#hiro.wips

[hiiro-writes]

single dad au part 2 baybee

part 2 is here yay but from here on out i won't just be focusing on zhongluc but also other characters (and ships 👀) as well in this au!!

have my shit writing ig and hope u enjoy!

bennett is not easily affected but if he knows something is troubling his dad diluc then it troubles him too

he tried to bring it up with his dad a couple of times but it only ended up in creating a mess at home and at the cafe

he also tried to ask his dearest uncle kaeya who only kept laughing to himself or smirking

trying to get the to the bottom of things he consulted his friends in school

as much as he wanted to ask his best friend razor, we was too busy eating his third sandwich and his fifth woolfhook berry juice box

he also wanted to consult his two other friends xingqiu and chongyun (because those two would definitely have an answer! but probably xingqiu who carries his grades)

unfortunately xingqiu was too absorbed with his new book and he knew him enough not to disturb him

and so bennett decided to talk to chongyun about how his dad diluc seemed troubled lately and wondered if he should do something

though chongyun has the best intentions he gets...carried away. like that one student who goes beyond he lines during an essay during an exam

as the two came to a conclusion, they decided it was best for bennett to put his detective hat on and investigate what's happening in the cafe

though the problem is that he doesn't know where to buy a detective hat but any hat would probably do, chongyun replied

as per chongyun's advice, bennett will investigate within a week and report his findings

it would be a lot better if bennett were discreet and now bumping into someone every five minutes or breaking something

one day two seniors he knew from his school (along with their dad?) visited the cafe

he recognized them as xiao and ganyu though ganyu approached him more since he often gets into accidents in school

when bennett enthusiastically waved at them, xiao just nodded before taking a seat but ganyu waved back and smiled

"you know them?" diluc asks, to which bennett replies excitedly

"yup! they're one of the most popular kids at school! especially xiao! he's really talented!"

it was too late for diluc to tell his son to quiet down since xiao was turning furiously red

his sister laughs at this while his dad gives him water to try and calm him down

xiao and ganyu's dad, zhongli greets diluc with a smile

bennett notices that his dad seemed a bit nervous at first (dad gets nervous???) but returns the smile

bennett tries to process what he saw but now, he thinks, he needs to put on his detective hat without actually putting on a hat (but that's not the point, he reminds himself)

when diluc serves the drinks of zhongli and his kids, bennett notices that his dad and their dad...keep staring at each other?

sure they initiated a conversation (small talk at most) but even ganyu and xiao caught on to this

bennett matches xiao's confused look and still doesn't understand what's going on entirely

xiao turns to his sister who only smiles at their father which only confuses him even more

is there??? something happening??

whatever it was xiao would have to ask ganyu later

《♡♡♡♡♡♡♡》

after xiao had finished all his homework for the day he decided to ask ganyu what she was smiling about

after knocking on the door a few times he could hear her talking to someone else on the phone (most likely her girlfriend keqing) before she answered the door

"do you need anything?" she asked. she still had her earphones around her neck so she probably muted herself from the call

"why were you smiling when father spoke to that man, diluc?" xiao crossed his arms

ganyu smiled to herself before replying, "i think they like each other."

like? wait. like????? as in like like???

xiao's expression must be amusing to ganyu since she kept laughing

"it was quite obvious, don't you think?" she admitted, but xiao still didn't seem to catch on (though it makes sense considering aether has been hitting on him for the whole year and xiao doesn't have a clue)

"what's quite obvious?" childe poked his head out. zhongli had an emergency meeting tonight so childe offered to cook dinner for them (xiao and ganyu are more than capable but childe only wanted an excuse to hang out with them...loser)

after ganyu explained the situation to him childe's eyes widened

diluc?? from angel's share cafe?? the one where his beloved kaeya works in??

childe and kaeya had been dating for some time but he never went to angel's share. not that he didn't want to see his boyfriend but because if he did, they would run away from work and do something else

"i got it!" childe exclaimed, and shared his idea on how to get zhongli a date for once

at first xiao disagreed but ganyu was able to convince him since they hadn't seen their father this happy ever since their mom passed away

childe texted kaeya that night about their match-making plan to bring zhongli and diluc together

kaeya agreed immediately since he wanted to "see his brother get laid at long last"

and so their plan was in motion, but they would need all the help they could get since:

1. zhongli is way too busy all the time so childe is tasked with taking care of his schedule

2. diluc is...a bit of a mess so he'd need some encouragement. kaeya mentioned that bennett would be the best for that

3. they need to go on dates together. it should be perfectly planned! and ganyu offered to help

4. they'd need an excuse to see each other more. ganyu suggested that xiao should ask zhongli to go to the cafe more. ganyu would be too busy with her girlfriend and it's about time xiao introduced aether to his father (and so that xiao spends more time with aether too)

and 5. they would need some time alone. sure the cafe was quiet and everyone minded their own thing but it's too...cliche. there was a nearby park and so kaeya suggested that he or the others will take over diluc's shift so he could talk more with zhongli

as childe, ganyu, and xiao try to go over their match-making plan, they try to think up as many possibilities as they can if situation a happens they would do this or if situation b happens they would do that and etc.

but of course, they would also need to talk about it with bennett. childe reassured the two by mentioning what kaeya said about bennett is that he loves to see his dad happy

it was also decided that xiao would approach bennett for it. he swore under his breath and decided to bring aether along for help

when zhongli arrived home they all scrambled to get the papers where they wrote their plans (mostly to illustrate to each other how things will work) and hid it under a calculus workbook

perfectly fine!! it's just a bunch of solutions for limits!! nothing to see here!!

all three of them tried to act as naturally as possible and happily greeted zhongli for his arrival

they tried to hide their excitement over getting their dad (and boss) a boyfriend

EDIT:

link to part 1 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

[hiiro-writes]

zhongluc single dad au part 4 :D

heya! i thought it would be nice to post this on father's day so here's more of my zhongluc brain vomit

also i decided on making this a fic when it's all over and i'm gonna call it "a cup of you" because i'm cheesy like that

《♡》

so diluc and zhongli have been going out together a lot these days and everyone's been talking about it and/or noticing the subtle differences

for zhongli, ningguang mentioned he smiles a lot more to himself during their meetings and likes how his smile suits him

even her wife, beidou (who sometimes brings their son kazuha to visit) says he changed

while he was hiring his niece yanfei, who just recently finished her master's degree in law, as one of the company's lawyers

she comments how happy her uncle looks these days before making her way to her new office

but the ones that notice the change most are childe, xiao, and ganyu

he atmosphere at home is a lot livelier than before too

sometimes zhongli would catch xiao and ganyu whispering amongst themselves and laughing

childe would even join them whenever he was at home

zhongli himself can feel that he's in a better mood. how diluc is able to bring out this side of him is a mystery he's willing to discover

meanwhile diluc sometimes gets distracted and daydreams during work

other times kaeya catches him smiling more when serving his customers, which brings a smile on his face

since lisa was so perceptive, she asked kaeya what was going on and decided to tell her

who told jean

who in turn told eula, who used to be her roommate in college (omg they were roommates)

rosaria (who's also working part time like eula) find out soon after when she snuck into the break room during her shift, to find lisa and eula talking about it

then there would be constant gossip among them whenever diluc was out on a date

then it devolved into placing bets on when they'll get together and bone (kaeya is pretty confident that he will win since he knows his brother best)

everything was going great. perfect really. it all felt so good, and maybe even too good

lately when zhongli and diluc were on a date they would go to guyun stone park afterwards (which was a good distance from the cafe and about a 30 minute drive from zhongli's office)

they often talk about mundane things and then have such deep conversations while walking around or sitting on a bench with a cup of coffee in hand

diluc had never felt love like this before and zhongli didn't think he'd be able to love like this again

every time they're together they would forget about their worries and troublesome responsibilities

after going out together every week for 2 months they both decided to have a family dinner together

diluc will bring kaeya and bennett while zhongli will bring xiao and ganyu (when childe heard about this family dinner, he insisted on being the designated driver so that he could join. but let's face it, he wants to have a nice dinner with his boyfriend kaeya)

the dinner was simple but it was probably due to the fact that zhongli and diluc only talked to each other and basically ignored everyone else

the rest would just glance and wink at each other whenever the two would smile

bennett, xiao, and ganyu are still wondering when they would kiss

while kaeya and childe are wondering when they would bone already

it was cute seeing the two together and it was kind of a pain seeing them as a couple even though they hadn't made anything official...yet

which took diluc another month to summon up his courage

he decided that today, after three months of dating they could make their relationship official

also he was kind of fed up with the ladies (mostly lisa and rosaria) referring to zhongli as "mr hot shot ceo" and "not your boyfriend"

he wanted it to be perfect of course, and so he decided to dress well, get his hair done, and even bought a gift along with zhongli's favourite flowers, glaze lilies

unfortunately zhongli had an important meeting that day but they both agreed to meet at their usual place at guyun stone park

it made diluc nervous but karya reassured him that everything would turn out just fine since they both evidently like each other already

after zhongli finished his meeting he headed towards the park right away, only to discover that diluc wasn't there yet

when he checked the time he realised he was an hour earlier than expected, which was also fine

he didn't want to call diluc and make him rush (in case he had to do something prior to their meeting) so he decided to just stroll around the park

there were still a lot people there going about their day and zhongli wanted to observe them

a few couples, a family packing their things after a picnic, someone walking their dogs and—

"morax? it's been a while."

at the mention of his childhood nickname, zhongli spun around to find retuo

he was different. a lot different when zhongli last saw him in person. the more he stared the more he realised that even though he changed over the years there were still some things about him that never changed. such as the fond look in his eyes whenever he saw zhongli

"morax?" retuo chuckled, and when zhongli finally snapped out of his thoughts he smiled

retuo and zhongli used to be neighbours when they were younger and did everything with one another

they clicked so well together since they had the same interests and hobbies

some people around them even joked that they're glued them together

at the beginning of high school they both started to have feelings with each other and their love only grew deeper as the years passed

retuo and zhongli were together all the way through high school except on their second year of college

they hardly spent time together (even though they shared the same apartment) but classes kept piling up, and so did the workload

college was already too much for them to handle along with their crumbling reltionship

they never made anything official so they often miss each other (due to miscommunication) and would often fight about the little things

zhongli was satisfied with their relationship while retuo wanted more out of it

retuo would often be possessive about him which made time spending with friends really uncomfortable

one day they had a really bad fight and retuo mentioned the dream they had together back when they were children

zhongli shouted "you're still dreaming about that? what are you a child?"

retuo with tears in his eyes replied with "you don't have to be a child to dream"

both of them agreed that day to never see each other again since even looking at one another would inflict pain

retuo also decided that he'll move out of their shared apartment instead since he told zhongli "you bought it, you keep it"

the first few days were quiet. almost too quiet for zhongli to bear

every morning was devoided of the sound retuo cooking them breakfast while humming to their favourite song whenever zhongli would come back from his early morning walks that the other despised so much

he started to notice how everything he finds in the apartment reminded him of retuo

the table set they bought together, the matching mugs, the couch they spent 10 minutes debating over the colour, the table for two, everything

it somehow served as a "wakeup call" because after that zhongli became destructive and did things the thought he wouldn't do for a time

his friends (especially venti) would do their best to try and cheer him up and help him whenever they can, such as visiting him in his apartment and cleaning the mess he would make

he thought that he wouldn't be able to recover, that is until he met his second love, guizhong

she was patient and kind with him and accompanied him at the time he needed it the most, which filled the hole in his heart that was left behind by retuo

a few years after graduation college they decided to settle down and get married

guizhong started to get more sickly years after having ganyu and it took a toll on zhongli because he didn't want to lose someone important to him again

he had another period in his life where he had no idea what to do anymore

guizhong was gone and he hasn't heard from retuo in years but luckily for him, he still had the comfort of his friends and the company of his kids

he met retuo once again during the funeral and from there they made amends and became friends again

he told zhongli that he moved on after seeing pictures from his wedding since he saw how happy he was.

he wanted to stop by as well and pay his respects to the person who made his first and last love whole again

and of course to see how zhongli and his kids were doing

for a few days retuo stayed at their house to keep zhongli company in case he needed someone to cook with or a shoulder to cry on

retuo even took on of being ganyu and xiao's godfather, who never failed to send them gifts from overseas on their birthdays and on christmas

it was years before they met in person again here at the park but they never failed to keep in touch at least once month

they sat down together on a bench nearby and zhongli told him all about diluc and how the kids were doing

retuo was happy to hear his dear friend all happy and excited when talking about a certain someone

he even joked about wanting to attend the wedding this time to which zhongli turned red, but tried to laugh it off

they talked for a while until zhongli realised it was time to meet with diluc when he noticed the sun was nearly set

as much as retuo wanted to meet diluc, he told zhongli that he needed to be elsewhere but promised to make time if he wants to introduce his new love

before they parted they hugged each other and gave zhongli a kiss on the forehead for good luck

what they didn't know was that diluc was some distance away and saw what had happened

at first he tried to make sense of what was happening but then his mind started going off

who is that man? why is he with zhongli? are they close? why do they look perfect together?

that last question struck him and felt everything come crashing down beneath him

as he turned around and walked away his heart felt heavy yet somehow the small bouquet of glaze lilies he bought felt just as heavy as well

things can't get any worse right?

that is until he got a call from kaeya who told him not to panic

he explains to diluc that he was on the way to the hospital since bennett fell down a flight of stairs and possibly broke his arm

he also asked how his son was doing and kaeya mentions that he passed out due to the pain and that he didn't need to worry too much since bennett didn't hit his head and they were 5 minutes away from the hospital

diluc dropped the flowers and started running back to his car, telling his brother that he was on his way

there was a small traffic but fortunately diluc made it in time after the x-ray was done

the doctor told them that bennett would require surgery since his elbow hit the ground first and fractured his arm

after thanking the doctor, diluc didn't notice his knees giving into stress when he nearly sank to the floor

kaeya was able to catch him just in time and made jim sit down on a nearby bench so he can regain his bearings

he also reassured his brother that he didn't have to worry so much since barbara, jean's sister who happens to be a nurse here, is keeping an eye on bennett and making sure he isn't feeling uncomfortable

when kaeya asked about how his confession went to brighten up the mood, diluc only looked at with with tired eyes and shook his head

as much as he wanted to get answers from zhongli about what he saw, his son comes first above all else

meanwhile zhongli decided to go back home after trying to call diluc several times and waiting all by himself

he also stumbles upon a bouquet of his favourite flowers tosses aside

《♡》

happy father's day :D

okay yeah i'm a slut for angst that's all

and just to clear things up retuo is azhdaha since his name in chinese is 若陀 which is ruotuo but pronounced as retuo i believe but correct me if i'm wrong

i used the name retuo more since it felt more natural?? and because i wanted to give that name more justice

part 5 will be the last one!! hope ya'll enjoyed the series as much as i did writing it and i promise to give a happy ending to this series (not sure about the other one tho but we will see)

zhongluc single dad au series:

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 5

[hiiro-writes]

single dad au part 3!!

heya!! hiro here bringing more zhongluc single dad au brain vomit

i apologise in advance for the inconsistent posting about the au but i'm thinking for part 4 would be on father's day! because hehe single dad au

without further ado here's part 3!

《♡♡♡♡♡♡♡》

after a few days of gathering information, bennett consults his friends during lunch

he's...quite stumped. nothing about his notes make sense no matter how much he reads them again

the only conclusion he can come up with is that mr zhongli (he heard his dad and uncle kaeya mentioning him a lot) is the reason why his dad is acting so weirdly

they're just friends?? right??

when bennett arrives at their usual table he goes to chongyun first to tell him what happened before explaining his situation to the rest of his friends

razor and chongyun are deep in thought while xiangling, hutao, and xingqiu are all laughing to themselves

bennett lowkey gets upset by this because hey it's his dad and he cares a lot about him

xiangling explained that they meant no harm by it but they just find the whole thing cute

....cute?

xingqiu continues by saying that his dad developed feelings to this mr zhongli

this only causes bennett to become even more puzzled but hutao rolls her eyes with a smile and explains that his dad may have a crush on mr zhongli

chongyun wonders if that really is the case while razor gave up on thinking and went back to eating his fourth sandwich

bennett tries to connect all the dots and comes to another conclusion: ask uncle kaeya because he certainly knows what's best

right?

they all carry on to the rest of their classes but by the end of the day he's approached by ganyu...in the clinic

bennett tried helping a cat get out of a tree only for it to scratch his hand...again

the school nurse was busy tending to another student and so ganyu volunteered on helping which was perfect since there was something she needed to talk about to him

after patching him up she asks him if they could talk on the way out (with xiao but technically he just followed behind)

she explains to him about their plans to get their dad and his dad together since they obviously are interested in each other

with this bennett finally understands and is incredibly happy to help them out (and his dad of course)

bennett explains that he never had another parent figure

though kaeya, jean, and lisa filled that in of course it wasn't exactly the same

diluc happened to adopt bennett since he was abandoned one day by his original parents

apparently a few days prior his dad crepus died in a car accident and then later found bennett as a baby and decided to adopt him as his own

this brought a smile to ganyu's face (xiao as well but he's walking behind them...coward)

she's glad to know more of the kind of man her father is interested in and since they were on the topic of their parents ganyu decided to talk about her mom as well

her mom guizhong used to be gentle and kind. really witty too as their dad would describe when ever he reminisces about the past. he even comments they got their wit from their mom

unfortunately she was quite sickly and died of an illness years ago. ganyu and xiao were a lot younger back then so they don't remember too many details of what happened

when ganyu felt sad remembering about her mom bennett smiled and said that she sounds like a lovely person and that he would definitely love to meet her

as ganyu was about to reply she recognized childe and...his boyfriend kaeya??

turns out the two of them decided to pick up the kids from school and head to the cafe for their top secret mission of getting zhongli and diluc together

bennett gets all excited and punches the air, ganyu chuckles to herself, while xiao rolls his eyes at this

they all discuss in the car since it was a lot safer that way instead of discussing it in the cafe where so many people can hear them and it's too risky

childe updated them on zhongli's schedule saying that he moved all appointments this saturday to different dates

kaeya asked his friend eula to work part time to cover diluc's shift (he asked if she could just work in the cafe instead but she explained she had other things to do first)

ganyu decided on a restaurant with the help of her girlfriend keqing and it was all set

now all that's left is for bennett to encourage his dad and for xiao to invite his father (along with aether) on a little cafe date

the only problem is...it has to happen today

as much as childe wanted to free up zhongli's schedule for the rest of the week that man was way too busy

ningguang was already taking a few of his responsibilities but it was too much on her plate (she overhead childe on the phone with kaeya talking about the plans and she wanted to help out)

kaeya mentioned he made diluc run some errands so that he could join childe in picking them up today so that he could explain the current situation

thankfully it worked since kaeya mentioned he "rarely gets to pick up bennett from school"

but deep down diluc knows his brother all too well and believes that kaeya just wanted some time with his boyfriend

he's not wrong tho

after going over their plans, they're 5 minutes away from the cafe, xiao is currently calling aether whereas bennett was thinking of ways of encouraging his dad to ask mr zhongli on a date

once they arrive at the cafe there current plan was set in motion

kaeya goes back to his shift, bennett runs to his room to get ready and xiao patiently waits for aether to arrive

ganyu has somewhere to be and it was up to childe to picl zhongli up from a business meeting

it's all running smoothly since diluc arrives with a bag of groceries 10 minutes later and bennett drags him away (and creates a mess but that's fine) and talks to him about mr zhongli

while they talk, aether arrives after being dropped off by his sister lumine and her girlfriend amber

xiao explains that he wants to introduce him to his father to which aether turns red immediately and swores under his breath

xiao tries to question it but aether only explains that he lost a bet with his sister

meanwhile diluc is blushing furiously when bennett mentioned having a crush on zhongli

how??? how do people know is he that obvious???

bennett starts to encourage his dad saying to grab this once and a lifetime opportunity!

diluc is hesitant about it but his son comments that sometimes he looks a bit lonely looking at all the other couples

before diluc was able to ask a question bennett fell off the chair he was sitting on,,,

zhongli arrives and sees xiao and aether together

after simple introductions zhongli orders for all of them and greets kaeya

kaeya mentions that diluc is just at the back fixing the groceries to which zhongli just smiles at him

behind the counter, diluc is taking deep breathes to shake the feeling of nervousness

but first of all why is he so nervous??

for many reasons you idiot!!

one, he doesn't have any relationship experience

two, he has never asked nor has been on a date before

three, he's afraid of ruining his little friendship with zhongli

he tries to remind himself of the things bennett told him which calms him down a lot

he prepares the orders of zhongli and noticed that his son xiao keeps...staring?

is he watching him or something??

because when diluc prepared he tray xiao mentions something to his father before standing up and walking away with aether, leaving their things behind

this only made diluc more confused but that's besides the point right now

when he places the orders on the table zhongli offers if he would like to join him

he explains that since his companions are busy buying something elsewhere, zhongli doesn't have any company and insists that diluc should join him if he wasn't busy

diluc takes a seat in front of zhongli and at first it was quite awkward since nothing was happening between them

until zhongli mentioned the type of coffee beans diluc used to make his coffee and the conversation went well from there

they talked about coffee, work, their kids (and shared a few photos) and some other random things

diluc discovered they had a lot of common interests and that hey, zhongli is a really nice guy

they were talking for a while they didn't realise xiao and aether coming back, nor how late it was

before going their separate ways diluc asks zhongli if he was free and if maybe they would like to have dinner together

"to get to know each other more of course!" diluc frantically says before turning as red as a tomato

zhongli chuckles at this and mentioned that he's free on saturday

this...shocks diluc because wow

holy shit

HE HAS A DATE??

the only thing he could do is nod and zhongli seemed to acknowledge it and tells him they can decide on a place later on since they exchanged numbers

what they didnt know is that xiao was listening carefully on their conversation and smiled to himself

EDIT:

link to part 1 | part 2 | part 4 | part 5

[hiiro-writes]

diluc/zhongli (zhongluc??) single dad au because yes

diluc. so he's the owner and manager of this cute little coffee shop but it's so fucking expensive

his employees consist of his good friend jean and her girlfriend lisa

along with his brother kaeya who never seems to shut the fuck up about diluc not getting laid

every day is the same. same customers. same drinks. same habits

at this point he just looks at people and observe what they usually do

one of his regulars, ningguang, orders oolong tea along with her wife who would...drink her protein shake

another one would be albedo who only drinks black coffee. how he's able to concentrate with his younger sister constantly bothering him is a mystery diluc would want to solve one day

there was mona who came in every day for the free wifi and complementary water. when it seemed like a rough day, jean always offered half of her lunch until lisa would pay for a sandwich instead

lastly there were the twins who constantly bicker back in forth over what drink or sweets they should try next. sometimes kaeya likes to place bets if they would just order their usual or get kicked out by diluc for making too much noise

but a not-so-consistent person in his life would be his son bennett who never fails to find himself in a troubling situation

no he doesn't fail his classes (but his grades could do better) but he mostly just find himself at the wrong place at the wrong time

he's really clumsy. if diluc turns his back one bennett comes home to the cafe, suddenly there are three glasses breaking and a plate of spaghetti on the floor

one time diluc got a call from the school nurse saying that bennett nearly tripped and broke his arm. it gave him a heart attack and had kaeya take over the shop for now

but every time diluc has a bad day, his son always cheers him up with a big smile on his face

he still really loves him no matter how much of a mess he makes

《 ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ 》

zhongli is the ceo of the company. he's proud of his achievements but nothing makes him prouder than his kids xiao and ganyu

xiao is the star of the class but doesn't interact much with others

ganyu on the other hand gets too busy with her extracurricular activities that she doesn't interact much with other people either

he has his secretary childe look after his kids when things get too busy for zhongli and for the times he would have a business trip for a few days or a few weeks

so when he comes home from this one business trip, he offers his children a date, just the three of them

ganyu offers to bring them to this cafe she discovered with the help of her friend lumine. they wanted to hangout for drinks and lumine brought her here

from the outside, zhongli was already interested since it seemed calm and cosy. a perfect place for the three of them

after the get inside and when xiao mutters "just get me anything" before finding a seat, he finds himself looking at a man who might be the manager

they stared for a solid. 3. 4. 5 seconds before ganyu asked him to order something for her

that seemed to wake up the barista who was in some sort of trance

after settling in their orders, zhongli take a good look at the place. it seemed perfect for a break room for his employees and the smell of coffee and tea was divine

the same man who got their orders served them as well and zhongli glanced at his name tag

"thank you diluc." he smiled. but diluc cleared his throat before replying and retreating back to his place by the cashier

after taking a sip from the coffee he order he was. struck. he never tasted coffee this good in his entire life

then it gave him an idea, he would ask the manager if he could sell his coffee and tea inside the office. besides, the cafe that sat there now were running out of customers. it was perfect

so after they had their drinks and laughed together with his kids, he asked for diluc

for someone reason, another barista whose name was kaeya kept laughing at himself when zhongli mentioned diluc's name

"i'd like for you to sell your coffee in my office" he proposes, in which he is met with surprise faces from diluc and kaeya

though diluc turned more serious and refused the offer. "for now, i have no plans in expanding, you see."

zhongli hums. "a shame, though i should come back here. your coffee was delicious and now, i will become one of your new regulars." he smiles and leaves the cafe with his kids, unknowingly leaving a blushing diluc

THIS ISNT THE END BTW SO CONSIDER THIS AS PART 1

hope yall enjoyed tho WSHKDSBD

EDIT:

here is part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

[hiiro-writes]

wip, guizhong/zhongli

Her figure stood amongst the flowers with a gentle melody. With her billowing sleeves, the flowers danced along with her as her laughter replaced her song.

She stopped as she saw him, yet smiled nonetheless. "I give you my thanks for helping me protect my people."

He was used to protecting his own, from whichever God that vied for his power. Yet somehow she wanted to offer him something instead. "Why meet me here?"

With a gentle smile, she presented a stone dumbbell before him. "All my wisdom is hidden within this stone dumbbell. If you can unlock it—"

"Why must I find the need to unlock a mere dumbbell?"

She paused. The sounds of people trying to settle in for the night filled the silence. And again, she smiled.

[hiiro-writes]

IM GONNA RESURRECT SINGLE DAD ZHONGLI AGENDA BUT THIS TIME ITS MY NEW FAVOURITE SHIP:

ZHONGLUC

[hiiro-writes]

okay but i will properly write zhongluc single dad au (i stg i need a proper name for it) but im still gonna keep up d brainrot until its finished and (maybe) post it on like,,ao3 but we will see