Work Text:
"Zhongli, come to bed."
Their words fell on deaf ears, as Zhongli continued to write away at his paper. They frowned, sighed, then lifted the sheets.
They made their way towards his desk, wrapping their arms around him from behind.
"Love, come to bed. This will all be here tomorrow. I want to hold you tonight, A partner wants me to help preparations for the Rite Of Descension. It's gonna be exhausting."
They traced patterns over their lover's chest, humming quietly. He signed away at a paper, only to place it in the pile and retrieve another.
"Zhongli,"
He placed his hand over theirs, humming quietly with them.
"I need to get this done, darling. It cannot wait."
They frowned at his words. Just how much paperwork did a funeral parlor get? It wasn't as if it was busy. Not once in their time with him did they ever see him work as hard as he had now.
"But why? Does it have to do with the Rite Of Descension?" They asked, peeking over his shoulder. Just as they were about to finish the first sentence, he slid the paper away from her sight and turned around in his chair.
"Confidential."
They stood up from him, wrapping their robe around them a bit tighter. It felt colder somehow.
"You're joking, right?" They blinked twice, tilting their head.
"No, I'm not. I'm sorry, but this is really important. Go back to bed, I'll join you in a little while." He responded by turning around once again.
But, they wouldn't have any of it. They puffed their cheeks, crossing their arms.
"Confidential? What, did we get a dead executive or something? A knight?" They pressed harder. His eyebrows knit, and he grabbed the pen once again.
"Nothing of importance, just go back to bed."
"Of course it's important! I want to spend time with my hus- lover. Is that so much to ask for?" They caught themselves. A word forbidden between them. and him as well. They were not married, no, but there were times that they wished more than anything they were. If he were to ask, they would gladly be with him for the rest of their days. Forever.
"No, but right now, this has to be done. I don't know how else to explain this to you." He continued to write, the scribbles loud in the quiet room. They turned their posture away from him.
A sigh.
"You're right, I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. People have secrets, and I guess I'm just used to having everything at my disposal. I'm sorry."
He ushered for them to come to him, which they did. He hugged their middle, taking their hand with his.
"Nothing to apologize for. I understand this can be troublesome, and it seems I haven't quite seen how it affects you. I'm sorry about that, and I'll work on it."
He looked up at them with a smile only reserved for them, and threaded his fingers between theirs.
They blushed. Cupped his cheek. "You know, one of the favorite things about you is how... communicative you are. We fight, sometimes, but we always bounce back. I love you. I'm sorry if I don't show it sometimes."
He smiled at their words, turning back to his work.
They squeezed his shoulder before walking back to the bed, collapsing into the mush of sheets and pillows and dozed off almost instantly.
His hand wouldn't stop shaking. Their words were true, so true. He could feel it through the earth. They really did love him, maybe almost as much as he did.
He tucked a hair behind their ear. They looked so peaceful while they slept. They were an angel in his eyes, something he never thought he'd say. He had lived eons and eons, yet had never had a connection with someone as he had them.
They were adventurous, while he aired on the side of caution. They liked their soup cold, while he found it quite unpleasant if it wasn't warm.
Their hands would get sweaty so easily. They would complain about it, and would often refuse holding his hand due to it. But, they would always link their arm with his. It felt natural. He found himself liking to link arms much more than holding hands because of them.
He never appreciated the outside that much, yet they stopped whenever they saw a line of ants on the sidewalk. They would even cut a slice of whatever they were eating as a quiet offering to them.
Zhongli didn't quite like bugs as much as they did, but he found himself appreciating the way their face lit up whenever something caught their interest.
For their birthday, he had custom made a glass case where they could raise their own ants, from the beginning of their life to the end.
He loves them so much. The past aches and aches for him, but with them, he thinks the future is brighter than ever.
But, all times need to come to an end. He was going to fake his own death... well, Rex Lapis. They didn't know about his secret, of what he truly was.
In a way, he was afraid that they would be afraid of him. If he ever told them-- which he wouldn't-- he didn't think he could stand if they cowered away from him, flinching at his touch.
While he trusted them wholeheartedly to keep this themselves, he knew he couldn't. He couldn't put that pressure on them. It would kill them.
With a heavy heart and a sad expression lacing his features, he presses a quiet kiss on their temple, and let promptly into the night.