+ zhongli x reader long fic!
[ prologue + notes here! ] [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]
[ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ]
+ general notes: and now… we can all breathe. a little.
in regards to the marriage, let it be known i am not married, i really haven’t been to many weddings, and i’m just doing what i want with it. the part at the end of the chapter just helps get the tension rising heheushsuhuhehushauheuah
+ warnings: traumatic flashbacks, mature language, graphic violence, suggestive content
18 haunted
Everything seemed right that night after your walk along the islands of the stone forest. Zhongli drew shapes on your back, hand drifting over your shoulder blades and down your spine. You’d just tried to stomach everything that had come to light: your true past, Zhongli’s true identity, your vision returned to you, and what this all meant. It was clear the love had never waned in either of you, which could only mean one thing‒maybe the marriage wasn’t about to be doomed after all.
In the darkness of early morning hours, only Zhongli’s eyes seemed to appear in the light, and you stood in the bedroom as he shifted, slipping on a sweater for the night. You two had returned to the house you’d shared for those weeks you’d spent hiding everything, but you were just standing and staring at him. He was a previous god. Yet, he wanted to settle down with you?
“Are you sure you want this, Zhongli?” you’d whispered in hesitation. There was always the chance he had just felt responsible to marry you; in the end, he was shackled by the contract.
He turned to face you, shadows coating him and nearly turning him invisible except for two gold, glowing irises that carried a much heavier connotation now. “Why wouldn’t I want this, my love?”
“I-I just… thought… since you were an archon… I mean, I’m no one that important.”
“Ah,” Zhongli acknowledged your thoughts in a small sigh.
He took slow steps towards you, and you realized why now it was so daunting to stand face-to-face with him. His refined nature, his strong composure, his tall stature, his squared shoulders, his intense expressions‒they were all remnants of his godhood. Of course. Everything made so much more sense now, but it didn’t lessen the slight intimidation you felt.
“After everything we’ve been through,” he whispered, “you would think me too arrogant to take you as my sole companion? Do not be so uncertain of yourself, my love. I am not uncertain of the way my heart feels for you.”
You were just staring up at him, not quite wrapping your mind around his existence. It made so much more logical sense now that you realized he was too good to be true because, well, he was an ex-archon.
A hand on your elbow made you jolt out of your thoughts, but Zhongli urged you further into the bedroom.
“It’s best you get some rest now.”
Before he could step away to his side of the bed, you wrapped your hands around his upper arm, “Zhongli… what about the vision hunters?” You’d taken down your hair with your vision hairpin, and it was pulsing with energy on your vanity, no longer needing to be hidden. A soft purple glow emanated from it, casting just a bit of light on your vanity.
Zhongli turned back to you. “Do you think I would let another vision hunter anywhere near you ever again?” he rumbled, voice deepening and his eyes suddenly aglow with power. “They know what they face should they ever come for you again. Baal knows your vision will not be handed over, and she will have to go through me before she can get it… and only one of us was ever known as the God of War.”
You’d never heard Zhongli sound arrogant until that moment, but reassurance flooded your veins. You didn’t have to run anymore, and you didn’t have to fear anything. Zhongli wasn’t just Zhongli, a vision holder. He was, or had been, Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon himself. So, you lurched into his arms, lashing your arms around his neck. Your voice was brittle as you whispered, “Thank you.” Finally, you had peace of mind and safety.
Zhongli settled arms around you, too, holding you close for a moment, “Of course, my flower. I can never stand to see you hurt again for I fear what kind of a state it would put me in. The first time was plenty enough.”
“So… we’re still getting married… and having the wedding… right?” you inquired, pulling back to look at him.
“If you would still do me the honor, I would be overjoyed to take your hand in marriage.”
Zhongli’s forehead pressed to yours, nose brushing your cheek before a chaste kiss was pressed to your lips. You were still getting used to feeling of being so intimate with Zhongli, and Zhongli never went any further than the kind kisses you’d shared. So, you two embraced each other just for a moment, foreheads brushing and the fabric of Zhongli’s sweater soft under your fingertips. Then, you untangled from him only long enough to wander to your side of the bed. It was almost sinful being in those silk sheets with his presence around again; you’d been through too many nights in pain without him, and you never wanted to let him go anywhere ever again, no matter how much you messed things up. So, you were unabashed as you crawled across to the midpoint of the bed and squirmed your way into his grasp. Zhongli made room for you, adjusting himself so that you could properly use his chest as your pillow. The blankets were tucked in place by his own hands, and when you two were settled, the sleep took ahold rather quickly.
Your mind was flashing rapidly like a shutter, flicking through memories. You felt lucid, like you weren’t even asleep nor awake, just somewhere in an obscure realm of existence. The memories were pungent, crisp with shockwaves of pain and loud with the sound of your own voice echoing in your head. Your screams were loud enough to echo off mountaintops, and you were sinking into the memory of pure, unadulterated fear.
A kick there, a swift slap here. Your broken wrist was useless, and the pain had crippled you. There was the sight of trees blurry overhead as your body hit the ground, agony shattering your resolve with every kick, punch, and drag. The fist that had lodged in your mouth had felt like what you imagined swallowing a thousand needles would feel like, and you’d been surprised none of your teeth had broken. You’d been dragged by the hair, spit on, and beaten within an inch of your life, yet you knew they’d spared you more mercy than most that they hunted. They were as good as a pack of wolves hunting their prey, and they had chosen instead to toy with how close they could push you to the edge of death.
“Stupid bitch!”
You awoke with a shrill cry, your bloodstream turning to pure adrenaline and fear. You couldn’t see anything in the dark, so you clambered for the fabric you held, and Zhongli was already awake and alert, eyelids flickering open and spilling with rays of lights. You gripped onto him fiercely, panting as sobs bubbled in your throat, and his arms locked around you.
“I-I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have… I was s-so scared without you… and I-I j-just wanted you t-there…” you whimpered, voice the most fragile and broken you’d ever heard it. Vulnerability was flaying your façade off you quickly, but in Zhongli’s arms, you knew he’d never take advantage of it.
“Shh, I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
You gasped for breath, burying your head into the crook of his neck. He rubbed circles in between your shoulder blades, other hand wrapped firmly around your lower waist. The darkness revealed you’d hardly been asleep for maybe more than hour, and you’d quickly succumbed to nightmares.
“No matter what happens between us,” he murmured, voice just loud enough you could hear it, “I will never let anything ever bring harm to you again, my love. I promise.”
You clutched him even tighter. You were safe here in his arms. You would be protected, and little would ever get through the likes of an ex-archon. So, you blinked back the hot tears and relaxed, no longer clawing at his sweater or choking him with your grasp. Lips rested on your temple and the side of your head, his nose in your hair, hands brushing up and down the length of your spine.
“You are safe here with me, my flower.”
The lack of sleep and the exhaustion of the emotional ride you’d had within the last few days made you suddenly feel as heavy as rock, but Zhongli tucked you in his arms and wrapped the blankets back around the both of you. You fell asleep in a tighter hold of protection, finally able to rest easy under the care of a once-archon.
When you came to, light was strong from the window. Your eyelids contrarily felt heavy, the fog of fatigue thick as you stirred yet did not completely arise. You shifted, feeling the soft fabric under your cheek and the fingers drawing through your hair. You groaned, realizing you were in Zhongli’s lap as you two basked in the sunlight of easily midday. The blanket felt hot from the sunlight pouring across it and the body heat it reflected from you both, and you begrudgingly pulled your eyes open. Zhongli was complacent where he sat beneath you, and it was evident he’d never left the bed despite being awake.
“Shouldn’t you…” you drearily started, “be… at work?”
“You were terrified last night,” Zhongli whispered in response. “I couldn’t just leave you after something like that.”
You melted even more so for him if it was even possible. You pulled back, furrowing your eyebrows, but Zhongli wore a plain, innocent expression. “Zhongli… you can’t just miss a whole day of work because… because you don’t want to wake me!”
“Oh?” Zhongli raised his eyebrows just a tad. “I think it’ll be alright.”
“Zhongli…” you sighed, but you couldn’t be mad at him. Not after everything you’d been through. You eventually managed to pull yourself away from him, and Zhongli did leave the bed then in order to clean up for the day. You languidly put yourself together, rubbing sleep out of your eyes, stretching your tired muscles, and yawning a few times. Eventually, you smelt the scent of fresh-brewed tea, and you followed the scent with a smile on your face. It was just like it should be.
In the glittery sunrays of afternoon dancing happily across the main room, Zhongli’s inky hair glinted. His fingers coaxed the teapot to the side elegantly, a steady trickle pouring out into two cups. There was a small fire snapping in the fireplace, burning away the very last chills in the house, and all you could do was savor the peace.
Before you could even reach for your tea, there were two fingers beneath your chin, lips brushing onto your own. Then, as if nothing at all had happened, Zhongli took up his teacup and drank from it with a relaxed posture. In the light, holding his teacup, eyes so much less ambient compared to the intensity they’d had when his emotions had boiled over, he almost looked human enough. Now, you knew better.
“I will send a letter to Master Diluc inquiring if it still possible to uphold the arrangements for the wedding we discussed. Then, there is the matter of clothing, and the rings. Would you like to see a jeweler sometime this week? Have you thought about what kind of gems you would like? Do not fret the mora; whatever it is you wish to have, it will be yours. Oh, and on the subject of the wedding… ah, perhaps it’s best if I don’t say anything.”
Of all the things you’d managed to lose, you had somehow kept the cor lapis band through the thick and thin you’d been through. You spun it on your ring finger, but you were suddenly invested in Zhongli’s walk-back of whatever he’d been about to say. “Didn’t we agree we would be truthful with each other from now on?” you prodded.
“Very well,” Zhongli sighed, setting down his teacup. “Are you familiar with the practice of consummation?”
“Consummation?” you repeated. Weddings weren’t exactly commonplace in Inazuma what with the horror of a land it had become, and wedding traditions were quickly lost on you. “Is that like… something to do with Liyue traditions? Is it a celebration of sorts?”
“A celebration…” Zhongli hummed, but you saw nothing but amusement in his eyes. “I suppose you could interpret it that way.”
“So, what exactly happens at this celebration?”
Zhongli stood tall in perfect posture, and you watched him straighten his back. However, he crossed his arms, eyes moving onto the fireplace instead of you. “Consummation is the practice of honoring and completing a marriage through the act of copulation.”
“Copulation?” you parroted just as you had the word consummation. It was lost on you in meaning, and you blinked. Zhongli’s tendency to explain things at length with frilly, overly formal words wasn’t helping you get anywhere. “Are we supposed to fight or something?”
“No, no…” Zhongli sighed, eyes falling shut in the slightest bit of exasperation. “Intercourse is a better word, perhaps?”
“Zhongli,” you deadpanned, blinking at him. “What’s with all the fancy words? You can’t just explain it?”
“We would sleep together…” his eyes drifted to yours, the seriousness in them all you needed to finally understand what he was getting at, “intimately so.”
You almost dropped your teacup. Oh.
“Traditionally speaking, the marriage would not be considered complete until the consummation takes place. It is a unification of body and soul after the ceremony ties emotions and bonds. In Liyue, it is a common practice. Marriage is a joining of two people as if they were halves making up one, and the act is but one part of the many ceremonies that demonstrate such.”
You were dizzy, hardly even anticipating such a subject coming up. You set your teacup down with shaking fingers, and you couldn’t look at Zhongli without flushing and flushing hard. “Y-You w-want… to honor our m-marriage w-with… c-c-c…” you couldn’t even say it, choking on the word as you finished, “consummation?”
“It would only be right to fulfill the tradition and complete the contract.”
“Okay,” you squeaked out, “that’s fine. S-Sure. I-I’m going to g-go… see what the fisherman a-are selling in the harbor today! Okay? I’ll be back later!” you almost tripped over yourself as you stumbled out of the house, and when you turned the corner onto the main road, you smothered your flaming face with your hands.
Did Zhongli really just ask you what you thought he asked you?
It seemed in only a short amount of time, you were giving yourself away in your entirety to the ex-archon.
-
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