“Here. Come in! Come in!” Childe opened the front door for the two. Paimon excitedly floating in and Aether eyeing Childe suspiciously before walking in. As Aether made his way into the abode, he couldn’t help but gawk at how large it looked on the inside. From the outside, it looked pretty small. Money can sure buy you anything.
Aether failed to hear the ‘click’ of Childe locking the front door.
“Wow! Childe! You and Mr. Zhongli’s house is soooooo big! Paimon thinks it’s probably bigger than our home in Traveler’s teapot!” Paimon enthusiastically stared at each object displayed.
Aether observed Childe, waiting for what he was going to do next.
“The food’s this way.” Childe motioned for the two to follow him into the next room.
Childe brought them into the kitchen where there was a platter, with a metal cover over it.
Childe removed the metal cover to reveal a plate of Jueyun Chili Chicken. He put the cover aside and went to grab utensils for the Traveler and Paimon.
“Wow! It smells soooooo good!” Paimon exclaimed. Aether swore he saw her drooling.
Childe handed each of them a fork.
“No chopsticks?” Aether teased, a playful smirk taking over his face.
Childe faked being offended, “That’s not fair Traveler. I’m still working on it!” Childe took out the pair of chopsticks Zhongli had gifted him. It wasn’t really a gift over the fact that Zhongli bought it with 128,000 of Childe’s own mora, but a gift nonetheless.
Paimon began digging in. Shoving as much food into her mouth at once. Leaving Aether astonished of how quickly she finished it. Maybe he should’ve left her in that river after all…
Childe looked at her expectantly. “Well? How’d it taste?”
Paimon gulped the last of the chicken down. “Paimon thinks it tastes really good, but-- it’s not as good as Xiangling’s. She makes the best Jueyun Chili Chicken! You could ask her some tips on Liyue Cuisine.”
Childe nodded as Paimon kept rambling about how amazing at cooking Xiangling was. I mean- she’s a world renowned chef. Of course she’d have experience at these types of things.
“Is that all you made?” Aether interrupted Paimon’s ramblings.
“Oh, yeah. Thanks for taste-testing it for me.”
“We’ll be taking our leave now.”
Paimon let out an obnoxiously loud yawn, “Paimon got so sleepy all of a sudden.” She lolled around until her head found its way onto Aether’s shoulder.
Childe peered outside the window. “It’s getting pretty late, how would you guys like to spend the night? Zhongli should be home pretty soon…” The ginger stared at a wall clock. Zhongli was late again.
Paimon was fast asleep. Aether sighed. He didn’t want to risk sleeping in his teapot again after some old lady accidentally poured hot chamomile tea in it. How did that happen? Aether left his teapot on a table and well-- yeah.
Aether felt safer knowing Zhongli was going to come back any moment. He reluctantly accepted Childe’s request to sleep over.
Childe lead Aether into a guest room, pulled a soft futon out of a storage closet, laid it out for the wandering travelers, and then left so he could wait up for Zhongli. Before he left, he wished the two ‘good night’.
Aether let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He gently put Paimon inside the futon. He removed his tall boots and unbraided his long, blond hair before slipping into the spot next to Paimon. As he started to drift off he smelled the flowery scent of lavender. And before he knew it, he was out like a light.
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Our Little Aether | A Dark ZhongChi Fic | COMPLETED ☑
ActionIn this world, Childe and Zhongli are married. Their lives are pretty much fulfilled, but they still feel as if they're missing something. Something very important. On days when Zhongli has to leave for work, their house is left empty. Childe finds...
