you ever think about how zhongli was childe’s first love? ever since he was 14, ever since he crawled out of the abyss, childe had been treated a variety of different ways. most people felt negatively towards him; fear, distain, suspicion, contempt, hatred. he’s gotten used to it. being the tsarista’s vanguard was going to come with some drawbacks of course.
but zhongli was different. when they first met, zhongli treated childe like he would anyone else. no wary glances or questioning comments, just pleasant conversation between two business partners. it was.. refreshing.
they became friends rather quickly. maybe childe was just eager to finally have a friend who genuinely seemed to like him, and enjoyed his company. maybe he was drawn in by zhongli’s smooth, deep voice that told stories about liyue harbour like he was recounting dear memories. either way, for the first time in years, childe slowly but surely opened his heart to someone.
over time they grew closer and closer. and over time, childe opened his heart more and more. they started dancing the delicate line between friends and lovers. they spent almost every day together, their ‘business’ meetings starting to look more like dates even to passers by. childe told zhongli his real name. he trusted zhongli. felt safe around him.
