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Ever since they’d gotten married, Zhongli began to notice that Ajax talks in his sleep. He never knows what he’s saying, however, because he sleep talks in Snezhnayan; but Zhongli desperately, desperately wants to know what he’s saying without embarrassing his husband.
Nights after sex he’d grow cuddly and sleepy, and this particular night just before Childe knocked out, Zhongli could briefly hear him say, “Мм тепло… хара…шо,” He rolled over before letting out a whine, “Все ближче.” Barbatos, he was so adorable like this, when he was clingy and muttering what was gibberish to Zhongli’s ears. All his walls were down, he was not adorned with a physical or metaphorical mask, and he spoke his mind, mind you Zhongli didn’t know what he was speaking his mind about. Just as he thought Childe had drifted to sleep, he hears him quietly mutter, “Я тебе люблю…” For a reason he doesn’t know, his heart clenched. A part of him responds, one that can only feel that the best reply is, I love you too.
—
To Zhongli’s surprise, Childe is awake and bustling before him, wandering the rooms of their shared apartment shirtless. In his groggy state, Zhongli’s eyes still catch the two matching scars beneath his upper chest. To most people, these were simply another ornament to his gallery of battle scars. In a way, they were battle scars, but not the kind that came from a sword’s slashes or the burns from a pyro hypostasis. It’s the kind of battle his husband never admits he’s participated in, and they’re the battle scars that adorn him that display his bravery, regardless of how Childe interpreted it. To Zhongli, it was another crevice he’d smoothed over with his hands, a precious inch of his favorite person that defined him and his identity. This, he thinks for certain, is a beautiful scar to be embellished with.
Childe stretches his arms, letting out a (cute) groan before rubbing his eyes. Ah, Ajax just woke up as well. His husband turns his head to where Zhongli lays, and when he finds himself gazing into two very awake eyes, he smiles affectionately at him. “Good morning, сватечком. Do you want anything particular for breakfast today?”
Zhongli ponders the question, reminiscing on the night before, and settles on saying, “I would like to try something… different today. Maybe something you would eat in the mornings in Snezhnaya.”
The ginger blinks at him, “I… It’s been a while, but maybe…” He takes a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the floorboards creaking as he does so. “Have you ever tried syrniki?” Zhongli shakes his head and his husband continues, “They’re pancakes made with cheese, usually sweet and served with homemade jam or even honey. I-… haven’t had any in- Well, I’ll just say it’s been a real long while.”
“That sounds delightful, I’d love to try some,” Zhongli says with a small smile. He can see Childe pursing his lips, a tell-tale sign that he’s pondering something else, so Zhongli says, “If there’s something more you wish to add to our breakfast menu, you can. I’m not very picky as long as it isn’t… Well, you know, seafood.”
Childe meets his gaze like a deer in headlights, and Zhongli feels his heartstrings tug as he recognizes that gaze as a plea. Could we really do that? And Zhongli sighs, slipping out of bed to step towards him and take his hands into his. “Of course it’s okay, I can tell you miss the cuisine and I can’t blame you. It’s alright to be homesick.” He plants a kiss on his lips and softly embraces him, feeling his husband slip his arms around his waist and bury his face into Zhongli’s shoulder.
Childe lets out a muffled “thank you” and they let themselves rock back and forth in each other’s arms, embracing the quiet morning as they embrace each other’s company like a warm summer’s day warming the small apartment.
—
“So… mannaya kasha, correct? And it’s made of…?”
“I believe it’s wheat? It’s alright, I’ll ask Ekaterina where I can find Snezhnayan products in the port.”
Zhongli frowns. “Are you sure? I’m sure we could-“
Childe laughs, “Trust me Zhongli, we can’t make mannaya at home. It was difficult enough for my parents to adjust to the cuisine, much less learn how to make said cuisine at home.”
“Hmm… Are there any other products we need?”
“Milk. Eggs… Mannaya obviously, we have honey and jam at home…” He takes a moment to ponder what he remembered from the times when his mother would indulge him in his curiosity during his early childhood, letting him play chef in the kitchen. A cheese product comes to mind, not a traditional kind of cheese used in most Liyuen foods, one he asked his mother about once… “Aha! It should be called quark in the common tongue. We might have trouble finding it but it’s a common dairy product in Snezhnaya.”
Zhongli smiles, taking Ajax’s hand into his own and caressing the top of it with his thumb. They take a moment to fill the moment with silence, allowing themselves to simply breathe in the fresh air of the ocean, the sky pink as the sun peaks just over the still azure waves. Store vendors begin to set up their shops, a quiet bustle of sailors making their way to their ships and Millelith soldiers changing shifts as they yawn under the morning sun. The morning dew gives the streets an ever so sweet scent over Feiyun Slope, and the breeze is just the right temperature. Childe inhales deeply, indulging in the pleasant morning wind with his hand intertwined in the hand of the love of his life.
In fear of breaking the tranquility of the moment, Zhongli softly whispers in his ear, “Is Northland Bank open at this hour?”
Ajax answers back, “In just a few minutes, yes. If it’s not about something annoying to Ekaterina, she’ll take any request you ask of her.”
Zhongli snorts, “And what does she consider an annoying request?”
“Hmm…” Childe’s eyes glimmer with a playful tease. “Anything that has to do with the disgustingly awful couple guarding the bank.”
His husband laughs softly, “Are we included in said ‘disgustingly awful’ couples?”
“Just a little. I think she doesn’t prefer to see my face at all if she can help it.” Childe ponders another remark and continues, “Too bad she’s missing out on laying eyes on the most handsome gentlemen in Tevyat.” He sighs. “A shame that we’re both taken and madly in love with each other.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The reply slightly takes him aback, such an affectionate remark to his teasing. Ajax laughs before saying, “You’re even sweeter than honey my коханий.”
They give each other toothy grins before rubbing their noses together, Childe kissing Zhongli’s cheeks as the sun kisses their silhouettes with a feather-like touch, a fragile moment of intimacy that the sky wouldn’t dare shatter.
—
Breakfast is much sweeter than Zhongli is used to, typically feasting on rice and soup to start off the day. They include fried eggs with rye bread to their selection of new flavors (Childe wore the most ecstatic expression when they also found rye bread on the shelves of the foreign market, having been unable to taste the flavor since he left Snezhnaya), a healthier and more well-rounded balance between savory and sweet. He finds himself basking in the taste of mannaya kasha, the texture and taste in no way compatible with sweet tofu but sharing a faint resemblance regardless. Across the table, Childe looks like he’s on the verge of tears as he carefully chews on his makeshift piece of toast as if he was afraid it’d disappear from him if he took another bite.
“Ajax, love, you can eat as much as you please. Your breakfast isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
His husband looks up at him from his daze, his puppy dog eyes squeezing Zhongli’s heart. How adorable.
Zhongli clears his throat, diverting his attention to the pancakes. “What topping would you recommend, love? Honey or jam?” From across the table, Childe still hasn’t taken another bite of his toast, holding the piece of bread to his agape mouth. Zhongli, amused, reaches across the table, moving the piece of bread into his mouth, letting him chew on the yolk of the egg and toast as some of the yolk drips down his chin. Zhongli chuckles, “Honey, do you need a napkin for that?” Childe, breaking out of his trance, nods, reaching for the cloth napkin and wiping his face the best he can.
As he watches him continue chewing on his breakfast, Zhongli asks his question again, to which Childe replies, “The smartest option would be to put jam on one, then honey on the other, and if you enjoy both, alternating until your plate is empty.”
“Really now?”
“Yes really! Well, at least that’s what I would do…”
“I do trust your judgment, so I’ll… attempt this… Ah, strategy of eating these…?”
“Syrniki. Syr is cheese in Snezhnayan.” Childe bites his lip. “To be quite frank sometimes I find myself slipping from my knowledge of the language even though it’s my first language.”
Zhongli hums, “That’s common in your situation, moving overseas for the entirety of the second half of your life. And…” He quietly adds, “There’s an element of wishing to forget those memories, I’d presume.”
Ajax sighs. “That- That definitely seems to be the case. But obviously, I haven’t gotten over my homesickness and… I don’t think I ever will if I continue working with the Fatui.”
Sighing, Zhongli takes another pancake and smothers blueberry jam on it. “Where ever you go, my sunshine, I’ll be awaiting your return, and we can have Snezhnayan food together just as we are now.”
Ajax softly smiles, his eyes radiating a sense of gratitude and sincerity.
They embrace the silence for some time, letting the clanking of silverware speak for them as they finish their meal. Through the window they can hear the birds chirping, beginning their daily performances that intertwine with the bustling of Liyue. They both recognize that in just an hour they’ll have to part to their respective jobs, but neither of them frets, letting themselves simply soak in each other’s presence.
Zhongli, sensing Childe is finally comfortable enough to continue the conversation, finally asks, “Ajax… I’m simply curious to know-…” He ponders his next words wisely as Childe eyes him curiously across the table. Zhongli finally sighs, deciding to fester up the courage to ask him honestly, “When you do- So, I’ve discovered recently you talk in your sleep. And I’m curious as to… What you’re saying. In Snezhnayan.”
Childe blinks, the cogs in his head slowly twisting as he resisters his husband’s words. “I… Talk in my sleep?”
“Yes, adorably I may add.”
He blushes, the pink complimenting his ginger curls (and managing to look ravishingly gorgeous, embarrassed as he is). “O-oh. Well… Were there any- syllables or sounds of words you heard?”
Zhongli hums as he contemplates deeply what he had mumbled the night before, finally landing on the last words he’d muttered before passing out. “It was something close to Ya tob lyoob… I forget the rest of the syllables.”
“It’s fine мой коханий, I’m sure I could piece it to- Aha! I’ve got it.” He flushes an even deeper pink as he continues, “I-it’s- It’s ‘I love you’ in Snezhnayan. It’s pronounced ‘ya tobe lyublyu.’”
“Ahh, I see.” Zhongli puts his face in the palm of his hand, looking at Childe as if he were his stars and sky. “You’re a charmer even in your sleep.”
Just as he thought his husband couldn’t get any redder, he blushes harder, burying his face in his hands and groaning. “You’re going to give me a heart attack, Zhongli.”
“That would certainly be a problem, then I wouldn’t be able to ask you what your words of endearment for me mean,” He says with a giggle.
“Ugh, Zhongli! You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Deary me, then I’ll surely stop, only if you agree to translate your words for me.”
Childe groans again, settling on facepalming on the table as Zhongli laughs, ruffling his hair playfully. “Fine, fine,” he mumbles, “I’ll teach you what they mean.”
He raises his head from the table’s surface, taking a sip of his now cold tea, placing the cup down as he raises his head. “Мой коханий, or moye kohani means ‘my dear’ or ‘my beloved,’ commonly used amongst married couples. But…” Childe smiles to himself, “I’ve considered calling you my святечком.”
“And that translates to…?”
“My world… or,” he takes Zhongli’s hands into his own, “My universe. Because that you are, my home, my beloved, and my universe.”