Chapter Text
He didn't think taking care of a baby dragon would be hard. How he reached that conclusion, he had no damn idea, but Gods above was it so much worse.
Childe yelped as sharp fangs sunk into his arm again, blue eyes darting down to glare at the small dragon hanging from his forearm. The youngling stared back at him, gold eyes dilated, as he chewed on the human's arm.
"Zhong- Morax, please stop biting me," he sighed, gently prying the god off of his arm and wincing at the sting.
With a whine, the dragon looked up at Childe with wide eyes, blinking up at him.
"What is it?"
Another whine with a shake of a fluffy tail this time.
"Oh, for goddess sake, what's wrong?"
"I believe he is teething, Master Childe." Ekaterina piped up from behind the reception counter, smiling gently as the man startled.
"Huh..." He replied, looking down at the seemingly pouting dragon in his arms.
How had he been so dumb? Of course he would be teething. Zhongli had popped into his Morax form not long after losing his Gnosis, reverting back into an almost hatchling at the same time. Out of desperation, Ganyu, one of the half-Adepti in the city, had sought out Childe and asked him to watch over the small creature. Why she chose him, he didn't know. All he knew right now was that not only was Zhongli pretty much defenseless in this form, he was also very, very clingy.
"Well, that explains a lot." He laughed, lifting the hatchling up under his stubby arms, grinning as Zhongli flailed slightly. "Any suggestions?"
The brunette hummed, eyes twinkling behind her mask. "A damp cloth, perhaps? It would depend on how sharp his fangs are," she suggested, stepping around the counter and holding out her hands, "may I?"
Childe nodded, gently handing the dragon over, shushing him as he whined and keeping a hand nearby. Ekaterina smiled gently at the youngling, shifting her arms to cradle him. She slowly brought a gloved hand up to Zhongli's mouth, lifting his lip and peering at his fangs.
"Hm, softened bamboo may be better. He'd probably tear through a cloth." She said, handing the ex-archon back to his caretaker.
"Will do, thanks, Katya." Childe hummed, lifting Zhongli to rest draped across his shoulders, laughing softly as a fluffy tail wrapped around his neck. "Don't bite while you're sitting up there, please."
Ekaterina smiled as she watched, pleased that, for once, Childe seemed happy. More like the young man he was, not a battle-scarred veteran. Of course, she knew of his attraction to Zhongli, and had even offered advice on a few occasions, only to be as heartbroken at the consultant's revelation as her Master, having been rooting for the ginger.
"Have a wonderful day, Master Childe. And good luck." She chimed, smiling at him before returning to her paperwork behind the desk.
"Thanks!"