"Oh, Zhongli."

"Yeah, him. All about the A's, doesn't associate with anyone who isn't perfect."

"Kind of uptight."

"Looks annoying."

"Gentleman, but unapproachable."

"Emotionless, poor, don't go for him. He is kind of distant. Acts like an adult. Try for that Ayato instead, at least he's more outgoing."

"Suck-up, I reckon. Straight A's."

"Like an adult got stuck in a teenager's body. Ooo, that'd be a good fanfic."

All these were things Childe's heard about Zhongli. Meanwhile, if he could even get within earshot of it, the gossip about him wasn't much worse;

"Doesn't try, and scary good at fighting. Hangs out with that Kaeya trouble maker! They're both annoying flirts who pull pranks on anyone."

"Ed Sheeran in da flesh, man. But flirty."

"Dumb. But strong. Literal jock, but doesn't play sports, instead spends time pranking people."

"Stay away from him. Could beat anyone up. Except maybe Scaramouche. Or Itto, he's too buff. Or anyone with skill. Okay, maybe he isn't that talented. Just acts like it, really."

"More ego than muscle, but he's fast. He's street smart, I'd say, but spends his time rather stupidly."

But Childe doesn't care for his gossip. It was background noise to whatever anyone said about Zhongli. When the straight A student's name was mentioned, Childe turned his head immediately and listened intently.

Zhongli was a mystery. And Childe was Sherlock. But less smart.

You see, a year ago, when Childe was just a Sophomore, someone dared him (Cough Kaeya and Lisa cough) to try and win Zhongli over. The stoic, smart, only-hangs-out-with-student-council junior was simped over school-wide, until they got to know him. Then they gave up and ran. But Childe isn't a cowardly cheerleader!

Childe has spent a whole year flirting with Zhongli, and not once had he received a good reaction. He steps up his game every once in a while-

("Zhongli, I've a gift for you," Childe presented a friendship bracelet.

"This is rather different than the... normal," Zhongli raised a brow. It was one of the first times Zhongli actually responded to him.

"If you wear it, I'll always be near. After dark, when you're laying alone in your bed, you'll feel the weight of it sitting on top of you, gently rubbing against your skin as you move," Childe smirked. "It wraps around you, hugs you tight, and rides you all night."

Zhongli then left in quite a hurry. Childe had sighed. Yet another failed attempt. He threw the bracelet in the trash, already contemplating another plan. Nobody knew he spent all day carefully weaving it)

-but often it's to no avail. His actions have slowed down to a stop recently, because Zhongli is a grade above him and also in many advanced classes. They only saw each other at lunch and Choir.

This wasn't a dare anymore. After he started hearing the rumors of the impossibility of getting Zhongli, he'd been determined. He listened to everything on Zhongli because he wanted to know him, if he can't through actual conversation. He'd learned many things from daily meetings with his gossiping friends; He's poor, he's super smart (no duh) but specifically he is smart with anything related to rocks or history, he acts like an adult because he never had a proper adult in his house, etc. etc.

Today, Childe finally noticed his intense slacking, and decided he should pay more attention to this more-than-dare.

"Class! Class! Settle down, this is choir, not gym!" The teacher barked angrily.

Childe sighed. He HATED choir. But it was the easiest out of the musical classes, so that's why he was in it. And maybe also because Zhongli was one of the leading bass singers and basically ran the classroom with Barbara when the teacher was out. It was the only class he had with Zhongli.

Zhongli begun organizing the groups, and Childe, who purposefully sang in a super low tone to get into the bass group, joined Zhongli's.

"Alright. The teacher said we must practice together with harmonizing-"

"Okay. Let's harmonize later tonight. My place," Childe winked, interrupting Zhongli.

"Tartaglia, we wouldn't be harmonizing. Clearly, you'd be squealing out of key," Zhongli retorted.

"Our music would shake the house," Childe leaned toward Zhongli. "No matter the key, singing at night with you is fun."

"Fun? Maybe for me. The pain you'd experience... You wouldn't be able to sing again tomorrow night," Zhongli said, no hint of emotion.

Childe's never experienced Zhongli flirting back. This completely sudden and random change in behavior... Was Zhongli going insane too? And was he implying they were to uh... sing at night together... more than once?

The rest of the class is left with a rather tense feeling in Childe. He's never been flirted to. You may be surprised at this; because I mean, he's Russian, and hot. But he hasn't been. People think he's either taken, too scary, or too stupid to flirt with. The amount of time he spends flirting with Zhongli leads people to believe he's desperately in love, when really it's just a dare (or is it?).

Childe is stricken. But he wouldn't show it.

Nearing the end of class, while the group he was in with Zhongli were performing their part of the harmony in a ghostly kind of creepy song the teacher made them sing, Zhongli looked at Childe.

He didn't show much emotion, but he gave a little wink, then went back to his music stand in front of him. Childe felt a blush creeping up his neck. GAH! When did he get so flustered? He was not used to this, it has never happened. It was way too strange. His voice cracked while singing, but luckily because he was singing so low, barely anybody noticed over all the other pitches.

Childe and his classmates were later getting ready to leave, slinging backpacks over shoulders, checking phones as fast as possible before the teacher could see, etc. Usually at about that time, Childe would approach Zhongli with a witty flirt. But he didn't have it in him.

That was where it got worse. Zhongli approached him.

He could already feel the heat and the surprise, and the confusion. It was bouncing around in his head. He looked away as Zhongli, in all seriousness, began to talk with Childe.

"You sounded quite good today while singing," he complimented.

Childe could hear the comebacks screaming around in his head, but his mouth was dry. Why was he feeling this way? It's not like he actually liked liked Zhongli, and he shouldn't be this flustered when someone flirted with him. He was supposed to be Childe, not a legitimate child. He mentally slapped himself back to reality.

"I was wondering how you'd sound later, in my room," Zhongli said almost casually.

Childe can't last any longer. He has never seen such a handsome emotionless man talk to him that way, and plus, he was getting a nosebleed. He didn't want to look stupid in front of everyone, especially now that there was a small crowd surrounding the two of them.

So, he ran. The teacher called after him that there was still a minute before the bell, but he didn't care. Leaving a very awkward air behind, and a quite confused Zhongli. Now, hold up hold up-

This is going pretty speedy, right? Couple of flirts, boom he's gone. But this is actually important, so don't just like forget it or something. It's kind of the main story. I just wrote it bad. Why don't we, to make sense of this, go back in time real quick and take a peak at Zhongli's POV?

—

Zhongli had dealt with Childe flirting with him for a long time. Ever since the annoying Sophomore approached him, he's been persecuted until it became routine.

He'd walk to class one day and Childe would be there, with either a cheesy pickup line or an actually really good flirt he must have spent some time thinking of. Little did he know, Zhongli was left blushing slightly after Childe left.

The routine became very expected and normal for Zhongli. Now that Childe's a trouble making flirty junior and Zhongli's a serious future-focused senior, it's even more expected.

Zhongli was a rather lonely student. People thought he hung out with the student council because he was friends with them, but really, they were his coworkers and business partners, in his mind. They were the closest thing he had to friends, sure, but that was it. When Childe started paying attention to him, he felt special, in a sense.

Then it came when he was sitting at lunch one day. Ganyu, Ningguang, Keqing, Ayato, Ayaka, Xiao, Albedo, Kokomi, Klee and Jean were seated with him at the same crowded table. That's when the little freshman brought up Childe.

"Albedo, you think Childe and Zhongli should get together, right?" Klee asked. She was a freshman, but she's really the correct age to be a sixth grader. With Albedo's tutoring and her own desire to explore with inventing, she was a genius. But she still acted immature. And arsonistic.

"...I guess?" Albedo glanced over his laptop. "But I'm drafting the new rulebook, so you can talk about that later."

"Wait, no not later," Ningguang interrupted, leaning over. "Klee, you've got a good point. Zhongli and Childe would be cute."

"Totally!" Klee agreed.

"Wait-" Zhongli tried to speak.

"Too bad Zhongli's too... Zhongli-y," Klee continued.

All the members of the council (+Xiao and Klee) stared at Zhongli.

"They'd be cute," Ayaka smiled.

"It's inappropriate to force two people together," Ayato critiqued.

"Says you, you're the whole 'catch' of the school, and gossip with Yae and Thoma about shipping," Ayaka laughed.

"I don't!" Ayato defended himself.

"Anyway, Zhongli, why don't you flirt back, typically you're so lonely except for chilling with Xiao," Ningguang proposed. "But when he comes around, I can see you panic a little. You're more full of emotion around him."

"You wouldn't know," Zhongli finally spoke.

"Your eyes give it away," Kokomi said.

"Why don't we leave Zhongli alone. We all know Childe's a stupid student with no motivation to do good in school, so copes by pranking and concentrating on flustering Zhongli, which is impossible anyway. Ignore the ginger, honestly," Jean sighed.

"Nah," Xiao finally spoke. "We need more action here. School is so boring."

"Let's hold a vote?" Ganyu suggested.

And so Zhongli found himself being taught how to flirt by Lisa, Ningguang, Yae Miko, Kaeya, Yelan and (for some reason) Itto. Something about being a professional.

He was utterly confused and didn't really understand the heat he felt when one of his 'teachers' would make a particularly good flirt line, or how picturing himself doing this in front of Childe made him shiver. Dense af ngl.

Finally the time came, one fateful day in choir. Childe had resumed his usual antics after a while of some peace without the antagonizing ginger. Zhongli remembered his lessons well, and flirted right back. Childe's face was priceless. Zhongli had never felt so exhilarated. It was a very strange feeling.

The next day, Childe didn't approach Zhongli and the student council at lunch. He didn't surprise him around any corners, didn't greet him in the hall, and didn't even show up to choir. The absence of Childe should have easily been a very good thing; but Zhongli couldn't feel happy.

Ever since his childhood friend, Guizhong, died of cancer a while back, Zhongli had been a very lonely student. Her upbeat energy had kept him going, and while he had 'friends' in the student council, all of them were quite serious and didn't spend time doing fun things, or forcing Zhongli to do activities with them.

Although, Childe had been different. The younger boy had brought energy to his life again. Zhongli passed it off as annoyance, but now that Childe had disappeared, he felt even more lonely than before.

Of course, he wouldn't admit that. But he sure did show it.

The gang of serious students he hung around began to notice how extra introvert-y and quiet he'd become. This went on for a week until Xiao finally confronted him.

"You're lonely as hell. I'm your only friend and you choose to spend your time moping around the classrooms like a depressed history teacher with no life. What's going on?" Xiao furrowed his brow.

"Nothing," Zhongli was surprised anyone took notice.

"Did someone die?" Xiao asked.

"Not recently," Zhongli responded.

"Did you get tuberculosis and are going through denial and pushing away your friends and family so they don't argue with you because you should have gotten that dang vaccine?" Xiao inquired.

"That's... specific?" Zhongli shook his head. "Xiao, I am fine."

"Zhongli, no you're not," Xiao grumbled, then sighed deeply, resting a hand on his forehead in disappointment. "It's mini Ed Sheeran, isn't it?"

"Who?" Zhongli, not hip and cool with the kids, didn't understand the reference.

"Chide! Tartaglia! Stupid flirty man!" Xiao said, exasperated. He was done with life, as all us teenagers are.

"Oh," was all Zhongli said in response, because he himself didn't really know why he was being such a depresso.

"I can't," Xiao turned and left. "Figure yourself out, old man!"

Zhongli was left alone in the hallway, contemplating life. He knew what he had to do: confront Childe. Childe ran from him for some unknown reason after he flirted back. He didn't even truly understand flirting, being raised in relative seclusion and only reading history books where romance occurred mostly forcefully, or instantly, or wasn't consensual, etc.

Zhongli, the poor senior, was confused, and he isn't often so. But to please Xiao, who was his closest friend, he needed to "figure himself out", which meant finding and talking to Childe.

He found the ginger two days later, during lunch. He'd been late after helping clean up a classroom some annoying kids trashed, and happened to see Childe's hair just whizzing out of view behind a corner. Following, Zhongli found out where Childe had been hiding all along.

There was a back door behind some of the first-floor stairs that janitors often used to bring in new cleaning supplies to the cafeteria, as the cafeteria was only a hallway away from the location. Childe decided that this would be a good spot to eat to avoid Zhongli, and had been staying there for the past week.

Zhongli was surprised; his first thought of Childe never involved the outgoing teenager to be hiding under some stairs on a drafty bench hastily built by janitors for their break.

"Zhongli," Childe greeted, surprised.

"Childe," Zhongli smiled.

Silence followed.

"I've been curious about your whereabouts for the past week," Zhongli mentioned.

"Ah- yes. I was just taking a break from the busy cafeteria," Childe made an excuse.

Zhongli sat down on the small bench, next to Childe.

"You've been quiet," Zhongli said, conversationally.

"Well the truth is that I've been avoiding you," Childe forced out rather quickly.

"Oh," Zhongli replied.

"I'm a forward person, I know you know that, so I'm going to get to the point and embarrass myself now rather than later," Childe turned toward Zhongli. "When you flirted back... I felt something."

"You felt something?" Zhongli questioned.

"Zhongli, I don't like feeling things like this. It complicates everything. I have a reputation at home, if they knew anything about a relationship like this I'd be ridiculed. I've been raised to avoid romance, I never knew teasing you like I have would result in me enjoying your company—"

"I felt something too," Zhongli said after Childe's mid-sentence pause. "I didn't relate it to romance, I still don't know if it is so, but I felt strange."

Zhongli suddenly felt embarrassment like he'd never before. He wasn't used to this; actually feeling so much. He read about it all the time, he heard about how teenagers feel too many emotions, but he never thought it was something out of nonfiction.

It seems the two of them are in the same boat.

"Zhongli, I'm going to be straightforward, and then not run again because I don't want to be a coward any longer, but if you don't want to see me afterward, that's fine," Childe began, taking a deep breath. "IthinkIlikeyou."

"Huh?" Zhongli asked.

"I said I think Ilikeyou," Childe sputtered, blushing lightly.

"I like you too, you are quite an interesting companion," Zhongli smiled at this. "But you are acting strange...?"

"Of course, of course you dense nerd," Childe facepalmed. "I love you. I think. Ugh, I hate emotions, can it go back to normal? When you were a challenge, not a wall?"

"Childe," Zhongli moved closer. "I care for you. I do not wish to go back, back when we had no progress."

"Progress?" Childe snorted.

"Now I know you love me," Zhongli stated, making Childe blush. "So I can say the same, without fear of rejection. I would certainly call that progress."

"Like you could feel the same," Childe rolled his eyes. "You're the 'emotionless gentleman', the 'stoic senior nobody can get close to, except for equally stoic Xiao'. That's why I went after you, because you were something I knew I'd never win, and it posed a challenge. But I didn't want to feel anything. Ugh, whatever. I've said it, it's done, I'm going back to myself and you go back to... whatever it is seniors do."

Childe stood up to leave, but Zhongli grabbed his wrist. They froze for a moment, both staring into eachother's eyes. Childe's backpack was leaning off one shoulder, about to fall, but he was too entranced by the look on Zhongli's face. He looked something other than stoic and emotionless, as the rumors told. He was smiling, smirking almost, but somehow in a dignified way.

Zhongli felt something around Childe. Childe did too, but he didn't want to. Zhongli felt the urge to make Childe enjoy the feeling, he wanted to see Childe happy. The annoying Junior with the playful smirk and teasing flirts, that one kid who made his day, but nobody knew. Zhongli wanted Childe to know, though.

"Childe, I care for you. You may not realize, because I am supposed to be the nobleman, the gentleman... But I still feel things. This past year around you, I actually enjoyed my time here at school. I wasn't as concerned about public image, I was concerned about you, and seeing you okay everyday brought me joy," Zhongli confessed.

Childe tried to pull away. Zhongli pulled him closer.

"You are trying to run. But you yourself said, '[I will] not run again because I don't want to be a coward any longer'," Zhongli simply said.

"Oh, frick this," Childe mumbled under his breath. "Fiiine, maybe these feelings are real and I like feeling them. I flirted with you because I thought you were hot and I'm totally crushing on you. There, you got what you wanted."

At this, Zhongli smiled, and moved even closer.

"Now that you admit those feelings were real, would you like to experience some new ones?" Zhongli used a line Lisa taught him. The way she used it on Jean got her quite flustered, and it worked in his case here as well.

Before Childe could respond, they were interrupted.

"Weeeoaaaahhhhh what is uppp?!" A voice suddenly greeted. "I thought you two were going to flirt until you died! Didn't know you'd get together. I ship, though."

Hu Tao emerged from the trashcan that had been adjacent to the Janitor's bench they'd been sitting on. She vaulted over the edge, and after her poked out the head of Yanfei.

Zhongli and Childe very quickly moved apart.

"What are you doing in there?" Childe asked, still in shock.

"Same as you," Hu Tao replied simply.

"We weren't confessing our undying love that's been pent up for a year of flirting back and forth while hiding teenage emotions," Yenfei corrected. "We were just hanging. Like bros."

"We were not confessing undying love, and it wasn't pent up for a year and there was no-"

"Oh, can it," Hu Tao laughed. "Anyway, Yanfei and I finished up so we'll be on our way. You two figure out your boy problems and leave the mature stuff to us."

"Boy problems?"

"Cya!" Yanfei smiled and waved, grabbing Hu Tao's hand with her free one.

Zhongli and Childe watched them until they disappeared, and then they looked back at each other.

Then Zhongli laughed.

To Childe, the sound was better than the five part harmony Zhongli organized for class. It was better than Ed Sheeran's music (Which Childe would never admit he actually really liked. He would be teased forever). It was better than the sound of children screaming in agony. Even better than ASMR.

To Zhongli, it was one of the only moments he let himself laugh. It felt good, and even better with Childe's voice joining his.

He could definitely get used to this.

And you, reader, may be wondering if this is where it ends. But as all good stories should, this one ends the way it started. WoOo poetic.

"Zhongli? His laugh is amazing."

"Oh, yeah him! I heard he's about to graduate, I can't believe how nice he really is."

"It's too soon for him to leave, honestly. I never realized he was so empathetic, and cared for his classmates the way he does."

"Him and Childe keep flirting in class, I can't concentrate anymore."

"Childe. Used to be soooo annoying, but he stopped pranking people as cheaply. Now he's got that senior helping him out."

"He's changed for sure, he stopped teasing and moved to making actually good jokes."

"Childe voluntarily helped me on my math test today, it was really sweet."

"He stopped dealing drugs. That's pretty rad, I think."

"He was never dealing drugs, blockhead!"

"They're both compassionate people, I never knew they both held so much deep caring emotions like that. They're good together."

"Both so adorable together! They're much more lively now, so much happier, both have changed."

"Too bad that Zhongli is leaving the school."

Childe ran up to Zhongli outside the elder's house, hugging him around the waist.

"Call every week AT LEAST. You know I try not to be clingy, or overdramatic, but I can't help it with Kaeya rubbing off on me. If you don't communicate with me once a week, I'm calling the CIA first, then the MI6. Then the KGB," Childe stated very clearly.

"The KGB? Aren't they gone?" Zhongli asked.

"You know I don't listen in history," Childe shrugged.

"You did after I told you to," Zhongli mentioned.

"That's because if I disobey you, you're going to 'have order' over me, whatever that means," Childe reasoned. "I mean, it sounds sexy, so I don't mind."

Zhongli kissed Childe lightly on the lips, then turned back towards the limo he had been packing into. No, Zhongli could not afford it. Childe is definitely a sugar daddy and wanted his boyfriend to ride off to college in a fancy car because he felt like it.

"I got you a gift," Childe mentioned before Zhongli could take his seat.

Childe presented Zhongli with a carefully woven bracelet. Zhongli's eyes sparked in recognition.

"Remember what it represents," Childe winked playfully. "Now go show those college brats who's better than them! And save me a spot at lunch until I'm there!"

Zhongli closed the door behind him after putting on the bracelet. He watched as Childe's waved goodbye. Already, he missed him.