Sun-kissed

synopsis: your lover spends too much time under the sun and gets cute freckles!

pairing: Childe x fem!reader; Diluc x fem!reader

tw: pure fluff, established relationship

word count: 1.2k+ for Childe, 1k+ for Diluc

• Childe

*moyá tsarévna - from Russian “my princess”, since basically tsarevna is a daughter of tsaritsa (hystorical analogue for queen). No relation to Tsaritsa though, simply a term of endearment!

“Should’ve worn a warmer sweater under,” you grumble, shivering a bit when the chill of the late morning seeped through your coat and creeped under your skin.

Lately, you’ve found yourself taking walks in a grove not so far from your house, enjoying the crunching sounds of the snow with every step you take and whiteness taking over your vision.

The grove looks like a perfect picture worth being drawn - pines, firs and larches clad in pretty dresses of the purest color and frozen crystals shining in the light of the pale sun - that’s Snezhnaya in all its natural beauty.

This fairy tail atmosphere, that morning walks let you bask in, helps to keep your mind relaxed before diving into daily routine. Usually you take a whole hour to wander among the trees, thinking of everything and nothing, occasionally feeding squirrels and trying to hit the farthest trunk with a snowball.

However today it seems to be colder than usual and you have to shorten your walk - coming down with something later would do you no good.

Readjusting your scarf to cover mouth and nose, you scurry out of the grove and to the buildings of your district.

It is when you are walking down the street two gloved hands appear in your sight and your body instantly stiffens for a moment, but it’s enough for the person to cover your eyes. Dread sets in your heart and your only just relaxed mind is put into frenzy and screams to escape, to turn and punch the assaulter in the stomach.

He, and you are sure it is a ‘he’, appears to have guessed your thoughts and one hand leaves your face, snaking under your arm and securely embracing your waist, pressing your back to his chest. The other hand is big enough to keep both of your eyes covered.

As you are ready to scream and twist your body a hearty chuckle brushes against your ear and you stiffen again. However this time you almost immediately relax.

“Guess who~?”

Heart is thumping in your chest like crazy and you want to hit him so badly - who would willingly give their lover a heart attack!? Yes, you are extremely happy to know your lover has just returned from his stay in Liyue but still, he could’ve been nicer about his appearance!

“Childe!” you exclaim angrily, lifting your hands to lower the scarf - dump from your warm erratic breath - and then reaching to pry his hand from your eyes. But he doesn’t budge, only pressing his chest closer to you.

“Wrong answer, my little menace~”

You are sure he can feel how you roll your eyes through the material of his warm gloves.

“Alright, Ajax, stop-”

“Wroooong,” he whines, and you feel how something cold touches your slightly warmer cheek. Oh no, he is making that 'squish your cheek to your lover’s’ and make them melt. More like annoyed.

“Babe, I am not calling you that-”

“But why not?” You are sure he pouts, nuzzling you with his nose, which is also cold. “I’ve just returned and you don’t want to call me that one word? Why?”

“Maybe because we are not married yet? And we are not gonna if you keep pressing your palm to my eyes!" 

With this little threat (that you actually didn’t mean at all) he finally draws his hand away and softly grabs your side, twirling you around and trapping in his embrace again, but this time with both arms snuggly wrapped around your waist.

You gaze into his deep blue eyes and suddenly all of the anger disappears, being replaced with longing that has been tugging on your heart for the months he was away.

"Hey,” you say almost shyly, reaching your arms to his neck

“Hi,” he smiles, and then presses your foreheads together, sighing in bliss. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more, gingerhead.”

“You did?” he stares into your eyes and you can care less for anything else except these two voids of endless ocean.

“Mhm,” you hum, rubbing your forehead against his. “You owe me kisses, cuddles and stories from your several months long trip to Liyue. But first, we are going inside, I am starting to get cold.”

“Your wish is my command, moyа́ tsarévna*.”

The nickname draws a bigger smile on your face, which quickly dissipates into a gasp and a squeal, when he effortlessly throws you over his shoulder and turns around to march straight to your house.

Only when you are inside, undressed from layers of warm clothes, with Childe out of the bathroom, clean and fresh, you settle down on the couch in your living room. You cannot pass the opportunity and almost instantly reach for his face, cupping it with both hands, to bring it closer to your eyes so they can drink in every little feature.

That’s when you finally notice something that wasn’t there the last time you saw him, and it makes your eyes widen.

“Ajax, you have freckles!” Squishing his cheeks a little, you draw his face even closer, looking at each ginger spot, adorning his nose, cheeks and, oh Tsaritsa, even his neck!

“Ah, right, my brothers and sister said so when I went home to tell my family that I’ll go fetch you first and bring you over. Though I wanted to spend some time alone with you first,” when he sees you are not listening, your attention fully absorbed by his face, he pouts. Here he is, declaring how much he missed you, willing for once to put a lasting visit to you before one to his family, and you are not even focusing on his words!

“Come on, it’s nothing special. Spent too much time out under the sun of Liyue probably,” nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders, lifting his hands to pry yours off of his face.

“You are so pretty like that,” he freezes. The eleventh Harbinger may be a cheeky cocky bastard, but once you give him a non-flirtatious genuine compliment, he loses his composure. Meanwhile your thumbs caress his cheeks fondly, an adorning smile plastered on your face.

“You know we usually don’t get a lot of bright sunlight here in Snezhnaya, right?” That was true, natives usually have freckles only if they are passed with the parent genes, like in Teucer’s case. “On you it looks like you have been sun-kissed! It’s super cool, Ajax." 

"Sun-kissed…” he murmurs and then chuckles, shaking his head and reaching his arms to grab your waist. With a new squeal of yours he drags you in his lap, situating your legs on both sides of his hips as your arms wrap around his shoulders.

“Oof, what was that for?” You glance down when he buries his face in your neck, lips pressed to your skin.

“Well, the sun has kissed me but my girlfriend hasn’t, that’s not fair. I want my kisses, give them to me!”

• Diluc

Giggles ring in the living room as he falls on his back, dragging you even closer on top of him. Ajax feels nothing about the ginger dots littering his skin but your reaction amuses him. Maybe next time he’ll take you to Liyue with him. That way he’ll get to kiss you and be kissed by you every day.

There are many reasons why you like summer and look forward to it every year.

Warm breezes that feel like blessings after days of scorching sun; flowers and trees blooming with birds chirping on their branches; seeing children of Mondstadt running and playing outside… Nature feels so inviting with warm grass under your bare feet, the way the sun warms your skin and pools of cool water being a relief after hours of walking.

Yet the main reason is the beginning of the grape harvest season. While it brings much more work onto your plate, and it’s been so ever since you said 'i do’ at the altar and became Mrs Ragnvindr, you do not mind as it gives you opportunity to help and lessen your beloved’s workload.

The prize is oh so sweet, when you return home after days in Mondstadt, tending to the papers and occasionally checking on Angel’s Share, and spot your husband in the wineyard among his workers. Rolled up sleeves and pant legs bare his strong arms and legs, you can even see how muscles move under the skin from afar. His long hair is tied in a rather quick but secure bun with only a couple of strands sticking out. But even those are glued to his sweaty forehead as he’s spent hours under the summer sun, inspecting the fruits of several months of work and giving orders to his people.

In moments like this you can’t help but stop and admire him. How appealing your husband looks with that concentrated look on his face, eyes fixed on yet another bunch of grapes resting on his palm, wrist twisting and turning to give a better look at full juicy berries to detect any sign of unripeness.

Not to mention that his pale, almost snowy skin finally gets some color in places not covered by his clothes. Diluc pays no mind to it but usually huffs in amusement when you trace your finger over the lines in places where one shade goes into another.

Sometimes you get particularly lucky and get a chance to ogle him with his upper body completely naked. Of course you’ve seen the view before, you’ve seen much more than just his naked torso, but seeing him in a minimal set of clothes out of the house isn’t something that happens a lot. More than once have you been caught by Adelinde eating your husband with your eyes, the maid always giving you a teasing smirk and passing you a jug with cool water she was meant to bring to her master. But receiving it directly from a loving caring wife is much better, no?

The best thing though, that happens every year without fail, is Diluc getting his skin littered with freckles. Nose, cheeks, neck and even his wide chestreceive the sun’s attention and, as a result, yours too.

You practically become glued to him whenever you have a break. It doesn’t matter if it’s scorching outside, you are still going to be not so far from your husband either simply sunbathing or holding a conversation with him. If he moves further down the yard, you move your lounge chair too, if he turns to address his workers, your gaze travels over the expanse of his back, and if he takes a break…

You have a hard time not to pounce on Diluc. Is it really possible to fight the temptation? When he smells like summer: fresh, hot with the lingering scent of grape and birch wood from the baskets they use to collect grapes. You inhale him with eyes  closed in bliss, nose pressed to his exposed neck, fingers holding onto the sides of his almost completely open shirt.

Then your lips start pressing kisses to his skin, trying to cover as much territory of his neck and chest as you can, and that’s when Diluc’s cheeks start to burn. He is very thankful for his back being turned to everyone else and his physique being big enough to hide your body and not let them see your sudden loving attack on him.

“Darling…” he hoarsely murmurs and you kiss his bobbing Adam’s apple. “What are you doing?”

Your pretty eyes he adores so much slowly flutter open and you gaze at him as if he has just asked about the most obvious thing (and he has). But it’s hard not to tease him, when his cheeks flush such a pretty color, blush spreading to his neck. 

“Mmm, who knows… maybe your wife is jealous of the sun for having kissed your skin for days I was away doing work and trade. Giving you kisses is my job and no one else’s!”

You open his shirt and, before he can react, snake your arms around his torso, fingers instantly drawing patterns on his back, gently running over each scar met on their way.

“You know, I can feel how wet your shirt is against the backs of my hands. Maybe you should shed it completely and let me kiss you all over your booodyy,” you almost whine, rubbing your nose between his pecs.

Getting redder and redder Diluc puts his hands on your shoulders, but doesn’t really try to push you back.

“Love, I am sweaty, you shouldn’t be pressing your body to mine like that…”

“It’s melting hot, 'Luc,” you state, not taking your face away from his chest, “and I am sweaty too, so I don’t really care.”

The man sighs, defeated, fingers on your shoulders softly squeezing them.

“You do this every year, I should’ve gotten used to it already…”

“Heh, yet you have not. Every year you get these magneticfreckles, every year I do this and every year you enjoy it. Am I not right?”

Diluc sighs again, knowing that you are absolutely right. It strokes his ego that you find everything about him appealing and have this radiance in your eyes whenever you gaze at him even after years of marriage.

“Let’s get inside the winery. It looks like you are not going to let me work anymore today.”

“Mmmm, alright! Go give your men orders, I’ll ask the maids to draw a bath!” you smooch his freckles-littered check and, after unwrapping your arms from around him, hurry to the house.

Diluc watches you fondly, fingertips barely grazing the kissed patch of his skin.

With you in his life, he started to love summer too.

Home

synopsis: Teucer can’t wait for his brother’s return and you happily volunteer to accompany him to the docks.

pairing:Childe x fem!reader ft Teucer

tw: pure fluff, established relationship, usage of Childe’s real name 

word count:1.3k+ words

“Look, look, it’s coming!”

You softly smile at the boy perched in your arms. Teucer has one arm wrapped around your neck, the other pointing forward, at the ship from Liyue approaching the docks. His cheeks and the tip of his nose are rosy from the cold, as you’ve been waiting here for some time - the boy was too excited to be the first one to greet his older brother.

Initially the plan was to wait for Ajax at home, since it was quite the frosty afternoon, and you came over to help his parents and siblings with preparations. His mom and dad absolutely adore you and are always happy to have their eldest son’s girlfriend over. It wasn’t once or twice when you stayed with them and watched after the kids. It was actually really comforting to you, playing with them and listening to different stories about your lover (doesn’t matter that some stories have been told for the 10th time, you still loved them like the first). Ajax is away a lot, unsurprisingly, given his occupation as the Fatui Harbinger, and sometimes you can’t help but feel lonely. His family is more than glad to help you cope with that.

But he doesn’t forget about you: he always makes sure to send at least one stack of letters a week, so there is always a letter to each of his family members, you included.

Thus, when the last letter came in which he notified you about his return to Snezhnaya, Teucer wouldn’t stop talking about how excited he was (of course Tonya and Anthon were thrilled too, they haven’t seen Childe for a couple of months, but to Teucer big brother seems to have such a special place in heart, for which he always gets teased by his sister). That’s why the ginger-haired boy nearly cried when his mom said he couldn’t go to the docks since both her and dad would be busy with the preparation, and there was no way they’d let him go unsupervised with a chance of a blizzard coming.

Your soft heart ached by one look at two eyes, so similar to your boyfriend’s, on the verge of tears. So you offered to accompany and watch him, assuring the worried woman that he’d be completely safe with you. Always was and always will be.

For a couple of moments she was reluctant, but seeing the hopeful look in those big bright blue eyes, she gave up. She made him wear layers upon layers of warm clothes though. You too, of course, and for that you are very grateful.

The wind seems to pick up and you carefully bounce the happy child in your arms to warm both of you with at least some movement. His gleeful laughter makes you smile, hand reaching to readjust his scarf. From the corner of your eye you see the big ship come closer and closer.

“Big sis, big sis, are you excited!?” Teucer turns to you, eyes wide and shining. “Oh, your cheeks are so red! Like a bullfinch breast!”

You chuckle. True, the cold has been biting on your skin for awhile, and now it hurts to smile widely. You have no idea how Teucer manages to still do it.

“Yours too, baby. Like a ripe ashberry,” the boy scrunches his nose and shows his tongue.

“Ashberry is bitter!”

“But bullfinches loooove ashberry,” you reason, pressing a kiss to his scrunched nose. “Just like I love you. Maybe I should get a bite!”

“Nooo!” hands in mittens dart to cover his nose and you both giggle. Ah, he is too adorable for his own good. You wonder if Ajax was the same when he was little: lively, giggly and absolutely cute.

A loud sound draws your attention back to the ship. While you two were busy being dorks, it has finally docked and anchored. As a ramp is being arranged for passengers to get off the ship, you make your way closer. Legs protest a little after being stuck in one place out in the cold, but you make them move by your own excitement bubbling in your chest.

A moment passes, people start to step onto the wooden boards, the last thing before they can finally stand on solid ground.

Another moment passes, Teucer stirs impatiently. People go and go but you don’t see the oh so familiar mop of ginger hair-

Ah, you finally spot it. Its owner doesn’t rush, as he doesn’t expect anyone to meet him before he reaches home. Alas, he should have more faith in his brother. 

Teucer twists and turns in your arms and you finally lower him on the ground.

“Please, don’t run, you can slip!” but he doesn’t listen to your words, already sprinting right to the tall lean figure clad in a thick grey warm coat.

“Biiiig broootheeeer!” at first Childe doesn’t understand what hit him in the legs as the commotion is too sudden to register the nearly battle cry. When he does understand his eyes first widen, then crinkle a little at the corners, arms dropping his travel bag and reaching down to scoop the boy up.

“Teucer! Isn’t it my cute little brother? I sure missed your face!”

“Big brother!” throwing his arms around the young man, the boy buries his face in his neck, tightening the hold.

“Oof, easy, easy. Now, tell me, did you run again from home alone?” even if he makes sure his voice is teasing and is not laced with worry he is worried. He still isn’t over that story when his little brother came all the way to Liyue just to see him. 

To his great relief Teucer shakes his head a no.

“Mama didn’t want to let me go! But then big sister Y/N said she’d come with me and mama agreed!” at the mention of your name, Childe’s heart skips a beat. Deep blue eyes start searching for you in the crowd and when they land on you, warmth spreads through his whole body. He missed his family, a whole lot missed, but without you by his side it was even more awful. Going to sleep and waking up without you by his side felt colder in Liyue than doing so with you in Snezhnaya. Going on and about his day without your soft scolding or teasing at times felt wrong, and lacking your affection… god, was he touch-starved.

Securely holding Teucer with one arm, he grabs his bag with the other and makes his way to you in long fast steps.

Before he can realize it you wrap yourself around him, mindful not to crush the boy. Childe is grateful he still has his face pressed to his neck, because the man can’t control himself at the moment. 

Lips connect in an almost desperate kiss and the ginger tries his best to maneuver the bag onto his wrist to wrap an arm around your waist. He nearly forgot how soft and warm you were, he nearly forgot what home really felt like.

“Hey there, wifey. I missed you,” he grins when the ‘too-forward’ petname, as you call it, flusters the hell out of you. But what can he do? He doesn’t see anyone except you as his 'partner for life’ candidate, you better start getting used to it.

“Missed you too Ajax,” oh your sweet angelic voice, he’s gonna make your talk a lot this evening; his stories can wait, he craves to hear more of that melodic sound.

“Aw, not gonna call me your hubby?” he laughs at your poor attempt to punch his shoulder. “Okay, okay, Ajax would suffice. Now,” he lets you take the bag, a now free hand wraps yours in a secure hold as you stand by his side ready to go, “let’s go home. It’s cold and I missed you all.”

You squeeze his palm, making the first step.

“Yes, love. Let’s go home.”