a house is not a home without you

                                    

                                          
It starts gradually, like the rising of the tide.
At first, they were gifts. Memories of Zhongli had infiltrated Childe's apartment. The vase on the table, the little dragon figurine on his dresser, the chopsticks displayed proudly on his shelf, even before he knew their meaning. Small things that Childe smiled at whenever he saw.
Then they were traces of the man himself. Little things he'd left behind: a tie on his nightstand Childe had made sure he 'forgot' so he'd have an excuse to make him come back, a second set of pajamas Childe originally bought for himself, but had come to be reserved for Zhongli, Zhongli's favorite tea in the pantry, a toothbrush in a glass beside his as he stayed over more nights than not.
Childe watches him each day as he opens his eyes from the side of the bed he has claimed as his own. They eat a breakfast made from ingredients they had bought together, and sit on chairs Zhongli had chosen.
Zhongli had seeped into every corner of his home, his heart, his life, and Childe couldn't be happier.
The day starts as any other. Childe wakes up next to Zhongli and looks at him as he rests. He'll tuck that lock of hair that always manages to fall across Zhongli's face behind his ear so it doesn't bother him when he wakes up. Zhongli always scrunches his face at the contact, and Childe's heart always squeezes as he sees it. 
"Happy birthday, Xiansheng," Childe greets today as the god sleepily opens his eyes.
Zhongli blinks a few times before a smile blossoms on his face. Childe's heart melts. Zhongli's the cutest when he's just woken up. It makes it even better that he's the only one that gets to see him like this. He kisses him between the eyebrows.
"Morning, love," he replies, his voice gravelly from sleep, before kissing him too.
A smile overflowing with pure adoration spreads across Childe's face. He tries to clamber out of bed. "You just wait here, Xiansheng. I'll bring breakfast to you."
He'd avoided getting up to make it beforehand, as Zhongli is always grumpier on days he doesn't wake up with Childe in his arms. But perhaps that had been a mistake. The dragon now holds on tightly to his waist, unwilling to let him go.
He buries his face in the crook of Childe's shoulder, his hair tickling his neck. The Harbinger only laughs.
"Come on, Zhongli! Don't you want to eat? I made sure to get something nice for you yesterday!"
"Later," Zhongli mumbles. Childe feels every vibration of it from how close his lips are to his neck. 
"Your heart is beating rather quickly," Zhongli points out with a mischievous grin on his face.
"Yea, well, you can't really blame me here, hm?"
"I suppose so," Zhongli retorts before meeting his lips with a big kiss.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
~~~
They get out of bed after some time has passed and many lazy kisses are shared. Childe makes his way to the kitchen, ready to get to work on preparing breakfast.
He hums a happy tune as he stirs congee in a pot, the warm smell of it filling the kitchen. It isn't long before a strong pair of arms snake around his waist.
"Miss me already?" he teases as Zhongli presses a kiss to his cheek.
"Not at all," Zhongli replies, which gets him elbowed in the ribs.
The god gives Childe a wounded look. "So cruel, and on my birthday too?" He buries his face into the nape of Childe's neck. "How could my beloved do such a thing?"