i would like to think it's not all about mora for zhongli. he's a lonely, old man who has lived for several millennia, losing his one love many years ago to the vicious grasp of a war. he yearns to fall softly into the palms of mortal ethos; he wants to love again, reminisce again. he wants to experience the beautiful thing it is to live and to die.
⟡ then, ajax surprisingly and suddenly comes into his life.
characterised by a cocky and silly attitude, childe's wit and charm pulls zhongli's attention in a whirlwind of unexpected feelings. he suddenly finds himself indulged within this little bundle of mischief and life- and god, it makes him feel alive. he relishes within childe's irresistible bright spirits and insatiable courage and grit.
it was like bathing in sunlight after an age of dull, quiet times. ⋆｡𖦹°
tartaglia, on the other hand; you'd assume he gets a little annoyed at zhongli's horrible spending habits and tantalising stories, whipping out his wallet every time they went shopping together at the markets. although, his countless tales and overflowing knowledge amused him greatly. (and seeing zhongli's eyes light up at the smallest of trinkets, from an average cor lapis to a new feather pen; it made it all worth it.)
⟡ in all honesty though, childe really did enjoy it. he loved to sit with his cheek in his palm, listening to zhongli ramble on about countless old legends and memories, the history of his nation, his poetic craft of stringing liyue's history into a painting within one's head... the food growing cold upon the table- but oh, who cares? zhongli looked so peaceful and happy whenever he talked about the past, his eyes glazed over in this pretty reminiscence- even if his dinner had barely been touched.
besides, it's not like childe couldn't afford to purchase all the hot meals in the world to keep the time passing...
⟡ with his brutal past behind him, zhongli felt that childe's cocky personality was just a front. when they were alone, he would notice childe gazing longingly at the flowered fields and toppled mountains of liyue, its bubbling brooks and ponds, dappled within spots of hazy, afternoon light. "this peacefulness," he would say quietly to zhongli, who would walk beside him.
"it reminds me of home; schneznaya."
zhongli would smile then, and reach out to hold his hand. he understood the pains of homesickness; for a time and place that no longer was. ⋆｡𖦹°
⟡ tartaglia, misunderstood from birth and thrown into the brutalities of the abyss by mistake; he had always felt like the only real thing that fed his insatiable hunger for bloodshed and victory was fighting. more and more fighting, and killing, and battles, and war.
although, there lied a real war within his heart and mind; one where he felt conflicted between peace and ignorance. he often wondered if continuing this tiring life of chasing that high that could only be fulfilled with a fiesty battle and a few wounds was worth it- wondered if he really did simply have no other worth, but to be an asset of war, loyal to the tsaritsa.
but he found that zhongli changed this; his unbridled knowledge, his effortless patience and wisdom and timeless company...
he found himself letting go around the man; feeling so at ease and safe, too. like he could finally stop fighting, even if for a moment.
maybe there really was something more to live for. ⋆｡𖦹°
tl;dr: childe and zhongli is that one trope where one feels they are too hard to love or undeserving of love, but the other loves them as easily as it is to breathe.
i'll let you decide who is who...!
thanks for reading if you did. this is my first post; i have no idea how tumblr works, but i wanna use this platform as a place to dump all my silly headcannons and stories of my favourite silly goofy ficitional characters. ⟢
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