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𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗬 - 𝖹𝗁𝗈𝗇𝗀𝗅𝗂 -
༻ ━━━━━･•͙✧⃝•͙ ★ •͙✧⃝•͙･━━━━━༺
"SAY AAH,"
Zhongli lifted the small spoon with his mouth wide open for the baby to mimic but the child just stared at the tall man with a quizzical look on his face. "Say aah," Zhongli repeated, swirling the spoon gently in the air to lure the child to open his mouth.
"Goo.." the toddler cooed, raising his tiny and chubby hands in the air. Zhongli sighed in frustration, dropping the spoon back on the small bowl of baby food with his chin resting on his palm. "You need to eat, Kenshi.." the boy only tilted his head to the side as his large eyes looked at his father's.
The room fell silent for a moment, giving Zhongli time to think of a way to get his son to eat. He looked over to the couch and found the small bunny plush sitting down. An idea popped in his mind and he abruptly stood up to take the little bunny in his hands.
Sitting back down, Zhongli started swaying the bunny plush from side to side in front of Kenshi's face and quickly the child leaned over his baby chair, desperately trying to reach for the plush. "Mmuh!" He spoke with slightly furrowed brows.
"Oh? You want this don't you?" Zhongli raised a brow, moving the toy away from his son, causing him to plead with little gurgles. "If you want this, we will have to make a deal," Zhongli began as if he was speaking with a man of his age. "I'll give Bun Bun to you, if you eat your food. Deal? Alright, great."
Zhongli attempted to feed the child once more, slowly handing him the toy named Bun Bun to Kenshi who now had an excited smile on his adorable little face. Once the boy accepted the spoonful, he snatched the toy from Zhongli's hands, squeezing it tightly whilst chewing on his food.
Zhongli chuckled, adoring the happy expression on his son's face. Although he had Zhongli's hair, he certainly had your eyes which certainly made Zhongli miss you even more so. He continued feeding Kenshi spoonfuls of baby food until he got full, the happy expressions on his son's face reminding him of you.
Kenshi then raised his arms up in the air while hopping in his seat, telling Zhongli that he wanted to get up. And so he placed his hands gently onto Kenshi's sides before lifting him up with a smile. "Now that you've eaten, let's go get some groceries." He said, wiping away a small stain of baby food from Kenshi's cheek with his thumb.
The child nodded and gurgled happily, still holding onto Bun Bun while Zhongli exited the door.
While they explored the market place of Liyue, Zhongli held his son securely in his arms as he went around buying various things like apples, fish and spices. But it wasn't a super pleasant trip; Now that he was a widower, many of the women of Liyue would often throw themselves at him but Zhongli would always respectfully decline because he only belonged to you and no one else.
Later on after their father and son trip to the market, the two returned home when the sun had began to set and as he closed the door to his home, a yawn escaped Zhongli's lips. Now that he was a father, he was always more occupied with taking care of your son which was not an easy task since he was alone.
After, setting the paper bag of groceries on the kitchen counter, Zhongli prepared a small dinner for himself and his son before getting ready for bed.
"Hush now, little one." He whispered, stroking his son's back as he swayed from side to side, Kenshi's body slouched over Zhongli's shoulder and slowly lulling him to sleep and just like earlier in the afternoon, the room fell silent once again, Kenshi's soft snoring being the only thing Zhongli could hear.
When Zhongli was sure that his son had fallen asleep, he gently placed him down on his crib and proceeded to tiptoe out of the room with the lamp still on.
"Finally," he groaned, pushing his back with his hands in a stretch before stepping into your once shared bedroom and flopping himself onto the comfy sheets. He closed his eyes, hoping to fall asleep but surprisingly he couldn't. Though his body was exhausted, he just found himself tossing and turning.
Zhongli's eyes shot open towards the ceiling and thought of you. Annoyed, he shuffled out of bed, running a hand through his hair before trudging his way to the balcony to stare at the night sky like he usually did when he couldn't sleep.
He leant over the railing and let out an exhausted puff of air through his nose. "Oh, (Y/n)," he muttered quietly "I miss you so much....it's just been a lot harder without you." His eyes started to well up with tears, his throat choking up at the thought along with his lips faltering as he spoke.
"But you know, Kenshi's starting to act a lot like you.." he chuckled through the pain he was feeling. "Don't get me wrong, dear, but it hurts sometimes.. because I'll never get to see your beautiful face again.." his chin dipped down as he silently cried to himself, wondering if he was going crazy; talking as if you were actually there.
A few minutes later, his lonely moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud wail coming from Kenshi's room. Zhongli's body shot up in worry before he bolted for his son's room. "Kenshi?!" He exclaimed, throwing himself into the doorway only to find his son standing inside the crib, tears rolling down his chubby cheeks.
Zhongli sighed in relief before moving towards the crib to carry Kenshi in his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked, leaning the child's head onto his shoulder with his hand. Kenshi only let out another whimper as tears continued to spill. "Hush now, it's time for bed."
He thought he had fallen asleep a few moments later, but when he had lowered him down into the crib, Kenshi clung tightly onto the fabric of Zhongli's shirt and let out another quiet wail. Zhongli thought for a moment, realizing that he wasn't going to sleep himself if this keeps going. "Alright, alright, let's sleep in my room for tonight." And with that, Zhongli switched the lamp off then headed for his own room.
He sat down next to his son on the large bed, simply being, looking towards the balcony which had a perfect view of the moon and immediately he started feeling depressed again. He just wasn't himself as tears streamed down his face once again. "D..da?" Kenshi suddenly cooed, struggling to balance his footing on the fluffy sheets.
"W-what?" Zhongli breathed out, facing his son and suddenly, his son stood on his tippy toes and lifted his arms, wrapping them over his shoulders in a small hug. Zhongli's eyes widened and he gently returned the hug and cried into his little shoulder.
He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out quiet sobs at the tender hug and the reminder that although you were gone, Kenshi was there for Zhongli as your final gift and memory to him.
"Daddy loves you very much and mommy too.." he spoke with a shaky breath, parting from the hug and cupping his son's little cheeks to land a kiss to his forehead. "Muh.. mamoo?" He uttered out with curious eyes and Zhongli nodded, "yes, yes mamoo loves you so very much.." he Chuckled lightly with a sniff whilst a single tear dropped onto the sheets.
And so, Kenshi had passed out asleep on his parents bedroom with a barrier made of pillows that Zhongli made so he wouldn't fall of the bed as he slept. "Goodnight," Zhongli whispered, before slipping into the covers and falling into a deep slumber.
