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The day began like any other at Bubu Pharmacy.
Baizhu woke at dawn, cuddled close to his husbands side, Changsheng stirring restlessly on her perch.
The pharmacist smiled, drinking in the sight of his husband sleeping serenely by his side. It had taken many long years to convince the ex-Archon to stay by his side with their daughter, but Baizhu would go through it all again without hesitation if it meant being able to wake up to this sight every morning.
Tentatively pushing himself up, Baizhu winced as he was hit by the expected wave of dizziness. Reaching over for his cane by the bedside, the pharmacist pushed himself upward and towards Changsheng, who was impatiently waiting for their day to begin.
“Today is not a good day,” she hissed, wrapping her warm body around the tall mans shoulders. “Will you tell him?”
Leaning heavily on his cane, Baizhu exited their bedroom and made his way through their small living room to the kitchen, keeping quiet to avoid waking the sleeping girl in the room down the hall.
Pulling out the ingredients needed for breakfast, he sighed. “I will tell him if it gets any worse. This is nothing I have not dealt with, my friend.”
“Your stubbornness will be the death of you, Baizhu,” Changsheng grumbled, burying her head in the hair on the nape of his neck.
Humming noncommittally, Baizhu focused his attention on their meal, Tyvat fried egg and chili-minced cornbread buns. A short while later, he was setting the table and pulling out a cool glass of coconut milk for Qiqi. Just as he was about to turn to wake the rest of his family, he was caught around the waist from behind by a strong pair of arms. The offender nuzzled their head against the top of Baizhu’s, placing a gentle kiss where his hair parted.
“A-Zhu, breakfast smells amazing, as always,” Zhongli praised, pulling back to spin the pharmacist in his arms.
“Oh, Li-ge, you flatter me,” the shorter man chuckled, reaching up to kiss his husband. “Will you wake Qiqi for me?”
“Of course, my love.” With a parting kiss, Zhongli detangled himself from their embrace to begin the slow process of waking their beloved daughter.
Baizhu smiled, moving to finish brewing their tea. His beloved Morax had been nothing less than a blessing in their lives; caring for Baizhu on his bad days, patiently walking Qiqi through things as she struggled to remember, gathering herbs and helping keep the pharmacy running smoothly when Gui was out sick and the father-daughter pair were unable to.
Just as the tea was finished brewing, Zhongli emerged from the room down the hall with a sleepy Qiqi in his arms.
Baizhu’s heart nearly melted out of his chest at the sight. Even after so many years, the sight of his husband with their daughter in his arms never failed to turn him into a soft mess.
Zhongli set her down in her seat, and Baizhu watched as she perked up instantly upon seeing the glass of coconut milk that was placed in front of her.
“Good morning Qiqi, did you sleep well?”
“Qiqi did, um…” Her little face scrunched up as she stared at him, her mind working to place him. “Qiqi slept well, um… Baizhu.”
A giddy smile broke out across his face. “Yes Qiqi! I’m Baizhu!” Stepping over to her side of the table, he leaned down to place a kiss against the top of her head. His head spun again as he righted himself, and he gripped the back of her chair to steady himself.
The little zombie girl smiled faintly, turning to look at Zhongli.
“Qiqi doesn’t remember your name…” she said, smile dimming slightly. “Bit Qiqi remembers you are nice and you take care of her.”
Zhongli knelt down next to her, that gentle smile of his warming his face, causing Baizhu to fall even deeper in love (if that was even possible).
“That is quite alright, Qiqi. My name is Zhongli. I’m married to Baizhu, we are your parents. Would you like to check your notebook?”
Zhongli moved to sit in the chair next to her, and the pair continued talking as they ate. Bringing over their tea, Baizhu settled himself on the other side of the table from the pair. They spend the morning together eating breakfast as usual, and Baizhu took a moment to appreciate that he got to have this. His own little, perfect, family.
“Qiqi my dear, could you go to the pavilion to collect glaze lilies and silk flowers for me? Nothing too far away, darling, I want you close by today.”
The little girl nodded, jumping down from her chair. Foregoing bringing her dishes to the sink, she made a beeline for her basket and rushed out the door before either man could call her back.
Baizhu laughed, watching the door swing shut behind her. “That was on me, I wasn’t specific about when she should go.”
Zhongli shook his head, chuckling fondly. “Don’t worry, I will take care of the dishes. Gui will be here soon, I know you wanted to get a new batch of herbs up to dry before the pharmacy opens.”
The pharmacist smiled, leaning back in his chair to meet his husband in a gentle kiss.
“Thank you darling, you are a godsend.” He pulled back with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll be in the back room, call if you need anything. Make sure to say goodbye before you leave for the funeral parlor.”
“I will. Remember your pills, my love,” the ex-Archon called after him.
Baizhu limped down the hall to the door that connected their apartment to the pharmacy, still leaning heavily on his cane. Changsheng shifted on his shoulders, moving down to warp her tail around his arm.
“Baizhu, you need to sit down and take your medicine,” she hissed, squeezing his arm.
The pharmacist shook his head, entering the storage room tucked behind the front desk of the pharmacy. “I will soon, I want to finish this first.”
His companion hissed with frustration, fed up with his stubbornness. Readjusting herself once more, she moved further down so her body was wrapped around his arm, stabilizing his wrist and keeping a close eye on his pulse.
Baizhu set about his task of sorting herbs, wrapping the stems of the violet grass that Gui had gathered for him yesterday so that they could be hung up to dry properly.
Just as he finished wrapping the last bundle, the herbalist himself opened the large front doors to the pharmacy, letting the sunlight stream in.
Before he could move to greet him, Baizhu was interrupted by a tight squeeze of his wrist.
“Good, Gui is here. Now you can sit down.” Changsheng glared meaningfully up at him.
“Changsheng…” Baizhu sighed, reaching for his cane. Turning to his friend, he smiled. “Hello Gui! Has Chuyi been well?” He quickly gripped the counter to stabilize himself, overcome by an unexpected wave of dizziness.
Gui smiled, lifting his bag from his shoulder. “She has. The tea house has been rather busy with Lantern Rite coming up, but she says she enjoys seeing the tourists.”
Baizhu nodded, doing his best to ignore the tingling pressure that was building at the back of his head. He blinked slowly, the edges of his vision becoming blurry.
“Baizhu?” Gui was in front of him now, face worried. “Is Zhongli still here? Should I get him?”
“No—“ the pharmacist was cut off by his knees giving out beneath him, his body tumbling to the floor. He felt his breathing hitch, and he knew what was coming next.
In a flash, Changsheng was peeling herself away from his body, making a beeline for the door to the apartment which had been left slightly ajar.
“Baizhu!”
He could faintly hear Gui calling out for him as the herbalist rushed to elevate his head, ripping off his outer robe to create a cushion against the ground.
All at once, his body began to seize, muscles tensing and trembling as he lost control of his motor functions. He could hear the sound of Gui’s voice, paired with another, familiar, voice, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. All he could register were warm hands on his body as the tremors eventually began to subside.
When he felt his body begin to still, he felt someone moving him to lay on his side and was struck with the sudden realization that his head was now resting on someone’s lap.
The pharmacist groaned, turning to bury his face deeper into the leg he was resting on.
“My love, are you with me?” a gentle voice asked, long fingers coming up to stroke his cheek. “The seizure only lasted for about a minute.”
Baizhu groaned again, turning his head to latch his hazy gaze onto his husbands worried face.
“Li-ge…”he murmured, reaching a shaky hand up to clumsily pat his face.
“That’s it dearest, I’m right here.”
Absently, Baizhu realized that the doors to the pharmacy which were usually flung open to allow customers in were shut tight and all the blinds around the room were drawn.
“Look at me, my love,” Zhongli requested softly, those gentle fingers turning Baizhu’s head to look up at the beautiful man above him.
The pharmacist hummed, lifting his hand again to grip Zhongli’s wrist.
“Can you tell me where you are?”
Baizhu blinked slowly, gathering his thoughts. “Bubu… Bubu Pharmacy.”
“Good,” the ex-Archon praised, running his fingers through the shorter mans messy hair. “Where do I work?”
“The funereal parlor. The… the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.”
“Good, you’re doing amazing, my love. Can you tell me our daughters name and her favorite food?”
Baizhu chuckled, slowly relaxing against his husbands lap. He breathed deeply, doing his best to collect the scattered words in his mind. “Qiqi, and she— she loves coconut milk. She be— believes it comes from the… the mysterious adptibeast, the Cocogoat.”
A soft kiss was placed against his forehead. “Wonderful, my love. How are you feeling?”
Now that he was more coherent, Baizhu could see that Gui was standing across the room, readying a glass of tea for him, and Changsheng was resting on the front counter, glaring down at him as best as she could.
“What did I tell you?” she hissed, wrapping her body tighter around herself.
“I… I’m—“ He took a deep breath, willing the words to cooperate with his seizure-addled brain. “I’m sorry… a-Sheng.”
Zhongli shushed him, gently brushing back his bangs. “Take it easy, a-Zhu, she was just worried about you.”
“You should rest today, Baizhu. I can handle running the pharmacy by myself until Qiqi comes back from gathering herbs.”
“But—“
“And I’ve already had one of the children who play at the pavilion send a message to Hu Tao telling her that I won’t be in today,” Zhongli cut him off, gazing at him knowingly.
Baizhu sighed, knowing this was a battle that he was never going to win. He allowed Zhongli to pick him up in a bridal carry and carry him back through the door into their apartment. Pushing the door to their bedroom open with his hip, he gently deposited the pharmacist onto their bed.
“Rest,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Baizhu’s forehead. “I will be back in just a moment.”
Minutes later, his husband returned with his cane, the tea that Gui had prepared, and Changsheng wrapped around his shoulders. Depositing the tea and cane at their bedside, he quickly returned the snake to her perch near the window.
As he helped Baizhu change from his day clothes back into simple nightwear, Zhongli began to hum softly. The pharmacist closed his eyes, leaning into his husbands chest and allowing the vibrations to run through his body.
When they were both properly dressed, Zhongli slipped into bed by his side once more, gently propping him up against the pillows.
“Let’s get your medicine in you, then we can relax all day. How does that sound?”
Baizhu hummed, reaching over to the bedside table to grab the tea as Zhongli passed him his assortment of pills. “Read to me?”
Zhongli smiled, tucking a stray hair behind Baishu’s ear. “Of course, my love.”