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No!! Not Mr. Narwhal!!
He was a good narwhal, the best narwhal. A hard-working, dedicated young man. A bright mind with a youthful soul. He will be missed.
can we have the birthday boy being presented w a cake
pairing: childe x gn!reader
a/n: this one is for the biggest childe simp i know... @kaeya-kisser
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"did you like dinner?" you ask sheepishly as you and childe clean up the dishes left over from the previous meal. childe glances over at you almost incredulously, as if he's shocked by such a question. it's your first time celebrating your lover's birthday with him as he had spent the last one in the middle of snezhnaya and you worried as to how to make it a "fun" experience, especially without his friends or family to assist in your little celebration.
"of course i liked dinner," childe says, nearly dumbfounded by your question. "you went to the effort of learning a traditional snezhnayan dish. i can already hear my mom telling me to marry you."
"oh," you say, feeling warmth rise to your face as you look away from him. the fact that childe is able to say such things so casually never fails to leave your heart racing. your lover lets out a chuckle at your embarrassed expression and gently reaches over to place a kiss to your temple.
"there's one more present," you say and childe's expression lights up, eyes widening slightly.
"you've already spoiled me so much," he whines playfully. "i'm beginning to think that you're the best present of all."
you dry your hands on the dish towel next to the two of you as he speaks, all while briefly considering throwing the piece of cloth at him for such charming words. childe understands that sweet affections are difficult for you to convey, but the way he's able to just... croon all of his with ease never fails to leave you a flustered mess (and the asshole knows this, never failing to take advantage of it.)
you let out a hum at his words. "of course i'm the best present of all, i'm me," you huff petulantly, but the sly smirk on childe's face lets you know that he can see directly through your false bravado. you ignore his cocky grin and move to the fridge before pulling out the last surprise you have left for him: a birthday cake. the cake is covered in blue buttercream frosting. in a darker shade of blue and grey rests a nice image of a narwhal on top, wearing a red and pink party hat.
you hadn't trusted yourself to do such nice frosting art by yourself, so you turned to the local liyuean bakers, who were more than happy to bake the cake with the amount of mora you nearly threw at them in return. as you turn to face childe, holding the cake carefully in your hands, you watch as his expression lights up at the sight of the cake before a wholehearted grin appears on his face at the sight of the decorations on top.
"put the cake down," he says urgently, causing you to look at him with confusion. nonetheless, you heed his orders, setting the cake carefully on the table next to you. the second it is out of your hands, you feel childe's strong arms wrap around you in a nearly bone crushing hug. before you can giggle at his actions, childe leans in even closer and presses his lips against yours. the kiss is rather harsh as his mouth explores yours almost desperately. the harbinger holds you close and, as his hands begin to roam, you realize it’s up to you to break the kiss before childe forgets about the cake.
childe looks at you with flush cheeks and a pout, doing his best to give you pleasing eyes. however, you don’t give in, instead brushing him off with a light smirk.
“i have to sing you happy birthday!” you exclaim, pulling away to find some birthday candles in the cabinet. childe reluctantly lets you go, yet he can’t bring himself to pout as you stick three candles in the cake and light them.
“i’m turning three?” he jokes, only for you to nod in response.
“yup! my favorite three-year-old and his little narwhal cake,” you tease, only for the wholly adult harbinger to look at you with narrowed eyes.
“hey,” childe huffs defiantly. “narwhals are cool.”
“yeah, duh. i’m not gonna let a dumb animal be on your birthday cake.” you agree with a roll of your eyes. childe laughs softly at your dramatic expression and you clear your throat.
“it’s time for me to sing you happy birthday. laugh at me and i’ll destroy you.” you say, giving him the single warning. however, childe’s eyes light up at the glint of a challenge.
“oh? i wasn’t planning on laughing, but if that means you’ll spar with me...” he begins, glancing at you expectantly.
“no, i’ll just shove your pretty face in the cake,” you grumble, only for childe’s eyebrows to raise.
“oh, you think i’m pretty?” he teases, only for you to look at him blankly.
“sure,” you say and the harbinger feigns indignation at your words. “anyways, here we go. happy birthday to you...”
as you hum the soft tune, childe looks at you with the most awestruck expression and, as soon as you finish, the man peppers kisses all along the side of your face.
“you’re so cute!” childe coos as he feels the flaming heat of your flustered face beneath his lips. “even cuter than mr. narwhal!”
“yeah, yeah. anyways,” you say, changing the subject despite childe’s arms still lingering. “it’s time to cut mr. narwhal open and serve the cake.”
childe’s expression drops and you lean over and press a kiss to his cheek.
“happy birthday, childe!” you say with a giggle as childe stares at the narwhal cake decoration with sad eyes. eh, maybe he’ll get over the destruction and consumption of his new friend by the time his next birthday rolls around... hopefully.