[ 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.]
[ childe's laughter and mischievous smiles will be the death of him. his words slightly soften zhongli's sharp edges, sentiment overwhelming his facetious irritation. zhongli would never have enough of childe either. he knows that too well now.
fortunately for zhongli's thumb and zhongli sieves his fingers back into childe's hair as he climbs back over him. as soon as childe's body is within reach, zhongli presses his hand to the small of childe's back, drawing him up and against him. childe's come-spattered chest flattens against his, skin hot and slippery with sweat. it's clear what childe is after—rather, what he plans to take—and so zhongli closes his eyes and softens his lips before their mouths finally crush together again.
there's a flurry of feeling beneath his ribs. it feels like too long since they last kissed. childe hungrily kisses him back and zhongli dissolves underneath it, groaning softly. he deepens it, craning his neck and tilting his head to slot their mouths together. traces of his golden blood smear between them, salty and metallic.
when their kiss ends, zhongli catches his breath as he listens to the quiet, desperate rasp of childe's voice. he feels the run of childe's bare knuckles against the burning soulmark at his neck, and yes, it's unexpectedly tender of him, like their fated love is something that he still revels in even now, or even leverage to have what he hopes for.
zhongli couldn't have dreamed of wanting someone so much. it defies all propriety and poise that he's built and refined for thousands of years, toppled like monuments of stone withered with age. childe makes his breath catch, his head reel, his affection run unfathomably deep. he's already recalling the memory of moments ago: childe moaning and cursing and crying out as zhongli fucked into him into the bed, headboard hitting the wall, childe's perfect waist in his hands. his soulmate in every aspect, in and outside of bed, intelligent and caring and achingly attractive and so much more.
of course he wants him again. how could he stay away? and how will he, when the boat finally comes to port?
he gives up on processing any answers. right now his cock is achingly hard and dripping against his stomach, and childe's is pressed between their bodies, hardening and burning hot. zhongli finally opens his eyes to half-mast, and when he looks at childe, his gaze floods with want and affection. he quietly adores every line of his face, every color that came together, all textures and shapes that brought childe into existence and to his table.
zhongli pulls him down for another fevered kiss. both hands then seek down childe's back, over his hips, over the front of his thighs. his fingertips curl into his flesh.
when their kiss breaks, he presses their foreheads together and mutters between them. ]
Lift your hips.
[ he could make some comment, ask childe how he possibly wouldn't fuck him again after childe had worked him up, but zhongli's head is racing. he thinks only about sinking into childe and being swallowed again by that irresistible heat. there's the brief thought to turn them over again, take childe again however he would prefer to receive, but childe's warm weight sinks him into the bed. he decides against forsaking what freedom he gave to childe, though childe is welcome to turn them over himself.
there's also nothing stopping childe from taking initiative. zhongli has no reason to mind it. ]
Edited 2022-10-19 10:27 (UTC)
I would LOVE if dw would stop giving me errors every time I comment
[There are times when Zhongli is completely inscrutable to him. It's not surprising--not even frustrating, really, not now that he knows just how long Zhongli's had to compose his immovable visage. But there are times where he sees, too--where he sees more than he suspects Zhongli ever expected him to. He recalls every look of surprise Zhongli's ever cast his way, every lengthy silence that preceded a question or comment Zhongli had had to contemplate answering.
This is one of those seeing times--except that Zhongli's not hiding anything from him, now. Whether or not he's aware of the naked want on his own face, Childe doesn't know--but with the fervor of his kiss, the strength of his hands, it's unlikely he cares. Childe would probably be horribly smug in his elation if he had the capacity to pay that much attention.
As it stands, though, he's completely of the same mind as Zhongli. His world has completely narrowed down to the small space between them, and his whole focus is on Zhongli's response.
He kisses Zhongli once, briefly, when he gets it--gratitude, or an acknowledgment, or something in between. He settles, then, for a compromise of sorts; he raises himself up as he's told, but he doesn't wait for Zhongli after that. Instead, he reaches down and grabs one of Zhongli's hands, pulling it from his leg. He drags it down, guiding Zhongli's touch, wrapping his own hand over Zhongli's fingers to help him take hold of his own cock. He doesn't let go as he adjusts his hips, as he sinks down to take Zhongli inside of him one more time--together, this gesture says, though it's difficult to say whether it's meaningful or unconscious on Childe's part.
As he'd expected, his body welcomes Zhongli much more easily the second time. He tips his head back with a low, pleased groan; when he can, he lets one hand grip Zhongli's shoulder, the other flying to Zhongli's chest to dig his fingers in. For leverage, in part--but mostly because the idea of not touching Zhongli in every possible way seems simply unfathomable. He could so easily be convinced that he exists for this reason, and this reason only--to bear the full weight of a god's desires.
(It's the furthest thing from his mind right now, but he will not be at all happy when they really do have to clean up and leave.)]
[ zhongli is watching his every move, patient but enthralled. it doesn't surprise him that childe takes the initiative, and he lets his spread fingers brush against his hip and stomach before they're curled around his cock. childe's fingers are still wet, cold and lithe, striped with scars. water spreads between his fingers, wetting his grip as it closes. he can't resist stroking his thumb over the smooth, hot skin underneath it.
childe lowers onto him, the water from his vision making it almost a glide once he's pushed inside. zhongli's stomach tightens again, quietly and sharply inhaling as he's enveloped again. he briefly closes his eyes, swallows hard, and runs his dark fingertips down the side of childe's thigh. childe's grip is tight enough to ache, chest stinging where his nails bite into his skin, but all of it is worth what he sees when he opens his eyes.
his love hasn't left him, but the sight of childe above him, sweat-slick, sucking him in—zhongli is famished and wanting. all marks on his body are hot and swelling, and he can't forget that beautiful mischief on childe's face a moment before, nor the urgency with which childe wanted him inside again.
he presses his heels into the bed and lifts his hips, pushing his cock deeper inside, and the ensuing arousal runs through his body like hot water. he slowly settles back against the bed with a long exhale. whether or not childe follows him is up to his discretion, but there is a torturous brush of cold against his skin as his cock slides with him. it could be so easy to hold childe still above him and fuck him from below, but he won't. not yet.
he works his hand tightly and slowly over the length of childe's cock, swelling and filling in his hand. precome gathers and sticks to the length of his fingers; he spreads it over the head of his cock, the tip of his thumb pressing gently at the opening.
zhongli's eyes are sharp, gold and yellow and red-ringed—the imposing, almost predatory, almost daring eyes of a dragon. ]
You said that you would show me the depth of your want.
[ he runs his palm up childe's thigh and to his hip. he rocks him forward against his cock, fingers loosened just enough that childe's cock slides into his fist. the edge's of zhongli's eyes narrow and his mouth eases into a smile. ]
[Zhongli doesn't even need to say it, really. His pull is irresistible, and Childe's patience has long run out. He doesn't wait, doesn't savor the feeling--immediately, he lets himself settle into a rhythm, caught between the press of Zhongli's cock and the curl of his fingers. Of course he wouldn't favor one or the other--he chases both sensations, relentless in his desire. Anyone else would likely be intimidated by the expression on Zhongli's face, the visage of ancient power; Childe meets his gaze head-on, his own eyes dark as midnight with want.
His fingers rest right in the center of Zhongli's chest--right above where a gnosis once slept. He could curl his fingers, if he wanted to. Unwittingly, at the thought alone, power gathers beneath his fingertips--a subtle crackle of energy, not seen or heard but merely felt. He could tap into his Harbinger might and sink his hand right into Zhongli's chest, the very same thing he'd once done to the Exuvia. Back then, he'd found nothing--a pawn in the great game, destined to leave empty-handed.
But there's still one heart left inside of Zhongli. He can feel it, steady as a war drum. And perhaps Childe could take that too, perhaps he should, but--
--why would he take something he already has?
Instead, he drags his hand up, nails catching on Zhongli's scars, his nipple, his collarbone. He doesn't stop until he can press his fingers back to Zhongli's soulmark--with that leverage, he leans forward again, intent on kissing Zhongli's smile off of his face.]
[ the significance of childe's hand in the middle of his chest isn't lost on him. childe works himself eagerly over zhongli's cock, watches him as is he would devour him, and then zhongli feels that pulsing of power underneath his palm. unbidden, zhongli's eyes glow a brighter yellow, all defenses instinctively raised, but he doesn't let himself relinquish control. like his throat bared to childe's hands, he dares childe to do such a thing, knowing he wouldn't. again: not yet. not like this.
his nails catch and scrape, pain flickering behind the burn. the rut of childe's hips guides his cock in and out of zhongli's fist. with the other hand, he drags his nails over childe's ass, drawing hot streaks down the back of his thighs.
zhongli tilts his chin upward and meets childe's hungry, ferocious kiss. he licks upward into his soft, wet heat of childe's mouth, tongues sliding, teeth grazed. his mark is white-hot under childe's fingers. their kisses are bare breaths apart—a gasp of air before the dive back under the surface. anyone weaker than zhongli would relent to it.
his hand settles back onto childe's hip, where his thumb can press back against his soulmark. elemental energy swells under the pad of his finger, rushing to meet the power of geo that beats through his blood—magnetite, hematite, lodestone, the irresistible gather and cling of fragments under a single surface. the shape of the soulmark shifts, pulled into that telltale, glowing diamond shape.
zhongli is the first to drag his mouth away from childe's. he licks away the line of spit crawling from the edge of his mouth. again, he groans softly onto his cheek. ]
Ajax.
[ My Ajax, he nearly says. he resists it, the words clotting his mouth. they had said it in everything except words. that they are soulmates, that zhongli would willingly acquiesce to being childe's alone, didn't mean that childe would do the same. he won't presume ownership where there may not be any. he knows childe better than to assume that. this is enough, he tells himself. ]
[Zhongli doesn't say it, but Childe hears it anyway. He's always been good at reading between the lines, hearing what goes unsaid. "Mine" is clear in the rasp of Zhongli's voice, the sting of his nails. For Childe, "yours" doesn't need to be spoken either--it's said in the way Geo surges through his body, lighting up long-dampened nerves and intertwining with his own affinities. "I love you" doesn't leave his lips in the common tongue--instead, it manifests in broken cries, in Abyss-tainted Hydro coalescing like an ocean eddy at Zhongli's soulmark.
He doesn't have the power to change the shape of Zhongli's mark, but he doesn't need to. It's already his. Not for the first time, Childe's shown too much of himself to Zhongli too quickly.
And maybe the same could be said for the way he's acted tonight, too. The way he's acting now--walls down as far as they can go, his rough edges laid bare in the punishing pace he sets, the way he turns fangs and claws on the man beneath him. But he can do this, with Zhongli. He can give himself fully to the ferocity within his heart and still come out of it intact. Zhongli has seen Childe-Tartaglia-Ajax, has known him, and wants him anyway. And more than Skirk, more than the Tsaritsa, even more than the Traveler, Childe can trust him. He can be himself--too violent, too complicated, too much--and Zhongli will not crumble. He will stay as steady as a lighthouse in a storm for as long as Childe is alive to seek him: warm, welcoming, safe.]
Zhongli, Zhongli-- [It's supposed to be a warning. There are more words behind Zhongli's name, somewhere, probably. But it's too late. Zhongli's cock hits him just right, and between that and the slick roughness of his fingers, Childe is gone, incandescent. His hips jerk, stuttering, as all his senses zero in on ecstasy--dimly, he can tell he's spilling over Zhongli's fingers and onto his stomach, but he doesn't have the capacity to process it. He does, however, clamp his knees at Zhongli's hips, as if instinctively, preemptively defying any attempt Zhongli might make to pull him off or pull out of him.
He'll probably (jokingly) regret it later, but the message is clear nonetheless: He wants to feel Zhongli find his own pleasure, just like this.]
[ it's the sensible, necessary, albeit painstakingly difficult thing to draw himself away and come outside of childe. zhongli would be the one to adhere to it, the order against childe's recklessness, even in the throes of passion. he should be, but childe begs his name into his ear and robs him of his good sense—and all other senses with it.
childe, shining with sweat, bitten and bruised, orange hair pasted and curled to his forehead and cheeks, sucking him in, greedy and beautiful—zhongli can feel when his cock pushes against the right spot. childe's suddenly ruts against him, shuddering all through his body, and his rattling outcry rings in zhongli's ears. he registers the come that paints his stomach chest fingers. almost without thinking, his fist tightens and quickens its pace.
he soaks in every moment of childe's delirious pleasure. his hips roll upward, resisting his own orgasm as he pushes forcefully against his prostate. mine, his want says again, reaching for childe, childe, childe. his cock swells again, searingly hot, hard enough that it hurts. no matter where he may go or who he may find, he is my soulmate. i love him, and he is only mine.
childe traps him between his shaking thighs. as if answering him, he wordlessly demands as he'd done so many times through the evening: I won't let you hold back and I'll never forgive you and I want everything, anything and Together. zhongli is enraptured, hearing every word through his aching want. he has no other thought but to concede.
his grip locks tightly over childe's hip, and the harsh, burning glow of his soulmark bleeds into the golden yellow of his fingertip. instinctively, irresistibly, he forces childe down onto his cock as his hips strike upward, heels pushed again into the bed for leverage, burying deeply inside of him.
that swirling, silken heat tightens around him. he groans and tightly shuts his eyes, all other senses lost. the knot of pleasure between his legs finally comes undone and rips through him. his release pours out of him in ropes, viscous and hot, gathering at the head of his cock and filling between walls of spasming muscle. ]
[It's a lucky thing that Zhongli follows him so closely. It's been a long time since he's felt so over-sensitive; not since those first days as a Harbinger, when he'd fought to tame the electric power he now calls his own. Zhongli's power threads through him in the same way, electric-hot and nigh overwhelming. If not for Childe's sheer resilience, it would be, ironically, too much. But it's exactly what Childe wants--for his own orgasm to crash against Zhongli's the way ocean waves meet sandy beaches, beautifully inseparable.
Zhongli's grip on him is iron-tight; Childe twists and jerks above him to no avail, and really, that shouldn't be as arousing as it is. But he can't help it. Zhongli's effortless strength is one of his most attractive qualities--here, with both of them overcome by pleasure, Childe is powerless against the way it makes him feel.
For as loud as he'd been earlier, he's quiet as he catches his breath, sweat-soaked and trembling with aftershocks where he's perched atop Zhongli. He's somehow ended up with one hand planted back on Zhongli's chest for balance--it's the only thing stopping him from slumping forward onto Zhongli, and he keeps himself upright through sheer force of will.
So soft, Scaramouche had said about him once, disgusted to see him sharing an affectionate parting kiss with an old fling. He'd gotten in trouble because of her, years after they'd moved on from each other. Deserters were not to be shown mercy, and he'd been assigned executions for a month after he'd tried to spare her children the death of their mother.
(She'd died anyway, he'd learned later. For those who've only ever known the Fatui, exile is not truly a kindness.)
Ah, but... this is different, isn't it?These aren't the icy halls of Zapolyarny Palace. He isn't here as Tartaglia anymore--never really was, even when he'd come for this flimsy excuse of a mission.
No, this is Liyue. Warm, loving, enduring Liyue. And Zhongli... Zhongli wants Ajax just as much as he wants Tartaglia and Childe. He'd said so both with and without words; the proof of Zhongli's desire is all over him, inside of him. The more Childe settles back into his own skin, the more apparent it becomes.
This is more than love; this is knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is where the other half of his soul has been all along.
So, slowly, he lets his arm bend--lets his hand slide forward, so that he can lower himself down and rest on Zhongli's chest. His mind is still pleasantly foggy, and a wonderful sort of exhaustion spreads through him as soon as he allows himself to truly relax. It's going to get uncomfortable if he stays like this for too long, but right now, Zhongli is still pleasantly warm beneath and inside him.]
[ zhongli sinks back into the mattress as the force of his orgasm finally melts away. the air is hot and damp around them, sticking in every crease of their skin. his hands loosen and rest lightly over the knobs of childe's hips. the glowing yellow of his fingertips have faded, a dim light in a dense fog. the air is full of their rasping, uneven breaths. zhongli registers the (light but solid) weight of childe around his hips and pressed to the center of his heaving chest.
when he raises his eyes to childe again, he watches him with the gaze of the man he met, measured and calm, ringed in gold and vermillion. they're not glowing, but his gaze is still steeped in his adoration. when childe lowers against him, zhongli accepts it like he'd been waiting to hold him—and he was. his arm folds around his waist, and his other hand—the clean one—closes over the hand at his chest. his thumb gently strokes along the joint of childe's finger with gentle affection, over and over.
he's still warm inside of childe, but he makes no move to pull away even as he slowly softens. there's come flattened between their bodies, blood dried and flecked and beading in several places. their skin is slippery, running with sweat. they're perfect this way, two halves made whole. their soulmarks hum where their skin meets, as if finally content. ajax is perfect beyond measure.
he tilts his head and brushes his lips past the curls of childe's hair to kiss beneath his hairline. ]
I'm beginning to see the merit in your argument.
[ he murmurs, his lips curling in a smile. ]
Perhaps we should wait here until the ship's passengers clear out into the Harbor.
[What tension the orgasm didn't clear from him is soothed away by Zhongli's touch. Not just the gentle motion of his thumb; as much as he enjoys that and keeps his hand still for it, it's the sort of fragile tenderness he doesn't yet know how to handle. The affection it rouses in his heart is skittish, still. No--it's the way Zhongli's arm rests solidly around him, the way their skin sticks in some places and slides in others, the scent of sex and earth and divine humanity that Childe picks up on when he lays his head on Zhongli's shoulder. These, more than anything else, are the elements that ease the last of his lingering reservations--the ones he is barely even consciously aware of.
He could fall asleep like this. It's the height of folly, to be so trusting.
Oh well. There are worse ways to die.
Zhongli's words startle a laugh out of him; he wants to lift his head and catch Zhongli's eye, but he's too comfortable to move, so he just presses his smile to the crook of Zhongli's neck instead.]
I do have a Hydro vision, you know. [He can make them... well. Maybe not decent, but halfway there. He can't do anything about all the hickeys and bruises and scratches, but that was kind of the point.
The kiss makes the back of his neck tingle; if his skin weren't already flushed, he suspects he'd be blushing, even though that makes no sense at all. Wow. That's embarrassing.] But hey, who am I to argue with the wisdom of a god?
Normally you'd be quick to challenge one of my kind.
[ he could tease a little, say that he must have exhausted the indomitable eleventh harbinger, but he knows what would happen if he said that. he won't ruin this moment—the first of its kind, sweet and serene, meant only for him and his other half. there's no need for zhongli to sleep, but he can choose to. even with a harbinger's smile drawn up against his pulse, he could choose to do it here and have no regrets.
this isn't a harbinger. this is tartaglia, childe, and now only his ajax.
he speaks softly against his forehead, eyes still drawn closed. ]
I'll admit that this has less to do with wisdom or reason. I would simply like to be here with you for as long as time allows.
[Zhongli's not wrong... Childe muffles a laugh and mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like "extenuating circumstances." Apparently not even banging a god twice in one evening can make him less annoying, incredible. In his defense, he did warn Zhongli.
That gentle sincerity quiets him, though. His grin doesn't fade, but it softens; he's glad, now, that he didn't lift his head to look at Zhongli's face. He feels too wrung out to handle the open devotion he would surely see in those Cor Lapis eyes.]
Mm. [A soft agreement; regardless of how out of his depth he is in all of this, he doesn't want to lose the moment either. It doesn't matter that they'll (probably, he assumes, he hopes) go home together once they return to land, that this won't end beyond the walls of this tiny room; right now, there is nowhere else he'd rather be.
It was never a question of whether or not he wants to be be with Zhongli. He isn't afraid to acknowledge that.
He's quiet for a little while--not sleeping, just... resting. Basking. But eventually--]
If you'd known we were--y'know. [Ah. The word "soulmate" still sticks in his mouth. He'll have to get used to it in his head first, it seems.] Would you still have come out tonight?
[This, fortunately, lacks the same weight as would you have trusted me with your plan?--a question he will never ask. This question, though, has no stakes attached. Childe already knows that he would never have sent that invitation if he'd known what they truly were to each other; it's a safely impossible hypothetical, so he's free to be curious.]
[ zhongli was duly warned, and he still doesn't see childe as annoying at all, unfortunately. when childe laughs softly against his neck, he only smiles back, flashing his teeth. he revels in that laughter more deeply than he ever has before. it's cute. and it tickles.
zhongli basks in this too, deciding that silence is golden. there's a quiet language in lying with one another like this—something he'd never guessed they would share. at some point, his eyes draw closed. childe's heart beats against his chest, past the roughness of his scars.
the question is a little surprise. he opens his eyes again, considering the ceiling as he answers. ]
Given that you'd referred to this night as a 'date,' I may have assumed that you knew as well. That aside... I don't see why I wouldn't.
[ he says it inquisitively, waiting to see if childe believed otherwise. ]
[Zhongli stop being charmed by your menace of a boyfriend]
I say a lot of things you shouldn't take at face value, xiansheng. [The nickname is back... but Childe can't help it, honestly. He's the nicknaming type; even if the term isn't special in Liyuese, it's something Childe only associates with Zhongli. And with Zhongli comes warmth, familiarity, and affection.] Thought you'd figured that out by now.
[He's just teasing, though, even if his normal playful lilt is obscured by his content, sleepy tone. (Even if it's not necessarily untrue, though Childe always has, and always will, favor honesty and straightforwardness. It'll probably be his downfall.)]
But have some faith in me, hm? I wouldn't torture you like that.
[ maybe said menace of a boyfriend should stop being charming!!! ever think about that
childe reminds him of their conversations regarding that night. childe has said his first name before, always followed by his new moniker. he remembers the small flutter in his chest when childe said his name alone for the first time—and the searing heat when he heard it sighed in the middle of their sex. he decides that he loves his name in childe's mouth no matter what shape it takes. ]
It would be difficult not to draw that conclusion. I would have to confirm it, of course.
[ another au where zhongli would make childe lift his shirt. can't ever have too many of those!
zhongli can hear that sleepiness. he noses again into childe's hair and presses his lips to his head. he breathes in—soap, salt, smoke—and lazily smooths his fingers up and down a small length of childe's back. ]
Even if you hadn't known, I would have come. ...It would have been interesting to see your reaction if your mark suddenly appeared.
[Oh, that's dangerous. The mild discomfort of sticky, cooling skin pales in comparison to the soothing motions of Zhongli's fingers.]
Confirm it, huh... [He's very clearly drowsy, but he's fighting the urge to doze off. Whether it's a force of habit or just stubbornness because he wants to keep talking is anybody's guess.] And how would you have pulled that off?
[ zhongli has heard childe's lazy, sleepy voice before: at midnight hours on a drunken evening, or when childe is spread over his couch during a quiet and golden afternoon. it's sweeter now, knowing that zhongli had been the cause of it. ]
By searching for evidence, if I'm given the opportunity to do so.
[ he flirts back, good idea or not.
unfortunately, they can't stay this way while childe is sleeping. both of his hands smooth down and grip firmly on childe's hips. he draws out of childe with a soft exhale, shocked lightly with cold and sticking with come.
after that, his hand smooths up his back again, returning to its rhythm. ]
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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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fortunately for zhongli's thumb and zhongli sieves his fingers back into childe's hair as he climbs back over him. as soon as childe's body is within reach, zhongli presses his hand to the small of childe's back, drawing him up and against him. childe's come-spattered chest flattens against his, skin hot and slippery with sweat. it's clear what childe is after—rather, what he plans to take—and so zhongli closes his eyes and softens his lips before their mouths finally crush together again.
there's a flurry of feeling beneath his ribs. it feels like too long since they last kissed. childe hungrily kisses him back and zhongli dissolves underneath it, groaning softly. he deepens it, craning his neck and tilting his head to slot their mouths together. traces of his golden blood smear between them, salty and metallic.
when their kiss ends, zhongli catches his breath as he listens to the quiet, desperate rasp of childe's voice. he feels the run of childe's bare knuckles against the burning soulmark at his neck, and yes, it's unexpectedly tender of him, like their fated love is something that he still revels in even now, or even leverage to have what he hopes for.
zhongli couldn't have dreamed of wanting someone so much. it defies all propriety and poise that he's built and refined for thousands of years, toppled like monuments of stone withered with age. childe makes his breath catch, his head reel, his affection run unfathomably deep. he's already recalling the memory of moments ago: childe moaning and cursing and crying out as zhongli fucked into him into the bed, headboard hitting the wall, childe's perfect waist in his hands. his soulmate in every aspect, in and outside of bed, intelligent and caring and achingly attractive and so much more.
of course he wants him again. how could he stay away? and how will he, when the boat finally comes to port?
he gives up on processing any answers. right now his cock is achingly hard and dripping against his stomach, and childe's is pressed between their bodies, hardening and burning hot. zhongli finally opens his eyes to half-mast, and when he looks at childe, his gaze floods with want and affection. he quietly adores every line of his face, every color that came together, all textures and shapes that brought childe into existence and to his table.
zhongli pulls him down for another fevered kiss. both hands then seek down childe's back, over his hips, over the front of his thighs. his fingertips curl into his flesh.
when their kiss breaks, he presses their foreheads together and mutters between them. ]
Lift your hips.
[ he could make some comment, ask childe how he possibly wouldn't fuck him again after childe had worked him up, but zhongli's head is racing. he thinks only about sinking into childe and being swallowed again by that irresistible heat. there's the brief thought to turn them over again, take childe again however he would prefer to receive, but childe's warm weight sinks him into the bed. he decides against forsaking what freedom he gave to childe, though childe is welcome to turn them over himself.
there's also nothing stopping childe from taking initiative. zhongli has no reason to mind it. ]
I would LOVE if dw would stop giving me errors every time I comment
This is one of those seeing times--except that Zhongli's not hiding anything from him, now. Whether or not he's aware of the naked want on his own face, Childe doesn't know--but with the fervor of his kiss, the strength of his hands, it's unlikely he cares. Childe would probably be horribly smug in his elation if he had the capacity to pay that much attention.
As it stands, though, he's completely of the same mind as Zhongli. His world has completely narrowed down to the small space between them, and his whole focus is on Zhongli's response.
He kisses Zhongli once, briefly, when he gets it--gratitude, or an acknowledgment, or something in between. He settles, then, for a compromise of sorts; he raises himself up as he's told, but he doesn't wait for Zhongli after that. Instead, he reaches down and grabs one of Zhongli's hands, pulling it from his leg. He drags it down, guiding Zhongli's touch, wrapping his own hand over Zhongli's fingers to help him take hold of his own cock. He doesn't let go as he adjusts his hips, as he sinks down to take Zhongli inside of him one more time--together, this gesture says, though it's difficult to say whether it's meaningful or unconscious on Childe's part.
As he'd expected, his body welcomes Zhongli much more easily the second time. He tips his head back with a low, pleased groan; when he can, he lets one hand grip Zhongli's shoulder, the other flying to Zhongli's chest to dig his fingers in. For leverage, in part--but mostly because the idea of not touching Zhongli in every possible way seems simply unfathomable. He could so easily be convinced that he exists for this reason, and this reason only--to bear the full weight of a god's desires.
(It's the furthest thing from his mind right now, but he will not be at all happy when they really do have to clean up and leave.)]
I KNOW FR i'm back to writing in my notes app
childe lowers onto him, the water from his vision making it almost a glide once he's pushed inside. zhongli's stomach tightens again, quietly and sharply inhaling as he's enveloped again. he briefly closes his eyes, swallows hard, and runs his dark fingertips down the side of childe's thigh. childe's grip is tight enough to ache, chest stinging where his nails bite into his skin, but all of it is worth what he sees when he opens his eyes.
his love hasn't left him, but the sight of childe above him, sweat-slick, sucking him in—zhongli is famished and wanting. all marks on his body are hot and swelling, and he can't forget that beautiful mischief on childe's face a moment before, nor the urgency with which childe wanted him inside again.
he presses his heels into the bed and lifts his hips, pushing his cock deeper inside, and the ensuing arousal runs through his body like hot water. he slowly settles back against the bed with a long exhale. whether or not childe follows him is up to his discretion, but there is a torturous brush of cold against his skin as his cock slides with him. it could be so easy to hold childe still above him and fuck him from below, but he won't. not yet.
he works his hand tightly and slowly over the length of childe's cock, swelling and filling in his hand. precome gathers and sticks to the length of his fingers; he spreads it over the head of his cock, the tip of his thumb pressing gently at the opening.
zhongli's eyes are sharp, gold and yellow and red-ringed—the imposing, almost predatory, almost daring eyes of a dragon. ]
You said that you would show me the depth of your want.
[ he runs his palm up childe's thigh and to his hip. he rocks him forward against his cock, fingers loosened just enough that childe's cock slides into his fist. the edge's of zhongli's eyes narrow and his mouth eases into a smile. ]
Don't keep me waiting.
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His fingers rest right in the center of Zhongli's chest--right above where a gnosis once slept. He could curl his fingers, if he wanted to. Unwittingly, at the thought alone, power gathers beneath his fingertips--a subtle crackle of energy, not seen or heard but merely felt. He could tap into his Harbinger might and sink his hand right into Zhongli's chest, the very same thing he'd once done to the Exuvia. Back then, he'd found nothing--a pawn in the great game, destined to leave empty-handed.
But there's still one heart left inside of Zhongli. He can feel it, steady as a war drum. And perhaps Childe could take that too, perhaps he should, but--
--why would he take something he already has?
Instead, he drags his hand up, nails catching on Zhongli's scars, his nipple, his collarbone. He doesn't stop until he can press his fingers back to Zhongli's soulmark--with that leverage, he leans forward again, intent on kissing Zhongli's smile off of his face.]
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his nails catch and scrape, pain flickering behind the burn. the rut of childe's hips guides his cock in and out of zhongli's fist. with the other hand, he drags his nails over childe's ass, drawing hot streaks down the back of his thighs.
zhongli tilts his chin upward and meets childe's hungry, ferocious kiss. he licks upward into his soft, wet heat of childe's mouth, tongues sliding, teeth grazed. his mark is white-hot under childe's fingers. their kisses are bare breaths apart—a gasp of air before the dive back under the surface. anyone weaker than zhongli would relent to it.
his hand settles back onto childe's hip, where his thumb can press back against his soulmark. elemental energy swells under the pad of his finger, rushing to meet the power of geo that beats through his blood—magnetite, hematite, lodestone, the irresistible gather and cling of fragments under a single surface. the shape of the soulmark shifts, pulled into that telltale, glowing diamond shape.
zhongli is the first to drag his mouth away from childe's. he licks away the line of spit crawling from the edge of his mouth. again, he groans softly onto his cheek. ]
Ajax.
[ My Ajax, he nearly says. he resists it, the words clotting his mouth. they had said it in everything except words. that they are soulmates, that zhongli would willingly acquiesce to being childe's alone, didn't mean that childe would do the same. he won't presume ownership where there may not be any. he knows childe better than to assume that. this is enough, he tells himself. ]
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He doesn't have the power to change the shape of Zhongli's mark, but he doesn't need to. It's already his. Not for the first time, Childe's shown too much of himself to Zhongli too quickly.
And maybe the same could be said for the way he's acted tonight, too. The way he's acting now--walls down as far as they can go, his rough edges laid bare in the punishing pace he sets, the way he turns fangs and claws on the man beneath him. But he can do this, with Zhongli. He can give himself fully to the ferocity within his heart and still come out of it intact. Zhongli has seen Childe-Tartaglia-Ajax, has known him, and wants him anyway. And more than Skirk, more than the Tsaritsa, even more than the Traveler, Childe can trust him. He can be himself--too violent, too complicated, too much--and Zhongli will not crumble. He will stay as steady as a lighthouse in a storm for as long as Childe is alive to seek him: warm, welcoming, safe.]
Zhongli, Zhongli-- [It's supposed to be a warning. There are more words behind Zhongli's name, somewhere, probably. But it's too late. Zhongli's cock hits him just right, and between that and the slick roughness of his fingers, Childe is gone, incandescent. His hips jerk, stuttering, as all his senses zero in on ecstasy--dimly, he can tell he's spilling over Zhongli's fingers and onto his stomach, but he doesn't have the capacity to process it. He does, however, clamp his knees at Zhongli's hips, as if instinctively, preemptively defying any attempt Zhongli might make to pull him off or pull out of him.
He'll probably (jokingly) regret it later, but the message is clear nonetheless: He wants to feel Zhongli find his own pleasure, just like this.]
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childe, shining with sweat, bitten and bruised, orange hair pasted and curled to his forehead and cheeks, sucking him in, greedy and beautiful—zhongli can feel when his cock pushes against the right spot. childe's suddenly ruts against him, shuddering all through his body, and his rattling outcry rings in zhongli's ears. he registers the come that paints his stomach chest fingers. almost without thinking, his fist tightens and quickens its pace.
he soaks in every moment of childe's delirious pleasure. his hips roll upward, resisting his own orgasm as he pushes forcefully against his prostate. mine, his want says again, reaching for childe, childe, childe. his cock swells again, searingly hot, hard enough that it hurts. no matter where he may go or who he may find, he is my soulmate. i love him, and he is only mine.
childe traps him between his shaking thighs. as if answering him, he wordlessly demands as he'd done so many times through the evening: I won't let you hold back and I'll never forgive you and I want everything, anything and Together. zhongli is enraptured, hearing every word through his aching want. he has no other thought but to concede.
his grip locks tightly over childe's hip, and the harsh, burning glow of his soulmark bleeds into the golden yellow of his fingertip. instinctively, irresistibly, he forces childe down onto his cock as his hips strike upward, heels pushed again into the bed for leverage, burying deeply inside of him.
that swirling, silken heat tightens around him. he groans and tightly shuts his eyes, all other senses lost. the knot of pleasure between his legs finally comes undone and rips through him. his release pours out of him in ropes, viscous and hot, gathering at the head of his cock and filling between walls of spasming muscle. ]
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Zhongli's grip on him is iron-tight; Childe twists and jerks above him to no avail, and really, that shouldn't be as arousing as it is. But he can't help it. Zhongli's effortless strength is one of his most attractive qualities--here, with both of them overcome by pleasure, Childe is powerless against the way it makes him feel.
For as loud as he'd been earlier, he's quiet as he catches his breath, sweat-soaked and trembling with aftershocks where he's perched atop Zhongli. He's somehow ended up with one hand planted back on Zhongli's chest for balance--it's the only thing stopping him from slumping forward onto Zhongli, and he keeps himself upright through sheer force of will.
So soft, Scaramouche had said about him once, disgusted to see him sharing an affectionate parting kiss with an old fling. He'd gotten in trouble because of her, years after they'd moved on from each other. Deserters were not to be shown mercy, and he'd been assigned executions for a month after he'd tried to spare her children the death of their mother.
(She'd died anyway, he'd learned later. For those who've only ever known the Fatui, exile is not truly a kindness.)
Ah, but... this is different, isn't it?These aren't the icy halls of Zapolyarny Palace. He isn't here as Tartaglia anymore--never really was, even when he'd come for this flimsy excuse of a mission.
No, this is Liyue. Warm, loving, enduring Liyue. And Zhongli... Zhongli wants Ajax just as much as he wants Tartaglia and Childe. He'd said so both with and without words; the proof of Zhongli's desire is all over him, inside of him. The more Childe settles back into his own skin, the more apparent it becomes.
This is more than love; this is knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is where the other half of his soul has been all along.
So, slowly, he lets his arm bend--lets his hand slide forward, so that he can lower himself down and rest on Zhongli's chest. His mind is still pleasantly foggy, and a wonderful sort of exhaustion spreads through him as soon as he allows himself to truly relax. It's going to get uncomfortable if he stays like this for too long, but right now, Zhongli is still pleasantly warm beneath and inside him.]
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when he raises his eyes to childe again, he watches him with the gaze of the man he met, measured and calm, ringed in gold and vermillion. they're not glowing, but his gaze is still steeped in his adoration. when childe lowers against him, zhongli accepts it like he'd been waiting to hold him—and he was. his arm folds around his waist, and his other hand—the clean one—closes over the hand at his chest. his thumb gently strokes along the joint of childe's finger with gentle affection, over and over.
he's still warm inside of childe, but he makes no move to pull away even as he slowly softens. there's come flattened between their bodies, blood dried and flecked and beading in several places. their skin is slippery, running with sweat. they're perfect this way, two halves made whole. their soulmarks hum where their skin meets, as if finally content. ajax is perfect beyond measure.
he tilts his head and brushes his lips past the curls of childe's hair to kiss beneath his hairline. ]
I'm beginning to see the merit in your argument.
[ he murmurs, his lips curling in a smile. ]
Perhaps we should wait here until the ship's passengers clear out into the Harbor.
[ he's joking but he's also not joking. ]
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He could fall asleep like this. It's the height of folly, to be so trusting.
Oh well. There are worse ways to die.
Zhongli's words startle a laugh out of him; he wants to lift his head and catch Zhongli's eye, but he's too comfortable to move, so he just presses his smile to the crook of Zhongli's neck instead.]
I do have a Hydro vision, you know. [He can make them... well. Maybe not decent, but halfway there. He can't do anything about all the hickeys and bruises and scratches, but that was kind of the point.
The kiss makes the back of his neck tingle; if his skin weren't already flushed, he suspects he'd be blushing, even though that makes no sense at all. Wow. That's embarrassing.] But hey, who am I to argue with the wisdom of a god?
[Childe.]
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Normally you'd be quick to challenge one of my kind.
[ he could tease a little, say that he must have exhausted the indomitable eleventh harbinger, but he knows what would happen if he said that. he won't ruin this moment—the first of its kind, sweet and serene, meant only for him and his other half. there's no need for zhongli to sleep, but he can choose to. even with a harbinger's smile drawn up against his pulse, he could choose to do it here and have no regrets.
this isn't a harbinger. this is tartaglia, childe, and now only his ajax.
he speaks softly against his forehead, eyes still drawn closed. ]
I'll admit that this has less to do with wisdom or reason. I would simply like to be here with you for as long as time allows.
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That gentle sincerity quiets him, though. His grin doesn't fade, but it softens; he's glad, now, that he didn't lift his head to look at Zhongli's face. He feels too wrung out to handle the open devotion he would surely see in those Cor Lapis eyes.]
Mm. [A soft agreement; regardless of how out of his depth he is in all of this, he doesn't want to lose the moment either. It doesn't matter that they'll (probably, he assumes, he hopes) go home together once they return to land, that this won't end beyond the walls of this tiny room; right now, there is nowhere else he'd rather be.
It was never a question of whether or not he wants to be be with Zhongli. He isn't afraid to acknowledge that.
He's quiet for a little while--not sleeping, just... resting. Basking. But eventually--]
If you'd known we were--y'know. [Ah. The word "soulmate" still sticks in his mouth. He'll have to get used to it in his head first, it seems.] Would you still have come out tonight?
[This, fortunately, lacks the same weight as would you have trusted me with your plan?--a question he will never ask. This question, though, has no stakes attached. Childe already knows that he would never have sent that invitation if he'd known what they truly were to each other; it's a safely impossible hypothetical, so he's free to be curious.]
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zhongli basks in this too, deciding that silence is golden. there's a quiet language in lying with one another like this—something he'd never guessed they would share. at some point, his eyes draw closed. childe's heart beats against his chest, past the roughness of his scars.
the question is a little surprise. he opens his eyes again, considering the ceiling as he answers. ]
Given that you'd referred to this night as a 'date,' I may have assumed that you knew as well. That aside... I don't see why I wouldn't.
[ he says it inquisitively, waiting to see if childe believed otherwise. ]
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I say a lot of things you shouldn't take at face value, xiansheng. [The nickname is back... but Childe can't help it, honestly. He's the nicknaming type; even if the term isn't special in Liyuese, it's something Childe only associates with Zhongli. And with Zhongli comes warmth, familiarity, and affection.] Thought you'd figured that out by now.
[He's just teasing, though, even if his normal playful lilt is obscured by his content, sleepy tone. (Even if it's not necessarily untrue, though Childe always has, and always will, favor honesty and straightforwardness. It'll probably be his downfall.)]
But have some faith in me, hm? I wouldn't torture you like that.
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childe reminds him of their conversations regarding that night. childe has said his first name before, always followed by his new moniker. he remembers the small flutter in his chest when childe said his name alone for the first time—and the searing heat when he heard it sighed in the middle of their sex. he decides that he loves his name in childe's mouth no matter what shape it takes. ]
It would be difficult not to draw that conclusion. I would have to confirm it, of course.
[ another au where zhongli would make childe lift his shirt. can't ever have too many of those!
zhongli can hear that sleepiness. he noses again into childe's hair and presses his lips to his head. he breathes in—soap, salt, smoke—and lazily smooths his fingers up and down a small length of childe's back. ]
Even if you hadn't known, I would have come. ...It would have been interesting to see your reaction if your mark suddenly appeared.
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Confirm it, huh... [He's very clearly drowsy, but he's fighting the urge to doze off. Whether it's a force of habit or just stubbornness because he wants to keep talking is anybody's guess.] And how would you have pulled that off?
[Stop flirting and go to sleep, Childe.]
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By searching for evidence, if I'm given the opportunity to do so.
[ he flirts back, good idea or not.
unfortunately, they can't stay this way while childe is sleeping. both of his hands smooth down and grip firmly on childe's hips. he draws out of childe with a soft exhale, shocked lightly with cold and sticking with come.
after that, his hand smooths up his back again, returning to its rhythm. ]
You should rest.
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