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#tried to keep it as neutral as possible but you're not super terrified of thunderstorms here
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Glass Drops on the Windowsill
Foul Legacy Childe x Reader Gender Neutral (pronouns not mentioned) Hurt/Comfort Warnings: Depiction of thunderstorms, fear of thunderstorms, descriptions of lightning ~ * ~
Pitter patter, pitter patter, the rain sounds on the roof of your house, sliding down the tiles and dripping into the canal. Your umbrella lays abandoned near your door, surprisingly dry, as you stare out the window and watch the crystalline drops roll down the glass. Luckily you had arrived home about half an hour ago, barely beating the worst of the rain by a few minutes. So you gaze at the people outdoors, ensnared by the sudden storm, and watch the clouds darken from near white to slate gray. Your ears slowly block out the sound of the rain as they grow accustomed to it, and it becomes suddenly apparent that your house, for once, is very, very quiet, when ordinarily you’d at least be able to hear the soft rumblings of your unlikely roommate. You furrow your brows, worried, and begin to search for him. The kitchen yields no results, neither does the front room, and for a moment the rain distracts you, and you stop to admire the effect it has on the foliage outside. Your concentration snaps back into place when you hear a low whimper from upstairs. Keeping your steps quiet as possible, you tiptoe your way up the stairs and open the door to your room. There, hidden under several blankets atop your bed, is the very monster you’ve been looking for. Zhongli told you that he’s called “Childe”, although you don’t know how he came across this information. Honestly, you’ve learned not to question what Zhongli knows, because he’s usually right, especially when the topic is history. You make your way across the room and sit on the bed, and Childe peeks out from under the mound of blankets. It’s strange, really. Maybe you’ve been spending too much time working and not enough time sleeping, but his mask-like face is one of the most expressive things you’ve ever seen. And right now he looks nervous, almost scared. You place a hand on his face and he almost instantly leans into your touch, sticking his head further out from under the blankets. A bright light flashes outside, followed by a distant rumble of thunder, and you jump, then exhale. Thunderstorms were more surprising than scary- once they started, you would quickly grow used to it, even admiring the lightning streaking across the sky when you could catch it. But it seems your roommate disagrees, as when you turn back to face him, he’s retreated under the blankets, shivering. Ah. Ah. Quietly, you shift and slowly raise the covers. Oh. Oh. You’re not sure if Childe can cry, but right now he certainly looks like he’s about to. Lighting cracks outside once more, and he flinches. Out of instinct, you take his face in your hands, and he looks at you, letting out a soft whine of fear. Bunching up your legs so you can fit, you scoot next to him, rearranging the blankets so they’re surrounding you instead of overtop of you. You run your hands through his hair, over his mask, across his moth-like wings, all while murmuring to him, distracting him from the sounds and darkness outside. And slowly, slowly, he begins to relax. His muscles untense, and his whimpers turn to hesitant purrs, as you tell the rain, rain, to go away, come again some other day. Soon even the loudest claps of thunder are reduced to background noises as Childe purrs alongside your ramblings. You coo up to him, tracing one of the horn features on his face, and he rumbles softly back down to you, the vibrations in his chest pleasant and soothing. He inches closer and gently lays his head on your chest, careful not to put all his weight on you, and you listen as his breathing evens out and he drifts off to sleep. The rain comes back into focus, the last remnants of the thunderstorm drifting overhead. The glassy-clear raindrops cling to the windowsill before relenting and falling to join the rivers of water below. You see your reflection, and his, and marvel at the sight of this enormous monster sleeping peacefully, snuggled into your form. He’s curled himself around you, ever-protective even in slumber. You smile, feeling your own eyelids growing heavy. And with a yawn, you let yourself be claimed by sleep, a sleep that only comes on a stormy, rain-filled day, in the arms of your unlikely partner.
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