Zhongli - Vago Mundo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
leaveofabsence) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hydrangeabloom2025-06-01 11:30 pm
leaveofabsence) wrote in hydrangeabloom2025-06-01 11:30 pm
(no subject)
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
Petrichor
A storm was approaching the harbor, breathtaking in its violence and beautiful in its strength. For days, anxious newscasters had stood outside in the wind and darkening skies to warn the citizens to find higher ground and to stay inside. The worst storm in a century, they had warned with bolded text and flashing tickers. The word "unprecedented" appeared over and over as power outages were predicted for days as batteries and non-perishables disappeared from the shelves.
Unprecedented? Perhaps for those whose memories faded with time.
The storm came. The storm passed. And just had occurred all those centuries — or was it millennia now?— ago, Liyue stood proud and tall at the end. She always had and if her luck (and the hard work of those humans that loved her prevailed) she always would.
The following days were filled with people returning to their drenched homes and shops, salvaging what could be saved and rebuilding what could not. The chattering of voices as neighbor helped neighbor replaced the normal beckoning of customers to merchandise and the normal hustle and bustle of the city. Despite the wind and the chill, the city was warm in a way that was dreadfully nostalgic.
So really it should not have surprised Zhongli when he saw him as if time had never moved on from that moment.
Zhongli leaned over cautiously as he held an umbrella over a young man with boyish features and flame-colored hair that he would not and could not forget. The last dying gasp of the storm had appeared as one final rain shower, and it seemed to catch many (the young man included) unaware. Not that he seemed too bothered by getting a little wet.
He politely called out to get the man's attention: ]
Apologies for the intrusion. Allow me to walk you to the nearest station or perhaps you'd like to call a cab to your destination.
no subject
Normally, the rain wouldn't be a big deal and he's only inconvenienced, but, when he turns towards Zhongli, it's obvious he's holding something he's had to stuff under his jacket. With the umbrella in place, he cautiously pulls it out, suggesting he's been trying to protect it from the rain. ]
...Huh? Really?
[ He glances back at the portfolio binder he's carrying (think like up to 18-20 inch paper-sized portfolio) to make sure it's not wet before returning his attention to the dark-haired man again. Ajax smiles, chuckling sheepishly: ]
Ahaha... was I that obvious? I was hoping it would look natural, but it was more awkward than I expected. Not to actually trouble you, but you're really saving my butt here.
no subject
Obvious, yes, but not in the way you were probably thinking. You simply had the expression of someone determined to succeed against the odds.
[ Zhongli smiles back gently, the sound of Childe's laughter a welcome warmth. Nostalgic and comforting even if he doesn't know this Childe. ]
It is an honor to be able to assist you in that endeavor.
[ Zhongli straightens up, exposing himself more to the rain as he tilts his wrist to keep Childe and his precious cargo under the hub. ]
Shall we?
no subject
That's ... really nice of him, isn't it? Ajax thinks so.
Shifting a little so he can try and make more room under the umbrella so Zhongli doesn't have to get too wet while helping him, Ajax also reaches to take Zhongli's wrist gently as it hold the umbrella to tug him along so they can move at a faster pace. Afterall, just because someone is helping him doesn't mean he is going to be leisurely about this when it concerns their time as much as his own. ]
Okay, okay, this way! It's not too far, promise.
[ He pulls Zhongli with him until they reach the gates of a university campus, leading him through a lush a nicely kept quadrangle and eventually through the doors of a large glass-fronted building with a large atrium. Breathing a big sigh of relief, he chirps happily: ]
Ah ha! We made it.
[ a flash of lightning and a loud crack of thunder accompanying the sudden sound of the rain becoming heavier as it pelts the building has Ajax glancing up before looking behind them both out the doors they just came through. ]
Oh, that's... that's not in the forecast, I don't think?
no subject
But such thoughts are lost in the blur of raindrops and buildings as Childe leads him down a maze of paved sidewalks. Past mom and pop diners where the customers have huddled under the shop awnings, waiting for either the weather to clear or for their ride to come pick them up. Past the gates of the university where Zhongli had spent one lifetime as a professor— history, of course, where he'd been known to contradict the textbook more often than not that made his students (and administration) more than a little uncomfortable.
Zhongli ducks into the student common area after Childe, shaking the water out of his umbrella and coat as best as he can just as the lightning strikes.
Ah, dear Ei (who Zhongli realizes he has not seen in closer to a century than decades). Has something displeased the god of eternity? Or was this just another miracle of science and nature, untouched by the whim of an deity. ]
Not that I recall. Or I would have brought something sturdier than just my umbrella.
[ Zhongli folds it up with a concerned furrow to his brow as the rain's pattering on the roof raises in volume. ]
I hope this was your final destination. I do not believe we shall be going anywhere else— at least for a little while.
no subject
Oh, you're here, Tonia~! I brought it.
[ Bringing the portfolio to the girl, he offers it out to her with a smile. In turn, Tonia takes it, eyes wide before she sets it down on the table in order to hug onto him tightly. "Thanks so much! I promise I'll make it up to you," she insists even as Ajax laughs and hugs her with a reassuring part on the shoulder. ]
What're big brothers good for if they can't deliver important things to their siblings! Now hurry up and get back to class, okay? I gotta thank our friend here who helped me out properly.
[ As Ajax glances back to Zhongli, Tonia peeks out from around to blink owlishly at the older man who has been identified as helping deliver her portfolio. She will move past Ajax once she grabs her stuff (portfolio included) and approach Zhongli with a grateful smile before bowing her head in gratitude.
"Thank you so much, sir! I really appreciate you helping me and my brother. Don't be a stranger, okay?" She waves as she goes to rush off towards her classroom disappearing down one of the halls. Ajax is waving to her as he approaches Zhongli, taking a deep breath and sighing out in relief. ]
All's well that ends well, it looks like. That was my little sister, Tonia. She has to present her portfolio today but she left without it this morning... honestly, I told her she needs to get up earlier to avoid these kind of rushes in the morning.
[ His hands come to his hips for emphasis before looking to the darker haired man again. ]
Now, where were we? I was gonna take you for something to eat in here as thanks, right? I heard they have some good pastries and teas and things!
[ Was that what they were talking about doing? It doesn't seem to matter, because Ajax has apparently decided that it will be what they are doing, no problem. Everyone loves pastries and tea and coffee breaks, he's sure of it. He offers a smile even as he goes to tug gently on Zhongli's sleeve in hopes to get him to come along, winking. ]
It's on me, of course.
no subject
A warm tea sounds like a perfect way to stave off the chill.
[ He allows Childe to tug on his sleeve and lead him further into the building. He seemed an expert in where to go, after all, and Zhongli's own knowledge of the university layout was probably many decades outdated (at the very least!) ]
Though you do not have to trouble yourself with paying. I was not looking for any sort of compensation.
[ A formality and a politeness— Childe in every incarnation always found a way to spoil Zhongli even with his best efforts to return that financial generosity. None had worked so far and the residual nostalgia made any protest die on his lips before it could even take shape. ]