Prompt: Xiao, Childe, Zhongli’s birthdays getting celebrated by gn!Reader with their astrological sign and traits.
Word Count: 3.231
Warnings: A bit of spoilers and a tiny implication of something not exactly *cough* sfw *cough*
Author’s Note: Some of the characters are cusps and I know not everyone knows what that is. Cusp is when you are born within the last or first few days of a sign and whatever sign was before or is after. You will see with Xiao’s as his birthday is in the last few days of Aries, before Taurus. Not everyone believes in cusps, however, I do since I discovered that I was born on one and I own a mix of both traits of the signs of the cusp.
This took me 5 hours to write. I hope you enjoy. If you want a part two, please feel free to let me know.
Xiao
Birthday: April 17th
Zodiac: Aries-Taurus Cusp
Traits: Passionate, Independent, Honest, Loyal, Impulsive, Smart, Ambitious, Trustworthy, Stubborn
You didn’t want to do anything big for Xiao’s birthday because of how he isn’t that big of a fan of being around a lot of people unless he needs to be. The last thing you wanted to do was make your boyfriend feel anything negative on his birthday. You debated on just inviting maybe Verr, Zhongli, the Traveller and Paimon but when you thought about it again, you decided that maybe not all four. In the end, you decided to invite Zhongli and Verr for the small celebration.
When you confronted Xiao about celebrating it, he wasn’t up for the idea, saying how only mortals celebrate such a day. However, you wouldn’t let it slide, you thought everyone deserved to celebrate the day they were born, mortal or not, and you told this to your adeptus boyfriend. Xiao knew you wouldn’t change your mind so he finally gave in after a few days and agreed to it. Now, the day has finally arrived and you were looking forward to the small get together with everyone.
It was starting to get dark out, the sun was setting, “He will be back soon,” You told Zhongli and Verr.
“Yes, just in time too, the tea is almost ready,” Zhongli responded as he turned his back to go finish the last preparations for it inside.
“I’ll go get the Almond Tofu from the kitchen then,” Verr said, following the other guest inside, leaving you out on the balcony to wait for Xiao.
As if on cue, the dark headed adeptus appeared next to you, “Xiao! Happy birthday!” You beamed at him as you quickly threw your arms around him.
“Uhm, thank you, [Y/N],” He muttered as you pulled away, grabbing his hand.
“C’mon, the others are waiting,” You started to pull him inside.
Xiao quickly stopped you guys from moving, “Others? What do you mean, others?”
Uh oh, I forgot to tell him that Zhongli and Verr were joining us tonight as well, you thought to yourself before quickly responding with a smile still on your face, “Why, Verr and Zhongli, of course! They came to celebrate as well!”
The amber eyed man in front of you sighed, “I thought you were just going to have us two,” He saw your smile slowly start fading, “Come on, we can’t keep them waiting.”
Your smile returned in a flash as he held out his hand, letting you grab it again and guide him inside.
The table in the kitchen, usually filled with different ingredients, was clean of the usual fruits and vegetables and cooking utensils. Tonight, it had instead a dinner set for four, with a nice teapot and matching tea cups that Xiao recognized that belonged to Zhongli in the middle and a large plate of Almond Tofu, his favorite.
“Happy birthday, Xiao,” He heard a voice say behind him, turning around, he saw that Verr Goldet was coming down the steps from, what he assumed, was her desk. Him and [Y/N] had passed by her on the way down but he didn’t say anything as it looked like she was busy tending to something at the time.
“Indeed, happy birthday,” Zhongli added as he followed behind Verr, something in his hands, a wrapped box.
“Oh! That’s right, thank you for picking it up, Zhongli!” You ran from Xiao’s side to him, the Geo Archon holding it out to you, “I almost forgot about it.”
“What is it?” Xiao asked, his amber eyes still on the wrapped gift.
Without saying anything, you held it out to your boyfriend, “Your birthday present! It’s from all three of us, we hope you enjoy it.”
Xiao isn’t used to this sort of thing so he was slow to grab it from you and looked at you three for a few seconds before he slowly opened the beautifully wrapped gift. Inside was a new pair of gloves, his were old and you had noticed so you wanted to get him a new pair, as close to the same type of look and style as the ones he always wears. You didn’t want to risk going and getting a completely different style and Xiao not like them for one reason or another, plus you loved the looks and style of the ones he wears.
“Go ahead, try them on,” You grabbed the box from him and signaled to his hand, urging him on.
The Protector of Liyue pulled one of his gloves off, letting it drop to the wooden floor as he grabbed the new one, gently putting it on. He opened and closed his fist a couple of times to get the feel of it, the fit was correct and it was also comfortable to wear. Overall, the gloves were like his current ones but just brand new and more reliable protection wise.
“How do they feel?” Verr asked.
“They fit perfectly. Thank you.” Xiao responded.
“Perfect, now, shall we continue with tonight’s plans?” Zhongli signaled to the table with the food and tea.
You nodded, eagerly, as you sat down in a seat and the others followed suit, all of you filling your tea cups with the tea, Zhongli provided and the Almond Tofu that Verr and you had Smiley Yanxiao prepare earlier.
Childe
Birthday: July 20th
Zodiac: Leo
Traits: Bold, Intelligent, Warm, Courageous, Intense, Energetic
Childe has been looking forward to his birthday for the past week. Counting down the days and not letting you forget it. With him so busy with Fatui business, you had told him that you’d plan his birthday in between your own work, so you felt like you never actually got a break since you would work on it during your breaks at work, including your lunch break.
“Who do you have coming, again?” Childe asked you as soon as you stepped foot into your shared home. You knew that he would ask you something like this so you took your time to get home. His birthday was tomorrow so you were going to be drowned in questions tonight.
“I have Zhongli, Traveller, Paimon, Xiao, and Qiqi coming,” You sighed as you dropped your items on the ground and collapsing onto the couch.
“How did you get Xiao to come? And why Qiqi?” He asked, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“You’ll see how I got him to and why we need Qiqi. I’m exhausted, I’m going to take a nap,” You mumbled as you let your eyes fall shut, immediately.
You woke up late, real late, and immediately darted out of the bed to get ready for work. What am I going to tell them? I’m so late that no lie or excuse will work. You thought as you dug through your clothes before hearing the bedroom door open and being greeted by Childe and his large grin.
“You’re up, sleepy head!” He chuckled, usually you’d be glad to see him awake at the same time as you before work but, you were mad this time. You didn’t care if today was his birthday, you were ready to go off on him.
“Childe! Have you been home this entire time?” You said through your teeth, you wanted to make sure first that your Fatui boyfriend actually have been home.
He went and laid down on your shared bed, arms crossed behind his head as you stayed put in your spot, arms crossed over your chest, “Yes, I have been,” Childe quickly put up a hand to stop you from going off on him just yet, “I went to your work and told them how overworked you’ve been and asked that they let you have a couple of days off.”
You became confused, surely they didn’t agree to it, you were never allowed a day off before with how much work you get daily, your job always needed your help, “And?” You asked.
“They agreed to it.” He smirked.
You wanted to ask him how he managed to pull it off but you also didn’t feel like finding out for the moment, he managed to get you not one, but two, days off from work, “Wait, but my off days is in just three days, did you really manage to get me half a week off somehow?”
Childe shrugged, “Maybe, I did it because I noticed how you’ve been the past week with everything with work and putting together something for me, even if it is my birthday, I wanted to do something in return.”
Your annoyance and anger that you had towards him just a few minutes ago faded, you get to relax for once in who-knows-how-long, “Thank you,” You sighed in relief and thanks, “Happy birthday, Childe.”
“Thank you,” He returned the smile before patting the empty space on the bed, your side of your bed, “Let’s relax a bit more before we have to get ready for later.”
You didn’t hesitate to join him in bed and curl up to his, surprisingly, warm body. For a Hydro Vision wielder, I am always surprised by the fact that his body is warm.
A couple more hours passed before the two of you had to meet out in a fielded area with the others for his party. You asked for the others to pick up the food on their way to the location and set it up when they, more like Traveller and Paimon, asked if they could help. Childe had no idea what all the plans for his special day was, but a part of you think he knew what was one part of it since you did manage to get Xiao to come and had also invited Qiqi.
“Hey!” You heard a voice shout in the distance, Paimon’s voice, before she appeared not far from you two, “Happy birthday, Childe!” She said, turning towards the Harbinger.
Your boyfriend said his thanks to her as she led the two of you to the exact location the others were in. Upon arriving, you could see many various dishes on the blankets that were spread out on the ground. Most were ones that you had ordered for the day, a couple that must’ve been brought by the others.
“Before we start celebrating, I just want to thank everyone for finding time to come,” You quickly said before anything else could be said between Childe and the others, “Now, Childe doesn’t know what we have planned today. Would anyone like to do the honors or shall we let him figure it out?” You asked, eyeing Childe a bit with a smirk on your face.
No one said anything, however, Xiao stepped up, manifesting his spear without saying anything.
“Oh,” Childe responded, copying the Yaksha by manifesting his bow and dual blades, “I see how you got him to come. This will be exciting.”
“Wait! Before you fight,” You shouted, “I want to make clear, no killing each other, I asked Qiqi to be here to treat any injuries, so please be careful of the rest of us here. As how your abilities are, I ask that you guys fight a bit of a distance away so none of us get hurt.”
They both kept a close eye on each other as they moved away before they started fighting, luckily, they did follow the rules you had set, even though you and the others were sure they were tempted to kill the other. The rest of you just watched and enjoyed the food and drinks until you called the two sparring over for food and drinks for, at least, Childe since you knew Xiao doesn’t eat food.
The afternoon to night continued like this until it was almost too dark to see anything even with the fires you created. Childe still had energy, somehow, after all that happened and he wasn’t done with you, at least, even when you both left the others and got home. And, for once, you weren’t tired enough to decline.
Zhongli
Birthday: December 31st
Zodiac: Capricorn
Traits: Smart, Hardworking, In Full Control, Stubborn, Rule-Follower
It was a bit difficult for you to get Zhongli to allow you to celebrate his birthday, because of his schedule with work. To him, he thought it would throw it off in some sort of way, even though you assured him that it wouldn’t. You didn’t want to do anything big, in fact, you told him you were fine with doing something with just you and him. He thought it over for a bit before deciding that he was wrong, it wouldn’t mess with his schedule, especially with the fact that his birthday was actually on one of his days off.
When you heard this from him, you tried to hide how excited you actually were, this was his first birthday since he faked his death as Rex Lapis, you wanted to make it special. You didn’t hide it as well as you thought you did, Zhongli pretended as if you were hiding it pretty well because he thought how cute it was to see you the way you are with all of this.
The day of his birthday finally arrived, it felt like it took forever to arrive, but it did. You woke up early to cook a special breakfast for him with some of his favorite morning tea. You had this entire day planned out.
“Good morning!” You greeted him as he stepped out into the kitchen, still in the process of waking up, “I made your favorite breakfast! Happy birthday, sweetie!” You smiled as you handed him a plate with his favorite food before serving yourself some.
“Thank you,” He yawned as he sat down in his spot at the table, where he served himself and you a cup of tea.
“Are you ready for today?” You asked before you took a bite of food.
Zhongli hummed with a small nod as he chewed his food, once he swallowed the food down, he looked to you, “What are we going to do?”
“Well, first, we are going to walk around Liyue and stop into any store that catches your eye, then eat whatever you want for lunch, then I thought we’d go to your favorite place for dinner! Oh, and I’m paying for it all and buying whatever you want as your present.”
The Geo Archon went silent for a moment, he knew Liyue can be expensive and you were willing to pay all of this just for one day? He didn’t want you to do that. That money could go towards better things, or you could use it for yourself.
“I don’t want you to spend that much,” He finally said, honestly, looking right into your eyes, “It’s too much. I don’t care if it’s for my birthday or anything. Use that mora for yourself.”
You knew he would be like this so you made sure to come up with a second idea ahead of time, “I knew you’d say that, so how about I buy you one gift and we come eat dinner here at home? Having lunch will be up to you.”
Your boyfriend couldn’t help but chuckle, he also should’ve known you thought of something else, however, he did agree more to this one than your original, “I suppose that plan is fine.”
As you suggested, you had gone out together, bought him one gift, got a takeout meal from a small business you two came across of, and just sat down somewhere and admired the view as you two relaxed. Before you knew it, it was time for you to go home and have dinner.
Like you did that morning, you had prepared his favorite dinner and, even though you tried to tell him not to, he prepared his own tea for you both to have at dinner.
“Dinner’s ready,” You told him as you set his plate down first before your own, “I’ll get the tea.”
Zhongli marked where he was at in his book before setting it back on the table next to the chair he was sitting in inside the other room.
“This looks delicious,” He said as he stared down, “However, you didn’t have to make my favorite dinner, as well. You already did with breakfast today.”
You shook your hand towards him as a way to signal that it was fine, “It’s your birthday, now eat.”
He smiled a bit towards you before he did as you asked, silence filling the room at first.
“Oh, I got a second gift for you,” You recalled, “Let me get it. And no,” You quickly said before he could say anything, “I didn’t buy it today, I got it awhile ago. Even if we didn’t actually celebrate like we did today, I still would’ve gotten this for you.”
The Geo wielder watched you disappear down the hall before you came back a minute later with a bottle, “Is that-”
“Ta daa~ It’s dandelion wine!” You beamed, “Why don’t we have some tonight as well?” You asked, a smirk slowly appearing on your face.
At first, his eyes just looked between you and the bottle before he stood up, his plate now empty along with yours, “I’ll get the glasses.” He said, hearing your small squeal of excitement, it was both yours and his favorite wine from Mondstat.
You wanted to get something outside of Liyue, so you couldn’t help but pick that, specifically.
Despite the fact that you both ate before drinking the wine, the wine still took its effect, more so you than him. At some point during the time you both were cuddling up on the couch, drinking the wine, you had put your glass to the side, along with his, before pulling him closer to you.
“I still have one more thing for you,” You whispered to him.
“What would that be?” He asked, looking into your eyes, just by looking into them he can see the effect that the wine was having on you.
You giggled a bit before you leaned over and whispered into his ear, “In our bedroom. Want to get it?”
Zhongli knew what you were implying and he had no protests to this. The way he responded was whispering, “I’m intrigued with what this gift could be,” Before you got up and, quickly but carefully, led him back to your bedroom.