Chapter Text
Childe watches, amused, as the oldest of his kits crawls on the floor toward Neuvillette, a mischievous glint in her amber eyes, which she inherited from Zhongli. She is still young and unsteady on her paws, but that doesn’t matter, because the Iudex is too focused on the documents he is studying for his next trial to notice her stealthy approach. Her brothers and sisters are all soundly napping on the Harbinger’s lap, but she has always been an adventurous one.
Just like her siblings, his daughter prefers her fox form over her human and dragon ones for now, which is not surprising, since it gives her more freedom of movement. She flattens her body completely, then pounces. Without difficulty, she lands on her target: her father’s scaly tail. She traps it against the ground, like she would a prey, then proceeds to scratch and bite at it playfully. That is more than enough to grab Neuvillette’s attention.
She yips when her father lifts her off the ground, sounding more delighted than upset. Childe can tell that Neuvillette intends to scold her for disturbing his work, but the thought slips his mind the second the tiny fox starts covering his cheek in affectionate licks, all while giving him her most innocent look.
Oh, she is a smart one for sure.
With a sigh, Neuvillette surrenders to her silent pleading.
“Alright, you can stay on my desk while I work, but only if you behave. Is that clear enough?”
She nods eagerly and the second he puts her down, she starts bouncing to show him her happiness, but she settles down as soon as Neuvillette sends her a severe look. She rolls up into a ball of red fluff and closes her eyes. The Iudex waits for a few seconds, and as soon as he thinks she is asleep, he goes back to his work.
Five minutes later, Childe catches her tearing apart with her little teeth what is undoubtedly a confidential document from the Court of Fontaine. She’s being so cautious about it that Neuvillette remains unaware of her misdeed.
To stop her rampage without interrupting Neuvillette in his work once more, he makes a small bubble of Hydro pop in front of her muzzle. It’s barely enough to wet her fur, but she still sends him an outraged look, as if he is the one at fault here. With a huff, she starts cleaning herself, but Childe has caused enough chaos in his life himself to know that she is, in fact, busy plotting her next misconduct.
Or at least, she is, until Zhongli walks into the room to bring Neuvillette a cup of coffee. She immediately puts on her best behavior, looking all angel-like as she patiently waits for him to notice how she’s waiting to be petted. The second he does so, she nuzzles his hand tenderly and presses into his touch. The sight of them together is so adorable that Childe almost forgets what she was up to just a minute prior.
However, as soon as Zhongli is gone, she starts messing with the paper clips on Neuvillette’s desk.
Oh, she is going to give them so much trouble once she grows up, he can already tell.