Work Text:
There was nothing Xiao hated more than feeling like this. Being vulnerable was a risk, nothing more than that. His whole existence was proof of how vulnerability could ruin a person, if offered to the wrong one.
Being vulnerable meant death on the battlefield. Being vulnerable meant being hurt.
So what was he doing at his Lord's door in the middle of the night?
For the fifth time in the past minute, Xiao hesitantly raised his hand to knock, only to pull away harshly last second. What the hell was he even doing? Rushing here in the middle of the night when he couldn't even bring himself to knock on a stupid door.
Suddenly, and before he could recompose himself, the door opened to reveal a tired Childe. Xiao froze, staring at the man who'd opened the door while he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, clearly surprised by Xiao's appearance.
"...Xiao?" He furrowed his brows gently. "What are you doing here?"
Xiao bristled at the question. Of course, being Zhongli's lover would make the other's presence a lot more socially acceptable, but Xiao wanted to turn the question back on him. But.. he might as well get it over with.
"I need to speak to Zhongli."
The other sighed. "Adepti.. alright, come in."
Before he could snap back or even refuse, the harbinger had tugged him by the arm into his home.
Now, leaning against the wall(because adepti don't sit, that's ridiculous)Xiao resisted the urge to fiddle with the ornaments of his clothing. It was unbecoming. He felt foolish.
"Xiao?" A deep voice rang out, one that warmed his soul unlike anything else ever could.
He snapped his head towards the sound, face warming the moment he saw Zhongli.
"R- Zhongli. I'm sorry for appearing here like this." He could basically feel the ginger's curious stare drilling into his skull from where the harbinger had flopped onto the couch beside him.
"It's alright, dear." In a few words, Xiao had been reduced to nothing. The weight on his shoulders seemed to dissipate, and even his conscience faded into a cloudy, calming nothingness. He walked in small, aborted steps towards Zhongli, basically melting into the other the moment his arms encircled him.
"Bàba.."
The karmic debt that had been ravaging his mind seemed like nothing but a distant nightmare when he hugged Zhongli back, closing his eyes and letting sleep take him from reality.
-
Childe stared unabashedly, jaw on the floor and eyes almost bulging. Zhongli eyes met his over Xiao's head, from where he was held flush to his chest, and smiled at the other's shocked expression.
"Should I explain?"
"Please do." Childe said with a hilariously serious face.
A warm chuckle resounded through their house.
"Let me get him in bed first, he passed out."
Childe watched his boyfriend carry his – Co-worker? Servant? Friend? SON??? – his something to their bedroom and wondered belatedly if there was something he didn't know about the two of them. It was a stupid thing to wonder, considering there was clearly a lot of things he didn't, and probably wouldn't, know.
He shut his eyes and sighed deeply as Xiao's soft mumble sounded out in his head. "Bàba..?" He muttered underneath his breath, pressing a hand to his temple.
"He's not my son, if that's what you're thinking about."
"Holy mother of Snezhaya! What the fuck, Zhongli??" He nearly fell off the couch in his attempt to flinch away from the sudden presence of his lover.
"Haha, sorry, you looked focused." Zhongli laughed at his misery, and he almost found that his anger faded. Almost. He frowned.
"What the hell was all that about?"
Zhongli sat beside him, and the harbinger leaned onto him without a second thought.
"Xiao doesn't have a biological father, obviously." Zhongli turned to look him in the eye while he talked, and Childe's perplexed face was so rich he almost smiled again.
"As an adeptus, Xiao obviously is different from a common human, but.. Well, while he'd never admit it, but his mind is also fragile, just as a human's is. The karmic debt that he carries ravages his mind.. back in the days, during the archon wars, the only way he would have settled down to rest would be in a grave." Zhongli frowned softly, remembering a painful past. Childe held one of his hands in sympathy.
"Perhaps my concern was beyond that of an archon towards his adeptus, but I took it upon myself to care for him in his moments of fragility. I took the role very easily, I suppose." He laughed softly again, eyes turning wistful.
"He had already been through so much when we met. There are things about him he refuses to tell, probably will never tell. But it's alright. If I can do this much, I will be glad."
"So you're like.. his pseudo-dad? When did he start calling you that again?" Childe couldn't quite wrap his head around the situation.
"He was not clear minded just now. Usually when his condition worsens, the moment he feels safe, his body shuts down most rational thought. Sometimes it just shuts down immediately, as you saw. He needed someone to take care of him. I'm more than happy to be that someone." Zhongli smiled wistfully.
"Please forgive me for not telling you this. I felt, well, still feel – it was not my place to share."
"It's alright.. uh. Wait, is he on the bed?"
"Don't worry, we can fit."
Childe felt a cold bead of sweat run down his neck.
-
It was morning. Childe loved mornings. Mornings were warm, soft, dark brown hair splayed over pillows, the image of Zhongli snuggled up to his adeptus-
No, not that. Childe blinked wearily at the image in front of him, and watched the smaller man mumbling in his sleep, pushing his face into Zhongli's chest with a tiny whine.
He was only a little jealous. Just a little.
Then, without warning, the turquoise ball of fluff underneath Zhongli's chin rolled to face him, and before he knew it he was being smothered by the yaksha instead. He froze in place, not even daring to breathe. If the adeptus woke up now, Childe would be a dead man. He could see the letter to his family: The 11th harbinger was killed by his boyfriend's son.
Before he could contemplate the dangers of cuddling an adeptus any longer, Zhongli's eyes slowly opened, and then he smiled warmly at the sight of his panicked lover holding the small yaksha in his arms.
And oh, what a sight. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen Zhongli smile like that before. Maybe this is what he felt was missing, this whole time. Maybe Zhongli just missed his… whatever.
Then Xiao woke up.
Childe was pretty sure his back would bruise ugly after being thrown off his own bed that harshly.
Xiao stared down at him from the bed, shoulders shaking while he breathed heavily. Zhongli shuffled on the bed, closing in behind Xiao and glancing down at him.
Childe simply nodded dumbly to show he was fine.
"Bǎobèi." Zhongli uttered softly, placing a hand on the adeptus' shoulder. Then, without prior warning, Xiao's eyes began to water.. slowly.. pressure mounting.. and a heartbreaking wail filled the room.
The small boy sobbed with no abandon, tears flowing freely down his cheeks and smearing his red eyeliner. Whimpering, he started desperately wiping his eyes with a fist, and Childe felt a little bad, as if he had any hand in the events of the past minute.
Zhongli frowned softly, and then moved to sit properly, leaning against the headboard of the bed. "Come here, bǎobèi."
The boy in question let out a choked sob and basically threw himself onto Zhongli, shoving his face into his chest and babbling mindlessly.
"So- wwy.." Childe managed to catch, and his heart tightened a little bit. Damn him and his soft spot for children.
Zhongli shushed him softly, and then looked down at Childe over his head and motioned for him to come closer. Slowly, almost robotic, Childe sat himself on the bed beside Zhongli, assuming the same position, with almost the same care he used when crossing by a horde of ruin hunters he didn't wish to wake.
"Psst." Zhongli started softly. The boy in his lap jumped, and then sniffled as he looked up to his caregiver in confusion.
"Apologize properly," He instructed, gesturing to Childe, who quickly froze in place. "To him."
Xiao whined, but against Childe's expectations, he turned to face him.
"'M sowwy." He mumbled, fiddling with the ornaments of his clothes. Childe came to the realization that they were probably really uncomfortable.
"It's alright, bud." He smiled, as assuring and comforting as he could, and made sure to close his eyes so the lack of light in them didn't scare the child.
Xiao whimpered again, and then, to throw Childe completely through a loop, reached out his arms towards him. Childe blinked, and Zhongli nudged him with his knee, offering the boy to him with a smile. His heart skipped a beat at the look in his eyes.
Carefully, as if handling something far more important than a gnosis, he took Xiao and gathered him in his lap, watching in awe as the adeptus cuddled into him.
"Gēge." The adeptus muttered for good measure. "Gēge nice."
And damn, Childe felt like he'd won the lottery, with the accomplishment those words made him feel.
He smiled softly, carefully raising his arms to cradle the small boy. Gently, he pet the back of the yaksha's head. He blinked a little when Xiao let out a pleased chirp at the contact.
Then, he shifted to look at Zhongli, and Childe watched as an adeptus made grabby hands at his boyfriend. Zhongli smiled. "Me too?"
Xiao nodded. His tears were subdued, and now he was, like every normal toddler, ready for a post-cry nap. "Bàba too."
Then, smile as bright as the sun itself, Zhongli shuffled closer to the both of them, wrapping his arms around both Childe and Xiao.
"Mmh." Xiao hummed happily. "Fami..ly?" He said the word as if it was an abstract thought, something he couldn't wrap his head around.
Without thinking, Childe answered. "Of course, we're family."
The resulting smile was so adorable Childe had to resist squishing his cheeks.
The boy settled down properly and slowly drifted back to sleep, and Childe turned to look at Zhongli, who was watching him as if he'd hung the stars in the sky. He found himself feeling a little flustered at the unmasked affection.
"Family?" Zhongli uttered softly, and Childe managed to nod with what hopefully looked like a resolute face. The brunette's smile somehow became warmer. "I love you, Ajax." He planted a soft kiss on his cheek, and Childe was sure he'd melt.
This was it. His little family.