Chapter Text
Zhongli woke up to the first rays of dawn gently tickling his face, feeling the warmth of someone else clinging to him from behind as he gave a small yawn. He was still unused to the sensation being abruptly cut off at his waist level, or the fact that there was another person curled up against his chest, but he smiled, letting it envelop him for a few, blissful moments.
The Glaze Lilies on his windowsill waved against the wind, blooming furiously. From where he was, he could see an entire field of them, now densely populated through their shared yard. Behind him, Guizhong stirred, opening her eyes before clinging even more to him, rubbing her cheek against his. "Morning..." she mumbled, relishing the fact that she could call out to her husband and respond to his replies, "I'm going to go out for a jog. Last one up is a Jueyun Chili..." The enthusiasm was mildly dampened by her yawn as she rolled over, trying to leave before Zhongli's arm reeled her back in.
"Today is our wedding day. Where do you think you're going," he replied, turning towards her with a raised brow, "Jogging away from me because you know I can't keep up these days? I thought you would think that I'm in better shape...your punishment is being forced to stay in bed with me until Ningguang wakes up."
"Oh no, whatever shall I do, being ensnared by a dragon like this," Guizhong feigned theatrics as she pressed a clothed hand against her forehead daintily, "What a terrible fate to befall a fair maiden like myself! I suppose I have no choice but to stay in bed, snuggled up against my own personal heater!" She dived into Zhongli's embrace, cuddling up before giving him a peck on the lips. Zhongli's eyes widened again, and he quickly turned away, burying his face into Ningguang's hair instead.
Ningguang grumbled, stirring against Zhongli's chest before her eyes fluttered open, taking him in with curiosity. "Oh, when did you move in between us?" she cooed, before burying her face into his chest, "No matter...thankfully I have a day off today as Tianquan. I should try to get more sleep..."
Zhongli combed her hair with his fingers, pulling her close as well. "Mmm. Let's all try to get more sleep. It's rare that we all get to sleep in," he confirmed, avoiding Ningguang's question (they'd squeezed him into the middle the night before when they were asleep, and he'd been largely helpless to stop this), "Not like we really have anywhere to head to beside Qingce."
A flutter of wings interrupted his musings, and from the window peeked the giant crane, peering at them with curiosity. "This one came at the crack of dawn and only just reached to send this one's regards," chirped Cloud Retainer, who had now been dressed in several bows that dotted her neck, "Are...you still asleep? Is this poor timing on this one's part?"
Guizhong mumbled something against Zhongli's back, before sitting up again sleepily. "Not now, Cloud Retainer. You should be at Qingce anyway...where are the other Xianren?" she grumbled, trying to get off bed a second time, "Maybe I should go oversee matters personally, considering I'm about to assume the rest of the Xianren are peering through the window any time soon..." She gave a mighty stretch, joints popping while showing the smokelike patterns on her back and arms from her nightdress before slipping her feet into her slippers, standing up.
"Gui'er. If you get up, how am I going to get up?" Zhongli couldn't help but whine pitifully, looking towards his wife before feebly patting around her side of the bed and giving her an exaggerated pout, "I can't do this by myself, how could you abandon me on our wedding day? Did our years together mean nothing to you?"
Seeing her husband's grumbles, Guizhong turned on her heel and offered Zhongli her hands. "Fine. I'm going to pull you up like a carrot, ok?" she complained good naturedly, sitting back down and carefully helping him up to a seat, "I'm not sure if I married a man or a boulder sometimes."
"Maybe both, Guizhong-jie," mumbled Ningguang sleepily, having now shifted her position to Zhongli's lap, "A very sturdy and huggable boulder, but still a boulder nonetheless."
"Now you two are just ganging up on me," Zhongli placed his hands on his hips, looking dramatically devastated, "I can't believe I took in two wives to have them bully me relentlessly."
"Whoever would ever dare go against the mighty Yanwang-dijun," Ningguang rolled over, staring up at Zhongli, "What if he punishes me with meteors? I'd be so terrified...oh no, Dijun-xiansheng, not the meteors..." She waved her arms around exaggeratedly, and Zhongli rolled his eyes.
Cloud Retainer withdrew her head from the window, before pulling it down. "This one will be leaving," she declared, taking off once more before she got to see even more displays of human affection to each other. She couldn't understand them, but whatever made Dijun happy, she reckoned.
Ganyu and Keqing were curled against each other, already feeling the wind blow apart the blinds of their new shared room when Keqing woke up, already giving a stretch and watching the fast-asleep Ganyu still clinging to the limited-edition dragon cushion Keqing brought.
"Morning," mumbled Ganyu from her side, still keeping her eyes shut, "So...it's today, huh? It still feels surreal...how long has it been since you first met shushu, anyway?"
"A month or two since you introduced us," Keqing replied, doing some minor exercises to rehabilitate her left arm, "He's weird. Drinks mugs of beer like it's water, and talks like he's way older than he looks. He also shares way too much for his own good sometimes, and then when you really need him to share actual things, he shares too little and then makes you panic about how you might've annoyed him by accident. Your dad is weird, but in a nice way. I think he was just lonely, in truth."
"He means well," Ganyu finally began waking up, giving a mighty yawn as she finally got up as well, crossing her hooved feet in front of herself while she joined in the stretching, "I'm happy for him. He seems so much happier with everyone here in the house. There's bustle, laughter, occasional chaos, Cloud Retainer-shenshen taking off into the sunrise-- why is Cloud Retainer-shenshen here?!" Suddenly shaken from her thoughts, Ganyu bolted towards the window, and sure enough, the giant crane taking flight towards the mountain ranges of Liyue was not lost on her.
Keqing seemed unfussed, though. "Maybe she wanted to deliver something? I won't know. It looks like she and your other shushus and shenshens show up a lot these days, just crashing at our yard. Just yesterday I think I saw Moon Carver-shushu snacking on Guizhong-ayi's mints...he told me that if I kept quiet about it he'd refine my sword for me," she replied with a giggle, already getting used to Ganyu's eccentric group of relatives, "Either way...cutting to the chase. How is my beautiful wife doing?"
"Just peachy," Ganyu quipped back, cupping Keqing's cheek in her hand before sneaking a kiss on her lips, "I'm sure you're having fun too, especially now that you've finally won my hand."
At this, Keqing pulled away, suddenly flustered. "Well, I did say it was meeting the parents, right?" she retorted, pouting dramatically as she huffily turned away, "And it's true, now I have three parents...including your boss, and my friend who's practically a sister to me."
She shook her head, burying her face into the pillows once more. "I still can't believe Ningguang-jie is officially becoming my actual sister-in-law," she let out a muffled scream into them, "Simultaneously the worst and best thing that's ever happened to me. I'd never be able to look her in the eye again after everything." Keqing lifted her head, still hugging her pillows as she glanced up towards Ganyu. "You seem awfully calm for someone about to get married."
Ganyu smiled and scooched over towards Keqing, leaning in to give her a stage whisper. "That's my secret: I do all my panicking on the inside," she quipped, flashing her fiancee a wide grin before finally getting off her bed, getting herself ready to wash up.
Keqing scowled, rolling over and following behind Ganyu. They had plenty of things to do that day, and she couldn't afford to waste any more daylight.
The wedding took place at the fields of Qingce Village, surrounded by friends and family that had gotten to known this rather odd family.
Keqing and Ganyu were led down the aisle by a stern-looking Xiao and chipper Beidou, both who did seem to take their responsibilities as bridesmaid and best man with surprising seriousness. Xiao had shed his usual flexible tracksuits to wear a green-colored office shirt along with black formal pants, while Beidou was dressed to the nines in a garish, pale red three-piece suit over a black formal shirt with the first two buttons undone, and had styled her long hair up into a ponytail instead of her usual bun.
Keqing was dressed in a comparably more muted lavender-colored dress, while Ganyu was decked out in a simply designed white dress with light blue trimmings that matched her hair, holding a bouquet of Qingxins while they walked. They waited patiently at the altar, before Keqing scowled noticing the familiar Harbinger sitting at one of the tables and getting harassed by a visibly annoyed Cloud Retainer, who made an effort to pull at Ajax's hair when she was certain nobody was looking.
In the meantime, Zhongli had joined the others alongside Guizhong and Ningguang, first as parents overseeing the ceremony before they too would be wedded. "In theory, I am a priest of Liyue, and thus can preside over this wedding," he'd quipped from the podium: having been dressed in a far-more-traditional black hanfu with gold-trimmed dragon scales lining its sleeves, "However, I come instead representing the parent figure of my niece Ganyu, who will be wedded today to the most impetuous, hotheaded Yuheng I have ever had the misfortune of meeting."
"If I wasn't in this dress I will teleport over and punch you in the throat," hissed Keqing from the other end of the platform, already glaring at Zhongli from her perch.
Ajax stifled a laugh. He would enjoy a fight if things came down to the wire.
Zhongli continued to give his speech, not only lauding Ganyu for finally being able to accept herself, but also having someone with her who had made a choice that caused her much heartbreak and sacrifice, yet remained steadfast towards. By the time he ended, Keqing's anger had dissipated, and she blubbered slightly, overwhelmed by emotion hearing someone she so looked up to speak of her that way.
The two brides then offered the three parents tea, and Guizhong had smiled while patting Ganyu and Keqing on the arms: now dressed in a white hanfu herself, Guizhong's outfit was lined with intricate, pale blue smokelike patterns on her sleeves and back, alongside additional ribbons. Ningguang had been decked out in an opulent gold and white hanfu, grinning proudly at Keqing offering her tea before drinking it demurely and squeezing her on the hand for reassurance seeing the usually composed Keqing suddenly nervous.
When it came to serving Zhongli, Keqing dramatically pretended to fumble, spilling some of the tea into his lap. "Oops," she managed, somewhat blithely as she offered Zhongli the cup (all while Ganyu gasped, looking for something to clean up with), "That's getting back at you for that speech earlier. Drink up, old man."
"I should've added 'petty' to that list as well," Zhongli accepted the tea, drinking it with both hands before offering Ganyu a nod to indicate he was alright, "Much obliged. It would be a pity if the tea was scalding hot. I wouldn't be able to feel it."
Keqing faltered, abruptly remembering what Zhongli had implied by that. "You're not turning this against me," she gritted out a whisper, "You started this."
Zhongli put his second teacup away, dusting his pants with a sigh. "I suppose smelling like Qingxin can't be all too bad," he commented, offering Keqing a victorious smirk, "You're mistaken, you see. I never fight a losing battle."
He'd left Keqing behind while he, Guizhong and Ningguang returned to the podium, and they'd made offerings to their ancestors instead of the usual tea ceremony to elders (which Madam Ping had stepped in to accept the tea offerings for, anyway). With three joss sticks each before the altar, they'd sealed their marriage in a more traditional sense, and the trio eventually returned to their seats to start serving the feast that they'd prepared.
Beidou glanced over to Xiao, who seemed visibly choked up by emotion seeing his dad-mentor get married a second time. "Wow, cabbage head, you so excited Zhongli-shu's out of your face?" she asked, though she flashed Ningguang a proud, boorish thumbs up seeing them pass, "Me too. Finally getting Ningguang out of my hair...you gotta be happy this time, you hear me?"
Ningguang placed a hand on her chest and primped in Beidou's direction. "Happier than you will ever make me," she replied, head held high as she tried her best to stop her own tears from flowing, "Thanks for coming, Beidou."
Xiao grumbled, wiping his tears with the back of his palm. "I'm not crying about shifu leaving, I'm just happy he's finally happy and alive again," he grumbled, and Beidou allowed him to lean on her shoulder, patting him on the back with a few resounding thumps, "I just...I never thought I'd see a day like this..."
"Well, open those peepers of yours and take it all in. Record some video footage and look back on it, I don't know," Beidou waved a hand, before folding her arms, leaning back into her seat, "Let's be honest. I don't even think that either of them thought they'd get this far."
As the rest tucked into their food (a heaping serving of Adeptus's Temptations for each table, along with Cold Cut Platters and then a free flow of Almond Tofu), Zhongli turned around to the fields: and it flourished now, with Glaze Lilies dotting its surface. He smiled a secret smile to himself, running his hand across his still-damp pants as he produced a sandglass from seemingly nothing, setting it down on the table. Guizhong barely bat an eye at this, continuing to eat while commenting on how impractical this arrangement seemed to be if it rained and exchanging banter with Ningguang.
The sand trickled within the dark-colored sundial-looking device, rippling with gold veins. It reminded Zhongli of his own time: nigh-infinite, yet equally as merciless in the face of erosion and grief. Glancing around him, though, he withdrew it once more, allowing his shoulders to sag at a burden being lifted for the first time.
It was no longer just his time alone. For the first time in a long time, the powerful Yanwang-Dijun was finally no longer alone.