𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 - zhongli!reader x jjk

𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦

AFTER NANAMI woke up, gojo insisted that they take [name] to dinner to celebrate her success. at first, she had declined- of course she had, it was impolite to intrude. but then, gojo had pulled his ultimate card.

puppy eyes. 

and so, here she sat, posture poised and perfect as the table around her erupted into absolute chaos. to her left, sat nanami, tired, and sporting multiple bruises, occasionally glancing at her in both awe and fear. to her right sat gojo, who would occasionally shoot his shot with a pick up line or two, before wincing when he noticed her eyes glint a dangerous sheen. 

across her sat the three children- nobara on the left, megumi, in the middle, and yuuji on the right. looking at fushiguro was almost like looking at herself in a mirror- they were both vastly out of place, and confused as to what to do as their peers argued among themselves. 

"the pork belly is ready." her soft, yet authoritative voice rang through the shouting, as everyone immediately shut up and began reaching for the meat she had prepared on the barbecue in the middle. 

"does anyone want seconds?" she asked, reaching for the plate of raw meat.

"i do, [name]-sensei!" yuuji said, shooting his hand into the air, his body following as he quickly stood for no reason. 

"me too, sensei!" nobara shouted. "give me more than him!" 

"hey! you can't do that- we get equal pieces!" 

"like hell i can't, yuuji!" 

"sit down, please." she demanded, squinting her eyes a bit. like kicked puppies, they immediately sat, sulking in opposite directions. "and i am not your sensei. there is no need to call me by such a title."

"i'd like some, please." megumi and nanami voiced at the same time. 

"[name]-chan, i want seconds too!!" gojo whined, draping a long arm over her shoulders. 

"if you'd like some, please get your arm off of me, lest you lose it at such a young age." 

gojo immediately dropped his arm down, scooting a bit further away, shouting indignantly when he noticed both megumi and nanami glaring at him. 

[name] loaded the entire plate onto the barbecue, sure that they would be able to finish it and order more. 

"are you doing all right, xiao?" she whispered to the boy tucked in between her and nanami, barely visible with the height difference. "is the almond tofu to your liking? does it need any adjustments?" 

"ish alrigh." he mumbled with a face full of food. "why we haf to be here?"

"if i had an answer for you, i'd give it." [name] replied, knowing all too well why he was uncomfortable. she tried her best to keep her eyes open- knowing that if she shut them, she would see the familiar figures of her long lost elemental adepti, guizhong by her side. "would you like to leave?"

"it's alright, ma'am." xiao finally swallowed his mouthful of tofu. "i'll keep you company." 

"drinks! drinks on me!" gojo shouted, as the entire table, save for nanami, xiao, [name] and fushiguro cheered. "ladies first! what would you like, zhongli-sama?!"

[name] felt her eye twitch at the nickname, but refrained from making unnecessary titles. "osmanthus wine, then."

"a woman of refined taste." gojo whistled, eyebrows shooting to his hairline when he saw how much it cost. 

"nothing less for a former archon. isn't that right, gojo?" nanami narrowed his eyes at the six eyes user, a subtle threat.

"haha... but of course.." gojo sighed, as he ordered a bottle.

"can i have some? what's it taste like? why is it so expensive? why do you like it?" yuuji rapid fired questions, and [name] felt like the questions were hitting her straight in the face. 

"no. it tastes like osmanthus. it's expensive because it's osmanthus. i like it because it tastes like osmanthus." her patience was slowly waning, and as she grabbed the bottle from gojo aggressively, she didn't bother offering this time- merely drinking straight from the bottle. 

"can i have more almond tofu?" xiao tugged on her brown sleeve, causing her to nod as she ruffled his hair and ordered another one from the waiter. 

"it's been nice," [name] said, standing up, and drawing everyone's attention to her. "but i'm afraid that me and xiao must get going now." 

xiao nodded, as he put his almond tofu in a to-go box, and grabbing a spoon from the table.

"so quickly?" megumi questioned. "where are you going?"

"although i am technically deceased," [name] laughed, glancing at xiao, "i am still an archon. and as such, i will be checking on my nation. an archon's strength lessens the longer she is away from her people." 

"and with the fatui lurking around and such... you never know what the tsaritsa might do next." xiao hummed, grabbing hold of her sleeves. 

"i'll return soon." she promised. "by tomorrow, latest." 

"alright, then." gojo nodded, waving her off. "be safe!"

"of course." she scoffed, before holding out her palm, as a bell appeared out of thin air. "street rambler, take us back." 

and they were gone.