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. ]
[Whatever else he would've said is lost to a hiss of complaint as Zhongli slides out of him. Now he's all gross and uncomfortable... why is he the only one who has to pay the price for this, huh? What's fair about that? Nevermind that he's the one who demanded Zhongli come inside him. Listen. IT JUST AIN'T FAIR.
But with some insincere grumbling, he shifts around slightly, until he settles at Zhongli's side with one leg thrown over Zhongli's. His hand finds its place back on Zhongli's chest, a wordless request for Zhongli to resume his gentle touches.
Someday, he'll be able to ask for such things directly. For now, though, he hums noncommittally, even as he closes his eyes.]
Don't want to. [Well, at least he's not claiming he's not tired.] Wanna keep talking to you.
[ you're the one with the hydro vision childe!!! your quick fix is right there
childe settles at his side and zhongli keeps an arm slung comfortably around his shoulders. he settles his hand again over the one at his chest, understanding even wordlessly that this is childe's invitation. he's been around humans long enough to make educated guesses about their body language.
he raises childe's hand and presses those fingers to his smiling mouth—one kiss over the nails, another at the underside of his fingers. after that, he settles his hand back against his chest.
he remembers that spark in childe's fingers only moments before. this time, he presses childe's palm where his old heart drums steadily against it.
earlier, childe had the inclination to sink his hand inside and take it for himself. zhongli holds his hand against his beating heart as if to show him: this is yours. this is where i keep it safe for you. ]
We'll speak as much as much as you'd like when you wake. I will be here.
It's tempting to hold onto his stubbornness. He could do it, he knows; it would take nothing at all to tap into his energy reserves, to shed this drowsiness and do whatever he pleased instead. Zhongli would probably be exasperated with him, but that's nothing new. And Childe--well. There's no shortage of things Childe would love to do with Zhongli, ranging from embarrassingly domestic to obscenely filthy. They probably have a little longer before the ship makes it back to the Harbor. Even longer if they dawdle.
But... he likes this. The soft, simple comfort of resting at his lover's side, paired, for once in his life, with the utter certainty of safety.
Thrills and danger run in Childe's blood. Safety is a remnant of his old life, something he's grown to associate with monotony and discomfort. It's meant for other people, and he's long since stopped wanting it. But the part of him that hasn't let its guard down since the Abyss, braced for threats at any moment--the part of him that remembers each bloodied step he'd taken on the path to Harbinger--that part of him can't resist the promise that comes with Zhongli's embrace.
Zhongli's heart beats steadily beneath his palm. Childe thinks of pawns and soulmates, ice and stone.
Finally, he repeats the same words he'd said earlier, back when Zhongli had guided them here.]
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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.
no subject
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.]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.]
no subject
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.
no subject
But with some insincere grumbling, he shifts around slightly, until he settles at Zhongli's side with one leg thrown over Zhongli's. His hand finds its place back on Zhongli's chest, a wordless request for Zhongli to resume his gentle touches.
Someday, he'll be able to ask for such things directly. For now, though, he hums noncommittally, even as he closes his eyes.]
Don't want to. [Well, at least he's not claiming he's not tired.] Wanna keep talking to you.
no subject
childe settles at his side and zhongli keeps an arm slung comfortably around his shoulders. he settles his hand again over the one at his chest, understanding even wordlessly that this is childe's invitation. he's been around humans long enough to make educated guesses about their body language.
he raises childe's hand and presses those fingers to his smiling mouth—one kiss over the nails, another at the underside of his fingers. after that, he settles his hand back against his chest.
he remembers that spark in childe's fingers only moments before. this time, he presses childe's palm where his old heart drums steadily against it.
earlier, childe had the inclination to sink his hand inside and take it for himself. zhongli holds his hand against his beating heart as if to show him: this is yours. this is where i keep it safe for you. ]
We'll speak as much as much as you'd like when you wake. I will be here.
no subject
It's tempting to hold onto his stubbornness. He could do it, he knows; it would take nothing at all to tap into his energy reserves, to shed this drowsiness and do whatever he pleased instead. Zhongli would probably be exasperated with him, but that's nothing new. And Childe--well. There's no shortage of things Childe would love to do with Zhongli, ranging from embarrassingly domestic to obscenely filthy. They probably have a little longer before the ship makes it back to the Harbor. Even longer if they dawdle.
But... he likes this. The soft, simple comfort of resting at his lover's side, paired, for once in his life, with the utter certainty of safety.
Thrills and danger run in Childe's blood. Safety is a remnant of his old life, something he's grown to associate with monotony and discomfort. It's meant for other people, and he's long since stopped wanting it. But the part of him that hasn't let its guard down since the Abyss, braced for threats at any moment--the part of him that remembers each bloodied step he'd taken on the path to Harbinger--that part of him can't resist the promise that comes with Zhongli's embrace.
Zhongli's heart beats steadily beneath his palm. Childe thinks of pawns and soulmates, ice and stone.
Finally, he repeats the same words he'd said earlier, back when Zhongli had guided them here.]
...Yeah. Okay.