Pray tell, what are your thoughts?”

“None whatsoever. Our Lord’s judgement in his romantic endeavours is not my place to comment.”

"Look at his expression! The candidate must be infuriating!"

"One has not seen such disgust since the Electro Whooperflower plague. The situation must be dire."

"If this one is detrimental--"

"Fellow esteemed adepti. I assure you that this is my neutral expression."

"Regardless, curious we may all be, but know that our discussion is futile without action. One suggests that one ventures into Liyue Harbour to observe this Scheznayan Harbinger incognito."

Chapter Text

The second time he rested on Zhongli’s luxurious sheets was somehow even better than the first. Probably because this time he was more familiar with the fancy room, his instincts not on high alert. He noticed that the massive hole in the wall he had previously made was also now repaired, and would have looked like it had never been there if not for a small glowing geo symbol at the tail end of the last crack.

And, just like before, he was dressed in the same blue silver robe, his uniform placed neatly on the bedside table.

I’ve got to stop intruding on him like this . Ajax sighed into the pillows as dawn’s first light started to warm the room. One blink, then two, before he finally got up and made a grab for his uniform.

But a knocking on his door made him pause in his tracks, Zhongli's voice muffled through the door.

"Are you decent Childe? I brought breakfast."

"Depends on what you mean by decent." Ajax laughed, now trying to smooth out his bedhead and tidy his sleep-wrinkled robe. "I can be kind of wicked depending on who you talk to."

A pause, then some indecipherable muttering, before Zhongli had the gall to retort with a "I am not adverse to scars and wounds in your state of undress, if that is what you are afraid of. But of course, I do not want to cause distress--"

Ajax let out a loud chortle at Zhongli's response, hopping off the bed to open the door before the tea house owner probably started delving into the particularities of Liyue morning customs.

And boy was he not prepared for what he saw.

Technically, Zhongli looked the same as he did the other morning, with the same golden brown robes and a tea tray in his hands-- except his hair was tied in a high ponytail, and somehow it emphasised the slant of his jawline, so sharp it could probably cut him if he were to careful.

Dangerous even in the looks department . Ajax's mouth suddenly felt kind of dry, to be honest. He tried to shake himself out of it. This was a senior adeptus for Tsaritsa's sake! The word "sexy" was probably blasphemous amongst their sacred circles.

Thankfully the first thing Zhongli did was to set the tray down and hand him a drink-- a sweet concoction that had also soothed the throat.

"This was brewed from one of the tea cakes you gifted me." There was a hint of something not quite pride in Zhongli's tone when Childe sat back on the bed and took a sip, a satisfied noise of approval escaping him at the delicious taste. "A quality chrysanthemum piece that depicted a dragon and a phoenix playfully chasing the sun-- most exquisite."

"Huh." Ajax looked at the cup with a stray yellow petal floating on its surface. "You sure I can have this? The gift was for you after all."

"And I would like to share this gift with you, if I may?"

"Of course! You don't have to ask me twice! But if we're talking about sharing, I wanna see you enjoy it too, so here!" Ajax beamed as he shakily tried to pour more tea into his own cup, his hands then gingerly holding it out for Zhongli.

And, if he were to be honest, the resulting soft smile on Zhongli's face warmed him more than the tea in his hands ever could. 

"Thank you Childe." Okay, so forget the smile being the thing that warmed him up the most, because there was that tiny brush of skin against skin when Zhongli took the cup from him, and the contact seemed to burn his hand with how tingly it had gotten.

And then Ajax tried to distract himself with something else, like breakfast, which looked to be century egg and chicken congee today.

"You know, Zhongli." Ajax started, scarfing down his congee before setting it aside. "I really have to thank you for, uh, essentially providing free lodging and meals-- on several occasions now."

"It truly is no trouble." Zhongli picked up the teapot to pour him another cup of tea, even going as far as to blow off the rising steam of the cup, cooling the drink within. Ajax took the presented tea cup with what was probably a very dumbfounded expression. "Especially with how much I enjoy your company. Furthermore, the value of your gifts far surpasses that of your stays here-- please do not feel indebted."

"But those are gifts! I didn't expect anything back." Okay, so that was a bit of a lie-- he was kind of hoping that he could get a spar out of it, but surprisingly enough, it didn’t really seem like a top priority at the moment. "Let me treat you to a meal or something."

"Oh?" Zhongli's curiosity was undoubtedly piqued, with the way his eyebrows were raised. "You would cook for me?"

"Hey! Don't sound so doubtful! I'm a fantastic chef! But, uh, I was thinking of something more along the lines of eating out? Like at a restaurant in Liyue Harbour?”

The silence, though brief, was incredibly excruciating, with Zhongli’s expression turning contemplative.

“That is, if you’re not busy!" Ajax hastily added, his laughter nervous. "I’m sure the adepti have a lot of business to attend to–”

“I would be amenable to that."

"Oh?" There was that warm feeling again, an excitement that jolted him from head to toe. "When would you be free?"

"I have nothing scheduled for today. It is also fortunate that the weather is good--" 

"Wait wait today? Like now--" One would be flabbergasted at how Ajax's brain shifted gears so quickly after catching the slightest inch of a frown on Zhongli's face. "Now is perfect!"

"Wonderful. Then I shall prepare for our venture."

"H-Haha yeah!" And then Ajax blankly watched as Zhongli made his way out of the room, his long robe billowing with how swiftly he went, the last of it almost snagged by the door. If Ajax knew any better, he would say that the adeptus was excited .

But of course, Ajax didn’t know any better, what with his brain already occupied with figuring out a well-planned day out of nowhere. 

—

—

“Although one has not mingled amongst the mortals for many moons, even one knows that such fashion has faded into obscurity almost two thousand years ago. The plan was to go incognito, not to draw attention.”

“Fear not, Cloud Retainer. The population of Liyue Harbour is very diverse– Mountain Shaper’s clothing is not the most outlandish thing I have seen here. Far from it, in fact.”

"Thank you, Madame Ping. Besides, when we briefly visited Ganyu at her workplace, she had approved of my outfit, did she not?"

"Dear Ganyu is too nice for her own good… respectful to a fault. Now, you need someone objective like Yanfei, who will--"

“Fellow adep--- friends. Fellow friends, please look over there, by the bridge. Is that not our lord and the harbinger?"

"It is! Follow them! Make haste!"

---

—

"From henceforth, you will have access to the Huaguang teleport."

"I didn't even know there was one until then! You adepti really know how to keep things hidden huh!" Ajax regained his bearings with a small wobble behind the large Gingko tree at Chihu rock, which was to be expected when teleporting at such distances. "I'll definitely be able to visit you more often with this."

"And I shall eagerly anticipate such visits." Of course the otherworldly Zhongli stepped away from the teleport all poised and refined while Ajax felt like a waddling duck. "Also, while we're in Liyue Harbour, I wish to remain incognito with regards to my… special status, so I hope we could avoid referring to me as such?"

"Sure! Then I hope you refer to me as Childe, your good companion, rather than a Snezhnayan Harbinger."

"Agreed." Zhongli smiled, nodding. "A very good companion indeed."

And then he did the thing again.

The thing where Zhongli not so subtly walked next to Ajax and flexed his fingers whenever his hand got close to his. Ajax thought he had imagined it the first time, but after it happened the fifth time, he figured he could put Zhongli out of his misery.

Maybe he's nervous about being amongst mortals, considering how most adepti are rumoured to be hermits. Ajax then took it upon himself to make the first move, his hands slotting into Zhongli's own after the latter's sixth attempt.

And the responding squeeze, alongside the brightness that seemed to emit from Zhongli's beaming smile, very much consolidated his hypothesis.

There was also someone shouting behind them, and sounds of something being knocked over, but that wasn't important right now.

What was important was, well--

"You feeling like Li or Yue cuisine?" Ajax tentatively walked forward towards the busier area of Chihu Rock, to which Zhongli had naturally followed him in step. "Or we could try a mix of both? The last option is the one I usually go to-- the chef there uses all kinds of weird ingredients but somehow it ends up being fantastic."

"The last option seems interesting, and I do want to know more about your tastes." It felt nice walking alongside Zhongli, a steady presence that he could just talk to. It had been a long time since he could just hang out with someone like this, and it felt good. Really good. "Lead the way to Wanmin then."

"So you know it too! Alright, to Wanmin it is." Ajax concluded with a winning grin. "Hang on tight Mister Zhongli, I don't want to lose you to the afternoon crowds."

"You won't." Twinkling eyes met his own, and the hand in his gave another reassuring squeeze. 

---

---

"They are holding hands! Hands! Our Lord's hand-- Oof--"

"Move! One cannot visualise this momentous development with one's own eyes with your gargantuan costume in the way!"

"Look at him, leading our esteemed lord around like an overexcited puppy. It makes one tired just looking at them-- oh no. The crowd--"

"Worry not. One shall fly to the roof to get a better view--"

"Cloud Retainer! Mortals do not fly-- oh Rex Lapis give me strength--"

---

---

Even when they arrived at the restaurant and got seated, Zhongli had yet to relinquish his hold on his hand.

Which, honestly, he didn't mind, the weight somehow comforting. Now that he thought about it, Zhongli did seem like a rigid type of person, the kind that would feel unease without having complete control. Made sense, with how he was a servant to the God of contracts. 

Ajax didn't mind being an emotional support to a powerful adeptus, not at all. 

Although, having a full grown man attached to him did make manoeuvring around a busy restaurant quite difficult.

But they managed, Xiangling taking one look at him and Zhongli before she strangely giggled and sent them on their way to a nicer, private part of the restaurant.

Even stranger was when Xiangling whispered to him all conspiratorially when she seated them, checking that Zhongli was too occupied reading the menu plaques on the wall before doing so.

"Don't worry Mister Childe! I heard about it from my friend Xinyan who heard it from another friend Chongyun who knew about it because his new fian-- I mean! Er– my other friend , Xingqiu, told him Madame Xu had mentioned it in passing." Xiangling whispered low, out of Zhongli's earshot. "This must be Mister fifteen teacakes . I'd recommend our black-back perch stew to really seal the deal!"

Ajax blinked owlishly, mouth agape at Xiangling, who looked very much like the cat who ate the canary. "Does everyone in Liyue know each other?"

"In Liyue, there is a saying that goes-- the walls have ears ." Zhongli interjected, smiling just as conspiratorial as Xiangling was. "Mister fifteen teacakes would like to try the black-back perched stew, and a side of the crystal shrimp. Additionally, we would like..."

And then Zhongli ordered almost every single thing on the menu, without even batting an eyelash.

Xiangling looked at Zhongli with her own mouth agape, then at Ajax with worried brows.

Ajax just shrugged and laughed, holding Zhongli's hand up for emphasis. "Fifteen tea cakes, remember?"

"R-Right!" Xiangling gave a mock salute before dashing out in an exuberant flurry, yelling something about how this order was going to test her culinary skills to the max.

She ran out so fast that she forgot to take her little pet bear with her.

"Hey Guoba!" Ajax gave the bipedal bear a head pat as his customary greeting whenever he visited. "You best be running after Xiangling-- she'd probably need your moral support with how many dishes we ordered just then."

Guoba gave a little happy thrill at the greeting, doing a little dance before his attention was then redirected to Zhongli's figure, the latter giving a small nod in greeting to the little creature as well.

"Ah, hello old friend."

"Uh." Ajax watched as Guoba's eyes widened in realisation, before he did an even more fervent little dance around Zhongli's chair. "You've… met Guoba before?"

"Oh yes. A long time ago, he was much bigger and powerful, but he had sacrificed much of his power to better the lives of people, and so now he dwells in this form." Zhongli shook Guoba's hand as if he were a business partner, to which the little bear comically scrutinised his paw afterwards, as if figuring out what the point of the handshake was. "Marchosius, the God of the Stove and Patron God of the Soil. That was his formal title. But nowadays he lives as Guoba, a carefree soul amongst the people he loves, which so happens to include that budding young chef."

"Guoba is a god ?" Oh geez, he had tossed him high up in the air quite a few times, playing with him as if he were one of his baby siblings. That was a god he had chucked into the air. "Oh man--"

"Like I said, Guoba is more carefree citizen than guardian deity now. And I suspect he prefers it that way, don't you old friend?" As if agreeing to Zhongli's words, Guoba made a squeaky sound along with happy eye smiles. "I am glad you are living well."

And Guoba seemed to respond positively in turn, his little figure reaching over the table, paws barely making it over to rest at where Ajax's hand was still joined with Zhongli's.

The sensation felt… weird. Squishy. Gummy even.

"Ah, thank you old friend. We are truly honoured." When Guoba made his way back to the floor, he clapped and made a high pitched tone that sounded like a hooray. Needless to say, Ajax was utterly confused.

" What? What did he do?"

"He gave us his blessings. More sentiment than actual power, but I hold it in high regard nonetheless." Zhongli waved Guoba goodbye as he now bumbled out of the door, the bear distracted by some commotion occurring outside. “He wished that we were never hungry, that our harvests would be ever bountiful.”

“Uh, thanks Guoba?” But the bear was already outside and out of earshot, and in his place was Xiangling popping in with a mountain of food on her large tray, her hair slightly singed but her expression ecstatic.

“Here's your order folks! Fresh from the kitchen!" Xiangling chirped as she handed over plate upon plate, their once empty table now looking like a buffet. Zhongli’s eyes glowed in anticipation as he surveyed their bountiful spread. “Also! Your fork, Mister Childe.”

“ Fork? ” Ajax winced at the incredulous rumble of disapproval, his companion’s eyes now narrowed at the silver utensil Xiangling placed upon Childe’s plate, the chef then rushing to serve other customers. “Surely not?”

“Master of weapons I may be, but this is one unfortunate skill this warrior has yet to grasp.” He went for the fork, but Zhongli’s deft chopsticks picked it up before he could. “Oh come on Zhongli! I’d be here forever if I used chopsticks. You saw it firsthand last time.”

“Which means you will have to learn how to use them, especially if you are to experience Liyue’s cuisine in its purest form.”

“At least let me have a backup plan–” Ajax finally let go of Zhongli’s hand in an attempt to swipe the fork, but Zhongli wasn’t letting up, and had swiftly placed the fork on Xiangling’s tray when she passed by again, one that was filled with the used cutlery of other patrons. He groaned. “Now look at what you’ve done! You’re gonna have to feed me now!”

“If the need arises, I will. But at least try.”

And try he did, with much effort too! But alas, the food slipped out of his awful chopstick hold so easily, countless victims landing prematurely onto the table top, or even into other dishes– the worst of them was when the juicy piece of Tianshu meat fell into the jewellery soup, and shortly after shakily fishing the drowned thing out, it slipped right back into his tea, which knocked the cup over and spilt its contents all over the table.

“I see.” Zhongli hummed as he helped Ajax wipe the table down. “You hold both chopsticks too tightly. Dexterity, not strength, is the key to mastering the chopsticks.”

“Gee thanks .”

“Here, let me show you.”

“Zhongli? Wha–” He was expecting Zhongli to demonstrate his hold and have Ajax mimic it, but instead there was the telltale sound of a chair scraping against the hardwood floor, then a warmth behind him, a hand now holding his own as the scent of silk flowers invaded his senses.

“Rest one chopstick between the thumb and forefinger, keeping it steady with the ring finger.” Warm breaths grazed his ear, sending goosebumps all over. “It is only the second chopstick that you hold like a pen with a firm grip. Without moving your thumb, move your index and middle finger to clasp and release.”

“Uh, okay.” Actually, it was not okay. Because the total amount of instruction that sunk into his brain was at an all time low– in fact, he had less than what he initially had to begin with, which then left Ajax fumbling like an idiot when Zhongli asked him to repeat his lesson, and he somehow ended up catapulting both chopsticks into their big pot of adeptus temptation, the sticks disappearing instantly as if it melted into the soup.

Wincing once more, with hands now embarrassingly empty, Ajax took one look at Zhongli’s exasperated expression before breaking out into a nervous laugh. “Haha, extra flavour?”

“Perhaps I shall provide a more extensive lesson another time. For now, this wonderful spread needs to be eaten post haste, lest it turns cold.” Zhongli went back to his chair to hold up his own chopsticks, Ajax’s back immediately feeling a lot colder than it initially had been. “Now, what would you like?”

It was Ajax’s turn to blink at him owlishly, dazed. “Uh, my fork?”

“I was referring to the food.” A scrumptious looking full moon egg was now held in between Zhongli’s chopsticks. “I told you I would feed you if the need arises, did I not? Now. Open.”

“What? No, that's--" And of course Zhongli took the opportunity to pop the full moon egg into his mouth when he opened it to protest, his mind then preoccupied by the burst of delicious flavour upon its tongue. He reluctantly chewed, savouring said flavour. "Okay, it's delicious, but this is kind of humiliating--"

"And humility is just what you need. Let this be a motivator for you to practice your chopstick skills." Zhongli countered, now presenting Ajax with a piece of Tianshu meat. Ajax cautiously ate the piece, eliciting a bright smile alongside a pleased rumble.

"You're really enjoying this aren't you?"

"Sharing a good meal with good companions is one of life's greatest joys." Zhongli even had the gall to gently wipe off some of the leftover Tianshu meat sauce at the side of his lips with his gloved thumb, as if he were an oversized baby. "During the ancient warring period, I could not even fathom having a steady stock of vegetables, much less meat. Old Liyue was too barren and desolate, wartorn and poor. Good meals were hard to come by, and good companions even less so. And now, in a prosperous Liyue, it brings me great joy to present this delicious meal to you, a precious companion."

Oh, his heart just clenched painfully at those words. He knew what it was like to starve, after all.

And so, he tucked his ego in. Just temporarily.

"... I want to try the Qingce stir fry." He mumbled, eyes askance and arms akimbo. "But after that I wanna see you eat something too."

Zhongli gave a soft chuckle, his chopsticks now headed for the Qingce stir fry. "As you wish, my dear Childe."

---

"That'd be, uh… technically sixty thousand mora for today, but since you're a regular here Childe, I'll drop it to fifty thousand for you."

Sixty thousand? Wow . Sure, Ajax could make more than ten times that easily during one of his collection jobs, but it wasn't a number to scoff at.

Despite Ajax being the one to invite Zhongli out, the man still made a move to grab his mora pouch, the thing seemingly empty, especially with how little clinking there was when he experimentally jostled it.

"Ah. Childe, would you mind waiting for a bit as I produce-- I mean, procure more funds?"

He'd need more than one mora pouch with this order . "It's fine Zhongli. I've got it."

"But Childe, I can--"

"Nope! Don't wanna hear it! Lunch is on me, remember? You've already done so much for me, so I'll take care of you this time!" And so he playfully pushed Zhongli aside to place three full mora pouches onto Chef Mao's counter. "That should be at least seventy thousand in there, sixty for the food and ten more for the amazing service as well! And if there's not enough, send the tab over to Northland bank and my receptionist will handle it."

"No, that's too much Childe!" Chef Mao pushed the largest mora bag back towards Ajax. "These two will be more than enough."

"Then take it as a late Lantern Rite gift from me! People usually give mora during Lantern Rite right?" Ajax pushed it right back, with much more insistence this time. "This is just a small token of appreciation for how kind you and Xiangling were to me when I first stumbled into Liyue Harbour."

" Lantern Rite ? Master Childe, not everyone gives mora on Lantern Rite, it's only--"

"You have to present them in a customary red packet for good luck, dear Childe." Zhongli's deep voice interrupted their conversation, his mora pouch now gone, most likely back into his coat. His smile was positively radiant, almost blinding even, chuckling genially as he slotted his hand back onto Ajax's own, the warmth comforting. "And it's recipients are the young and elderly. Chef Mao here does not exactly fit into those categories."

"Ah, I see! I didn't mean to offend!" Liyue customs were truly intricate and complex. Ajax was glad that Zhongli was there so he wasn't permanently banned from the establishment or something-- not that he thought Chef Mao was vindictive in that sort of way. "But I would still like you to have the extra mora as a gift though!"

" I see how it is… I can also see that you're not gonna leave until I take the mora. So Xiangling and I will have to thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Chef Mao laughed as he finally took the mora pouches, but not before he presented Ajax and Zhongli with two small red boxes he had grabbed from beneath the counter. Again, like so many other items in his life, the boxes also displayed a golden dragon and phoenix pattern. "Both of you can't leave without these though. It's a joint effort between Xiangling and I, a new take on dragon beard candy, finer and more delicious than the regular kind!"

"Thanks!" Ajax smiled back at the chef as he gratefully accepted the gifts. The guy truly loved feeding people, so much like how Ajax's mother was. "I'm sure we'll love it!"

"Indeed. The food was most delicious. My dear Childe and I enjoyed it immensely, and definitely look forward to tasting your wonderful new creations. You have my gratitude." Zhongli nodded in agreement, then turned his full attention to Ajax, his expression so incredibly fond it made Ajax's heart do a little flip. Maybe two little flips even. 

"Thank you for… taking care of me. It is a somewhat novel feeling, one that is incredibly pleasant."

What the hell? He sounded as if no one had ever paid for him before. Well, actually, it made sense if Zhongli preferred to be incognito in Liyue Harbour, where he would be subjected to paying for things instead of asking for offerings. But he was the servant to the God of Wealth! The God that could make infinite amounts of Mora just at the thought of it! That pouch of his looked depressingly empty for someone working for the God of Wealth.

Well, he did say he wanted to get more. Maybe the adeptus was the forgetful type when it comes to bringing mora, what with his kind mostly being hermits.

Regardless, having being taken care of being a novel feeling? Nah, Ajax was not going to stand for that.

"No problem! In fact, if you see something you like, just tell me-- I'll buy it for you." Ajax promised, squeezing Zhongli's hand reassuringly. "Whatever you want."

And the resulting joyful expression was so darn worth it, albeit it being a bit blinding and was also making Ajax's heart do dangerous somersaults at this point.

"Oh here we go again-- alright alright, shoo !" Chef Mao's voice brought him back to reality. "Xiangling's friends were bad enough with their antics, but you two really take the cake. Fifteen teacakes even-- haha! Rex Lapis' blessings sure are potent this year!"

"What do you mean--" 

"Go! Before the afternoon crowds make it even harder for you two to walk through the city while attached to the hip!' Chef Mao lightly scoffed, the tone with more mirth than actual contempt.

And just like he said, the din of Wanmin Restaurant soon became a distant muffle-- a large family had suddenly entered the restaurant and forced themselves to the front counter, pushing him and Zhongli back into the afternoon crowds, which then shuffled them towards the city centre and away from the bustling restaurant.

---

"He paid for the God of wealth? When our lord has the ability to produce infinite amounts of Mora on command? One is unsure if the candidate was insulting, or just plain foolish."

"Marchosius vouches for this 'Childe', that his mind is wayward but his heart is in the right place. There is, however, still the matter of the fork and his chopstick skills-- a most disappointing find."

"That is unthinkable! This must be corrected if Rex Lapis is to bring him to the next adepti gathering. It is to be held at one's abode, and one's cooking must be savoured with chopsticks or nothing at all."

"...Inconceivable. This isn’t Ticker fish, this looks like Betta fish.”

"Mounta-- Ming, cease your gawking. The grilled fish will not switch species upon your command. And finish your meal post haste! Our lord has left with the candidate already!"

“Oh! Young master knows his fish meats well! Unfortunately, Ticker fishes are currently close to extinction and the Qixing has banned fishing it decades ago, so we make do with other species. That’s why it’s been renamed to Grilled Tiger fish for a good while now.”

“Oh… oh what has the world come to? Time has passed this one too quickly-- the food, the sanctity of our lord..."

"If you're feeling old, then an old geezer like me should be feeling ancient haha! Although, I see you're a fan of the new trend, what with the ancient Guili Plains style robe and all-- are you part of the Yun-Han Opera Troupe by any chance? Your Wuxia costumes look even more authentic than the one my daughters' friends had, and one of them is literally the biggest Wuxia fanatic with two thirds of Liyue's economy at his fingertips!"

"...the fashion too, has gotten ancient enough to be seen as quirky vintage..."

"I'd take that as a no then haha! Also, once you're done, you can pay up at the front counter or ask my daughter Xiangling to take the payment from you. It's ten thousand mora altogether, but I've halved it down to five thousand since our Guoba here swiped some of your food! Enjoy your meal folks!"

"Ah."

"...well."

"One supposes one could fly out of here--"

"Absolutely not! The Millelith would have detained us if it weren't for Yanfei coincidentally intervening before!"

"Hmph, they could surely try– but one understands your point. One sees that one will have to call upon Ganyu or Madame Ping for help."

---

In hindsight, he should have guessed what Zhongli's spending habits were like, considering the stock piles of personal lanterns he had in his tea house, and the more recent restaurant order.

Ajax was really starting to feel the weight of his decision to fund Zhongli's shopping expenses.

The weight was currently at ten bags worth, to be exact. Soon to be eleven.

But a promise was a promise, and Ajax never backed on his promises, even if his arms were starting to cramp up a little bit.

Even when the sun started to set, its last rays casting a golden glow upon the bustling harbour town, the merchants of Liyue Harbour did not pack up to head home. Instead, they lit up their market streets with stunning hanging lanterns, transforming it into the famed night market by the docks. The ever bustling spaces were testament to Liyue Harbour's status as a prosperous port town, where one can find anything and everything for the right price.

And for Zhongli, well, it seemed like whatever the seller quoted was the right price.

"Why would I haggle for anything lower than their deserved worth?" Zhongli hummed thoughtfully as he brought a noctilus jade earring to Ajax's ear, comparing it to a starsilver one he picked up earlier. "While the noctilus jade share brings out the beautiful blue of your eyes, it is more suited to a formal occasion. Whereas the starsilver is of a more muted colour but is more casual in terms of wearability. Additionally, it has a fine silver sheen that complements the tones of your uniform if you choose to wear it during work. The choice is difficult."

"Why not both good sir? One for every occasion for your handsome lad?" The lady behind the stall was already packing the three sets of bracelets Zhongli picked out.

"Excellent idea. We'll have both then." Ajax let out a sigh for the nth time as the lady practically squealed in delight, moving rapidly to pack the sets of expensive earrings amongst other purchases. "Did you want anything Childe?"

"I'm good, thanks." Ajax wasn't picky when it came to buying his own things-- as long as it was durable and functional, he was satisfied. Plus, Zhongli already helped him suggest a good few gifts for his family back home, so he was feeling pretty fulfilled with his current purchases.

"Young esteemed masters, if I may, there is a silk store five stores down that sells robes in the same shade of gorgeous noctilus jade blue, if you were interested in completing the set."

"No need. We already bought it, and the merchant uncle was the one who directed us to your store." If Ajax wasn't convinced that everyone in Liyue knew each other, he was definitely convinced now. He quickly turned to Zhongli before more merchants came and--

"Good sirs! Come take a gander! Why not try some new shoes, made from the finest leather in all of Teyvat!"

"Statues! Get your auspicious statues here! Wealth and health and more! Esteemed masters, why not have a statue to bless your journeys together!"

"Maid costumes from Mondstadt and Fontaine! All kinds of frills for all kinds of thrills! Hey handsome, we've got sizes for you if want to really spice up his w--"

"I'm hungry." Ajax's voice sounded like a weird combination of a hiss and a plea, feeling a little frenzied at how more and more merchants started to circle him and Zhongli like vultures. They must have told each other about the elegant Liyue gentleman and his walking talking wallet. "I'm really really hungry."

"Then let us head down to the food section of the night markets. Liyue street food is definitely not to be missed." Zhongli acquiesced easily with a smile. And almost instantly the crowd around dispersed with disappointed mutterings and groans, slinking back into their respective stores. Ajax couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

But the peacefulness was not long lived. Ajax had a feeling that someone was tailing them even after the merchants stopped soliciting them. The feeling only intensified when they took a shortcut between stalls and through an alleyway to the next street.

And it seemed that Zhongli noticed it too, what with him darting his eyes about, his hand securely placed at the small of Ajax's back as they cautiously walked side by side.

And sure enough, just as they were about to exit the alleyway, a random burst of wind hit them, causing Ajax to stagger with his multitude of bags. Something green zoomed past, and it was mere inches away from bumping into him if not for Zhongli’s quick reflexes, his hand shooting out to capture the perpetrator by the collar.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a robber, or at least, they didn’t look like one; they would have stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the Liyue crowd, donning Mondstadtian fashion in bright green and white. A drunk tourist perhaps?

Ah, but his anemo vision made Ajax inclined to think otherwise, especially alongside the very furious glare from Zhongli, a hint of familiarity between the two, albeit an antagonistic one in this particular exchange.

“You! ” Zhongli uncharacteristically seethed, eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare touch him–”

“Don’t “ you” me! I only accidentally fell in his direction, but your possessive lizard brain immediately switched to destruction mode! How rude! How crude!” The little green ambusher flailed in Zhongli’s hold, the inklings of his unnatural winds that brushed past Ajax were shockingly strong, but it made no effect on its directed target except for the wild flapping of Zhongli’s clothes, the man himself solid and unyielding like stone. “Imagine you, insinuating that I’m a cradle robber when there’s barely a thousand year difference between me and Xiao! Between you and this one, there’s probably about–”

"Bar–” The wild winds interrupted Zhongli by cheekily blowing his bangs back, its master simultaneously blowing a raspberry at the adeptus. “ Venti! "

Oh. Oh . There were scales appearing at the sides of Zhongli’s neck, their colour glowing copper and gold, complementing the ethereal gold of his irises, ever more prominent with his current slit pupils. Ajax swore he saw a glint of a fang when he hissed at Venti– a ferality that should have terrified him senseless if he had any common sense.

Should was the key word here. But alas, Ajax wasn’t your normal everyday person, and was extremely attracted to the dangerous and the unknown, so– well…

Ajax veered his train of thought back to the present situation before it could spiral into something a little less… appropriate.

And so he steadied himself once more, coming over to study the squirmy yodelling person, flitting his attention between him and Zhongli.

"Uh, you know this guy? An adeptus?" Venti did say he was a thousand years older than that grumpy adeptus from Guyun he met the other time, so he definitely wasn’t your everyday human.

" Absolutely not. This is nothing but a snivelling little goblin.” Zhongli downright growled for just that split of a second, before he probably realised what he was doing, because the scales on the adeptus suddenly receded, and the poised elegant gentleman he was so used to had returned in its place. “But he is, unfortunately, indeed a long time friend."

Ajax hummed contemplatively while Venti made several loud retorts about being called a goblin. Venti was probably whatever the Mondstadtian equivalent of an adeptus was, but definitely much less dignified. "I suppose we all have a gremlin in our lives. My one wears a huge hat and keeps swearing at people in a squeaky voice."

"Excuse me! I'm a bard, as you can plainly see! I sing, not squeak! Be mindful of how you speak!" Another loud protest from Venti, before he managed to struggle out of Zhongli’s hold, his winds settling him gracefully onto the ground, presenting himself with a flourish. “Venti the bard, the greatest one in all of Teyvat!”

“What do you want, Venti? Besides being a nuisance , that is.” 

Venti gave an offended gasp, his hand dramatically clutched at his chest. “This humble bard has journeyed across the lands to comfort a precious companion! Because he’s sad! More so than usual! I wonder why!”

“Xiao told you?” There was a heavy sigh, the underlying remorse obvious. Ajax felt a little awkward that he was shafted into a bystander role once again, unknowing of Zhongli’s adeptus-related affairs. 

“You and I both know he worships the ground you stand on, a guardian’s heart loyal to a fault.” Ajax watched as Venti pursed his lips, brows furrowed while he rested his hands on his hips. “He told me nothing– the strong sour winds from Guyun carried enough for me to make a really good guess. Plus, I found him tirelessly decimating half the rogue ruin guard population of Liyue, in another one of his bouts of self-flagellation.”

“It is true that I was at fault.” Another sigh escaped Zhongli. “However, my apology, while readily given, was not readily received.”

“I know, I know.” It was Venti’s turn to sigh this time. “You’re honourable to a fault too. I really didn’t mean to follow you just because I was resentful or anything. I was just… curious. The winds from Guyun weren’t sour all the time. In fact, it has been fairly sweet, their song a light hopeful one that would have had wild glaze lilies blooming in droves.”

“Although…” Venti looked away from a stunned looking Zhongli and faced Ajax, giving him a once over whilst donning an incredulous expression. “You’re a harbinger .”

Wow. First he disturbed their little outing, and now he’s judging him? Ajax was feeling a little bit jumpy now, his hydro vision pulsing. “ Haha, am I really that obvious?”

“Whew, another bloodthirsty one! But you haven’t kicked me in the guts for calling you out, which is a huge plus in my books! The one prowling about in Mondstadt would have vaporised me if I breathed funny.” Venti looked back at Zhongli, a Cheshire-like grin on his face. “I didn’t know you were into that.”

“I will smite you where you stand, mark my words.”

Ajax shared the same sentiments, narrowing his eyes at the bard as he walked over and stood steadfast next to Zhongli. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

“Oh you're definitely crazy." Venti whistled low, his tone… impressed ? "You’re definitely powerful, as expected of a harbinger. But you also seem kinda stupid.” 

Venti nodded to himself with a serious expression, giving his diagnosis so solemnly to the point it was comical, Ajax feeling more confused than offended. 

“But it means you’re a perfect match for our resident blockhead! Your old friend approves-- eek !”

Zhongli was obviously much more offended on his behalf, his scales now out in full force, and this time there was a geo construct that rose from the ground with such velocity it punted Venti right out of the alleyway, until he was naught but a green speck in the sky. Venti also seemed to have subsequently summoned winds to propel him in a direction North of Liyue, the speck soon too small to follow.

"Hey." Ajax freed his hands from the bags to pat Zhongli on the shoulder, the latter's scales slowly disappearing with a grumble. "You okay?"

"I should be directing that question to you." Zhongli huffed, eyes burning as he searched Ajax's face for something unknownst to Ajax. "You're not stupid. You're--"

"Hey, don't sweat it. I don't care much about other people's opinions unless it's people I care about. If you think I'm not stupid, then I must be smart as hell, fuck what anyone else says." Plus, Ajax didn't think he meant it in a bad way? There was something about Venti's tone that made him think it was meant to be a compliment, as weird as it sounded. "Regardless, you got rid of him, and so we can get right back to our food hunting! I'm smelling something really good from that store with the blue-green banner over there-- let's go check it out!"

And then Ajax shakily picked up all eleven bags with one hand in order to free up the other. The hand with the bags immediately protested with the beginnings of a cramp, but it was manageable.

The free hand tapped at Zhongli's gloved one, a silent invitation approved as Zhongli's fingers naturally intertwined with his.

And just like that, Ajax could physically feel the mood lighten, Zhongli looking at him with the most bemused expression, tutting as he went to share the load by grabbing half of the bags from Ajax.

"You’re right. Let us continue with our ventures, but it is best to rest your arm lest it becomes injured."

"But hey, if I get injured it means you can feed more breakfast in bed yeah?" Ajax laughed, watching as Zhongli shook his head huffing with a smile.

"Silly boy. You don't need to be injured for me to dote on you."

---

—

"This machinery from... Fontaine you say? A steam powered locomotive… one is most curious to see if firing crystal chunks could produce better results. Most interesting. I shall begin experimenting once I return. Ganyu, would you like one to produce this for your own personal use?"

"W-Wh-- I don't-- thank you so much for the consideration but uh-- I don't have much need for a... train?"

"Ganyu! One has procured these Qingxin cookies for you from the merchant Madame Ping recommended. They are surprisingly authentic and would pair well with Oolong tea."

"Moon-- I mean, Uncle Mu, I sincerely appreciate your gifts, but you really don't need to buy more for me--

"Nonsense! You work so tirelessly for the Qixing, and one needs to ensure that your health does not deteriorate. Have you been drinking enough spring water? Perhaps I shall also brew a batch of violet grass and mist flower soup for you to bring to work."

"A-Ah, thank you but I think-- wait, where's Mount-- Ming. Where's Uncle Ming?"

"The crowds were too distasteful for him, especially with how mortal children kept pulling on his clothes. He is most likely still on the roof of that tea shop with our purchases. Ignore him. Instead, look at this dudou! It looks like the one you wore when you were much younger! Ah, you used to dirty it with mud all the time--"

"Cloud-- Auntie Xi! I'm t-three thousand!"

"And so you are. One wonders if you've amassed any paramours? Suitors? Why, when one was at your age--"

"I-I'm way too busy with work! B-Besides, weren't you all meant to be assessing our Lord's own suitor?"

"Ah yes. The candidate. One has already deemed him to have… potential. Rich and powerful, though tenacious and bloodthirsty. Most importantly, he somehow manages to be a complete fool when it comes to the matters of our lord. And so, one supposes he can be moulded into a more suitable candidate. In fact, one suspects our lord finds him much more amusing in this unpolished state."

—

—

“I can’t believe you have some magical interdimensional genie lamp–”

“Teapot.”

“--teapot thing, and you had us hold those purchases for a good long while!”

“It would be too conspicuous if we were to utilise it amongst the common folk, wouldn’t you agree?” Ajax watched as Zhongli cradled a very sleek looking clay teapot, one that supposedly had all their eleven bags of purchases stored. They stood at the threshold of the Huaguang tea house, the geo slimes guarding the entrance sleepily shuffling apart to allow access into the abode once more. 

“True.” A yawn escaped him. It was great that he could now just utilise the teleport nearby to return to Liyue Harbour. Walking back to the harbour at this hour sounded terrible. “Oh man, I should really get going before I end up crashing at your place again.”

“I wouldn’t be against such an arrangement if you so choose to do so. Huaguang tea house will always welcome you.” Zhongli’s eyes brightened, soft and inviting. Even under the dim light of the waxing moon, he still shone– poised and regal, all dark, tall and handsome. Somehow, as refined as he was, he wasn’t stifling and pompous like the court nobles back home. Instead, there was comfort, and he could not seem to understand why.

Ajax had barely let go of Zhongli’s hand, and it was already missing its warmth, his fingers now unconsciously flexing every now and then. 

Like a moth to a flame.

Dangerous . Oh so very dangerous.

“Is that a proposition? Me moving in before a proper proposal?” He very explicitly inserted a teasing lilt to his words, but perhaps a lot more of Ajax’s inner desires unexpectedly leaked out, because Zhongli responded with wide shocked eyes, his cheeks flushed, mouth agape.

If Rex Lapis saw him now, a meteor was probably going to come for him faster than he could say “Tsaritsa help me”. Flirting with his adepti was beyond blasphemous .

“HahawhatamIsayingImustbetired!” It came out more like wheezing nonsense than actual words. “Ireallyshouldgogoodnight!”

“W-Wait! Childe!” Stuttering? Zhongli wasn’t the type to stutter. Oh he was so screwed . “You– you forgot your–"

“OhyeahsorryumgoodnightZhonglitodaywasgreat!”

Unfortunately, his brain was on autopilot. And so, he went up to Zhongli, took his face in his hands–

– and kissed him on both cheeks, like he so often did when he was saying goodbye to his family back home.

Forget a meteor, Rex Lapis was going to command the ground to swallow him up for all of eternity.

“Oh fuck – I mean, shit–” Ajax immediately released Zhongli as if his hands were on fire, but it could not even compare to the absolute burning sensation that his lips were feeling right now. “ I mean– ”

But the burning sensation came back almost doubly, tripling even, when Zhongli had returned with a kiss on the lips. It wasn’t even a small peck– no, this one was the whole package, one hand caressing his cheek, the other whisking the teapot away with some sort of weird adepti magic before it was used to tilt Ajax’s chin, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

For a hermit living in the mountains, Zhongli was a really really good kisser. Ajax had even embarrassingly let a little moan escape when the adeptus nibbled at his bottom lip, followed by a surprisingly adorable chuckle against his lips before Zhongli went at it again– languid and slow, like a beast savouring his meal. 

Ajax didn’t know what to think– if any thinking was even done at all.

“My darling Childe, please do not apologise.” When they finally parted, Ajax found Zhongli glowing gold– ethereal and otherworldly. But it could have very well been a trick of the light, confounded by the fact that his head was very much spinning. Not to mention that the low sultry baritone made Ajax want to simultaneously soar and wither. “You are absolutely right. A fair exchange requires both parties to contribute. I fear I have not been as forthcoming with my own contributions, and thus I shall seek to balance the scales from my end posthaste.”

Ajax just stood there, dumbfounded. Whether it was from the kiss or the funny words Zhongli was spouting, he didn’t know.

“I shall think of deserving gifts for you. As you have done for me.” The funny handsome man was saying more funny little things. “I will need time to prepare. I hope you will be willing to wait for me until then?”

“Sure? Sure.” 

“Excellent.” And another damned kiss to his forehead, Ajax another step closer to completely combusting on the spot. “Good night baobei.”

And by the time Ajax finally came to some semblance of rationality, Zhongli had long disappeared into the tea house, the geo slimes firmly back in place to seal the entrance, leaving Ajax alone to contemplate life and the universe.

Did two kisses on the cheek equate to a kiss on the lips and one on the forehead? What the fuck? Liyue customs with their debt and contracts and whatnot– absolutely complex to the nines and mind boggling as hell. Ajax thought Liyue people were mostly prudish with all their traditions and stuff, but obviously their adepti weren’t like that. They were frisky as hell! Holy shit! What the absolute fuck!

That was a really fucking good kiss though – no. No. Bad Ajax. No playing hooky with a foriegn ancient guardian deity of another nation… but was it really that bad though? The Tsaritsa told him to build good foriegn relations with the land of contracts, and this technically was a relation, albeit… unconventional. But perhaps, well, if he could play his cards right–

—

—

It was only after he somehow managed to dazedly stumble back to his rented luxury apartment that Ajax realised the gifts he picked out for his family was still in Zhongli’s teapot.

—

---

"Gongming! What is the matter?"

"The golden house! The mora-- oh great Rex Lapis help us all--"

"Has there been a theft? Should I sound the alarm?"

"N-No no I-- I must report to the Qixing I-- oh we need new renovations, but the Feiyun commerce guild has bought up all the supplies for some sort of private event and– oh no oh dear--"

"Gongming?"

"There was a burst of light and-- the mora! It's doubled! Tripled! Out of nowhere! The floor is about to collapse from the weight and I can't even-- I have to report to the Qixing at once!"

—

—

“Your Imperial Majesty. Zapolyarny Palace has just received a missive from the Emperor of Liyue. It was marked with utmost importance and for your eyes only.”

“Oh?”

—

Chapter Text

Ajax was still reeling over the kiss even a few days later, his mind trying to figure out the best way to go about this so that everybody wins.

The disadvantages of dating a foriegn guardian deity of another land? Well, the Tsaritsa could viciously hunt him and Zhongli down for treason and disrespect respectively-- she was known to be possessive over her own subjects after all. If he ended up slighting her, it might even spell trouble for his family as well.

Oh man, he could even end up pissing off Zhongli's own archon , and as much as he'd like to fight the almighty Rex Lapis, he definitely did not want it at the cost of a war between Liyue and Snezhnaya.

On the flip side though, if both their archons approved of this… thing between them, it could prove fun and useful. Maybe he should just write a letter to the Tsaritsa--

"Sir Tartaglia!"

"What is it Andrei?" Can't you see I'm having a crisis? Of course Ajax couldn't say that, not unless he wanted to go back to being the unapproachable boss figure he was initially shovelled into. He barely managed to get them to talk to him without flinching every time he twitched.

But now the bank manager looked like he was about to spontaneously grow white hairs with how anxious he looked, fidgeting with a frost-tainted silver envelope in his heavily gloved hands as he entered his office, wisps of cold mists encircling menacingly around its embossed mask of Tartaglia.

Well fuck . Ajax winced. Haven't even started writing my own yet .

"Thanks a lot Andrei. You can go." The man didn't need to be told twice, scurrying out of Ajax's office right once Ajax carefully plucked it out of the man's shaking hands. The frost immediately intensified in his hands before it recognised the letter's intended recipient, which then led to the frost melting away almost instantly. 

"Glory to Snezhnaya. Glory to her Illustrious Majesty." Two hands reverently unsealed the envelope, a pristine white letter with the Tsaritsa's seal falling alongside a smaller card with Pantalone's own seal. "Your humble servant Tartaglia receives his role to play."

And with much trepidation, he read the letter from the Tsaritsa.

"My dearest Tartaglia,

Morax has recently written to oneself about your recent advances, and noted his approval of said advances. He now requests that one shares one's thoughts on the matter, seeking your archon's blessings.

Oh how your wonderful brand of chaos never ceases to bring amusement to oneself.

Encased in this letter is an official document from Pantalone granting you unlimited access to the international Snezhnayan coffers, on top of your current unlimited access to Northland Bank reserves. Use it at your discretion. Let it be known that while Liyue may house Teyvat's only mora mint, their mora circulates and thrives in Snezhnayan hands.

Additionally, despite my great respect for Morax, one is astounded at your choice, wooing the most fastidious, fussiest creature in all of Teyvat. Then again, he is also highly dangerous, and your inclinations towards the perilous are widely known. 

Whatever the case, know that your Tsaritsa grants you permission to further such developments.

But do not hesitate to wreak havoc if they dare disrespect one of the Tsaritsa's beloved harbingers. Eternal winter will come, presiding over all, unyielding mountains included.

Glory to the Motherland.

The Tsaritsa, Grand Empress of Snezhnaya."

Oh wow. His Tsaritsa had never spoken more than a few words at a time, consisting mostly of "yes" and "no", with the longest Ajax ever heard was "One does not care. Leave."

Seeing her write such a long letter was extremely jarring, much to say the least.

It was incredibly embarrassing to have both archons know about this weird dance between him and Zhongli, but hey! At least he wasn't going to be frozen or bludgeoned to bits! This was definitely a win in his book, albeit a strange confusing one.

He also couldn't believe Zhongli was comfortable enough with his archon to inform him about their outings, even going as far to have the archon write to the Tsaritsa.

But on the other hand, embarrassment and disbelief aside, he basically just got the green light from their archons to fuck around and find out.

And fuck around I shall ! He grinned, thinking about how the personalised golden card issued by that stingy harbinger Pantalone must have had him coughing up blood out of sheer anger. 

This time his gift has got to be good, something that would really knock his socks off, something that could further developments , as per his Majesty's wishes. 

---

"What do you mean silk flowers are five thousand mora a piece? That's daylight robbery!"

"It's the same everywhere else ma'am." The florist at the counter had his arms folded, standing his ground against the annoyed customer just two shelves away from where Ajax was browsing a variety of glaze lilies for Zhongli. "Short supply and high demand. Plus, it's common knowledge that the Feiyun commerce guild is currently buying at six thousand mora for high quality silk flowers like mine-- so technically you're getting a bargain. If you're willing to wait until next month when the Feiyun price offer expires, you should be able to get the original price."

"But--" The customer clearly was about to go on a rant, maybe a rampage even, if not for the little girl gently tugging at her skirt, eyes watery as she shook her head.

"Granny, it's okay. Mama wouldn't want you yelling just to get the silk flowers, she likes sweet flowers just as much."

"To think I couldn't give her what she wanted even in death." The old lady sighed heavily, her gaze sharing a sad look with her granddaughter, a wrinkled hand patting the girl's head. "You're right my dear, let's go pick some sweet flowers and make a lovely crown for your mama's birthday. I'll get her silk flowers on tomb sweeping day."

"Hey." Ajax turned to where the pair was, his hand already at the mora pouch in his jacket. Now, he wasn't a bleeding heart or anything, but the price of a small bouquet of silk flowers was really no skin off his back. "I can pay for--"

"Please, a bouquet for the lady here. On me."

A young gentleman in expensive navy silk had appeared beside the grandmother and granddaughter pair just before Ajax could reach them. Obviously he was some sort of nobility, if the stunned reactions from the florist and the way the rest of the employees stopped to gawk was any indication.

More interestingly to Ajax, the man had a gleaming hydro vision attached to a chain at his hip.

Oh wait. Ajax mused, scrutinising the stranger. Is this the Xingqiu that's Xiangling's friend? The geeky one? Really? The man looked like a prince that had just jumped out of one of those martial art novels, very unlike the nerdy descriptions Xiangling had provided.

"That's the Feiyun commerce guild's second son!"

"The Guhua martial arts prodigy right? Oh he's grown up very well."

"You guys speak of him like he was some rare beautiful creature, as if you couldn't find him in the same corner of Wanwen book house every other day with the same poor lad who's always carrying his pile of books--"

"Master Xingqiu!" The florist finally broke out of his stupor and bowed to the newcomer, hastily wrapping the presented bouquet in a very expensive looking ribbon to Xingqiu. "It's an honour to have you in our humble store. Please, have a gander."

"Thank you for your kind services. But it'll just be this bouquet for now." The gentleman bowed back, before presenting the beautiful bouquet to the grandmother. "My apologies for the inconvenience, and my sincere condolences about your daughter--"

"We don't need your pity!" The lady shrieked, looking more infuriated than thankful, slapping the bouquet out of the man's hands with a loud thwack, earning several astonished gasps from onlookers. "Come on dear, let's go!"

"Granny! Mama's flowers!"

"Forget it! We're leaving this awful place!"

Surprisingly, the Feiyun guy didn't seem fazed by the outburst. In fact, before the grandmother stomped off with her granddaughter in tow, he had managed to sneakily hand the little girl some of the undamaged silk flowers from the bouquet, the latter tearfully giving him a confused stare as she was dragged off.

An awkward few seconds passed after the whirlwind that had occurred, the tension then finally broken by the florist, who nervously went up to Xingqiu with a fresh bouquet of silk flowers. 

"My sincerest apologies for the disruption, Master Xingqiu. Please, have these fresh ones as a token of said apology."

"You are very kind, but your goods should be paid for what it's worth." Xingqiu picked up the damaged bouquet, and then directed his attention to one of his hovering retainers. "Xu, would you please pay the man for nine more bouquets of silk flowers? Donate five to Wangsheng funeral parlour, and two each to the two smaller funeral parlour branches found in Qingce village."

"Yes Master Xingqiu."

And after that, things began to settle, the nosy employees and customers quietly going back to their own thing after the commotion had passed. Or maybe it was because more of the young master's bodyguards entered the shop, the guards presumably more on edge after there was an assault against the young master, albeit it being a small slap on the hand from an old lady--

"Did you need any help sir?"

"Ah! Yes!" Ajax redirected his attention back to the very important task at hand. Upon the employee's prompting, he pointed at a bunch of premium glaze lillies cultivated within a magical glass dome, its subtle hum of dendro power low in his ears. "Can I have maybe, uh-- seven, no, ten of those glaze lilies in a bouquet please?"

The employee didn't seem to hear his response, so he repeated himself, to which he then realised the employee actually heard him the first time, and was in shock before returning to reality with a stutter.

"A-Are you sure you want them in a bouquet?"

"Yes?" Ajax blinked owlishly back at her. "Or do they usually come in something better?"

"N-No it's-- well, we usually sell them in singles because of how expensive they are. If you buy the whole bunch, that'd be five hundred thousand mora."

"Hmm. Would you be willing to take three hundred thousand as a deposit and bill the rest to Northland bank? There's only so much mora I can carry in cash."

"Oh. Oh! You're--" Something dawned in that employee's eyes before she then nodded with a worrying amount of fervour. "I'll grab the special bouquet paper for your purchase right now sir! Please wait!"

"Thanks!" Ajax couldn't wait to see the look on Zhongli's face when he brought him those glaze lilies-- he mentioned that he liked the ones that had a pale silver sheen, similar to the ones imprinted on the robe he donned whenever he stayed overnight at Huaguang teahouse. The ones in the glass dome had a hint of that silver, and hopefully when they bloomed at night the colour would be more obvious.

Unfortunately, with the employee's loud excited exclamations as she ran to the back, the gossiping started anew, this time with him as the subject.

"It's the young master from the foriegn bank! The one who basically funded Old man Gui's retirement fund after buying out his entire shop! I wonder where's the other one."

"Strange how he's still buying gifts even now. The other guy must either be super rich or super fussy."

"Who do you think is more hard to impress, the Feiyun Patriarch, the Yunhai Matriarch, or the fifteen teacakes guy--"

"Pay them no mind Sir Tartaglia. Gossip has been a pastime to us Liyuens since time immemorial."

Ajax looked to his side to find Xingqiu giving him a small nod, the bouquet of silk flowers from before most likely handed off to another Feiyun assistant. 

"If you feel bad for the fifteen teacakes thing, don't worry about it. The guy himself actually finds it funny, believe it or not."

"Ah, it seems you have fully integrated into Liyuen society." Xingqiu smiled sheepishly, obviously caught red handed. "If one may, was it Xiangling or Hutao?"

"Neither. The Northland bank has its ways." Ajax responded with the grace of a seasoned liar.

"Of course. And the Feiyun commerce guild hopes to maintain a good relationship with those at the esteemed Northland bank." The same professional but stilted tone was almost identical to his brother Xinghe, and if it weren't for the longer braided hair and hydro vision, he would have thought he was the Feiyun commerce heir. Funny how he had never made the connection between Xiangling's nerd friend and the son of the Feiyun commerce guild. 

"Sir! Your bouquet of Glaze lilies!"

"I should get going." Ajax gave a small nod, his eyes glancing at the lovely bouquet of his flowers just waiting to be placed into the hands of an equally lovely teahouse owner. "Hopefully whatever secret event the Feiyun Commerce Guild is planning works out well."

"Thank you for your well wishes Sir Tartaglia." The young master bowed one last time, whilst his retainer outside was already advising his departure for the third time. "One hopes so too."

---

---

"Where is Ah' qiu and what's his name? If the boy's not here within the next hour I'm calling the whole thing off!"

"Master Xingqiu is popping by the florists and pharmacies to see if he can find more rare mountainous herbs for the Yunhai clan. I'm not too sure about Master Chong--"

"See, Ah' qiu is so busy buying things for the Yunhai clan but their Chongqin boy is nowhere to be seen! How could we let our precious Ah' qiu marry this-- this old money snob-- this half-baked exorcist-- this airheaded fool--"

"His name is Chongyun, grandpa. Apparently he trained with the Conqueror of Demons, so I don't know about half-baked--"

"Ah' he. Watch your tone."

"I'm just saying! I'm providing relevant information!"

"Look, father, the truth of the matter is that he comes from a very good family and is a very lovely boy. We've known his parents for years! They're all lovely people-- Chongyun will definitely be good for Ah' qiu. He and his family even sent the betrothal gifts ahead of time! There's even Watatsumi eel from Inazuma, amongst other premium seafood--"

"I don't care if he's from an ancient bloodline! Neither do I care about their bribes! Good blood doesn't mean good character-- the boy probably thinks he's entitled to Xingqiu's hand just because he's the heir. Pah! Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Father!"

"Listen boy. Our family cherishes hard work and brains, not nepotism. Your mother and I were dirt poor, but we managed to build this guild with our blood, sweat and tears, and within two generations, Feiyun has risen above all else! I would be doing your mother's memory a disservice if I let some young master saunter into my home just because it takes two hours to recite the names of all his ancestors. If he wants to be part of this family, he has to earn his place like everyone else!"

---

---

A stranger with a claymore and cryo vision was loitering in front of Huaguang tea house.

Cautiously hiding behind some overhanging mountain shrubbery, Ajax observed how the fair-haired man was pacing nervously, one hand holding an expensive looking basket with its contents hidden by a silk cloth with intricate Liyuen patterns.

A worshipper? Pilgrim? Wish-seeker perhaps? Zhongli had mentioned in passing that there were those who were daring enough to trespass adepti territory in hopes of having their wishes fulfilled.

Best to send them off their way then . Ajax sighed, doing a good few stretches in case the stranger decided to get jumpy with him. The bouquet of Glaze lilies was also hidden pretty well in one of the crevices in the rockface-- just in case.

The stranger was obviously a seasoned warrior, because he had noticed his presence just as he stepped out of his hiding spot, a sacrificial greatsword placed in a defensive position with just one hand.

"Who goes there?"

"Just a friendly passer-by!" Ajax chirped. "There's no adeptus to grant your wishes here, so you best be on your way back."

"How do you-- wait." It was the stranger's turn to scrutinise him, eyes narrowed. "Your uniform-- the Northland bank? Why would a Snezhnayan be walking around Liyue's sacred grounds?"

"Now that's just rude. Can't foriegn tourists also find an adeptus to grant their wishes--"

"Childe?" Zhongli appeared right beside the stranger out of nowhere, causing the latter to yelp in surprise, jumping away with his back into the rockface. The adeptus glanced briefly at the guy, letting out a pleased hum at the sight of his basket. "More gifts already? I haven't even caught up yet."

"Oh no I have no idea who this guy is, but I do have a gift for you! You didn't say I couldn't keep giving you gifts so--" The flower bouquet was then whisked away from its hiding spot to be presented with a dramatic flourish, the glaze lilies starting to peek shyly at its recipient. "Here you go! Hope you like it!"

"Oh. They're wonderful ." Zhongli gasped softly as he gingerly received his gift, gloved hands brushing tenderly at the delicate petals. "Though these are obviously artificially cultivated, the quality of these Glaze lilies are impeccable-- it's silvery hue is almost comparable to--"

"The rare moon drop variant from three thousand years ago? I thought so too!" Ajax beamed, giddy with joy. The gift turned out to be a success! "You said they were your favourite, so I got them for you."

"You were listening?" Zhongli looked at him with awe, a brightness to his eyes that looked oh so lovely in the afternoon light. "I-- well. I'm very flattered. These must have been quite dear."

"Nah, don't sweat it, as long as you like it--"

"... it's mister fifteen tea cakes. An adeptus . It all makes sense now."

Oh yeah. Dang. He forgot about the claymore guy.

"And who might you be?" Zhongli's question truly was inquisitive in nature, but there was definitely an undercurrent of danger, a low rumble of a powerful beast.

Anyone could tell that the wrong answer would result in catastrophe.

Impressingly enough, the man didn't falter, instead bowing low towards Zhongli with obvious reverence. "One's name is Chongyun, heir to the Yunhai exorcist clan. One humbly requests an audience with the esteemed adeptus Cloud Retainer, and wishes to extend an invitation to one's wedding as heartfelt thanks for helping raise one's auntie-- she goes by the name of Shenhe."

"Ah, so you are Xiao's disciple. The boy with the yang constitution. I hear you have great potential, young Chongyun."

"One was blessed to have temporarily received tutelage from the Conqueror of Demons, but one dare not claim that title without his explicit permission." Chongyun seemed to bow deeper at Zhongli's recognition. "But this one is thankful for your praise, oh honourable adeptus."

"At ease, young Chongyun. I am no adeptus, but a friend of the adepti. Something like your auntie Shenhe." Golden eyes followed Chongyun as he rose to full height, expression contemplative. "But alas, this is Huaguang teahouse, whereas Cloud Retainer dwells in Mount Aocang, Northwards of here. She is, ironically enough, currently occupied with entertaining your auntie and another disciple of hers-- Ganyu of the Liyue Qixing, perhaps you have heard of her?"

"Liyue Harbour is indebted to Lady Ganyu for all the sacrifices she has made for the sake of Liyue. One is knowing and grateful of her continued presence in the Liyue Qixing."

"Respectful, with good knowledge of the mannerisms of old. Cloud Retainer may just like you enough to take you in as her own disciple." A mirthful hum, then a click of a tongue. "Follow me, young Chongyun, I shall present you a shortcut to her abode."

"Many thanks, Master Zhongli."

"And you too Childe." Ajax watched as Zhongli gestured for him to follow, Chongyun already inside the teahouse. "I can't have you catching another cold outside my own home."

"You'll nurse me back to health anyway." He grinned, but stepped inside just as Zhongli instructed. The subsequent hand holding, however, is something that he did on his own. "Hey, about the other day--"

"Later. There is a guest present." Zhongli scoffed lightly, but made no move to release his grip, the other hand still clutching the bouquet, a small smile on his lips.

---

---

Zhongli's house was definitely not your everyday house.

After swiftly placing the bouquet in a nearby antique vase, he had guided Chongyun and Ajax towards a long hallway filled with doors, only to stop at one that had an intricate pattern of clouds and cranes, the etching glowing gold at Zhongli's touch.

"Cloud Retainer, one politely requests to seek an audience with you."

A soft blue glow emitted from the door in reply, a disembodied female voice responding. "Excellent timing my--"

"I also have mortal guests."

"--my... friend . It bodes well anyhow. One is most keen to seek an opinion on a new contraption, and perhaps mortal minds may provide valuable insight. One may enter."

"Kind regards, old friend." The door then glowed green, before it slowly swung open to reveal a cloud filled space with soft golden light, where the open air of Huaguang really should have been.

There was also, strangely enough, a large conveyor belt loop slash carriage looking contraption, a large azure crane in one of said carriages going around in circles. Ajax soon spotted the Liyue Qixing's secretary and another unfamiliar figure riding in similar compartments behind the crane, the former had her face hidden in her hands while the latter looked blankly towards the front.

"Master Zhongli and guests." The crane's otherworldly voice boomed from her ever moving position. "Welcome to one's abode. As you can see, one is undertaking an experiment with regards to modifying the locomotive the Fontainians call 'train'. Instead of steam power, one has utilised plaustrite-- the azurite variant for floatation and the vermillionite variant to propel the main body, reducing friction and increasing velocity potential exponentially."

" Fascinating . And how is its stability?"

"The prototype, unfortunately, does not do well with sharp turns. One is still in the process of working out how this may fare in Liyue's mountainous regions where a straight path may not be feasible..."

But the contraption moved the crane a bit too far away for Ajax's mortal ears to catch the end of her ramblings, whereas Zhongli's inhuman adepti ears clearly still heard the crane's words, purely based on his continuous commenting.

"... auntie Shenhe?"

"Chongyun." The moment the other fair haired stranger noticed Chongyun, she swiftly hopped out from her moving carriage and landed in front of the boy, giving him a casual once over. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to invite your master to the wedding, to show my appreciation and--"

"She is highly unlikely to accept the role of the fortune teller.'' Ajax watched as her hand gestured at the crane in question, the adeptus still rambling away with Zhongli as a captive audience. "Petty human conflicts do not interest her. And as you can see, she is working on a new project."

"I know, I know. Granny says a lot of things that don't sound feasible." The man beside Ajax sighed, his hands gripping the gift basket tight. "But I really do hope she does come to enjoy the banquet at the very least. I've personally sent an invitation to the Conqueror of Demons too, and it would seem disrespectful if I didn't send one to the adeptus our clan is indebted to."

"Hmm." Shenhe paused, her blank stare giving Ajax the creeps. "Wait here."

"Auntie?"

"Master." Shenhe called, and instantly the floating carriages came to a screeching halt, poor Ganyu squeaking in surprise as she tumbled forwards from the force. The crane turned to look at them, then to Ganyu, who was now slowly fumbling and stumbling out of the carriage to join them on the sweet unmoving ground.

"Ah, perhaps a safety feature would not go amiss. Thank you for your participation, dear Ganyu. One is most appreciative." Ganyu let out a soft wheeze in response, slowly righting herself, and had even managed a little bow after all that.

"I, uh, will be going back to my room to rest up, if that's okay. It was nice to meet you all. I'm so sorry I couldn't stay."

"Rest up, little Ganyu." Zhongli nodded in agreement. "One remembers the time how you loved rolling down the hills of Feiyun Slope as a young child, trying to grab sweet flowers upon your countless descents. You were so dizzy after every single time."

"Our dear Ganyu would always take a long nap afterwards too, and yet she somehow always persisted the next day! One remembers having to placate her with a bowl of qingxin snacks whenever she bruised herself from these ventures. Oh, do you also remember--"

"ThankyougoodbyeI'mgoingtonapnow--" Ajax barely made out what Ganyu said before she scurried off into a direction where a large house sat, the half-adeptus soon a small blue speck in the distance.

"Perhaps Ganyu's escapades shall be regaled another day." The crane adeptus sighed at Ganyu's antics, but recovered quickly to her usual tone. "Now, what is the matter, Shenhe?

"My distant nephew, Chongyun, wishes to extend an invitation."

"Oh? The boy with the congenital positivity?"

"The very same. His name is Chongyun."

At the call of his name, Chongyun stepped forward with confidence, then bowed low, one hand over his heart. Cloud retainer only looked at him with narrowed eyes, casually judging the man.

"One's name is indeed Chongyun, current heir to the Yunhai exorcist clan. One deeply expresses their gratitude towards your raising of one's relative, Auntie Shenhe, and would thus extend an invitation to one's wedding as a guest of honour."

"The current head of the clan wants you to act as fortune teller as well, Master." Shenhe added, to which Chongyun flinched, eyes squeezed closed as if waiting for a blow. "But Chongyun is a good man, so he didn't push it."

"Tactful, for if you had insisted, one would have immediately refused with a distasteful impression. Alas, one shall have to politely decline instead, for there are experiments to be monitored."

"Understood, oh venerable one." Chongyun somehow managed to bow even lower, two hands now laying the gift basket in front of Cloud Retainer. "One still wishes to provide thou with a gift as gratitude. One hope thou finds them favourable."

"I helped picked out the snacks." Shenhe helpfully added once more. "It's got lotus crackers."

Beady eyes now shining with a little more lustre, the crane adeptus replied with a thoughtful hum. "One shall accept these gifts. Much obliged."

"One is honoured, oh esteemed adeptus."

"Although, one must say," Cloud Retainer looked to Shenhe, who stared back with an equally blank look. "You do not seem excited by this marriage, despite its importance for one of your favourite relatives." She then looked to Chongyun. "Son of Yunhai, was your marriage arranged against your will?"

"Uh no? I mean it was but then it changed, I--" Ajax had to reel in his laughter at the dumbfounded look Chongyun had, the man then quickly recovering from the shock before responding with a bit more confidence. "Apologies for the transgression. One would like to reassure that one's marriage was that borne of love-- one is to be wed to a dear childhood friend." 

"A menace." A scoff came from Shenhe's direction, Ajax finding her now with hands on hips. "Cunning and manipulative. Extremely mean spirited."

"No? I mean-- cunning maybe, but in a good way!" Oh the second hand embarrassment was almost painful, especially with the way Chongyun went bright red as he started to flail about, metaphorical steam pouring out of his ears. It was so unlike the calm and collected demeanour he initially had during their first encounter. Cloud Retainer almost looked amused at the situation. And Zhongli? Well, Zhongli was definitely entertained, looking like a fat cat watching a struggling mouse.

"He's not mean-spirited, at least not all the time-- he's definitely not mean to me! Well, not any more--"

Ajax gave a low whistle. This guy was way too honest for his own good-- if his fiance was anything like Shenhe said, he was definitely going to be taken advantage of.

"-- and sure! He has his faults, but I have mine! I could not fathom a life without him by my side."

"Oh that sounds very familiar, doesn't it, Master Zhongli?" The adeptus gave a low chuckle, while Zhongli tilted his head, his expression a mixture of confusion and something else Ajax could not make out.

"I am unsure of the meaning behind your insinuations, Cloud Retainer."

"Hmm. One perhaps would like to undertake a… new experiment . " The crane adeptus bristled her feathers, and Ajax wasn't sure if it was a glint of excitement or dangerous intent in her eye. "Now, young Chongyun, with one's declined invitation, the position of a fortune teller is still vacant, is it not? What are your plans regarding this missing role?"

Still red faced, Chongyun was wringing his wrists now, nervous. "One's distant uncle would fill in the role of fortune teller for one's family--"

"He's a quack. Your grandmother knows it too." Phew . Ajax could just imagine the family dinners with this one. That woman just kept dropping hard truths after hard truths! "The whole fortune teller thing was insisted on by the other family anyway-- you don't have to fulfill all their requests."

"His grandfather already has it out for me! I don't want to add one more reason for him to call off the wedding." Chongyun's plea almost sounded like a whine, the underlying desperation clear. "I know you don't like him Auntie, but he really does make me happy."

"I know, that's why I am relenting… reluctantly ." The last few words were mumbled under her breath, but Ajax managed to catch it. "Master, you wish to recommend someone for the position of fortune teller?"

"Indeed, dear Shenhe. In fact, there is none who could surpass his knowledge on tradition and fortune telling."

"Hmm. Rex Lapis?"

"I-I!" Poor Chongyun looked like his Auntie's suggestion had frightened the wits out of him, his red face draining so quickly to a sickly pale shade.

"Master Zhongli ." Cloud Retainer addressed Zhongli once more, the latter donning a questioning expression at the crane's meaningful look. "One humbly suggests that you perhaps take on the role of the fortune teller for this young lad, both as charity and for some… inspiration ."

"Inspiration?"

"From a Liyuen wedding ."

"Hmmm." There was a long pause, Zhongli deep in thought, and only after a painstaking long silence did he respond with contemplative nodding. "You make quite a compelling case. I would be happy to take on the title of fortune teller, only if young Chongyun is amenable to it, of course.

"O-Oh!" The young man bowed low once more, holding an open palm to a fist as a sign of respect and gratitude. "The Yunhai clan would be honoured by your presence, esteemed master!"

"Although… I do have one small request–"

---

---

"To Sir Tartaglia of the Northland Bank.

The Yunhai Exorcist Clan and The Feiyun Commerce Guild would like you to join them in celebrating the joyous union between the Yunhai's heir, Chongyun, and Feiyun's second son, Xingqiu, to be held on the evening of xxx at the Jade Chamber.

Please RVSP by xxx and…

… Dearest Childe,

The noted reception above is but the last part of the wedding proceedings. Please instead arrive three days earlier in front of the main gates of the Feiyun family home at dawn. I am to oversee that traditions are properly fulfilled during the whole procession, and have already noted to the Yunhai clan that you are to accompany me as my escort. 

Additionally, please see the attached package. I have been advised that both Yunhai and Feiyun are fairly superstitious, and so, to avoid breaking any wedding taboos, I have organised your outfit on the day.

Once again, thank you for the flowers. They are a sight to behold, and yet every time they bloom I can only think of how they pale in comparison to your iris' ocean hues. It is intriguing how affection and sentiment could provide such skewed values of worth.

Truth be told, your impeccable gift giving will be difficult to match, but I shall endeavour to provide an equivalent exchange. 

Sincerely yours, 

Zhongli"

—

—

Chongyun and Xingqiu.

Xiangling's Chongyun and Xingqiu. The "cryo dork" and "hydro nerd". Yunhai Exorcist Clan and Feiyun Commerce Guild. Everything was starting to come together!

Now Ajax was absolutely certain everyone in Liyue knew each other.

—

---

"Awful. Absolutely awful."

"Mother. We spoke about this. Come now, we have to make our way into Liyue harbour to meet with Xingqiu's family. I've known his parents for a long time– they're good people."

"Hmph. You're too trusting, dear child. I, on the other hand, think that Feiyun boy is a snake."

"Mother!"

"No family becomes that rich that quickly without stepping on others. Our family was founded upon virtue, and to let a snake slither amongst our ranks is to bring shame to our ancestors. I still think my grandson was manipulated into marrying his bully."

"He was a lonely child looking for affection in the wrong way. But, to my knowledge, Xingqiu has been doing a lot to make up for it! The boy is good for Yunyun. I'm confident that our ancestors would be overjoyed to have such a blessing join the Yunhai clan. Have an open mind mother."

"Bah! An open mind is what got your cousin married to that horrible man."

"Wh-- mother! Xingqiu is nothing like Shenhe's father!"

"See, even you can't speak his name! Hmph, no amount of money can make up for bad character."

"Do you not trust your grandson's judgement? After all those years of training? Did you not name him the heir to the Yunhai exorcist clan?"

"...I'll do it for my grandson, but if any one of those snakes tries to bite my family, don't expect me to play nice."

---

---

The Feiyun family home was enormous.

And yet, it was situated right in the middle of the extortionately expensive Liyue Harbour main district, a piece of paradise somehow managing to stay hidden amongst the busy rows of shops and business.

When two large brass gates opened with a loud boom to welcome his arrival, he found it incredibly reminiscent of the large doors that led to the Tsaritsa's chamber, but instead large icy crystals adorning the doors, there were two proverb plaques on each side, held up by bronze phoenixes.

"Fortune favours the knowledgeable." Ajax read aloud as he slowly walked through the gates. "Wealth worships the astute."

"The House of Feiyun." The large wooden plaque above the threshold was the last thing he read before his eyes were practically bombarded with a sea of red and gold, the din of chatter and orders alike loud in his ears. There was a whole gaggle of uniformed servants rushing about with a variety of plates and boxes and tables and other things he couldn't recognise, the air thick with both excitement and anxiety combined.

And above it all sat a wizened old man supervising the chaos with a stern gaze, the end of his walking stick slamming upon the ground every now and then, and soon Ajax realised that the loud authoritative voice was mostly coming from this frail individual, the soul still strong despite his weakened body.

"Fortify the gates! The Yunhai boy cannot take a step in here a second too early or too late! The blessings of Rex Lapis have given us this small window of opportunity, and we must not squander his goodwill."

"Yes Grandmaster!"

What has Rex Lapis got to do with the wedding? Ajax watched as the servants scrambled back into organised chaos, somehow more frantic than before. 

"Ah, Childe. You have arrived just in time."

"Oh, hey Zhongli–"

And his brain had to do a double take, because wow the maroon was a fantastic colour on Zhongli. Well, any colour would fit his handsome figure but wow the maroon–

"Childe? Are you–"

"Good looking. Look. Good." Honestly, nothing in his vocabulary could do Zhongli's outfit justice, his high collar long coat accentuating his figure, the material deliciously tapering at the waist before it revealed comfortable looking charcoal silk pants underneath, the fabric deceivingly simple until the sun hit the material in a certain way, where one would then find a variety of complex designs depicting stories of Liyue's mythical creatures.

"Thank you Childe." Zhongli smiled and chuckled low, eyeing Ajax's own outfit with obvious appreciation. "I see you have worn yours well too."

"Oh yeah uh– thanks?" His own outfit was meant to be a matching pair to Zhongli's, but the flattering blue and silver of his clothes absolutely did not hold a candle to how well Zhongli's own outfit had fit him.

"The quality is indeed impeccable." Haha holy fuck that sure was a hand at his waist! In the middle of someone else's wedding! "Legend has it that the Feiyun commerce guild specialises in cultivating a type of silk flower that produces smooth silk of incredible softness. However, it is more than just that– it somehow has the sheen of the Golden House Maiden variety, the fineness of those made of Valley Weaver, and yet also boasts the soft texture of Fate's Yearning. Most fascinating."

Those sure are words ! White noise in his mushy brain aside, Ajax was roughly eighty percent sure that Zhongli was still talking about the silk flowers, despite the names sounding more like those of ancient adepti–

"Grandpa?"

"Hmm?" Both Ajax and Zhongli both turned to find a young lady in a state of shock, her eyes boring holes into Zhongli's face as her mouth hung agape.

Interestingly, she quickly recovered from said shock, shaking her head.

"Aiya! Silly me! I can't believe I actually said that! Apologies my good sirs, one was just so elegant and knowledgeable in your speech that it reminded me of how my grandfather spoke. It wouldn't make sense for him to be here anyway."

"Oh." Zhongli's eyebrows were raised, intrigued. "How so?"

"Well, he's dead, for starters." Ajax barely held back a guffaw, and ended up sounding like he was choking. Zhongli, on the other hand, still had a straight face, looking like he was listening intently. "But also, he's led a fulfilling life with no regrets! As expected of an illustrious director of the Wangsheng funeral parlour! Since he has already peacefully ascended from the mortal realm, you'll never be able to summon him as a ghost either."

" Oh. "

"Ah, but where are my manners! Haven't even introduced myself yet!" The young lady seemingly produced two cards out of thin air, ones both him and Zhongli cautiously took. "Here's my business card– the seventy-seventh director of the Wangsheng funeral parlour, Hu Tao, at your service! There's even a sale coupon printed on the back, redeemable for a limited time only!"

And true enough, there were two coffins printed on the back of the card, a "buy one get one FREE!!!!!!!" written in bold Liyuen strokes.

Extremely bizarre, but not the most unorthodox thing Ajax has ever encountered. 

"Excuse me but–" Ajax studied curiously at Hu Tao's macabre cards before looking back at her. "Isn't this a wedding?"

"And our current discount is just perfect for couples!" Hu Tao easily countered, eyes bright. "Esteemed masters, I can even do a further husbands' discount –"

" Hu Tao! You're gonna get kicked out if you keep this up!"

"Xiangling?" The young chef whizzed past Ajax to tackle Hu Tao, the latter's words now indignant muffles behind Xiangling's cooking glove.

"Oh! Master Childe! Master Zhongli! Hello!” After taking a better look, though Xiangling still dressed like she was about to enter a cook off, it was a lot more traditional and formal than her everyday wear, her current attire sporting a more red and gold palette than her usual yellows and blues. “I heard about the fortune telling thing from Chongyun– my dad had an inkling that master Zhongli was the super duper knowledgeable type, and it turns out he was right! Oh, and sorry about Hu Tao. She’s actually super great! It’s just, well–”

"It is alright, Miss Xiangling. Miss Hu Tao here spoke only truths, albeit in an unconventionally candid way." At this, Hu Tao gave a muffled sound of approval. "Although, I must advise you not to speak of such matters in front of the families– they are incredibly superstitious."

"And you're not?" Hu Tao managed to gasp out after wriggling out of Xiangling's grasp. "Even though you're Mister fortune teller?"

"Knowledge enlightens and strengthens. A lack of it begets fear. The fortune teller is calm because one understands the stories behind such superstitions."

"Well said." Hu Tao hummed, eyebrows raised and arms now folded. "And what do you think about the whole thing with grooms sending their marriage to their doom if they arrive outside of the fortune telling time frame?"

"This 'fortune telling time frame' is in fact a practice from an ancient astrologist sect, founded over three thousand years ago when Liyue was still using the sexagenary cycle for time-keeping– it was called the Four Pillars of Destiny, or more commonly known as the ba zi . The four pillars are the hours, days, months and years of a ten year luck cycle, and based on the couple's own time of birth, one can calculate the most auspicious wedding dates and times. Few are truly competent in the art. Most are dabblers who believe it to be something akin to horoscopes."

"And with regards to what I think of it? Well–" A pause. Then a hum. And then a surprising revelation after that whole spiel. "It's a fun activity, I suppose. Its role in a successful marriage is actually quite minuscule, if not non-existent."

"Only you would be able to describe an ancient fortune telling art as nothing but a frivolous activity."

"Ah, Madame Ping . What a pleasant surprise." An elderly woman in rich navy robes waddled into their rag tag group from behind, and like every other interaction Ajax had with a Liyuen, this one also seemed to know everybody.

"Madame Ping! Wow! You look great!"

"Master? You're the Feiyun's fortune teller representative?"

"Thank you for your kind greetings everyone." Madame Ping chuckled. "Xingqiu's grandmother was a good friend of mine, rest her cheeky soul. I was recommended for this position long before both grandchildren were born. It was half a joke of course, but her husband fully took it to heart."

"It is so good to see everyone again." The older lady peered at everyone through her round gold rimmed glasses, but when it came to Zhongli and Ajax, she sported a mischievous glint not unlike the one from Cloud Retainer. "Especially you, Master Zhongli. I see you are now practically attached to the hip to this pretty boy– ah, the joys of youth ."

" You jest ." Zhongli grumbled, but the tone was not so much a threat, but more so irritation perhaps? Embarrassment? Maybe this Madame Ping was a senior adeptus in disguise, one much older than him, akin to an auntie teasing her nephew.

Speaking of aunties and nephews . There was a gong sounding in the distance, and immediately the servants started rushing with even more gusto, a flurry of shouting and activity adding to what sounded like a large parade outside.

And of course, to add to the chaos, another young lady appeared out of nowhere to grab a hold of both Xiangling and Hu Tao, pulling them both towards the direction of the entrance. "Oh man oh boy! Fellas! They're here! It's happening! We gotta get to the gates!" 

"Xinyan wait–" But they were soon lost to the flurry too, leaving only Madame Ping and Zhongli behind, the both of them looking incredibly serene and calm amidst the anarchy around them.

"Do you think we should tell them to wait around for another half an hour? Just for fun?"

"You will kill the Feiyun patriarch out of sheer stress. Young Chongyun may also similarly expire from anxiety." Zhongli tutted, but there was a small smile on his face, the newly discovered sadistic streak of his doing funny things to Ajax's heart. "Despite my presence, I will not be cleaning up after your messes."

"Not even in front of Sir Tartaglia here?"

"Please, call me Childe." He was probably overdoing his bows a bit, but the last thing he wanted to do was offend another possible adeptus. There were only so many of them left out there.

"Such a nice young lad. Guizhong was right all this time– you do like the overeager puppy dog ones. Although I reckon this one is more of a tamed fox."

" Madame Ping ."

"Oh would you look at the time!" And then Madame Ping hobbled unnaturally swiftly towards the platform where the Feiyun Grandmaster sat, further giving weight to Ajax's suspicions of her being an adeptus. She was a strange granny, that's for sure.

"Master Zhongli and I have come to a consensus!" Madame Ping announced to the whole Feiyun group upon the platform, her voice ringing loud and clear. "The hour has arrived– the Yunhai groom may be received with Rex Lapis' blessings. Let the wedding games begin!"

---

—

"Red packets from Chongyun! Red packets from Chongyun!"

"Only if you let me through!"

"You also have to answer my questions before I let your dastardly hands get anywhere near my poetry pal!" Ajax watched as Hu Tao gleefully called from behind the door that separated the dashing groom from the inner foyer. Xiangling and that Xinyan lady were pretty lenient with their requests before, asking for just one envelope and merely had Chongyun do simple things like push-ups or backflips. Xingqiu's other relatives were pretty much the same except they asked for more auspicious red envelopes filled with mora, which, thankfully for Chongyun's wallet, stopped pretty quickly when his auntie Shenhe started looming nearby and shooting glares at those who asked for one too many.

But Hu Tao? Hu Tao was absolutely unhinged, caring neither for tact nor dangerous aunties, and Ajax was having the time of life watching the hilarious exchange happen before his eyes.

" Please remember that Xingqiu's extended family and my whole clan are here right now." Chongyun pleaded.

" Boo , that's no fun. But fine, riddle me this then– your pride or Xingqiu?"

"Xingqiu." Xingqiu's relatives in the inner foyer started giggling and cooing amongst themselves at the speed of his answer, no hesitation whatsoever.

Hu Tao, however, was clearly not convinced.

"Hmm." Hu Tao tapped her chin, expression thoughtful. "What would you do if Xingqiu permanently turned into a worm?"

"What?"

"Are you telling me you wouldn't love your worm husband?"

"No! I… I would love my worm husband?"

"You don't sound so sure of your love for your worm husband. Oh pitiful worm Xingqiu–"

"I-I would love my worm husband very much!"

"That's the spirit!" Peals of laughter from Xingqiu's relatives echoed throughout the foyer, sounding more out of fondness than actual ill-will.

"Hey Zhongli." Ajax leaned over to whisper to Zhongli, both of them standing side by side by the staircase leading to the second floor, the adeptus watching the proceedings with a bemused smile on his lips. "What would you do if I turned into a worm?"

"As impossible as that sounds, if you had turned into a worm, I would turn into a worm to be with you." Zhongli's laughter was so fond, it made Ajax feel a bit sickly from its sweetness. "I'd imagine your company would still be enjoyable even as a wriggly worm."

" Oh. " Ajax felt really warm, his hands nervously wringing at his wrist. "Uh, same here, I guess. You'd be a really cool worm too–"

"-- so why does Xingqiu call you baby girl?"

"Hu Tao!" Ajax's bumbling thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he heard the loud bang of a door slamming open, but surprisingly, it came from above instead of the door in front of Hu Tao. 

On the second floor, Xingqiu in his own elaborate groom outfit looked like the calm before the storm, his expression would have been perceived as serene if not for how tomato red he was, one eye visibly twitching as he attempted to make his way down the stairs. He was, however, quickly dragged back into the room by a shrieking Xiangling and Xinyan, the door then slamming shut once more.

"Xingqiu!" The muffled voice sounded so besotted, it almost hurt to hear it. And it looked like Hu Tao thought so too, with her sighing and starting to unlock the door.

"Alright lover boy, slide your red packet under the door and then I'll let you through."

"Thanks, but also, Xingqiu doesn't call me baby girl?" Chongyun looked at Hu Tao with a genuinely confused expression when he finally managed to get past that door. "I don't know where you heard that from, but he actually calls me my love or baobei ."

And the resulting coos from that accidental confession were so loud, the people in Inazuma probably heard it.

"Aiya… I see that my own prank has backfired on me. I am now boo boo the fool." Hu Tao sighed once more, before she put her arms around Chongyun's shoulders, dragging him towards the final door that separated him and his betrothed. "Now you just have to face the final boss."

"His grandfather?" Hu Tao said nothing, and Chongyun obviously took that as a negative sign, his hands digging into his hair, groaning. Ajax could see him dragging his feet as he followed the pair with Zhongli. "I'm going to perish."

"No you're not– not before you and Xingqiu sign up for my subscription plan." She patted Chongyun's shoulders to comfort him, but the man only curled into himself even further. "Chin up yun! It's only Xinghe you have to bribe now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah it's just me." Ajax could hear the amusement in that muffled voice when the group reached the final door. "I don't want your red packets though. Just tell me the most embarrassing thing about Xingqiu–"

Crack!

"-- or not, I guess. Yeesh ." The door slowly creaked open, the lock clearly splintered by something sharp, but there were no signs of a weapon anywhere, save for the strange dampness of the damaged structure. "Welcome to the final challenge, little brother-in-law! You have to find the missing slipper before you whisk my little brother away."

A treasure hunt? Shouldn't be too hard for Chongyun– oh… oh wow.

As large as Xingqiu's room was, it was cluttered and crammed to the nines with towers and towers of books, large full shelves hugging every inch of wall, the neat bed looking incredibly out of place amongst the surrounding hoard. It was organised clutter, but it was still, at its core, a lot of clutter.

And Xingqiu sat on the edge of the bed in the middle of his hoard, looking very much the part of a prince, flanked by both Xiangling and Xinyan, who also looked very much excited to play the role as guards.

"Hi Yunyun."

"Hey Xingqiu." Chongyun looked a bit out of breath, but Ajax wasn't sure if it was entirely because of all the challenges Xingqiu's friends and family put him through. "Uh, you look good."

"Thank you my love." A giggle, bright eyes filled with anticipation met bashful ones. "You too."

"Haha, yeah–"

"Hey hey! No touchy until you find the slipper!" Xiangling dramatically puffed her chest out, her dragon bane spear blocking Chongyun's advances towards his fiance. Xinyan's own prototype archaic claymore also blocked Chongyun's other side, laughing out a "loverboy's gotta do a bit more work than that".

"You're not meant to help him either, little brother." Xinghe leaned over to pat Xingqiu's shoulder the moment Xingqiu opened his mouth to protest. "Let your future husband work it out for himself, yeah? Can't lead him around forever."

Huffing, Xingqiu relented, arms firmly folded as he tried his best to look like he wasn't sulking. 

To much of the shock of the crowd watching from outside their room, Chongyun didn't even start with the shelves, and just went straight to crawling under the large poster bed, disappearing far into the dark space despite the loud scandalised gasps.

"Oh he's going to ruin his wedding robes!"

"Old man Fei is going to absolutely go ballistic on him."

More and more of the relatives started gossiping, but Ajax helped his tongue, his gut telling him that Chongyun knew what he was doing.

And sure enough, he emerged back surprisingly clean and dust free, his spoils from his venture a huge worn tome with the ironic title "A short summary of the Liyuen Economy." He weighed it experimentally in his hands, then shared a silent exchange between his betrothed and himself, as if asking for unspoken permission.

Xingqiu smiled wide, nodding.

There were mixed reactions at the discovery of the slipper– half gasped at the state of the hollowed out textbook, while the other half cheered at the sight of the slipper hidden within, one which Chongyun placed onto Xingqiu's foot ever so carefully.

The moment it was fitted back in place, Xingqiu had all but launched himself at Chongyun, laughing as he clung onto him like a monkey on a tree. Thankfully Chongyun seemed to be well trained with heavy weights, what with the way he so effortlessly adjusted his lover into a bridal carry, planting a big fat kiss upon a red smiling cheek before making his way to the main courtyard where refreshments were meant to be served.

"It's like a scene from a fairytale." Ajax couldn't help but smile at all this positive energy, the cat calling and cheering were getting his blood pumped, body humming with excited festive energy. "Call me a cynic, but stuff like that's really rare nowadays. Childhood friends turned lovers? The book writes itself."

"Apparently there is– a book , I mean. It's a sleeper hit novel called Glacial affections by Zhenyu. Miss Hu Tao was adamant that it was important pre-reading prior to the wedding but did not elaborate as to why." Both Ajax and Zhongli slowly made their way back outside as well, taking the time to observe the family portraits hung around the house, a good few featuring Xingqiu with either a sword or book in one hand always. "She had informed me that the pair had faced many obstacles to get to their fairytale ending– young Chongyun was initially arranged to be married to another, and the two were on terrible terms for years until something happened to Xingqiu. She did not disclose the details of the event, but I suspect it was a kidnapping gone awry. She had implied that, if young Xingqiu wasn't so highly skilled in the martial arts, he would not be here with us today."

"You spent barely two minutes talking to her that one time and you got all that ?

"It is more than enough time to glean the important details. One, is that Miss Hu Tao knows entirely too much for her own good, and two, is that mortal life is short and fleeting, and it had forced both Chongyun and Xingqiu to realise what was most important to them."

"And you?" Ajax looked at his partner with a curious expression. Zhongli held the gaze of someone who saw it all, far beyond the point of jaded, settling somewhere… content wasn't the right word. Perhaps listless? Lost, maybe. It was as if he was someone who had finished a good book but was still anticipating the next chapter. "As someone who has--let's say, the privilege of time, what's most important to you then?"

"Liyue's prosperity. The safety and peace of this land." Zhongli replied without hesitation. "It is my first and foremost contract, and it reigns above all else."

"And once that job is done?"

"The work is never done. It requires constant maintenance."

"So you're saying Liyue will immediately fall into ruin the moment Rex Lapis and his adepti leave this place?"

"I– No… but–" Zhongli paused, deep in thought, then turned to Ajax with a narrowed gaze, lips pursed. "It is like your goal of ever becoming stronger– technically, there is no end goal in sight for you either, as there is no ceiling to what constitutes as the strongest- "

Zhongli's deflecting. Interesting. But Ajax really didn't want to play evil mastermind on a nice day like this, especially with a nice man like Zhongli, so he dropped it, opting to laugh it off.

"Ah, sorry to rile you up, really didn't mean to argue! I was only suggesting it as a hypothetical." Ajax put on his best smile, and thankfully it worked well, Zhongli's tense shoulders starting to relax. "It's super admirable with how much you love Liyue, and I just wondered if there were things you love outside your contracts– you don't have to break it to enjoy the finer things in life." He gestured to the young couple giving out more red envelopes to relatives, the happy smiles on their faces infectious. "I'm sure Liyue wouldn't mind if you pursue other things after all that you've done for them."

Zhongli followed Ajax's gaze to Chongyun and Xingqiu, the latter was still in Chongyun's arms, grinning into the crook of his fiance's neck. Chongyun was no better, the calm and stoic demeanour giving away to something a lot less reserved, peppering sweet kisses every other second, clearly enamoured. The look on Zhongli's face was difficult to fully decipher, but Ajax thought there was some level of yearning in those amber hues. "Hmm, perhaps… a leisurely stroll along the beach. Yes, that is what I shall pursue."

Really? After all those years of tirelessly protecting Liyue, that's what he wanted? Sure, Ajax loved beach strolls too, but he was expecting something more along the lines of eternal paradise or treasure, but hey, who was he to judge an ancient adeptus on what they wanted. "If that's what floats your boat, Mister Zhongli, then may your beach strolls be ever lovely."

"I was hoping that you might accompany me– if you are available, of course." 

"Sure." He nodded. Ajax had wanted to check out beaches like Yaoguang shoals for a while now, and having a Liyuen tour guide like Zhongli was bound to make the experience far more enjoyable. "Just say the word. I'll be there for you."

A deep rumble of satisfaction sounded, and Ajax swore Zhongli's eyes burned gold and grew fangs in just that split of second when he turned to look at him, but a blink after and Zhongli seemed all normal.

Huh. Weird . Ajax supposed it was an adepti thing.

—

—

"First bow! Towards the gates of your home, to show your gratitude to the protectors of Heaven and Earth, to the honourable Rex Lapis and his esteemed adepti."

"Second bow! Towards the ancestral hall of Feiyun, to show your gratitude to your past, to the sacrifices that have shaped your present."

"Third bow! To your new spouse, to show your gratitude for their acceptance, to honour the contract that you shall love and protect each other forever more."

Good, Madame Ping actually remembered the verses well. Zhongli just had to instruct them to do the same once they reach the Yunhai ancestral home–

"May Rex Lapis hear your blessings, lovers two, speak in your heart to have wishes granted true."

Now that was not part of the original verses. What was Madame Ping doing–

"Oh great Rex Lapis, I wish for nothing but his happiness."

Huh. Zhongli looked at the pair, still bowed and their eyes closed, the two voices still ringing silently in his ears.

The two asked for the same exact thing, at the same exact time. The perfect equivalent exchange.

Such a lovely couple. He wondered if he and Childe would ask for the same thing on their own wed–

Ah, no. No. It was improper to get ahead of himself like this– Cloud Retainer and Madame Ping probably predicted this, still cunning and meddling at their age. Well, no matter, he was thoroughly enjoying himself, so he figured he could give them the satisfaction of being right.

"May both of you overcome adversity together and find happiness in each other. Congratulations." He spoke directly to the minds of the young couple through the blessings, both of them subsequently looking at each other in shock at the sound of Rex Lapis's words in their heads.

They both thanked him profusely in their minds, to which he could only laugh to himself quietly, enjoying how his sweet dear Childe looked at him like he was some sort of conspiring madman.

Oh, if only he knew the depths of his affections. However, his returning gift was still in the works.

Soon. Perfection takes time. And his future mate deserved nothing less than perfect.

—

—

"To the House of Feiyun!"

"To the Feiyun Commerce Guild!"

"To Chongyun and Xingqiu!"

After countless rounds of cheers, Madame Ping and Zhongli finally announced that they should soon be heading off to the Yunhai clan's own abode if they were to make it before sunset. One by one the guests got onto their horses and into their sedans, ready to depart.

But the huge entourage could not leave before main sedans, and with Zhongli and Childe's horses near the front, both of them bore witness to the reason for their stalling.

The Feiyun Patriarch had insisted on being the one to hold the umbrella to symbolically shield away the newlywed couple from negative energy, and so Chongyun and Xingqiu accomodated, the three of them walking at a snails' pace towards their sedan. After a good while later when they finally made it, the old man huffed, his expression solemn as he addressed the newlyweds.

"Ah' qiu. Remember, even if you're married now, your family will always be here to support you."

"Ah gong, you sound like I'm going away forever, when I'll be back before you know it. Someone needs to keep big brother in check after all." A indignant scoff came from one of the sedans nearby, to which Xingqiu tsk'ed back. "See? I will always be part of the House of Feiyun."

"It's not the same boy. It's not the same." The old man sighed heavily, but quickly recovered to point his walking stick to his grandson-in-law. "You! Boy. Chongyun."

"Yes Grandmaster Fei!"

"It's Ah gong to you boy." Although still scowling, he presented the handle of the ornamental silk umbrella to Chongyun, an item known to be the Feiyun's Commerce Guild pride and joy. The symbolic passing of the umbrella was not lost on Chongyun, who took hold of it almost reverently, with great responsibility.

"Thank you… Ah gong . I'll take care of him– ah! I-I mean! It! The umbrella–"

"You better. Or I'll take care of you , Yunhai boy." He then turned to the huge line of their shared families, cleared his throat, and let the booming voice of a Grandmaster be heard all the way to the last sedan at the back, clear as day.

"We depart for Yunhai Estate! Move out!"

"Yes Grandmaster!"

—

—

If the House of Feiyun was large, the Yunhai Estate was gigantic .

Gone were the bustling streets and crowded shop houses, making way for lush greenery upon a peaceful Liyuen countryside. The Yunhai clan had their home set in a secluded area of Mount Tianheng, rows upon rows of houses and courtyards built into the mountain side, all hidden by powerful talisman illusions and traps. In fact, Ajax initially thought the Yunhai home was just a large but simple farmhouse, but that soon changed when Chongyun's mother had broken the illusion spell with a quick gesture and a mantra, the estate slowly appearing like a mirage coming to life.

And at the front of the gates stood Chongyun's grandmother, back ramrod straight and eyes narrowed as she scrutinised the new arrivals to the Yunhai Estate, like a heron watching the waves of a lake crash upon the shore. She and the other disciples behind her stood out like a sore thumb, donning blues and whites amidst the reds and golds, but the matriarch didn’t seem unfazed at all, even when Xingqiu’s relatives starting speaking amongst each other, judgemental stares and cutting words hidden behind ostentatious ornamental fans.

“She’s dressed as if she was about to attend a funeral!”

“Shh! That’s obviously their clan colours you dolt! You see all the disciples behind her wearing the same thing?”

“Still, it’s a wedding? The grandmaster is so superstitious about auspicious colours– he’s not going to like that.”

He clearly doesn’t. Ajax could see Xingqiu’s parents trying to placate the old man with hushed tones, their whispers too soft to hear, but their expressions were clear as day.

“Truly, a wedding is not just between two individuals, but between their two families.” Zhongli hummed beside him, expression thoughtful as he observed the building tension around them. “For archons, a wedding will tie the two nations together– this is no small issue.”

“Wait wait wait–” Ajax did a double take, and sure enough, Zhongli was contemplating all sorts of potential political scenarios in the event an archon got married. The hell? “ Archons ? Which archon is getting married?” 

“Oh! Oh dear, I am getting ahead of myself. How disgraceful." Zhongli cleared his throat behind a closed fist, a sheepish expression now decorating Zhongli's handsome features, embarrassment clear in the pinkish tint to his cheeks. "It was purely a hypothetical situation. I sincerely hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

"You… didn't?" Childe had no idea why talking about archons getting married would make him uncomfortable. Unless it was the Tsaritsa getting married, which was a big yikes . The biggest yikes . She was the kind of lover who would bury her beau in frost if they breathed too hard in her presence.

The vengeful Tsaritsa getting married to the infamously stubborn Rex Lapis would be extremely yikes .

“Is…" Ajax started, laughing nervously. "Is Rex Lapis getting married to the Tsaritsa?"

"No! Absolutely not! "

Woah there . Zhongli looked kind of horrified, which was actually terrific, because it meant that Snezhnaya had been spared the wrath of a love-spurned Tsaritsa.

"Oh thank fuck." There was an actual sigh of relief there. "I mean– glory to the Tsaritsa and all but–"

"My dearest Childe, how could you think that?" Horror turned to something that resembled sadness, a hand taking Ajax's own into his warm grip, before it was lifted to be gifted with a small peck to his knuckles, the gesture so disgustingly cliche but it made his stomach do flips anyway. "Have I done something to have you even consider such an outcome?"

"You said archons, so I assumed–"

"No. Rex Lapis… his heart belongs to another. And your Tsaritsa, as you are probably well aware, is not the best candidate for a mate."

"No. No she really isn't." And it wasn't blasphemy when the archon had made herself clear that she was most comfortable remaining staunchly single for the rest of her glorious reign. The Tsaritsa even took pride in it– she was just that kind of deity. "So Rex Lapis is getting married to someone else."

"Merely a hypothetical." Zhongli's cheeks were so red for someone who was so naturally graceful and poised. He probably spoke too much regarding his Lord's personal affairs. If Ajax were to talk about his Majesty's love life to Zhongli, well– her Majesty would laugh and call him her favourite little jester, but if it were anyone else, it was practically a death sentence.

"Alright alright keep your secrets." Ajax could just look into this later, when he had better access to his informants. Maybe he would even write to the Tsaritsa about it later, when he managed to confirm it wasn't actually just a hypothetical. "Speaking of secrets, you haven't explained what happened the other day."

"Which day?" Zhongli blinked owlishly at him, as if he were one of his geo slimes mesmerised by a crystal fly passing by. "I have spent many a day with you, all of which are precious memories."

How could this man be so shameless after being so embarrassed just a second ago. "You know, when you uh–" Geez this was so difficult, the unexpected romantic comment making Ajax's thoughts all scrambled. "When you did the thing ."

"You will have to elaborate, dear Childe. I have done a lot of things."

"The evening after we went to Wanmin Restaurant." Ajax couldn't help but hiss, now his turn to flare up, cheeks burning. "You kissed me."

"You want another one? Now? " Zhongli had the audacity to show a little smirk, arms folded, looking at Ajax as if he were a devious little thing. "As much as I would like to, it would be impolite to do so at someone else's wedding."

"What? No! I mean–" Ajax would like another kiss, but that was not the point! "The point is, I– well, you got Rex Lapis to write to the Tsaritsa about… this thing ."

"She assures me that as long as you are a willing participant, she will give me her blessings." A bright smile, and then another kiss to his knuckles. "You are willing… aren't you?"

" Yes ." Ajax had practically wheezed the answer out. "Although, You could have given me a heads up– my colleagues almost had a heart attack when they saw the Tsaritsa's personal icy missives with my name on it. She usually only does that when she's angry with her subjects."

"She threatened you."

"Now hold on just a second! Calm down! I said nothing of the sort! The Tsaritsa merely said she gave the a-okay between us." He chided, nudging him in the shoulder in protest at the sight of Zhongli's expression darkening. "You rush to conclusions way too early sometimes."

" Rush? If you have lived as long as I have, rushing is futile." Oh there definitely was a hint of a fang when Zhongli's half snarl simmered into a grumble. Ajax really shouldn't have found it so attractive, but hey, here he was. "But, as you know, you are precious to me, my dear Childe. I could not stand the thought of you being hurt."

"Thanks for the sentiment, but I'd rather get a spar from you instead."

"Terrible." Zhongli scoffed, half exasperated, half fond. "One supposes such a reward is warranted only if you deign to behave ."

"Of course!" Ajax chirped, and even upped the ante a bit, daring to encircle Zhongli's waist with both arms, his chin on his shoulder. "You know I'm a good boy."

"Off you rascal ." Ajax laughed when Zhongli shrugged him off, but the adeptus couldn't hide his smile from Ajax, that adorable little upturn of a lip making his heart race. "We should get going before we miss the excellent dinner spread the Yunhai Clan has prepared. It is traditional Li cuisine, as expected from a mountain dwelling clan. The family behind Feiyun, on the other hand, were humble sea-faring merchants before they went into the silk and book trade, and so had prepared traditional Yue cuisine before."

"That sounds amazing! But I hope Yunhai also has forks like they did at Feiyun."

A huff escaped Zhongli's lips, but his smile was still ever present. "Perhaps it would do you good to have some practice with the chopsticks once more, my love ."

Oh.

Oh!

My love! Wow ! so Ajax fucked around and got himself an adeptus… boyfriend? Partner? Boyfriend slash sparring partner who gives good kisses… thing . 

Incredible! 

Liyue really was filled with all kinds of mysterious opportunities!

—

—

His lovely mate. His beautiful darling mate. Fitting of an Emperor's consort. 

—

Chapter Text

If Xingqiu's grandfather disliked Chongyun, then Chongyun's grandmother loathed Xingqiu.

During the whole feast, she could barely look at her new in-law, her words polite but distant, addressing Xingqiu like he was some temporary guest and not a new addition to the family.

And Xingqiu, much to Ajax's awe, seemed to take it in stride. Despite the animosity of the clan head, he had tried to gain favour from the rest of the clan, fully utilising his silver tongue as he flitted from table to table, charming Chongyun's friends and relatives one after another. His actions even prompted some to inform the Yunhai chieftess of their approval and blessings upon the new couple.

This, however, somehow managed to make things worse, Chongyun's grandmother's expression growing ever more pinched, her eye twitches increasing in frequency.

And dear Chongyun was none the wiser. In fact, he was in a bit of time out, his congenital positivity finally reaching its breaking point after all the excitement of today. The man was currently flanked by his parents at the main table, his face completely flushed, half lidded eyes following his fiance's movements around the grand hall as he resolutely chewed on what seemed to be… ice cubes ? Strange, but that seemed to be the case, if the large bowl of ice cubes in front of him were anything to go by. Ajax didn't see what had transpired beforehand, but according to Zhongli, the exorcist clan heir got a bit too frisky for polite company, and his parents swiftly treated him with cold treats before he could completely pull his fiance into his lap.

And speak of the devil– said fiance was now finally making the rounds at his table, where a ragtag gang consisting of Ajax, Zhongli and Madame Ping were seated. Xiangling, Hu Tao and their friend Xinyan were initially with them, but those three had scampered off to god knows where almost an hour ago, presumably to explore the mystical Yunhai exorcist estate.

Not that he could fault them, Ajax wanted to explore the area too– it looked incredibly ancient, and such places were bound to have interesting things waiting to be discovered.

Too bad Zhongli wanted to stay for a little while longer to properly enjoy his dessert, the adeptus saying something about glutinous rice rolls that would pair excellently with the quality tea they had.

Not that Ajax needed Zhongli to hold his hand whilst exploring of course! He's more than capable of sneaking out unsuspected– espionage was fundamental for a Harbinger, as much as he loathed to utilise said skills.

Maybe a guy just wanted a hand to hold while he scouted out an ancient exorcist clan estate–

"Childe."

"Hm?" Zhongli's address broke him out of his stupor, and when he finally came back to reality, he was met with a Xingqiu helping to refill his teacup, to which Ajax responded with an appreciative nod.

"This one merely wanted to thank you for coming, my liege. I also hope the feast was to your liking." The teapot settled back upon the tabletop with a soft clack, Xingqiu's arms then folded back into the long sleeves of his groom's robes, his person dipped in a graceful bow. "Both Chongyun and I wish to inform you that the dinner service has ended, and a room has been prepared for your overnight stay. A Yunhai disciple named Qin will be waiting for you at the hall entrance to lead you to said room. I would also advise not to roam the grounds beyond the main courtyard, as dangerous traps have already been planted across the rest of the estate in preparation for the trials tomorrow."

"The trials?" Ajax swore he heard the phrase " dangerous traps" too. What in the world? The Yunhai estate was fantastic .

Ajax wondered if he could have a better look at such dangerous traps– Xingqiu merely advised not to roam around, not that it was a hard and fast rule.

Although… he didn't want to make Zhongli look bad. And having his plus one snooping around was bound to be received poorly by the clan.

"I am surprised your grandfather allowed it to be held." Madame Ping's words carried a hint of surprise, but her knowing expression did not match her tone one bit.

"He did not. But I managed to convince him." There was a quick side eye, and Ajax followed Xingqiu's glance to find his grandfather sipping tea with a stormy expression, his parents still placating the old man ever since they stepped out of the sedan. Xingqiu's gaze then redirected itself towards Yunhai clan head, who was talking to Shenhe– or talking at her, more like, with Shenhe busy making more ice cubes with her cryo vision, ready for her nephew to consume.

"Chongyun has already done his part by passing my own family trials. It would be against the chivalric code if I were to marry into his family without doing something in equal measure."

"By participating in the trials meant for selecting heirs?" Madame Ping hummed. "The ones only meant for well-trained exorcists for its exceptional difficulty?"

"The very same. One hopes such a challenge will help me better understand my husband-to-be, who has passed such challenges in his younger years."

"And what of young Chongyun's thoughts on the matter?" Zhongli's narrowed eyes followed Xingqiu's movements, observing, judging. "How does he feel about his beloved putting himself in harm's way for the sake of pleasing his family?"

"He was torn, as expected of a wonderful man both equal parts a filial son and a kind lover. But I volunteered to partake in the trials– I did not want to make him choose between me or his family."

"You are his family." Zhongli looked somewhat affronted on Xingqiu's behalf, both Xingqiu and Ajax not expecting such a strong reaction from the mild mannered man, their eyes wide. Madame Ping, on the other hand, had merely sipped her tea once more, unperturbed by the uncharacteristic behaviour. "To be differentiated as such would lead to a tumultuous marriage. It seems vindictive for Yunhai to impose such a difficult challenge when traditional wedding games are meant to be fun ."

"Your kind words lift my spirits, Master Zhongli." Xingqiu quickly recovered from the mild shock, bowing once more towards Zhongli, whose arms were now folded. "Unfortunately, I must bid you all a good night for now, but I hope to see you all again in the morning. Breakfast will be sent to your rooms, and a gong will sound at dawn's rising to signal the start of the trials."

And with that, Xingqiu swiftly popped on over to the next table to greet another set of guests with his flowery words, leaving a very smug Madame Ping and a fairly solemn Zhongli.

And, of course, there was also a very confused Ajax amidst all of this.

" Invested , are we?" Madame Ping cooed. "One remembers how an old friend of ours was so fond of cooking up impossible tasks for their hand in marriage– I wonder what he thinks of such a challenge." 

"I cannot recall such an individual." An annoyed huff, and then a scraping sound of wood against cold marble tile. "Let's go Childe. The hour is late– we best rest for the multitude of activities tomorrow."

"Woah woah– " Ajax hastily got up from his own seat, bidding Madame Ping a quick farewell before rushing forward to catch up with Zhongli's long strides. " Hey Zhongli wait up!"

"Have fun!" Madame Ping laughed, her round glasses glinting in the low light. "Don't tire yourself too much tonight! Make sure you're well rested for tomorrow, fellow fortune teller ."

"Awful. Absolutely awful. Don't listen to her Childe." Zhongli's long strides seemingly turned into stomping, his eyes glowing in the dark of night as they stepped out of the hall.

Ajax shrugged, still confused but he figured it was an inside joke between fellow adepti. Archons knew how many inside jokes he had amongst his own family. "If you say so."

—

—

"Oh come now, this is the first congenital positivity episode you've had in a really long while! And to tell you the truth my love, it was very refreshing. Very cute. My ego is through the roof knowing I made you so excited you wanted to hug me forever and ever–"

"Oh for crying out loud– you're horrible."

"Only for you my dear. Now, to the most pressing matter at hand– sneak out to inspect the grounds with me? Hu Tao told me she found a whole temple filled with ancient sutras! Are those the ones that belonged to the ancient adeptus your family is rumoured to be related to?"

"It's like you only married me because I was raised in the most stereotypical martial art novel setting ever."

"That and you are also an incredibly sweet man whom I love with my whole body and soul."

"... fine. I’ll bring you to the temple, but we have to get back within the hour okay? I don't want you falling asleep standing tomorrow– I'm also still kind of mad about that by the way."

"You know your grandmother would never accept me if I didn't go through with it."

"I know. Ugh. But our deal still stands– if you get hurt I'm calling the whole thing off. I'll exercise my right as the heir if I have to."

"Such a protective husband, I'm truly blessed."

"Xingqiu please. I'm serious. If you get injured on my account again, I don't know what I'll do."

"Just trust me my dear Chongyun, it'll be alright."

—

—

It was not alright.

Ajax looked at the room, then to Zhongli, then back at the Yunhai disciple who raised an eyebrow, her gaze curious.

"Um." Ajax looked back at the room again– the singular room. 

"We're sharing a room?"

"Yes Master Tartaglia."

"There's also–" The bed. Also singular . "--only one bed?"

"... yes Master Tartaglia? Is it not to your preference?"

This is something out of a terrible romance novel. Ajax groaned as he rubbed his temples, surveying his surroundings. Truth be told, it was a large room, and had long chairs that could be fashioned into an extra makeshift bed, but it was the idea that they were meant to share a bed that made his head hurt– just a little .

"Nay, it is a wonderful room, Lady Qin." Zhongli went ahead and stepped across the threshold, letting out a satisfied hum after giving their room a quick once over. "My companion and I are merely fatigued from the events of today, and so I sincerely apologise if our responses sounded curt."

"Understandable, Master Zhongli. One then humbly wishes you both a good night. This disciple shall be leaving."

And right after the Yunhai disciple bowed and left, Ajax immediately sidled up to Zhongli, an accusatory finger poking the middle of his chest, huffing.

"You–"

"Rest well, dear Childe. I shall be gone for the night."

"-- are a scandalous little–" Wait . "Wait what?"

"I have adepti matters to attend to unfortunately, but I shall be back before breakfast tomorrow." Zhongli sighed as he fixed his gloves at the wrist . "Please do not wait for me."

"What? At this time of night? Are you just gonna forgo sleep entirely?" Hoo boy, now Ajax felt stupid for assuming that Zhongli wanted to share a bed, even though anyone would have assumed that they were to be sharing a bed in those circumstances. Man, now this whole thing had gotten Ajax thinking if he was the one that wanted to share a bed with Zhongli? Was he the one that was coming off a little too strong?

Ugh, whatever. He’s got time to ponder about it. Alone. In the large single bed while Zhongli went to do whatever ancient adepti do.

"Worry not. The Adepti do not need sleep like mortals do." Zhongli replied with a laugh, his hand on the door to the room, leaving it half way shut. “Good night Childe. Please refrain from exploring the grounds yourself and putting yourself in danger. I know you are more than capable of handling yourself, but the spells of the Yunhai clan are well known to me, and I know for a fact that if you were to activate one incorrectly, I would have to burn this place down. I do not wish for it to come to that."

Zhongli would have to what? Ajax gaped, blinking owlishly at Zhongli. "You aren't doing a good job of selling this whole "stay in my room" shtick. That honestly sounds right up my alley–"

"Don't make me shackle you to the bed." Narrowed eyes burned bright gold, and Ajax instantly froze up, absolutely flabbergasted at the underlying growl in his words. And of course it made him excited in places that really really shouldn't be excited.

…like his bloodlust! His bloodlust was getting excited!

Haha! Haha. Hah... Phew .

Ajax really couldn't help but bite back though, smirking up at the adeptus with hands on his hips. 

"You wouldn't ."

"That would depend entirely on you ." Zhongli huffed, but a small smile was plastered on his face nonetheless, a promise that he would make good on his word– or a threat , depending on how one saw it. "Good night baobei."

"Good… night?"

The door then shut with a resounding click, leaving Ajax to stew in his own thoughts.

—

—

"You left your supple little beau to his own devices? Alone on a cold dark night? How cruel."

"Never use the word supple in such a context in front of me ever again, Madame Ping. This is a direct order."

"As you wish, my lord."

"You don't sound remorseful, but I shall not dwell on it when there are other more pressing matters on the agenda. What of the traps within the Yunhai estate?"

"Still active and surprisingly similar to the ones used back in the days of the Archon war. Thankfully, they are indeed set only to disarm, not to kill."

"... would it be meddling, if I were to enact the jade shield as a failsafe?"

"Truth be told, it would be a slight to Xingqiu's honour, my lord. Additionally, it would be a breach of contract between Xingqiu and the Yunhai clan head."

"Oh… contracts must be kept. That is the law of the land."

"Indeed it is. Although, I must say my lord, such generosity from your end is most intriguing."

"The affection between the two grooms is truly one to be preserved– one felt inclined to help. Did you know that, when you sneaked in that extra marriage verse, they wished for the other's happiness at the same time?"

"Ah, soul mates to the core. Are they perhaps inspiring you, my lord?"

"... you and Cloud Retainer are truly worse than a gaggle of aunties at a night market."

"This loyal subject humbly accepts your indirect praise my lord."

—

—

So.

Ajax didn't actually explore the place, even though he really wanted to.

Instead, he laid down upon the bed and thought about Zhongli's fanged grins, fell asleep somewhere in the middle, and woke up to the perpetrator holding a tray of buns and piping hot tea, early dawn painting his features a soft golden hue.

"Good morning baobei." The clunk of the food tray settling upon the bedside table rang loud in his ears, followed by the soft whooshing sounds of tea being poured. "It seems you have yet to change into proper nightwear before falling asleep. Were you that fatigued? Do you perhaps need more rest?"

"Huh?" Ajax looked down to see that he indeed was still wearing the outfit he wore the previous day. He was still in it not so much because he was tired, but because he just didn't notice it when there were other things to think about, like contemplating the state of the universe and Zhongli.

… mostly Zhongli of course, but he was going to keep that little tidbit to himself.

"Nah, I sleep in my uniform all the time." He replied, like a complete liar. And he probably sounded like a fool too, like a disgusting little man who sleeps in a nice clean bed with his day clothes.

Zhongli frowned, as expected, but instead of chastising him, he gingerly brushed away a stray fringe from Ajax's face, his downturned expression more worried than contemptful.

"Your work ethic is impressive, but not sustainable." Zhongli then gently blew the steam off the tea, cooling it before giving said drink to Ajax, who received it with a wary gaze. "You need to take care of yourself."

"I do!" Ajax retorted, feeling a little bit of deja vu settling in. He was even wearing something with a glaze lily motif like last time. "You just like pampering me."

"I do." Zhongli readily agreed with no sense of shame at all, smiling like spoiling Ajax was the way of the world. "The same way you pamper me with your wonderful gifts. It would be hypocritical to chide me for my actions, would it not?"

"You–"

There was a very intelligent and definitely not embarrassing response just at the tip of his tongue, but a horn sounded in the distance, and both of them turned their heads towards the direction of the sound.

"Hmm." Zhongli looked forlornly between the food and the window where the sound seemed to have come from, brows furrowed. "We should make haste. After the fifth horn, the trials shall begin with the sound of the family temple gong."

"Oh! We can eat on the way!" Ajax was definitely not going to be missing the opportunity to watch another hydro vision user in action– there was so much to be learnt. After sculling down the tea, he grabbed a bun and popped it in his mouth, ignoring the way it was a tad too hot for him to chew at the first go, so he gestured to the door with bun filled cheeks and an affirmative muffled noise.

Let's go! The words came out as muffled tones. Ajax hoped his repeated hand gestures at the door got the message across if words couldn't. But Zhongli merely stared at him as if he grew an extra head, and then, strangely enough, came up to him and poked his cheek .

Now, Ajax would have protested at being poked at like he was some sort of doll, but the second horn had blared, and they were very much going to be late to the event if they didn't leave right now, so he dragged Zhongli out by the wrist, ignoring the way he loudly chuckled at his actions.

He was also going to firmly ignore the possibility that Zhongli had called him adorable under his breath. Ajax most likely misheard it, what with the horns blaring in  the background and all.

—

—

"What are you wear– oh. Oh Xingqiu. Xingqiu please don't tell me you wanted to undertake the trials because it was something a martial art novel protagonist would do."

"Well, my dearest husband-to-be, I would also like your family to accept us, and thus–"

"Also? Also– oh Rex Lapis have mercy on me. Xingqiu you're killing me. I love you so much but you're also going to be the death of me."

"How rude! I am merely dressed to impress— ye of little faith. Do you not trust my abilities?"

"Yes but– ugh. Look, Xingqiu this is not–"

"Ah, and that's the fifth horn. You best be getting back to the podium before your family catches us."

"Xingqiu."

"I know it looks like I'm not taking this seriously, but I truly am. If you trust me my love, wait for me at the finish line."

—

—

There was a domain.

Underneath the whole estate.

And it was humongous.

Ajax had no idea why the clan was so adamant that they didn't roam around up on the surface, when the trials were completely underground. The entirety of the cavernous region was covered in snow from archons knew where, the icy landscape painted with a curealean tinge with all the glowing blue liyuen symbols carved into the walls and pillars. A gargantuan ancient ley line tree rested in the middle of the domain, providing not only more magical light, but also provided a solid base to which the Yunhai clan had built a massive spiralling tower upon, similar to that of the famed Wangshu Inn.

Ajax was part of the group of guests who had been directed to the top floor, where the Yunhai clan had fashioned it into some sort of viewing point, furnished with chairs and tables of refreshments close to the tall railings of the balcony.

Chongyun and Xingqiu's family had their own special area, a platform slightly raised above the rest, providing its occupants the best possible view. And amongst them was the groom of honour himself, dressed in incredibly light clothes despite the rest of them donning heavy jackets to stave off the magical cold. The man was pacing a hole in the platform, periodically looking towards the distance beyond the balcony with a deep frown, then went back to pacing again. 

Chongyun would do well in Snezhnayan winters . Ajax mused, recalling the stunned expression of the Yunhai disciple who donned a shocked expression when Ajax himself politely declined their provision of a warm fuzzy cloak. Still , this pales in comparison against the might of her Majesty's blizzards.

Zhongli seems to be faring pretty well too . The adeptus had given up his own cloak to a relative of Xingqiu, one who was sensitive to the cold and so benefited from two cloaks. Knowing that Zhongli did well in the cold made Ajax wonder how Zhongli would fare in his own frozen homeland– would he be partial to ice fishing? To build snowmen with his family? Would he thrive in Snezhnaya? Would he–

Ah, he should stop that line of thought while he still could. What was Ajax even thinking– Zhongli was an adeptus bound to Liyue like all the other adepti serving under Rex Lapis.  He wasn’t even sure if the man could even leave Liyue, much less visit another nation. 

Shame, Ajax felt that Zhongli would look fantastic in traditional Snezhnayan wear, a mysterious cloaked figure against the pure white snow.

“A Snezhnayan may cope well in such temperatures, however a cloak would have hid the fact you wore the same robes two days in a row.” The man in question looked to Ajax with a small laugh, then back at the artificial tundra beyond the balcony, then back at him again. “Although this domain bears a resemblance to that of your homeland, the foliage and wildlife are more similar to that of Vindagnyr– or more commonly known today as Dragonspine. It is fascinating that the clan has kept it in such good condition.”

“You’ve been here before?” Ajax squinted at the trees and the occasional scampering critter littered across the frosty landscape, and sure enough, they looked a little different to the ones back at home. Ajax then leaned a bit closer to Zhongli, words softened to a whisper. “Is this an adeptus domain?”

“The original creator of this domain was indeed a heron adeptus by the name of Frost Bearer.” Zhongli also leaned closer in equal measure, the two of them looking like scheming little things. “She has long since ascended, but her domain still stands strong, thanks to the efforts of the Yunhai clan. Evidently, they still kept its original intended use.”

“... which is?”

“To dispose of demons.” Zhongli replied with a hum, gesturing to a scattering of rocks on top of one of the nearby hills. They looked unnatural, as if a claymore had cleaved it most of them cleanly in halves and thirds. And if Ajax really squinted, he could see that some had smatterings of mysterious purple. “It was problematic when the corpses of demons would produce deadly miasmas or spores that infected the common folk, and so she created a domain where such demons could be safely disposed of. Frost Bearer’s disciples– the ancestors of the Yunhai clan– were, ironically enough, mostly cryo vision wielders, and so she had designed it with them in mind, enabling them to manipulate the surroundings to their advantage.”

“So.” Ajax surveyed the rest of the landscape with this newfound knowledge, finding more and more signs of demon slaying– fallen trees, weapons in the snow, weird frozen rocks that were actually monsters trapped in ice. There were even talismans stuck on trees, ones he initially thought were just weird leaves or fungi growing from their trunks. “This is actually a huge ass morgue. A fridge for dead bodies.”

“Crude, but there is a kernel of truth in your words.”

“So… do you think–”

“I have access to all adepti domains including this one, but I’m not letting you have free access to the sacred demon slaying grounds of Yunhai.” A huff, Zhongli leaning away from Ajax to gaze into the distance. “You would probably release ancient horrors just to test your skills on them.”

“That’s not what I wanted to ask about!” It was completely what he wanted to ask about. Drat!  Had he become so predictable? Plus, couldn’t Zhongli let him release a small little demon or two? 

But before Ajax could voice such requests, a loud gong sounded, and immediately the familiar green glow of a door of resurrection lit up in the distance. At the same time, some of the disciples started flinging talismans into the air beyond the balcony, and upon the slips of yellowed paper hitting some sort of force field, the air started to freeze into two large ice sheets, ones that started to show live images of Xingqiu and Chongyun’s mother walking through the lit portal.

Xingqiu looked the part of a dashing heroic prince, donning a royal blue fur coat with golden phoenix themed clasps, his long hair tied into a high ponytail, a gleaming sacrificial sword glowing blue and hovering close to his back. He gave a low bow towards Chongyun’s mother, who bowed back before returning through the portal, the door losing its green glow the moment she passed through it.

Chongyun’s mother reappeared upon the podium next to her family moments after she appeared on the screen, whispering something into the Yunhai matriarch's ear before taking her seat next to her husband and son.

The chieftess stood up, looked across the crowd of guests below her, and gave her announcement with her voice loud and clear.

“Let the trials begin!”

And as if responding to her calls, the Liyuen symbols decorating the surfaces of the domain stopped glowing, the entirety of the domain descended into complete darkness, save for the glowing Ley line tree they were standing upon, and the small smattering of warming seelie courts that lit the path towards said tree.

It was very interesting to see how Xingqiu looked like he was having the time of his life, taking in the landscape like a traveller on vacation instead of a participant of a harrowing trial. Chongyun, on the other hand, looked so pale he could blend in with the snow, brows furrowed as he watched his fiance’s movements intensely.

After Xingqiu made it halfway across the landscape with his only encounters being boars, Ajax thought Zhongli and the others definitely overhyped the lethality of this whole fiasco.

Until, of course, a brownish-grey regisvine three times the usual size of a wild regisvine sprouted from the snow just next to Xingqiu, its rotting decaying corolla almost crushing him if not for Xingqiu darting away just in the nick of time. It had, however, seemed to have inflicted him with the cryo status, his movements becoming more sluggish, Xingqiu barely able to dodge the sweeping attacks. Upon closer inspection, he also seemed to be coughing out ash, a symptom Ajax was very familiar with.

They managed to get monsters from Khaenri'ah here? Wow. They were the only ones that Ajax knew could cause the corrosion status, and he knew that the Khaenri'ah monarchy had been particular about their control over their monster population since forever. This regisvine must be from the time before the cataclysm, which meant it was beyond ancient.

“... it took both Auntie Shenhe and I so long to seal it! You unsealed it?”

“Keep your voice down boy! You would think me a fool to unseal it completely? It is barely unsealed– only one talisman was taken off for the time being.”

“One out of two! Grandmother, it knocked me out cold for a week! My qi took a month to fully recover! Xingqiu is–”

Chongyun and his grandmother’s voice barely rose over the din of worried murmurs from the crowd, and when Ajax directed his attention to the podium, their voices quieted down, but not because they noticed people hearing them, but because Xingqiu’s grandfather was now stomping over to Chongyun’s side with the darkest expression Ajax had ever seen him with, both Xingqiu and Chongyun’s parents hovering close by and moving their mouths rapidly, most likely whispering more placating words to prevent a fight between the two heads. In contrast, Xingqiu’s brother looked incredibly out of place with his blaise expression, his person patting the shoulder of an incredibly tense Chongyun, who actually looked like he was about to grab his claymore and head out to where his fiance was.

But then, there was a cheer from the crowd, and when Ajax looked back to the ice screen, a burst of red and orange filled the screen, a swarm of butterfly-shaped flames was shown to be attacking the regisvine, a relentless burning hurricane setting the monster aflame despite the surrounding blizzard. Xingqiu finally finished it off with his own hydro vision powers, sharp glinting hydro swords stabbing at the monster, vaporising it into a smoking heap of plant matter. The butterflies then finally disintegrated into ashes, black soot staining the pure white snow.

“Oh come on!” Hu Tao appeared beside him out of nowhere, leaning dangerously over the railing with a finger pointed to Xingqiu’s figure in the ice screen. “You’re using my butterfly summoning ritual this early on? Not for the grand finale? Tsk tsk!”

“I mean, I knew Xingqiu was pree’ good at memorising verses, but that Wangsheng ritual book of yours was something awful big– bigger than the size of my head even!” The rocker girl– Xinyan, Ajax reminded himself– she was pulling Hu Tao back onto a more secure spot on the balcony, but also whistled at the remnants of the Regisvine on the screen, clearly impressed. “I wasn’t sure if Xingqiu could pull it off, with his vision being hydro and all, but whaddaya’ know!”

“It was the shortest volume! It should have been easy peasy lemon squeezy! If he couldn’t remember it, he would have had to relinquish the title of my poetry rival post haste!”

“We don’t call him the biggest bookworm in Liyue for nothing right?” Xiangling squeezed herself between Ajax and Hu Tao, flanking the Wangsheng funeral parlour director alongside Xinyan. And then Xiangling started to turn towards him, looking like she was about to apologise to Ajax for slightly elbowing him, but when she met his amused gaze, the peppy lady broke out in a smile, waving.

“Hi Master Childe! Sorry for bumping into you!” Ajax waved it off, greeting Xiangling with a smile of his own. Strangely, Xiangling subsequently looked over his shoulder, her expression turning puzzled. “Where’s Master Zhongli?”

“He’s just right next to–” Ajax turned to find that Zhongli’s figure was very much missing from his side, finding a confused looking guoba looking up to him instead, slowly chewing on one of Yunhai’s warm treats. “--me?”

Another gasp from the crowd diverted his attention away from Zhongli being missing in action, looking up to the screen to find Xingqiu narrowly missing a cryo bloom blossom from freezing his person completely. The field before him seemed to be filled with such bombs, some buried and hidden within the snow– a most dangerous place to tread across indeed.

However, it also seemed that the only way around was to climb a sharp cliff, which was a much more dangerous task with how slippery the rocks must be with all that ice.

“... he could summon his water swords and have a go at blowing them all up?” An elder relative of Chongyun gave his thoughts, to which another relative retorted with a “foolish! What if it accidentally freezes him?”

Instead of running through the minefield as others had thought he would attempt, he took something out of his saddle bag– a red, gold and black cylindrical piece, one he pulled the ends off, before hurtling it across the field and quickly ducking behind a nearby rock.

“Hey Xinyan…” Xiangling spoke up, her voice wary. “... isn’t that–”

“Heck yeah! You betcha!”

And then the whole screen exploded in an explosion of colours, red and gold and a sparkling silver at times. It was half beautiful pyrotechnics, half dangerous explosions, and one hundred percent effective at burning through the whole field of snow, leaving only charred grass and leaves behind.

Xingqiu’s familiar blue head popped from a now charred piece of rock, his own eyes wide at the carnage left behind. The Feiyun heir obviously did not expect this level of damage.

Hu Tao looked almost manic as she excitedly asked. “What even are those? Your pyrotechnics never did that before!”

“Got the extra firepower from this super awesome Inazuman chick named Yoimiya! Really gives my rock shows a bit more of that razzle dazzle ya know?” Xinyan replied with equal fervour. “This one was the draft version that never got approved by the Liyue Qixing because it had a bit too much oomphf in it, and had been sitting in my trunk for yoinks! Glad to see it being used.”

“Did you all give something for Xingqiu to use?” Ajax looked at the three ladies in awe, their destructive powers true to the nature of their pyro vision. “What did you give him Xiangling?”

“Oh, uh, I asked if he wanted to bring Guoba, but he said that would be way too conspicuous, and then he asked me for my super special pyroflower slime stew recipe instead– which was super weird because my dad said it wasn’t edible, but hey, if it helps!”

“That concoction burned a hole through Chef Mao’s entire stove.” Hu Tao somehow appeared next to Ajax’s other side, lowering her voice to a conspiratory whisper. “I have to admit that it’d probably kill whatever monster faster than my butterflies, but you definitely didn’t hear that from me kapeesh? Xiangling isn’t in the business of murder– she’d be sad that it was being used for less wholesome purposes.”

Now I want the recipe . Ajax hummed to himself, contemplative. He hated using poison though– that’s more of Dottore’s thing.

“Look! Ya boy’s almost done! Just have to cross that– oh fuck –”

Loud screams filled the crowd, and when Ajax checked the screen, all he could see was the darkness of a ravine.

“He fell! Oh no he fell!”

“That avalanche came from nowhere!”

“Why isn’t the viewing spell reaching him? Was that foul play?”

“Oh boy.” Even Hu Tao looked concerned, her lips pursed and her frown deep. Xinyan and Xiangling both looked at each other with a worried expression. All three ladies and Ajax then turned towards the podium when a loud commotion started in that direction, the two family heads now deep into a screaming match, the rest of the family holding them back before they came to physical blows.

Chongyun, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“... he glided off the balcony?” Xiangling gasped, and then Ajax found her talking to a jumpy guoba, his little squishy paw frantically waving and then pointing at the barely visible speck of blue making his way through the snow towards the ravine– the blue of Chongyun’s sacrificial greatsword.

He watched as the ice screen refocused to a terrified Chongyun trying to peer over the edge of the ravine, glassy eyes frenzied. 

“Xingqiu! Xingqiu! ”

Only the wind howled in reply, and if the Yunhai heir shedded any tears, they were probably frozen to his cheeks, the blizzard still wild and merciless. He didn’t seem to waste any time, stabbing his greatsword deep into the ground with great strength, one end of a thick rope subsequently tied to the handle, the other wrapped securely around his waist. 

Just as he was to make his descent down into the ravine, however, there was a burst of light, and a strange looking geo construct platform in the shape of a flower lifted an injured Xingqiu from the depths of the ravine. The Feiyun heir almost tumbled backwards back into the crack if not for Chongyun’s quick reflexes, pulling Xingqiu into the safety of his arms. 

Though he looked a lot worse for wear, with his clothes tattered, his injuries actually seemed fairly minor, a few scrapes here and there, the most serious looking one a long gash spanning across his right bicep, but it still looked superficial in Ajax’s opinion. The poor thing was probably suffering from hypothermia more than anything, especially if his clothes were wet from the onslaught of snow that piled onto his body before. There was also a high chance of broken bones. 

But regardless of injuries, Xingqiu was still breathing and awake, and so the crowd went wild with their relief, hollering, cheering and clapping and yodelling all around. The two family heads even stopped their heated feud to look at the screen with an expression of deep awe and relief on both their faces.

“... haha, look… I–” A barrage of coughs escaped Xingqiu, the shivering heap clinging closer to the warmth that was Chongyun. The latter responded by hugging him tighter, pressing a kiss into wet matted hair. “I did it. Geo flowers were a bitch to deploy… space narrow… small… snow heavy… but I passed the trials! I think? I get to be your hubby now.”

“Fuck the trials! They promised me you wouldn’t– that you wouldn't–” More exclamations were elicited from the crowd in response to Chongyun’s furious outburst. The cryo vision user cut the ropes, returned his claymore to his back, and took out from his small satchel bag what seemed like a warming bottle. He uncapped it, letting a mini warming seelie float around them, warming them both. “I’m never– oh Xingqiu– why did I even– I’m never letting you go again. My darling. My precious darling. Never fucking again. Fucking hell.”

"What happened to discipline is everything huh? Hah? Your hot positive thing… act up again."

"I promise you I'm completely sober. I've grown. Things change. Other things become more important– like you."

“But trials... tis’ important to your family. And I can finally be in it… I hope! Hehe– love my protective hubby, warm Yunyun… m’ think I’m gonna…. small victory nap–”

“Don’t go to sleep! Don’t– I mean, I love you too darling– stay with me– tell me about what you like about the Legend of the Shattered Halberd.”

“Chiv– Ch– Chival– ugh . My brain hurt. Everything hurts. Sword cool. Justice very cool.”

“Send a stretcher!” Ajax watched as the Yunhai matriarch roared to the disciples. “Li! Ming! You’re accompanying Madame Pei to help heal Xingqiu. I want the Hua brothers to be on pyro backup in case they need more warming–”

“Mother. The lights. ”

“Xingqiu of the House of Feiyun has passed the trials!” The old wizened chieftess had hastily drawn some Liyuen characters into the air, and it then condensed into a ball of light before zipping off into the distance. A crack sounded, the sound of crystals shattering after, the snowy landscape once again bathed in a soft glow.

There was a flurry of activity, headed by none other than the old Yunhai matriarch herself, her eyes stormy. The rescue team looked at each other, obviously troubled by having the frail chieftess come with them into the terrible winter storm that laid ahead of them.

“Chieftess, we will do our best to bring both young master and master Xingqiu back to the tower, so perhaps you should–”

“I’m not part of the rescue team. I am out on a hunt .” The Yunhai chieftess' eyes now burned. “If the cause of the avalanche is something breathing, I'm going to make it wish it never breathed at all, mark my words. You all make haste– go. Now .”

Nodding nervously, the rescue team left, followed by the chieftess who descended down to the portal area with much purpose, her heron fashioned cane making ominous knocks against the wood. Ajax could have also sworn he saw another flash of white follow close behind, one that looked suspiciously like Shenhe, even though he didn't see her amongst the previous crowds at all.

On the other hand, Chongyun and Xingqiu's parents shared hugs, the former then bowing deeply towards the Feiyun head, most probably apologising. Surprisingly, the old man shook his head, saying something that had Chongyun's parents bowing even more furiously, possibly in gratitude this time, considering the grateful smiles on their faces. Xingqiu's brother stood behind his grandfather, nodding along to whatever his elders were saying.

"I can't believe it! What a day!" Xiangling finally spoke after what seemed like her having held her breath all this while. "I never knew Xingqiu associated with Master Zhongli close enough to have him make geo flowers for him."

“I do not." A familiar baritone voice sounded behind him. "That was not my geo construct."

What the fuck! Where have you been all this time? Ajax whipped his head around so fast he had almost gotten whiplash, only to find Zhongli blinking owlishly at him, hands folded behind his back as always.

"Mine is a rock pillar of pulsing geo energy– Childe has seen it.”

“Indeed I have. Very long and hard. Very powerful.” Ajax didn’t notice the resulting disgusted expressions and loud choruses of “ewwwww’s” from their audience of three, more interested in lowering his voice down to a hushed whisper, hissing to Zhongli. “Where were you? Actually, where have you and Madame Ping been? The two families could have used your help.”

"We were helping. Actively, in fact." Zhongli adjusted his gloves in front of him again, and Ajax spotted just the tiniest amount of snow falling out of them. "We were to ensure that the contract between Xingqiu and the Yunhai chieftess was followed. Xingqiu was to prove his prowess and fortitude to the clan by attempting to reach the tower in harsh weather conditions, while the chieftess was to ensure that the trials were only aimed to disarm, not kill, to the best of her ability."

"Xingqiu almost became a human popsicle though. I think that's a bit beyond disarming in my humble opinion."

“ To the best of her ability ." Zhongli emphasised. "The Yunhai head, while quite disapproving of Xingqiu, kept her word and did implement failsafes– there were many safety talismans found, ones that could be activated remotely to teleport Xingqiu back to the tower if needed. The avalanche, however, was a complete freak accident outside of the realm of contingencies she had in place. But fear not– Madame Ping and I had enacted a safety net as soon as we had felt the avalanche. Had Xingqiu truly fallen, he would still be safe."

“You were exploring the dangerous demon infested domain?" His hand was placed over his chest, his person gasping dramatically– in mock offence, of course. "Without me ?” 

“I was working ." Zhongli huffed, and then turned at his heel to start exiting the domain just like the rest of the guests, turning his head back only to gesture that Ajax should follow. "I shall be your guide in future explorations, but not today."

"Pinkie promise?" Ajax caught up with Zhongli, his pinkie held out with a devious smile. "It's how we do contracts in Snezhnaya."

"Hmm." Zhongli paused, but relented, his pinkie intertwined with Ajax's. "Very well– let this contract be set in stone."

"Alright! You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life. You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again."

"Macabre, but certainly sheds some light on Snezhayan culture."

"We take our promises just as seriously as you do your contracts. Maybe even more, because there's a bit of personal stake and trust involved." Ajax released their pinkies, beaming. "I can't wait to test my abilities here!"

"Ah yes, well, but I didn't specify the time frame, did I? All I said was, specifically– not today ." There was an inkling of a smirk, inciting a rush of adrenaline from Ajax– whether it was from excitement or fear, he didn't know– maybe even both! "Come along Childe, I suspect the families do not want to dwell here any longer. They would like to ensure both grooms are well rested before paying respects at the Yunhai ancestral hall."

This sneaky bastard! Zhongli got him there. Ajax was slightly miffed, but he'll get what he wants one way or the other, just you wait Mister Zhongli!

—

—

"... Yunyun."

"..."

"Dearest Yunyun. The love of my life. The wind at my back and the sword at my side."

"..."

"It's not auspicious for newlyweds to be mad at each other at their own wedding! Look, I was safe this whole time! Madame Ping and Master Zhongli were behind the scenes, ensuring that I would not– ha.. achoo! Ugh– no! Stop! No more blankets! Please! I feel just fine! It was just dust in the air! The healers have healed me so much that I feel like they gave me extra bones to break– honestly!"

"..."

"If you call the whole thing off, my efforts will be for naught. Our grandparents now begrudgingly tolerate each other even. Maybe your grandmother is doing it out of guilt, but grandfather actually thinks you've got a spine now. He has never said that about anyone, even me!"

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

"... yun?" 

"Ugh. Sorry I'm– Just. Let me hug you a little bit more okay? I don't want to be angry either, it's just– I was so fucking worried I– no. I'm not going to think about it. Peace in one’s heart, calm to one’s mind– I'm meditating, you're resting."

"Need to do more training? Really my love? Now?"

"Never enough training. Now rest."

"But– mmpghf!"

"Rest."

"So scandalous! You can't kiss me to silence me every– mmmpghf– ah okay okay! I'm resting! I'm resting!"

—

—

It was expected that Chongyun’s ancestral hall would be much larger than that of Xingqiu’s, but Ajax was still awed anyway. 

The place was in another hidden cavern deep into the mountains, one that required him to walk around the spray of a freezing waterfall and zig zag through a series of dark tunnels before reaching its large atrium. A large glowing cor lapis formation in the middle of its ceiling served as its artificial source of light, showcasing the names of Chongyun’s ancestors carved deep into the white limestone walls, their Liyuen characters glowing a similar blue to those found in the domain.

And at the very top of the wall, a blue-white heron was painted with wings spread, the vertical script near its elongated neck the only one that had more than three characters, glowing a soft silver instead of blue.

Ajax squinted at the words, trying to make sense of it. He wasn’t a scholar of the Liyuen language or anything, but he considered himself pretty fluent. The characters near the heron, however, looked like it had way three times as many strokes compared to the normal Liyuen character. 

“Something something snow something.” Ajax tried reading them aloud. “Something… uh Liyue? Something something… and I’m pretty sure that’s Rex Lapis’ name.” 

“Impressive. Those characters have long been lost to time, having evolved to be simpler for the common folk to learn and utilise.” Zhongli looked up towards the heron, an indescribable expression on his face. “Discipline the senses, purify the land. Bearer of Frost, Yunhai, serves her lordship Rex Lapis, protecting Liyue.”

“Discipline indeed.” Madame Ping came up to them, using her sleeves to clean the fog off her glasses before putting them back on. “Look at the impeccable state of this place! Yunhai’s descendents have done well. Cloud Retainer would be foaming at the mouth at the size and complexity of this abode.”

“Her descendents? You mean disciples right?” Ajax looked at the heron upon the wall, and then at Chongyun’s very human-looking family. 

“Who knows? But it was an open secret that those with human aliases like Yunhai tended to mingle amongst the mortals in their human form. Even more so, if they had accepted it so much that they were to carve it into a hall of ancestors. Wouldn’t you agree, Master Zhongli? ” 

“A rumour.” Zhongli shot a glare at Madame Ping, who responded by ignoring him, tutting to herself as she cleaned her glasses once more. “Frost bearer was notoriously private, and so were her disciples. But even if it was true, any adepti blood would have been diluted into nothingness by now– and perhaps that was for the best. She was also known for her violent tendencies. The heron adeptus, however, had incredible control over her instincts, and thus was the best at protecting herself from the demons’ evil influence.”

“Hmm. Just a thought.” Madame Ping had cleaned her very clean looking glasses for the third time, and when Zhongli looked her way once more, she immediately went to clean it a fourth time in an incredibly smooth transition. “One wonders from time to time.”

“Yeah. I would wonder too.” Ajax caught sight of that flash of white once more, and with a trained eye, he could see Shenhe expertly hiding behind the long tapestries that hung from the high ceiling, a sharp spear in her hand, and an even sharper gaze surveying the scene. When she met Ajax’s stare, she frowned deeply, glaring daggers, and if looks could kill, Ajax would be dead a hundred times over. 

He looked away out of respect for just a second, and when he returned to look at the same spot, she was gone.

Most people would be terrified at that point, but if the murderous white lady wanted to fight him, who was he to say no to a potentially powerful opponent? Ajax smiled to himself, cracking his knuckles in anticipation– not too sure for what yet.

“Liyue is fantastic .”

“Isn’t it?” A smile lit up Zhongli’s face, unknowing of the context behind Ajax’s praise. “Six thousand years of history. So many wonderful stories to tell, and– ah , another one is about to begin. Look.”

The smaller crowd in the atrium quietened down just as Chongyun and Xingqiu walked into the room, clad in their formal ceremonial robes, much more elaborate than the one they wore at Feiyun. Thankfully, Xingqiu seemed to be looking much better than he did just a few hours ago, whatever that hydro vision healer did was doing wonders.

Just like at Feiyun, the couple also bowed three times, but instead of the ceremony ending there, there was the sound of crystal shattering again, and the heron painting upon the wall was now animated, flapping its wings and shedding feathers. One such feather had touched one of the ancestor’s names at the very top, and like winter freezing river waters downstream, several names lit up in gold, a long line of intricate ancestry connecting the heron all the way down to Chongyun’s name at the very bottom.

“...you cannot tell me you aren’t a martial art novel protagonist after this. You simply can’t.” Xingqiu’s excited murmurs barely reached Ajax’s ears, but that was definitely what he said, with Chongyun’s loud huff and eye roll only further confirming it.

Chongyun’s name, although at the bottom of the ancestry tree, was still quite high up on the wall, and so a ladder and a platform had been prepared. Xingqiu was guided by Chongyun towards the top of the platform, one hand carrying a bowl wrapped in a towel.

And when they finally reached the top, the contents of the bowl were revealed to be–

“--a knife!” Xingqiu gingerly picked up the ornamental knife, one that was encrusted with gleaming cor lapis and fashioned to look like a feather.  “Blood sacrifice.”

“No! Oh give me that– Rex Lapis give me strength .”

“ I would die for you my liege. Oh I’ve always wanted to say that! This is great!”

“Not like that! Just a small prick! You’re going to have to write your name into the wall next to mine.”

And almost instantly, loud groans sounded from the Feiyun side of the crowd, one individual’s rambunctious laughter rising above the rest, and then a “Quiet! You’re the Feiyun heir! Act like it!”.

Ajax had no idea why they reacted the way they did, until Xingqiu actually wrote his name into the wall, or at least, Ajax thought he did.

It looked like a bunch of scribbles though.

And this was coming from the only outlander in the room.

“Oh that’s–” Even Zhongli’s voice sounded a little pained when Xingqiu’s addition lit up in gold, the heron painting similarly seemingly scrutinising the chicken scratches for a good long while before it did a weird shrug like gesture, connecting Xingqiu’s scrawl to Chongyun’s name, then swiftly returned to its immobile state without a fuss. The Yunhai side of the crowd audibly winced, but was polite enough to say nothing. 

Zhongli coughed into his fist instead of what Ajax thought was the beginnings of a laugh, clearing his throat. “I suppose we all have our… idiosyncrasies .”

“Well, as long as those who mind don’t matter, and those that matter don’t mind.” Ajax hummed as he watched Chongyun spin a squealing Xingqiu around in his arms, his entire person beaming with happiness. “I don’t think Chongyun minds too much.”

“No, he doesn’t seem to be.” A soft smile graced Zhongli’s features when he also found the couple showing each other affection. “I find myself learning so much from you, Childe. It truly has been a wonderful experience.”

“ Really? Even for someone as ancient as you?”

“Especially so.” Zhongli’s hand slipped into his, a mirthful expression on his handsome features as he looked at Ajax like he was the most wondrous thing– which was a real ego booster, if Ajax could say so himself. “I have recalled and retold so many stories of the past, but recently I have felt… inspired, to say the least. To perhaps write a new chapter of my own after a long break."

"Well, I'm honoured that I could be somewhat of a muse to you."

" Oh ." Bright cor lapis eyes looked into ocean blue, searching for something, and perhaps somewhere within its depths. "I– well. A muse . Yes. I suppose it is true, in some respects."

"In some respects?" A laugh, a warm smile. Ajax hoped the squeeze he gave was also encouraging. "What else am I? Hm?"

"Many things. Many wonderful things. My–"

"--husband! You're really my husband now! The ancient magic said so! You're stuck with me now my dear Yunyun."

"Wouldn't have it any other way Qiuqiu, I love–"

"Zhongli?" Those love birds in the background were loud in their confessions, most likely halting Zhongli's thought processes, with how his eyes seemed to go wide, staring at everything and nothing in particular, his mouth hung open in mid sentence. "You okay?"

"I'm… okay." There was an audible gulp, and Zhongli looked just that bit more frazzled, shaken maybe. "Just– an epiphany. It dawned upon me."

"A good one, I hope?"

"Yes. But the thing about change is that there is an element of trepidation to it. On the other hand, however, it is to be expected that all things worth pursuing would come with risks."

"Ooh. Care to share?"

"All in due time my dearest Childe." Zhongli's hand gripped back tighter, warm and comforting even through the fabric of their gloves. "All in due time."

—

—

"What do you think I should wear? The emerald green one, or the sage green one?"

"We are not going in our human forms."

"Oh but we must! How else can we savour the taste of the finest Liyuen delicacies in our finch forms? Why, tis a crime I say! To go as birds? Nay!"

"I have no interest in partaking in such frivolous mortal undertakings, much less mingle."

"Oh come on Xiao! It's a wedding! You're basically the groom's guest of honour! Think of the free wine! Please please pleasepleaseplease–"

—

—

And so the wedding was finally coming to a close– with a bang.

And what a bang indeed!

The prestigious Lady Yunjin herself bowed towards them upon an exquisitely decorated stage, set amongst the beautiful gardens of the Jade chamber. 

"And so concludes our exclusive one time only viewing of this wonderful story of star crossed lovers, of how their love rose above all else. We at the Yun-Han Opera Troupe would like to thank you all for being such a fantastic audience! We would also like to thank Miss Hu Tao, who was instrumental in the research behind the script. And last but not least, to Chongyun and Xingqiu, we dedicate our adaptation of Glacial love by Zhenyu to you, and wish that your marriage will forever shine bright like the stars in the story did for its beloved princes."

Ajax was amongst the many who added to the roaring cheers and thunderous applause, with him being a huge fan of Lady Yunjin, and today's magnificent performance only adding to her impressive repertoire. Chongyun was even shedding a few tears as he clapped fervently, his husband beside him doing the same, albeit a lot paler, and a lot more wrung out.

The guy probably cried his eyes out on an earlier act– the one where Prince Xi had to watch his childhood sweetheart get married to another, after years of affections he thought were requited. The protagonist had not only lost his love, but also his freedom due to surmounting princely responsibilities, grief and sorrow palpable. That act was pretty heart wrenching, and Yunjin was a fantastic storyteller who conveyed its angst in an incredibly gripping manner. Xiangling and Xinyan had both bawled their eyes out then, with a worried Guoba frantically passing tissues to them every other second.

"Ah, looks like our dear Guhua Geek is coming this way. That is my cue to leave." Hu Tao chirped, her chair scraping the marble floor as she stood up in a hurry. Indeed, when Ajax looked towards where the groom's were seated, Xingqiu's chair was empty, its owner now walk– actually, running . Xingqiu was running to the table with increasing speeds.

"If you find my body in the pier tomorrow, burn it and scatter my ashes into Xingqiu's tea! Also tell Yanfei I love her!"

Ajax almost spat out his tea, doing a double take at Hu Tao. "What?"

"Actually, it's okay." Hu Tao tipped her hat, grinning. "She knows. My baby girl will definitely avenge me because I actually did my taxes this year so–"

"Hu Tao!"

"--oops, it really is time for me to skedaddle! Toodles!"

And with that, a comical scene of Xingqiu chasing Hu Tao took place, the two looking incredibly silly as they weaved in between the banquet tables, but thankfully most of the guests were piss drunk, and had cheered as if they were another performance.

Finally, she had escaped Xingqiu's wrath by jumping off the side of the Jade chamber with a loud "Xingqiu is a goober for Chongyun! Hee hee! Good night Liyue!", her glider then popping open and gliding her to safety below.

Xingqiu could only cross his arms as he watched his victim get away. But he didn't look too miffed, especially when Chongyun came over to bring Xingqiu back to their seats with another bridal carry. It was the fifth time they did this within the night, and Ajax was starting to think Xingqiu liked to be manhandled like that, especially by a flushed affectionate Chongyun who kept hiccuping every other minute.

In fact, a lot of other people were similarly inebriated, their sense of rationality gone to the wind, their absolutely shit-faced drunk state of mind an absolute wonder to behold.

Unfortunately, Zhongli seemed to house a liver of steel, completely sober despite what seemed to be his fifth cup of strong rice wine. At least Ajax was similarly sober– this Liyuen stuff was kid's play when compared to Snezhnayan fire water.

"Now this here Xinyan? This is the good shit. Not the osthmanthus water slash horse piss they served up here at the last function." A buff looking woman seemed to have come out of nowhere, slapping their table with a hearty laugh as she brandished bottles of wine precariously with her other hand. She then sidled up to Xinyan, giving her a good head nudging and a ruffle to her hair.

Xinyan was actually laughing quite good naturedly along for someone who just had their hairstyle ruined. "To tell ya the truth sister, I ain't cultured enough to tell the difference."

"My my, Captain Beidou." Oh man, that was the Tianquan herself sauntering towards their table in the most extravagant dress Ajax has ever seen– as expected of someone who was only second to Rex Lapis in terms of power. Reflexively, Ajax put on the most innocent smile, one that definitely belonged to someone who didn't regularly terrorise the Liyuen population for debts and the natural wildlife for excercise. His reputation in Liyue tended to precede him, after all.

Thankfully, she seemed more interested in Captain Beidou and Xinyan, the smoke from her lit pipe dancing in swirls around her, framing her amused expression as she shot Captain Beidou a smirk. "In my defence, that horse piss was highly recommended by a very reputable merchant contact of mine." She drawled, taking a puff before blowing perfect smoke rings at Captain Beidou, who had waved them away with an annoyed huff. "It was one who was very well travelled too. But alas, nobody's perfect."

"Oh come on Ningguang! It was a joke! You– wait, I could have fuckin' sworn I brought three bottles to the table. Where's the last one? Oh never mind, look– I got the good shit this time, so we're even!"

And so the two of them bickered while Xinyan tried to play peacemaker. On the other hand, Ajax wondered whether him staying or leaving from his seat was the less conspicuous option–

"Childe." There was a warm hand on his shoulder, and when Ajax turned to face its owner, Zhongli gestured behind one of the large decorative potted plants in a suitably dark corner of the garden, his expression unreadable. "I want to show you something."

Oh thank the Tsaritsa. Zhongli truly was his soulmate, having saved Ajax the trouble of facing the Tianquan's ire.

Ajax also hated making small talk with someone as enterprising as the Lady Ningguang. He usually let Ekaterina sort out that kind of thing, instructing her to tell any sort of Qixing request from her to see him that he was busy all the time, everytime . He'd much prefer to meet the Qixing secretary Ganyu for "official" meetings, because all he had to do was show up at her office, add the Northland bank's paperwork on top of one of her countless paper mountains, and then fuck off without talking to said secretary, who was undoubtedly buried in her paper fortress.

"Childe?"

"Coming!" Ajax stood up as quietly as possible, following Zhongli's lead. Madame Ping had let out a wolf whistle for some indiscernible reason, reminding him that she was still actually there at their table, even though he thought she had long since left. That had earned her another glare from Zhongli, to which she quickly cleaned her glasses for the tenth time.

Very weird. But he supposed Madame Ping was one of those funny little old ladies who liked to say her funny little words and do funny little things.

Ajax gently nudged Zhongli with his elbow, getting Zhongli's attention from straying too far into the business of chastising Madame Ping's strange antics. "You wanted to show me something?"

"Yes." Safely hidden behind the potted plant, Zhongli leaned in really close, close enough to feel his breath on his cheek, sending shivers down Ajax's spine. Instinctively, Ajax closed his eyes, bracing himself for… something.

But instead of the something he was expecting, Zhongli whispered to him with an irritated huff instead.

"Do you remember the green goblin we had the fortune of meeting?"

"The fuck?" Ajax's eyes went wide open, his soul feeling like it had escaped his meaty husk and fled back to Snezhnaya.

Did Zhongli really have to get the two of them alone, in this suspicious dark corner, and lean in so stupidly close to tell him this?

What the fuck!

"Indeed." Zhongli grumbled, unknowing of Ajax's little freak out. He then reached into the pockets of his robes, and grabbed out a weird little creature by the… hair? Leaf?

It wasn't even struggling despite Zhongli's aggressive hold, the fairy-looking thing hiccuping with small giggly squeaks every now and then.

"That's–" Ajax tried to shake the weird feeling of disappointment out of his head, instead focusing on the strange exhibit Zhongli brought out for him. "That's the weirdest looking seelie I've ever seen."

" You're the weirdest looking– hiccup! I've– ugh… seen? Hehe? Hehe! You're Zhongli's little–"

Oh. It was the voice of the gremlin bard from Mondstadt.

Zhongli shook Venti's sprite form, the little thing squawking indignantly as empty wine bottles seemed to materialise below him, rolling across the stone floor with a noisy clatter. "Drunkard. I can hurtle you right back to Mondstadt right this instant. Do not test me."

"Rude! I'm actually invited! Cus Xiao's… he helped the groom, the white blue one I mean… and I'm– hiccup! His plus one! "

"Xiao is here?" Zhongli made a curious sort of noise. "Well then, where is he?"

"At the very end, when there's– hiccup! less… peeps– people things. M' baby boy is shy–"

"He is not your baby boy."

"Haha okay! He can be your baby boy, but then he's got to be my daddy – hrHGK –"

Wow he really must have a death wish huh. Ajax watched as Zhongli's expression darkened considerably, hands turning into claws as he squeezed the living daylights out of the sprite. Venti in this form, however, seemed to be made out something akin to a malleable squeaky toy, because not only did he recover quickly, but he had also kept going .

"I personally don't have a choking kink but if that's what you and Sir Tartaglia– hiccup! I mean, you do you! No kinkshaming on my watch! Be free my friend– Heyheyheywaitnotthecubeagain! NOOOooo–" 

When Venti started to yodel, his high pitched laughter was almost loud enough to alert the nearest table to their location, and so, Zhongli swiftly utilised his geo vision to create some sort of geo cage, the walls a translucent golden forcefield that allowed them to see Venti try to escape the cube for a good two seconds, before he gave up and continued yodelling, muffled voice loud even within his small prison.

"Haha! I'm a bard in a box! A living breathing music box!" Venti flitted within, seemingly still carefree despite the circumstances. "Am I to be your courting gift to Sir Tartaglia? I shall not disappoint! Oh let me see what I shall sing–"

"Uh, yeah, no thank you ."

"Fear not." Zhongli's gaze was warm, making Ajax feel a tad bit embarrassed, considering how they still had an audience with them, albeit a small annoying one. "Your gift shall be much more useful."

"Wow! So rude!" An offended gasp, and then a buzzing that sounded like an angry swarm of bees. "Why I could just–"

"Did my eyes deceive me? Was that an adeptus?"

"Not just any adeptus! He's the last living Yaksha, the almighty Conqueror of Demons!"

"So the rumours are true! Master Chongyun had trained under a formidable adeptus for years and that was how he managed to finally control that yang constitution of his."

"An ancient adeptus has blessed this union! Oh happy days!"

The rising gossip finally reached their corner of the Jade Chamber gardens, and with it came Venti's sudden increased buzzing, his little form whacking at the walls.

"Let me out! Or else Xiao's gonna–"

"Master Zhongli."

Where the fuck do these people keep coming from? The grumpy adeptus had materialised from the shadows, head in a deep bow right in front of Ajax and Zhongli.

"Xiao." Zhongli returned Xiao's greeting with a nod of his head. "Have you attended the festivities?"

"Barely. Only to give my blessings, and to–" Ajax barely caught it, but there was definitely a visible wince on Xiao's expression when he caught sight of Venti buzzing around in his cage, before it expertly schooled itself into a nonchalant one. "I am to accompany Lord Barbatos in his return journey back to Mondstadt."

"Lord Barbatos? You mean the Anemo Archon?" Ajax balked, head whipping to the sprite in the box. "This one? Venti? "

Immediately, Xiao's narrowed eyes burned gold as he glared at Ajax, not unlike Zhongli's own. "Show some respect, mortal–"

" Alatus . At ease, it was only a question." And just with that casual address from Zhongli, the other party immediately bowed deep towards Zhongli in deference.

"My sincere apologies for the transgression. I shall deeply reflect on my actions–"

"Not by self-flagellation, I hope." Zhongli heavily sighed, and somehow Ajax could tell that there was some level of precaution in his words, like a wild boar treading lightly on thin ice. "Xiao, you are most diligent in your duties. Might I remind you that rest is equally as important?"

"My deepest apologies, Master Zhongli."

"You need not apologise–"

"For that, I apolog– ah . I– um." Xiao now looked just as uncomfortable as Zhongli did. Interesting. "Thank you, Master Zhongli."

An awkward pause, then another sigh.

"I digress. Here you are, your plus one ." Venti was unceremoniously released from his prison with a snap of Zhongli's fingers, the sprite then flying over to settle on Xiao's shoulder. Venti continued to drunkenly chatter away, a plate full of white jelly magically appearing and floating over to rest upon Xiao's hands.

"Look baby! I– Hiccup! Hehe–I saved you your favourites!"

Another barely there wince from Xiao, and also a barely contained growl from Zhongli, but both of them ended up saying nothing. After a tense few seconds, Xiao had bowed deeply once more and disappeared into the shadows along with Venti and the weird jelly in his hand.

"Wow." Ajax looked to Zhongli, who now was looking at his own hand, flexing his fingers where an anemo-archon-filled box previously was. "That was painful."

"Truly. My ears start ringing whenever I hear his voice, as if to warn me of the chaos that is about to ensue." Zhongli rubbed at his temples. Ajax was actually referring to the awkward conversation between him and that grumpy adeptus, and not so much Venti's involvement, but Ajax wasn't going to pry this time.

"You're like a papa bear protective over his baby cub. It's cute." Ajax dared to poke at a soft cheek, to which Zhongli swatted his hand away with a huff, but his shoulders seemed a bit more relaxed, a bit less defensive. "I wonder how Rex Lapis feels about one of his adepti dating the anemo archon."

"Annoyed. Miffed. Frequent headaches." Zhongli groaned. "But as unseemly as his behaviour may be, he undoubtedly cherishes Xiao, to the latter's betterment. Rex Lapis and his adepti cannot reproach him for that."

"Furthermore, as callous and carefree he may be, he is powerful in his own right, and has always heeded his nation's cries, rising to the occasion every single time." Zhongli looked into the distance towards the North, and if Ajax really squinted in that direction, he could make out the faint blue light radiating from the distant anemo archon statue at the famous Windrise tree past Dragonspine. "Infuriatingly, however, his power comes in sporadic bursts, and he always undergoes long periods of slumber afterwards, leaving his nation to fend for themselves in the meantime."

"Oh, like doing five minutes of work and taking a five hour nap?"

" Indeed . You have such a way with words, dear Childe." Soft laughter filled the air. "While we are on the topic, if you would so indulge me, how would the Tsaritsa feel about her harbingers in a courtship with, let's say… the geo archon ?"

"Oh? Interesting question." Ajax knee-jerk response was that the Tsaritsa could give less of a fuck if it didnt further her ideals, but that wasn't entirely true. "That depends on which harbinger."

"What about her eleventh?"

"Me? Hmm. Not to brag or anything, but I'm her Majesty's favourite harbinger by far ." But she treated Ajax like her funny little pet dog more than a subject, so Ajax wasn't sure whether that sort of favouritism was of the good kind. "She'd expect due compensation if my marriage affected my duties. Why? Is Rex Lapis interested?"

"Hypothetically." When Ajax looked at Zhongli, the man seemed deep in thought, brows furrowed as he brought his fingers to his lips. And then there was a jerk, as if Zhongli was struck, the man subsequently looking at Ajax with a worried expression. "I do not wish to scare you."

Scare me why? It wasn't as if Rex Lapis was really going to marry him or anything. Ajax hadn't even met the archon!

Now, if it was, let's say, Rex Lapis' very powerful, very handsome, and incredibly sweet adeptus, by the name of Zhongli, well–

Well .

"Well!" Ajax tried not to go down that rabbit hole, especially considering how his thoughts were all skewed towards a certain manner, strongly influenced by all the lovey-dovey stuff from the past few days. Dangerous stuff. Messed with your head. "Hypothetically, good luck to whoever wants to marry me, because convincing my family will take all of Celestia's forces and more ."

"How so?' Zhongli looked at him with a curious gaze. "Are they disagreeable to you getting married? Is it your youth?"

"My youth ?" Ajax laughed, amused at Zhongli's confused reaction. "I'm not as wizened as you, mysterious tea shop owner of Huaguang stone forest, but I'm no spring chicken. They just think I'm not the type to get married– settling down and all that would bore me to death."

And they would think he got himself a mail order bride or a sugar baby, because they didn't think a normal human could love a bat-shit crazy guy like him enough to consider marriage.

Which, to be fair, made sense– and he agreed with them!

Luckily Zhongli wasn't really human either right? And he was kind of monstrous like Ajax– in his own attractive way of course! Haha! Ha –

Wow the wedding fumes really got to me. Ajax internally cringed when he found himself spiralling again. Reel it back Ajax. Reel it back.

"Getting married does not equate to settling down." There was a weird infliction to Zhongli's words, as if persuasive, despite there being no need for any convincing. "It is a contract between two individuals who would like to stay by each other's side. It could lead to domestication, yes, but ultimately it is a promise to stay together– whether it be a couple in a humble home, or adventuring partners out exploring–"

"Technically, if you'd love someone that much, you'll always be home if you're with them no?"

Zhongli looked at him, astounded, his mouth still open mid-sentence. Ajax started back with an equal amount of surprise at his own words, if not more.

And then there was the longest pause.

What was that? Why did I even– Ajax couldn't believe the words that escaped his lips. He visibly winced this time, his body turned away, a bit scared of how Zhongli would react to such disgusting cliches.

But when he mustered the courage to take a peek at the other, he almost jumped back at how close he was, Zhongli's person looming over him, his hands slowly coming up to cup Ajax's cheeks, the familiar warmth simultaneously soothing and burning. 

"You are so lovely." Ajax felt naked under that intense stare, shrivelling and soaring at the same time. "So incredibly lovely. Do you know how lovely you are?"

Those words made Ajax's mind all woozy, heart hammering in his chest.

A normal answer would have constituted a yes or no. Now Ajax, being Ajax, did not respond with such a normal answer.

Instead, because he had an innate competitive streak bigger than the whole of Liyue, he copied Zhongli's movements, enjoying the surprised expression on the man's expression as Ajax cupped Zhongli's own cheeks, and then went straight in.

Kissed that man he did, and Ajax revelled in the way he felt a smile form against his own lips too, Zhongli's hands previously on his cheeks now reaching down to rest on his hips, dragging the two of them closer, bodies flushed, chest to chest.

It was an exhilarating feeling. The kind that got your blood pumping. And when Ajax broke them apart for some air, Zhongli chased his lips so adoringly he couldn't help but snort, the undignified sound earning an irritated look from the man.

" Awful ."

"You just called me lovely." A kiss to another soft cheek. A less annoyed grumble, sounding more satisfied. "No take backs."

"I wouldn't dream of it, my darling Childe."

—

—

"Um, is that–"

"Nothing to see here young lady."

"But Madame Ping!"

"Off you go child. There are much better places to be. Believe me, I shall be telling off anyone who is stupid enough to think this is an inconspicuous place. But tonight is a special one, so I shall reserve such actions for later."

Chapter Text

"Dear Tartaglia,

Once again, your latest report would have been impeccable, if only it had included updates on your romantic misadventures. Surely your interactions span beyond dinner shows, meals and beach strolls by now? It has been months. Morax's letters are similarly vague. One hopes you are not leaving out important details at another's behest.

Perhaps one might send another harbinger for reconnaissance. At the same time, however, it is not unlike him to be infuriatingly prudish. 

One awaits your next report.

Glory to the Motherland.

The Tsaritsa, Grand Empress of Snezhnaya."

 —

—

"Sir Tartaglia,

Brigadier General Dimitri of the second electro division, under the honourable Sixth Harbinger Balladeer, would like to relay an important message from our leading Harbinger, as transcripted:

"YOU DUMB FUCK. I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING. I'M NOT GOING TO LIYUE TO BABYSIT YOUR FLAT ASS. FIX YOUR SHIT."

Please note that the capital letters were insisted upon by our honourable Harbinger.

Glory to the Motherland.

Brigadier General Dimitri

Second Electro Division (Inazuma/Mondstadt)"

—

—

"Sir Balladeer,

Receptionist Ekaterina of the Northland Bank (Liyue branch), under the esteemed Eleventh Harbinger Tartaglia, would like to relay a reply from our leading Harbinger, in correspondence to your message. The reply is as transcripted:

"There's nothing to fix dipshit! But what are you going to do about it huh? Fight me? My gigantic fat ass will be waiting for you in Liyue if you ever drop by :)"

Please note that the smiley face was insisted upon by our esteemed Harbinger.

Glory to the Motherland.

Receptionist Ekaterina 

Northland Bank (Liyue)"

—

—

"Hey Mister Childe and Mister Zhong– oh? Strange. Where’s Mister Zhongli?"

Ajax shrugged at Xiangling’s question, swiftly sliding into his seat at his regular corner of Wanmin Restaurant. Childe and Zhongli’s Friday Feast, Xiangling had once dubbed it, their weekly rendezvous now so disgustingly routine that even the occasional odd merchant started capitalising on it, ambushing them in the middle of their post-lunch walk with their assortment of trinkets for Zhongli to peruse.

Ajax wasn’t stupid, he has heard of the rumours– one that detailed a Snezhnayan noble buying whatever his Liyuen companion liked, without question.

But what most didn’t know was how said Liyuen companion did not hesitate to grill fake low-quality goods with a vengeance, sending merchants running with tails between their legs, and it was quality entertainment for everyone witnessing it, especially Ajax.

“Though a similar shade of green, this is not smaragdus jadeite. This seems to be an unrefined peridot. A low quality one at that.” And then that beautiful monster of a man actually took the rock, licked it, and bit off a chunk of it, the crunch only barely louder than the gasps of the small crowd they had amassed, louder than the terrified squeak of that conniving merchant. “Considering its extrusive igneous sedimentary nature… perhaps a deposit on Mount Tianheng, North side, where magma has most recently emerged closest to the surface. Additionally, the ore lacks the distinct elemental energy unique to the smaragdus. To the non-vision user, such elemental exposure is carcinogenic.”

“Uh. Um.” The merchant was visibly sweating now, his hands wringing his wrists. “Carcinogenic?”

“Apologies, I should have described it in layman terms.” Zhongli somehow managed to make the action of spitting a rock out graceful and refined, the green bits of the ore in his palm glowing eerily with Zhongli’s geo vision interference. “Essentially, smaragdus jadeite will kill you. And it will be excruciatingly slow and painful.”

Ah, he so clearly remembered the way that merchant had all but yelped and scurried off, dropping his stash of low quality gems with a clatter upon the marble floor of Yujing Terrace. It was music to Ajax’s ears. Zhongli had even blinked oh so adorably at him then, expression confused as he muttered a “But I told him his goods were not smaragdus jadeite?”

“Mister Childe?” Xiangling’s small giggle brought him back to their humble regular corner of Wanmin restaurant, her eyes gleaming with mirth. “You thinking of Mister Zhongli again?”

“It’s hard not to, when he’s usually the one ordering half the menu this time every week.” Ajax huffed in his reply. “Zhongli’s busy with something today. But he’s already conditioned my stomach to crave for Wanmin’s whenever Friday afternoons come around, so just the usual for me thanks.”

“Okie dokes! One Black-back Perch Stew with a side of noodles, coming up!” And then away Xiangling went, leaving Ajax to sit awkwardly alone in his chair, trying to not notice the pitying looks from the typical Friday regulars at Wanmin– especially old man Fong, who occasionally brought his Xiangqi chess board over to their table for a blitz game with Zhongli before their food arrived. From the corner of Ajax’s eye, the elderly gentleman seemed to be debating with himself on whether to come over, and Ajax tried to put him out of his misery by giving him a smile and a thumbs up.

Instead of a reassured expression, however, the old man’s worried frown seemed to deepen even more–

“Don’t mind them Mister Childe! It’s just that this is the first time you’ve come here alone in a long while. You’re always with Mister Zhongli.” A bowl of mouth-watering black perch stew was placed in front of him on the table, Xiangling’s addition of a fork alongside a pair of chopsticks another reminder of the absence of his usual companion. “It’s also the Flower Weaver Festival today, so they’re probably extra on edge seeing you without him.”

“It’s really alright! Honest! In fact, I’m meeting him and his, uh… family later.” Ajax didn’t know what the most appropriate word for the relationship between the adepti and Zhongli was. Business associates and colleagues seemed a bit clinical for something so mythical. “He’s always busy during the holiday seasons.”

Click clack. Ajax actually fumbled with the chopsticks instead of going with the fork because it felt like betraying Zhongli’s trust otherwise, in a weird convoluted way. But the moment he tried to shakily grab the strands of the noodles, the screeching of chair legs against cement alerted him to potential intruders of his personal dining bubble, and sure enough, when he looked up from his bowl of soup, a sheepish looking Xiangling was now flanked by old man Fong and Madame Liu, the latter a middle aged housewife who frequented the restaurant alongside her fellow housewife clique.

Said gaggle of aunties was behind Madame Liu, the bunch of them gossiping low enough for the other customers not to hear, but Ajax’s trained ears could pick out every word they were saying.

“A family dinner on Flower Weaver’s festival? Such an auspicious date… do you think–"

“Perhaps. But despite not knowing exactly what Master Zhongli does, he is undoubtedly from a traditional family of very high standing. Their customs and traditions may be different from the everyday Liyuen. Who are we to advise him?”

“I agree. Isn’t it a little embarrassing, nosing into people’s business like this?”

“This is helping! Helping! Look at the poor dear, he holds his chopsticks like a dagger. Master Zhongli’s family will surely pick him apart like vultures! He needs all the help he can get.”

Hey! And just for that chopstick comment, he resolutely picked up a whole bunch of noodles and stuffed it into his mouth for good measure, eyes narrowing at the shrinking auntie gang as he firmly chewed his food with filled cheeks. His petty actions, however, had earned winces from the three main individuals standing before him.

“Forgive us for eavesdropping, but we, uh–” Old man Fong avoided his eyes when Ajax looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "If it's not too presumptuous, we would like to wish you luck, Master Childe. I hope Master Zhongli's family sees how much of a fine lad you are."

"Yes, yes. A wonderful man indeed. Very earnest." Madame Liu really tried hard to avoid Ajax's direction without seeming too disgusted, her delicate senses probably offended by him swallowing his food with audible gulps. "The list of Liyuen customs are plentiful and complex, especially for an outlander like yourself, but I have complete faith your raw passion will triumph over all."

"... uh, thanks?" He replied after swallowing his last mouthful of noodles. It was just a small dinner gathering of adepti at Cloud Retainer's abode, and Zhongli had asked him to come with. Ajax said yes, a staple answer to Zhongli's weird requests nowadays, but the outcome was always interesting, and sometimes fun even. Why would he ever say no?

"And what will you bring for Master Zhongli at the event, Master Childe?"

"I need to bring something?" Immediately nervous looks were elicited. Even Xiangling's face donned a wide eyed look of shock. " Right! I will definitely be bringing something! It's a…uh, a surprise !"

"Such meetings are important, Master Childe! I'd recommend some premium quality hampers of fine seafood–"

"Oh." Slurp. Chew. Swallow. "Zhongli hates seafood."

"Then some exquisite jewellery? I'm neighbours with Xingxi at Mingxing Jewellery, I can help you get a good deal–"

"Oh thank you, but unfortunately we just went there two weeks ago." Chew. Chew. Swallow. "They only stock new merchandise every three months. I already got him whatever he wanted this round."

"... clothing?"

"He wears the same suit everyday. Zhongli just likes it that way." Slurp. Slurp. "When we shop for clothes, he's picking out clothes for me rather than for himself. But funnily enough, I prefer wearing the same uniform everyday too."

"Uh, well, you can never go wrong with Mora in red packets."

"But there's only so much mora I can physically put in there." Chew. Slurp. "It's probably not going to be enough."

" Oh Rex Lapis help us all. At this point you probably already bought a house for him.

At that last suggestion from Madame Liu, he actually stopped eating, thinking a little more about it. But then he soon continued eating anyway. "No amount of mora could have me buy the kind of house he's used to." Chew. Swallow. "Besides, it's hard for non-Liyuen citizens like me to buy property in Liyue Harbour."

"... you actually considered it. Oh Archons above–"

"Oh that was good. You've outdone yourself Xiangling!" Ajax placed his chopsticks upon the bowl, the payment then placed upon the wooden table in a smooth finishing move, his person relishing in the way his audience all gaped at him. 

He had spent so much time with Zhongli– of course he'd know what he liked. What were they expecting? Tsk, Honestly .

"Actually, that reminds me--I've got to pick up a tea set from Madame Xu's."

"You managed to get a tea set commissioned from them?" An incredulous gasp from an auntie sounded behind Madame Liu. "Their commission slots are booked out until next year!'

"He's obviously got a deal." Another auntie scoffed. "It's common knowledge that Master Childe had bought a great deal of premium tea cakes for Master Zhongli. Fifteen, in fact."

Tsaritsa help him, it's been months since then. It looked like Zhongli was never going to get rid of that moniker. He cleared his throat. "Oh that's fine, I commissioned it around the time of the Lantern Rite. Asked the ladies to take their time too--can't rush art, you know?"

"Yeah! Absolutely!" Xiangling cheered, fists pumped. The rest of their little crowd gave similar murmurings of encouragement. "You got this Mister Childe! I'm rooting for you!"

"Thanks everyone!" With a belly full of good food, he waved goodbye to the somewhat stunned-looking Friday Wanmin regular crew. It was heart-warming to think that in just a few short months, he had integrated into Liyue Harbour enough to have people think of him as part of their lives– sometimes in a positive light even.

A good part of that outcome was thanks to Zhongli, Ajax's Liyuen culture expert, guiding him through the complexities of its society with practised ease. Everyone thought highly of him, and by proxy, also lifted Ajax' dog water Fatui reputation as well.

It's a nice day today. Really nice. Warm sunshine caressed Ajax's face as he stepped out of Wanmin Restaurant, the sweet scent of silk flowers permeating the air. The whole harbour was decorated with lovely flower pieces as part of the Flower Weaver festival, brightening the place as well as his overall mood.

Alright. Ajax mused. Time to pop down to Madame Xu's.

—

—

"Do you think he will like it?"

"My Lord, it is perfect. More than perfect even. Master Childe will love it."

"I am asking as a friend more so than your Lord. Be harsh in your criticism. I do not seek sycophancy. I seek honesty."

"I have been nothing but truthful, dear friend. In fact, I would even say the fault lies not with your gift, but the way you keep doubting yourself even after months of working on this project. One has counted one hundred and thirty-two laps around the work table ever since you called for my critique. I assure you, the more you look at it, the more flaws you will see."

"You do raise a good point, Madame Ping. I thus must inspect it more carefully–"

"I shall now make my leave my Lord. If you wish to have someone else feed your anxiety, Ganyu will be off work in about fifteen minutes. I shall see you at dinner."

"But–"

"Or Cloud Retainer even– that is, if you can drag her out of the death trap she calls a kitchen. I shall leave you in their capable hands. Goodbye."

—

—-

"Master Childe, what a pleasant surprise."

"Oh, hey there Chongyun." Ajax sat in the corner of the shop, sipping on some sample tea provided by an excited Madame Xu when he caught the exorcist walking into the building. The owner was probably going to take a while at the back to find his long-awaited commissioned piece, so he figured some small bits of conversation with Chongyun wouldn't hurt.

It had been a while since he properly last saw Chongyun, their most recent encounter was last month at Wanmin restaurant, where he and Xingqiu had sat at the table next to him and Zhongli. Despite them formally wedded as spouses for a good few months now, they still acted like a bunch of teens teasing and flirting with each other. It was nice– their banter was always funny to listen to, and their presence always reminded him to pester Zhongli about him needing to bring Ajax back to the Yunhai domain one day. Any opportunity to pester Zhongli was a good one.

And of course, Chongyun had also asked him once again if Ajax would like Chongyun to banish the spirits that haunted Northland bank, to which he replied another firm no, because the employees liked it unnaturally cold. They would rather deal with demons than the sweltering hell that was a Liyuen summer, thank you very much.

"The spirits could attack the staff at any time." Chongyun added with a subtle pleading tone. "Although I am still unsure why they haven't yet, but if they do–"

"Eh, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." The spirits were probably too scared of Ekaterina to do anything. Ajax was sure that if she weren't so exceptional at her receptionist job, she would have been a fearsome field officer. "Don't worry, you're our first point of contact when it gets troublesome."

"But–"

"It'll be fine." Ajax finished his tea and placed it on the nearby table, freeing up his hand to pat Chongyun on the shoulder, reassuring. "Who knows, maybe the spirits are asking us to help with their unfinished business! We're experts at debt collecting, after all."

Chongyun, however, seemed mortified at Ajax's joke, his icy blue eyes wide with horror. "No? No! I mean– please do not make contact with the spirits! If they were demons, they may even corrupt souls–" 

"Sounds like a fun time to me." And the immediate sputtering reaction from the man was fantastic . Poor Chongyun was so fun to tease.

"Oh don't torment the poor dear Master Childe. His husband has a sixth sense when someone else is bullying Master Chongyun, and he tends to get back at them tenfold. Also, Master Chongyun, Master Xingqiu's order of mistflower Qingxin tea is just behind the counter, I'll give it to you in just a moment." Madame Xu's tutting came into earshot, and when Ajax looked her way, she was carrying a gilded box with an extravagant dragon-phoenix design, the edges lined with embossed golden ginkgo leaves, framing the two mythical creatures intertwined in an intimate dance. Every single colour on the item was a shimmering gleaming shade, unmistakably made from expertly cut precious gems rather than paint.

It was extremely opulent, somehow without it being gaudy, and more importantly, it looked like something Zhongli would absolutely fawn over, making excited comments on every single detail that Madame Xu's wife had put into the piece. And this was only the gift box! He hadn't even seen the tea set within!

"Holy fuck. It looks so much better than the pictures you sent me." Ajax couldn't help but gasp. She even managed to incorporate the glaze lilies into the gift box so tastefully even though Ajax asked for its inclusion so late in its development. "I mean– sorry for my language, but wow? How could I even– Madame Xu, you and Madame Wei are geniuses ."

"Indeed." Chongyun made a small noise that sounded like pure awe. "This looks like an heirloom piece. A treasure fit for the gilded halls of the Jade chamber– no, perhaps even Rex Lapis' Imperial golden palace."

"Aww, you two boys really know how to butter up an old crone like me. Please, my Weiwei did most of the work, I just twisted the arms of a few merchants who tried to overcharge me for the gem materials– metaphorically, of course." Madame Xu gently placed the box onto the counter, wrapping it up in layers of beautiful golden silk and sturdy red ropes. "Like we discussed, there's a mechanism in the box that triggers a scented mist when it opens, just to give it some of that pizzaz. I hope it impresses that erudite man of yours."

"Oh for sure." Ajax gave her a wide smile, cradling the gift with two hands as he prepared to take off. "I know you said I overpaid you last time, but I'm sure you were definitely being too humble about it, so I left you tips! It's under the counter where you keep all your hidden snacks because I know you'll refuse it for sure! Thanks again Madame Xu!

"What? How did you– when did you–" Ajax watched gleefully as Madame Xu scrambled to open that hidden compartment her wife told Ajax about, her eyes going wide as she most likely spotted the mora pouch he had sneakily stashed within. "Oh you awful man! This is way too much! Master Chongyun! After him!"

"Hmm, but I can't leave without my husband's tea." Chongyun replied without hesitation, humour evident in his tone. Ajax laughed at it all, waving Chongyun a grateful goodbye and giving a mock salute to a red-faced Madame Xu as he ran out of the shop into pouring rain.

Strange, it was just sunny a moment ago . Ajax hugged the gift tight, trying to cover it from the rain. Despite the sudden drizzle, the Flower Weaver Festival seemed to persevere, the festival workers hurriedly pitching up tents to protect their stalls, colourful umbrellas shielding the festival goers. The decorative flower statues along the docks even glimmered in the rain, the multitude of fresh flowers tied to its artificial iron branches gave it a pop of colour, making it seem like it was blooming rainbows.

Nothing was going to stop a Liyuen holiday save for a calamity, Ajax supposed.

—

—

“Cloud Retainer, would you like help with the– oh goodness. Cloud Retainer, that is definitely too much food.”

"There is never enough food! One must be prepared for every scenario."

"Scenario? Why, Cloud Retainer, our Lord has specifically instructed that we are to treat his consort with respect, but not in such an obsequious manner."

"You mean his consort candidate."

"We both know titles are but a formality at this point, considering the preparations our lord has undertaken."

"Regardless, my current predicament is none of his doing. Honestly, that smitten lord harbinger will eat slime off the floor if it pleases our Lord. One is confident there is something in one's repertoire that suits his simple tastes. On the other hand, however, Ganyu's elusive romantic partner is vague about such desires, refusing to let Ganyu relay their preferences. One suspects the individual wishes to be polite, but instead it achieves the opposite. One's cooking reputation is at stake, and yet the playing board is so infuriatingly vast."

"Oh yes. I do recall Ganyu's girlfriend being most particular about her food. Haha, it does sound a lot like her to keep it to herself–

"You know of the individual? And her tastes? Madame Ping, you must inform– Madame Ping? Madame Ping! Madame Ping where are you going? Return to the kitchen post haste!"

—

—

"Hey hey hey! No touchy!" Ajax gave a warning hiss and a shooing gesture to one of the many curious geo slimes that came a bit too close to his gift for comfort, their rotund bodies blobbing merrily around him as he waited for Zhongli outside of Huaguang Tea house, underneath one of its sheltered stalls. The little buggers have most definitely gotten used to his presence around here, some even immediately leaving their guardpost the minute he arrived, bouncing and rolling down the path to bombard him. He would have thought it nice to be greeted so enthusiastically, if it didn't increase the risk of him being knocked off the mountain.

Stop bringing them treats then. You now reap what you have conditioned. Zhongli had once laughed at him when he complained.

Speaking of the man himself, where is he anyway? The sun was about to set, and Ajax was starting to get a little bit peckish. He had refrained from trying out the food stalls at the Flower Weaver's festival earlier because he didn't want to ruin his appetite before dinner, but in hindsight, maybe he should have brought along some of those delicious looking sweet flower cookies he had bought to try. Now they sat lonely and cold in his apartment pantry, while he sat lonely and hungry in the middle of nowhere.

" Zhongli ." He whined, dragging out the last syllable of Zhongli's name to a most accommodating baby geo slime, one that was quite nonchalant about Ajax squeezing it in equal amounts of frustration and boredom. "If you don't arrive in the next five minutes I'm ransacking your pantry and eating your snacks."

"You would dare?"

"Mountain Shaper?" At the sight of the crane adeptus, looking especially frightening with his large silhouette against the stormy backdrop, the geo slimes all responded with terrified squeaks, scurrying back to the guardpost at the entrance– save for the baby geo slime in his hands, which lazily wriggled itself out of his grasp and took its time to roll back to the entrance.

Mountain Shaper didn't even spare them a glance, focusing all of his attention on Ajax. "You would dare steal from our lo–"

"Lo?"

"Lo… ob. Ster. Lobster. Lobster stores." The bird looked like he was on the verge of convulsing, just as strange as when Ajax first met him. Zhongli had insisted most fervently that his mannerisms were an idiosyncrasy of his, and that he and the rest of the adepti were not very used to the mortal lifestyle that he was living, and so tended to trip over their words when describing him and his living situation.

Honestly though? It sounded like a whole lot of bullshit to cover up the fact that they probably didn't like Ajax that much, and were probably cussing him out in some sort of ancient slang. But eh, Ajax figured he couldn't win them all over.

Just as long as he won the hearts of the few that were important– or just the one , at least.

"Zhongli hates seafood." Ajax countered, feeling a bit of deja vu when he got up and dusted the dirt off his pants. "So there's definitely no lobsters in his pantry for me to steal. He's got bags upon bags of peanuts though– like the old man he is."

" Peanuts! " There was a split second of surprise from Mountain Shaper, a baffled gasp, and then he returned to his previous unamused expression. "Regardless, cease your plans for ransacking, for one is to guide you to tonight's dinner location."

A wave of disappointment, then worry. "I thought Zhongli was supposed to meet me here. Is he not coming?"

"He will be present. Master Zhongli is merely…  preoccupied ." Mountain Shaper wasted no time flying to Ajax’s side and then summoned a portal, one that most likely led to Cloud Retainer's adeptal domain. "He was most anxious about fetching you himself, but the rest of the adepti have unanimously decided that he should rest before formally attending the dinner, for he has worked tirelessly all day."

"He's cooking?" Ajax picked up his gift, following closely behind Mountain Shaper through the portal. "I thought Cloud Retainer was cooking-"

But then a cacophony of noise completely took over his ear drums, slamming whatever thoughts he had right out of his head.

"WHY DID YOU POUR HALF THE SLIME SAUCE OUT?"

"You said to reduce it by half. One has merely done as you instructed." Madame Ping replied extremely calmly for someone who was up against an enraged Cloud Retainer, her feathers all ruffled as she loomed over the edge of a large round table, every bit of its surface covered with a multitude of dishes. In fact, it was so packed that Ajax couldn't even tell which ruined dish she was pointing at.

"IF NOT FOR THE LAWS OF THIS LAND–"

"Master. Ganyu and her guest have arrived at the main entrance."

"Ah yes! Yes! The guest. Ganyu's elusive girlfriend. Most important. Thank you, dearest Shenhe." And as if a switch had been flicked, Cloud Retainer had shrunk back to normal size, clearing her throat. "The stars look most favourably upon you today Madame Ping, for I have more pressing matters to attend to. But know that one shall not forget this transgression."

"And one shall reflect on their actions in your temporary absence." The elderly lady gave a curt bow, Cloud Retainer giving one last huff before following Shenhe out to the hallway towards the direction of the main entrance. But the moment the pair was out of earshot, Moon Carver popped back into the room right where Shenhe and Cloud Retainer had exited, and helped levitate what seemed to be a glob of abyssal goo into a black hole Madame Ping summoned, the mysterious black mass then sucked into the vortex with a fwip!

Ajax looked upon the crime scene with a good amount of awkward silence, before Moon Carver had the decency to explain the situation.

"At ease, Sir Tartaglia. Allow me to elucidate the matter– Cloud Retainer makes the same disgusting violetgrass and slime dish every year and every time one has thrown it out. It is practically tradition. And Cloud Retainer always forgets." Moon Carver directed Ajax to a seat, his person cautiously placing Zhongli’s gift on his lap as he did so. "Master Zhongli is currently working on personal matters, and will arrive shortly. Meanwhile, on behalf of the adepti, one welcomes you to dinner, which will be served once everyone is seated."

“Uh, does he need help?” Despite being already seated, Ajax felt like getting up again, restless. He was always needing to do something with his hands, even way before he accidentally stumbled into the abyssal part of Khaenri'ah and emerged a living breathing ball of condensed chaos. Sitting around waiting to eat just wasn’t his thing. “In fact, maybe I could help out in the kitchen?”

“One would advise against such actions.” The chuckle behind Madame Ping’s words was very intriguing, piquing Ajax’s interest. “You are an esteemed guest. It would be shameful for us as hosts if our guests were to partake in chores.”

“Additionally, the condition of Cloud Retainer’s kitchen is not…” Mountain Shaper closed his eyes, his expression pensive as if recalling a dark memory. “... conducive for life.”

Don’t threaten me with a good time . Ajax hummed, trying to remember the general whereabouts to the kitchen based on previous descriptions–

“-- are you scheming, baobei?” A familiar low baritone whispered in his ear, the soothing scent of silk flowers and incense eliciting a warmth that seemed to spread from the centre of his chest. “There seems to be mischief in the air.”

“What do you mean? I’m a good boy.” Ajax swivelled around to meet those stunning golden eyes, Zhongli’s deep laughter bringing out his own smirk, his expression one of dramaticized innocence. “Even got you something to show for it.”

“Hmm.” Zhongli’s hum of satisfaction was definitely not on the human register, sounding something otherworldly and primal as he gazed upon the beautiful silk covered box upon Ajax's lap. “One of your many bribes?”

“You wound me, Master Zhongli! Tis' a token of my affections.” And then he gave a small peck to the cheek, one that brought about another wave of pleased rumbling from Zhongli. Once, Ajax spotted a flash of bronze scales creeping up Zhongli's sharp jawline when he caught him off guard with a kiss, a momentary slip that rectified itself the moment Ajax blinked. Ever since then, Ajax had been trying his luck by bestowing Zhongli with more kisses, but he had yet to spot such transformation into what he assumed was Zhongli's adeptal beast form.

The scales didn't show up this time either, but Ajax figured that he'll have more opportunities later– the night was still young.

“How bold." Zhongli took the tea set gift into his hands, experimentally weighing the item with his hands, the touch delicate. "It's fairly heavy… yet, it seems– hm. Is this perhaps fragile?"

"Uh. Very fragile, actually." Ajax teased. "Please handle my heart and soul with care."

In response to his comment, Mountain Shaper definitely looked like he was convulsing on the opposite end of the table where he stood, whereas next to him, Moon Carver looked exasperated, and Madame Ping seemed amused. 

Zhongli only tutted, shaking his head with a fond smile on his lips.

"Such a rowdy boisterous spirit could hardly be contained within such a small vessel, but I shall treat it with delicate care nonetheless."And Zhongli did, doing some hand-wavy adeptal magic that probably sent the gift right into the magical teapot of his. "Coincidentally, I have a gift for you as well. We could open each other's gifts post-dinner, if you are amenable to it?”

"Ooh! For me?" Ajax was surprised at the unique turn of events. The more he thought about it, Zhongli hadn't actually gifted anything physical to him, ever . But he wasn't expecting anything back, far from it even– Zhongli's company was honestly more than he could ask for.

Oh. Ajax internally winced, just a tad. That sounds kind of pathetic, doesn't it.

"Childe?"

"You didn't have to, really." Ajax recollected himself in record time. "But I'm interested now. What is it?"

"Later, dear Childe. After we've had dinner."

"Oh come on, the suspense is killing me." Ajax whined, flopping all over a now seated Zhongli beside him, his head bumping into Zhongli's shoulder in protest, as if he were a child throwing a tantrum. "Tell me tell me tellme –"

"Sir Tartagalia?"

Oh no. Ajax knew that stern no nonsense tone. One that belonged to an individual who had recently been chasing his recruits into hiding, poking her nose into his less than savoury parts of his job and doling out fines that embroiled him in unwanted paperwork. She definitely had it out for him, but Ajax was thankfully backed by ambassadorial immunity, as well as a vault of mora that made her numerous fines look like chump change.

Lady Keqing, the honourable Yuheng of the Qixing, had arrived on scene, staring directly at Ajax with narrowed eyes.

And in those eyes? Suspicion, and perhaps a hint of contempt.

In one hand? A steaming hot plate of prawn balls, battered and deep fried to golden perfection.

In the other hand? An embarrassed looking Miss Ganyu, Secretary of the Liyue Qixing.

Behind the couple? A blank faced Shenhe alongside Cloud Retainer, who didn’t seem to read the room, ignoring the tension in the air and stretching her wings out in an over dramatic fashion.

"Have a seat, Lady Keqing!” Cloud Retainer’s voice practically boomed, making everyone wince save for Shenhe and Zhongli, the latter still calmly pouring tea into his cup. “Afterwards, if time permits, one may even provide a live demonstration of one's engineering feats! The levitating train, inspired by Fontaine's own locomotive land transport, is one that might interest you, considering your duties over Liyue Harbour's construction."

Ajax watched as Ganyu frantically mouthed a "don’t do it" to the Yuheng, unknownst to Cloud Retainer. Lady Keqing seemed to acknowledge it, giving Ganyu a small nod before sitting down, her dish placed precariously close to the edge of the table due to the lack of space.

"Thank you, honourable Cloud Retainer." The Yuheng bowed from her seat, a hand over her heart in an earnest gesture. "Your engineering skills and culinary skills are most awe inspiring indeed."

Cloud Retainer’s feathers seem to perk up at the praise, and then finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of waiting for everyone to settle, the group started digging in.

And boy what a weird bunch of individuals they were.

“Is this all the adepti? I thought there were more– like that half-adepti lawyer girl and Xiao.” And Rex Lapis, Ajax wanted to add, but it could have brought about some degree of offence by insinuating that Rex Lapis was above eating with his adepti, so Ajax opted not to mention it. Whilst Ajax whispered to Zhongli, he felt the pointed stare from the Yuheng burn into his skin– it was so reminiscent of the first few interactions with Xiao, the grumpy adeptus glaring daggers at him. 

Nowadays, Xiao just looked at Ajax with a funny sort of expression– not quite contempt, but perhaps more a weird mix of confusion and exasperation, as if Ajax’s existence was a baffling thing.

“Yanfei is spending the festival with her family, as are the rest of the adepti who have mortal families. The few others are… reclusive. Xiao is one of them.” Zhongli seemed to have caught the Yuheng staring, and was way too obvious about him staring back in response, eliciting a brief expression of surprise from Lady Keqing before she hurriedly went back to eating her food. Zhongli let out a contemplative hum. “Are you perhaps acquainted with the Yuheng?”

“You could say that.” More like, Ajax was one funny nonsense away from having the Liyue Qixing send a stern letter to Pulcinella, which was so much worse than deportation for a multitude of classified reasons. 

But could you blame him? There was so much red tape! So much bureaucracy! Ajax didn’t want to have to go through fifteen different Qixing departments just to gain permission for his field officers to pick berries.

And maybe the Northland Bank's debt collecting process was toeing the line of legality, but the people who borrowed had accepted the terms knowing the risks! They were only in the Yuheng's bad books because one of the borrowers complained to her about it, thinking that they would be off the hook.

Of course, Ajax repaid the favour by showing them the classic Snezhnayan way of dealing with snitches, which did not make the Yuheng happy either.

At least Zhongli's scrutinising gaze had kept the Yuheng's own stares away from him. The man in question was currently flickering his attention back and forth between Ajax and the Yuheng. "Northland Bank matters? Debt collecting turned sour?"

"You remember the diluting guy I told you about?" Ajax whispered low, wary of the Yuheng's notice. "The one who borrowed from the bank to open up the gaudy Inazuman-themed restaurant, but lost all his customers because he had been watering his drinks to high heaven? And he still squandered what little earnings he had by going to the Pearl Galley?"

"The one who thought your receptionist was an escort and had subsequently faced her wrath?"

"Yeah that one." Ajax still clearly remembered that, the echoes of that slap were so loud he thought Ekaterina had snapped his head right off. "He complained to the Yuheng after the Northland Bank seized whatever he had left. Wasn't even enough to cover half of what he owed, and he dared to complain? Of course we at the Northland bank showed him the Rex Lapis way after that– ones who break their contracts shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock. " 

"It is indeed as Rex Lapis said." Zhongli nodded in agreement. "Contracts must be fulfilled."

"So I gave him a higher repayment loan, and did just a tad bit of, well… physical reminders. As per the contract of course." Ajax huffed. "The Yuheng definitely didn't like that though, but she couldn't interfere because of the whole contract thing– honourable, if a bit too virtuous, that one. Ever since then, she's been making my job a bit more difficult via paperwork for the most mundane of permits."

Zhongli raised an eyebrow. "One can see why the Yuheng may not be happy with the nature of your occupation, having responsibilities in livelihood management. However, my dear Childe, laws are a form of contract as well– to benefit from the prosperity of Liyuen society, one is expected to follow its rules."

"The Northland Bank dealings are legal!" Barely legal, but still legal. Ajax grumbled as he poured more tea into his teacup, then raised it to emphasise his point. "I'm following the rules! The dreaded paperwork waiting for me in my office is clear proof– pftttsk–"

Oh Archons above. Ajax felt the liquid burn down his throat, something spicy and bitter at the same time. Whatever he drank was definitely some kind of funky drink Cloud Retainer cooked up and not the everyday tea he was used to.

But Ajax's pride was worth a lot more than his tongue, so he swallowed it with a great amount of disgust, hoping the rest of the adepti didn't see him almost spit out the drink provided by their most gracious host.

Unfortunately, however, when he looked up, all eyes seemed to be on him, with varying expressions of surprise.

"Hehe– hoo, oh man. Haha. Ha!” Ajax might just be wheezing a little bit. “Mmm, this is… interesting. But great stuff!" It was not great. It was, in fact, acidic as hell, foul as fuck, and one hundred percent disgusting.  He willed his tear ducts not to expose his suffering, his throat burning something awful. "What is it?"

"It is scented lemon water mixed with a sprinkle of flaming flower essence and pyro slime condensate." Cloud Retainer looked at him with narrowed eyes. "To… rinse the grime off your hands before partaking in a meal."

Ajax tried his best not to wince, but man. Oh man . 

Why was it in a teapot!

"Worry not. It is safe for consumption, but it was not made with edibility in mind." There was definitely a barely contained laugh in Madame Ping's response, her voice weirdly high pitched.

Well fuck. Ajax fought against the urge to spit the weird petal remnants in his mouth out, slowly swallowing it after mustering all the willpower he had. It's too late to back out now. "Tastes good to me though." He lied through gritted teeth, giving what he hoped was a convincing smile. "Multi purpose."

"Well then. Feel free to have some more. Master has made a lot."

Ganyu looked at him with an extremely alarmed expression at Shenhe’s nonchalant suggestion, whereas the Yuheng’s gaze was filled with anticipation, staring down at him, watching his every move. The adepti was no better, fully fixated on his person. With all this attention, Ajax felt like a clown performing in front of a captive audience.

Scratch that, he was a clown performing in front of a captive audience–

"Interesting. Perhaps I shall try as well." 

Huh? And then, before Ajax could stop him, dear wonderful Zhongli served himself a cup, took a whiff, and then gave it a sip, bless his soul. The adorable scrunched up expression of disgust was almost worth the several shades of pain and embarrassment Ajax had just experienced.

The resulting horrified gasps from the majority of the dinner crew was even better.

“You.” Zhongli coughed behind a fist, his other hand resolutely pushing the teapot with the awful concoction away from Ajax. “You are not drinking this. Cleaning only.”

“Cleaning only.” Ajax reiterated, nodding vigorously. Thank archons for that.

Everyone seemed polite enough to go back to their meal after the finality of that statement, the ones in their adeptal beast form levitating dishes into their bowls and plates, and those with human appendages using chopsticks instead.

Only the Yuheng was still talking to Ganyu in hushed tones, trying to subtly look back at both Ajax and Zhongli every now and then, whispering something that had Ganyu shaking her head with pursed lips.

The Yuheng started staring at Zhongli with wide eyes instead, expression tinged with… excitement? But that wouldn’t make sense. Curiosity maybe?

Curiosity made sense. If someone had drunk a strange concoction after being explicitly told it was strange, Ajax would have found them intriguing too.

“Are you finished eating, Childe?”

“Oh no I’m still going. Let me just…” And that was when he noticed the previously finished food plate next to his bowl of rice was now refilled, and more were being piled on top of what was already there by Zhongli’s chopsticks.

“Try the matsutake from Cloud Retainer’s adeptus temptation. The dish is one of her best.” And then Zhongli stacked a piece of mushroom upon an already small mountain of food, like cherry on a cake. The size of the food mountain on Ajax’s plate was almost comparable to that of Shenhe, Ganyu and The Yuheng’s plates, where Cloud Retainer was still continuously raining food down on them like drizzling snow, the crane adeptus tutting that they weren’t eating enough.

"Do help yourselves. This one has cooked dishes excelling both in taste and medicinal value. How old is this one anyway? Thirty human years, forty? Any aching bones?”

“Uh–”

“Cloud Retainer!”

“Never mind, even if your beau is past fifty human years. To achieve immortality like your disciple sister Shenhe, one merely has to increase the dosage of the fermented qingxin roots, and have your partner take it with violet grass tea twice daily–”

But then there was a small gasp, Zhongli pausing abruptly as if struck by something, his mouth hanging slightly open as he stared into the jade parcel at the end of his chopsticks mid-grab. To Ajax’s surprise, he dropped it, the parcel exploding on impact as it fell back upon the serving plate, the ham and broth contents spilling out in an unnervingly grotesque manner.

“Xiao reports a disturbance in Guyun stone forest.” Ajax watched as the rest of the adepti stopped what they were doing and stood ramrod straight, with only the Yuheng looking as lost as he was. “Someone has tampered with the seals. An unnatural storm rapidly approaches Liyue Harbour.”

Only then did everyone’s attention flit from Zhongli to Ajax, the Yuheng’s glare especially fierce, and immediately his hands were up in the air in a placating manner.

At least Zhongli seemed to be on his side– he said nothing, but the angry glower on his face and the way the adepti looked away spoke for itself.

“The Fatui didn’t do anything! At least, not anything that I know of.” Ajax protested. Sure, there was a Fatui Pyro Agent and Electro Cicin Mage stationed in the Guyun area to snoop around, but if they found anything of interest, they had to report directly to him first. So far, all they found were measly crystal chunks and that one island with a geo hypostasis ley line. Those two weren’t even on the archipelago right now! As far as he knew, they were currently on leave to enjoy the Flower Weaver festival incognito. “I know my agents– they know better than to cross me.”

"The truth of the matter shall be unveiled in due time.” Zhongli’s voice seemed to take a more commandeering tone, and surprisingly enough, the rest of the adepti listened, reflecting a similarly serious expression. “First, my friends, we must make haste to Liyue Harbour.”

—

—

And then Zhongli plopped him at the back entrance of the Northland Bank with his hand-wavy adepti magic, telling him to evacuate swiftly, stern gaze and finger pointing included. His portal subsequently disappeared before Ajax could vehemently object, but at least it didn’t happen within the vicinity of his employees, or else he would have to do a lot of unwanted explaining.

Zhongli telling him to evacuate was honestly insulting , considering how they teleported the other also very much mortal Yuheng right in the middle of the ravaging storm at the docks, where he caught a glimpse of a mobilised Millileth army hauling several large machinery upon huge warships, the Jade Chamber already flying overhead towards the eye of the storm at Guyun.

Surely Zhongli trusted his abilities enough to help! What was this!

Maybe it was him being an outlander outsider thing, rather than a Ajax-you’re-not-strong-enough thing.

But the other reason still sucked!

Ugh. Ajax tried not to let his feelings of frustration and disappointment show, instead he tried to redirect his energy into helping the Northland Bank employees prepare their most important vaults for moving when they were to evacuate towards higher ground on Mount Tianheng. 

“Wait.” Ajax did a headcount, noticing the very obvious absence of their bespectacled manager. He went up to the second floor of the bank, and leaned over the railing to speak to the bustling crowd of employees below. “Has anyone seen Andrei?”

“Wasn’t he with Lord Harbinger?”

“I thought he was in the back helping to lock up the Cor Lapis vault.”

“Maybe he’s already gone up ahead?”

“He went to find Ivanovich, Sir Tartaglia. He is one of Manager Andrei’s friends down at the merchant area of the port.” Ekaterina finally replied from the corner of the room, standing upon a large pile of luggage with a clipboard in her hands. “I advised against it, but Manager Andrei wanted to make sure he was safe, and that his stall was properly packed up.”

“B-But Ivanovich isn’t in Liyue at the moment.” One of his new bank tellers meekly spoke up. “He suddenly had to return to Snezhnaya three days ago for an urgent issue with his stock. I asked him to help me deliver a letter just as he left the port.”

“Oh.” Ekaterina let out a rare gasp of surprise, her mouth downturned in a worried frown. “Manager Andrei had been busy with the accounts this whole week.”

Idiot! A real bleeding heart, that Andrei. But that trait of his was why the employees liked him so much as a manager.

“All of you. Agents and bank employees alike. Evacuate swiftly. Your orders are to stay safe at all costs.” His order echoed across the golden chambers of the Northland Bank, his subordinates down below all saluting him with the same trained precision. “I will find Manager Andrei. Glory to Snezhnaya! Glory to her Majesty The Tsaritsa!”

“Yes Lord Harbinger! Glory to Snezhnaya! Glory to her Majesty The Tsaritsa!”

—

—

Zhongli was right.

The storm was unlike any that he had seen before.

Before, it was just mildly inconvenient rain, but now it was a complete downpour, the deluge so harsh it felt like a battering ram against his back as he sprinted down to the docks. But there was no thunder, no lightning. Just dark grey clouds that seemed to originate from Guyun stone forest. 

Thankfully, before he even made it to the docks, he met Andrei halfway, his person heading up away from the docks, and was surprisingly accompanied by Madame Xu and her family, all of them carrying bags of what he assumed to be valuables– Andrei included.

“Lord Harbinger!”

“Master Childe! Why aren’t you evacuating? It’s dangerous boy!” Madame Xu was practically screaming against the deafening sounds of the pouring rain, and Ajax could hardly see what kind of expression was on her face due to the poor visibility. “I found this one running around like a headless chicken before I told him his merchant friend had already boarded an outbound ship a few days ago. There’s no one else down at the docks, come with us–”

A sudden roar managed to break through the noise of rain and the pandemonium of evacuating citizens, interrupting Madame Xu. In the distance, towards Guyun, a large sea hydra rose, and upon its emergence, there were bright lights and distant sounds of explosions, undeniably the Qixing’s swift response against the threat.

“It’s Osial! The legendary Osial! On the day of the Flower Weaver Festival! It’s just like in the legends!”

“Idiot, that’s way too small to be Osial! It’s his wife, Beisht!”

“Does it fucking matter? We have to go! Now–”

A chorus of loud screaming. A shadow ever looming.

Before Ajax could even tell what it was, he summoned his bow and shot at the incoming large projectile, a combination of honed skill and instinct. The thing bursted on impact, his hydro vision riptide effect subsequently shredding it into tiny little pieces, enough that it became harmless when it came into contact with a terrified crowd, one that had just narrowly escaped death.

Someone’s shophouse, however, wasn’t so lucky– the projectile revealed itself to be one of the huge decorative flower statues that had lined along the docks for the festival, the whole thing crashing into the roof with a loud bang, obviously torn off its base and hurtled away by the raging tempest.

“Go!” Ajax bellowed, and the crowd didn’t need to be told twice before they started scampering off screaming, a reluctant looking Madame Xu and Andrei included.

There were a whole heap of those statues along the docks, and Ajax couldn’t just evacuate knowing he could easily rip those statues apart and avoid unnecessary civilian casualties. 

And so he ran. The further he got into the docks, the less people he saw, until the only ones were him and the raging seas…

… and several vision users, some of which were very familiar to him.

“Hu Tao! Xiangling! Xinyan!” Ajax had called out towards the three figures hopping onto several statues and successively vaporising them into smithereens with their pyro vision. But being this close to the water, the rain and waves were all that anyone could hear, and so the ladies had ventured off in the opposite direction without even noticing Ajax.

In that same direction, he could vaguely see the large swords of ice freezing and shattering other statues in the distance, and figured Chongyun and Xingqiu must be around as well. 

Ajax was just about to head down the same path to help them, but he was distracted by a bright golden light instead, one that came from the direction of Guyun.

Lo and behold, Rex Lapis, in all of his draconic glory, had parted the clouds and descended upon the foul creature of the deep. He was massive, bigger than Ajax could have ever imagined, the length of his bronze scaled body looked like it could encircle Mount Tianheng several times. Said body was now dodging the hydra’s attacks, bombarding it with a series of glowing geo spears that shot from the heavens wherever he travelled. 

The battle was glorious, the altercation furious. A series of loud bright explosions had occurred whenever the sea serpent’s hydro blasts had collided with the geo archon’s spears, the former's enraged roars whenever it was speared juxtaposed to the latter’s silent dodges and attacks was a testament to which side had the clear advantage.

But even though the sea hydra was becoming increasingly weakened, it was somehow more violent in its struggle, like cornered prey making one last daring attempt to escape.

All of its elongated necks thrashed around like a bunch of wriggling worms as it let out unholy shrieks, forming large waves upon its impact.

Waves that could very well grow into a tsunami once it reached Liyue Harbour.

Now, there was a lot Ajax could do with his hydro vision, but stopping a tsunami was definitely not within his repertoire. But when he was making his way to higher ground, he spotted something that made him pause.

Amongst the rolling waves, there were bright red lights– flares .

There were people still stuck on the water, most likely boats.

Why are there so fucking many of you out there during the holidays? Ajax gritted his teeth and grumbled under his breath as he made his way back down again, but never losing sight of the flickering bright red lights in case they went overboard.

He summoned his bow again, the thrum of his vision now overpowering all of senses, immersing himself in the fluidity in his power. Moulded it, crafted it, until it took a tangible form, a manifestation of his celestial guardian, the most magnificent horned creature of the sea. 

Ajax's arrows flew true, and his hydro constructs followed its blue spark like a beacon, a steady cerulean blue gliding beneath tumultuous grey waters.

Five fishing boats, two merchant ships, and one stupidly humongous pearl galley, the very last one needing three large hydro constructs to have whatever shady individual was up there safely escorted, much to his frustration.

Altogether, there were ten hydro constructs he had to control at the same time, which was extremely taxing even without the added challenge of a wild storm. It was like trying to herd ten chickens back into the coop at once, but in the dark of night where one couldn't see anything.

After shooting arrow after arrow to guide his hydro constructs back, he was starting to see black spots around his vision, and maybe he should bite his tongue to stay awake, lest he lost himself to the storm as well–

“Wee-woo wee-oo. Incoming tsunami alert.” 

Huh? Ajax shot one last arrow that should bring all his constructs back to the docks, and wanted to collapse right there and then, but a little girl barely reaching his hips was pulling on his uniform. Her clothes flapped violently in the wind but her face was incredibly calm amidst the anarchy. An extremely jarring sight would be putting it lightly . 

“Qiqi says you need to evacuate to Mount Tianheng immediately.” The little girl tried to yell, but it sounded airy and tired instead. "Wee-woo Wee-ooo."

What the fuck! Ajax's mind was trying to process so much in so little time, feeling incredibly disoriented. “WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?”

“Uh. Qiqi forgot. Not sure. Not sure where Doctor Baizhu is either– Ah. Big whale.”

Oh shit! Instinctively, he shielded the little girl with his body as he braced for impact, his hydro constructs finally reaching the docks like beached whales, unloading all of its frazzled passengers and then exploded back into water again, flowing back into the sea.

"Thank you Mister.” The little girl mumbled against his chest, and then peeked over his shoulder, letting out a soft gasp. “But um… tsunami now.”

And just like she said, there was indeed one, spanning ten metres tall and rapidly approaching the docks. Ajax couldn’t make it in time to Mount Tianheng, so he grabbed the little girl and rushed to the highest ground without looking back–

“Mister. Look. Rex Lapis’ shield stopped the tsunami.”

“Oh.” When Ajax finally looked back to the sea, a translucent golden wall filled with Liyuen archaic symbols stood tall, as high as Mount Tianheng. The shield had stopped the tsunami from wreaking havoc upon Liyue Harbour, the large waves crashing onto it with a deafening bang, but advancing no further. 

Ajax balked. The power of an archon is no joke.

“Ah. Mister. Rex Lapis has also defeated the monster.”

"Oh good." Ajax wheezed, head spinning. Ajax believed the little girl’s words, but couldn’t find the energy to lift his head towards that direction to confirm, fatigue starting to settle heavily in his bones. "Hey kiddo, you think you can get someone from the Northland Bank to pick me up?"

"Orders received. Qiqi will try."

"Thanks." He used what was left of that energy to gently place the strange little girl down before Ajax blacked out in peace.

—

—

"Manager Andrei, should we contact Zapolyarny palace?"

"We better Ekaterina." Andrei felt the beginnings of a migraine coming on, on top of a cold that he most certainly got from running in the rain to Mount Tianheng and then back to the bank. Ekaterina looked no better either, as if she was about to fall asleep standing."I have been briefed about Lord Harbinger’s accelerated healing powers, and this is hardly the first time he has injured himself, but I've never seen him unconscious. He's so still that it's worrying–"

"Manager Andrei! T-There is– the d-door-- t-they want to come in–"

"Only authorised personnel may enter the Northland Bank at present." Andrei repeated his instructions calmly to the bank teller, the panicky boy running up into his office looking as pale as a ghost. Of course, the strange little girl from Bubu pharmacy who hauled Lord Harbinger back was the sole exception to the rule, her sleepy presence in his office another headache he had to settle later on. "Tell whoever is outside that we've just got through a disaster. We need to recuperate."

"I-I don't think we should t-turn them away–"

"Even if Rex Lapis himself was at the door, I wouldn't let him in." Ekaterina added. "You have the right to say no Dimitri, it'll be fine."

"That's the–" The boy looked like he was going to combust on the spot. "It's him! He–"

"THE EMPEROR HAS ARRIVED!"

An otherworldly voice from outside the entrance of the bank sounded, and then a bang. When Andrei hurriedly went over to the second floor railings to observe the commotion, he found two large cranes and a deer pushing the large doors aside, the heavy duty lock forcibly removed by what looked like a straight cut through pure solid steel.

At the front, a small masked man with a glowing jade spear, one Andrei assumed was the cause of the damaged lock. Then, once he stepped aside, the presence of the Qixing secretary surprised him, her voice ringing clear and true as she stood tall, despite their agents gathering and encircling her group, daring them to make one step closer inside.

"Behold! His Eminence, Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon himself!"

Everyone in the bank held their breath.

The silence was so heavy, the tension palpable. The storm outside was the only thing they could hear, still heavy enough to batter down the roof of their building like a constant drum. And then thunder– 

No. That wasn't thunder. 

Those were footsteps.

Andrei watched in horror as a large clawed hand grabbed the top of the door's threshold– a very large brass door that was twice his height.

Pure white robes swept the floor as the gigantic figure bent low to get through the door, his glowing golden antlers almost touching the ceiling when he emerged, his draconic tail similarly sweeping into view, glimmering bronze.

The geometric symbols glowing golden on his charcoal black arms were unmistakable.

And if not, the ethereal air around him would seal the deal, almost demanding deference. 

The draconic scales upon his face seemed to cascade with every movement, long earthly umber locks framing his sharp features, his cor lapis reptilian eyes surveying everyone at the bank with a cold hard gaze. 

"Kneel before Rex Lapis! Geo Archon of Liyue, God of War and Contracts!"

Andrei could see his employees look at each other with a mixture of worry on their faces at the Qixing's secretary's request, most likely deciding whether facing the wrath of the geo archon was worse than facing the same from their cryo archon.

"You dare show such disrespect to Rex Lapis? In the land in which he commands?"

"Mountain Shaper." Rex Lapis' words had something not quite human in it, a rumbly growling sort of texture, reminding Andrei that he was talking to a powerful archon. "At ease. One does not fault them for staying loyal to their archon."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Now. To business." Rex Lapis was still looking around, seemingly scrutinising each and every one of them. "One desires to speak to your leader."

"That would be me." Even with Andrei on the second floor, he still had to tilt his head upwards to meet Rex Lapis' gaze. "My name is Manager Andrei. We at the Northland Bank are honoured by your presence, your grace."

"No. You are not the leader." Huh? Andrei couldn't help but do a double take, blinking owlishly at the sheer confidence in that statement.

"Apologies, your grace." What was even going on? "If I could inquire about a name perhaps?"

"One wants Chi… the Harbinger." 

Oh no, what now? Did he think the Fatui was behind the cause of the storm? That Lord Tartaglia was the mastermind behind all this, after what he did for the Liyue masses? 

Most probably, if Andrei was being honest.

But while Andrei was well aware of the terrible reputation the Fatui had, seeing their Lord Tartaglia being wrongly accused despite his good deeds was rubbing him the wrong way. Especially after how everyone had told him Lord Tartaglia went through the trouble of going back into the storm to find him, and then saving him.

"You are hiding something." Rex Lapis narrowed his eyes, smoke seething through gritted teeth. "Explain."

"Lord Tartaglia and the Fatui have no involvement with the recent devastation." Andrei barely hid the terror in his words, trying to keep his voice as calm and even as possible. "We are hiding nothing."

"That is not what one was asking. One simply asked for the Harbinger, and yet you have deflected. Where is he?"

"Apologies, I cannot say." If anyone knew their leading Harbinger was indisposed, it would be a huge security issue for their whole Liyuen operation. Andrei had a duty to his Lord Harbinger, to his employees, to Snezhnaya–

"One will not repeat oneself." Oh Tsaritsa help him– the geo archon seemed to be growing in size, his hand grabbing the railing where he stood and holy fuck he could just grab Andrei and squeeze him like a ragdoll–

"Where. Is. The. Harbinger–”

"Rejoice comrades!" Oh thank archons for the interruption. Any longer and Andrei would have been equally as passed out as Lord Harbinger. "Her Majesty, the great Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, Cryo Archon of the Seven, graces us with her presence from Zapolyarny Palace. All hail! Long live her Majesty! Glory to Snezhnaya!"

Never mind. It probably just got worse.

Two senior cryo cincin mages, led by Ekaterina, had summoned an ice sheet just beside him, and immediately a bone deep chill filled the room, frost creeping onto their floors, the tell tale sounds of crystal shattering signalling the entrance of their all powerful goddess.

"Long live her Majesty! Glory to Snezhnaya!" The whole room sounded in unison, all of them besides the cryo cicin mages knelt to the ground, heads bowed in reverence.

"Refrain from bullying one's children, Morax. Your temper does not have to be as stormy as your Liyue Harbour." Even Her Majesty's voice was cold and harsh as it came through. It was also the most words he had ever heard her say, which was incredibly foreboding. "They are merely fiercely loyal to one's little Tartaglia, rightly so."

Rex Lapis was still keeping up with his terrifying growling, his pupils in unnatural slits. "They are not disclosing his whereabouts."

"As they should." A nonchalant hum. "The Harbingers are Snezhnayan subjects, and are not yours to monopolise. Yet you deigned it appropriate to frighten them like this." 

"This is a matter of public security. He was spotted at the docks by one of my adepti, when he should have evacuated to Mount Tianheng." The geo archon seemed to loom ever more dangerously, looking more reptilian with bared fangs and a claw pointing directly at her Majesty. "We have a contract. Do not test me."

“So you plan to use such a narrative. How droll.” Everyone from the Snezhnayan side seemed to have held their breath again when they saw their cryo archon narrow her eyes, bracing for her legendary temper to flare and pit itself against the stubborn geo archon. But surprisingly enough, she sighed instead, her eyes then darting to Andrei with an air of someone who wanted to be anywhere but here. "You look to have the highest clearance out of everyone. Answer honestly to your goddess, at the pain of dishonourable death. Did the Fatui try to sink Liyue Harbour?"

"No, your Majesty."

"Did Tartaglia try to sink Liyue Harbour?"

"No, your Majesty."

"There." There was an actual tsk coming from their most distinguished archon. "Are you done?"

It should have been done by then, but the expression on the geo archon's face only got darker, his fists clenching so tightly on the railings that it started to creak and splinter. 

Andrei thought he heard the Tsaritsa mumbling something resembling the words "rocks for brains" and "long-winded old man". But that would be blasphemous, so he must have definitely heard it wrong.

"It leaves one no choice." The Tsaritsa looked to Andrei again, sitting back lazily on her magnificent throne. "Fetch little Tartaglia for this one. He's probably having fun helping Liyue cull whatever sea monsters the storm has conjured up, and it loathes one to cut his playtime short, but this one is…" The Tsaritsa looked at Rex Lapis with no small amount of irritation."... possessive."

"Protective.” Rex Lapis corrected, with no small amount of annoyance in his words. “As an archon should, over one's nation."

"Your nation. Of course." A scoff, and then cold hard eyes looked at him. "Again, please send for Tartaglia."

"Uh." Oh no, here we go. Andrei bowed his head lower, hand over his heart. "My sincerest apologies, your Majesty, but Lord Harbinger is indisposed."

"He is what?" Oh no oh dear that growl didn't sound good.

"Elaborate." The Tsaritsa didn't even blink an eye at the increased growling from the geo archon, loud enough that it shook the building.

"Unfortunately, your Grace– Lord Harbinger Tartaglia is unconscious for unknown reasons." Andrei firmly kept his head bowed low and his gaze to the ground, for if he caught a glimpse of the expression on the face of Rex Lapis, he might just lose his nerve. "The only witness was a small child, and her memory is… spotty, at best."

“No. Qiqi remembers Mister Whale.”

Oh archons above! Andrei didn’t even hear the little girl coming up from behind him at all! Did absolutely none of his employees outside his office stop her?

“It’s you.” There was a collective look of astonishment from the adepti at the presence of the little girl, whereas Rex Lapis lessened his growling, opting to speak in a calmer and more soothing manner to the familiar little girl. “Little Miss Qiqi.”

“Please don’t be mad at Mister Whale, Mister Rex Lapis sir.” An outstretched hand, one large enough for Qiqi to climb onto when offered, her small figure miniscule against the sheer immensity of the geo archon. “Mister Whale protected Qiqi. Saved people in the boats with his whales from the tsunami too. Then he asked Qiqi to bring him here before he fell asleep. Qiqi healed him before bringing him here, but he still needs to rest."

“Did he now?”

“He did. So please don’t take away Mister Whale.” Qiqi nodded. “He seems nice. Plus, he has a very sick husband who will be very sad if you do.”

“His husband?” Her Majesty raised an eyebrow as she voiced the thoughts of possibly everyone in the room–- including the adepti, judging by the confused looks on their faces.

“Sick?” The geo archon parroted, sounding puzzled.

“Um… Qiqi doesn’t know his name. But Qiqi knows he is very tall and has a very deep voice. He also buys the most expensive medicines from Bubu pharmacy and Mister Whale is always with him to pay for it.” Qiqi was fiddling with her thumbs now, her gaze to the floor, looking nervous. “Doctor Baizhu said Mister Whale’s husband must be ill for needing such high quality herbs, but then Changsheng said that Mister Whale was just clinically stupid. Changsheng is mean to everyone though, so his husband probably really is sick.”

“Y-You mean…” The same panicky bank teller boy from earlier squeaked out, his voice echoing even from the far corner of the room. “Master Zhongli? He’s not sick, he’s just–”

“Yes! That is his name. Qiqi remembers now." Qiqi acknowledged the name with another lethargic nod, interrupting the bank teller boy. "If you take him away, Mister Zhongli won’t be able to visit him.”

“Oh.” Most curiously, the geo archon leaned closer, peering at the little girl with what seemed to be a small smile. “We can’t do that to Mister Zhongli, can we?”

Andrei couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Master Zhongli wasn’t Lord Harbinger’s– uh… actually, was he? Surely there would have been a massive wedding, judging by Master Zhongli’s extravagant tastes. 

"Perhaps one has not wasted time here." Attention was now on her Majesty, an expression of clear amusement on her frosted image. "One was thoroughly entertained, like one would with the light of a garbage fire. But, if the situation has been resolved, one wishes to depart post haste. What say you, Morax?"

Slowly, the geo archon placed Qiqi back to the second floor balcony, before he turned to his retinue behind him. "Ganyu?"

"The cloaking and teleportation spells are active, your Eminence.” The Qixing secretary replied with a low bow. “We await your command."

“Good. We depart as well. But before that.” Rex Lapis had a hand outstretched, and then there was mora spilling out from his bare palms like a fountain of gold. It was difficult for Andrei not to gawk at the display of obvious wealth and power. “For your balcony damages.”

“Oh uh–” Andrei dumbly goggled at the small mountain of mora that started to form upon the ground before him. “Thank you… your grace.”

“Her Majesty is departing! Glory to Snezhnaya!”

“His Majesty is departing! Prosperity to Liyue!”

And finally, after that pure chaotic mess had finally reached its conclusion, Andrei felt his legs give out and fell back on his ass, still not fully knowing exactly what had conspired.

—

—-

“What was that!”

“I still don’t get why Rex Lapis was still angry when we told him that we had nothing to do with the storm. Did he want to pin the blame on us?”

“Maybe? Thank goodness Her Majesty was there to refute it.”

“And that little girl! How she calmed Rex Lapis by telling him about Lord Harbinger’s relationship with Master Zhongli. Perhaps Master Zhongli really is an adepti, if Rex Lapis holds him in such high regard.”

“But then again, if he was an adepti, surely he would have arrived with Rex Lapis just then?” 

“Truly mysterious. But whatever the case, Master Zhongli must know Rex Lapis well to let the matter slide like this. Maybe that’s why Lord Harbinger is basically Master Zhongli’s walking wallet– having him as a close contact has clearly paid off.”

“Close contact…. like… a husband…”

“...”

“...”

“Should… should we contact Master Zhongli?”

“Besides Lord Harbinger, does anybody even know where he actually lives?”

“Oh. Oh dear. Manager Andrei is going to have us ask around, isn’t he?”

—-

-–

"No other casualties? Are you certain?"

"Indeed, Lady Ningguang. Except for the suspect, everyone is accounted for. Even the sailors were unharmed, citing that they were saved by the adepti."

—

—

"It was just like in the tales. This old man thought he was going to go down with his ship, but after going overboard, I didn't sink– not at all! I couldn't see it, but it felt like I was riding on a dolphin, and it brought me back safely to shore, where I knew I was protected by Rex Lapis' powerful shields."

"It was much bigger than a dolphin for sure! My crew, seven men strong, was all carried away by the same creature. Couldn't make heads or tails of what it was though– but we were all busy fearing for our lives after all!"

"It's Tide Seeker's benevolent will! After all those years of offerings!"

"How many times do I have to tell you all that it's a hydro vision user! My cousin saw it with her own two eyes!  The vision user was at the docks, and the whale creatures that saved her were his hydro constructs that travelled wherever his cerulean arrows flew! But by the time my cousin got to where he was to thank him, he was gone!"

"I saw him too! But maybe with how elusive he was, he could be a hydro vision user and an adepti, like that Liyue Qixing secretary with the horns. He could even be a descendant of Tide Seeker, helping fulfil his ancestor's mission!"

"You know, they even say some of the rescued rich chumps at the Pearl Galley have started building shrines after the whole fiasco. Commissioning statues of whales and the like! Pah! Giving offerings only after they've been saved! How shameful."

“Although, now that I think about it, I’ve only offered flowers once every year during the festival. But with my whole family being seafaring merchants, I perhaps really should be praying to Tide Seeker a lot more. Tell me, are there any dedicated shrines for Tide Seeker at present ?”

“Oh, perhaps I should pay my respects too–”

Chapter Text

“Cease your awful fretting. He’ll recover.”

“He has been unconscious for days with intermittent fevers. It baffles the mind to hear you belittle his condition.”

“Oh honestly, he was comatose for two weeks once, and still came out stronger than ever. Naughty little Tartaglia gets a concussion every other day– oh goodness. Don’t look like that. You are overprotective. Possessive. Excessively so. No wonder Liyue is so dependent on their god.”

“Do not excuse your negligence as nurturing independence. Your people hold no love for their goddess– only fear and obligation.”

“So one has been repeatedly told. Hmph. Good tidings to you then, Morax, for this Goddess of Ice and Love knows one should only continue this conversation once your wounded heart recovers, and is less likely to bleed upon one's harsh words."

"One does not take well to your patronising tone, Tsaritsa of the Crystalline Northlands."

"One wouldn't dare, Rex Lapis of the Golden Harbour."

—

—

Somehow, instinctively, Ajax knew he was safe the moment he roused from his slumber.

It was the scent of incense and silk flowers perhaps, the familiar softness of the cotton sheets, the silky feel of the pillow covers.

Ajax bristled, groaning as he felt abused muscles aching the moment he tried to get up, lids heavy like lead, his vision hazy. But even bereft of his senses, he could make out a cool reprieving touch, deft fingers combing through sweaty bangs. Like a parched man to a desert oasis, his burning forehead leaned heavily into the touch, one that tutted before it rested upon his cheek, caressing it with an infinite amount of tenderness.

"Childe?"

Mourning the loss of the cool touch the same time he was called, Ajax aborted his attempts to get up, moaning back into the pillows instead, curling up into a foetal position, trying to will away the discomfort consumed the entirety of his being.

There was something that bumped at his knees though, sheets and pillows shifting to make way to a comforting weight, one that held him and enveloped him, as if chasing away the ache on his behalf. A steady heartbeat drummed, a solid metronome distracting himself from the pounding headache between his ears, lulling him back to sleep. The cool touch was back, gingerly holding his hand, a thumb tracing circles into his clammy hands.

“Hopefully… fever breaks… medicine–” Ajax could barely make out the words with all that cotton in his ears, but he knew that snuggling up to this rumbling presence was soothing, so he buried himself deeper into it, whining at how sick and pathetic he felt. 

Something wrapped around him, and then whispers upon the crown of his head, ones that were so kind and gentle, he could cry if he didn’t feel like the equivalent of a dry crumbly biscuit. 

“My poor darling.” Soft murmurs accompanied cool touches that seemed like a balm to Ajax’s soul, his body being slowly rocked side to side. “Rest my love. Nothing will hurt you here.”

Fatigue tainted the edges of his senses, but he managed to weakly squeeze the hand intertwined with his, letting out one happy sigh before he succumbed to a dreamless sleep.

—

—

"Did you hear? About the perpetrator?"

"Yeah– it's horrible, truly. He was even pretty highly ranked in the Millelith too, to have had such free access to Guyun. No one even knew he had a wife, much less one that passed."

"Grief really does make monsters out of the best of us."

"He didn't have a wife! That was the thing that confused everybody. She was merely a lover, but they had a daughter born out of wedlock. That poor thing, to have lost both her mother and her father at such a young age."

"Not that she would have known though– I heard her grandmother had raised her since birth because her mother was always at sea, and her grandmother kept her from seeing her estranged father."

"To think that he thought he would go unpunished after going against the will of Rex Lapis, bargaining with evil forces to raise the dead of all things. It could have very well been their unnatural storms that had sent the mother's merchant ship to the depths."

"I've heard of the tragedy too--a whole crew gone without a trace, the only remnants being the scattered silk flower shipments that washed up upon the shores of Guyun.

"It's terrifying isn't it? The chaos of the tides, that is. It's really high time they built a proper Tide Seeker temple. It just has to go through Liyue Qixing's adepti contacts, but they're taking a while to approve of the plans."

"What do you mean it has to go through the adepti contacts? When were they ever contactable in the first place?"

"Indeed. When did we start bothering the esteemed adepti about our mundane mortal affairs? We've been building temples for the adepti for years– is this perhaps something new?"

"Maybe? My cousin who works in the Qixing said the half-adepti Qixing secretary was very visibly anxious when the Liyuen fishing association and the sea faring merchant guilds announced they were happy to fund it. It is strange, now that you’ve mentioned it…"

—

—

When the fever finally relinquished its hold on Ajax, he slowly woke to the sound of deep rumbling, a weird smooth yet bumpy silken texture gliding across his bare skin, fine golden wisps obscuring half his vision, the yellow pink hue peeking past the golden fleece a sure sign that it was dawn outside the chambers.  

He blinked once. Twice. Then, in that short span of time, all of those weird sensations somehow disappeared, the only evidence of it being real was the lingering heat and the sudden increase in brightness, bombarding his vision–

– and then someone materialised right in his face, narrowed cor lapis eyes included.

"Holy fuck!"

" Childe ." Damn Zhongli and his perpetually smooth velvety voice. It was hard to stay mad at him when he always sounded like the voice of reason. "You are awake. Lucid."

"Well if I wasn't, I definitely am now!" Ajax finally took in his surroundings, and determined it to be his nth return to the tea house guest room– or Childe's naughty little corner , as Madame Ping dubbed it, after his multiple recuperating visits as a result of their sparring sessions, much to Zhongli's chagrin. "How long was I out for this time? Geez I must be out of shape if our fights are making me this sore–"

"One week."

"-- it's probably all that damn paperwork I had to file– wait." Wait. " One week?"

One whole week? Ajax balked. The longest he had ever crashed was one and a half days!

" One. Week. " Zhongli enunciated each phoneme with a great amount of gritted teeth, looking not at all happy, which was weird because his expression post-sparring was usually something else– usually a mix of amusement and silent preening that he had maddeningly won yet another round against Ajax. He was seeing none of that this time, a mix of… worry? Anger? Ajax wasn't too sure, but he sure felt like he did something wrong at the sight of Zhongli's scrutinising gaze.

"You were meant to evacuate to Mount Tianheng. And yet, after returning to the Northland bank to reassure myself of your safety, I find myself having to nurse you back to health instead."

Evacuate? Mount Tianheng? Ajax had no idea what Zhongli was talking about. What in the–

Oh.

Oh wait.

Oh shit.

“Look.” Memories flashed before him, of raging tides and him collapsing in front of that strange little girl. Ajax tried his best not to wince under Zhongli’s withering look. “I’m really sorry I worried you, and I’m super thankful that you’ve helped me but–”

“But?” Ajax swore Zhongli somehow grew larger in size, the way the other seemed to loom dangerously over him, inciting a level of trepidation that made Ajax’s skin crawl.

But he wouldn’t be the eleventh harbinger if he cowered so easily at threats, even ones seemingly with good intentions like Zhongli’s.

“There were uprooted statues from the docks that were crashing into buildings during the storm." Ajax shuffled back onto the bed and sat up a little straighter so he could gain a bit of extra height against Zhongli. "It was easy for me to tear them down with my vision, so I went down there to dismantle the rest before it could cause more damage. Even helped some of the sailors back to shore using hydro constructs when they were stranded out at sea. Hell, even the young'uns from Wanmin were there helping out too.”

“I do not like the idea of other Liyuen citizens being in danger either. It is a moot point.”

“What I'm trying to say is that I was helping ." Ajax tried to reason with an infuriatingly stubborn Zhongli. "Actually, you know what? So were you. What makes you think I was okay with you dumping me at the bank while you put yourself in danger? That’s kind of hypocritical don’t you think?”

Zhongli paused, lips forming a tight line. There was a quirk of an eyebrow from Ajax at the sight of Zhongli clearly trying to form a rational argument against his very solid statement.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity later, Zhongli leant forward to take both of Ajax's hands into his. "My dear Childe." A deep breath in. Then out. His hands squeezed in what Zhongli probably hoped was in a reassuring manner. "Please do not take offence, but the difference in our power–"

"Oh no. Fuck no." The actual audacity. He wrenched his hands away, trying to maintain his anger despite the resulting crestfallen look on Zhongli’s face tugging at his heartstrings. "I know I've been losing our spars but I'm still going to take full fucking offence. It's insulting that you think I would just evacuate when I have the power to do a lot more– even if you think it's not on par to the adepti."

"It is not your responsibility.” Zhongli retorted without any hesitation whatsoever. “Do you see Liyue as your home, something to protect? Do you care for the citizens here, despite your foriegn status?"

"Wow. What the fuck?" God that hurt. Ajax probably shouldn't be moving around too much, but he still lifted the covers and tried to shuffle out of the bed because he really couldn't stand to be in the same room as Zhongli without punching him. But at the same time, holy fuck was he super disoriented from his sudden movements. Maybe he did exhaust himself a little bit more than he could handle.

Still, having to deal with this interrogation with a really accusatory Zhongli was inciting unwanted feelings of anger. He'd better make himself scarce before he raged against one of the few people he actually cared about.

And he cared about Zhongli. A whole lot.

A lot more than he actually bargained for, actually. Cared a lot more than he thought he would about Liyue and its people too.

And while mistrust was expected from most people, hearing it from Zhongli sucked .

"I'm not doing this. I can't talk to you right now or I'm honestly going to go crazy." Whether it was having a physical altercation or doling out verbal abuse, Ajax wasn't sure. Maybe both. The way he weakly wobbled on his feet after getting out of bed was probably leaning him more towards the latter option though.

"Wait! Childe–”

“ Wow, why do you even care about Liyue? You’re just a shitty little outlander! Haha! Fucking hell Zhongli. Do you know how that sounds?"

The following silence spoke volumes, and in that heavy pause, Ajax felt the accumulation of both anger and sadness bubble over his tolerance threshold.

"Arghhh! I’m feeling stabby. Really stabby. But I know I’m weak as fuck right now and probably wouldn’t be able to even land a scratch on a slime.” Ajax hissed, swatting away Zhongli’s small attempts to steer him back into bed. “So could you just leave me alone– ah fucking hell –”

Unfortunately, his shaky knees gave out, leaving him in a crumpled heap on the ground with a loud thud. Maybe Ajax knocked his head in the process, because he swore he heard a sharp whining tone escape Zhongli’s lips, a pained noise so out of character for Zhongli it gave Ajax mental whiplash.

“My sincerest apologies.” Zhongli’s hands shakily hovered before it tentatively reached for his arms, and when Ajax let out another angry hiss at him, his outstretched hands swiftly retracted into balled fists at his sides, his expression a mix of frustration and guilt. “I did not mean to demean you in the slightest. You are a great warrior in your own right, and it truly brings me untold joy that you care for Liyue. I was just worried. Incredibly so.” Zhongli’s thin lips pursed, eyes glassy. “I think I… merely wanted something to blame for your injuries and yet my thoughtless words had inadvertently hurt you instead. Please sit back down, you shouldn't be moving too much."

"I can get back into bed by myself. Just–" Ajax fumbled his way back into the bed, resolutely ignoring the burning stare boring holes into his back. "Fuck off. Leave me alone."

"Childe–."

“You're pissed. I'm pissed. You obviously need to blow off some steam before talking to me, because celestia knows I would have already cleared out a treasure hoarder camp if I didn't feel like a newborn foal."

"I– I truly am sorry."

Even though Ajax firmly ignored Zhongli by tilting his face away, burying himself into the covers, he could feel the remorse in his words, the pitiful tone playing with his heart strings once more.

"I know Zhongli. I know." Ajax let out a deep sigh, and while it took most of the incensed rage with it, there was still lingering bitterness that would take a bit more time to quell. "But I can't turn off my anger just like that without stabbing something. And if I went out to stab something now it'll probably piss you off more. So just… give me time to process everything."

"... then if you are amicable, I shall return with your lunch and your next dose of medication. But if there is anything that you need, please do not hesitate to call my name."

"Mn. Okay."

Another sigh, this time from Zhongli's end. Ajax could feel Zhongli's warmth hovering at the back of his neck, the scent of silk flowers strong, but in the end it was retracted, and the last thing Ajax heard from him was a sad mournful hum before the door to the room closed with a resounding click.

—

—

"Madame Ping, may I inquire as to…um. May I ask what the figurine in your hand is?"

"Ah, this is the first of many statuettes based on one of the more popular personifications of Tide seeker– wild fiery hair as bright as the rising dawn, ocean eyes ready to battle against raging storms, all dressed up in glaze lily blue robes that shift with the tide, their bow pulled taut to guide sailors home with arrows true. Look! It even has little dolphins and dawn catcher fishes at the sides, what craftsmanship!” 

“I-It looks… a lot… like Lord Harbinger Tartaglia...”

“Oh dear Ganyu, isn’t it wonderful? Imagine my surprise when I found out the polls had picked out my anonymously sent design! But let’s keep that last part between us shall we?”

“What? Surely– M-Madame Ping!”

—

—

When the afternoon sun hung high in the sky, Ajax was feeling well and truly less pissed off, and lonelier than he would have liked to admit.

After having a lot more time to wallow in his sickness and curse Zhongli in equal amounts, he started to realise that he would probably have done something similar if he were in Zhongli’s position–  if Zhongli were to have gotten hurt in his homeland of Snezhnaya. 

Also, why did he overreact like that, when he really was just a weapon sent to Liyue to do some debt collecting for the Tsaritsa? There was some truth to Zhongli's words,  though… outdated .

Because somehow, somewhere down the track, he started caring enough for Zhongli's words to hurt. His purpose here had warped and distorted so gradually he didn't even take notice.

Tsaritsa help him. Ajax groaned, rolling around in sheets and then whacking his pillow like a petulant child. They were just a bunch of dumbasses weren’t they?

Argh! He needed to do something about it!

With his person feeling a lot better, he took a few long confident strides to the entrance of the room, his hand clutching the brass handle–

– and swung the door open to reveal a surprised Zhongli, one hand poised to knock.

"Ah." Zhongli's other hand was balancing a tray with a large bowl, alongside two cups of what he assumed must be tea and water. They looked at each other with bewildered expressions before both embarrassingly tried to regain their composure.

"Uh. I– uh." Ajax gulped, fumbling with both his hands and the words in his mouth. “M’ sorry for telling you to, well… to essentially fuck off. Right. Yeah.” Deep breaths. In. Out. “Sure I needed some space but I shouldn't have worded it so harshly."

"No, it was warranted. You did not deserve such scathing words from me either." Zhongli shook his head, sighing. He swiftly walked past Ajax to place the tray down on the bedside table, but then hesitantly went back up to him, a hand gently placed between his shoulder blades. "But if I accept your apology will you sit back down? I have your lunch and medication."

Ajax nodded in agreement. “Our debts have been repaid. Past grievances set aside–”

“Rex Incognito. Volume two.” Zhongli’s small quirk of a smile provided much relief to Ajax, the weird awkward tension in the air dissipating with every step Ajax took back to settle on the bed. Zhongli proceeded to settle in the chair next to it, taking one of the cups from the tray into his hands.

The way Zhongli kept worryingly glancing back and forth between Ajax’s confused expression and the cup in his hands gave Ajax a feeling that it wasn’t water or tea in the cup.

“Aren’t we already good? I’m not some baby who’s going to throw a tantrum because my medicine is bitter or anything.” And to prove his point, he swiped it from Zhongli’s hands before the latter could say a word, and skulled it down in one go.

And oh boy.

Hoo boy.

It tasted a thousand times worse than Cloud Retainer’s hand sanitiser thing.

Fucking hell. Cough after cough escaped him, his throat feeling like it was on fire and steadily approaching the point of numbness, his entire body screaming at him for ingesting it so quickly.

“Oh! Oh dear. Why on earth would you–” Zhongli swiftly grabbed the other cup and guided it to his lips, its contents thankfully was water this time. “The medication was meant to be taken in small sips, with water in between.”

“Wow! You don’t say!” Loud hacking coughs punctuated his words while tears involuntarily ran down his cheeks, to which he tried his best to wipe away with the palm of his hand.

“I… didn’t.”

“That you didn’t. This–” Cough . “This is entirely on me. Whoops.” This was the last time he drank strange unknown concoctions just for the sake of his pride. Not to mention it was extremely irresponsible, considering Ajax’s status as a harbinger and his infamous track record of people trying to poison him– Dottore being right on the top of that list.

But it was Zhongli. Zhongli wouldn’t. Ajax just knew it.

The way a wrung out Ajax had all but unceremoniously collapsed on his chest with a heaving sigh, and Zhongli had reflexively tucked him closer? The way his fingers carded through his locks oh so gently? Affection just bursting from his fingertips?

As someone well versed in espionage himself, he reckoned he was good enough to distinguish between real and fake affection– that Zhongli’s gentleness towards him was straight from the heart.

And if that wasn't evidence enough, Zhongli had even prepared an incredible lunch as a reward for ingesting the bitter medicine, a hearty bowl of calla lily soup, filled with the largest meatiest pieces of seafood he'd ever seen, crabs and scallops and squid and octopus–

"Oh wow." Archons above. The meat was so tender and juicy, it practically melted in his mouth. It even chased away the bitterness of the medicine before with its rich flavour, and Ajax couldn't help but moan in delight at the taste of the dish. "This is so fresh. I've gotta tell Xiangling that she's really outdone herself."

" Xiangling ?" Surprisingly enough, Zhongli huffed and pouted . " I was the one who prepared and cooked this meal. Speared all of the catches that you see before you from the waters of Guyun. Even the calla lilies were picked straight from the fresh waters of Springvale, Mondstadt. Mora was given to Barbatos in exchange for such produce, and I suspect he has already procured alcohol with it."

"You did all that?" Ajax's heart was threatening to burst out of his chest, swelling up ten times too big with how much he was feeling. But the rational part of him kept him from combusting, reminding him of a particular tidbit about Zhongli that made his claims seem a bit more than suspicious.

"Zhongli." Ajax looked at the squishy, squirmy, and very slimy texture of the meat pieces floating in rich broth, before returning his attention to Zhongli's barely contained disgust at the food in his tray. "You hate seafood. That one time that fishmonger accidentally dropped that octopus on your shoe, you immediately paled and speed walked away in the opposite direction." Ajax didn't mention how the octopus was barely the size of his palm, and yet Zhongli was still spooked. "You hate seafood with a passion ."

"My… distaste still stands." And true enough, Zhongli's eyes narrowed one last time at the seafood dish before resolutely looking away from it. "But I refuse to compromise the quality of your lunch, even if I have an aversion to your preference for seafood."

“Wow. Shit. Uh– I mean, thank you.” That warm feeling returned tenfold, his face smiling so wide his cheeks were starting to hurt. “Grateful doesn’t even come close– I feel like a super privileged pampered prince.”

“As you should.”

“Huh?”

“Enjoy your lunch, dear Childe.” Zhongli refused to elaborate any further despite Ajax’s questioning gaze, taking the cup of tea and water in his hands before heading to the door. “I need to clean up the rest, but I’ll be back.”

—

—

“... I don’t see it.”

“Did you not see how his arrows summoned streams of water that ripped apart that incoming projectile? How far-fetched would it be to have him summon Hydro constructs?”

“You and your conspiracies, Rex Lapis help us all. You read Rex Incognito one time and suddenly you think all the adepti walk amongst us. Listen here, that’s not Tide Seeker, he’s just a hydro vision user from the Northland bank. My auntie said that he could be one of those dangerous Harbingers even– why would he bother helping out Liyuen citizens?”

“Didn’t you hear? He’s married to one of the Liyuens here.”

“Who do you think I am? Everyone knows about Mister Zhongli. Okay, so maybe he did have reasons to help out, but why would he not take credit for saving the people on those boats? Simple conclusion– he obviously wasn’t the one who did it.”

“Or! Perhaps… that hydro vision user is actually an adepti in disguise, working as a foriegn emissary because who would think an outlander looking individual could be an adepti right? And then maybe he didn’t take credit because it would blow his cover.”

“Then you’re saying Mister Zhongli married an adepti.”

“No… no maybe…”

“What is it now?”

“Don’t you find it suspicious how Mister Zhongli knows pretty much everything? Remember that one rumour about how he made Scholar Bai’s day because he explained some unsolved historical phenomena from a thousand years ago, and it turned out to be true? Maybe, just maybe– and hear me out before you leave– maybe… Mister Zhongli is Rex Lap–”

“You! You need to stop spouting blasphemy–”

—

—

“... it was the monstrous Beisht, Avenger of the Vortex, wife of the infamous Osial. And though she usually spends her days rotting away in the ocean depths, fearful of the heavenly spears that had sealed her husband, a wayward soul recently had summoned her, inciting her rage.”

“But thanks to Rex Lapis and his adepti, all is well in the golden harbour." Ajax finished the end of Zhongli’s little recount of events, bumping shoulders as they walked side by side under Zhongli's silk flower red umbrella, their arms linked and hands intertwined.

The sea monster had been done and dealt with, cowering in the depths of the ocean for hopefully another millennia, but her lingering malevolence meant that Liyue was going to be raining for about another week before it cleared up.

Not that Ajax minded at the moment, with him basking in the warmth of Zhongli's presence as the umbrella shielded them from said elements.

But alas, all things must come to an end, and the escorting walk to the Northland bank soon came to a close. 

"Thanks for the company." Ajax took his time to walk up the stairs to the Northland Bank's archway, waiting for his companion to shake off the droplets from their umbrella before entering the sheltered portion of their journey. “It’s high time I get back to work! My body is itching for a fight–”

"Childe.”

“-- and of course I’ll try not to overdo it, as per my nurse’s instructions.” Childe rolled his eyes, earning an exasperated huff from Zhongli. “I’ll take my medication and stuff the proper way this time, so–”

“Stop that man!”

Nadia? Ajax turned to the source of the yelling, but instead he was met with a familiar shady looking client of theirs running away with papers trailing behind him, one that was very behind on his payments, last he heard.

Without further ado, he released Zhongli from his grip in order to yank the man by the collar when he tried to run past him, the suspect letting out a garbled squeak at intervention. 

“Who the fuck– let go of me! Do you know who I am?”

“Very much so, despite the fact I’d rather not.” Ajax easily dodged a poorly timed punch to the face, and shook the yelling man in retaliation, eliciting frightened yelps. “Judging by the state of things, you’ve just got your restaurant seized after you failed to meet your repayment deadlines for five months straight, right? Even though there’s been reports of you purchasing countless treasures for your own personal use? Punishment for such insolence is in the contract, you know.” 

“Fuck you! I was gonna pay it eventually! You Northlanders can’t just barge into my property and take my shit!” Of course the guy geared up to spit in his face like every other slimy businessman who thought they could get away with it, and Ajax calmly moved to evade it–

– only to have Zhongli’s glove grip the man’s face tight, and when Ajax looked back, there was a thunderous expression on Zhongli's face, his eyes glowing like molten gold, pupils narrowed into slits.

“Borrowing for an indefinite amount of time is stealing .” The man’s eyes widened in terror as he struggled even more in Ajax’s grasp, face red with his screams muffled by Zhongli’s glove. “Ones who break their contracts shall suffer the Wrath of the Rock. That is the will of Rex Lapis. Which will you choose?”

Zhongli definitely must have used some adepti magic to communicate telepathically to the man, because immediately he went as docile as a lamb– or rather, he went limp, his hands covering his face once Zhongli released him, the rest of him shuddering and sobbing in obvious fear.

And Ajax? He really should be scared of what he had just witnessed but–

“That was–” Really hot? Really fucking sexy? Haha! Who knows! Zhongli managed to summon a monstrous aura in the span of two seconds and all Ajax could think of was… nothing. Absolutely nothing. Complete blank. Absolutely no fear. No thoughts. Yikes!  

“That was, uh… really helpful , thanks Zhongli. But I’ve got it.” The man in his hold was a lot heavier now that he was pretty much deadweight. “Can't have you doing my job for me now, can I?”

“Hm.”

“Nope. Don’t say anything.” No thoughts. Absolutely none. Head extremely empty. “Dinner at Wanmin’s later? My treat?”

A smile graced Zhongli’s lips, and somehow Ajax’s brain got even emptier, a black hole residing in the centre of his head, sucking all thought into nothingness. “I shall look forward to it.”

“Lord Harbinger! Welcome back! There was a– oh.” When Nadia finally managed to get to them, with two pyro fatui agents following closely behind her, Zhongli was already making his way down the steps, long ponytail swishing and soon disappearing out of sight as he descended. “Was that Mister Zhongli? We at the Northland Bank are truly blessed to have him treat your ailments in such a timely manner. Strangely enough, the Tsaritsa even gave him permission to treat you and– um, Lord Harbinger? Are you okay?”

“Mhmm.” No thoughts. He vaguely acknowledged that he was dragging back worthless scum back into the bank like a sack of potatoes, but otherwise? 

Head empty. Only Zhongli.

—-

—

"You mean Rex Lapis was here while I was sick?"

“Forgive me if I am mistaken, Lord Harbinger, but were you perhaps disappointed that you did not face Rex Lapis’ wrath?”

"That’s a whole missed opportunity there! An ancient war god! Our battle could have been glorious! Hey Ekaterina, Do you think I can take on Rex lapis with my foul legacy form?"

"... in a fight?"

"Yes? Of course in a fight! What kind of question is that!"

—

—

“So the populace has mistakenly confused the Harbinger's hydro constructs with the powers of a water adeptus– assuming him to be a descendent of the fictional Tide Seeker, and in some reiterations, to be Tide Seeker themself."

"Yes, Lord Lapis. However, if you command it, we will dispel such rumours post haste. My sincerest apologies for not reporting it sooner."

"At ease, dear Ganyu. It was my command that I was not to be disturbed, even though the subject in question was under my care. Hmm. Most intriguing. And they wish to build a temple for this Tide Seeker?"

"Indeed so, Your Eminence. Previous experiences indicate a preference to let the people be so long as it posed no detriment to Liyue's progress, but with how delicate the subject matter is, one does not wish to assume, and hopes to confirm my Lord's view on the matter."

"My view? Well, as the geo archon presiding over Liyue, one is indifferent, as such an event is merely another little mortal quip in the grand scheme of things. However, personally, one is highly interested in how the subject in question will handle the situation, as the Harbinger has little to no idea as to the consequences of his actions."

"The Harbinger is not aware, my Lord?"

"Childe certainly has complexities and unfathomable depth to his character. But, as cunning and intelligent he may be, the man is also incredibly simple minded when it comes to certain facets of life. It is a part of him that can be equal parts refreshing and frustrating. Hmm."

"... My Lord?"

"One has made a decision– leave the humans to their devices. Let them build their temples. One would like to see how long it takes for my dear Childe to notice."

—

—

It was only after the rain had cleared that they resumed their beach stroll dates, but this time, Zhongli was a lot more… protective? Annoying?

"Jacket."

Ajax groaned, and gestured at the fairly clear evening skies with no small amount of irritation, the weather more warm than cold even as the night approached the shores of the Guili plains. He was a Snezhayan for archon's sake, he was no stranger to cold temperatures.

"I'm fine Zhongli. It's not even that cold outside–"

" Jacket ."

There really is no convincing him huh. Ajax sighed at the stubbornness of it all, eventually relenting and putting on the coat that Zhongli offered. Thankfully he had the right mind to bring the thinner one, otherwise he would have started vaporising from overheating.

Ajax gave Zhongli one good annoyed huff for good measure. "I'd like to remind you, my good sir, that I'm a very dangerous Harbinger."

"That's no excuse not to wear a jacket." Zhongli huffed back, but had his hands interlaced with Ajax's anyway, guiding them towards the direction of the peninsula's edge, where the best starconches usually were, glittering under the pale moonlight like stars in the sand.

The treasure hoarder camp near the area was also a bonus-- those stupid fellas kept coming back to it, even though Zhongli and Ajax always handed their asses to them when they passed by. It was a good bonding experience, working as a team to chase the idiots out of their own camp. They've even got a score count going.

"You think they'll be there today?" Ajax hummed, enjoying how the stars shyly peeked out from the veil of the darkness, pinkish orange sunset hues giving way to the navy blue black of a summer's night sky.

"I highly suspect they are absent, with how recent the calamity was."

"True. So I guess we'll have the best pick of starconches today." And sure enough, Ajax gleefully spotted one in the distance, the beautiful silver and blue jutting out of pale white sand, the colours more vivid than anything he had ever seen, even in the darkness of the night. Ajax briefly left Zhongli to grab it, carefully removing the sand with a good dunk into the ocean and a good ol' hand scrubbing.

The shell gleamed in the moonlight, as if it were really a magical gift from the ocean gods like in the legends, bestowing its owner the ability to hear the voices of long lost.

Ajax indulged in those stories, ones passed down from generation to generation in his family, the hole of the shell now pressed against his ear, the hollow echoes of the sea filling his senses, waves and winds singing a tune both unfamiliar yet nostalgic. It sounded like his mother's lullabies, soft and sweet but incomprehensible, words long forgotten but its gentleness persisted.

"What do you hear, dearest?"

"You thinking very loudly, mostly." He laughed, eyes crinkling. Ajax wasn't going to bother Zhongli with how much he missed his family right now– didn't want to ruin the mood. "Want to have a go?"

"Hm." And it always made Ajax's heart feel too big for his chest whenever Zhongli took his little childish whims so seriously, this time carefully taking the shell from Ajax, eyes fluttering shut as donned a look of concentration.

"What do you hear?"

"A sorrowful song of the sea, full of longing, lamenting, melancholic. Yet, within it, the winds whistle a small hope for a better tomorrow, the waves carrying that simple wish to places beyond the horizon."

"That's… honestly beautiful Zhongli." Ajax gingerly took back the starconch, the magic feeling more real than ever. "I should put this back, let it marinate in the sand a little bit more."

At this, Zhongli raised an eyebrow. "And risk the treasure hoarders finding it?"

"Spoken like a true hoarder of treasures yourself." He laughed. "Fine, I'll find a good hiding spot for it."

And just as he was about to dig a nice hole near the natural stone archway to hide the starconch, he spotted it .

"Hey Zhongli?" Ajax peeked into the small patch of grass between two large boulders near his digging site, spotting pale blue petals blending in perfectly with the grey blue rock. "There aren't any Glaze Lilies in the wild, yeah?"

"Not impossible, but due to geological changes over time, their natural habitat was destroyed, and thus most, if not all, are cultivated." Zhongli most likely walked over to Ajax in a curious attempt to see what caught his eye, and the resulting surprised gasp was honestly quite fulfilling to hear. "My word. It is a glaze lily in the wild. A healthy one at that. I have not seen one in, well, in a very very long time."

"It likes songs right? A perfect place to hide this then." Ajax found another sandy area near the flower for the star conch to rest, then piled sand on top of it. "Grow well, you two."

It was probably coincidence that the glaze lily started blooming the moment he settled the starconch, especially considering how they tended to bloom in the moonlight, but he wasn't going to let that ruin the magic. Instead, he fully embraced it, letting out a gasp of awe as he wondered at the marvel that was a wild glaze lily.

"Look Zhongli! It liked it– oh."

When Ajax turned to look at Zhongli's reaction, he found that the fondness on Zhongli's face was almost too much to bear. Actually, after a good few seconds, it was too much to bear, because Zhongli's gaze hadn't lessened in intensity one bit, and Ajax felt himself heating up under all that focused attention. He ended up hurriedly putting some distance between them under the guise of wanting to collect more starconches.

With boots off and pants rolled up, he waded into deeper waters and felt the waves crash against his ankles, the smell of sea salt potent, the refreshing sea spray cleansing.

It was euphoria, the way he could bask in it all– the waves, the wind, the sea, the lovely moon in the night sky, the even lovelier affections of the one waiting by the shore. He took it all in, condensing it into the centre of his chest, and then it burst forth in peals of unrestrained laughter, so raw, so pure, so straight from the soul, a rare thing with how widespread the dark abyssal effects on his psyche were.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it Zhongli?" Ajax beamed, feeling like his joy could even outshine the moon. "Even wild glaze lilies would reveal themselves to bask in its enchanting light."

But despite Zhongli's attention still focused on Ajax, he didn't seem to hear him, walking towards him like a man possessed–

– until he unceremoniously kissed Ajax, both hands bringing their bodies close, silk flowers and incense bombarding his senses.

And like clockwork, Ajax reflexively kissed back with one hand moving to grip Zhongli's dark locks, the other on his cheek to guide him better towards him. 

Despite all his polite mannerisms, Zhongli kissed like a voracious beast, and Ajax absolutely adored that side of him.

"Childe." Zhongli whispered so reverently into his kisses, his mouth now travelling south, working small little bruises into his nape, leaving evidence of worship. "My dear lovely Childe."

"Ajax."

"Huh?" Suddenly, there was confusion in the air, Zhongli reeling back to narrow his eyes at Ajax, searching Ajax's face as if the answers could be found there. "What is Ajax?"

"You mean, who is Ajax." Ajax didn't even know why he was saying all this, it was so inconsequential, the name worth close to nothing juxtaposed to the grandeur that accompanied Childe and Tartaglia, but somehow he felt… weird , not having Zhongli know that redundant name of his. It was the moonlight pushing him deeper into lunacy, that's what it was. "You know how Tartaglia is a title and Childe is an alias? My birth name is Ajax. But don't go spreading that around you hear? People don't need to know that. I'm bestowing this great knowledge upon you."

"Ajax. Ajax ." Zhongli enunciated each and every bit of his name like it was a new found taste upon his tongue, every repetition in that smooth baritone sending a shiver down his spine. "My dearest Ajax. For giving me the privilege to call upon your birth name, I wish to present you with your gift, one that is unfortunately belated."

"It's just a name– wait. Gift?" And then it hit him. Ajax looked to Zhongli, brows furrowed. "Oh yeah. Shit. You haven't opened mine yet either, have you?"

"I assume you meant the specific box you gave me at the dinner on the evening of the Flower Weaver's festival, amongst the great many other gifts you have procured for oneself."

"That's a no then." Ajax hummed. "I kind of want to see you open it, to be honest."

"Likewise. So, if I may–" And then Zhongli stepped away, brought out his weird mini dimensional pocket storage teapot thing, and let it float upwards into the air. A bright light enveloped it, the golden light seemingly expanding, warping, and then finally condensing into a formidable looking spear, metal shining sapphire blue.

It was clearly one of a kind, with its intricate details and unique power signature. Gleaming silver hilt embossed with raging waves, whilst its asymmetrical spearhead radiated bright strong hydro energy, the blade's azure colours complimented by twin Liyuen sea dragons curling protectively around it, looking the part of ferocious guardians with their large coral horns and bared fangs.

Signs of Zhongli's touch could be found, the double interlocking rhombus motif in the spearhead the most obvious, to the very tiny calligraphy depicting a poem, glowing blue with hydro power in vertical Liyuen script near the spear head.

"My beloved invokes my devotion, commands the oceans.” Ajax read aloud as he gazed upon the weapon floating towards him with sheer awe. “Witness serene brutality in motion. This weapon is henceforth dubbed– Sunset Riptide."

It finally levitated over to his outstretched hands, and upon contact, Ajax could immediately feel the power thrumming within its physical cage, a savage beast ready to accompany its master for a hunt. And to his delight, it was fluid, malleable, the weapon responsive to his hydro vision in the same way he created his raging tide weaponry sets, but he could tell it was much deadlier, the shifting metal morphing into bows and swords with a sinister whistling sound. 

If a weapon could cut through thin air, this would be it.

A weapon of destruction. Undoubtedly made just for him.

"Is… is it to your liking?"

"Are you kidding? I love it!" Ajax gleefully showed off the new bow he managed to conjure with his gift, firing a test shot at some unsuspecting hydro slime in the distance. Of course, it was immune to hydro so it wasn't decimated in an instant, but the sheer force of the shot knocked it so far into the distance, it seemed like it had travelled all the way to Inazuma. 

Needless to say, he was absolutely stoked.

“I am glad to hear it.” And Zhongli really did sound like he was relieved, even letting out a huge sigh, as if he was holding his breath this whole time. As if he couldn't tell Ajax loved it from the get go! In fact, the man seemed extremely stressed, the way his lips pursed, hands behind his back and reverting to what Ajax had dubbed as "rushed essay speak", less passionate rambling and more uncontrolled word regurgitation.

"--and in this long era of peace, I feared my blacksmithing skills were too far gone to salvage, serving as an obstacle in my attempt to create the gift for a fine warrior such as yourself. It brings me much relief to see– oomph!"

Splash!

The waters weren't deep enough for them to completely submerge them height wise, but with Ajax pulling Zhongli into the water with him, they went sideways, dunking them both in water.

Ajax resurfaced with a gasp and then a hearty laugh, while the other slowly emerged from the waters like an angry beast rudely awakened, Zhongli's face unamused, eyes narrowed.

"Aww come on. You were so worried I could see the steam coming out of your ears. Got you to cool off before you blow up!"

"Childe." Ooh he was in for it now. "You just recovered from an ailment."

"Oh so we're back to Childe now huh. It's just a bit of water, tis'all!"

"Ajax. " Oh he was gonna get it, but he's going to absolutely love every second of it . " You will. Catch. A cold."

"Warm me up then. If you can catch me, that is." Ajax blew a raspberry, purposefully drawing Zhongli's ire. But he knew he wasn't going too far with it, he knew part of Zhongli liked their little games– the adeptus would have ended it much earlier with his jade shield otherwise. Normally, he'd be the seeker, the hunter, the one on the offense, but escape tactics had its own brand of thrill when it came to Zhongli.

Oh how he gleefully watched Zhongli summon up his own weapon, already dragging himself through the water towards Ajax, eyes burning gold. Ajax brandished his new little toy in response, the metal shifting into a long spear to optimally whack away any incoming adeptus trying to paw him .

"You little rascal. "

"Catch me if you can, Mister Zhongli!"

—

—

Ajax stood on the edge of the water, crystal sea foam lapping at his ankles as the wind caressed his hair, hearty laughter akin to golden bells, ringing bright and true. The glaze lily tucked safely between the rocks seemed to glow under the light of the moon, undoubtedly flourishing– perhaps it too was relishing in the beautiful music of pure unbridled joy.

Oh he was ethereal, simply divine– far beyond what he could ever comprehend. He has ascended to Celestia before, far beyond the clouds, and yet the feeling of just being, right here, right now, with Ajax, has surpassed all his experiences thus far. His existence has never ever felt so… light.

He barely acknowledged Ajax calling for him, his entire being just simply drawn to the other. Clouds parted to reveal stars, their reflection in the shallow waters blooming like flowers in spring, shining a path back to his beloved.

—

—

To be entirely honest, dinner shows, meals and beach strolls weren't the only things he did with Zhongli.

However, in his defence, Ajax didn't think certain more… lewd interactions should be shared in an official report to one's sacred archon.

Ajax yawned into the pillow, his arm reaching over for another warm body, one that probably scooted a bit too far from himself during the night– which, with all things considered, didn't sound right, because Zhongli was absolutely ravenous last night, a response possibly due to Ajax taunting him a little too far with their silly little hunt, evading him for longer than they were used to.

Nevertheless, the aftermath of their silly little game was still enjoyable, although a bit stuffy when Zhongli clung to him like an octopus and refused to budge.

Strange. Ajax eyes opened blearily, somewhat irritated at having had to wake up with a nice warm body to snuggle up to. When he looked out the window, he could see that the sun was barely up– his military training conditioning his body to rise when the sun did. Annoyingly enough, however, Zhongli had old man syndrome, which meant he tended to get up even earlier .

But he tended to stay in bed and creepily watch Ajax rouse from his slumber, or at least, that's what Ajax thought he did, with how often he'd wake to Zhongli staring at him from above, watching him in some weird fascinated way. Maybe it was fondness. Adoration, if he was feeling particularly cheesy. But regardless of what it was, Ajax was definitely not used to waking up alone when he was at the tea house.

" Lyubimiy ?" Ajax called out, voice a bit croaky. He then groaned whilst trying to get up, his back a bit more than sore. When he managed to blink the sleep away, he could see Zhongli's side of the bed was indeed empty, albeit still somewhat warm with mussed sheets.

Bathroom break or something probably. Ajax let out another yawn as he stretched, feeling the cool morning air hit his bruised and bitten skin. As usual, he found his go-to glaze lily blue robes in the bedside drawer, as well as the pair of bamboo slippers underneath the bed, and donned them both to ward off the chill. 

Oops. And that was just his jacket he just stepped on. The rest of his clothes were probably in the hallway somewhere. 

To his surprise, Zhongli wasn’t in the en suite bathroom when he tried to look for him there, so he ventured out onto the hallway, finding not a tall, dark and handsome adeptus-man, but that one weird baby geo slime with a penchant for taking his shit, his missing underwear now its latest victim resting upon his rocky cap.

"You have to stop doing that." Ajax hastily grabbed the underpants, letting out an embarrassed cough before shooing the creature away, the slime nonchalantly bouncing towards the kitchen area of the tea house, one that seemed to have Zhongli cooking in there, a sweet smell emitting from that general direction.

With robe and underpants on, he made his way into the kitchen, only to find Zhongli not cooking, but instead his eyes wide and mouth agape, bare hands hovering above the now opened tea set box, the gift perfumed by sweet silk flowers, dry ice mimicking the mysterious otherworldly aura of swirling incense smoke, encircling the treasure within.

For someone without a vision, Madame Wei really knew how to make her work seem magical.

It was an exquisite set, the epitome of craftsmanship, every single piece of it a beautiful blue silver with detailed embossing, all of it depicting a dragon and phoenix in an intimate dance as they transversed through swirling clouds, and when the lighting changed so did they, a masterful optical illusion that their pearlescent outlines dancing across the fine china. This was beyond what Ajax could have ever imagined– he thought it was going to be clay, for starters. 

But to be fair, he had basically told Madame Wei to go ham with it, and that as long as it had the dragon and phoenix pattern Zhongli so clearly favoured, he'd trusted her to do whatever she thought was best.

And wow did she deliver.

"Uh." It was only then that Zhongli finally realised Ajax was there, and he stumbled back, hands now awkwardly at his sides, as if he were caught red handed.

"My sincere apologies. Opening it without your presence was not my intention at all." Ajax followed Zhongli's line of sight, and sure enough there was a neglected pot of water, the steamer with uncooked buns next to it. "I was not as awake as I should have been, and assumed it was the other tea box set–"

"Even with the glittering jewellery?"

"... I am truly sorry, baobei–"

"Don't look like that, I was just playing with ya. I really don't care, honest." And to further convince Zhongli, Ajax went up to him and did a side hug, giving a small peck on his cheek. “Well? Take it out, have a feel! It’s all yours.”

And that seemed to do the trick, Zhongli wasting no time to wow at his new treasures, carefully picking up each and every piece of the set and inspecting it with his expert eye.

"This is an incredibly rare silver.” Ajax was happy to note the excited undertone to Zhongli’s words, the man most likely going on a passionate rant again. “Starsilver, but mixed naturally with enough Noctilucous Jade impurities to produce subtle glowing effects, to which the master crafter had so tastefully utilised to emphasise the detailed embossing. It can be only found in a small area between Mingyun and Dragonspine, and even so, I had thought all of it had been mined out thousands of years ago."

"Such a wondrous material has its advantages for tea brewing too, for its thermal conductivity allows quick brewing and optimal heat retention." Zhongli made an audible noise of awe as he admired the fine details, such as the dragon posed to roar on the tip on the pot cover, complimenting the phoenix about to take flight on the tip of the gaiwan cover beside. “Unlike standard clay sets, it does not absorb flavours of the tea when brewing, enhancing the taste of the drink.”

“The light sandbearer wood tea tray and tea holder is also of a wondrous make.” Zhongli now had his hands running across the rectangular wooden base of the tea tray, where the typical linear grating was replaced with an intricately carved scene, dragon and phoenix encircling a patterned sun, shining down on an outline of Liyue Harbour. “It has incredibly tight dense grain lines, giving it the appearance of beige porcelain. The incredible design, of course, speaks for itself. It is doubly amazing how the tea tray in particular is able to hold the weight of the tea set with such a design. The iron waste water tray hidden underneath even has a pattern embossed into it, depicting the same scene but with a waning moon instead of a sun."

“So…” Ajax squeezed Zhongli’s hip, and felt his heart thundering when Zhongli responded with a smile brighter than a thousand suns, small and reserved but undoubtedly full of joy, eyes crinkled. “I take it that it meets your expectations?”

Zhongli let out a small scoff, a possessive hold on the tea set in front of him, eyes alight. “The world will burn to the ground before I let this treasure be taken from my hands.”

“That’s reassuring.” Ajax laughed. Of course Zhongli would show his appreciation for the gift in the most dramatic way possible.

But amidst all of that opulence, there was the matter of the small placard at the bottom, so out of place with its plain white amongst all those busy patterns. 

Gingerly, Zhongli picked it up, and when Ajax leaned over to have a peek, all it had were four liyuen characters calligraphed in bold stark ink. 

Thank you, Zhongli. It read.

“Ah.” Fuck , Ajax forgot he even had that message.

“Simple, yet effective. Very much like you, dear Childe.” Zhongli let out an amused laugh, placing the card down to free his hands, allowing them to fully caress Ajax’s cheeks as he pressed a kiss upon his temple. 

“It doesn’t feel like enough though.” Ajax grumbled, then sighed, eliciting a questioning gaze from the other man. “To be honest, I requested that message when I first made this tea set commission months ago about the time during the Rite of Descension, and a lot has changed since then.” He grabbed Zhongli’s hands away from his cheeks and let it settle between their persons, both of them filled with callouses and scars from numerous battles past and present, yet the touch was undeniably gentle. “I– uh– then again, I’m not really that good at the long poetic speeches thing, same with how I handle my missions– straight to the point if I can.”

“So, when I say thank you Zhongli, I really do mean it, astronomically. The things you have done for me even though our first meeting was when I knocked on your door asking for a fight–”

“Childe–”

“Wait, listen. Just– thank you. Thank you for being there, for me… all of me –  for Tartaglia, Childe, and even Ajax.” Ajax felt a tight ball of emotion stuck in his throat, something that had not felt in a very long time, not since he fell into the abyss and emerged something a little bit twisted, a bit touched in the head. “It’s been a long time since– no. Actually, let me rephrase that, no one has ever accepted all of me so candidly like you Zhongli, and it’s so funny how you’re like a home away from a home I had long lost.” 

There was a tense silence, one that Ajax refused to acknowledge, instead opting to fall forward and rest his head upon Zhongli’s shoulder, the latter instinctively wrapping his hands around him, secure and warm.

“You will always have a home with me.” A reassuring voice, the embrace just a little tighter, closer, warmer . “Whether it be Tartaglia, Childe or Ajax. This one will always welcome you with open arms.” 

“That’s… that’s good.” Ajax reared back, feeling oh so wonderfully loved at the sight of Zhongli’s determined expression, his hold on him still steady. “Especially how I have to go back to Snezhnaya soon–”

“What.”

“Just for a bit!” The sheer drop in Zhongli’s mood and the fallen expression had Ajax scrambling to rectify the situation. “I have to go back to Snezhnaya for a bit. I’ve told you this before! All Harbingers need to show their face around the royal palace once in a while, and I was planning to spend Krsnik Noc with my family before coming back to Liyue.”

Zhongli seemed less likely to sulk under a rock for a millennia, but he still didn’t seem happy. “How long?”

“Minimum a month, max two months.” Ajax took a deep breath, and then–

“And, uh. Well.” Cough. “How possible is it for you… for you to come to Snezhnaya with me?”

A beat. Then two. And then, a soft gasp. 

“You would like me to go with you?” Zhongli whispered, words soft, disbelief evident. “To see your home?”

“And meet my family!” Ajax nodded. “Trust me, they would love you! I can personally show you all my favourite places in Morepesok, tell you exactly where all the stories I told you took place. My younger brother Anthon in particular will probably ask you loads of questions– the boy thinks all Liyuen people are made out of rocks. Oh! You’ll be able to get a taste of real Snezhnayan cuisine when you taste my mother’s pelmenis–”

“I’m sorry, baobei, but I… I cannot.” And Zhongli did look like he felt really bad, his hands now back intertwined with Ajax’s again, squeezing it in apology. “As you know, with who I am, what I am, I am duty bound to the land of Liyue and its citizens.”

“Ah, I see.” Sure, Ajax fully expected this answer, but it still kind of stung. Just a little bit. “It’s alright! I’ll take lots of pictures with my kamera this time round, and I’ll send them through letters regularly.”

“Oh my dear, I– ah. Wait here.”

Zhongli left in a flash, speed walking out the door and down the hall to archon knows where, leaving a dumbfounded Ajax alone in the kitchen. He returned to the room just as quickly though, slightly huffing as he presented Ajax with a small rectangular box made of dark wood, the golden gilded edges opening up to reveal–

" Chopsticks? ” Ajax glanced between Zhongli’s somewhat nervous expression and the pair of dragon and phoenix chopsticks, silver and gold ones that seemed like they were probably carved by Zhongli himself. They were undoubtedly beautiful, luxurious, and probably cost a good amount of mora on the market, but to Ajax, they were still, at the end of the day, just a pair of chopsticks. 

“You– oh geez. You’re really challenging me here.” Ajax let out a laugh, but stopped once it seemed to not sit well with Zhongli, the latter’s face going a good ten shades paler. “But it’s beautiful! Although I don’t know if I could use it–” And Zhongli definitely looked like he wanted to throw up now. “-- I mean! I definitely use it! For sure! I just meant I didn’t know if I could use it with Snezhayan cuisine because we’re more of a spoon and fork and knife kind of people, but of course with Liyuen cuisine I’d definitely show it off!”

"It is not a challenge.” Was that a gulp from Zhongli? Nah, couldn’t be. “No, it is… a proposal . I didn’t know when would be a good time, the weight of this gift always lingering in the back of my mind. However, with your impending departure, I would like you to have these chopsticks to remember me by. A promise, if you will. The weapon yesterday– a gift of protection. And these chopsticks– a gift of home, like that of your tea set, that we would eat together, drink together, share our joys and sorrows, our stories. Will you accept it, dear Ajax?"

If Zhongli was holding up a ring instead of a pair of sticks, I would have thought he was actually proposing marriage. Ajax laughed to himself, feeling half exasperated and half fond, the way Zhongli was so dramatic over asking Ajax to remember him with chopsticks when he was probably only going to be gone for a month.

But Zhongli looked like was probably going to blow up if Ajax didn’t indulge him, so he carefully plucked the box from Zhongli’s hands, and watched as his eyes lit up.

“Of course I’ll accept it. How could I not?" Ajax pressed a kiss to a blush tinted cheek for good measure, watching as Zhongli looked like he had just gotten a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "I'll show it off to my family, tell them there's this really cool handsome guy in Liyue that's waiting for me– wha–" A crashing of lips, the sound of a box clattering upon the wood of a kitchen table. "Mmmmphf– Zhongli! You can't be serious! Again? After last night? You– ah fuck. Oh. Actually, maybe do that again…" 

—

—

"Morax. One assumes you have good reason to request an audience in one's personal dreamscape at this unholy hour of the night? A message that couldn't have possibly been sent as a missive to Zapolyarny Palace in the morning?"

—

—

"Lady Ningguang! Are you alright? You look–"

"The Qixing has to consult Lady Ganyu at once. Rex Lapis has sent me a vision and I need her advice regarding his words as soon as possible. In the meantime, it is paramount that we prepare a complete clear out of the harbour in about two weeks."

"A complete clear out? Is it Osial after what we did to Beisht? Do we need to prepare the Guizhong ballistas?"

"No Lady Keqing, it is not Osial. But there will be a Snezhayan fleet docking into the harbour, one of which is the royal warship Princess Vasilisa, reportedly carrying the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya herself."

"The Cryo archon? An invasion? The sheer audacity of the Fatui after all the hospitality Liyue has shown them–"

"No, it is vital that they are to be treated as honoured guests. His Lordship Rex Lapis was vague, but I suspect there are ships containing… dowry."

"Dowry! The Cryo Archon! The Ice queen herself! And our esteemed lord? How–"

"No! Absolutely not! Rex Lapis himself has vehemently emphasised that was not the case. However, he did not elaborate any further as to the identity of the other party. Please relay this information to the other heads of the Liyue Qixing, but otherwise, this is highly classified."

"For the Cryo archon to personally visit… it could only be– oh. Oh no."

"Indeed. I have asked Baiwen to help me track down the elusive Lord Harbinger Tartaglia of the Northland Bank. Too often has he had that receptionist of his cover for him. I will schedule a face to face meeting even if it takes smoking him out of his hiding hole."

—

Chapter Text

"... Ajax? Is… why… married?"

"...Unbelievable… must be the Geo archon… what the f–"

"Big brother!"

Ajax woke up with a start, strangely  finding himself in one of the nice lounge chairs in the main area of the Huaguang Tea house instead of his usual room at Zhongli's place.

Even stranger was the way his whole family was sitting in the longue chairs across from him, decked out in their very Snezhnayan-appropriate nightwear attire despite being in a familiar Liyuen setting.

Ajax rubbed his eyes, blinked, and yet his family was still there, staring back at him with a whole range of emotion, both good and bad– well actually , mostly bad save for the younger ones, who seemed just happy to be there. Teucer in particular was waving at him to get his attention, trying to show off the custom made Mister Cyclops toy he had sent over a few weeks ago.

His whole family here? In Liyue? At the same time no less? Impossible.

Huh. Ajax didn't feel particularly homesick lately, especially considering how he was going back soon. But Ajax figured the subconscious did whatever it wanted with or without Ajax's permission–

"Is it true that you're getting married?"

"What?" Ajax looked at his older brother's bewildered expression with much confusion, which then deepened when the other older members of his family seemed to share the same expression of concern.

What kind of dream was this!

"Good evening everyone."

Ajax watched as his dream family, both adults and children alike, gasped at dream Zhongli's grand entrance, the man looking incredibly regal even in his sleeping robes, a stark contrast to the ruffled mess Ajax looked with his own sleeping attire.

"My sincerest apologies for the sudden meeting." Zhongli sat next to him on the long lounge chair, where they both reflexively scooted close enough to have themselves thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder. This closeness somehow didn't seem to assuage their weird fear of Zhongli. In fact, their eyes went wider, his father in particular was now sitting on his hands the way he did when he was incredibly anxious and didn't want his family to know his hands were trembling.

"Although I had wished to personally meet the lovely family my dear Ajax so cherished as soon as possible, it is incredibly difficult to do so due to the nature of my position." Zhongli continued, head bowed towards his family, eliciting horrified looks from the adult faction. "As such, I had to resort to less conventional methods."

"Y-you must be–"

"Shh– that's… you do realise who that is?"

"Don't worry! He might look intimidating with how put together he is but he's super duper nice!" Ajax quickly reassured before some of them started to panic, patting Zhongli's thigh before lacing his fingers with Zhongli's own. He held their joined hands up, his free hand gesturing at it while looking at his younger sister for some support. "Tonia! You know Zhongli right? The one I've been writing to you about? The princely one?"

"The princely one?" Zhongli hummed, curiosity evident in his tone. Now, Ajax wouldn't be caught dead making such bold fruity confessions out in the open, but being in a dream gives him way more courage than a good few rounds of fire-water.

"That Zhongli?" A look of sudden realisation washed over Tonia, her mouth agape. "His name is Zhongli? You call him just Zhongli?"

"Well, sometimes I do call him my little baby if he's being extra fussy with his food." Ajax laughed, trying to break that weird tension in the air. "He needs his seafood cut up into smithereens before he thinks about touching them."

" Ajax! You can't just say that about the–"

"Ajax is right. Please call me Zhongli." Zhongli sighed, side eyeing Ajax for the seafood comment, but huffed with no small amount of fondness when Ajax responded with a wink. "I had wished to properly introduce myself and announce my intentions to you all, but your Tsaritsa is… hasty , when it comes to matters like these. You must have heard of the engagement before Ajax or I could have told you."