Chapter Text
“Good morning, Mama!” Childe cheerily arrived with a tea tray and a young Yuan perched on his shoulder who chirped a song he had learned from Venti.
Blearily Morax woke, still a bit worn out from the birth of the triplets, it had been an ordeal to have multiple births, but they had gotten through it.
“Ma!” Yuan slipped from his father to curl in his mother’s arms purring happily at Morax’s steady heartbeat. Yuan’s cultivation had advanced in leaps and bounds, mostly because the multiple cycles he had endured as a tribulation, and now could easily adjust his size and had lost much of his baby fat, becoming a sleek young dragon. Already, after only three years he was attempting to take human form.
“Good morning A-Yuan.” Morax placed a kiss on his eldest son’s head, evaluating his meridians as he did so. Abnormally strong, as they had been since his eventual birth, still, because of his tribulations, Yuan had been born completely white, and the veins of gold running along his body like cracks proof of the trauma he had endured. Morax still regretted not being able to find his right eye, and gently brushed a thumb under the golden hole where it should have been.
Yuan settled his chin in Morax’s hand, his other sunset eye gazing up at him in reassurance. “I’m okay ma, we did it.” This one sentence betrayed his actual years, but also proved that he was never lost, no matter how hard Celestia had tried to kill him.
“JiaSheng! What are you doing? Spit that out! Paimon! Grab YiCheng! He’s climbing the bookshelf again! Where is BingYu!?” Aether could be heard from the other room, presumably watching over the newborns along with Paimon.
Morax had been so exhausted after their birth he hadn’t been able to see them. He looked at Childe curiously. “They are named after the Dragon King’s three sons?”
Childe set the tea tray down over Zhongli’s legs and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, “Ah, so it’s that obvious huh?” He climbed into bed alongside his small family, wrapping them in his arms. “Apparently they heard you tell me the story and decided they liked the names, so I tried to give them fitting names they agreed with. You told me it was Taboo to name children after historical and legendary figures so…”
Zhongli pulled his husband down into a kiss, “You did perfectly, I can’t imagine they were too thrilled to not simply be Jia, Yi, and Bing.”
Tartaglia sighed, “JiaSheng was happy with my first suggestion, BingYu took some thought, but YiCheng…” Child sighed, “He’s a handful all on his own. He still insists on just Jia.”
Morax’s brow turned at this, “YiCheng wants to be Jia? Jia is the first born, don’t tell me YiCheng is the second.”
“Like I said,” Childe rubbed his face, “YiCheng is a handful.” The door to the nursery cracked open just a bit, sniffing and stumbling footsteps following the soft click of the door closing.
“Ma. Ma. Ma.” The blankets of the bed were pulled down as someone tried to climb them chanting for their mother. Child made to get up and pick whoever it was up, but Yuan was faster, leaning over the bedside to try and drag them up.
“Yuan, be careful, newborns are heavier than you-“ Zhongli tried to warm, but Yuan’s hind legs scrambled as he was pulled over the edge.
“Stop squirming BingYu! You’re so heavy!”
“Sorry Gege.” BingYu’s voice was very soft, already he could tell the boy would be very shy and quiet. Probably why it had been so easy for him to slip away from his babysitters considering how troublesome JiaSheng and YiCheng seemed to be.
“Alright boys come to papa.” Childe scooped the two up and Morax saw the youngest of the triplets for the first time, tears springing to his eyes.
BingYu was perfectly healthy.
In stark contrast to his elder brother, BingYu was a rich earthen brown with a beautiful unheated zircon peeking out from beneath his scales and along his belly like a vein of the precious stone within the earth. His sleepy eyes showed irises affected with Heterochromia, one a bright blue and the other a rich Amber. His short little legs kicked instinctively under his round fat little body, not quite able to move as gracefully or elegantly as Yuan, who quickly settled around his father’s neck.
“Maaaaaaaa.” BingYu’s little paws flexed for his mother, Childe setting him on Zhongli’s chest with a click of his tongue.
“BingYu, use your words.” The boy ignored his father, instead rooting against Morax for milk.
“It’s alright Childe.” Morax easily complied, pulling his robe aside for BingYu to latch on. Happy that the boy seemed to have a healthy appetite. Just like with Yuan, he evaluated BingYu’s meridians, finding them perfectly normal for a hatchling. “He’s still young and overshadowed by his brothers, let him be the baby while he can.”
Tartaglia had made to say something, but was interrupted by Aether and Paimon barging in. “Childe, I think Jia is hungry.”
“Give Auntie Paimon the rock Jia! Please?” Said fairy was trying to pull a rock from JiaSheng in Aether’s arms. Jia was fat, fatter than normal, a real chonker, and bigger than his three siblings at birth. And apparently stronger as he happily gnawed on a rock he had somehow gotten ahold of. Jia’s scales were a brilliant yellow, tinged with just a hint of orange, Morax deduced he was of Imperial Topaz, and wondered if the furry blond mane of his would extend to his human form, seemingly taken after his grandfather, Huanglong, or what Zhongli could remember of his own father. His eyes were the same bright Amber of his mother and he seemed totally unbothered by his Aunt attempting to take the rock from him, happily slobbering all over her hands in his delight.
“Yuck! Zhongli, your son is-“ She looked over to said man and squeaked in alarm covering her eyes. “Ah! Paimon didn’t see anything- AUGH! There’s slobber on my face!” Paimon dashed from the room, undoubtedly looking for a place to wash up.
Aether’s eyes had been closed the whole time, as YiCheng, the middle triplet, apparently had decided to perch on his face, angrily swishing his tail as he watched his elder triplet attempt to eat a rock. “How crude, how is he the eldest brother? He clearly has rocks for brains.”
“YiCheng, stop insulting your brother, that’s not how being the eldest works.” Childe took JiaSheng from Aether, who was now trying to pull YiCheng off his head. YiCheng was a deep ambery orange of clinohumite and bright, sharp azure eyes. Not unlike the scales of his Grandmother. He seemed to have somewhat of a more lanky build then that of his brothers, and a strong sense of pride apparently. Though Morax could already tell he seemed to have poor eye sight as he squinted at his father, trying to push away from him to see better.
“It’s okay Pa- I like rocks.” Jia grinned happily up at his dad, tail shaking happily as he cradled the stone on his stomach. “This is Shi! I found him in the garden, he likes watching over our family. He’s a granite river stone Gege picked up from around uhhhh a river!”
Morax and Childe shared a concerned look at this, neither had any idea what Jia was talking about, but he seemed perfectly happy to continue to gnaw on ‘Shi’. “Why don’t you actually eat instead of eating Shi.”
“Mmmh!!” Jia happily waddled over to his mother, safely tucking his stone into his tail while he fed. Zhongli becoming worried that YiCheng would be angry at being left out.
“Once BingYu has fallen asleep it’s your turn YiCheng.” The boy, now pried off of Aether’s face and glaring at him for being unwilling to be his perch, turned his nose up at this.
“I have no need Mother, I can gather Qi just fine on my own.” This shocked Morax, never would he had thought a hatchling to refuse a mother’s milk, yet here was YiCheng. Not that Morax’s ‘milk’ was anything like what a mammal would produce, no instead it was mostly Qi, and tasted something like honey. Truly it was meant to help a young hatchling who had a live-birth transition from being spoon-fed Qi, to gathering it on their own as they often struggled to.
“YiCheng.” Morax growled in his throat, the boy shrinking back into his father’s arms and curling his tail over his head at being reprimanded. With a huffed ‘fine’ he went silent, sulking under his own weight.
“Thank you Aether, we’ll be fine now.” Zhongli thanked the traveler and sent him off, sure he had other places to be as he often did. Aether wished them luck with their family, and headed out to find Paimon.
Yuan flipped over YiCheng tilting his head curiously at his younger brother, his ears fully extended towards his sibling. “Why are you so difficult, Yiyi?” YiCheng didn’t answer, opting instead to turn away from Yuan.
“See? Difficult.” Tartaglia sighed and set YiCheng down, the young hatchling huffing the entire time, tucking his legs under him like a cat and swishing his tail in agitation. Yuan too, hopped onto the bed, Childe taking the time to pour his spouse a cup of tea as he had originally intended.
“Yiyi~ Look at Gege.” Of course YiCheng did not, huffing so much his face must be all puffed up. Yuan crouched behind him before pouncing on his little brother, nipping at his ears.
“Da-Ge stop it! Hey- Ma! Ma! Da-Ge is biting me!” The boys tussled on the bed knocking into the tea set.
“ Хей! Перестаньте! You’re going to knock the tea over! If you're going to roughhouse go outside.” Childe chastised but couldn’t help but chuckle as the two tumbled over the edge.
“Da-Ge is a bully! He started it! How are you the eldest brother!? You’re so small!” YiCheng apparently had a very interesting idea of what an ‘elder brother’ was.
“Pfff watch this little Yiyi.” Quickly Yuan grew to the side of a horse, not too large to fill the room, but enough to prove his place as the eldest. YiCheng squeaked in surprise, scrambling as Yuan picked him up in his mouth.
“Ma! Ma! Yuan is going to eat me!” The poor little dragon looked next to tears in his brother's mouth, his cries for mom tugging at Zhongli’s instincts.
“A-Yuan stop scaring your brother, put him down.” The boy did as told, dropping YiCheng on the bed who quickly stumbled his way between his brothers, shivering and coiling his tail around himself. “It’s alright, YiCheng. Yuan won’t hurt you, he’s only teasing.”
“Maybe.” Yuan laid his head beside his mother, wiggling his eyebrows at YiCheng who attempted to disappear into himself.
“Yuan, stop it.” Morax flicked his nose in admonishment, but was still rather impressed at Yuan’s imposing form. JiaSheng had apparently fallen asleep some time ago, and BingYu was immediately interested in his brother, wandering over to brace himself against Yuan’s white snout.
“Gege is so big.” With a bit of difficulty he managed to crawl up on Yuan’s head, settling himself there comfortably as he yawned. “Bingy is big now.”
“Hey wait-“ Yuan lifted his head suddenly realizing what had happened. “I didn’t say you could sleep there. BingYu? Bingbingggg. Hey!?”
“Shhh Yuan, your brothers need plenty of rest. Childe? Could you?” Zhongli motioned to the little noodle on Yuan’s head, Tartaglia chuckling to himself before taking the sleepy boy. Soon all three infants were fast alseep, Yuan and their father taking them to their own hatchery where Yuan decided to stay with his brothers and watch over them for his parents.
“Finally,” Tartaglia returned, locking the door behind him, to which Zhongli raised a brow. “It’s Daddy’s turn.” Tartaglia crawled between his wife’s legs, pressing a kiss to his swollen nipples.
“Childe.” Zhongli hissed in warning at the attention to his chest, for too tired to entertain his husband a few mere days after birth.
“Don’t worry, I’m just making sure it’s safe.” The ginger rubbed along Zhongli’s hips just the way the ex-Archon liked, earning himself a suspicious look.
“I forget that you are the biggest baby here.” Zhongli chuckled and ran his fingers through his husband’s ginger locks. “Should you have made sure it was safe before the hatchlings fed?”
“I wasn’t making sure it was safe for them.” Childe gave a mischievous grin.
“I just gave you three sons at once, if you think I’ll go through that again you are crazy.” Morax flicked the harbingers nose and tried to turn away from him. Childe let him but cuddled up behind him, leaving kisses along his shoulders and neck.
“That was a unique accident, you know that Dushen’ka. Baizhu and Changsheng explained it was because of the multiplicative properties of the Dragon’s Peal.” He paused for a moment, hopeful but Zhongli continued to say nothing. “Besides,” Childe pressed against Morax, pinning him down against the bed on his belly, “I know you love to be filled.”
“Childe.” Was all he got as a warning in response, Zhongli having none of this. At the very least not this soon.
Laughing, the Snezhnayan backed off, drawing his wife into his arms. “Alright alright, we will talk about it, Da?” Zhongli didn’t say anything, but turned towards his lover, sliding easily into his embrace.
“…Maybe.”