13. The Date (Finally!)

"UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S 4PM. I'M MEANT TO MEET ZHONGLI AT 5!!!" 

Childe threw his iPhone 12 across the room, Paimon and Lumine covering their ears, making a futile attempt to block out Childe's shriek. 

"What the fuck, Childe?" Lumine yelled. The female's nail polish was now covering every inch of not only her nails, but also her pillow. 

The male clambered over Lumine's bed, dashing for the door, mumbling incoherently over and over.

"Did you hear what he said?" Paimon asked.

"Something about 'I'm going to be late'." Lumine replied mocking Childe's panic induced voice as she wiped up as much of the nail polish her tissues could soak.

---

Childe arrived at the meeting spot that him and Zhongli had agreed upon at last, only to find no trace of Zhongli. 

He glanced around. Surely he hadn't come to the wrong place, right?

Or what if Zhongli decided to ditch him for some.. hotter guy, or worse, a hotter woman? Childe's eyes lit up with fury as he reached for his bow--

"I love you too, I love you too, I love you too"

Childe's phone rang, his Zhongli ringtone filling his ears with the serene voice he had been dying to hear, his anger ceasing at once.

'I bet Zhongli's calling! I wonder what kind of face he'll make when he sheepishly apologises for being late, hehe..'

However, to Childe's dismal, it was not Zhongli who was calling him. 

Lumine.

Childe reluctantly accepted the call.

"What now, Lumine?"

"Childe, you dumbass, your date doesn't start till 5."

"Well, I left your house at 4, and it takes me an hour to get to this place, so surely it's 5pm by now."

Childe heard Lumine let out a big sigh of annoyance.

"Paimon, explain." 

"What's going on..?" Childe uncertainly questioned.

"Childe..!" Paimon's squeaky voice stammered sheepishly through the phone. "Well, eh, you see.. I actually messed with your phone's time... I set it back by an hour... It was just a prank, I swear!"

"SO you're telling me that I left your house at 3... thinking that it was 4pm?"

"Ehhh.. Yes..?"

Childe sighed, rubbing his temples. No wonder Zhongli had yet to arrive.

"Paimon, If I wasn't in such a good mood right now, I would've come over there and shoved my arm so far up your ass that your teeth would've fallen out." Childe said, only half jokingly.

"Nooooo-" The line cut off, presumably by the hands of Lumine.

"Guess I'm waiting another.." Childe checked his phone for the time, "Thirty minutes.."

---

Zhongli arrived at the meeting spot, immediately scouting the area for Childe. A mess of familiar ginger hair caught Zhongli's eye. Childe was sitting on a nearby bench, presumably waiting for him. Zhongli strided over to Childe, sitting on the bench next to him. Peeking at his face, Zhongli realised that the male was in fact, fast asleep.

"Did I make you wait too long?" Zhongli softly smiled at the peaceful male. 

Childe's eyes flickered open excitedly at the sound of the harmonious voice.

Childe checked Zhongli out, head to toe.

"You look so good." He sighed, stretching his arms after his 30 minute nap.

Zhongli chuckled. "Not as good as you. Let's get this date on the road, yeah?"

"Where should we go first?" Childe asked, standing up.

"Hmm, you haven't been in Liyue too long, anywhere you wanna go?" Zhongli replied, following suit.

"Well, I've always wanted to try the food at Wangshu Inn. A few of my... friends have told me that it's delicious, and I am becoming accustomed to the spiciness of Liyuean foods."

"Ah, Wangshu Inn. That sounds wonderful," Zhongli agreed, "I have a friend who's close to the owner... Hopefully the owner will give us a discount." He finished, although he muttered the last part, hoping that Childe hadn't heard it.

"Let's go then. It'll be dark in an hour or two so we'd better be quick." Childe replied, not hearing Zhongli's statement as intended.

"Should we get a taxi?" Zhongli wondered.

"No need! I brought my own Mercedes. It's parked just over there." Childe winked, Zhongli's eyes visibly lighting up.

"I had no idea you owned such an expensive car." Zhongli grabbed Childe's hand, leading him to the car.

Childe felt his face increase in temperature, his cheeks comparable to the behind of a red butt monkey. He softly enclosed his fingers around Zhongli's (slightly bigger) hand.

---

"We're here." Zhongli said, parking Childe's blue mercedes in Wangshu Inn's parking lot. Zhongli mesmerised, remembering the old bridge over the river, which was now replaced by a modern parking lot.

Childe had allowed Zhongli to drive the car, as he himself, had no clue where Wangshu Inn was.

"Woah, it's built in a tree? That's pretty cool."

"It is, isn't it?"

Zhongli and Childe entered the Inn, sitting down next to a window. 

The inn was decorated even more since the last time Zhongli had visited. Xiao lanterns were dangling from the roofs. The old curtains replaced with new, bright red ones, with a golden dragon pattern; every table in the inn had a matching red tablecloth, with the same pattern. The walls were draped with many thematic pictures of the previous Lantern Rites.

"Lantern Rite really is drawing close, isn't it?"

Childe hummed in agreement. "And you still haven't shown me the robes you got." A playful pout formed on his face.

"I told you, it's a surprise." Zhongli laughed.

Verr Goldet then came to take their order. 

"Hello, what would you two like to order?" She asked kindly, smiling at the two.

"Hm," Zhongli began, scanning the menu. "The Almond tofu sounds lovely.. however it may be too sweet for a main course, perhaps we could keep it for dessert.. and the Matsutake meat rolls sound perfect, however they may be too spicy for Childe... Perhaps the Vegetarian Abalone? No.. vegetables alone might not be enough to fill us up..."

Childe uncomfortably stared at the waitress, sheepishly laughing at Zhongli's rambling.

"...And the chicken mushroom skewers are too small to properly fill us up, however when paired with the Bamboo Shoot Soup, they'd create quite the delicious combination.. Ah, and the Stir-fried shrimp here is absolutely delicious too but-"

"Sir, I need you to order now." Verr Goldet quickly cut Zhongli's speech off, making a futile attempt to hide her impatience with a smile.

"Very well then, we'll take them all." Zhongli smiled a 'you'll-pay-for-it-won't-you?' smile at Childe, who nervously nodded.

"A-alright," Verr Goldet stuttered, before turning towards Childe. "What about you, sir?"

"I'll just take a glass of water, thanks." Childe sighed.

Verr Goldet walked away.

"Are you sure we'll be able to eat all of that food?"Childe asked Zhongli.

"Hm, we should be able to."

---

"Argh... I'm.. too full for... another.. bite.." Childe groaned, clutching his stomach. 

The two had barely made it past their Matsutake meat rolls, Chicken Mushroom Skewers and Bamboo Shoot Soup, with the Almond Tofu and Stir-Fried Shrimp still untouched.

"Zhongli, what are we going to do with all of this food? The drive back home is about an hour. The food will go off by then." Childe said.

"Not a problem. I know a friend who'd love a serving of Almond Tofu." Zhongli retorted, turning his head and smiling upwards at the stairs leading to the Wangshu Inn balcony.

a/n

literally had to google all of the food Wangshu Inn has 💀 

also, next special at 3k views? comment what ship you want :)