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Ajax was woken up by the sun rays peeking through the curtains, blinding him. Slowly, he tried to move his hand so he could cover his eyes but was stopped by a strong grip. He instantly realised the position he was in and let out a tired groan.
“Zhongli, get off me.” He muttered under his breath, his hand moved toward the scaly tail that was tightly wrapped around his one of his legs. The ginger managed to grab it, fingers sliding over the endless scales. He opened his eyes and was greeted by a pair of long, golden horns and black hair right in front of his face, tickling his chin. With an annoyed huff, he tickled the ex-archon’s tail and felt how Zhongli a squirmed little under his touch.
That wasn’t the first time he’d been in this position, Zhongli laying comfortably on top of him with his heavy weight because of the long tail. Ajax had a tendency to wake up early and go out of bed immediately due to working habits, something the dark-haired man loathed. “Zhongli, I want to make breakfast.” A throaty whisper came out and the other moved his head, burying it into Ajax’s shoulder and shook his head in protest, grumbling. “You’re so warm..” Zhongli’s deep voice made the ginger’s body shiver, a warm blush spread across his face as he felt the warm breath hit his skin.
In response, he grabbed the tail and tried his best to pry it off His leg. “I’m serious, Zhongli, let me go.” The only response the fatuus got was a soft kiss on his bare skin and Zhongli’s arms warping tighter around his waist. Of course the stubborn dragon didn’t want to let go, his whole body was glowing red of warmth because of the close contact and the ex-archon loved heat.
Even though Zhongli and him have been together for five years and married for a year, he couldn’t get used to how clingy the other was in private. When out in public, the only contact Zhongli made with him was holding hands and placing a hand on his shoulder or waist, holding him close to his body. The ginger didn’t mind it at all and mostly insisted the intimacy between them in public. But in private, Zhongli was the one who initiated the affection. And dear Tsaritsa, he was practically glued to the ginger.
Most of the time it was through a hand laying on his thigh or wrapping an arm around his waist, holding him close but it was also common for the ex-archon to hug Ajax from behind, watching his movements closely.
In bed it was even worse.
Zhongli didn’t care how they laid down, as long he was touching the fatuus and felt the extra warm body. Letting out a sigh, Ajax’s hands moved to the other’s abdominal muscles, slowly trying to push him off. “Come on, Zhongli.” His nails slowly dug into the bare skin but the ex-archon didn’t bulge and instead let out a few deep grumbles of objection. “Don’t you want a nice breakfast in bed?” The ginger tried his best to convince the other. “Aren’t you hungry for a bowl of fresh cooked rice congee?”
He knew that it was one of Zhongli’s favourite breakfast foods and finally, there was a slight movement in the half-dragon’s body. The heavy weight moved slightly and the taller man looked up, eyes half closed as he blinked away the crust on his long eye lashes. Ajax always wondered how his red eyeliner managed to stay perfect even when the ex-archon had slept for more than eleven hours. “Do I have your attention now?” Ajax raised an eyebrow as Zhongli slowly moved off him but kept his tail wrapped around the other’s leg, softly moving up and down in a soothing movement.
Great, he could sit up. The fatuus pushed himself against the headboard to sit comfortably. As much he loved his husband, he wasn’t the biggest fan of being squished down by Zhongli’s heavy weight. Although his half-dragon form was better than having the full weight of the Exuvia on top off him, the first time Zhongli laid his weight on him he almost got choked. After that happened, the ex-archon swore he would never cuddle with Ajax in his Exuvia form with much disappointment of the other. Perhaps a smaller form would be safer to embrace and cuddle with.
Clearly, Zhongli wasn’t fully awake because he leaned his head onto the ginger’s lap and slowly unwrapped his tail. “I don’t want you to leave yet, please stay here.” He groaned, closing his eyes again. Unlike Ajax, who didn’t mind waking up, Zhongli loathed it. “It’s so cold in bed without you..” He trailed off and the tip of his tail swayed annoyed around, the fluff moving with the motion. The fatuus laughed, laying his hand down on the dark hair, right in between the pair of horns. “You’re acting like you’ll die, you’re being way too dramatic.” Ajax chuckled, running his hair through the hair strands. He loved seeing his husband so clingy towards him
“Don’t look at me like that, you’re going to make me feel bad Zhongli.” Ajax patted Zhongli’s hair as the half-dragon puffed up his cheeks. “I’ll be gone for like fifteen minutes, maximum and you’ll get breakfast.” He dropped his hands by his side and pushed himself more up, trying to swing his legs off the bed so he could walk to the kitchen. The taller man was forced to lay his head somewhere else.
Finally, Ajax could start preparing breakfast, probably one of favourite things to do. It was an habit that he would live with for the rest of his life. It started out with helping his mother in the kitchen when he was younger and it moved to cooking dinner for his colleagues. So naturally when he moved in with Zhongli, he was the one that cooked and baked goods. Something about seeing the ex-archon’s face light up with delight when he tasted the food made the effort he put into it worth it.
The fatuus grabbed a robe, wrapping around it him tightly and shoved his feet into his slippers. A simple dish of rice congee and some syrniki pancakes would wake up his husband for sure, he knew that it would bring Zhongli in movement. Surprisingly, the dark-haired man was hard to get out of bed, even with half promises of a sweet and fulfilling breakfast, and hugs.
It wouldn’t be the first time Ajax had to drag Zhongli out of bed on their free day together. He quickly entered the kitchen, his slippers slapping against the cold hardstone store and he immediately started working on making a bowl of rice congee. He’d been making rice congee for Zhongli since he moved in. Cooking had always been therapeutic, the repeating motions and an easy to follow recipe made the whole process relaxing. Although he missed having his younger siblings run around him while cooking, Zhongli’s presence was enough to fill that missing part. Although the heavy geo air around him sometimes interfered the ambience in the kitchen, startling him out of his trance.
Thankfully, Zhongli was going to stay in bed until the smell of food would lure him out. It was always amusing to see the heavy-eyed man, hiding large yawns behind his hands when he walked into the kitchen. Seeing him so sleepy made Ajax’s heart jump ten metres up. He stirred the rice once prevent sticking and sighed softly, rubbing his eyes. Perhaps after breakfast, he could challenge his husband for a spar to wake up properly. It’d been a while since they’d a spar.
The rice congee finished quickly and the ginger poured it into a bowl, looking for some toppings to add. Zhongli’s had a particular taste and even though he wouldn’t voice it, his expression always told his preference. Even the slightest raise of an eyebrow and his movement of his lips indicated if he enjoyed it or not.
Softly, he placed a lid on the bowl and set it aside. Making the syrniki batter was quick and easy, he’d made it countless times for both his younger and older siblings. Being the only one that didn’t mind helping out with cooking meant he’d to remember every recipe out of his head so he could help his mother efficiently. Ajax hoped that they could visit his younger siblings soon again, he missed them greatly and seeing Zhongli interact with his younger siblings was wonderful.
While looking through the cabinets, he noticed some dust and wiped with a finger it away, letting out a sigh. There went his plans of sparring with Zhongli, the cabinets desperately needed a clean. He grabbed the toppings for his syrniki pancakes and started on frying the batter.
The sound of the batter hitting the hot oil rang through the room and Ajax couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. It had been a while since he’d made a batch of syrniki pancakes, opting for a quicker breakfast option most time or skipping breakfast completely. When Zhongli found out, he got scolded by the ex-archon and the scolding left an impression on him, the ginger hadn’t skipped a breakfast after that. Seeing the dark-haired man displeased expression made Ajax feel incredibly guilty, the way his brows furrowed down and his lips pressed into a thin line really spoke to the other.
Although it was quite funny to see the consultant pout the fatuus must admit. He’d never thought that a six thousand year old elemental being could look so adorable while angry. Oh, he couldn’t get enough of Zhongli’s expressions. Ajax couldn’t get enough of the man overall.
Carefully, he laid down the last pancake and turned off the stove. Now he only needed to add the toppings and breakfast would be almost done. After that, the only thing he still needed to do is brew tea.
Before meeting Zhongli, Ajax barely drank tea. He’d never been interested, preferring to drink coffee to wake him up in the morning. Back when he was a recruit, it was the only warm drink they offered together with hot firewater, though he wasn’t allowed to drink that until he turned eighteen. At one point, he was the only one during breaks that drank coffee while his much older colleague’s drank hot firewater. Multiple times he got offered a cup, which he’d to decline, or else he would get in trouble. If he wasn’t focused on the training, he was certain that he would fail.
Brewing tea in the beginning was hard, he’d to force himself to concentrate on the steps he’d to take in order to prepare the perfect tea. Even under Zhongli’s watchful eyes, he still failed (looking back, the ex-archon only made it worse to focus but he figured that out later). Thankfully, his skill improved over the years and nowadays, he didn’t have to worry about fucking everything up. He took the kettle of the stove and stopped moving for a moment, zoning out.
It felt like he was forgetting something, not really anything important but still, the afterthought still ran through his head. Ajax’s eyes glazed at the kitchen counter, recalling everything he saw in his head while keeping a steady hold on the kettle. Zhongli’s rice congee was ready and only toppings had to be added, same goes with his syrniki pancakes. The only thing that was left to do was to steep the tea leaves. His brain was always filled thoughts in the morning, making him completely overstimulated. The ginger rubbed his forehead, pressing his eyes together as if it would work to remember the thing.
It didn’t and he grabbed a coaster to set the kettle down, giving up on remembering. Perhaps talking to Zhongli would help, so he started working on the tea. Sharing his thoughts to his husband always helped, like his brain magically switched on and recalled every story and detail.
Ekaterina jokingly called it ‘the Zhongli effect’ and it made Ajax think. He’d always felt he could be open with the consultant, even when they were acquaintances and the ex-archon felt the same way. When he told his mother this, she spoke of soulmates. She adored love stories and she’d a whole collection of different genres that included all kind of love stories. As kid, he never paid attention to it, completely uninterested and preferred to read action and adventure instead.
Ajax wasn’t the one who believed in fairy tales, especially soulmates. It was foolish to believe in such things, paying no attention. He’d stopped believing in those stories when he stepped foot in Teyvat again after he managed to escape the abyss with countless battle scars. The ginger had to learn the hard way that Celestia wasn’t sympathetic to mortals. But seeing his mother so sappy about his relationship with Zhongli made him think. The ex-archon made him feel things he’d never felt around other guys he’d dated and it felt so bizarre. Maybe, there was a possibility they were made for each other.
He finished preparing the tea, filling the teapot with the fluid and quickly grabbed two teacups, setting down them down in the tray together with the teapot. Ajax wished Zhongli was the one who brew their tea but the ex-archon wouldn’t budge out of bed for sure. Hell, he probably fell asleep again, completely wrapped in the blankets because he missed the ginger’s warm body.
Well, luckily for him, Ajax was already walking back to their bedroom with the tray in his hands. The first time he’d surprised the other with breakfast in bed, Zhongli almost cried of joy, scaring the other so much he thought he did something wrong. Fortunately, he got an explanation, the both of them calmed down and enjoyed a nice breakfast together. Ajax loved these small moments between them where they could enjoy each other’s presence in peace. Sometimes they didn’t even talk except for Ajax sharing the dreams and nightmares he'd that night.
Ajax always remembered his dreams and nightmares, even before he fell into the abyss he’d vivid nightmares sometimes, keeping him up each night. The thing was, he never remembered them except for small details that made him contemplate. He vaguely recalled what he dreamt last night, short flashbacks from when he was in the abyss. His nightmares were always about the abyss or something related, from master Skirk appearing to his younger siblings disappearing into the dark fog, it fucked up his brain.
He'd gotten used to it and thank the Tsaritsa he could vent his thoughts to his husband. Speaking of Zhongli, the ginger opened the door to their bedroom. Ajax sat down the tray with their breakfast on the desk and slowly approached the bed, glancing down. Just as he thought, the consultant wrapped his body in the blankets and only the tip of his scaled tail; the fluff was sticking out. He sat down on the bed, being careful to scare his husband and he placed a hand on Zhongli’s side, softly rubbing. “My love.” The fatuus spoke softly, chuckling to himself. “I brought breakfast.”
There was a slight movement under the bedsheets and all of the sudden, two hands and a tail wrapped around the ginger’s waist and Ajax let out a surprised shriek. He got dragged under the blankets and got hugged instantly, Zhongli hid his face into the other’s shoulder, embracing him tightly. “Zhongli!” Protests could be heard from a flustered fatuus, his face fully red as he softly hit the dark-haired man’s back. “You stubborn dragon let me go!” He hissed, embarrassed, falling right in Zhongli’s cuddle trap.
“I knew it!” More protests came out, making the other huff and he only hugged tighter, not letting go. It seemed Ajax was stuck for the next hours.