An Eternal Couple

For the Shogun of Inazuma, a barrage of constant work is to be expected. It is her duty to handle all that is expected of her, but even someone as powerful as Ei can fall victim to fatigue. But there is always one person who can lift her spirits.

She returned to her home to be blessed with a wonderful greeting from her husband, Zhongli, reading his favorite book in his spare time.

Noticing his wife's return, Zhongli greeted his wife with a tender smile. "Welcome home, Ei! I take it your day went well?"

"Hey, Zhongli..." Ei yawned. "My day did go well, but..."

"More last-minute meetings, I take it?"

"Yeah..."

Zhongli put down his book. He moved toward his wife and gave her a loving hug. "I'm so sorry you had to endure such exhausting work. Would you like something to eat?"

"I would love to but..." Ei's cheeks heated up as she leaned into her husband's chest. "Your chest is so warm...I want to stay like this for as long as I'd like."

Zhongli stroked Ei's purple hair. "You're that tired, huh? Let's get you seated on the couch, then." He then proceeded to bring Ei to their couch and sat down with her resting on his lap, still cuddled into his chest.

For three minutes, they sat in each other's company. Neither of the two moved away from each other but rather they moved closer and closer.

Ei looked up at Zhongli. "Okay, I feel much better now."

"I'm glad to hear that." Zhongli smiled at her, "What would you like to-"

"Dango!" Ei declared her favorite food excitedly but was met with a scolding look from her husband.

"A diet of only Dango will make your work harder for you, Ei. Your body will require meat, vegetables, and healthy water in every meal you eat."

Ei giggled. "I know, but your dango is something I've always looked forward to eating. You always manage to make the best ones."

Zhongli smiled as he kissed Ei on the forehead before standing up. "Then I will make dango for dessert after I cook tonight's dinner. Go ahead and take a bath."

"Okay."

After Ei took a much-needed bath, she returned in a more comfortable robe. Her nose picked up a mouth-watering smell of meat. She looked over to her husband completely focused on his cooking. Not signaling that she had returned from her bath, Ei sat down and simply stared in awe at Zhongli. Her cheeks flustered watching his focused expression, his golden eyes glued to the pan cooking the meat.

Ei always loved seeing her husband like this because no matter what day he cooks, his meals taste like heaven. No other cook could ever match her husband's cooking, which is how Zhongli was able to capture her heart.

"Like what you see, Ei?" Zhongli suddenly spoke without turning to her.

"My apologies, I couldn't turn away from you, Honey." Ei rested her chin on her hand as she leaned onto the table. "You look absolutely...breathless."

Zhongle let out a chuckle. "Breathless?"

"No, I mean...you look like someone who would steal my breath away." Ei's cheeks began turning red. "As in your expression...is...focused."

Zhongli had finished cooking Ei's dinner but felt his heart flutter at Ei's attempts to flatter him. It was not her words that caused him to feel happy, but rather her genuine desire to make him feel better. He walked over to the table and placed her food in front of her before kissing her on the lips, "Thank you. I do my best to appear that way for the woman I love."

Ei smiled as she watched her husband go back to clean up his cooking tooks. In the meantime, she began eating his food which, once again, revitalized Ei's drained energy with its incredible taste. Before she knew it, she had completely devoured the meal, but before she could feel guilty for not enjoying her husband's cooking, a plate of dango appeared before her.

"You ate up my food already?" Zhongli asked, looking down at the cleared plate in surprise, "You must have been hungry."

Ei's face turned red as she turned away. "I...I was."

Zhongli smiled and patted his wife's head. "I don't mind. Next time I'll make enough for seconds if you're really hungry."

Hearing that made Ei's eyes light up happily, "I would love to eat more of your cooking, Honey! Maybe next time, you could cook a dango dinner...?" After seeing her husband frown at her suggestion, Ei rubbed her head and let out a weak giggle, "Actually, maybe some of Liyue's finest vegetable salad?"

Zhongli's smile returned, but given his previous expression, this smile felt more ominous. "Gladly."

After Ei finished her dango, she and her husband went to their bedroom. Despite having a nice meal, the shogun let out a sigh.

Zhongli looked up from his book with a worried expression. "Is something wrong, Ei?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Ei sat down on the bed.

"Whenever you tell me 'it's nothing', it always turns into something." Zhongli placed his book aside. "You don't have a stomach ache, do you?"

"No, it's not that." Ei began rubbing her cheek as she looked away embarrassed. "I don't think it's my place to be talking about my...worries."

"I see." Zhongli closed his eyes in a brief moment of pondering before turning to her again. "Whatever it is that ails you, I assure you that you have no reason to feel guilty sharing with me."

"Are you sure?"

"I am your husband, Ei. You can tell me anything and I will listen silently until you've let it all out."

Ei tried to hide her tiny smile that tried to form before she took in a deep breath. She then began explaining all of her inner turmoils with being the Shogun and her capabilities as a leader. Just as he told her, Zhongli listened to every word she said, not making a single noise that could possibly interrupt her.

Once done, Ei let out a slow breath and said, "That's everything. I do my best not to let these thoughts bother me, but..."

"Doubtful thoughts are impossible to completely block off." Zhongli began. "They are born out of the uncontrollable fears you may have or from stress over an unknown future or a troubled past. These feelings become more common the more well-known you are or, in your case, a Shogun of an entire nation." He paused for a moment before looking into Ei's eyes. "I am afraid I don't have the right answer for you, dear."

"You don't need to give me a 'right' answer. Just an honest one." Ei placed a hand over her chest.

"In that case, perhaps I should show you these." Zhongli took out a stack of envelopes.

Ei looked down at the envelopes and picked one up. "What are these? Letters?"

Zhongli nodded. "Letters from your people. Open it up and read it."

At first, Ei worried that all of the letters would be about complaints from her people, but did as told and opened the envelope to take out a letter. She sat down on the bed and read it from top to bottom. Upon reading, Ei realized that the letter she read was written by a little kid who looked up to her and wishes to one day be like her. After reading the letter, Ei quickly grabbed another and read through it, seeing it also contained words of appreciation to her from a merchant whom she saved from being ransacked by bandits.

Zhongli only watched in happy silence seeing his wife's worries disappear with each smile she made reading the appreciation letters. As she read the last one, he spoke up, "Your people see how much time you've contributed to their well-being. I don't know about you, dear, but I think that is a perfect sign that you are a good leader. One they are blessed to have in their mortal lives."

Tears began forming in Ei's eyes as she listened to her husband's words.

Zhongli wiped away her tears and gave her a warm smile. "I know it's hard to fight back against all the doubt, sweetheart, but all your hard has paid off. Your people respect and love you."

Ei smiled as she held the last appreciative note close to her heart. "You're right. I feel bad for doubting myself as their Shogun now. Thank you, dear. I really needed to hear their words as well as yours."

"I'm happy to be of assistance," Zhongli said, blushing a little. "But..." He cleared his throat. "Just so we are clear, your people's love for you isn't better than my love for you, right?"

Ei giggled as she kissed her husband. "Perish the thought, love. An eternity can pass and your love will never erode in my heart."

"My, did reading those letters help you get better pick-up lines?"

"Actually, it's a pick-up line I got from one of the letters." Ei burst out in laughter as she watched her husband's face snap into a shocked expression in an instant.

"You win that one," Zhongli said before smirking and grabbing Ei from behind. Hearing her shriek in surprise, he then said, "But the mountain will not fall to rubble without a fight."

Ei smiled as she faced him and looked directly into his eyes. "Then the thunderstorm will cast down stronger lightning until the mountain is conquered."

A brief moment of silence before they both began to laugh at each other's silly lines before they kissed each other. At that moment, they forgot they were immortal and viewed each other as a happy couple living in each other's company.

A husband whose love for his wife will never erode.

A wife who will love her husband even after eternity has passed.

An Eternal Couple.

Jurabi: Hello once again, ZhongEi Nation. I am here once again to drop another banger ZhongEi fic, refuse to elaborate, and then leave.
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