[It's not praise, exactly, but desire is basically the same thing--it still sends a shock of heat through his body, still makes him shudder and dig his nails into Zhongli like he'll shake apart if he doesn't. Granted, between that low tone and the relentless pleasure that builds with every thrust, Zhongli could probably say whatever he wanted and Childe would find it irresistible.
The first time Zhongli had touched his soulmark, out in the hallway, had been startling. Childe hadn't been prepared for the feeling of Geo energy crystallizing beneath his skin, reacting to Zhongli's touch. He's not used to it now, either, but that's because it seems to amplify everything he's feeling tenfold. It's a feedback loop of sensation--the press of Zhongli's cock within him, the press of his thumb against the mark, the rich cadence of his voice, the warmth of his breath. All of it wipes his mind of everything but Zhongli, Zhongli, Zhongli.
There is something utterly electrifying about keeping his hand on Zhongli's mark, too. Knowing that maybe, just maybe, Zhongli's as overwhelmed as he is.
Childe can't see his face like this, but it doesn't matter. He knows Zhongli looks magnificent, with his glowing eyes and dark arms laced with gold, scars and muscle and sweat. More than that, he looks, feels, powerful. Dangerous.
Maybe Childe would do anything for him, too.
He hadn't been lying about not lasting long. He pants out right there and don't stop, though he can't keep track of what language he's speaking. Snezhnayan, Liyuen, the common tongue--maybe he doesn't actually manage to say anything coherent, and it's all just wordless encouragement. It doesn't take much time before Childe's body tenses up, and the hand he'd tangled in the sheets flies to his cock, desperate to reach his peak.
If Zhongli doesn't stop him, it won't take much for him to come like this, Zhongli's name on his lips like a prayer.]
[ childe shudders beneath him, tightens around him, bites unforgivingly into zhongli's skin nails with his fingernails—every sudden movement as dizzying and arresting as the next. the mark on zhongli's neck swirls with elemental energy, white-hot under childe's palm. every sensation fires his nerves, adrenaline coursing with each give of childe's legs and hips. his pace quickens, and his eyes shut tightly as he presses his forehead to childe's neck for leverage.
without these marks, beyond any of myths and legends or great cosmic forces that bind them, this was inevitable, wasn't it? that zhongli and tartaglia would have one day irrevocably given into one other? he can't help the thought making a home in his heart as they move together, desperate for the other, thinking of nothing and no one else. it may not have been tonight, under these circumstances, on this ship, but someday zhongli would have found his way here. childe would have still come to liyue harbor, first for morax and then for zhongli and liyue. he would have still been arresting and bright, stirring something like aliveness in him, and he would have made him fall in love.
yes, he's overwhelmed. his pace is still steady and deep, held by strength only proffered to a god. childe arches and tightens around him, panting syllables that he can hardly string together. there are some he can recognize, translated quickly through his thoughts, gone seconds later. the supplication of childe's voice, gasping and groaning, is all he can think to process.
zhongli doesn't stop his hand. he puts his full weight back onto his knees and presses his free hand against the bed, raising himself to look. his eyes scale down the canvas of beautiful, heavily scarred skin, painted in white streaks, glossed with sweat. childe's hips jolt as he comes across his stomach and chest, tightening around his cock and pulling him in deeper. his name on childe's gently swollen lips, moaned in a single long breath, runs electric through his body, into every limb. tartaglia is everything, his image behind his eyelids, the exact company his lonely heart had sought. lost in the damp heat surrounding them both, zhongli can't bear it any longer.
childe finishes beneath him, and zhongli groans again as pleasure shocks between his hips. he draws back from childe's body, lowering him back against the bed before standing on his knees. he grasps his cock and strokes himself to his shaking climax, sucking in breath through his teeth. his mouth falls open and he tips back his head, and his come spills over childe's stomach, painting over his fingers and cock. ]
[Childe prides himself on his control of his own body. But the way his eyes snap open, the way he jolts partially upright to watch Zhongli reach his peak--it's completely out of his hands, as if some force temporarily possesses him, ensuring he doesn't miss it. And oh, is it a sight to see; Zhongli, drenched in sweat and streaked with blood, chasing his release like any mortal would. All the things he never let himself imagine crash through the shambles of his barriers, and all of them pale in comparison to the sight of Zhongli at the height of pleasure.
It hits him again, then; Zhongli wanted this. Every moment of it. Every step of the way, again and again, Zhongli chose him. He believes Childe holds a piece of his soul, and he loves--loved the thought of that enough to get them here.
Talk about overwhelming.
He hooks a hand around the back of Zhongli's neck, dragging him down into a series of deep, desperate kisses as he falls back against the sheets.
There are so many things he can't say yet. So many emotions he won't name tangled up in his heart, things he can't even begin to think about right now, let alone try and express in coherent words. All this and more, he pours into these kisses. They say I don't know how to let myself want you this much. They say But let me try.]
[ zhongli is just escaping his brief euphoria, chest heaving as he catches his lost breath. when he finally looks down, still holding his softening clock, childe's eyes have his immediately.
he has looked at him with awe and need before. there is something different here in his gaze, scarred chest and stomach painted with come as he leans on his forearms. it looks so much like being overwhelmed, almost like love.
childe pulls him down and crushes their mouths together as they both meet the bed. he has never been kissed this way before, not with so much need and affection and want that was past what sex might give them, not by childe.
he falls into it with immediacy, as if he had been waiting for the moment himself. he catches himself on his forearms, back curved. he tilts his head and slots their mouths together, opening and closing, tongues briefly sliding one against the other between them.
blindly, he wipes his come-spattered fingers clean against the sheets. laying his chest flush against childe's, knowing he could hold him, he cards both hands into his beautiful hair and feels the run of his roots against his palm, between his fingers. his brows tighten together. ]
You...
[ a breathless murmur between heavy and ravenous kisses, another heaving of a ribcage against another. his heart is rabbiting, beating towards childe. he knows what it means. his mind is full of nothing but him, all of the things he has learned to adore about him, every scar and painful secret. on his neck, the riptide mark glows bright to every corner and every edge. this time, its small and jagged spokes are swirled with streaks of purple, lightly sparking.
he draws away by a scant few centimeters, lips sticking, golden eyes searching for his as he catches his breath. the words pulse and warm and overwhelming on his chest before they are finally released. ]
[It's something that's been said without words all night. Longer, if Childe's honest with himself. But hearing it out loud makes him shiver anyway, and he squeezes his eyes shut as he lets his breathing settle. It feels very much like trying to look into the sun; he can't face it directly, but he wants, more than anything, to bask in its warmth until it sets.
He believes Zhongli. That is, perhaps, the hardest part of it all. Zhongli, who still lacks such crucial information about him, but understands him better than almost anyone else in his life. Zhongli, who has lived through things Childe can't even begin to imagine, yet somehow wants to spend his days beside him. Who, despite everything, was only shocked by the appearance of a soulmark, not the fact that Childe bore its match.
Fear isn't the right word for what holds his tongue. Intrinsic apprehension, perhaps, is the better description--or caution, mistrust, even a default state of wariness that took him years to develop. If Zhongli were anyone else, Childe would think him painfully naive.
But he's not anyone else. He's the wisest person Childe's ever met, cunning and kind in equal measure. There is nothing about this that Childe can't trust, and that, in and of itself, is difficult for him to grasp.
It isn't that he doesn't feel the same way. It isn't even that he doesn't understand his own feelings. Some part of him has always been aware of his steady, inevitable fall, no matter how forcefully he closed off his heart towards the end of his mission. But if he opens his mouth right now, he knows already that he won't be able to say it back with Zhongli's same level of peaceful finality.
Zhongli says I love you like it's simple. Like it's something he's held in for far too long, and it's a relief to have the freedom to voice it. If Childe were to try and match him, it would become, you really shouldn't. And, I'll forgive you if you change your mind. And, I don't know how many years I have anyway. And maybe even, I don't know what it means to be loved by someone like you.
So instead, he opens his eyes again. He's quiet for a long time, just looking. He glances at the mark on Zhongli's neck one more time, but whatever he thinks about it doesn't show on his face. He lets his fingers wander over Zhongli's face, exploring with a light touch that he hadn't had the patience for earlier. He runs a finger along the line of his nose, over his eyebrow, and down past the shock of smudged red near Zhongli's eyes. Even when his hand settles back where it was, he brushes his thumb over Zhongli's cheekbone, back and forth in a slow, gentle motion.
Zhongli always looks so regal. Even now, a disheveled mess at Childe's own hands, it would be impossible to mistake him for someone ordinary.
His skin is sticky with sweat and come, cooling in the night air. His soulmark pulses gently at his hip, glowing a soft gold.]
...Ajax. [When he finally speaks, his voice is very soft, as if anything else might shatter the moment between them. He swallows; he holds Zhongli's gaze, but there's something skittish in his face, something fragile that makes him look as young as he truly is.] It's my... my old name. From before. [Before the Fatui. Before a bloodstained young boy clawed his way out of the abyss, the light permanently extinguished from his eyes.]
I don't really use it anymore, but... [he shifts slightly.] I just--[want you to know I love you too]--thought you should know.
[ zhongli knows better than to expect a response. childe was self-sufficient and distrusting—at times a liar and manipulator by necessity, always dissecting others' intentions. zhongli reconciled with the fact that he added to that distrust. at least, he thought, the fatui had everything to gain in the end.
yet somehow, he gained as well. childe arrived at his table again after all was said and done, extinguishing the thought that this draw to one another was merely transactional, meant to end as soon as the mission was done. childe continued to come to liyue of his own will, for nothing but his company. during his absences, longing and lonesomeness prickled zhongli's chest—long before he left for inazuma.
childe's gaze speaks to him in conflicting ways: disappointed, resignated, confused, worried, yet not rejecting him all the same. zhongli silently waits for his answer in any form, willing that the stormy waters be quelled. he would wait however long it took.
when childe's fingers reach for his face, zhongli closes his eyes and obliges them. whatever purchase they searched for, however they wanted to leave their mark along his features, he would allow all of it. they follow the lines of his face with reverence, drawing the shape and feel of it into memory. when they finally settle on his skin and his thumb grazes along his cheekbone, zhongli opens his eyes again.
what comes after is something he couldn't have predicted. those guarded feelings in childe's eyes part and give way, and beneath them childe is quiet and vulnerable, a raw open wound. stripped of all loyalties and titles, he's suddenly a being like any other zhongli has met, begging to be seen in his entirety and still loved regardless. at the same time, he is like no one else. he never would be.
from before. it's easy for zhongli to fill in the undefined: a young snezhnayan boy of unknown age, red hair, shining blue eyes, unpoisoned by the abyss. childe talks about ajax the way one solemnly introduces a gravestone, or shows the delicate corpse of a glass-boned bird between cupped hands, preciously preserved. the body of a child that would never come back.
childe offers up ajax in all his fragility, trusting that zhongli would keep him safe and treat him with care. and how would he not? who could know and love all facets of him, ajax and tartaglia and childe, all at once the way he could?
zhongli rests his weight in his forearm beside childe's head. his other hand reaches and closes over childe's wrist, first finger curled against the back of his hand, thumb on his pulse. zhongli skims his lips over the heel of his hand and presses a kiss to the center of his palm. a gesture of understanding, reassurance, and gratitude all at once.
when he looks at childe again, it's the first time se sees him in his entirety, with even the vestiges of what's long gone. affection swells like a fire in his chest. smiling softly, he murmurs: ]
Thank you for telling me. ...Then I will say it once more.
[ he leans forward, at the same time pressing childe's open hand to the side of his neck, over his glowing soulmark. fingers still buried in childe's hair, zhongli meets their lips in a long kiss, carefully deepened with a quiet inward breath.
he draws back with the barest breadth to murmur, noses softly sidling one beside the other, promising that he sees every part of him: ]
[He closes his eyes again as Zhongli kisses him, letting his fingers curl, almost obediently, over the mark on Zhongli's neck. But otherwise, he holds very still, as if that might make it easier for Zhongli to envelop him in his warm, loving hands.
When was the last time he'd heard those exact words?
Never in this context, of course. "Ajax" died long before that would've been possible. But from his family, how long...
...Well. It doesn't matter if he can't remember. This is different anyway. This, right now, is for Zhongli alone. The ache in his chest belongs solely to the man--the god--above him. The man who'd indulged him so beautifully earlier, tearing into his flesh with nails and teeth just like he'd wanted; the man who runs his fingers through Childe's hair so gently now, strong and steady against the tremulous waves of Childe's devotion.
It would be enough to make him cry, if he still could.
But he's glad he probably can't, anymore; instead, he lifts his head just enough catch Zhongli's lips again, his thumb massaging the soul mark in slow circles as one languid kiss bleeds into the next. He could lose track of time so easily like this, and it's difficult to think of reasons why he shouldn't.
Maybe he'll just buy the boat so that they can stay here forever. (He can't do that.) (He might try anyway.)
Eventually, he breaks away, angling his head to kiss along the curve of Zhongli's jaw. Earlier, he'd been heady with arousal and reckless with passion; this time, when he sinks his teeth into Zhongli's flesh, it's slow and purposeful--leaving a deep mark with methodical intent.
He has to pull back enough to speak again, but it's with great reluctance that he does so, and even then he stays impossibly close.]
...Don't hide this one.
[When Zhongli covers up everything else, he means, since he assumes Zhongli intends to hide his soulmark the same way he hides his arms. Childe speaks with the barest hint of playfulness, but there's something deeper there, too, more meaningful than it would've been if he'd done this earlier in the evening. A hint of sunlight reflecting off the surface of the ocean. An unspoken request: don't forget about me. Remember me the way you remember everything else dear to you.
They still have time together. It's not like Childe's due to leave Liyue right away, and he doubts either of them plan for this to be a one-time occurrence. Not after everything. Still, if he doesn't say it now--even indirectly--he's not sure he ever will.
...And, look, even spent and tired, he's still greedy with want. He'd have to be unconscious not to be drawn towards Zhongli, and even that's not a guarantee.]
[ zhongli sinks into the slow stream of their kisses, their sweetness and depth. his soulmark glows incandescent under childe's thumb. he needs no other answer; childe understood that, or else either of them would have flinched or recoiled. having childe is enough. he doesn't need to say more.
he tilts his head as childe's kisses follow the line of his jaw—and suddenly end with a slow, dull pain in his neck. he inhales sharply as it blooms under his skin, spreads warmly throughout. a shiver glides down his back.
more surprises. he should have expected it. he exhales with a soft groan, lips curving into a smile. his fingers curl in childe's hair. he shouldn't still want him this badly.
when childe leans away and murmurs almost against his lips, it takes a god's measured patience not not to kiss his mouth closed. instead he opens his eyes and listens, untangling the deeper meaning in his words and the tone of his voice, because who else would know childe well enough to decipher him?
the answer is bittersweet. childe is right to ask. everyone would know that their beloved consultant, their ex-archon, belonged to someone, yet more than some claim of ownership over zhongli—which was doubtlessly relevant in some way—this was a quiet request. the mark may fade, but childe, tartaglia, ajax—zhongli would always be his, long after his death. he would be a beacon in his old heart. he would cherish him, always, through however many years he walked the earth.
he lays his forehead against childe's, the tips of their noses pushing gently. he smiles again. ]
I suspect that not a soul on this ship would be surprised to see it. Nor anyone in the Harbor, for that matter. ...I would not hide this for the world.
[ his golden eyes thin out as they search childe's face, drink him in. we always made sense, says the meaning beneath his words. everyone could see it.
let's be real. everyone would be more surprised to see either of them unscathed after what happened.
he turns his head and slots their lips together again, this time easing childe back against the pillow. their kisses are deep and languid, a final hurrah (maybe?). he leans on his forearms and bridges over him, come sticking and pulling apart between their chests. his hair falls again over his shoulders, fanning around them.
beneath him, childe still shines with sweat. bite marks and bruises are scattered on his neck, a deep contrast against white skin. his lips have reddened, pocked with dark spots of blood. his hair is unruly in all places, still artful in its disorder. then there are his irresistible eyes. zhongli is silent for the brief moment he savors him, willing that he himself would be more irresponsible.
he's still smiling. he closes his eyes, tempering his desire and impatience. focus. ]
[He'd never admit it, but the implication--that no one, on or off the boat, would be at all surprised to see them together--is just a little embarrassing. It's a lot harder to hide the light flush across his face without fervent passion to blame it on, and Zhongli, especially, will probably pick up on it easily, but Childe does a valiant job of ignoring it anyway.
And he started out so cocky and confident... oh how the mighty fall...
But listen. Zhongli can't possibly expect him to be a good influence, right? Surely he knows better than to expect that. When has he ever picked the reasonable option over the fun one?
He grins, shifting to run his fingers through Zhongli's hair, playing with the glowing ends. Very deliberately, he relaxes against the bed, looking up at Zhongli with mischief clear in his eyes.]
[ pick up on it he does. sorry, childe. zhongli's smile only grows, clearly endeared. he won't pry or tease him any further. on that particular topic, anyway.
several times this evening, as they were in the throes of new love, zhongli had seen back into their history and found that it hadn't been new at all. the two of them had drawn paths together to every corner of the harbor; most residents knew them both by name, though especially the curators at every restaurant.
there have been the few quiet and well-meaning jokes, a nudging of elbows about zhongli's missing "other half" (and "wallet") when childe was away, the surreptitious and unreadable glances from madame ping. how is it that someone whose lifespan extended far beyond even the creation of qingce had been so blind? so far behind even his own peoples' intuition? loving childe this way felt like the easiest thing he could possibly do.
even (and maybe even especially) when childe has these looks on his face. as nice as it was to have his hands in his hair, childe is up to something. zhongli should snuff it out while there's a lull in their hunger. ]
I would agree. However, I feel I should remind you of certain individuals who will also be departing from the ship once we've come to port...
[ if they're not horrified already by the two horny men who made a scene at dessert and dragged themselves into the ship's staterooms. alone. ]
[The reminder of his mission makes him groan, a theatrical, immature complaint that isn't at all out of place coming from him. What a brat.]
Come on, wouldn't it be inappropriate to go see her looking like this? [He glances pointedly down at their bodies--he, of course, means "after cleaning up and getting dressed", but the suggestive implication doesn't hurt his case.] I can always track her down some other time. It's not like we don't have agents in Fontaine.
[He would never actually fail a mission for, uh, personal reasons--but postponing it is acceptable. Extenuating circumstances? Yeah. It's fine. He's a master of finding loopholes in his job description.
He winds Zhongli's long hair around his fingers, tugging lightly.]
Besides, a warrior should always be in top form before engaging, don't you think? But there's no way I could be when I'd just be distracted thinking about everything we could be doing in here instead. Better to retreat and regroup, right?
[He could just admit that the only reason they're doing this mission is because he wanted to see Zhongli without admitting he wanted to see Zhongli, but instead he just finishes off with a shameless wink for good measure. Childe. Please.]
[ ANNOYING. childe's lucky that he's cute, and also that zhongli's never heard his annoyed-complaining-toddler groans from up close before. childe's arguments are unfortunately sound, and, as unbecoming as it is for an adeptus, there's a selfish part of zhongli that enjoys being wanted by the one he wants most. even if he winks. ]
I did not expect you to forsake an assignment, even temporarily.
[ it's true that neither of them are presentable enough to meet the ambassador, but he hadn't expected childe to be flippant about it. that's probably what the tsaritsa gets for putting him on a reconnaissance mission without any fighting or real stakes involved. (little does zhongli know.)
should he give in? he definitely owes ningguang an apology, if anything. but no one has come looking for them yet, and childe is right there in front of him, tugging him downward.
leaning again on his forearm and legs, zhongli runs the back of his dark fingers along the curve of childe's jaw. when he reaches his chin, he runs his thumb over childe's lightly swollen lip. ]
Although, if it were a crucial enough endeavor... we likely would not have arrived here at all, I assume.
[THAT'S HIM... he will only grow more annoying with encouragement. Zhongli did this to himself.
Especially because Childe can tell he's tempted, like a shark scenting blood in the water. It's viciously pleasing, to be so openly desired--when Zhongli's thumb gets close enough, he nips at it playfully, eyes dark and heavily lidded.]
Well, you know... "unexpected complications" and all that. [He unwinds his fingers from Zhongli's hair to tap the mark on his neck instead.] Besides, Her Majesty trusts her Harbingers to fulfill our obligations in accordance with our own agendas, and to operate as we see fit. Most of the time, anyway. [He smirks, then, amused.] If it hadn't been for you two, I would've just shown up and challenged Rex Lapis to a fight directly.
[This is a truthful answer, even if it's not quite as truthful as saying "well sure, I was able to justify all of our dinner dates as reconnaissance instead of admitting I was wasting time trying to figure out how to get the hot consultant to fight me" or "that's because you didn't see me lose my temper in the Golden House and fight the traveler when I really shouldn't have".]
[ he did... the worst part is that he knew this and still did it anyway. maybe even because of that. terrible.
the little snip of pain from childe's teeth is barely perceptible. zhongli is more affected by how childe looks at him—wanting in equal measure, purposely provoking. elemental energy blossoms under every tap of his finger, a cool sparkler against his skin.
the hand at childe's chin slides downward. his fingers fan over the base of his throat and skim to his side, ending at his hip. the heel of his hand presses firmly over the soulmark. ]
Mm. I wonder how many times you might have used such an excuse...
[ still smiling, he closes his eyes and sidles his nose beside childe's, achingly close. he might be teasing himself at this point. ]
Do you think you would have won against him? If you had the opportunity.
[How many times indeed... his only answer is a sly smile, though he lifts his chin to accommodate Zhongli's wandering fingers, his proximity. The soulmark pulses beneath Zhongli's hand--or maybe that's just his own body, reacting to Zhongli's touch the way a finely-tuned instrument responds to its musician.
There are so many reasons he wants to believe in this against his better judgment. He'd be lying if he said this wasn't one of them, though. He can't even begin to imagine just how good Zhongli could make him feel, in the privacy of their homes and without a countdown lingering in their minds. Better yet, how good he could make Zhongli feel. The thought alone spurs him, and his hands, too, begin to wander; almost unconsciously, his fingers find their way back to Zhongli's scars, and he scrapes his nails lazily along them as he hums in thought.]
The battle? Hmmm... no, probably not. [Childe is many things, but he's not foolish. His arrogance on the battlefield is born of experience, not unfounded cockiness--any opponent worth taking seriously gets his acknowledgment and respect, and he isn't averse to admitting it.
Truthfully, he thinks he would've lasted longer than Zhongli probably assumes--but he keeps that to himself.] But I wouldn't have needed to, to take your gnosis. I would've just needed to catch you off-guard for a few moments. [He sighs, then, a little wistful.] I'm sure it would've been hard to stay focused, though. I would've had too much fun fighting you...
childe and his wandering hands. his fingernails scrape along zhongli's scars, at the same time scraping away at his resolve to return to the festivities. if ningguang had begun a search, they would have been discovered by now. childe just talked his way out of completing his objective. so what reason was there to leave, other than to avoid the walk of shame after the ship docked? that walk was unavoidable either way.
childe is still here, still wickedly handsome, still naked and still touching him. zhongli has only just gotten his arms around him, his hands on his skin, after a small lifetime of waiting. he should still show decorum and leave—or he could indulge himself, let himself be indulged, and willfully fall into childe's schemes every once in a while. right now, he would do anything for more of this.
there's also no question that this would continue off the ship, and there's every guarantee that zhongli would pull him into the nearest inn and keep him there for as long as he could. the funeral parlor would survive without him, at least for a little while.
zhongli listens—though maybe half-heartedly, his eyes closed, quietly tracing the path of childe's fingertips in his memory. his lip quirks higher, affection swelling behind his ribs. childe brings this up often enough that it's endearing now, and zhongli has to reason to hide how childe charms him. (zhongli, you're insane.)
he slides his hand from his waist up to the front of his chest, fanning his fingers, grazing against his nipple. he can feel the ridge of every scar as they pass over them. ]
Would Rex Lapis have had such a moment of weakness? I wonder.
[ he's still blithely smiling. arm propped against the pillow, his fingertips comb back into childe's hair. they grip tight as zhongli tilts his head and grazes their lips, just a breath short of a kiss. he murmurs: ]
Regardless. How fortunate I am that you did not, and that things are the way they are now.
[ because he is. every event and every decision led him here, the two of them in love, with a hair's chance that it all could have gone awry. he knows he's set himself up for heartbreak yet again—it was worth it to have ajax to himself, for even a moment rather than never at all.
zhongli curls his fingers in childe's hair and finally closes a slow, deep kiss over his lips, savoring it for all it's worth. ]
And what the heck don't taunt him!! Or do, actually--Childe's eyes flash, burning with ambition in response to Zhongli's fond smile and lighthearted disregard even as he shivers beneath that steady touch. It doesn't matter that he's easy to read--he's never made a secret of his desire to cross swords with Rex Lapis anyway. But more than that, it's another form of desire, and he has no need to hide that from Zhongli--from his soulmate. That Zhongli even humors these conversations to begin with is an indulgence, and Childe loves him for it, even if words can't satisfy the constant itch under his skin.
He looks very much like he wants to rise to the bait, but for now, he lets Zhongli coax him away from thoughts of battle, closing his eyes and sinking into every inch of Zhongli that surrounds him. Zhongli's hands on his skin, in his hair--Zhongli's mouth, the hard lines of his body--it's all so terribly, wonderfully distracting. Zhongli will have to drag him out of this room if he truly wants to leave.
He can feel desire curling low in his stomach again, his nerves still alight with sensitivity from earlier. He shifts, letting his hands slide down to rest low on Zhongli's hips.
He doesn't break their kiss--even when it finds a natural end, he doesn't really pull away, mumbling into Zhongli's mouth.]
Want you. [It's obvious enough, but he wants to say it anyway.]
[ zhongli knows the spark when metal collides with stone— he knows exactly what he's igniting with his words. that fire was there earlier in the evening, when the two of them were biting and tearing and ravenous for one another. zhongli briefly glimpses it again now, the blaze beneath the dark hue of childe's eyes, waiting anxiously to devour him. for battle or for sex, he couldn't say. it was for zhongli no matter what.
childe melts under his kiss. it takes on a different sort of fervor, slower and more indulgent. zhongli exhales, a hum low in his throat.
childe's murmur buzzes against his lips, two words blending deliciously into one. a shiver sears through zhongli's body, and all other conversation falls away. childe had been thinking this all the while, and zhongli knew it. to hear it aloud in earnest was something else.
the moment the last word slips from childe's mouth, zhongli crushes their mouths together, lips smearing. his thumb draws circles over his nipple, ignoring the stick of dried come on his fingertips and palm. he tightens hold on childe's hair, twisting, keeping him anchored.
his other hand escapes downward again, brushing his dark fingertips up the length of his cock. their noses knock again. ]
Tell me how much.
[ zhongli watches him, his eyes sharp and glowing amber. his hand closes around his cock and tugs upward, squeezing over its head. ]
[It's as if they'd never stopped. If it weren't for the mild discomfort on his dirty skin, the barest halo of pain--already fading--around his pleasure, he would think he hadn't yet come at all. Zhongli holds him steady, but Childe twists and writhes anyway, pulling away from him and arching towards him all at once. Immediately, his grip on Zhongli's waist turns iron-tight, a litany of contradictory curses and encouragements spilling from his lips until Zhongli smothers them.]
Fuck--[It's difficult to speak when he can barely catch his breath. Perhaps in the future he'll look back on this and be embarrassed at how easily responsive he's been all night. Probably not, though. It's hard to shame the shameless.] I want your hands, your mouth, your cock, just--everything, anything--
[It isn't that he's shy, or that he lacks the words; there's just too much he wants, and he doesn't know where to start. The same way his blood constantly burns for his next battle, his body already craves more, more, more of Zhongli.
He's never wanted anyone this badly, not like this. They both know he's going to die on the battlefield, probably someday soon--but being consumed by this desire wouldn't be a bad way to go, either.]
Come on, let me show you, I want to.
[This time, when he pushes against Zhongli to try and roll them over, it lacks the confrontational energy from earlier. Before, he'd been fighting against Zhongli, trying to gain the upper hand--now, it's a request from a partner. An entreaty, albeit one with just as much energy as before.
That's not to say he won't return to that playful antagonism--he absolutely will. Challenge is in his nature, and he isn't so blind that he doesn't realize Zhongli likes it (or at the very least, he doesn't dislike it). But right now, this is more important to him. He loves Zhongli's hands on him, and he's loath to give that up. But he wants to see Zhongli fall apart beneath his touch even more. Zhongli's been so good to him all night, and Childe is, by nature, too generous to let that go unacknowledged.]
[ they just began again, the bites and scrapes still stinging and weeping gold and red, and already they fall back into their insatiable fervor. childe comes apart beneath him, writhing and pulling and cursing. words tumble out of his mouth in scattered pieces, barely pulled together into something coherent. already he seemed overwhelmed with the barest words and slightest touch.
zhongli wants him again, beyond words. he wants to kiss him breathless. he wants to coax those words from his lips again and again until his voice dissolves away. he wants his mouth on every inch of him, have him stumble again out of coherency and call out his name. he wants him flashing that horribly attractive and satisfied grin, teasing and daring him, wrapping arms about his shoulders and legs around his hips and pulling him closer. they have so much to make up for.
everything, anything. the thought is electric, running a current through his veins, and already he's growing hard between childe's hips. he wants childe the moment he arrives in liyue, his last moments before he leaves him behind, and everything inbetween. he wants everything, anything he would give, while he could still have it all for himself. the irresistible shape of him in his hands, the scars on his skin, the scent and softness of his hair, the way he smiles at him. childe, childe, childe. ajax.
the next words are almost beseeching. zhongli is pulled from his reverie, though his body is solid against the light force of childe's arms. it isn't an attempt to gain the upper hand, he recognizes; he's seen that enough times to pass judgment. childe means it this time, aching to show zhongli how much he wants him back.
he steals a deep kiss before he obliges him. when he rolls onto his back, he tightly grips childe's arm and pulls him on top. with enough leverage, he grasps the back of his neck and drags him down for another hard kiss—a seal on their new arrangement (that could easily be revoked).
when their kiss breaks, he slides his cheek beside childe's and murmurs to his ear: ]
[The acquiescence--permission, really--sends a whole new type of thrill through him, and he shudders in delight, pouring emotion into their kiss. He can feel the sweat-soaked sheet peel away from his back as he moves with Zhongli, fluid and naturally in tandem. It's truly as if they're simply two parts of the same person.
And, well... they are, aren't they? Tangled up like this, the idea is a lot less ridiculous.
He settles comfortably over Zhongli, bracing himself so that he can return the kiss with ease. Zhongli's words make him want to die, a little, but they also make him smile; he presses his lips to Zhongli's brow before he pulls away, a moment of softness to balance out the wild need burning between them.
Straightening up, he takes a moment to just... stare. To drink in the sight of Zhongli beneath him, all scars and soulmarks and gold-etched arms. He's a well-loved mess, an absolute vision--it's criminal, Childe thinks, that he can't crystallize this moment and keep it forever. His whole body aches with a bone-deep desire that could only be his mangled form of love.
Snapping out of his reverie, he leans over, swiping his Vision and tossing it on the bed beside them. That done, he wraps one hand around Zhongli's cock, summoning just enough hydro to keep up a slick, easy glide. It's a good thing he has impeccable control over his element, or else this would end in disaster.
As he strokes, he bends down, following the path of Zhongli's largest scar with a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses. If there's any spot in particular that gets him a strong reaction, he'll stop to lavish attention on it.]
You really-- [Is he even talking to Zhongli, or is he just talking to himself? It's hard to tell, with the way he's mumbling against Zhongli's skin, like he can't bear to pull too far away.] You really look like this and just--expect the rest of us to deal with it, don't you.
[Gee Childe show us how you really feel--though, actually, that's exactly what he'll do, because he twists his hand over the head of Zhongli's cock as he says it.]
[ zhongli expects steadfast fervor, the continued string of desperate grasps and touches, labored breaths and hungry mouths. instead, childe pulls away and sits back on his knees, surveying him from above with blatant adoration. it's strange at first; childe looks at him with an awe different from any others' he realizes. other than those he had previously engaged in deep relationships with, childe sees all of him at once, and he loves every piece of him. zhongli is soon brought into that same trance: taking in the full measure of your soulmate, arrestingly beautiful as they watch you with eyes full of love, wearing every mark that makes them yours.
zhongli's dark hands slide up to rest on top of his thighs, smooth skin pulled taut against hard muscle. he wants to curl his fingers, gently rake his fingertips back down to his knees. childe's pale skin is pocked with red and blue welts, rings of teethmarks, specks of blood. their come has mostly dried in spatters on his chest, shining dully as he moves, flattened where their bodies met. the warm weight of childe's cock is pressed against his leg, within reach. the dim light of the nearby lamp—the only source of light in the room—paints over the high points of childe's face and leaves shreds of yellow in his hair. there's a smear of shimmering gold still on the edge of childe's red-bitten mouth.
zhongli realizes that he's been holding his breath. the impulse to reach for childe and pull him back down is unrelenting, but he swallows it back. he gave childe this opportunity. he shouldn't spoil it by taking more.
when childe seems to wake and leans over him, he sees the glowing blue light in childe's fist. zhongli's brows raise while he watches the arc of childe's hand when he tosses the vision beside them. is that his...?
immediately childe is palming his cock. the hydro energy is cool, almost a shock against his swelling cock. zhongli's eyes shut tight, and he can't help the quiet, stuttering gasp that shakes through his chest. desire ripples through his body. the water warms quickly enough. soon his cock is filling in childe's hand, the head smooth where his fingers glide over it. the sounds are wet and squelching and hot, hydro slipping down between his legs.
childe is kissing his chest, trailing lips and swathes of his tongue down a thin strip of his skin. he knows exactly where—down the great bolt of a scar spread down his chest, where a lost old friend tore through his body with a massive and unrelenting claw, thrashing and cursing his name.
a moment of weakness, never repeated again. childe kisses it as if it was meant only for this, finding spots of skin that make zhongli lightly shiver and hum and part his lips. childe always brings something out of him that he couldn't have predicted, even after so many millennia.
zhongli sighs deeply, slacking his shoulders and lifting his chin. he lays his hand on childe's side, where the run of his ribs expands and compresses and twists as he moves downward. the other hand combs deeply into childe's hair and spreads over the back of his scalp. the curls of childe's hair are thick and soft in the valleys between his fingers.
childe murmurs and zhongli smiles again, though it falters as soon as he squeezes the head of his cock again. pleasure blooms under his skin, inviting a low groan deep in his throat.]
You should not speak for others.
[ his hand slides down from childe's side, brushing his thumb over childe's nipple. he presses it with the pad of his finger and moves it in slow circles. ]
If my vessel pleases you, that-
[ he swallows, sighs again, tilts his head back against the pillow. he burns beneath his skin, pleasure flaring from his hips. he gently rolls them upward, following the steady movement of childe's hand. ]
...I would be content with only that.
Edited (SORRY... please don't read this as pressure to tag i just reread these a lot ) 2022-10-04 07:25 (UTC)
[Whether it's Zhongli's caresses that make him shudder or his words, even Childe doesn't know. He uses only as much Hydro as he feels he needs to; after that, he lets go of his power again, relishing the way Zhongli's cock slips against his palm.
Perhaps one day, he'll look at this scar on Zhongli's chest and see it in a new light. Maybe someday, he'll know to treat it with the same reverence he gave Zhongi's other soulmark. To the Childe of here and now, though, it's no more than stunning evidence of Zhongli's strength and victory. He lavishes attention on it in much the same way he wants Zhongli to devote his full focus to him, as if he could possibly convey that soul-deep need through touch alone. (As if Zhongli doesn't already know him far, far too well.)
He wants, very badly, to put his mouth on Zhongli's cock--to savor the taste of him, to break his impeccable control, to watch him fall apart all over again. He's never felt the difference between them more keenly--but neither has he ever felt as close to Zhongli as he has tonight.
Zhongli's not mortal, and he never truly will be, but Childe's always seen him as a person, and it was hard to change that. It's comforting, then, to know that in some ways, they are not at all dissimilar. Zhongli shudders beneath him, reaches for him, moans for him as both a god and a lover, and Childe drinks all of it in, endlessly parched.
The problem is, if he gets his mouth on Zhongli, he won't want to pull away until Zhongli is spent. And if he doesn't get Zhongli back inside of him at least once more before they have to leave this room, he'll end up cursing his own greed and impatience.
So instead, he tides himself over by making his way down Zhongli's hip, leaning a hot, wet trail in his wake. He uses his free hand to push Zhongli's leg up and kisses his way to the soft skin of his inner thigh.]
You're just saying that--[He murmurs, because right now he simply cannot respond to Zhongli's sweet sincerity with the heavy affection it rouses in his heart]--because I'm right.
[Not that his teasing is any less warm or insincere. Zhongli will certainly be able to feel him smiling. He gaze flicks, then, back to Zhongli's face, and the sparkle of mischief in his eyes is the only warning Zhongli gets before Childe sinks his teeth, hard, into his skin.]
[ in truth, childe's mouth on his cock is what he's expecting. how could he think otherwise? childe is trailing kisses down his chest, working him to fullness in his hand. he said he wanted to show zhongli the depths of his want. whether or not childe is only teasing him or intends to draw away is far from his mind.
all of his endless and widespread attentions narrow down to this moment, to the arousal jolting in his hips and every press of childe's body against his. childe's lips and tongue languish over sensitive slips of white skin and gathered tissue; unbidden, zhongli tenses his stomach and curves his back towards it. he tips up his chin, tightens his fist in childe's hair, eases out rattling exhales. it's sweet and subtle torture, even in its worship.
childe already has what he wanted. he steals zhongli away from his endless deluge of thoughts and ideas, demands the undivided attention of a god with his utter adoration, a force of nature peeling a boulder from the earth underneath it. there is nothing and no one else, only his childe and his mouth and his hand and the rest of him.
those kisses finally follow down to his hip. his anticipation builds, winding his chest like a spring. he's unresisting as childe lifts his leg, bending at its knee, foot flat against the bed. looking over the hills of his cheeks, zhongli can see the apple of childe's cheek rising with his smile, tickling the skin of his thigh as he speaks. one of his hands is still buried in childe's hair; the other lies at his side, curling his fingers into the comforter underneath it for purchase.
when childe meets his eye, smug in a way zhongli quickly recognizes, there is no time to act. childe bites hard into his thigh and pain bursts underneath it, searing hot and unforgiving. zhongli lightly winces, eyes squinted, breath gusting out of him. he's bleeding—he sees it welling under the crowns of childe's teeth. a drop of gold gathers at the edge of his lips and draws a line down his thigh.
his cock swells, leaking as childe squeezes over its head. childe is too pleased with himself. zhongli twists his fingers in his hair, caught between punishing and rewarding—for childe, they may as well be the same thing.
his lip curls in a smile. he props himself up on his elbow and tightens his grip on childe's hair, painfully enough to (hopefully) release him from his mouth. if childe lets him, his hand will slip down and guide his thumb over the edge of his mouth, collecting blood. ]
Perhaps you've had enough.
[ his eyes are sharp and glowing. want claws inside of him, ferociously hungry, prepared to lunge at the first sign of weakness. ]
[It's a subtle reaction all things considered, but Childe's elated by it anyway. It's intoxicating enough to leave his mark on Zhongli's skin, to know that it's Zhongli's blood staining his lips. Eliciting a reaction, cracking Zhongli's impeccable control even the smallest bit--it feels like victory, even if he's the only one vying for a battle in the first place.
Zhongli scruffs him like he's a misbehaving pet, and Childe relents, laughing.]
Of you? [He doesn't try and pull away from Zhongli's hands, but he does nip at Zhongli's thumb, incorrigible as ever.] Never.
[He says it like he's teasing. Like it's not the truest thing in the whole world in this moment. He could have his fun like this for days if Zhongli permitted it, but even drunk on arousal, he hasn't forgotten their time limit. So he surges forward again, aiming to claim Zhongli's mouth in a feverish kiss, to shift back up until he settles over Zhongli's hips. He doesn't really care if Zhongli lets him go or not--if Zhongli's thumb gets caught between them, or if he has to force his head into an awkward angle to reach Zhongli's lips, then so be it.]
Come on. [When he speaks again, it's lower, an urgent murmur meant just for the two of them. Once again, he lifts a hand to Zhongli's neck--but this time, he merely brushes his knuckles against Zhongli's soulmark, an abruptly gentle contrast to his violent passion mere moments ago.] One more time.
[He could just do it himself--Zhongli's cock is right there, so beautifully hard beneath him. It would be no effort at all to take him again, especially with how badly need burns beneath his skin, accumulating beneath his own soulmark. Truthfully, he wants to do exactly that--to follow through on his promise and show Zhongli exactly how much he wants him. (How much he loves him.) It's purely indulgence that stops him--that ever-lingering tendency to spoil the people he loves the most. Childe wants, too much, to ensure that Zhongli gets exactly what he wants--if that means graciously offering him one more opportunity to take the reins, then that's exactly what he'll do.]
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The first time Zhongli had touched his soulmark, out in the hallway, had been startling. Childe hadn't been prepared for the feeling of Geo energy crystallizing beneath his skin, reacting to Zhongli's touch. He's not used to it now, either, but that's because it seems to amplify everything he's feeling tenfold. It's a feedback loop of sensation--the press of Zhongli's cock within him, the press of his thumb against the mark, the rich cadence of his voice, the warmth of his breath. All of it wipes his mind of everything but Zhongli, Zhongli, Zhongli.
There is something utterly electrifying about keeping his hand on Zhongli's mark, too. Knowing that maybe, just maybe, Zhongli's as overwhelmed as he is.
Childe can't see his face like this, but it doesn't matter. He knows Zhongli looks magnificent, with his glowing eyes and dark arms laced with gold, scars and muscle and sweat. More than that, he looks, feels, powerful. Dangerous.
Maybe Childe would do anything for him, too.
He hadn't been lying about not lasting long. He pants out right there and don't stop, though he can't keep track of what language he's speaking. Snezhnayan, Liyuen, the common tongue--maybe he doesn't actually manage to say anything coherent, and it's all just wordless encouragement. It doesn't take much time before Childe's body tenses up, and the hand he'd tangled in the sheets flies to his cock, desperate to reach his peak.
If Zhongli doesn't stop him, it won't take much for him to come like this, Zhongli's name on his lips like a prayer.]
no subject
without these marks, beyond any of myths and legends or great cosmic forces that bind them, this was inevitable, wasn't it? that zhongli and tartaglia would have one day irrevocably given into one other? he can't help the thought making a home in his heart as they move together, desperate for the other, thinking of nothing and no one else. it may not have been tonight, under these circumstances, on this ship, but someday zhongli would have found his way here. childe would have still come to liyue harbor, first for morax and then for zhongli and liyue. he would have still been arresting and bright, stirring something like aliveness in him, and he would have made him fall in love.
yes, he's overwhelmed. his pace is still steady and deep, held by strength only proffered to a god. childe arches and tightens around him, panting syllables that he can hardly string together. there are some he can recognize, translated quickly through his thoughts, gone seconds later. the supplication of childe's voice, gasping and groaning, is all he can think to process.
zhongli doesn't stop his hand. he puts his full weight back onto his knees and presses his free hand against the bed, raising himself to look. his eyes scale down the canvas of beautiful, heavily scarred skin, painted in white streaks, glossed with sweat. childe's hips jolt as he comes across his stomach and chest, tightening around his cock and pulling him in deeper. his name on childe's gently swollen lips, moaned in a single long breath, runs electric through his body, into every limb. tartaglia is everything, his image behind his eyelids, the exact company his lonely heart had sought. lost in the damp heat surrounding them both, zhongli can't bear it any longer.
childe finishes beneath him, and zhongli groans again as pleasure shocks between his hips. he draws back from childe's body, lowering him back against the bed before standing on his knees. he grasps his cock and strokes himself to his shaking climax, sucking in breath through his teeth. his mouth falls open and he tips back his head, and his come spills over childe's stomach, painting over his fingers and cock. ]
no subject
It hits him again, then; Zhongli wanted this. Every moment of it. Every step of the way, again and again, Zhongli chose him. He believes Childe holds a piece of his soul, and he loves--loved the thought of that enough to get them here.
Talk about overwhelming.
He hooks a hand around the back of Zhongli's neck, dragging him down into a series of deep, desperate kisses as he falls back against the sheets.
There are so many things he can't say yet. So many emotions he won't name tangled up in his heart, things he can't even begin to think about right now, let alone try and express in coherent words. All this and more, he pours into these kisses. They say I don't know how to let myself want you this much. They say But let me try.]
no subject
he has looked at him with awe and need before. there is something different here in his gaze, scarred chest and stomach painted with come as he leans on his forearms. it looks so much like being overwhelmed, almost like love.
childe pulls him down and crushes their mouths together as they both meet the bed. he has never been kissed this way before, not with so much need and affection and want that was past what sex might give them, not by childe.
he falls into it with immediacy, as if he had been waiting for the moment himself. he catches himself on his forearms, back curved. he tilts his head and slots their mouths together, opening and closing, tongues briefly sliding one against the other between them.
blindly, he wipes his come-spattered fingers clean against the sheets. laying his chest flush against childe's, knowing he could hold him, he cards both hands into his beautiful hair and feels the run of his roots against his palm, between his fingers. his brows tighten together. ]
You...
[ a breathless murmur between heavy and ravenous kisses, another heaving of a ribcage against another. his heart is rabbiting, beating towards childe. he knows what it means. his mind is full of nothing but him, all of the things he has learned to adore about him, every scar and painful secret. on his neck, the riptide mark glows bright to every corner and every edge. this time, its small and jagged spokes are swirled with streaks of purple, lightly sparking.
he draws away by a scant few centimeters, lips sticking, golden eyes searching for his as he catches his breath. the words pulse and warm and overwhelming on his chest before they are finally released. ]
Tartaglia, I love you.
no subject
He believes Zhongli. That is, perhaps, the hardest part of it all. Zhongli, who still lacks such crucial information about him, but understands him better than almost anyone else in his life. Zhongli, who has lived through things Childe can't even begin to imagine, yet somehow wants to spend his days beside him. Who, despite everything, was only shocked by the appearance of a soulmark, not the fact that Childe bore its match.
Fear isn't the right word for what holds his tongue. Intrinsic apprehension, perhaps, is the better description--or caution, mistrust, even a default state of wariness that took him years to develop. If Zhongli were anyone else, Childe would think him painfully naive.
But he's not anyone else. He's the wisest person Childe's ever met, cunning and kind in equal measure. There is nothing about this that Childe can't trust, and that, in and of itself, is difficult for him to grasp.
It isn't that he doesn't feel the same way. It isn't even that he doesn't understand his own feelings. Some part of him has always been aware of his steady, inevitable fall, no matter how forcefully he closed off his heart towards the end of his mission. But if he opens his mouth right now, he knows already that he won't be able to say it back with Zhongli's same level of peaceful finality.
Zhongli says I love you like it's simple. Like it's something he's held in for far too long, and it's a relief to have the freedom to voice it. If Childe were to try and match him, it would become, you really shouldn't. And, I'll forgive you if you change your mind. And, I don't know how many years I have anyway. And maybe even, I don't know what it means to be loved by someone like you.
So instead, he opens his eyes again. He's quiet for a long time, just looking. He glances at the mark on Zhongli's neck one more time, but whatever he thinks about it doesn't show on his face. He lets his fingers wander over Zhongli's face, exploring with a light touch that he hadn't had the patience for earlier. He runs a finger along the line of his nose, over his eyebrow, and down past the shock of smudged red near Zhongli's eyes. Even when his hand settles back where it was, he brushes his thumb over Zhongli's cheekbone, back and forth in a slow, gentle motion.
Zhongli always looks so regal. Even now, a disheveled mess at Childe's own hands, it would be impossible to mistake him for someone ordinary.
His skin is sticky with sweat and come, cooling in the night air. His soulmark pulses gently at his hip, glowing a soft gold.]
...Ajax. [When he finally speaks, his voice is very soft, as if anything else might shatter the moment between them. He swallows; he holds Zhongli's gaze, but there's something skittish in his face, something fragile that makes him look as young as he truly is.] It's my... my old name. From before. [Before the Fatui. Before a bloodstained young boy clawed his way out of the abyss, the light permanently extinguished from his eyes.]
I don't really use it anymore, but... [he shifts slightly.] I just--[want you to know I love you too]--thought you should know.
no subject
yet somehow, he gained as well. childe arrived at his table again after all was said and done, extinguishing the thought that this draw to one another was merely transactional, meant to end as soon as the mission was done. childe continued to come to liyue of his own will, for nothing but his company. during his absences, longing and lonesomeness prickled zhongli's chest—long before he left for inazuma.
childe's gaze speaks to him in conflicting ways: disappointed, resignated, confused, worried, yet not rejecting him all the same. zhongli silently waits for his answer in any form, willing that the stormy waters be quelled. he would wait however long it took.
when childe's fingers reach for his face, zhongli closes his eyes and obliges them. whatever purchase they searched for, however they wanted to leave their mark along his features, he would allow all of it. they follow the lines of his face with reverence, drawing the shape and feel of it into memory. when they finally settle on his skin and his thumb grazes along his cheekbone, zhongli opens his eyes again.
what comes after is something he couldn't have predicted. those guarded feelings in childe's eyes part and give way, and beneath them childe is quiet and vulnerable, a raw open wound. stripped of all loyalties and titles, he's suddenly a being like any other zhongli has met, begging to be seen in his entirety and still loved regardless. at the same time, he is like no one else. he never would be.
from before. it's easy for zhongli to fill in the undefined: a young snezhnayan boy of unknown age, red hair, shining blue eyes, unpoisoned by the abyss. childe talks about ajax the way one solemnly introduces a gravestone, or shows the delicate corpse of a glass-boned bird between cupped hands, preciously preserved. the body of a child that would never come back.
childe offers up ajax in all his fragility, trusting that zhongli would keep him safe and treat him with care. and how would he not? who could know and love all facets of him, ajax and tartaglia and childe, all at once the way he could?
zhongli rests his weight in his forearm beside childe's head. his other hand reaches and closes over childe's wrist, first finger curled against the back of his hand, thumb on his pulse. zhongli skims his lips over the heel of his hand and presses a kiss to the center of his palm. a gesture of understanding, reassurance, and gratitude all at once.
when he looks at childe again, it's the first time se sees him in his entirety, with even the vestiges of what's long gone. affection swells like a fire in his chest. smiling softly, he murmurs: ]
Thank you for telling me. ...Then I will say it once more.
[ he leans forward, at the same time pressing childe's open hand to the side of his neck, over his glowing soulmark. fingers still buried in childe's hair, zhongli meets their lips in a long kiss, carefully deepened with a quiet inward breath.
he draws back with the barest breadth to murmur, noses softly sidling one beside the other, promising that he sees every part of him: ]
I love you, Ajax.
no subject
When was the last time he'd heard those exact words?
Never in this context, of course. "Ajax" died long before that would've been possible. But from his family, how long...
...Well. It doesn't matter if he can't remember. This is different anyway. This, right now, is for Zhongli alone. The ache in his chest belongs solely to the man--the god--above him. The man who'd indulged him so beautifully earlier, tearing into his flesh with nails and teeth just like he'd wanted; the man who runs his fingers through Childe's hair so gently now, strong and steady against the tremulous waves of Childe's devotion.
It would be enough to make him cry, if he still could.
But he's glad he probably can't, anymore; instead, he lifts his head just enough catch Zhongli's lips again, his thumb massaging the soul mark in slow circles as one languid kiss bleeds into the next. He could lose track of time so easily like this, and it's difficult to think of reasons why he shouldn't.
Maybe he'll just buy the boat so that they can stay here forever. (He can't do that.) (He might try anyway.)
Eventually, he breaks away, angling his head to kiss along the curve of Zhongli's jaw. Earlier, he'd been heady with arousal and reckless with passion; this time, when he sinks his teeth into Zhongli's flesh, it's slow and purposeful--leaving a deep mark with methodical intent.
He has to pull back enough to speak again, but it's with great reluctance that he does so, and even then he stays impossibly close.]
...Don't hide this one.
[When Zhongli covers up everything else, he means, since he assumes Zhongli intends to hide his soulmark the same way he hides his arms. Childe speaks with the barest hint of playfulness, but there's something deeper there, too, more meaningful than it would've been if he'd done this earlier in the evening. A hint of sunlight reflecting off the surface of the ocean. An unspoken request: don't forget about me. Remember me the way you remember everything else dear to you.
They still have time together. It's not like Childe's due to leave Liyue right away, and he doubts either of them plan for this to be a one-time occurrence. Not after everything. Still, if he doesn't say it now--even indirectly--he's not sure he ever will.
...And, look, even spent and tired, he's still greedy with want. He'd have to be unconscious not to be drawn towards Zhongli, and even that's not a guarantee.]
no subject
he tilts his head as childe's kisses follow the line of his jaw—and suddenly end with a slow, dull pain in his neck. he inhales sharply as it blooms under his skin, spreads warmly throughout. a shiver glides down his back.
more surprises. he should have expected it. he exhales with a soft groan, lips curving into a smile. his fingers curl in childe's hair. he shouldn't still want him this badly.
when childe leans away and murmurs almost against his lips, it takes a god's measured patience not not to kiss his mouth closed. instead he opens his eyes and listens, untangling the deeper meaning in his words and the tone of his voice, because who else would know childe well enough to decipher him?
the answer is bittersweet. childe is right to ask. everyone would know that their beloved consultant, their ex-archon, belonged to someone, yet more than some claim of ownership over zhongli—which was doubtlessly relevant in some way—this was a quiet request. the mark may fade, but childe, tartaglia, ajax—zhongli would always be his, long after his death. he would be a beacon in his old heart. he would cherish him, always, through however many years he walked the earth.
he lays his forehead against childe's, the tips of their noses pushing gently. he smiles again. ]
I suspect that not a soul on this ship would be surprised to see it. Nor anyone in the Harbor, for that matter. ...I would not hide this for the world.
[ his golden eyes thin out as they search childe's face, drink him in. we always made sense, says the meaning beneath his words. everyone could see it.
let's be real. everyone would be more surprised to see either of them unscathed after what happened.
he turns his head and slots their lips together again, this time easing childe back against the pillow. their kisses are deep and languid, a final hurrah (maybe?). he leans on his forearms and bridges over him, come sticking and pulling apart between their chests. his hair falls again over his shoulders, fanning around them.
beneath him, childe still shines with sweat. bite marks and bruises are scattered on his neck, a deep contrast against white skin. his lips have reddened, pocked with dark spots of blood. his hair is unruly in all places, still artful in its disorder. then there are his irresistible eyes. zhongli is silent for the brief moment he savors him, willing that he himself would be more irresponsible.
he's still smiling. he closes his eyes, tempering his desire and impatience. focus. ]
We should return to the event.
[ buy the boat, childe. please? ]
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And he started out so cocky and confident... oh how the mighty fall...
But listen. Zhongli can't possibly expect him to be a good influence, right? Surely he knows better than to expect that. When has he ever picked the reasonable option over the fun one?
He grins, shifting to run his fingers through Zhongli's hair, playing with the glowing ends. Very deliberately, he relaxes against the bed, looking up at Zhongli with mischief clear in his eyes.]
We don't have to. We haven't docked yet.
[WHAT HAPPENED TO WORKING.]
nice fall out boy reference
several times this evening, as they were in the throes of new love, zhongli had seen back into their history and found that it hadn't been new at all. the two of them had drawn paths together to every corner of the harbor; most residents knew them both by name, though especially the curators at every restaurant.
there have been the few quiet and well-meaning jokes, a nudging of elbows about zhongli's missing "other half" (and "wallet") when childe was away, the surreptitious and unreadable glances from madame ping. how is it that someone whose lifespan extended far beyond even the creation of qingce had been so blind? so far behind even his own peoples' intuition? loving childe this way felt like the easiest thing he could possibly do.
even (and maybe even especially) when childe has these looks on his face. as nice as it was to have his hands in his hair, childe is up to something. zhongli should snuff it out while there's a lull in their hunger. ]
I would agree. However, I feel I should remind you of certain individuals who will also be departing from the ship once we've come to port...
[ if they're not horrified already by the two horny men who made a scene at dessert and dragged themselves into the ship's staterooms. alone. ]
JHDFKJSHGK I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE
Come on, wouldn't it be inappropriate to go see her looking like this? [He glances pointedly down at their bodies--he, of course, means "after cleaning up and getting dressed", but the suggestive implication doesn't hurt his case.] I can always track her down some other time. It's not like we don't have agents in Fontaine.
[He would never actually fail a mission for, uh, personal reasons--but postponing it is acceptable. Extenuating circumstances? Yeah. It's fine. He's a master of finding loopholes in his job description.
He winds Zhongli's long hair around his fingers, tugging lightly.]
Besides, a warrior should always be in top form before engaging, don't you think? But there's no way I could be when I'd just be distracted thinking about everything we could be doing in here instead. Better to retreat and regroup, right?
[He could just admit that the only reason they're doing this mission is because he wanted to see Zhongli without admitting he wanted to see Zhongli, but instead he just finishes off with a shameless wink for good measure. Childe. Please.]
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I did not expect you to forsake an assignment, even temporarily.
[ it's true that neither of them are presentable enough to meet the ambassador, but he hadn't expected childe to be flippant about it. that's probably what the tsaritsa gets for putting him on a reconnaissance mission without any fighting or real stakes involved. (little does zhongli know.)
should he give in? he definitely owes ningguang an apology, if anything. but no one has come looking for them yet, and childe is right there in front of him, tugging him downward.
leaning again on his forearm and legs, zhongli runs the back of his dark fingers along the curve of childe's jaw. when he reaches his chin, he runs his thumb over childe's lightly swollen lip. ]
Although, if it were a crucial enough endeavor... we likely would not have arrived here at all, I assume.
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Especially because Childe can tell he's tempted, like a shark scenting blood in the water. It's viciously pleasing, to be so openly desired--when Zhongli's thumb gets close enough, he nips at it playfully, eyes dark and heavily lidded.]
Well, you know... "unexpected complications" and all that. [He unwinds his fingers from Zhongli's hair to tap the mark on his neck instead.] Besides, Her Majesty trusts her Harbingers to fulfill our obligations in accordance with our own agendas, and to operate as we see fit. Most of the time, anyway. [He smirks, then, amused.] If it hadn't been for you two, I would've just shown up and challenged Rex Lapis to a fight directly.
[This is a truthful answer, even if it's not quite as truthful as saying "well sure, I was able to justify all of our dinner dates as reconnaissance instead of admitting I was wasting time trying to figure out how to get the hot consultant to fight me" or "that's because you didn't see me lose my temper in the Golden House and fight the traveler when I really shouldn't have".]
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the little snip of pain from childe's teeth is barely perceptible. zhongli is more affected by how childe looks at him—wanting in equal measure, purposely provoking. elemental energy blossoms under every tap of his finger, a cool sparkler against his skin.
the hand at childe's chin slides downward. his fingers fan over the base of his throat and skim to his side, ending at his hip. the heel of his hand presses firmly over the soulmark. ]
Mm. I wonder how many times you might have used such an excuse...
[ still smiling, he closes his eyes and sidles his nose beside childe's, achingly close. he might be teasing himself at this point. ]
Do you think you would have won against him? If you had the opportunity.
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There are so many reasons he wants to believe in this against his better judgment. He'd be lying if he said this wasn't one of them, though. He can't even begin to imagine just how good Zhongli could make him feel, in the privacy of their homes and without a countdown lingering in their minds. Better yet, how good he could make Zhongli feel. The thought alone spurs him, and his hands, too, begin to wander; almost unconsciously, his fingers find their way back to Zhongli's scars, and he scrapes his nails lazily along them as he hums in thought.]
The battle? Hmmm... no, probably not. [Childe is many things, but he's not foolish. His arrogance on the battlefield is born of experience, not unfounded cockiness--any opponent worth taking seriously gets his acknowledgment and respect, and he isn't averse to admitting it.
Truthfully, he thinks he would've lasted longer than Zhongli probably assumes--but he keeps that to himself.] But I wouldn't have needed to, to take your gnosis. I would've just needed to catch you off-guard for a few moments. [He sighs, then, a little wistful.] I'm sure it would've been hard to stay focused, though. I would've had too much fun fighting you...
[Spaaaaaar hiiiiiiiim]
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childe and his wandering hands. his fingernails scrape along zhongli's scars, at the same time scraping away at his resolve to return to the festivities. if ningguang had begun a search, they would have been discovered by now. childe just talked his way out of completing his objective. so what reason was there to leave, other than to avoid the walk of shame after the ship docked? that walk was unavoidable either way.
childe is still here, still wickedly handsome, still naked and still touching him. zhongli has only just gotten his arms around him, his hands on his skin, after a small lifetime of waiting. he should still show decorum and leave—or he could indulge himself, let himself be indulged, and willfully fall into childe's schemes every once in a while. right now, he would do anything for more of this.
there's also no question that this would continue off the ship, and there's every guarantee that zhongli would pull him into the nearest inn and keep him there for as long as he could. the funeral parlor would survive without him, at least for a little while.
zhongli listens—though maybe half-heartedly, his eyes closed, quietly tracing the path of childe's fingertips in his memory. his lip quirks higher, affection swelling behind his ribs. childe brings this up often enough that it's endearing now, and zhongli has to reason to hide how childe charms him. (zhongli, you're insane.)
he slides his hand from his waist up to the front of his chest, fanning his fingers, grazing against his nipple. he can feel the ridge of every scar as they pass over them. ]
Would Rex Lapis have had such a moment of weakness? I wonder.
[ he's still blithely smiling. arm propped against the pillow, his fingertips comb back into childe's hair. they grip tight as zhongli tilts his head and grazes their lips, just a breath short of a kiss. he murmurs: ]
Regardless. How fortunate I am that you did not, and that things are the way they are now.
[ because he is. every event and every decision led him here, the two of them in love, with a hair's chance that it all could have gone awry. he knows he's set himself up for heartbreak yet again—it was worth it to have ajax to himself, for even a moment rather than never at all.
zhongli curls his fingers in childe's hair and finally closes a slow, deep kiss over his lips, savoring it for all it's worth. ]
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And what the heck don't taunt him!! Or do, actually--Childe's eyes flash, burning with ambition in response to Zhongli's fond smile and lighthearted disregard even as he shivers beneath that steady touch. It doesn't matter that he's easy to read--he's never made a secret of his desire to cross swords with Rex Lapis anyway. But more than that, it's another form of desire, and he has no need to hide that from Zhongli--from his soulmate. That Zhongli even humors these conversations to begin with is an indulgence, and Childe loves him for it, even if words can't satisfy the constant itch under his skin.
He looks very much like he wants to rise to the bait, but for now, he lets Zhongli coax him away from thoughts of battle, closing his eyes and sinking into every inch of Zhongli that surrounds him. Zhongli's hands on his skin, in his hair--Zhongli's mouth, the hard lines of his body--it's all so terribly, wonderfully distracting. Zhongli will have to drag him out of this room if he truly wants to leave.
He can feel desire curling low in his stomach again, his nerves still alight with sensitivity from earlier. He shifts, letting his hands slide down to rest low on Zhongli's hips.
He doesn't break their kiss--even when it finds a natural end, he doesn't really pull away, mumbling into Zhongli's mouth.]
Want you. [It's obvious enough, but he wants to say it anyway.]
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childe melts under his kiss. it takes on a different sort of fervor, slower and more indulgent. zhongli exhales, a hum low in his throat.
childe's murmur buzzes against his lips, two words blending deliciously into one. a shiver sears through zhongli's body, and all other conversation falls away. childe had been thinking this all the while, and zhongli knew it. to hear it aloud in earnest was something else.
the moment the last word slips from childe's mouth, zhongli crushes their mouths together, lips smearing. his thumb draws circles over his nipple, ignoring the stick of dried come on his fingertips and palm. he tightens hold on childe's hair, twisting, keeping him anchored.
his other hand escapes downward again, brushing his dark fingertips up the length of his cock. their noses knock again. ]
Tell me how much.
[ zhongli watches him, his eyes sharp and glowing amber. his hand closes around his cock and tugs upward, squeezing over its head. ]
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Fuck--[It's difficult to speak when he can barely catch his breath. Perhaps in the future he'll look back on this and be embarrassed at how easily responsive he's been all night. Probably not, though. It's hard to shame the shameless.] I want your hands, your mouth, your cock, just--everything, anything--
[It isn't that he's shy, or that he lacks the words; there's just too much he wants, and he doesn't know where to start. The same way his blood constantly burns for his next battle, his body already craves more, more, more of Zhongli.
He's never wanted anyone this badly, not like this. They both know he's going to die on the battlefield, probably someday soon--but being consumed by this desire wouldn't be a bad way to go, either.]
Come on, let me show you, I want to.
[This time, when he pushes against Zhongli to try and roll them over, it lacks the confrontational energy from earlier. Before, he'd been fighting against Zhongli, trying to gain the upper hand--now, it's a request from a partner. An entreaty, albeit one with just as much energy as before.
That's not to say he won't return to that playful antagonism--he absolutely will. Challenge is in his nature, and he isn't so blind that he doesn't realize Zhongli likes it (or at the very least, he doesn't dislike it). But right now, this is more important to him. He loves Zhongli's hands on him, and he's loath to give that up. But he wants to see Zhongli fall apart beneath his touch even more. Zhongli's been so good to him all night, and Childe is, by nature, too generous to let that go unacknowledged.]
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zhongli wants him again, beyond words. he wants to kiss him breathless. he wants to coax those words from his lips again and again until his voice dissolves away. he wants his mouth on every inch of him, have him stumble again out of coherency and call out his name. he wants him flashing that horribly attractive and satisfied grin, teasing and daring him, wrapping arms about his shoulders and legs around his hips and pulling him closer. they have so much to make up for.
everything, anything. the thought is electric, running a current through his veins, and already he's growing hard between childe's hips. he wants childe the moment he arrives in liyue, his last moments before he leaves him behind, and everything inbetween. he wants everything, anything he would give, while he could still have it all for himself. the irresistible shape of him in his hands, the scars on his skin, the scent and softness of his hair, the way he smiles at him. childe, childe, childe. ajax.
the next words are almost beseeching. zhongli is pulled from his reverie, though his body is solid against the light force of childe's arms. it isn't an attempt to gain the upper hand, he recognizes; he's seen that enough times to pass judgment. childe means it this time, aching to show zhongli how much he wants him back.
he steals a deep kiss before he obliges him. when he rolls onto his back, he tightly grips childe's arm and pulls him on top. with enough leverage, he grasps the back of his neck and drags him down for another hard kiss—a seal on their new arrangement (that could easily be revoked).
when their kiss breaks, he slides his cheek beside childe's and murmurs to his ear: ]
Show me then. I'm yours alone.
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And, well... they are, aren't they? Tangled up like this, the idea is a lot less ridiculous.
He settles comfortably over Zhongli, bracing himself so that he can return the kiss with ease. Zhongli's words make him want to die, a little, but they also make him smile; he presses his lips to Zhongli's brow before he pulls away, a moment of softness to balance out the wild need burning between them.
Straightening up, he takes a moment to just... stare. To drink in the sight of Zhongli beneath him, all scars and soulmarks and gold-etched arms. He's a well-loved mess, an absolute vision--it's criminal, Childe thinks, that he can't crystallize this moment and keep it forever. His whole body aches with a bone-deep desire that could only be his mangled form of love.
Snapping out of his reverie, he leans over, swiping his Vision and tossing it on the bed beside them. That done, he wraps one hand around Zhongli's cock, summoning just enough hydro to keep up a slick, easy glide. It's a good thing he has impeccable control over his element, or else this would end in disaster.
As he strokes, he bends down, following the path of Zhongli's largest scar with a trail of hot, open-mouthed kisses. If there's any spot in particular that gets him a strong reaction, he'll stop to lavish attention on it.]
You really-- [Is he even talking to Zhongli, or is he just talking to himself? It's hard to tell, with the way he's mumbling against Zhongli's skin, like he can't bear to pull too far away.] You really look like this and just--expect the rest of us to deal with it, don't you.
[Gee Childe show us how you really feel--though, actually, that's exactly what he'll do, because he twists his hand over the head of Zhongli's cock as he says it.]
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zhongli's dark hands slide up to rest on top of his thighs, smooth skin pulled taut against hard muscle. he wants to curl his fingers, gently rake his fingertips back down to his knees. childe's pale skin is pocked with red and blue welts, rings of teethmarks, specks of blood. their come has mostly dried in spatters on his chest, shining dully as he moves, flattened where their bodies met. the warm weight of childe's cock is pressed against his leg, within reach. the dim light of the nearby lamp—the only source of light in the room—paints over the high points of childe's face and leaves shreds of yellow in his hair. there's a smear of shimmering gold still on the edge of childe's red-bitten mouth.
zhongli realizes that he's been holding his breath. the impulse to reach for childe and pull him back down is unrelenting, but he swallows it back. he gave childe this opportunity. he shouldn't spoil it by taking more.
when childe seems to wake and leans over him, he sees the glowing blue light in childe's fist. zhongli's brows raise while he watches the arc of childe's hand when he tosses the vision beside them. is that his...?
immediately childe is palming his cock. the hydro energy is cool, almost a shock against his swelling cock. zhongli's eyes shut tight, and he can't help the quiet, stuttering gasp that shakes through his chest. desire ripples through his body. the water warms quickly enough. soon his cock is filling in childe's hand, the head smooth where his fingers glide over it. the sounds are wet and squelching and hot, hydro slipping down between his legs.
childe is kissing his chest, trailing lips and swathes of his tongue down a thin strip of his skin. he knows exactly where—down the great bolt of a scar spread down his chest, where a lost old friend tore through his body with a massive and unrelenting claw, thrashing and cursing his name.
a moment of weakness, never repeated again. childe kisses it as if it was meant only for this, finding spots of skin that make zhongli lightly shiver and hum and part his lips. childe always brings something out of him that he couldn't have predicted, even after so many millennia.
zhongli sighs deeply, slacking his shoulders and lifting his chin. he lays his hand on childe's side, where the run of his ribs expands and compresses and twists as he moves downward. the other hand combs deeply into childe's hair and spreads over the back of his scalp. the curls of childe's hair are thick and soft in the valleys between his fingers.
childe murmurs and zhongli smiles again, though it falters as soon as he squeezes the head of his cock again. pleasure blooms under his skin, inviting a low groan deep in his throat.]
You should not speak for others.
[ his hand slides down from childe's side, brushing his thumb over childe's nipple. he presses it with the pad of his finger and moves it in slow circles. ]
If my vessel pleases you, that-
[ he swallows, sighs again, tilts his head back against the pillow. he burns beneath his skin, pleasure flaring from his hips. he gently rolls them upward, following the steady movement of childe's hand. ]
...I would be content with only that.
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Perhaps one day, he'll look at this scar on Zhongli's chest and see it in a new light. Maybe someday, he'll know to treat it with the same reverence he gave Zhongi's other soulmark. To the Childe of here and now, though, it's no more than stunning evidence of Zhongli's strength and victory. He lavishes attention on it in much the same way he wants Zhongli to devote his full focus to him, as if he could possibly convey that soul-deep need through touch alone. (As if Zhongli doesn't already know him far, far too well.)
He wants, very badly, to put his mouth on Zhongli's cock--to savor the taste of him, to break his impeccable control, to watch him fall apart all over again. He's never felt the difference between them more keenly--but neither has he ever felt as close to Zhongli as he has tonight.
Zhongli's not mortal, and he never truly will be, but Childe's always seen him as a person, and it was hard to change that. It's comforting, then, to know that in some ways, they are not at all dissimilar. Zhongli shudders beneath him, reaches for him, moans for him as both a god and a lover, and Childe drinks all of it in, endlessly parched.
The problem is, if he gets his mouth on Zhongli, he won't want to pull away until Zhongli is spent. And if he doesn't get Zhongli back inside of him at least once more before they have to leave this room, he'll end up cursing his own greed and impatience.
So instead, he tides himself over by making his way down Zhongli's hip, leaning a hot, wet trail in his wake. He uses his free hand to push Zhongli's leg up and kisses his way to the soft skin of his inner thigh.]
You're just saying that--[He murmurs, because right now he simply cannot respond to Zhongli's sweet sincerity with the heavy affection it rouses in his heart]--because I'm right.
[Not that his teasing is any less warm or insincere. Zhongli will certainly be able to feel him smiling. He gaze flicks, then, back to Zhongli's face, and the sparkle of mischief in his eyes is the only warning Zhongli gets before Childe sinks his teeth, hard, into his skin.]
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all of his endless and widespread attentions narrow down to this moment, to the arousal jolting in his hips and every press of childe's body against his. childe's lips and tongue languish over sensitive slips of white skin and gathered tissue; unbidden, zhongli tenses his stomach and curves his back towards it. he tips up his chin, tightens his fist in childe's hair, eases out rattling exhales. it's sweet and subtle torture, even in its worship.
childe already has what he wanted. he steals zhongli away from his endless deluge of thoughts and ideas, demands the undivided attention of a god with his utter adoration, a force of nature peeling a boulder from the earth underneath it. there is nothing and no one else, only his childe and his mouth and his hand and the rest of him.
those kisses finally follow down to his hip. his anticipation builds, winding his chest like a spring. he's unresisting as childe lifts his leg, bending at its knee, foot flat against the bed. looking over the hills of his cheeks, zhongli can see the apple of childe's cheek rising with his smile, tickling the skin of his thigh as he speaks. one of his hands is still buried in childe's hair; the other lies at his side, curling his fingers into the comforter underneath it for purchase.
when childe meets his eye, smug in a way zhongli quickly recognizes, there is no time to act. childe bites hard into his thigh and pain bursts underneath it, searing hot and unforgiving. zhongli lightly winces, eyes squinted, breath gusting out of him. he's bleeding—he sees it welling under the crowns of childe's teeth. a drop of gold gathers at the edge of his lips and draws a line down his thigh.
his cock swells, leaking as childe squeezes over its head. childe is too pleased with himself. zhongli twists his fingers in his hair, caught between punishing and rewarding—for childe, they may as well be the same thing.
his lip curls in a smile. he props himself up on his elbow and tightens his grip on childe's hair, painfully enough to (hopefully) release him from his mouth. if childe lets him, his hand will slip down and guide his thumb over the edge of his mouth, collecting blood. ]
Perhaps you've had enough.
[ his eyes are sharp and glowing. want claws inside of him, ferociously hungry, prepared to lunge at the first sign of weakness. ]
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Zhongli scruffs him like he's a misbehaving pet, and Childe relents, laughing.]
Of you? [He doesn't try and pull away from Zhongli's hands, but he does nip at Zhongli's thumb, incorrigible as ever.] Never.
[He says it like he's teasing. Like it's not the truest thing in the whole world in this moment. He could have his fun like this for days if Zhongli permitted it, but even drunk on arousal, he hasn't forgotten their time limit. So he surges forward again, aiming to claim Zhongli's mouth in a feverish kiss, to shift back up until he settles over Zhongli's hips. He doesn't really care if Zhongli lets him go or not--if Zhongli's thumb gets caught between them, or if he has to force his head into an awkward angle to reach Zhongli's lips, then so be it.]
Come on. [When he speaks again, it's lower, an urgent murmur meant just for the two of them. Once again, he lifts a hand to Zhongli's neck--but this time, he merely brushes his knuckles against Zhongli's soulmark, an abruptly gentle contrast to his violent passion mere moments ago.] One more time.
[He could just do it himself--Zhongli's cock is right there, so beautifully hard beneath him. It would be no effort at all to take him again, especially with how badly need burns beneath his skin, accumulating beneath his own soulmark. Truthfully, he wants to do exactly that--to follow through on his promise and show Zhongli exactly how much he wants him. (How much he loves him.) It's purely indulgence that stops him--that ever-lingering tendency to spoil the people he loves the most. Childe wants, too much, to ensure that Zhongli gets exactly what he wants--if that means graciously offering him one more opportunity to take the reins, then that's exactly what he'll do.]
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I would LOVE if dw would stop giving me errors every time I comment
I KNOW FR i'm back to writing in my notes app
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