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“Mr. Zhongli! Sorry I’m late!”
“Good evening, Childe,” Zhongli says, greeting with Childe with a warm affectionate smile at their usual table at Wanmin Restaurant. “I already ordered for us. I hope you don’t mind the Jueyun Chili Chicken and the Mint Salad.”
“I quite enjoy those dishes, Mr.Zhongli! Actually, everything at Wanmin is absolutely delectable!” Childe enthusiastically declared.
Minutes later Xiangling came by with their order. “Jueyun Chili Chicken and the Mint Salad for my favorite couple!” She shouted. The patrons of the restaurant turned their haid towards them.
“SHH! SHHHH!! Xiangling! Not so loud about that….”
“Why?You and Mr.Zhongli are so cute together!”
“It’s just that…” Childe quickly glanced to the left then to the right. He locked eyes with a disapproving patron for a quick moment then glanced down at the food. “Nevermind…Thank you for the food Xiangling. It’s amazing as always!” Childe gave a big smile. Xiangling and Zhongli looked at eachother. It was obvious Childe was trying to hide something.
Not wanting to ruin their dinner date, Xiangling decided not to ask any questions…for the time being. “Enjoy the meal! Please let me know if you’d like anything else!” She walked a few tables down to tend to other patrons.
After finishing their meal, Childe glanced down to his pocket. Before grabbing his wallet, Zhongli gently grabbed his wrist. “I got it this time, my love.”
“Oh? You’ve been spoiling me ever since I came back to Liyue. I thought I was your ‘wallet’,” Childe said jokingly.
Zhongli placed the money on the table and walked over to Childe. He caressed his face and told him, “I have learned from my mistakes. I was not a gentleman back then. I want to spoil my precious lover. I definitely cannot have him leaving me again.” Childe got flustered and missed the possessive look in Zhongli’s eyes.
Zhongli tried to go in for a kiss, but Childe blocked his lips with his right hand. “Not here Mr.Zhongli…people are watching.”
The older man sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you, my love? Please drop the mister. We are lovers, are we not?”
“W-we are but—” Suddenly Childe’s vision became blurred. The feel of nausea came over him. He clasped his hands over his mouth to stop his dinner from coming back up. Childe gently rested his forehead on Zhongli’s chest.
“Childe? Are you alright? I’m sorry…I did not mean to agitate you.”
“I’m fine…let’s…let’s just go”
—
“My love, are you sure you do not wish to hold on to me? You look like you could barely stand. Actually…why don’t I carry you?”
“I’m fine Mr.Zhongli. We’re almost back at my apartment.”
“We could have just stopped at mine. It’s a lot closer.” Zhongli brought his lips to Childe’s ear, and whispered, “But then again, it’s been a while since we slept in your bed.”
Their destination was reached at that moment. Childe opened his door and turned towards Zhongli.
“When did I say you could stay over?” Childe said venomously. Zhongli looked taken aback by his lover’s attitude. Childe realized this and felt a bit guilty. “I’m sorry…I think I’m having an off day and not to mention feeling a bit under the weather. I kind of want to be alone.” The redhead cupped the older man’s cheek and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “I’ll come to you when I feel better. I’ll see you soon.”
Zhongli felt a bit uneasy, like his lover was going to go away again. However, he shook the feeling off. After the Osial incident, Childe lost all his trust in Zhongli. It took so much time, healing, and communication to get to the point they were at now. Zhongli decided to trust his lover.
“Ok…see you soon. I love you.”
Childe gently closed the door and locked it. He roamed into the kitchen to take some medicine with water to help his nausea. He then tossed his body onto his bed without bothering to change. Oh how we wished for his older lover to be there right next to him, holding him tightly in his arms. When his lover left, it took so much of his self control not to open the door to call out to him.
To rid his loneliness, he tried his best to drift to sleep. Thankfully his medicine helped a lot with that. Moments later, Childe found himself in a slumber, dreaming of happy moments with his older lover.
—
The next morning, Childe was awoken by another wave of nausea, worse than the night before. Unlike yesterday, he could not hold it in. He attempted to walk to the toilet, but his body felt like it was weighed down by tons of bricks. After emptying out his stomach, the redhead slowly made it back to his bed.He tried to go back to sleep, but the nausea wouldn’t go away and now his head felt like it was being split in two. He knew he should have breakfast, but his exhaustion prevented him from moving an inch. He was like a ragdoll. He decided to call Northland bank to let them know he wouldn’t be coming in for a few days.
He really wanted to call Zhongli over, but he couldn’t burden him like that. It was also a time where many people were out. He saw the look of disapproval the Liyuen people gave him. He knew they had a reason to hate him. Afterall, he almost caused the destruction of their home. He didn’t want to burden his lover with that too.
After a few hours of trying to rest, Childe’s nausea and exhaustion became worse. He decided he would try to make the short trip to Bubu Pharmacy. He’d taken on giant monsters and gods. He wouldn’t let himself be defeated by his own body.
—
“So what brings you in today, Mr.Harbinger?” Baizhu said happily.
“I thought I might have gotten food poisoning last night, but it’s gotten extremely worse throughout the day. I can barely function” Childe proceeded to tell Baizhu in detail about his struggles earlier that morning.
“Hmmm…I see…Let’s run a few tests. After I finish, I suggest staying at least a night here so I can observe you. From what I can see now, it’s definitely not just food poisoning.”
After testing Baizhu had Qiqi escort Childe to a room where he could rest. The medication he was given put him right to sleep.
Hours later, Childe awoke from his slumber. He could smell something amazing coming from the corner of the room.
“Good morning Mr.Harbinger. I brought you breakfast.” Baizhu handed him lotus seed and bird egg soup. Childe was practically drooling. He didn’t realize how hungry he was. He took the bowl without hesitation. Baizhu smiled.
“I’m glad to see you have your appetite back. I also come bearing good news!” Childe nodded his head signaling Baizhu to continue while he inhaled his breakfast. “It turns out you have no life threatening illness. Actually, you are not ill at all!” Childe gave Baizhu a confused look.
“Congratulations! You’re 6 weeks pregnant! With 2 eggs! Twins!”
“Pregnant? Eggs?! That doesn’t make sense, I’m a man! And a human at that! I’ve never heard of a human laying eggs.”
“That is indeed true, but I sensed extremely powerful adeptal energy coming from you, and after reviewing your test results, it seems like your body may have changed a bit due to the energy.”
Childe felt chills. “P-please don’t tell anyone. Even if they ask about me.”
“Of course I wouldn’t. All of this is confidential. Take your time and get more rest. You are cleared to go home, but feel free to stay as long as you need to.”
“Thank you. I feel fine, so I’ll get going. Thank you doctor.”
—
As he laid in his bed, Childe was deep in his thoughts.
He loved children and it was a blessing to actually bear children of his own, but he couldn’t burden Zhongli. He knew the funeral consultant was a very liked man in Liyue. Because of Childe, people were starting to keep their distance from him. He noticed less people going to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor for services when he started dating Zhongli. He loved the man, but he knew Zhongli wanted an easy and peaceful life after retiring as the Archon.
At that moment Childe decided he would prepare to leave once again, but where would he go? He would love to go back home to Snezhnaya, but if his child had strong dragon traits like Zhongli, it wouldn’t be the best place to go because of the extreme cold. Maybe he’d go back to Fontaine. The weather was nice, the air was clear, and he knew of another dragon there he could get advice from.
It was settled. He would start his preparations in the morning.
—
The next two weeks were difficult for Childe. Not only was he dealing with paperwork and morning sickness, but also avoiding Zhongli. His heart ached, but he knew this had to be done.
One morning after leaving the vegetable stand with groceries in hand, Childe became lightheaded. His vision turned white and he heard a loud ringing in his ears. He felt himself falling over. He prepared to feel the pain of hitting the ground facefirst, but the impact never happened. Slowly his vision came back.
“Childe! Childe! Can you hear me? Please say something! Childe!”
When he came to he saw a panicked look from the most beautiful and handsome being he ever laid eyes upon.
“Z-Zhongli?”
Zhongli gave a sigh of relief, brought Childe’s body closer to his chest and hugged him tightly. “Please don’t scare me like that again.”
Childe let himself relax for a few moments until realizing they were in a public setting. He gently pushed Zhongli away and looked behind him to avoid his gaze. He noticed the locals staring at them and whispering. Childe quickly got up, picked up his bags and tried to escape. Before he could go anywhere, he felt a tight grip around his wrist.
“Let go,” the redhead said without looking back at Zhongli.
“No.I can’t let you slip away from me again. Do you know how hard it was to finally get a hold of you? I thought we were lovers, Childe!” the older man shouted. “Tell me, why have you been avoiding me?”
Childe still refused to make eye contact. “Do we have to do this here?”
“Yes! I finally have you in my grasp, Childe. I can’t let you slip away again!” Zhongli took a deep breath to attempt to regain his composure. “I’m sorry for yelling.” He loosened his tight grip around his wrist, but still held it firm enough so his lover would not escape. “Are you worried about what people think about us or is it the pregnancy? Both?”
Childe froze. “H-how did you know?”
Zhongli’s expressions softened. He cupped Childe’s cheek with his hand and looked at him lovingly. “My love, of course I’d know.” He gently put his hand over Childe’s belly bump. It was hidden by his Fatui coat. “The Geo energy radiating from you is very strong. Of course it wouldn’t go unnoticed by adepti.”
“When did you notice?”
“About a day or two after you started avoiding me.”
Childe could feel his eyes getting warm. He tried to not let his tears fall, but he couldn’t stop them. He buried his face in his lover’s warm chest. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry! But…I don’t think it’s right for us to be together. I’m a Fatuus and I literally attempted to destroy Liyue! People here…they hate me and they all love you! They want what’s best for you…because of me, people are saying disgusting things about you…because of me…Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is losing business…because of me—” Zhongli cut him off with a passionate kiss.
Childe tried to break the kiss, but Zhongli would not let go. Finally he broke the kiss after what felt like minutes. Before Childe could say anything, Zhongli shouted to the crowd.
“People of Liyue! Listen well! Today is a joyous day!”
“Zhongli, what are you–”
Zhongli wouldn’t let Childe continue. “Today my beautiful lover has told me he is bearing my children! I cannot wait to raise a family with the one I love most, in a place where they’ll be accepted and treated as equals.” Zhongli surveyed the crowd. Anyone who looked into Zhongli’s eyes were struck with fear. Nervous cheering could be heard.
Zhongli smiled and got down on one knee. Childe brought his hands over his mouth and gasped.
“My Love…will you be with me for the rest of your life? I am not the most perfect man, but I will do my best to make you and our children happy. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of us. What matters is just…us.” Tears started falling down Childe’s face.
“Childe, will you marry me?” He pulled out a ring covered with Prithiva Topaz gemstones.
Childe threw himself at his older lover and cried into his chest. “Yes…yes! I do!” Zhongli went in for another passionate kiss. Genuine cheers of happiness could be heard in the crowd around them.
“Let’s go home, Childe.” The redhead nodded.
—
Once they reached Zhongli’s home, the rest of the day was spent passionately lovemaking.
It was close to the next day when they finished. After cleaning up his lover, Zhongli kissed the pulsing Geo symbol on Childe’s abdomen. He then lied down next to him and pulled him into a gentle embrace. Childe, still asleep, nuzzled his face into the crook of Zhongli’s neck. Bliss…pure bliss, the older man thought to himself.
He moved a bit so he could gaze at his pretty little lover’s face. Zhongli gave a gentle smile for a moment, but then his expression turned dark. His smile became more of a grin. He chuckled to himself.
“Perfect, just perfect…I had no idea if it would actually work, but it did. Who knew transferring adeptal energy into a human body through fluids would change a human’s internal anatomy” Zhongli gently rubbed Childe’s belly. “You did well, my love. Taking in my seed, adapting to the new womb that grew inside you. I cannot wait to fill you up with many more eggs in the future. You can never leave me. Even if you try to run away, I will always find you as long as you are marked.”
Zhongli felt himself grow hard again. It took every ounce of him to not lose control. His lover passed out multiple times throughout the day from the passion. He was sure he’d have trouble moving in the morning. He also did not want to wear him out due to the pregnancy. He gave the redhead a gentle kiss on the forehead.
“Good night my love.”
—
Childe had never been happier. The morning after their passionate love making, Childe communicated all of his insecurities to Zhongli. He patiently listened and comforted him. For the first time in a long while, he felt most of his insecurities wash away. Oh how in love he was with this man. He made sure to cancel his plans to go to Fontaine immediately.
Every day started getting a little better for him. People seemed more accepting, and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour started getting more business. Zhongli assured him that there are a few slow seasons throughout the year and he didn’t need to worry about how his work was doing. He told him to focus on staying happy and healthy so he could safely birth their eggs.
Little did Childe know, most Wangsheng “clients” were people who may or may not have said or attempted to do disgusting things to his pretty little lover. Zhongli definitely wouldn’t “bring back” Morax to destroy Liyue harbor if all of Liyue decided to go against his new family. Definitely not! He was only but a humble funeral consultant, looking forward to his exciting future with the love of his life. Certainly none of this was according to a plan.
End.