Chapter Text
"Do you always make a point of flirting with older men?"
There was the barest hint of surprise that flashed across Childe's face, but he smoothed it over quickly. The redhead laughed and twirled the fancy chopsticks he was holding around his fingers. He wasn't very good at using them to eat, but he could play with them well enough.
Zhongli's golden eyes flicked towards them, drawn by the movement, but he didn't linger there. He was more interested in watching Childe's face.
"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Childe asked in return.
"I could hardly call these business dinners these days," Zhongli said, not actually answering Childe's question.
Childe shrugged, a little exaggerated, and went back to struggling to use chopsticks correctly to finish his food. He was good at pretending that ineptitude didn't bother him, and to his credit, he'd improved since he first encountered chopsticks.
"Well, whatever they are, the Northland Bank is still paying for all this, so I guess it's a business dinner on paper, huh?" he said, side-stepping Zhongli's question.
"I suppose it is," Zhongli said with a nod. He sipped his tea and watched Childe chase a piece of meat with his clumsily handled chopsticks.
Childe finally managed to grab the meat, triumphant, though he almost didn't get it to his mouth. He caught Zhongli watching him and laughed a little, disguising embarrassment as best he could. Childe didn't do embarrassment, after all.
"Sorry about that. I'll get the hang of these eventually," he said.
"I'm sure you will," Zhongli said. "In the meantime, I have a proposal for you."
Childe sipped his tea and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Why don't you have dinner with me in private next time?"
Childe's flat gaze sharpened a little as he tried to figure out just what Zhongli was asking him, considering how this part of their dinner conversation had started.
"You don't mean like inside this time," Childe said, mildly, setting his cup down again.
"No."
"What'd you have in mind?
"I'd like you to come to my home," Zhongli said. "I'm not much of a chef, I'm afraid, but I can have something prepared. And you needed worry too much over chopsticks; I have utensils more like you're used to as well."
Childe wasn't entirely surprised by that. Zhongli's knowledge could be fairly esoteric, but he knew a lot of different things. It wasn't impossible to imagine that the man had entertained other foreign visitors in the past.
The redhead couldn't help the smirk that crept onto his face.
"Sounds a lot better than my hotel room," he said. "Don't get me wrong! The Northland Bank accommodations are way more than sufficient for someone like me. But as far as privacy and the like goes, can't beat going somewhere that isn't just in a hotel."
"I agree," Zhongli said. "I'm aware there's a custom of bringing gifts to a host, but please don't do anything like that. You're always treating me to dinner as it is. All you need to bring is you."
"Not even a bottle of wine, huh? Wow," Childe teased.
"It's not necessary," Zhongli said.
Childe grinned and shrugged a shoulder.
"Sure. I'm in. Nice to have you treat me for once, huh? Unless I'm paying for this too."
Zhongli chuckled.
"No. I'm sure I can manage it without the Northland Bank's generosity."
Childe wasn't entirely sure about that, having seen how terrible Zhongli was at handling money. But he kept his mouth shut about that, returning to his battle with the chopsticks.
"You tell me when and where, and I'll be there," Childe said. Sure, he had other places to be, people to spy on, fights to start. But his interest was piqued. There was something about Zhongli that he found captivating, and it wasn't just the man's voice as he talked at length about whatever fact he decided to share. It also wasn't just that he was gorgeous, though that helped.
"Very well," Zhongli said. "I'll make the arrangements and let you know. I'm not so rude a host that it will be a last minute invitation, either."
"Of course you're not," Childe said, and they both returned to their meal.