Archive of Our Own ^beta

Tonight, their son, Sevrin, had gone for a sleepover birthday party next door, leaving his parents a rare moment of privacy. Zhongli sat on the edge of their bed, his long hair undone and cascading down his back. He was brushing through the strands slowly, a nightly ritual made unhurried by the absence of their son. Childe leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching with a fond expression.

“You look beautiful,” Childe mumbled. 

Zhongli smiled, looking at his husband through his lashes, whispering back, “Thank you,”

“You know… Sevrin isn't around… we are alone…” Childe started. Zhongli immediately knew where this conversation was going. He let out a smile but said nothing. Childe approached closer, took a small amount of Zhongli’s hair, and kissed it.

“I miss you, Lyubimy,”

“I miss you too,” Zhongli truthfully said. They hadn't been able to do it since they couldn't risk Sevrin hearing them. The last time was perhaps a month ago, when they stayed in a hotel and Sevrin had his own room, so Zhongli shared the longing Childe was feeling.

Childe sat on the bed, wrapping his hands around Zhongli’s mid from behind and resting his chin on his husband’s shoulder.  Pleadingly he asked, “I want you… Can we do it?”

Zhongli hummed as if he as giving it a thought. “Hmm… I don’t know,”

“We can do something else if you aren’t in the mood…” Childe said, a little pouty, but he had no intention to push any further. Zhongli chuckled.

“No no, I do want to. I miss you too, but…”

“But?” Childe waited, expectant.

Zhongli smirked, “Can you be… rough ?”

Childe grinned in amusement, “Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe?” Zhongli replied. Childe leaned in closer, kissing Zhongli’s lips roughly, hungrily. A firm promise of a good night. Zhongli loved it already.

Childe broke the kiss, he bit Zhongli's ear and whispered, “Oh… Zhongli, my xiānshēng… I promise you… you'll be begging ,” then Zhongli was thrown into the bed.

🔸🔹🔸🔹

It began with a creak of the floorboard and a sound Sevrin couldn’t quite place.

He should have been asleep with his friends next door, but he forgot to bring his beloved Plushie of little Exuvia, and he was worried the poor dragon would be lonely without him, so he decided to sneak into his own home to retrieve the plush baby dragon. But then—

"Ah—Ajax… p-please…."

Papa?

Sevrin froze.

That was definitely his Papa’s voice. Except it didn’t sound like his usual calm, composed voice. This one was strained, breathy. He sounded like he was in pain.

Then a slap. Another slap. Then another louder one, and followed with another soft, breathless whine that made the little boy’s stomach twist.

Was his Daddy hitting his Papa?! 

There was a cloud of betrayal and anger swarming in him.

Without thinking, Sevrin rushed to the door and tried to fling it open, but it was locked. So he banged on the door, yelling, “Papa?! Are you okay!?”

Inside, in a tangle of sheets and limbs, Zhongli and Childe froze like two startled deer. The door banging continued, only after a full second the both of them let go of each other. Childe hurriedly got off the bed, too hurriedly that he tripped. Zhongli quickly put on any shirt nearby while Childe put on his pants back, before hurriedly approaching the door and opening it.

“S-sevrin, why are–” Childe hadn't even finished asking when the boy already ran inside, in a hurry to see his Papa. To his horror, his Papa was tearing up. The regal, always calm papa was tearing up. His eyes felt wet. He hated seeing his Papa cry.

“S-sevrin,” Zhongli began, voice a touch higher than usual. “wh-what’s wrong, my dear?”

“I came to take my plushie and– and I heard you– and and–- papa, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did Daddy hurt you?” Sevrin said, half sobbing. He reached his tiny hands to Zhongli's cheek, wiping away the small tear from his eye.

Childe stood mortified, still by the door. Zhongli, equally mortified, tried to say, “A-Yu, no no no, it’s not–”

However Sevrin didn't listen, instead, he looked at his daddy, all angry and resentful. Because how dare he hurt his precious Papa?! The boy ran to the traitor and stared at him angrily.

“I heard it! You were slapping papa!” Sevrin rounded on him with a glare that could rival a Harbinger. “You made Papa cry! You hurt him!”

“I didn’t—!” Childe sighed. He didn't know if he should be grateful that Sevrin didn't see any of it and get to keep his innocence or if he should be frustrated because his son thought he committed domestic violence, which he didn’t! He swore he didn’t! Not anything non-consensual, at least! 

Zhongli buried his face in one hand and sighed. "Yushan, my dear, it was… a misunderstanding,"

But Sevrin wasn’t having it. “Papa don't defend him!”

The boy shook his head and sighed as if he were disappointed. “I heard from Auntie Xianyun, when you're in love, you become stupid. Papa loved Daddy too much! You mustn't defend people who hurt you, Papa!”

Zhongli blinked. First of all, his son just indirectly called him stupid. And second, he just got scolded by a 7-year-old. He didn't even know whether he should laugh or cry.

Sevrin then turned his head to Childe, “And you! You are not allowed to be near Papa! Get out!”

And so, for the rest of the night, Childe was locked outside the room and Sevrin stuck to Zhongli’s side like glue. 

🔹🔸🔹🔸

Unfortunately, it continued until the next morning. Sevrin wouldn't left Zhongli's side. He held his papa’s hand, fetched his tea, and shot suspicious looks at Childe every time he so much as entered the same room.

At one point, Childe leaned over the sofa to try to kiss Zhongli on the cheek, only to have Sevrin wedge himself between them like a little wall.

“No kissing,” Sevrin declared. “You hurt him,”

“I really didn’t, Sev. I swear,”

“He was crying! You made him cry!”

Zhongli was visibly stressed out, so much so that his eyes glowed a little. Meanwhile, Childe looked like he had aged ten years in five seconds. 

“Look, Sevushka, my dear, my sunshine, I didn't do anything papa didn't want. Besides, papa is a strong dragon, I'm just a human, if he truly was hurting, he could have turned me into ashes if he so wished,” Childe said, it was just a fact. They had been raising Sevrin to be reasonable and to think critically, so Childe hoped this chain of logic would helped his case. The boy tried to think about it and he concluded that it was logical, but he was still skeptical.

“Sure… but you might be manipulating him… you're good at that!” Sevrin argued back, and Childe blinked in shock. Zhongli sighed, and stress radiated through his breath.

“Sevrin, think about it! If anyone is manipulating anyone, surely it's not the human manipulating the god!” Childe said, although in any other situation he would say that was completely possible. “As a matter of fact! He manipulated me before and I'm so helplessly in love with him, I forgive him the moment I saw his sad face,” Childe continued. Sevrin squinted his eyes, he had heard the story from many sources and it seemed like his daddy was telling the truth.

“Please… my beloved son, I miss your Papa so much, please let me hug him,” Childe pleaded, making grabby hands towards Zhongli. Sevrin seemed to be considering it, he looked at his Papa, making sure he was okay with this.

“I really miss him too, A-Yu,” Zhongli quietly said, hesitantly looking at Sevrin while reaching for Childe’s hand. Sevrin looked at Zhongli, held his hand and then looked at Childe again.

“Okay,” Sevrin said and Childe was about to hug Zhongli, Sevrin once again interrupted.

“But! You have to explain what you did to Papa and why did he cry!” Sevrin said. Once again, Zhongli buried his face in his hands and Childe was struggling for his dear life. They looked at each other, sharing the same trouble of how to explain this to their innocent child.

It was Childe who tried first, saying, “Okay… Listen… When two people –or maybe more– love each other, they…” Childe paused, confused on how to choose his wordings. Lucky for him, his husband picked it up from there.

“They get married,”

“Like you and daddy?” Sevrin confirmed.

“Yes. And when people who loved each other are married, they have… special ways to convey their love,” Zhongli continued. Childe raised his eyebrow at that. They were bonking long before they got married but well, he knew better to comment on that.

“How?” The boy asked.

“It is for you to know when you are married. It is a special way after all,” Zhongli replied, and thankfully the boy seemed to accept this explanation.

“But why did it make you cry?” He asked again, this time Zhongli was lost for words and Childe took it over for him.

“Cry doesn't mean hurting or sad, Sevka. It could be from happiness or other things, too. I was expressing my love too aggressively Papa was moved to tears. I swear it isn't anything that hurts him. I was holding him tightly, that’s all. He isn't hurting. You know I hate it when Papa is hurting too, right?” Childe explained.

Sevrin looked at them with a long, thoughtful pause. His Daddy did seem to hate it when his Papa was as much as uncomfortable. For example, Daddy would always give his jacket to Papa whenever the wind was too chilly for their night walks. Sevrin started to think that maybe his Daddy was telling the truth, Papa was just too happy because the hug was so tight.

“…So you were like… cuddling really really hard?” the boy quietly asked, seemingly not too sure yet.

Zhongli made a strangled noise, but nodded.

“…Yes,” Zhongli said, voice calm, albeit a little exasperated. “That is a… …. Sufficient summary,”

Sevrin squinted. “But why was Papa begging?”

Childe, almost instantly, said, “Because I’m amazing.”

Zhongli nudged him with a stone pillar.

“I mean—I mean because I was cuddling him too aggressively, it was a little hard for him to move, he was just begging me to let go for a bit,” Childe reasoned. Sevrin didn’t look convinced, he turned his head to Zhongli.

“Is it really so, Papa?” The boy asked, eyes still looking worried. Zhongli’s smile softened, and he nodded. 

“I still don't understand why you have to do it aggressively, you can just cuddle normally! But if that's how grown-ups do it… then I can compromise,” Sevrin said, nodding to himself. He kissed his Papa’s cheek before looking back at Childe.

“I’ll let Daddy be close with Papa again. BUT! Don't cuddle him too aggressively again! I hate it when Papa is crying, Papa should be smiling!” Sevrin warned. Childe made a Fatui salute and bowed in thanks.

“Yes, Sir. I will treat him well!” Childe promised, although in Zhongli's opinion he had been treating him so well all this time.

“You will treat him the best,” Sevrin acted prideful, Childe gladly went along with it.

“Yes, of course! I’ll treat him like he’s an emperor,”

“Good!” Sevrin said, satisfied with the promise. He hopped out of the chair he was sitting on. All the talk made him thristy a little, and maybe he was in the mood for cookies he knew Papa kept in a jar on the kitchen.

“Now that's over, I want a snack! Can I have cookies, Papa?” he asked. 

Zhongli normally would say no since it's almost dinner time, but this has been stressful, so without thinking much, he nodded and said, “Of course. Have it moderately,”

As Sevrin hopped down towards the kitchen, he said, “Papa and Daddy should have their aggressive cuddles moderately too!”

Childe choked on air, Zhongli felt his head was so heavy it needed his hands to support it.

Once Sevrin was out of their sight, Childe looked at Zhongli, unsurely asked, “Do you think we handled that well?”

Zhongli sighed, pitching the bridge of his nose, “At the very least, we did not traumatize him,”

Childe nodded in agreement. Oh how horrifying would it be if the door wasn't locked that night.

“Yeah, thank Geo Archon for locking the door,” Childe sighed out. 

“Let's not aggressively cuddle when our child is 2 minutes away from barging in again,” Zhongli exasperatedly stated. He looked more stressed than amused, despite the whole situation with Sevrin having been resolved. His robes were straightened, hair neatened, and yet there was still a faint tension in the way he sat, like he was waiting for the door to creak open again.

“Agree,” Childe said quickly, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. “He's so overprotective towards his Papa. I’m so proud of him, you know.”

“He surely inherited that from his dad,”

“Me? What do you mean? I’m not overprotective,” Childe titled his head densely. Zhongli chuckled and shook his head.

“Is that so?” Zhongli raised an elegant brow. “I’m glad you said that, because I’m going to the Chasm alone tomorrow. There's this—”

“Alone? Absolutely not. I’m coming wit—”

“See?” Zhongli tilted his head with a knowing look.

Childe paused, then grinned sheepishly. “Okay, maybe I am a little too protective over you, but that’s only because I love you too much,”

Zhongli chuckled at that, warm and amused, but the sound trailed off into a quiet sigh. It wasn't like him to let worry linger, but since yesterday, something clung to him like a shadow behind a curtain.

Childe noticed. He always did. “Hey… you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Zhongli said automatically, then softened. But the unease remained, like a ripple in calm waters that refused to still.

Childe approached his husband, hugged him from behind, then kissed his cheek tenderly. Zhongli might just be exhausted, but he couldn't help but to worry if it had something to do with the happening last night. Last night had been a shock, they had ended it in panic while they were in the middle of intense love making. Then they had to quickly change to parent mode, which made him hadn't had the change to give Zhongli a proper care. Normally, Zhongli needed a lot of cuddles and care after such an intense session, he would be lying if he didn't worry about Zhongli's state of mind.

“We ended abruptly when it was quite intense, I didn’t get to look after you… I heard ending intense ones without after care might cause anxiety,”

Zhongli paused. Now that Childe had mentioned it, he might be right. He might have felt a little anxious, perhaps emotionally imbalanced, but otherwise, he was alright.

“I think I'm fine… But I would appreciate a hug…” Zhongli said, Childe happily complied, hugging him close and kissing him gently.

“I'll spoil you, love,” Childe promised.

Zhongli melted into his hug.

🔸🔹🔸🔹

A few minutes later, Sevrin, cookie in mouth, took a peek of his parents in the living room. He couldn't help but giggle when he saw his Papa cuddled up in his Daddy’s hug, both asleep and looking peaceful.

He took a sheet from the drawer and covered his parents with it, tugging them into the blanket.

He smiled, whispering, 

“See? Why do it aggressively when you can do it like this!”

🔹🔸END🔹🔸