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Being Zhongli's daughter, it was a blessing to be loved by him and he too was blessed to have a cute daughter as you. You were living the best life with him and your mother but a few years later everything went downhill.
Your mother was caught cheating with another man when Zhongli came back home after he picked you up from primary school.
You still remembered it vividly. Your father took you into your bedroom first before closing the door to handle the situation, leaving you to set your bag aside and distracting yourself with your soft whale plushie. In between playing by yourself, you heard shouting and cutleries knocking over to the floor, a few plates broke probably. You tried to be strong, tried to ignore the disturbing noises but you couldn't help trembling after every loud clash and bangs. You cried, burying your head in your plushie.
You had no idea how long the argument went but the moment you heard your door click open, you shot your head up and ran to the person who opened it, hugging their legs for comfort. Zhongli stood still for a moment before kneeling down and giving you a reassuring hug in attempt to calm yourself. He held your head and patted your back softly, hushing you in calming manner.
"I'm so sorry you had to hear all that dear. I'm very sorry, please don't cry anymore, papa's here with you".
Slowly you managed to put yourself together and took deep breaths. Zhongli didn't want to tell you the bad news but he had to, at least in the softest way possible. "Sunshine, your mom is going to live with another man now". "Why? Does mom not like you anymore dad?"
Zhongli with worried eyes nervously explained it to you. "Yes, unfortunately. Your mom loves another man now sunshine. And well she plans on leaving the house tonight with him. She's leaving us sweetheart". You breathed shakily, looking at the floor sadly. Zhongli caressed your head reassuringly despite he himself had tears threatening to come pouring out.
"We're still a family right? Even without mom?" He held you gently in his arms. "Of course sunshine, we're still a family. No matter what happens I'll always be there for you alright? I'll be there to keep you safe". You hummed in response, hugging your father tightly. In attempt to brighten the mood up, Zhongli offered to take a drink for you two. You wanted to come so you tugged on his shirts' sleeve.
It was a total mess on the way to the kitchen and he didn't want you to see the broken plates, glasses and cutleries on the floor and leave a bad memory in your childhood so he had you play a mini game on the way to the kitchen. It involved having your eyes closed but you couldn't exactly remember what the game was about. All you remembered was having your eyes closed as your father carried you on his back to the kitchen.
Later that night, it was an awkward dinner with your mom, seeing as it's her last dinner with you two. She already had her belongings packed and all were placed near the entrance door. You didn't dare look at her in the face; her face was blurred out to you, she doesn't love you or dad anymore. The air felt thick to you with her presence in the room. You felt nervous in the stomach but tried to put on a strong facade.
About two hours later, your mother finally parted ways with you and your father with her new significant other shamelessly, entering his car without bidding you goodbye. After their car was driven far enough Zhongli carried you inside the house, locking the door. He carried you into your bedroom, prepping your bed for bedtime. You laid on the colourful soft sheets with your whale plushie, ready to end this unfortunate day.
"Dad, can you sleep with me tonight? Mr whale would love to sleep with you as well," you spoke with a sleepy voice. Zhongli obliged and laid in your bed beside you, wrapping his arms around you protectively. He kissed your forehead before wishing you a goodnight's rest as you slowly fell asleep in his strong arms.
It was such a tiresome day, Zhongli admitted. All of this came up so suddenly, he wanted to cry right there, right now but he had to put himself together since he has a child to raise and take care of. He'll get through this, he'll sort things out and adjust to the single parent lifestyle. He vowed to protect you and keep you from harm's way, he'll give you all the love you need, he swore to be your knight in shining armour.
He softly caressed your knuckles, soothing you in your sleep. Despite on the verge of breaking down, his little bundle of joy never fails to lift his spirits up. Slowly he finally succumb to his tiredness and slept soundly together with his little sunshine.
-----
7 Years Later.
You're now 16 years old, a teen; raised well by your one and only father a.k.a best father ever. It was a bumpy ride for you both after your mom's absence. It was one hell of a mess at first since Zhongli wasn't so much of an expert in making breakfast, national and traditional cuisine was more of his expertise so you two would spend an hour or two looking up on simple breakfast recipes and try it out together. You and Zhongli would bond together over little things like that, helping each other out even if it'll end up in a mess, laughing together; filling the house with wonderful memories.
5 years ago, Zhongli met a Snezhnayan man from his workplace, they were acquaintances before they ended up being best buddies and Zhongli would invite him for dinner in your house from time to time. His name was Childe and genuinely speaking you really enjoyed having Childe around, he was like a second dad to you. A year after when you and Childe were more comfortable together and gotten along very well, Zhongli offered Childe to move in his house with both of your consent. With no obligations, Childe moved into the house with you both and started living together with you guys.
You were laying down on the sofa in the living room with your phone in hand, just chilling as usual, reading articles and viewing the abomination of your school's caught sleeping account, laughing your ass off from the horrendously hilarious pictures.
You heard the front door click open, a sign that Childe is back from grocery shopping. "Welcome back, ginger". Childe obviously wasn't amused by your ginger jokes anymore, he didn't even understand the similarities between him and Ed Sheeran too..
He slumped the grocery bags near the sofa you're occupying at the moment. Ruffling your dark hair and kissing your forehead. "Yeah yeah and hello to you little demon".
You lifted your body up and rubbed your forehead in disgust. "Ew Childe, I'm not a kid anymore, stop it with the forehead kisses before I kick your ass again," you grumbled. Childe stuck his tongue out, provoking you.
"Childe, y/n, no fighting in the house or I'll have you both sleep outside tonight," Zhongli barged in with a cup of tea in hand. "Yes dad-" you and Childe sighed simultaneously, standing up to lift some of the groceries to the kitchen.
You were arranging the groceries to their rightful place while Childe got himself busy with cooking lunch. By the looks of the ingredients on the counter, he was probably going to cook something deep fried. You hummed some music notes to keep your mind occupied as you opened the fridge to store the remaining frozen goods.
Once you were done putting all the goods away, you swung the swingy kitchen chair and hopped on it to rest. Whilst you were unoccupied and visibly bored, you ended up eavesdropping on Zhongli and Childe's conversation. It was no secret that they're boyfriends so you loved to tease them for your entertainment. Especially when they start to get a little lovey dovey, in front of you too sometimes but your dad always manages to save your eye's innocence from Childe's shower of affection. A bummer for you, oof.
You had a the most devilish smug on your face when you saw Childe leaning in to kiss your dad. Zhongli blocked the ginger's lips with his empty hand, pushing the ginger man backwards. "Not in front of the kid, Childe".
Both you and the ginger whined in disappointment loosening both of your postures.
-----
It was night time now and you're doing your homework. Well, you were supposed to be doing your homework but you got sidetracked since it's the least of your interest for the moment. You swayed your legs back and forth, playing with the mechanical pencil in your hand, spinning it in between your fingers.
Zhongli knocked on your open door, his head leaning on the wood, waiting for your signal to let him in. You turned your head to his direction after you heard the alerting noise. You nodded in response. He walked over to you, placing his hand on your shoulder, patting it gently.
"Doing your homework on the last minute again?" he eyed you. A bad habit of yours that you had trouble getting rid off, even Zhongli was aware of it after catching you staying up late doing work. You chuckled nervously. "Ehehe..yeah..-" gripping your pencil and tracing the text on the paperwork. Zhongli squeezed your shoulder playfully. "Owowow, okay okay sorry dad! I'll try to be more productive next week aight?" you winced. The older man huffed in defeat, ruffling your soft dark hair roughly. "You better, sunshine. I just hate it, seeing you wake up tired the morning after. Take care of yourself better sweetheart, you worry me sometimes".
You chuckled. "Yes, yes I'll try to manage myself better and stop worrying too much about me dad. I'm a big girl now," you cooed, stretching your arms and back. You're right, you are growing and maturing into an adult; Zhongli couldn't deny that fact. He just couldn't believe that he raised his little girl by himself and now she's a juvenile already. Oh how time passed so quickly.
"Just don't sleep too late alright? I'll let you slide off the hook this time. Goodnight sunshine," Zhongli said softly, leaving a quick peck on your head before walking away to his bedroom. You leaned your head against your spinny chair, shutting your eyes for a moment, regaining energy to spend it on schoolwork.
-----
Finally the dreaded weekdays passed their time and it's finally Friday night! As usual you'd crash your entire body on the living room sofa, your self proclaimed second bed, much to Childe's dismay since he too took a liking on the same sofa. It was hella soft and comfy, can't blame him for that but as the heir of the house owner, you had the rights for house property.
"Awh come on kiddo, you can't have the entire sofa to yourself. When is it my turn~!" he wailed, irritated. You flicked Childe's nose, drowning your face in the cushion. "Offer?" you murmured, opening your hand in front of his face. Childe groaned in annoyance before pulling out his stash of sweets and placing it in your palm.
Content; you clenched your fist full of candies and hopped off the favourable sofa. Childe fisted the air joyfully before taking the entire sofa for himself, hugging the soft cushions. Zhongli watched both of your antics from afar, sipping his cup of warm tea with a tender smile plastered on his face. He was never tired of you two's silly little antics as long it doesn't cause a ruckus and disrupt the peacefulness of the house.
knock knock knock
Someone was knocking on the entrance door. Childe who was nearest to the door automatically set the cushions aside to get the door. He greeted the person without opening the door fully but when he did his sweat dropped. Nervously he called Zhongli over.
"What seems to be the problem Childe-" Zhongli's golden hue eyes widened in shock. He was hesitating and his words were stumbling on each other. "I- uh, what are you doing here Ayana? Why'd you come back?"
You who was reading a novel, put it away in the bookshelf as soon as whatever is going on at the door caught your attention. You walked over to the door that was blocked by Zhongli and Childe's bigger figure. You stood on your toes trying to get a look on who they're talking to.
"Look, Zhongli, I'm sorry for coming without telling you beforehand but.." the woman's word trailed off when she saw you. Her eyes filled with disbelief. She pushed the two men aside and immediately went straight to hug you tightly. "Oh my, my girl's all grown up".
You were taken aback when she rolled those words off her tongue. Then the pieces connected and it became clear to you. You furrowed your eyebrows in frustration, pushed the woman away from you and rubbed your hand comfortingly. Ayana confused as to why you'd push her away. "Y/n, I missed you so much. I.. you've grown into such a beautiful girl-". "Shut it," you cut off any further words the woman before you had to say.
"Cheated on dad, left without a single goodbye, no contact for 7 years and you decided to show up out of nowhere? That's laughable".
Ayana clearly with no shame tried grabbing your arm. "No. Do not touch me." "But I'm your mother-"
"Just because you're my birth giver that doesn't mean you can do anything you want without consequences. Have you got no shame? You left me and dad for a guy who's filthy rich, is that still not enough for you?" Ayana brushed it off, scoffing.
You're pissed. You wanted to spit anything in that damned woman's face but Zhongli held you back with his arm, separating you from Ayana. Childe pushed you back towards his chest, wrapping his arms around you securely. "Please Ayana, just leave. We've made it very clear on that day. Please don't make things more complicated than it should be," Zhongli pinched his brows stressfully.
Ayana stomped on the ground. "Fine! But can I at least have a word with my daughter before leaving?" she stared at Zhongli's dissatisfied face. "Let it be quick. I want to get over this already woman," you bursted out, arms crossed.
You stepped forward to her, eyes glued to the floor, refusing to bat an eye at her. "Hey, I'm sorry that all this happened but you'll always be my sweet little girl, no matter what". No response from you. "We can forget all this happened and fix it okay! Don't you want to?" Ayana blurted out. She held her hand out to caress your arm, though as soon as her finger came in contact with your skin, you jerked back.
Ayana with the mix of disbelief, anger and sadness bursted into a fit, she shoved your small figure back roughly. Zhongli immediately caught you in his arms before you'd have a chance of falling to the ground. "Forget about it. I tried to fix it but you all refused". The woman fixed her hair and slammed the front door shut, walking away to god knows where.
Zhongli bent down on his knees, stroking your face and checking all over you for any possible injuries. "Dad, it's okay. I'm. I'm fine," you forced a smile, fondling your arm to soothe yourself. The older man embraced you into a tight hug, running his hand through your smooth hair, you buried your face in the crook of his neck. Memories related to the aftermath of that cursed day ran through your head, your mind was filled with the loud bangs and clash of the plates and glasses breaking. You began hearing the shouting and quarrel between your dad and Ayana.
Childe who was a stranger to your family's drama stood still, rubbing his hands together and his eyes moving to every single direction nervously and awkwardly. You exhaled your breath, breaking away from your dad's warm embrace.
"Don't worry about me. I'll just sleep my problems away, gotta clear my mind for the night. Childe, keep dad company for me okay?" you beamed tiredly. Zhongli regained his posture to bid you goodnight as you walked off into your room, locking the door, leaving Zhongli to Childe's care.
They both sat on the sofa, Childe making sure to let Zhongli cool off first before wanting to question anything else. You on the other hand plopped on your bed, hugging yourself, curling into a ball.
A great way to end the night, mom.