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Just A Little Difference
A Seelie's Treasure: Carmen Dei
Once muddled, dusty rumors found their way from Liyue’s peaks to the plains of Mondstadt, Venti couldn’t resist seeing if it were true. Zhongli was a notable face within the harbor and quite fetching to some who dreamed of seeing what lay beneath such seemingly marblesque perfection. To know he was taken off the market, so to speak, disheartened quite a few ladies and gents. Of which Venti would have happily teased his old friend over had he not found him in the middle of laying an infant to rest.
Yes, if it weren’t for the little adeptus peeking at him from over a nest of plush, silken pillows and decorative sheets then Venti would have had a few more choice words for a certain friend of his. But as it stood, he could hardly summon even a tiny gale of rage while cooing over such an adorable face.
Not only were the rumors true but Venti found himself a little incensed that he hadn’t been one of the first to know, which was disheartening in itself. He would have thought this a matter of import best celebrated between friends and family.
Both that they bore so little of until recent happenings.
Now as Venti stared down at Guiquan, the wind danced happily at the sound of his name and rustled the cecilias upon his hat to the child’s obvious delight as he reached up with pudgy fingers tipped by sharp claws. His touch a gentle mimicry of Venti’s own brushing against his cheeks, admiring the fullness of the petals spilling over his palms. Kneeling by the nest, Venti could have watched him play with his hat for hours while he poked against barely formed ridges between scales and baby fat.
It wouldn’t be long until they hardened and he wondered if the Geo markings were inheritable.
His thumb traced along Guiquan’s bare shoulders to his elbows in search of the glowing privitha markings beneath tawny beige skin. Light armor formed by scales over the child’s shoulders and down his sides, darkening in hue as if they were made of soot, but in the sunlight they gleamed a dull blue. Very curious.
Zhongli’s presence was felt before he was heard, the scent of cassia tea turning Venti’s attention toward where he shuffled into the nursery with a tray in hand. Guiquan perked up at the sight of him, chirping excitedly, his outstretched hands abandoning the lining of Venti’s cap into a free fall. Catching it before it could drop to the ground, Venti set it atop his head and watched as Zhongli knelt down at the small table set up beside the nest. While Zhongli smiled more often now, the look he gave the young adeptus was downright tender. Eyes crinkled and nose scrunched as he bent his head, butting their noses together.
If their antlers had been showing, they might have even clashed, and Venti giggled at the thought. Waving off Zhongli’s curious hum once the older adeptus glanced his way.
“His scales haven’t hardened yet,” Venti pointed out, nudging Guiquan’s cheek when he heard his distressed chirps at Zhongli’s distance once the elder adeptus pulled away to start pouring their tea. “And those antlers..” They were barely protruding from the growing mop of dark hair atop the child’s head, nubs quivering when Venti swirled his finger around them. Guiquan’s chirping, pleased and sweet, shivered through his tiny frame and Venti giggled. “And these ears..” They flicked when he brushed his finger along their tip, flushed petal pink.
Guiquan blinked up at him once he pulled his hand away, confused at the lack of touch. Opalescent irises beginning to take on a vibrant golden hue with a sliver of blue. Very, very interesting. “Well, you’re definitely cuter than your dad, that’s for sure,” Venti laughed, patting his head.
“I can still hear you,” Zhongli sighed, and to Venti’s ears, it wasn’t his usual long-suffering sigh or a quiet one. Almost a huff.
Very, very, very interesting. Patting Guiquan’s cheeks, Venti smiled down at his wide-eyed look. “But am I wrong?” The child chirped in place of Zhongli’s answer, arms lifted when Venti tucked his hands under him and lifted him out of the nest. His tail swung through the air and thumped heavily against Venti’s knee as he cradled him to his chest. “Look at this face, he’s adorable!”
Guiquan closed one eye as Venti leaned in to rub his cheek against his. A quiet chirp of approval answering him, pinpricks of pain scattered along his shoulder as the adeptus-child clung to him, his body racked with rumbling tremors.
“Haha, he even purrs! Infinitely cuter.”
Zhongli rolled his eyes, setting down one cup on a saucer and nudging it to him. “I am able to purr, it is simply something that I have not done in some time.”
Surprised by the admission, Venti went still for a second and stared at Zhongli as he calmly blew at the steam rising from his cup. “... Morax, are you jealous?”
“No.”
The answer came far too quickly and Venti eyed him thoughtfully, patting Guiquan’s back when the child tugged at his cloak. “Just isn’t like you to admit something so cute.”
Zhongli’s eyes were half-closed as he drank in the tea’s aroma but at his words, they cracked open into thin golden slits, reminiscent of a timeless glare. Though this one seemed to be lacking in its ire - if there was ever any at all. Venti merely grinned in response and shifted Guiquan in his grasp to hold him out to Zhongli. Half-hearted glare subsided, the gentleness returned and Zhongli sat down his cup to take the wiggling boy in his arms, smiling down at him as he chirped and scratched at Zhongli’s tie. His tail almost swiped Zhongli’s tea off the tabletop til Venti nudged it toward him with a little breeze.
“So how do you hide all of…” He gestured to Guiquan emphatically, amused by his swaying tail and twitching ears, “this in public?”
“Humans tend not to focus on details outside of themselves unless they are driven too far out of their norms,” Words poured out from Zhongli’s lips with far more eloquence than a man nuzzling his head against his infant’s son should be. Venti looked on in awe, sunlight from the windows behind illuminating the pair in a hazy glow. Almost untouchable and distant til Zhongli lifted his gaze. “.. Barbatos?”
Blinking, Venti glanced down at his tea and suddenly wished he had something a bit stronger. “So enough to seem not too out of the ordinary and keep him comfortable,” he murmured against its rim, enjoying the flash of gold as a familiar glare leveled upon him once he added, “And so the blockhead has become a doting father.”
“What did you call me?”
Sticking his tongue out, the bitterness of the moment passed with a saccharine touch as he wiggled his finger at Guiquan who grasped it tightly.
“Come on, come on, I want to hold him again.”
Guiquan’s claws bit into Venti’s skin but the sting was forgiven immediately once those eyes returned to studying his hand as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Conflict flickered across Zhongli’s face and Venti almost rescinded his request until the adeptus leant down to press a kiss square between Guiquan’s horns then held him out with an even expression.
The kiss’ suddenness left Venti off kilter. How long had it been since he’d seen him express such blatant acts of affection to someone new? He couldn’t recall off the top of his head and lost to his musings, he failed to notice Guiquan looking at him expectantly til Zhongli’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“What is it?”
“Hm?” Venti glanced up then waved his hand. “Oh nothing.” His arms tucked beneath Guiquan, mindful of his tail as he bounced him lightly to make him giggle. “Ah, but I did want to ask. Would you lean down to me?”
Uncertainty twisted Zhongli’s lips to a scowl but he nodded much to Venti’s delight, leaning down to accommodate him while his hand inched across the table in search of his teacup. Leaning close, Venti brushed his lips against his cheek and settled for a kiss near the curve of his earlobe. Supple, sinewy muscle went taut all at once and he heard an airy, befuddled sigh of his name.
Lips curled into a grin, Venti kissed along his jawline, feeling a slight twitch here or a jump there. Small signs that he was startled but not so much as to shiver or tremble. Guiquan chirped, claws catching in the front of Venti’s waistcoat but he leant further to nuzzle a kiss behind Zhongli’s ear. The tassel of his earring tickling against his jaw.
“Barbatos…”
Zhongli pulled back somewhat, gold meeting green and Venti grinned.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh nothing.”
They held one another’s gaze for awhile longer before Venti pressed closer, his thigh brushing against Zhongli’s knee once their lips touched. A sliver of pain in his jaw sent him reeling backward with a soft ‘ow’ as he looked down at Guiquan, the young adeptus staring up at him helplessly with claws extended.
“Aww…”
Zhongli chuckled, warm breath curling around the tip of Venti’s ear as he leant over his shoulder to brush a knuckle against Guiquan’s cheek. “He has trouble sharing attention.”
“Well, you do seem to spoil him,” Venti said flatly, unable to keep a smile from his face as Guiquan purred and rubbed his cheek against Zhongli’s knuckle.
Zhongli huffed, continuing to rub Guiquan’s cheek and pet his head gently. “I do no such thing.”
Giving Zhongli a look, Venti raised his brow and flicked a glance between them. “... Really?”
Their eyes met and while Zhongli held an impressive poker face, Venti was accustomed to weathering him down in silence. Preening a little at the other’s sigh and sidelong glance, “... He enjoys physical affection.”
Venti smirked a little when he noticed Zhongli leaning close again. “Seems you both do.” Pulling away a bit, Venti’s smirk widened when he saw Zhongli’s brows furrow and his expression become a mite stormier. “Yes, Morax?”
“... Are you truly going to make me ask?”
A thrill rushed through him at the simple want but he was careful to keep it from his voice, pretending to mull it over. “Just this time. Then again, you’re also free not to.”
Their usual manner of play wouldn’t have been suitable for a child present and Zhongli seemed to acknowledge that himself as he relented with a sigh. “If you would be so kind to..” Venti almost rolled his eyes at the careful way he picked his words. “Do that again.”
He could tell from how those eyes traveled lower past his nose and to his mouth what it is his old friend wanted. But, he was nothing if not a little fair. Payback was due after all.
“Behind the ear or…?”
Zhongli grunted then, shaking his head a bit.
“Well, why don’t you show me?” Venti cuddled Guiquan to his chest to keep him sated while Zhongli waged war between lecturing and waving him off. Eventually, giving in to press their lips together and lean into him proper.
Venti smiled a little when he heard the soft rumbling. Perhaps he was just a little cute too.