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“You’re all my heart wants, I promise you, I will find you again.” He whispered to the open air, eyes dropping downwards to the stiff body of his love.

CONTENT WARNING: Zhongli has to continuously watch his soul mate die over and over again, hurt/comfort, terminal illness, it’s like 2004/2005 modern world/canon time-line. Aether and Xiao are dating, maybe OOC Zhongli.

Ever since Zhongli could remember he had always felt a pull towards certain people over his very long life time, it wasn’t until he had decided to live amongst the humans that he realized just what he was being pulled towards.

He remember’s meeting Umi for the first time right outside the wangshu inn, the Archon had been visiting an…old friend - if that’s what he could even consider Xiao at this point. -

He could hear the jumbling words of a human who was apologizing at nearly a million miles a second; the Amber eyed male simply listened before he heard a deep males voice respond with a harsh tone.

“Umi-“ so that was the jittery human’s name. “This is the seventh vase you’ve dropped this week. They’re very expensive do you understand that?” The owner of the voice sounded exasperated, as if he was seconds away from raising a hand to the poor person on the other end of their conversation.

“I know, I know! I’m sorry, it’s just- I’ve been getting these weird dizzy spells and sometimes I completely fall over and-“ the other is cut off abruptly, a frustrated noise leaving the other man’s mouth.

“Umi, save your excuses for someone who actually cares, just…go home for the rest of the day and be careful of the abyss order, okay?” The voice sounded exasperated and then the sound of footsteps walking away began to fade.

Zhongli finally rounded the corner, he had fully expected both of the voices to have gone by then but, there was one left; a boy no older than nineteen (maybe twenty at most.) was crouched down staring at a cut across the palm of his head, the Brown haired male didn’t understand why a flash of extreme worry shot through him, but the moment Amber met Malachite the other snapped out of his thoughts, Zhongli’s insides felt warm; almost like they were on fire. He felt confused.

He blinked.

Then spoke: “Are you alright?” He tilted his head slightly to the side, eyes sliding over the mage hat that sat atop the boys head, it was a reddish color; it had a little moon pin on the side of it.

He must like the moon, then.

His eyes slid down further before resting on the vision clasped in the center of the males chest, ah. So he was a Pyro user, interesting.

He watched as the boy tucked a stray strand of deep blue hair behind one of his ears, he looked sheepishly up at the taller; now standing up.

“Um..yeah, I just uh..got a bit dizzy and broke a vase and cut my hand trying to pick it up.” His voice came out as a soft whisper, uncut hand pulling at the same strand of hair he had just tucked behind his ear. “Oh! Uh! My names Umi, by the way! You’re new here right?” He asked, before pulling out a piece of pure white cloth from the little bag strapped to his side, he wrapped it around his hand before smiling brightly at the taller.

Zhongli may not have realized it then, but Umi was about to become a pretty big part of his life.

Two years.

Two godforsaken years.

That’s how long it took for Umi to realize one: Zhongli was an archon and two, said archon had been courting the human.

Eventually they got together, but Zhongli always had the thought of what he would do if Umi went out on a mission and just.. didn’t come back one day.

So bad to the point Zhongli didn’t let the small male go on missions with anyone but him, Xiao or the traveler.

The first time they laid together, Umi had been so overwhelmed in pleasure he had cried.

Zhongli wiped his tears and whispered sweet words into the others ears, pressing a soft kiss against his forehead.

The dizzy spells seemed to be getting worse, it was hard for the boy to stay upright some days.

Others? He couldn’t even get out of the bed or open his eyes because every little thing caused his vision to swim.

Eventually the inevitable happened.

One day, While Zhongli had been working out funeral plans for a well known innkeeper, The traveler came bursting through the door covered in dried blood, his left eye swollen shut and his body swaying from left and Right.

barely had time to get the words “Umi-“ out before Zhongli was standing with such haste the chair he had been sat in hit the wall with such force it created a dent in it.

Zhongli was out the door, Aether wobbling behind him.

The older man turned on the blonde, eyes alight with several different emotions “where?” His voice came out shaky.

“Tianqiu Valley, there-there were too many, one was too strong and-and-“ Aether’s voice cracked, before he whispered one single word. “Xiao.” The adeptus materialized out of thin air, taking in the form of the blonde before a look of rage crossed over his features for only a second before he caught the blonde as his legs gave out, the blonde pressed against his partners shoulder as a sob tore from his throat. “I-I couldn’t- I was weak. It’s my fault-“

Zhongli seemed to vanish, and a split second later he was wandering through Tianqiu valley looking for his love.

“Umi’s okay. He’s fine. He’s just probably got a concussion and some broken bones. He’s okay.” He mumbled to himself, before he looked up at a tilted slope.

A small bloody hand hanging down is what caught his attention, he rushed up the side hoping and praying that wasn’t who he thought it was.

He could hear shuddering breaths coming from the crumbled form

Before Malachite eyes lit up in recognition before glazing over again “Zhong-?” The form wheezed out eyes fluttering a bit before closing.

Zhongli dropped to his knees, shaking hands smoothing through blue hair he now noticed was caked in blood.

“Is-is um- Aether-“ the boy tried to speak, Zhongli made a wet sounding noise before nodding a bit. “He’s okay. Xiao’s got him, now you have to be brave for me okay, baby? We’re gonna- we’re gonna go get you some help, yeah?” He spoke, he elected to ignore the fact his voice was shaking. The boy smiled softly, head nodding as best he could.

“Mmmhm..” he mumbled, eyes fluttering open once. “Got-got dizzy, got hit- then-then they stomped on me. Feet were the size of my head.”

Umi could feel his hands begin to grow colder as time went on, Zhongli watched as the boys breathing picked up speed before he very gently lifted the smaller in his arms, wincing softly at the pained whine that followed the movement. “I know, I know it hurts but you gotta be brave, yeah? Then we can visit Mondstat, yeah? You’ve not been back since you were a child. You miss the smell of the wind, remember?” The man began to walk, he called on his power, seeming to teleport from Tianqiu to right outside Liyue harbor.

He had to get Umi to a healer and fast, he could feel blood soaking through the boys clothes and slipping through his fingers and over his hands.

As he made his way through liyue harbor he noticed people stopping to stare, what he also noticed?

Umi wasn’t breathing.

The man began to pick up speed before he was all but sprinting towards a well known and respected healer, by the time he made it the Archon was panting

He felt exhausted something he had never felt before.

“Please- I need-“ he could barely get the words out, he looked down and choked on what he was trying to say, his loves eyes were just so…so glassy and empty as if they were eyes of a porcelain doll instead of the love of his life.

“Come on Umi, please- we were gonna go exploring together remember? Your birthday is in a couple days and you were so excited because we were finally able to have alone time together.” His voice trailed off before he fell to his knee’s clutching the male to his chest as he openly cried into his blood soaked body.

It was mere minutes before hands were gently on him, pulling him away from the body and another pair of hands were lifting Umi.

Zhongli fought against the hands holding him before he he just…he gave up, and he turned and pressed his face against the other person’s shoulder, sobs making his shoulders heave and making his voice crack as he wailed and cursed himself for letting this happen.

It took a while to notice it was the Yaksha that was holding him, small arms wrapped securely around him.

It took twelve years after that day for Zhongli to intermingle with society again, two hundred years for him to feel that pull again.

This time? In mondstat.

~~~

Now, Zhongli hadn’t been there since barbato’s had vanished.

The male packed some books, and other things to keep him occupied. - he hadn’t used his powers in a while, he couldn’t even remember if he could teleport.-

The human’s had invented cars (maybe one hundred and nineteen years before the current day? He couldn’t remember.) Zhongli couldn’t grasp the concept of driving so he just left it to Aether.

Now Aether was a marvelous driver, except when he and Xiao would bicker and Aether would slam on breaks and make Xiao take over driving.

Besides that? He was amazing.

Zhongli often stared in wonder at the well and the…pedals? He could recall what they were called but he didn’t have a clue about how they worked.

As the blonde in the driver’s seat pulled off, Zhongli sighed before flipping open one of the books he had packed, realistically he knew the trip couldn’t take that long but Incase it did the male brought back up books.

Pretty soon his body began to slowly shut down before his eyes began to slide shut.

Eventually the male had fallen asleep, head rested against the window.

Someone nudged him, before tapping on his face.

“Zhongli wake up we’re here, which way do we go now?” A frustrated voice asked, causing Zhongli to blink his eyes open before looking out the window and taking in his surroundings before the familiar pull in his chest sharpened a bit, if he squinted hard enough he could almost convince himself he saw a read string.

“The city. Umi is in the city.” His voice was rough with sleep, a lot deeper than normal, he was excited but most of all he was terrified. What if it wasn’t Umi? He didn’t want them if they weren’t Umi.

What if it was Umi and he didn’t recognize Zhongli? What if Umi was a mere child? What if he hated Zhongli for letting him die? What if-

“Stop thinking. You’re bumming us out.” Xiao’s sleep ridden voice sounded from the front, eyes closed.

Zhongli clicked his tongue before Aether began to slowly drive the machine into the city, finding a place to park was a lot easier than I. liyue, granted the only other car in the entire city (at least it looked like it.) was parked way down the road.

Zhongli hurriedly pushed open the car door, a gust of wind alerted him of another’s presence; he didn’t even react before his hand found it’s way around their throat before looking down at the boy with blue braids.

Logically, this boy should be scared.

But he wasn’t.

“Long time no see, old friend! You here for Umi? I’ve been watching over him Yanno! He’s so sweet!” The male said, grin never faltering from his face.

Zhongli huffed out an exasperated noise before letting the boys throat go.

“You know, I liked it better when you were ‘missing.’” He mumbled, rolling his eyes before looking around the area they had parked.

The pulling seemed to be coming from up the stairs, So, like any reasonable man; Zhongli followed it.

He kept looking around, before suddenly; it felt like a body crashed into him, the persons arm’s wrapping around Zhongli and a face pushing into his chest.

Zhongli blinked for a second before he finally noticed a mess of familiar blue hair.

“Umi..?” He asked softly before wrapping his arm’s around the boy, lifting up in his arms as he held him.

Umi wrapped his legs around Zhongli’s waist and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, the next thing Zhongli knew; he was being kissed.

Familiar soft lips moved against his own, Before they pulled back and he could finally Look Umi in the eyes after so many years

His eyes weren’t green like before, they were now such an electrifying grey color.

“How old are you?” Zhongli asked, voice a hushed whisper.

“Twenty seven.” Came the quick response.

“Do you want to come back to Liyue with me?”

“Stay here. With me, please?”

“Of course.” Zhongli said softly, setting him down on his feet before letting himself get pulled towards a rundown apartment.

They’ve been together for years now, Umi having just turned Thirty four.

Zhongli had slowly begun to notice how weak the other was getting.

Continuously having to stop while he was doing something just so he could catch his breath, Zhongli had taken over preparing dinner for his husband on those bad days.

Only after a couple days did Zhongli begin to notice the cough, and then the face swelling, and finally he watched as Umi coughed into his hand, pulling it back and watching his husband’s eyes widen at the bright red fluid in the palm of his hand.

Every thing came to a boiling point the day Zhongli had to bolt across the kitchen floor to catch his love before Umi could crack his head against the counter, pulling the smaller into his arms.

That was the first time in years the Archon had used his power, jumping across buildings before he finally decided to just teleport to the hospital, immediately calling for help; the man tried to fight as the doctor’s pushed him out of the room.

It was hours before Zhongli could see Umi, by the time he was allowed to the other had fallen asleep.

Zhongli sat himself in the tacky blue chair, leaning his head against the other’s hospital bed he ended up falling asleep to the Rhythmic noises of the machines.

Pretty soon he was being awakened by a doctor who pulled him outside the room and took a very solemn sigh.

“Mr. Zhongli, I hate to inform you but Umi has very advanced lung cancer, it’s a surprise he’s made it this long. At best, he has a month to three to live.” The doctor spoke, giving the man an apologetic look before walking away.

Zhongli stared at the wall blankly, before reality hit.

He was going to have to watch the love of his life die a slow and horrible death.

He went back into the room.

“Umi? I have some-“ he took a deep breath. “Some news.”

Breaking the news to the man had been the hardest thing Zhongli had ever done, he held the man as he cried.

They made it past the three month mark, in fact he lived for almost a full year.

The day started out like any other, Zhongli got up and kissed the boys forehead before beginning to make breakfast.

Once the food was done, Zhongli waited for an hour before going to wake the other up, he very lightly nudged Umi before trailing his hand down the boy’s cheek, it was oddly cold.

But they had slept with the window open all night in the dead of winter, simply because Umi had gotten so hot.

“Come on my love, it’s time to wake up and get your day started.” He nudged Umi again, this time noticing the fact that Umi’s chest was indeed not rising nor falling the way it did when he was sleeping.

Zhongli pushed the blankets away from the boy.

“Please don’t let this be the end.”

He pushed his fingers against the pulse point in the boys throat, he was beginning to panic.

It felt like his heart had plummeted from its place in his chest. “Please don’t slip away.” The bigger man pulled the landline from the place it was last sat.

He dialed 911, the tears had yet to fall.

But the moment the phone was answered the man sobbed out. “My husband’s not breathing-“ the man on the other end of the phone walked him through CPR.

“My heart can’t take it.”

The CPR wasn’t working, Zhongli had to give up performing it when the EMT’s busted through the front door, he leaned down, pressing a final kiss against his husband’s forehead, whispering against the skin. “It’s okay, someday I’m gonna be with you.”

He watched as they wheeled him out on the gurney, he followed after behind them slowly; the tears having never stopped, he pushed his long hair into a bun as he climbed into the back of the ambulance with his husband, he stared emptily at the body.

~~~

The funeral was extremely difficult, it was so hard to see Umi look like he was just sleeping.

“You’re all my heart wants, I promise you, I will find you again.” He whispered to the open air, eyes dropping downwards to the stiff body of his love.

It had been a week.

A week without Umi.

A week without laughing until his stomach hurt.

The man was sat In front of the TV, eyes seeing but not watching.

Suddenly the overwhelming need to vomit rushed through him the man stood and nearly sprinted towards the bathroom, landing on his knees with a sickening crack and a pained groan as he emptied his stomach contents into the porcelain toilet bowl.

Two weeks went by and the man had begun to notice when he would wash his hair his hands would come back covered in hair, his pillow too after he’d wake up.

He couldn’t bring himself to care in the slightest, he still forced himself to eat simply because Xiao would not leave until he had eaten half of the plate but the man’s body weight had begun to drop drastically.

Three weeks.

That’s how long it’s been now.

He looks over at the clock on the table, it was five in the morning and he still couldn’t sleep.

His head hurt so bad, he felt like it was about to concave but he simply couldn’t bring himself to sleep, he laid there as quiet tears began to leak from his eyes and slide down the sides of his face, pooling in the crevice of his ears.

A month.

A month has gone by and he’s not any better, if anything he’s worse.

He woke from his sleep, his heart racing and his chest hurting so bad to the point he screamed which in turn startled Aether so bad from the living room that the blonde had called on Xiao before he could think twice, arms were encircling the man, pulling him against bony shoulders a hand weaving through his hair as he was held.

It’s been four months

The nightmares have begun to get worse, Zhongli has begun to pick at his nails until they bled.

Zhongli huffed in annoyance, turning over and shoving his eyes closed tightly.

He just wanted to sleep, and never wake up.

//Fin

#genshin impact #genshin zhongli #fanfic writers #angst #original character #original content

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