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Turning the stove on, Childe reaches over his head for pots inside the cupboard. Filling them with water from the sink, he places a cutting board on the counter and begins chopping some vegetables while the water boils. Lately, with winter coming, temperatures have been dropping in Liyue, a mantle of cold enveloping the entire harbour, although the weather wasn't chilly enough for it to snow, much to Childe's dismay. "A good hot steaming soup to warm up your little belly" is what his mother always said when facing the freezing days of his mother land. Humming a Snezhnayan lullaby under his breath, the ginger looks at the chopped vegetables, satisfied with their size.
Just in time
The water reached its boiling point, bubbling and steaming, he pours the vegetables inside and covers the pot before moving onto the next ingredient.
Octopus
With practised ease Childe removes the skin of the octopus and begins to slice it in smaller portions. Chop, chop . Childe's soft melodious voice fills the kitchen as he checks up on the boiling vegetables before returning to the octopus, or at least that's what he was planning to do. A squeal escapes his lips as a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his waist, tensed back pressed against a warm and firm chest. He relaxes at the feeling of his lover's nose on the crook of his neck, nuzzling against his skin before leaving fluttering kisses.
"How does soup for lunch sound?" Childe turns his head slightly to look at his husband who merely hums before opening his eyes to look at him.
"Who am I to deny what my lovely wife cooks? I will eat anything you make, my love" Zhongli's sultry voice sends a shiver down his spine, the ex-archon smiles pleased at his reaction.
His husband's pleased smile is short-lived, as soon as amber eyes look at what Childe is cooking, his face constraints, eyes furrowing, lips pulled into a pout.
"My love"
Childe hums in response.
"You must be aware of my adversity towards seafood" Zhongli's voice comes out slightly strained, arms giving a soft squeeze to his waist, albeit careful to not put too much pressure on the area around his navel.
"Yes, I know" the octopus has been sliced into thin strips by now but Zhongli's face remains pinched "I also remember a certain consultant saying it was okay as long as the seafood itself wasn't recognizable. That's exactly what I'm planning to do, don't worry Zhongli. By the time I serve the food, you won't even notice the octopus is there!"
Such a fuzzy dragon his husband is
Reluctantly, his lover gives in and nods, making Childe smile brightly before continuing to work on the octopus. Zhongli once again nuzzles against his neck while the ginger begins to hum another lullaby.
"Is this small enough for you?"
"Mmm, make it smaller"
Chop, chop
"Now?"
"Not small enough..."
"You can't be serious"
Chop, chop, chop
"Okay, that should be small enough"
"Just a little bit more..."
"Zhongli!!!"
"Ah, actually it was okay before" Zhongli chuckles
"Wha– You–"
Having left the food to shimmer now, both of them retreated to their living room, where a pile of blankets had been placed over their sofa. While Childe went to the bathroom, Zhongli disappeared into their room, only to appear once again with his arms full of pillows and made a beeline towards the sofa. Dropping all the pillows onto the surface, Zhongli got to work.
A few minutes later Childe emerged from the bathroom and made his way towards the living room. Upon stepping into the room his heart skips a beat, warmth filling his body and an immeasurable sense of happiness blooming inside his chest. Childe chuckles at the sight of his husband fluffing out their pillows before placing a blanket over them. With a pair of golden horns on top of his head and a long tail protruding from his lower back, Zhongli appeared as if he was building a nest . A nest for Childe and their child to feel safe in, to be comfortable and warm during this cold time.
The dragon's head perked up and snapped towards his direction, startling him slightly at the sudden movement. Zhongli smiles gently before extending his hand, waiting for him to take it. Childe only giggles and laces their fingers, intertwining them together, Zhongli squeezes in response and he is happy to return the gesture. The tip of his ears flush red at the sweet gesture. Childe feels himself being tugged and pulled down softly, with a puff both of them are seated between fluffed pillows and blankets. His back against Zhongli's firm chest, both of his husband's legs on either side of his body, his neck and cheeks tainted bright pink. Sneaking underneath his shirt, Zhongli's hands find their way on top of his belly, caressing the bump lovingly, a long tail wrapping around Childe's swollen tummy protectively.
"You really like feeling the baby don't you?" he says, placing his hands on top of Zhongli's.
"There are times when I myself can't help but feel this is a dream. In my six thousand years of living, the thought of retiring and settling down was nothing more than a distant future. To find myself with such a lovely wife and expecting to welcome a child into this world is something my younger self would have found unthinkable. Unexpected but very much welcomed. I couldn't have asked for anything more than this, if taking upon myself six thousand years of duty means to have you and our child lay in my arms, I would gladly do it again"
Zhongli props his head on Childe's shoulder and nuzzles his nose against his cheek before lightly pressing a kiss. Childe leans into the touch, receiving a sigh of contentment before being pulled deeper into the embrace, body completely flushed against Zhongli's chest, there was no space left between them.
After a moment of comfortable silence Childe speaks in a soft voice, almost afraid to break the warm atmosphere surrounding them.
"Me too, I would do anything to be here in our home with you and our child"
He begins to rub Zhongli's palm in a soothing motion, earning another sigh of contentment from his husband.
"Although, having the Tsaritsa give her blessings certainly made things easier for us"
For a goddess with no love left for people, she certainly proved otherwise. Not long after Childe got pregnant, Zhongli requested an official audience with Her Majesty to deliver the news. Stepping into the Tsaritsa's domain the couple got mentally prepared for anything to happen, an archon taking other's worshippers is considered to be a rather severe offence after all. Her Majesty received them with a raised eyebrow and urged Zhongli to state his business, although she expressed curiosity as to why her vanguard was standing by his side. By the end of Zhongli's report the goddess sat silent with a frown on her soft features. Clearly she wasn't pleased with the news.
"Say Morax, did you think about telling me about this at any point during your engagement? Seems to me that either I'm not important enough to receive the news or you simply had forgotten to do so" resentment and anger laced her voice "Which is it?"
"Apologies, at the time I had been busy with the ceremony, I must have forgotten"
"Busy with the ceremony or were you distracted by something else?" she eyed Childe.
Zhongli coughs and clears his throat looking away with a light tint on his cheeks.
"Busy with the ceremony"
The Tsaritsa sighs.
"I can't believe my dear eleventh got married to an old dragon like you without my knowledge"
Something clicked in Childe's mind.
"Your Majesty, are you not angry at our union?"
"Of course not my dear Tartaglia, who am I to break and dismiss your bond. I am simply angry at the fact that I wasn't present at the ceremony to witness your union"
Childe smiled, despite what others might say, the Tsaritsa remains a goddess of love nonetheless.
"Then allow me to make a promise, a promise to bring our child for Her Majesty to meet" Childe said and Zhongli hummed in agreement.
Pleased with her vanguard's words, the goddess descends from her throne and walks towards the couple. Her icy fingers trace over Childe's cheek and she smiles softly, eyes brimming with fondness.
"May you find the happiness you deserve, go with my blessings Ajax"
"It certainly did make things easier. Perhaps it would be best to bring a gift along in our next visit. I suppose a relic from my treasure chambers would be acceptable" Zhongli shifted their positions so that Childe was now facing sideways, his back supported by his husband's arm. It was easier to look at each other now.
"Sounds good" Childe said, mindlessly playing with the amber tip of Zhongli's tail, his fingers running along the soft fur. Elated with the touch Zhongli purrs before reaching down to his ear lobe, shuddering at the sensation, he is left breathless when Zhongli leaves a trail of kisses on his neck, teeth slightly grazing his skin. Childe mewls faintly and leans into the touch, earning a chuckle from his lover, another mewl leaves his lips when Zhongli begins to nibble his skin, pressing another kiss on the area afterwards.
Giving a squeeze to his waist, Zhongli pulls away leaving Childe hazy from his affection.
"I have been wondering for a while now, Ajax, is there any particular reason why you are making that soup in specific?" Earlier Zhongli couldn't help but notice how his wife was humming Snezhnayan lullabies, with the cold weather maybe Childe was reminded of his mother land.
"Ah"
Childe snaps from his hazy state.
"The weather simply brought back some memories. More often than not, winters in Snezhnaya are unforgiving, you can practically feel the chill sipping into your bones. If adults have difficulty dealing with the icy temperatures, it's easy to say children can't. To stay at home is the norm for children, of course they have to go out for school or to simply play outside, otherwise they get restless. Back then when I was just a kid, my mother used to always make that soup before any of us had to head out, it helped warm the body. It has become a rather fond memory of mine and I wanted to share it with you" The ginger is left feeling shy at his confession, looks down, finding the carpet of their living room interesting.
A few beats of silence and Childe looks up.
"Zhongli? Is everyth–"
His next words are cut by Zhongli placing his lips on his own. Startled by the sudden action , Childe stiffens up slightly before relaxing and melting into the kiss. A feeling of happiness and love blooms inside his chest, heart leaping and twisting, the pure adoration and affection he can feel from the kiss leaves him out of breath. His hands grip onto Zhongli's shirt pulling them closer. More. Happy to comply, Zhongli cups his face and deepens their kiss, he can feel himself preening under his husband's fervent touch.
Running out of air, they pull apart panting and puffing . Their foreheads touch and they stay there, drinking each other's presence.
"I will treasure the memory you have given me until the last of my days, all the moments we had together and those yet to come, will always shine bright in my memory"
"You promise?" Childe lifts his right pinky.
"I promise" Zhongli chuckles and intertwines their pinkies together.
"You make a pinkie promise,
you keep it all your life.
You break a pinkie promise,
I throw you on the ice.
The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend,
the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again"
They finish chanting the Snezhnayan nursery rhyme and smile.
"The soup should be ready now"
"I will help set the table then"
"Oh, someone's eager to eat the soup, let's not waste time then!"
Giggling Childe makes his way to the kitchen, Zhongli trailing behind.
They miss the first couple of snowflakes falling upon the harbour.
Another fond memory was made in winter .