Twelve Days of Self-Shipmas - Day 9 - Gingerbread House - YuZhu
Time for day 9 of Self-Shipmas, as found in this post! Back to Genshin, this time with Baizhu and Yuming, with some Qiqi and Changsheng!
The cold months are a very busy time at Bubu Pharmacy, people coming down with anything from a common cold to frostbite. As a result, late nights and early mornings are par for the course this time of year, so Baizhu wouldn’t normally think anything of the lamps being lit in the kitchen even before sunrise, since Yuming admitted she tends to prefer preparing medicines she anticipates needing early in the morning.
However, normally these early morning remedies don’t smell quite so closed to baked goods, so he couldn’t help but stick his head in to see what she was up to.
Yuming had already gotten herself prepared for the day, her hair pulled back and sleeves rolled up and out of the way, her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly as she checked over what he presumed were some notes. The oven was warm, meaning she was actually baking something, but he could still distinctly smell ginger in the room.
“Yuming?” He called, feeling guilty for only a moment when she startled at his voice, her head shooting up in surprise.
Face flushing red in embarrassment at being startled, Yuming offered him a sheepish smile. “Apologies, did I wake you?” she asked, her voice as soft as ever.
Shaking his head, Baizhu walked into the room properly, curiously peeking over her shoulder at the notes. “No no, it was time for me to get up anyways. What are you working on?”
Yuming gently nudged the book over so that he and Changsheng could read it easier, reaching up to give Changsheng a few gentle chin scratches as she spoke. “Considering the season and how prevalent nausea is this time of year, between heightened anxiety, celebratory habits of over-eating, and risks of food poisoning, I wanted to see about an easier way to get people to eat ginger to combat it. So I’ve been experimenting with a few ideas, starting with some simple candies for children, but I’m also trying gingerbread for a less sugary option.”
Changsheng melted some at the scritches, considering her explanation before tilting her head slightly. “Ssso you are preparing for people to be ssstupid in advance,” she summarized, bundled up against Baizhu’s neck and mostly under his hair to trap what semblance of warmth she could.
Huffing slightly at the over-simplification, Yuming very gently booped her on the nose.
Baizhu couldn’t help but laugh at the banter, cupping his chin thoughtfully. “That’s a wonderful idea, dear. And I can certainly appreciate trying to get a jumpstart on the preparations. Does this mean that you have a medicine even you would be willing to take?”
When she pointedly avoided looking at him, he chuckled out a small sigh. He figured as much.
He watched as she grabbed cloths to pull the tray out of the oven, setting it on the counter carefully. When seeing it was a large sheet, he hummed curiously.
“Why is it ssso…. big?” Changsheng asked, letting herself dangle closer to the tray curiously.
“I figured that I could cut it up into squares so that it’s easier to package and distribute,” Yuming explained quietly, looking over to the duo for approval.
Baizhu was still watching over her work, cupping his chin. “It almost seems as if you could build with this, it looks thick enough.”
Tilting her head, Yuming hummed thoughtfully and grabbed a fork, carefully slotting it along the edge of the gingerbread to see just how deep it ended up. “Perhaps…” After some thought, she nodded to herself resolutely. “I have an idea… give me an hour, please? And Qiqi can join us.”
What she was planning, Baizhu wasn’t sure. However, he has a feeling that it’s going to be entertaining nevertheless. So as instructed, he left her be while he went to tend to the Pharmacy before they opened.
An hour later, Yuming stuck her head into the main part of the pharmacy, perking up slightly when seeing both Baizhu and Qiqi there. “Can I please steal you two for a little bit?”
Looking up curiously, Baizhu nodded with a smile, placing a hand on Qiqi’s back to guide her to the kitchen. Yuming was waiting patiently for them, having some squares of the gingerbread waiting, as well as a bowl of icing. She also had a small box on a plate, and upon closer inspection, Baizhu was able to see that it was made of small squares of gingerbread and held together by the same icing Yuming had prepared.
“I wanted to test it before showing you, but it appears that yes, you can build with this, so long as you have the right materials,” she explained through small giggles, “So we can build something that is completely edible.”
Baizhu chuckled in amusement at the display, taking a closer look at her test piece while she pulled up a stool so that Qiqi could see better.
The young girl still seemed confused by the concept, standing on the stool carefully and leaning forward to look at the box too. “We can build… with food…?”
“Some of it, at least,” Yuming confirmed gently, offering Qiqi a small spatule and pulled the bowl of icing close. “Want to help me build a little house?”
Baizhu found the tiniest spark of determination in the small zombie’s face to be rather endearing, leaning against the table to watch them work. “It almost looks as though the pieces are big enough to make a little house for Changsheng out of the gingerbread,” he commented, the mental image making him cover his mouth to try and hide his amusement, and in turn avoid Changsheng’s ire.
“You can’t be ssseriouss, I wouldn’t ssstay in a housse made out of cookies,” said snake insisted stubbornly, even looking right up at Baizhu, “it would be too cold.”
Yuming giggled quietly as she held two pieces of gingerbread for Qiqi to put icing at the corner to glue them together, listening to the banter. “We certainly wouldn’t want you to be cold, Changsheng.”
Baizhu chuckled as he stood upright again, starting to make some hot chocolate for himself and Yuming, and of course some milk for Qiqi. He has a feeling this is going to be a very interesting little experiment.
Doing one of my Genshin ships with this one, and I think I'm gonna go with Baizhu and Yuming, aka YuZhu for this one! They need some love.
A - Activity - What's something they enjoy doing together?
Yuming and Baizhu do quite a few things together, especially considering the fact that they both work at Bubu Pharmacy. From preparing medicines, reading, cooking, helping Qiqi, anything can become a group activity.
Their favorite thing though is to go gather herbs and other medicinal ingredients together. To get to explore Liyue together while being able to work on helping other people is the best bonding experience.
C - Calm - How do they calm the other down?
Due to having similarly calm personalities, they calm each other down much the same way, by simply being present and giving them someone more stable to focus on, supporting them. They'll help distract the other person from whatever is upsetting them, or separate them from it all together if possible.
T - Touchy - Do they like PDA? How do they like to cuddle?
Baizhu is the more publicly affectionate of the two, but to avoid making Yuming uncomfortable, he lets her initiate any contact. At most it's small touches, holding hands or placing their hand on the other's arm.
As for cuddling, they like to be surprisingly close, considering Yuming's discomfort with PDA and shyness. Lots of leaning against each other, or their arms wrapped together. When they're laying down to rest, though, they prefer to be face to face and holding hands, giving them the ability to check on the other's health easier.
I - Imagine - What do they imagine their futures together like?
In all honestly, Yuming fully imagines their future to be much like their present. Running the pharmacy and helping everyone as best as they can, including each other.
Baizhu has more hope for freedom from helping others, and getting to indulge more in personal interests, without having to worry as much about his own limitations.
O - Object - What's something they have that reminds them of the other?
Yuming has small snake-themed hoop earrings that Baizhu got her. They're small and simple, but she wears them every day.
Baizhu has a hair stick that Yuming got for him that's decorated with amber, and he tends to save it for special occasions like holidays.
N - Nickname - What are some names they like to call the other?
Yuming is far too shy to use any sort of pet names / nicknames, however eeeevery so often in quiet moments, she'll call Baizhu 'Dear' or 'Darling', usually while trying to get him to relax and take care of himself, or let her take care of him.
Baizhu likes to tease her with all sorts of different nicknames, from plays on her actual name like 'Yuyu', to pet names that are typically flower based, like 'my lotus' or such. He loves seeing how flustered she gets~!
If they were adventuring together for any reason, Baizhu would 100% put his shield around Yuming before any fight, even if she insists that she is plenty capable in a fight and he doesn't need to worry.
He counters that it's a reasonable preventative measure so he doesn't have to treat her injuries later.
