Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

xx

Zhongli has been sleepwalking.

Childe only knows this because his men have mentioned they’ve seen the consultant wandering the streets at night these past couple weeks, eyes open but dulled and unresponsive, with an eerie glow.

Ekaterina pops into the office as they’re speaking with Childe and mentions that by her count, they’ve managed to return him to his domicile four times now— as a favor to their Lord Harbinger more than anything. The Millelith have been involved in other occasions, so the total count of Zhongli’s evening excursions is currently unknown.

Childe frowns at the two men under his command and then at Katya. “Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner? Actually, never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’ll speak with him myself.”

He takes his leave; the workday is almost over, anyway. It’s a beautiful late autumn day— the kind that carries a hint of winter in the air, or as much of a winter as Liyue will ever see. Perfectly warm as far as Childe’s concerned, but he wonders if Zhongli will catch a chill if he’s puttering about at night in only his sleepwear, especially if it were to rain.

Zhongli’s home isn’t terribly far from the bank— he’s got a lovely little home up on one of the smaller cliffs overlooking the harbor. Quaint and private with an enclosed courtyard, paid for with who knows what mora. Childe’s visited before, of course, and he wonders as he walks if Zhongli will even be home from work. He’ll wait for him if not.

Zhongli is home, as it turns out. He’s dressed down in a simple linen shirt with a high Liyuean neckline and loose trousers, barefoot in his front garden as he tends to the plants. It’s been some time since Childe has seen him so casual— or showing so much skin. Two bare forearms, hands ungloved, no smartly polished shoes.

“Childe,” comes the warm greeting before Zhongli has even looked up to see who it is. “What a lovely surprise.” And then those eyes turn towards him, their golden warmth pulling him in like always. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Just thought I’d drop by to check on you,” Childe says lightly, deciding not to play coy. It never works well with Zhongli, the old obtuse lizard that he is. “I heard from my men that you’ve been scaring the Millelith at night, wandering the streets like a ghost.”

Zhongli straightens from where he was carefully tying a support stake to a chrysanthemum stem. His garden is full of them, blooming in all different colors and styles, some spiky, some full and voluptuous. Zhongli’s told him about their significance on many occasions but he never quite retained the details… always just a little too distracted by the speaker.

“Ah,” says said distracting speaker. “Yes. I have just become aware of this recent phenomenon, myself— a member of the Millelith visited the other day to inform me of the issue.”

There’s a moment of silence. Childe crosses his arms when it becomes apparent Zhongli isn’t about to add to that statement.

“And?”

“What is there to say?” Zhongli turns away, seeming unbothered, but Childe knows him well enough to tell when he’s deflecting. “I am perfectly fine being left to my own devices. Even asleep, I know every inch of Liyue’s soil.”

Childe follows him down the inlaid pebble walkway as he drifts towards another cluster of deep burgundy blooms.

“But the Millelith don’t know that,” he points out, trying to be reasonable. Explaining things to Zhongli really is like speaking to a monolith sometimes. “To them, you’re just an ordinary person who might walk off the pier and drown himself if they don’t step in. Has this happened to you before?”

Zhongli pauses, thumbing gently at a deep ruby petal. His finely-veined hands are strong, muscled, built for gripping the shaft of a spear and making war, and yet his touch is so delicate and deliberate it makes Childe’s throat go dry and other parts of him throb.

“Not for a very long time.” The sigh that follows is heavy with the weight of millennia. “Evidently, I developed a similar habit after the Archon War. After Guizhong. It eventually resolved itself. I am certain this will be no different.”

Childe finds himself stepping closer and taking off his glove, wanting to stroke a few petals of his own. Will it hurt the flowers? He hopes not. There’s one that’s the exact brilliant cor lapis hue of Zhongli’s eyes when the sunlight hits them.

“Is it because you no longer have your Gnosis?” It’s the only thing he can think of that would evoke a similar kind of loss.

Zhongli presses his mouth flat, looking out at the ocean through a decorative, arched cutaway in the courtyard wall. “Perhaps,” he says, after a long moment. “At any rate, please do not be concerned, Childe. While it is touching, there is nothing you need to worry about. Let your subordinates know they do not need to interfere.”

“They said your eyes looked strange,” Childe blurts out. “Glowing. People are going to start suspecting things if you’re not more careful.”

“Mm.” Zhongli nods, as if unsurprised, then tears his eyes from whatever he was staring at in the distance and goes back to puttering about the garden. “Yes. More careful. I’ll take it under advisement, Childe. As ever, you’ve been a wonderful help.”

Childe huffs, growing tired of the prevarication. He reaches out to grab Zhongli by the forearm before he can breeze by.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” he insists. “You know I hate when you do that. Can we not repeat the same old song and dance? What’s really going on with you?”

Zhongli stills, glancing down at Childe’s gloved hand on his bare skin, then meets his gaze. Childe isn’t sure whether he wants to smack him silly or kiss him or maybe both in short succession. It’s a frequent impulse he gets when they’re together.

“Alright,” Zhongli finally sighs. “But this is a conversation better suited for the indoors. I’ll brew us some tea.”

Childe settles himself at the table while Zhongli tends to the kettle and portioning of tea leaves. He’s still barefoot, faint traces of dirt clinging to his soles. It makes Childe hungry for him in ways he can’t even comprehend. His proper, buttoned-up Zhongli, so casual like this… it’s driving him more than a little wild. Does the shift in attire have something to do with his recent sleepwalking episodes, or is Zhongli just finally learning how to enjoy his retirement in comfortable clothing?

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing anything but a suit,” he ventures, wondering if Zhongli will bite.

“Mm,” comes the reply. “I’m finding gardening to be an enjoyable pastime. It seemed only fitting to acquire suitable garments if I was going to be spending more time in the dirt.” Zhongli sets a steaming cup before Childe with a graceful, careful hand, a considering look upon his face. “I would welcome the company if you ever wanted to try your hand at it.”

Childe can’t help his snort, brushing his fringe out of his face as he leans on one arm. “Uhh… think you might have me mixed up with some other guy. I’m better suited to the opposite of growing things.”

Zhongli’s smile is mild but amused as he takes his own seat, teacup in hand. “All the same. I’m sure you’d be excellent at weeding.”

This is cute and all, but Childe’s antsy to get to the meat of the conversation.

“So… you gonna tell me what the sleepwalking’s all about?”

Zhongli’s glance to him is sharp. He sighs, as if admitting to his continued attempts to distract.

“I apologize… this prevarication isn’t inspiring confidence in me, I know. It’s not that I do not wish to share the details of my life with a dear friend, it’s simply that… well. You might wish you hadn’t asked.”

“Try me,” Childe suggests, lounging back in his chair in the hopes of making Zhongli a little more comfortable. “Can’t be any weirder than anything else I’ve learned about you.”

Zhongli snorts softly through his nose, taking a sip of tea. “I believe I am undergoing an… old ritual, of sorts. Though I am more human now than I was before, I still find myself beholden to certain instincts. My… 'lizard brain', I believe you once called it.”

“Oh?” Childe shifts upright, already interested. “You mean… dragon stuff.”

Zhongli nods, licking his lips and directing his gaze away from Childe, toward the walls of his domicile. “I believe,” he says again, slower this time, the faintest tinge of color creeping over his cheeks, “that I am searching for a mate.”

Childe blinks once, then again. “What does sleepwalking have to do with that?” It’s the most polite way he can think of responding. But then the other questions on his mind bubble up, a geyser of words he can scarcely control. “You mean, like, another dragon? Or a human? Or do they have to be both, like you? Why now?”

Zhongli looks a little surprised by his interest.

“Ah… it is simply my subconscious attempting to do the work for me. As I mentioned, this has happened once before. When Guizhong passed, I could not bring myself to seek the company of another for quite some time.” He pauses, sipping at his tea. Childe stares at the fine bones of his hands. Large, broad, but still so refined. A poet's hands. A warrior's hands.

“Still, old instincts are hard to reason with,” Zhongli goes on, after wetting his throat. “When I did not heed the call to choose a new mate, I found myself wandering in my sleep, much like I have been doing as of late. It’s a fruitless endeavor, of course, and simply something I will have to wait out.”

Childe’s mind is suddenly a very busy place.

“So, you don’t want one, then. A mate.” He doesn’t know how to feel about that. Does Zhongli simply not want to keep the company of other ancient beings like himself anymore? Or does he not want anyone in his life at all?

Zhongli hesitates to answer.

“I don’t think it would be wise to give into such urges,” he finally seems to settle on. “A dragon’s instincts are to hoard and possess. But I do not wish to limit the freedoms of another.”

Childe frowns, setting down his cup of tea and licking the vegetal taste from his lips.

“So you’re just going to ignore it? That sounds lonely.”

“I have only just stepped down from my role as the guardian of Liyue,” Zhongli says, a soft sigh escaping him as he gazes down into his teacup. “The domain which was once mine now belongs entirely to her people. I’m sure I simply need time to adjust.”

Childe frowns. “No offense, Xiansheng, but that sounds kinda… sad.”

Zhongli laughs at this, and the fondness in his eyes when he looks back to Childe is overwhelming. “Perhaps it might seem that way, but I have weathered worse trials. It will pass.”

“Well,” Childe pushes, because he can’t help but push when Zhongli looks at him like that. “How about I keep you company in the meantime? At the very least, keep you from terrorizing the night watch. My own men are getting the heebie jeebies seeing you like that.”

Zhongli shakes his head. “No, no. That won’t be necessary. I’ll find a way to barricade myself inside, if need be. There’s no need to go to any trouble—“

“Look, asshole,” Childe interrupts, standing up and putting his hands flat on the table. Sometimes, to get through to Zhongli, dramatics are necessary. “It’s not any trouble! I’d feel much better knowing somebody was here to ensure you’re not doing anything stupid in your sleep, alright? It’d be making less problems for me.”

Zhongli looks confused. It’s devastatingly cute on him. “I— what exactly are you proposing, Childe?”

Childe hasn’t really gotten that far, but he’s nothing if not used to improvising.

“I’ll just camp out in your courtyard!” He suggests, flopping back down into his chair and waving his hand in the general vicinity of outside. “That way I can make sure you don’t run off and get into trouble.”

Zhongli looks appalled. “I would never make you camp outdoors when I have a perfectly good— ah, this is your attempt at tricking me into agreeing, isn’t it?”

“Is it working?” Childe beams at him, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!” He keeps his voice light, but inside he’s downright yearning for Zhongli to agree. They haven’t seen as much of each other lately due to work conflicts, and considering they’ve only just patched things up between them after the whole secret identity reveal fiasco… sure, he’s warring constantly with his absolutely impossible, confused feelings for the man he once knew simply as Zhongli, but Childe also just misses his friend.

Zhongli presses his mouth into a thin line. “Childe, there’s… well. There’s something else I haven’t mentioned. A concern of mine. I worry that allowing an encounter between us when I am in such a state may not end well.”

“Oh?” He has no idea what in the Abyss Zhongli could mean by that. “But you ran into the Millelith and my men without incident?”

Zhongli looks away again. He’s suddenly very interested in the contents of his half-empty teacup. “Yes, but they are not you. I fear my subconscious might perceive your strength rather differently.”

“What, like… see me as competition?” Childe doesn’t dare ask the question that’s actually on the tip of his tongue; if Zhongli’s inner dragon might be attracted to his strength. That would probably be hoping for a little too much, but a boy could dream…

“That is one possibility,” Zhongli says, cryptically. “I would rather not risk it.”

“Okay, but there’s others in Liyue who possess a lot of strength,” Childe points out, carefully as he can. “Your yaksha, for one. The other Adepti. The Traveler’s been in and out of town all the time. Shouldn’t we try and make sure they don’t cross your path, if it’s so dangerous? At least I’d know to be prepared for it, and you do still owe me a spar…”

Zhongli blinks slowly in that strange way of his. Ruminating. “I suppose it might be for the best if I were to avoid those individuals, yes, but Childe—“

“It’s settled, then!” Childe crosses his arms and sticks his chin in the air, unwilling to budge. “You know how stubborn I am, old man. If it’s for your own good and the good of our friends, I’ll stake your place out nightly until we’re sure you’ve gotten over this weird dragon thing, and then stuff can go back to normal and nobody else has to find out the hard way about your whole mate situation. How’s that?”

Zhongli clears his throat and folds his hands together. His gaze is unusually skittish. Is he actually nervous?

“Very well,” he says, frowning as if the words are being forced from him. “I suppose that does constitute a contract.”

Oh.

Oh.

Childe’s mouth drops open a little. “Shit, I didn’t even think about—“

“It’s fine, Childe.” Zhongli suddenly looks very tired in addition to being nervous. “It was a generous offer and one made in the spirit of kindness. I accept, on the condition that if we come to physical blows and I pose imminent deadly harm to your person, that the contract be rendered null and void.”

Childe goes to protest, but the stern glance from Zhongli stops it in his throat. “Okay, fine,” he grumbles. “Damn spoilsport.”

They seal it with a shake of hands and downing the rest of their tea.

“Well, then!” Childe’s feeling oddly excited about this. “I suppose I’ll go gather the essentials. Should I pick something up for dinner?”

He doesn’t care much for his own Fatui-assigned apartment, sparse as it is, and Zhongli lives close enough to the bank that he should be able to make this arrangement work just fine. He barely sleeps as it is; might as well make himself useful.

“If you like,” Zhongli says, then has the good grace to mutter, “and you won’t be camping in the yard. You can take my bed and I will retire to the living area.”

“No way.” Childe’s already shaking his head. “Then I won’t be able to tell if you’re sneaking out! I’ll take the living room and you stay snuggled up in your bed, Xiansheng. That’s how we’ll do it.”

Zhongli sighs, looking both amused and defeated. His mouth curls at one end, ever so slightly, and Childe has the depraved urge to lick the curve of his lip.

“I suppose we shall.”

Childe putters around town for a few hours, trying to do Zhongli the courtesy of giving him time to prepare for having his home invaded by an overeager Harbinger. He’s worried at first that maybe he came on too strong, but he knows that Zhongli, while polite to a fault, wouldn’t just give into his pushiness if he really didn’t want Childe to interfere.

Maybe the Adeptus Prime gets lonely, too.

It’s easy enough to acquire some groceries and tea— peace offerings, really. He still needs to find something for a proper gift, though.

Childe might not be the most traditional in his daily life, but a housewarming gift never goes amiss. Especially when he’s going to be warming the house with his presence for… however long this takes. They hadn’t really discussed that, had they?

Zhongli is both easy and difficult to buy for; he appreciates the craft in the smallest of things, but doesn’t seem to truly lack for anything. (Maybe, Childe thinks to himself with a faint grin, tracing his hands over lengths of silken fabric, that’s because he already bankrolled a fair bit of it himself.)

A pair of finely engraved stone chopsticks catches his eye. It’s been an ongoing joke between them that Childe is absolutely horrible at using them, but he still loves the set Zhongli gifted him, even if he leaves them on display in their box.

These ones are carved from noctilucous jade, from the milky blue opacity of the blue stone. Swirling and sinuous in shape, they have an elegant carp and heron motif that Childe rather likes the look of. Still seems pretty wild to him to use such elaborate utensils for eating, of all things, but he supposes he can appreciate the artistry.

He asks for them gift wrapped and doesn’t even glance at the price— Zhongli wouldn’t.

After that, it’s a quick trip back to his apartment to gather up the basics— his toiletries, a couple extra uniforms, casual clothes and pyjamas. He really doesn’t own much beyond that— letters from his siblings and the chopsticks from Zhongli notwithstanding.

Childe paces the room, wondering if it’s too early to head back to Zhongli’s. He’s been trying to distract himself all afternoon but he can’t stop thinking about the way Zhongli seemed nervous about letting him stay. About the prospect of him encountering Childe in his sleepwalking state.

Was it stupid to hope that maybe Zhongli would see him as a potential mate, not just a challenger? Maybe both? Ideally both.

Childe sits on the edge of his bed and squeezes his knees, staring down at his knuckles.

He’s familiar enough with the Exuvia of Rex Lapis. Up close, in person, he’d reached his hand into that empty chest cavity, noted with fascination the heavy scales and fangs and frilled tail before he’d been distracted by other matters. But as Zhongli… how much dragon is actually left to him, anyway?

Evidently enough that his word of choice was not partner, spouse, or lover, but mate…

Childe feels himself getting warm under the collar of his uniform. He sets his mask down and runs his hand through his hair, wondering if maybe he shouldn’t take the edge off his arousal before he returns to Zhongli’s home. It'd be a little impolite to wank while he's staying the night on his sofa, after all…

He presses down against the crotch of his trousers, grinding into the heel of his palm. Fuck. He’s already wet just thinking about it. What might happen if he tried to convince a sleeping Zhongli to remain inside his abode? Would he dismiss Childe and brush past him, forcing Childe to engage him in combat to keep him from leaving? (Oh no, so terrible, such a tragedy…)

Or would Zhongli do something else equally as intimate and likely to leave his home in an upturned state?

Childe shucks his gloves and unbuttons his pants, shimmying them down over his hips so he can properly stroke himself, slicking the wetness up from his cunt and flopping back on the bed, closing his eyes to better picture it.

Maybe he could lead Zhongli up to the clifftop behind his home… it’d be secluded, quiet. The perfect place for them to spar— assuming Zhongli’s subconscious self wanted to stake his territory. Fend off Childe’s threat. Subdue him by any means necessary.

He stifles a moan, slipping two fingers down to tease at his folds, already sticky and ready to be fucked. The image of Zhongli streaked with blood and dust, eyes aglow and Geo shimmering around him, pushing Childe’s sweating body against the ground and forcing his legs open… trying to mate him… fuuuck.

Childe shoves his fingers inside his cunt, rocking into them, imagining they’re attached to a finely-boned hand and elegant wrist that he's only ever caught mere glimpses of, until today. The muscle he felt when he grabbed Zhongli’s forearm… he wants to feel all that adeptal strength turned against him. Wants to know what it would be like to fight a god for dominance. It’s one fight he wouldn’t even mind losing, so long as Zhongli didn’t go easy on him.

He fucks himself with one hand and strokes his cock with two fingers of the other, pinching it til he can’t help but whine and writhe on the bed.

Zhongli’s cock… gods, it must be something.

He’s salivating just thinking about Zhongli shedding his characteristic composure— mindlessly, animalistically shoving it down Childe's throat, rutting between his legs. Childe wants to see him undone, wants to let Zhongli use his scarred, Abyss-stained mess of a body however he wishes. Would he bite? Scratch? Reveal more and more of the ancient dragon hiding behind those proper clothes and that smooth, calm voice? Show Childe that he was still the same Morax who hurled spears of stone so mighty they carved the ancient landscape of Liyue herself? The same Rex Lapis who imprisoned elder gods and fought countless battles to emerge the victorious Archon, prime among all the Adepti?

The thought of all that power just lurking beneath Zhongli’s surface, just waiting to be pulled loose… he wouldn’t hold back if he was trying to court a mate, would he?

A growing part of Childe wants to fight for the honor of taking that mantle, or else die trying.

He cums quickly after that, imagining being fucked into the earth by Zhongli in his Exuvial form, clawed and bitten and nearly broken. It’s a strong orgasm, breaking over him like a sneaker wave and sucking him even deeper, just as his cunt sucks at his fingers as he rides it out with gasps and grunts of frustration.

Fuck. It’s good, certainly enough to take the edge off, but he still wants Zhongli so bad it’s making his head spin.

Childe lays on his back in his spartan room, staring at the ceiling as he catches his breath. His wet fingers twitch against the sheets as he sighs, rolling his eyes.

He knows he shouldn’t get his hopes up. He still doesn’t even know if Zhongli’s subconscious is looking for another dragon, or maybe another Adeptus. Even if Zhongli was interested, it’s not as if there was really a good way to make things work between them— Childe’s loyalty can only be split so far before it borders on treason.

A good spar, though… perhaps, he can still hope for that. Fucking Zhongli would surely be pushing it. And anything beyond that, well… his feelings might have been a tangle after he found out Zhongli’s true identity, but even his anger at being betrayed and used by both parties involved hadn’t been enough to cleanse him of his aggravating feelings.

Still. He’s not too proud that he won’t take what he can get, if Zhongli deems him worthy. And if, somehow, another manages to step into the role of Zhongli’s mate despite Childe’s best attempts at keeping him safely ensconced in his home… well. Guess he could always request a transfer back home ahead of schedule.

Childe doesn’t look at the chopsticks Zhongli got him—sitting in their ornate, lovely box on his dresser— as he staggers semi-boneless to the bathroom to piss and wash his hands.

Maybe he’s being a shit friend, being selfish like this. Not wanting Zhongli to find another person to share his life with, even if it would ease his loneliness. But the man said it himself— that it wouldn’t be wise. That he’s too possessive. Whatever that entails…

Childe stares at his freckled face and lightless eyes in the mirror, wishing stupidly, furiously for something he knows he can’t realistically have. It only makes him want it more intensely; will he even be able to control himself, being in Zhongli’s space like this?

The more he thinks about it, the more he realizes that all he wants to do is tie Zhongli to his own bedposts and have his way with him for weeks on end until his stupid subconscious forgets about the whole 'mate' thing— or, preferably, he realizes he can’t live without Childe and asks him to stay for good.

“Shit,” Childe laughs aloud, using his Vision to splash icy water on his face over the sink basin and blinking away the drops that cling to his lashes. He grins at himself in the mirror, feral and excited at the prospect.

“Guess I’m possessive, too.”

xx

Chapter Text

xx

Zhongli is once more in the garden when Childe returns. The sun is dipping low over the mountains, casting cool shadows. The golden hour is upon them, and Childe’s breath falls short as Zhongli straightens to greet him for the second time that day. The warm light catches in his rich hair, burnishing it from bittersweet chocolate to the hue of autumn maple leaves. The orange tips look like they’ve caught aflame.

Alpenglow. The word rises in the back of Childe’s mind. Where the fire of the sun kisses the stone of the mountain. He remembers encountering the phenomenon often as a boy, but it never truly lost its wonder. Seeing Zhongli illuminated like this brings it all rushing back. Like finding crisp, late-autumn leaves buried amidst this strange harbor with its seemingly eternal summer. He must be homesick, or something.

Zhongli’s golden eyes glint through the hazy atmosphere as he smiles, almost with teeth this time.

“You’ve returned with quite the load,” he observes, stepping forward to help, and Childe feels strangely moved to kneel down at his bare feet. Not in outright deference, exactly… no, no, he just wants to trail his mouth along the bare skin, starting at Zhongli’s ankles, then see how high he could get before he was pushed away.

Instead, he just shifts the pack on his shoulder and ducks away from Zhongli, refusing to let him lend any assistance.

“Ah ah, you just keep talking to your flowers. I’ll go see this all inside.”

It’s only once Childe has escaped into the cool shade of Zhongli’s home that he can breathe again. Damn, he’d forgotten what a brush with the divine can feel like, coming on so unexpectedly like that. Not as if anticipating it would have done much— Zhongli just does that to him. Fills him with so much yearning, he could level this entire place around them and barely feel any relief. Bastard…

Childe unpacks the goods and tucks away the ingredients they probably don’t need right away. On the countertop, he sets the two bottles of Mondstat dandelion wine he’d managed to wheedle from a traveling merchant near the docks, and then pauses at the gift wrapped package of chopsticks, setting it on the counter as well.

No, doesn’t look right. Childe tries to arrange the two bottles to frame the package, but that looks worse. What is he even doing, trying to make some kind of grand presentation?

It honestly seems silly now that he went right out and immediately bought a gift for Zhongli after badgering the man into letting him stay. It makes him feel strangely embarrassed. Maybe he should save them until the end, as a thank-you present after the fact?

Zhongli hums from directly beside him, making Childe jump— as much as someone with his battle-honed reflexes ever jumps.

“Hey!” He scolds, trying to subtly turn and block the package from view. “Just because you’re pretty much the only person who can sneak up on me doesn’t mean you should abuse the privilege, old man.”

“My apologies,” Zhongli says, the absolute liar, and reaches right around Childe’s waist, ignoring any sort of personal space he might have been expected to observe. “Now what have you gone and done? The dinner and wine are more than enough.”

Childe catches his wrist, squeezing hard just to feel the resistance, the strength in even this most delicate part.

“It’s nothing,” he blurts out, then cringes inwardly when he realizes that only makes it sound like more of a something. “Just a little thing I picked up at the market. I was always taught it’s rude to visit someone without bringing a gift.”

Zhongli hums and reaches his other arm around Childe instead, a mockery of an embrace for a brief, blessed moment that leaves Childe dizzy with the scent of him— he smells like garden soil and glaze lilies and the color of amber, which doesn’t even make sense, but that’s the only way he can think to describe it.

It works well enough to distract him; Zhongli leans back with the box a moment later, a small smile of triumph playing about his lips.

“I think, from the shape of the box, that I can guess what lies inside.” The smug asshole.

“Just open it already,” Childe huffs, releasing his grip on Zhongli’s forearm and sidling away before he really embarrasses himself. He has a rare and fleeting moment of gratitude for the fact he doesn’t have a cock as other men do— if he did, it would probably be giving him away, right about now. As it stands, his fantasies from earlier all come surging back to the forefront and Childe wonders, insanely, if Zhongli can smell the absurd, pathetic need on him. He really needs to get laid more often if he's going to be resuming their frequent contact, especially in Zhongli's own home.

Zhongli is careful in opening the box, those strong, agile fingers slipping beneath the seal on the lid with the kind of precision that makes Childe want to hop up on the countertop and spread his legs. Stupid, stupid…

“Oh…” Zhongli falls silent for a moment as he reveals the ornate set of chopsticks, turning the box from side to side to allow the blue stone to catch the light. “These are…”

“You don’t have to use them,” Childe rushes to say, feeling stupidly nervous all of a sudden. He busies himself with uncorking one of the wine bottles— all of a sudden, he needs a drink. Wine's really not strong enough, in hindsight. “But, y’know, since you gave me a set. Another piece for the dragon’s horde.”

His joke falls flat, or maybe Zhongli just doesn’t hear it.

“They’re beautiful,” is what he says, still staring down at the box when Childe dares to look back. His eyes seem distant as his fingertips caress the carvings. “I will treasure them. Thank you, Childe.”

Childe takes a swig directly from the bottle, feeling a little insane. He already knew he liked buying things for Zhongli, but this feels different somehow, in a way he doesn’t know how to put a name to. Zhongli inspires that dilemma in him far too often.

“Wow, they weren’t kidding,” he says instead of answering, wiping his mouth with the back of his gloved hand. “This wine really is good. Um. Shit, I wasn’t thinking. I can open the other bottle for you.”

“Nonsense,” Zhongli says. “I’m not too proud to share a bottle with a friend.” He’s still holding the gift box, clutching it close to his chest as he reaches out to pluck the bottle from Childe’s grip and take a tidy swig of his own.

Childe watches his throat bob as he swallows and wonders how he’s going to survive this.

“Mm. Very good. It’s been some time since I’ve had the pleasure of tasting wine from the famed Dawn Winery.” Zhongli licks his lips before handing the bottle back to Childe. “I don’t recall you being as much for wine as for liquor. Branching out, are we?”

Childe tries not to blush, he really does. “I mean, you’re the wine guy and this is your home, so.” He shrugs, trying to act casual about the fact that they’re sharing a bottle like it’s nothing. “Anyway. Probably shouldn’t get drunk on an empty stomach, I just got curious. It’s honestly better than I expected.”

“I’ll prepare us dinner,” Zhongli says. “It’s been some time since I had company while cooking. Sit, relax. I insist.”

Zhongli’s kitchen looks out over the living area with an odd, polished wooden bartop with stools dividing the rooms, not unlike the outdoor counter at Wanmin restaurant. Childe's pretty sure that's not typical of a Liyuen home, but what does he know? He hunkers down on one of the stools and enjoys the view of Zhongli’s backside as he chops vegetables and prepares noodles for some kind of stir fry dish. His heart pangs when he sees Zhongli has kept the gift box of chopsticks close by while he works.

They chat about Childe’s work at the bank and his recent debt collection ventures, and Zhongli’s burgeoning garden hobby, and all sorts of other inane nonsense, and he thinks he might be experiencing domestic bliss for the first time since he was a boy at home in his own family’s kitchen, helping his mother and elder siblings cook by getting under their feet.

The air quickly fills with the fragrance of sizzling aromatics and it makes Childe deeply nostalgic despite the ingredients being far different from what he grew up with. (And despite the view of Zhongli’s broad shoulders and ass being a far cry from his mother’s matronly silhouette, hah.)

He could get dangerously used to this.

It’s after dinner that things get a little weird. Well, weirder. They’re reclining on Zhongli’s upholstered sofa— which Childe had picked out for him when he first moved here, specifically to ensure it was long and comfortable enough for a lanky Harbinger to sleep on— and Childe’s had enough dandelion wine that his tongue is starting to get ideas of its own.

“So, should I be ready to fight you in your sleep?” It’s meant to be a joke, but Zhongli’s face turns serious as stone.

“Perhaps,” he admits, looking vaguely uncomfortable at the admission. “That is one possibility.”

“What are the others,” Childe teases, but he’s already fizzing with the need to know, anticipation simmering under his skin. “Are you going to lecture me on Liyue’s geological history, perhaps? Do you ever talk in your sleep?”

“I suppose anything is possible,” Zhongli trails off, a pensive pinch to his forehead. “Childe… in truth, I do not know entirely what to expect. My subconscious will surely recognize you, and I hope it will not cause us problems. But if I should grow combative, or amorous, or otherwise give you undue difficulty, do not hesitate to respond in whichever manner you see fit.”

“Uh.” Childe’s stuck on the word amorous.

“If containing me indoors does not seem practical,” Zhongli goes on, as if he hadn't said anything strange at all, “leading me to the cliffside above should serve. I have awoken there before with no memory of the journey, so I believe it is a place my inner self finds soothing. Should I attempt to engage you in combat, it is a far more preferable setting than inside, or the courtyard.”

“I was thinking that,” Childe agrees, scratching the back of his neck. He feels too warm in his uniform, and overdressed besides. The urge to shove Zhongli down against the cushions is growing overbearing. Focus on fighting, that's safer than asking more questions. “I’ll be sure to go easy on you if you try to pick a fight, don’t worry.”

Zhongli merely snorts in that refined manner of his, taking another drink of wine from their second bottle. He always flushes when he drinks, which is partly why Childe loves plying him with alcohol. He wants so badly to discover how far down the warm, splotchy pink goes…

“Do not worry about that. Simply do your best to match me. I give you full leave to handle the situation as you deem necessary.”

“You don’t think you’ll wake up?” Childe asks, almost nauseously giddy. Carte blanche to do anything, huh? “I’d feel bad beating your ass for the first time without you there to even notice.”

Zhongli gives him a hint of a cocky smirk that sends the blood rushing down between his legs.

“I wouldn’t worry about that either,” he says, hiding his little grin behind the bottle. Childe gasps, affronted, and leans over to snatch it from him.

“You don’t think I can trounce you even while you’re sleeping?! Old man, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Perhaps,” Zhongli shrugs easily, that little smile still clinging to his face. Childe wants to bite and lick it right off. “I suppose we shall see."

Childe can barely sleep— mind awhir and cunt aching for attention as he rolls over on the sofa yet again and tries fruitlessly to will himself to rest. He isn’t sure what time Zhongli will arise for his nightly wandering, and although he knows that even in a deep sleep, his senses will alert him to someone else passing through the room, he can’t stop turning everything over in his mind.

Combative… amorous…

Like there’s a difference where Childe’s concerned. He truthfully doesn’t know what he’s more excited for. And the way Zhongli so casually dropped that in there, then followed up with blanket permission for Childe to respond as he saw fit… that was a green light, right? Zhongli might be obtuse at times, but he's always deliberate with his choice of words. A god of contracts wouldn’t slip up like that. Definitely not. Probably not.

And then he hears it— the slight creak of wooden floorboards. Childe freezes, listening. The sound is repeated. Footsteps. He’s up.

Childe sits upright too quickly, shivering in anticipation rather than actual chill as the cool night air hits his skin. He never sleeps with a shirt on, not in this climate. Night shorts are all he can manage, and so he rises from the sofa and grabs the robe Zhongli left for him, just to spare the eyes of any wandering Millelith they might encounter.

Zhongli is standing on the stairs just outside his bedroom, staring silently out the hexagonal window towards the cliffs and the sea beyond. He’s dressed in a pale gold silken robe and sleep pants that look almost silvery in the moonlight, and to Childe’s great surprise, the robe hangs open to reveal his bare chest. He can’t see much at this angle, but he doesn’t want to disturb Zhongli— not when he looks so peaceful and content, his eyes indeed glowing a soft, radiant amber just as Childe’s men had described.

Zhongli’s breathing is even and slow, but after a moment of Childe’s presence, his head turns and his eyes dart about in what appears to be slight agitation; unseeing but sensing, perhaps, that he isn’t alone.

“It’s alright,” Childe tries to soothe, holding his palms so they’re visible. Speaks quietly so as not to jolt Zhongli from his sleep, using the same soft tone he would employ to coax one of his little siblings back to bed after a nightmare. “It’s just me. It’s just Tartaglia. Just Childe. C’mon, old man, you know me. Nothing to worry about.”

Zhongli’s nostrils flare as he takes a step down the stairs, slow and measured. Childe holds his ground, even when the adeptus encroaches upon his space.

“Childe…” Zhongli’s voice is faint, his eyes still distant, but he reaches out and Childe allows him, entertained and not a little turned on by the way Zhongli’s palm slides across his robe-covered chest, as if trying to understand what he is.

“So you can speak like this,” Childe murmurs. “And here they told me you were entirely unresponsive. Should I be flattered?”

Zhongli doesn’t answer this time, and it’s then Childe notices something bizarre. Zhongli’s hand upon his chest is growing darker even as he watches, a strange shadow creeping up from his fingertips.

“What—“ Childe cuts himself off as he realizes that’s not the only change. Golden, glowing lines are rising to the surface of Zhongli’s skin, spelling out intricate patterns on the back of his hands and creeping across his chest— which has grown dark and mottled with a strange, cubic pattern along his shoulders, peeking out from the gap in his silken robe. Elemental energy hums off him in waves, powerful but calm, like the mildest of tremors beneath the earth.

“Xiansheng,” Childe starts again, and that’s when he sees the antlers shimmering into view, orange glowing motes of Geo shimmering in the air around Zhongli’s head. Motion at the corner of his eye grabs his attention— a familiar, tufted tail not unlike like that of Zhongli’s Exuvia thumping softly against the floor.

“…ah.”

Zhongli hadn’t mentioned any physical changes to look out for, but his inner nature was clearly rising to the surface. Surely no cause for alarm, right? Must be just another part of the whole process of his body seeking out a mate.

Childe tries not to dwell on the fact that his subordinates hadn’t mentioned any glowing antlers or charcoal-colored hands with bright, golden sigils. Tries not to read too much into the fact that he might be the only mortal man who’s seen Zhongli like this in a very, very long time.

He remains silent, staring into Zhongli’s unseeing eyes as the blackened hand on his chest slips between the folds of the robe and pauses over Childe's heart, skin to skin. Can the sleeping Adeptus feel how it’s racing at his touch? Carefully, slowly, Childe dares to put his own hand over top of Zhongli’s. He thinks it might be warmer than a moment ago, or maybe he simply couldn't feel the heat with the fabric between them.

Zhongli doesn’t outright stir at the movement, but he does blink slowly as if registering something has changed. There’s something inhuman in his glowing, unseeing gaze; and then Childe realizes his pupils, though only faintly visible, look somewhat different. They’re still those familiar golden diamonds, but they’ve elongated, become more slitted and reptilian.

“Do you have a forked lizard tongue, too?” Childe finds himself teasing just above a whisper, trying to contain his smile. Was this what Zhongli was so worried about? Childe seeing him in this in-between state? “The antlers… ahh, they’re cute, I like them. Did you forget I’ve seen your Exuvia? I know you Adepti can shapeshift as easy as breathing. Really, xiansheng, this is nothing.”

It’s not nothing— he’s admittedly wildly turned on by the more draconian aspects of Zhongli’s nature coming to the surface. Thinks again of touching the Exuvia for those fleeting moments… what he wouldn’t give to feel those claws come to life, raking down his back. He's already dripping from their proximity, from Zhongli's touch, what's a little more indulgence at this point?

But just when Childe thinks that’s the extent of it— this awe-inspiring yet mellow transformation— Zhongli leans in closer, nostrils flaring. His lips part, and he seems to inhale deeply with his mouth as his eyes slide shut. He’s still got a hand on Childe’s bare chest, slipped into his robe. There’s a low rumble, a strange noise that Childe doesn’t know how to place, but then it settles into a cadence he can only describe as purring.

By the damned Abyss, this just keeps getting better.

“Zhongli,” he says, hushed even quieter than before. They’re so close together, close enough to kiss; but the man before him seems more interested in simply… inhaling? Why is that even turning him on? Childe wonders again if Zhongli’s sense of smell is keen enough to detect what’s going on in his sleep shorts. He doesn’t know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. His cunt is certainly in favor of the former but there's a reason he doesn't let it make the big decisions around here.

Zhongli rumbles, then his eyes snap open and he pushes without warning on Childe’s chest, sending him staggering back to the bottom of the stairs. Thankfully, he’s got excellent balance and stays on his feet, but that’s hardly the point. He blinks up at the Prime of the Adepti before him, heart pounding in an entirely new fashion.

“Whoa, hey now—“

Zhongli stalks forward, forcing Childe to backtrack down the hall and into the living room, eyes still open but unseeing. He doesn’t give any indication that he hears Childe’s stuttering questions, just goads him right back onto the sofa he’d been sleeping on.

Childe sinks down into the cushions with a little exclamation of surprise. “Hey, now. Take it easy, Zhongli. Everything’s fine.”

And then he blanks out entirely because Zhongli is on top of him, pushing him down and burying his face against Childe’s neck with a low rumble. He’s still purring. Childe freezes for half a second, then forces himself to relax. He can’t tussle Zhongli on the furniture; not after he promised to help keep his beloved home in one piece.

And anyway, from the looks of things, Zhongli definitely isn’t interested in fighting just yet. His breath is quickened but steady, and he mostly seems interested in nosing around Childe's ear, pressing his nose into his hair.

“Amorous, huh,” Childe manages to breathe in wonder, recalling Zhongli’s earlier words. If the buttoned-up consultant were awake to see himself right now, he’d probably shit kittens. “Is that what you’re doing? Putting the moves on me? Or are you just trying to decide whether or not to hump my leg like a dog?”

It’s funny— of course it is, because Zhongli would never do something like this in his right mind. Childe is torn between sparing him the later embarrassment and letting it go just a little further, just to have something to sear into his memory. Zhongli mantling above him, kneeling between his thighs is definitely one for the archives.

But then Zhongli’s mouth is open, warm humid breath billowing over Childe’s neck, and he’s licking.

Oh... yep, that definitely isn’t a human tongue. And by the Tsaritsa’s frigid tits, it feels divinely good; long, slightly textured, and surprisingly not forked. Childe can’t help it— he groans, low in his chest, hands flying up to hold Zhongli’s hips. He’s going to soak right through his underwear if Zhongli keeps this up, lapping at his skin and making low rumbling noises that are half man, half beast.

“Zhongli… look, don’t get carried away,” Childe sighs, not even making a token attempt to stop him. “You I’m gonna tease you about this tomorrow. I mean, really, mistaking me— ah! ohh— for your one true love, you big lizard? Okay, that’s gonna— hnnn, that’s gonna leave a mark, you know. I've got a delicate complexion!”

Zhongli’s mouth latches on, sucking a bruise to the surface of Childe’s throat. He hisses, bucking up beneath the sturdy body above him, sliding his hands up beneath that open, silken robe until he’s clutching the muscle of Zhongli’s back. Shit, it feels so good to hold him like this, as if they’re meant to fit together. He doesn’t want to have to let go. It’s so patently unfair, but he has only himself to blame, doesn’t he?

“You’re making things a little difficult, xiansheng,” Childe pants, cunt throbbing furiously, wetting his inner thighs beneath his sleep shorts. He can’t remember the last time he was this turned on, this fast. “You said to deal with you however I saw fit… Is this really what you—ah!—meant?”

No response, just that hot mouth doing sinful things to his throat. If Zhongli is this good in his sleep… no, don’t finish that thought.

Gods, he feels guilty letting himself enjoy this so much while Zhongli isn’t even conscious. He shouldn’t let him get too far; as much as Childe wants him, it’s not really ideal for their first time. It would be horribly messy even for him to allow such a thing to unfold while Zhongli has no control over his actions. He can’t take advantage of his dear friend like that.

That said, Zhongli seems perfectly happy camping out over top of him— and then, worse, settling down between Childe’s spread thighs, putting some actual weight against his body. His tail whispers against Childe’s ankle, but that’s not what makes his eyes suddenly fly open.

Zhongli is terrifyingly, monstrously hard.

He’s still lapping at Childe’s neck, nipping at the skin with pointed canines and making Childe shudder and squirm. Feeling that immense hardness just a few thin layers of fabric away is doing very bad things to his admittedly scant self control. He wants to throw his morals to Barbados and take the plunge; get that girthy, delicious treat into his mouth or between his legs.

“We should— go spar, or something,” Childe finds himself babbling, feeling suddenly very nervous that he might do something he shouldn’t. He tries to sit up, to coax Zhongli off of him, despite everything in his body howling for more. “Easy, just… sit back a little for me, now.”

Zhongli goes stiff. An honest-to-Celestia angry growl vibrates up the back of his throat, and he refuses to budge, not allowing Childe to shift him away.

Oh no. That’s… really doing things for him.

“Possessive, much?” Childe tries to tease, but it comes out in a gasp as Zhongli pushes him back down and sets to licking and sucking on the apple of his throat. “Oh— damn it, you’re making this— hhhh!— too difficult. Why couldn’t you have done this when you were awake! This is just hateful, Zhongli.”

Zhongli doesn’t answer, a deep rumbling purr his only response as he sets to decorating Childe’s throat with more marks and bruises that will definitely haunt them both tomorrow.

Shit. Should he just let Zhongli’s subconscious have its way? He never told Childe not to allow this to happen. He specifically said for Childe to deal with him however he saw fit. Specifically mentioned this as a possibility, however glossed-over.

And it probably would keep Zhongli from wandering the streets if he had someone at home to take his frustrations out on… but what if that made Childe his mate? He doesn’t know enough about the process— what if they accidentally form a contract and Zhongli’s horrified? What if he was just being too polite to tell Childe outright that he doesn’t want him like this, when he’s in his right mind? What if he—

Zhongli ruts against him, dragging his cock against Childe’s stomach, then lower, right between his legs.

Fuck. He’s too horny to think clearly. This is a nightmare. Bastard witholding all the most important information, yet again, and Childe really should have pushed him on it, but he hadn't, and now—!

“Zhongli—“ he tries to protest, but it comes out as a whine as he rolls his hips upwards, chasing more friction. “F-uuuuck. You’re gonna make me do something bad. Like, really bad.”

Zhongli sucks on his earlobe and Childe swears he nearly cums on the spot. His pussy throbs so hard it hurts, dragging a pathetic noise out of him. So much for taking the edge off, earlier— all he can think about is getting Zhongli buried as deep inside him as possible.

Without really thinking, he pushes his hands between them and scrabbles at the waistband of his sleep shorts, shoving them down. Zhongli rumbles in approval a moment later. He ruts against Childe’s barely-covered mound as soon as the shorts are out of the way, as if he doesn’t understand the concept of underwear or simply doesn’t care.

Childe can’t resist groping at Zhongli through his silky sleep pants, groaning at the rigid heat of him against his palm. Of course, the former Archon of Geo would be thick as his wrist, hard and heavy as white iron. How exactly is he supposed to resist, again?

“I might not be your mate,” he admits, stroking the head of Zhongli's cock as best he can while the man above him traps his hand between their bodies. “But… fuck, I wanna pretend.”

Zhongli rumbles; drags himself against Childe’s palm above and his greedy, aching cunt below. His hips thrust downward, searching and grinding, like he’s trying to figure out why they aren’t already fucking.

Childe groans in exasperation. “You’re damned useless like this, huh? Gotta do everything myself.” In all honesty, he likes it too much— the normally erudite and orderly Zhongli reduced to a rutting beast has him almost delirious in response. This is what he's been fantasizing about all this time, there's no way it can be really happening. Maybe he's just dreaming… just a very elaborate, convincing dream.

Yeah. Maybe.

“Don’t hate me tomorrow,” Childe pleads, awkwardly wiggling his underwear down over his hips, then fumbling under Zhongli’s robe. “Oh, screw it, take this off.” He pulls at the sash to untie it, trying to push it off Zhongli’s shoulders.

The man himself is supremely unhelpful, trying to keep his mouth attached to Childe’s neck the entire time, but he manages to struggle upright onto one elbow and push him back enough to bare that glorious chest.

“Archons, look at you,” he says stupidly, in awe at the vision before him. That charcoal darkness has spread all over Zhongli’s shoulders, making the sigils and intricate patterns of Geo stand out in stark, beautiful relief. The shimmering golden antlers, the otherworldly glow of Zhongli’s eyes. It’s enough to make him imagine that Zhongli’s doing this just for him…

The Adeptus in question lets his robe fall away, then sits remarkably still as Childe cautiously runs a hand down his bare chest, smoothing over the powerful muscle there, following the meridian over his navel and down his center until he reaches the waistband of Zhongli’s straining silken pyjama pants.

“Shit,” he groans, and then he’s plunging his hand beneath. Zhongli is wearing nothing else, which alone would be enough to have him dizzy, but there’s nothing like wrapping his hand around those thick, pulsing shafts— wait.

“What the fuck.”

Before Childe knows what he’s doing, he’s summoning all his strength to push Zhongli back— he needs to sit up, he needs to see this. Because he can’t explain what he just felt. There’s no way; surely there’s no way.

Surprisingly, Zhongli lets himself be pushed until he’s the one on his back on the cushions, propped up on his elbows, his long tail of hair loose and splayed beneath him.

Childe stands on shaking legs, then tugs Zhongli’s pants off with impatience. (He doesn’t stop to think about the logistics of Zhongli’s shimmering tail, or why it doesn’t seem to get in the way. Nope, not going there.)

Finally, Childe bares him to the evening air, greeted by the impossible sight of not one but two cocks bobbing up between his thighs— and archons, what thighs they are, but how is he even supposed to look at those when Zhongli’s heavy, gold-adorned, glowing pair of appendages are rendering him absolutely dumbstruck.

“By the foul fucking Abyss,” he swears. Zhongli merely stares up at him with those unseeing eyes, chest slowly rising and falling. His feet bleed dark into a deep charcoal brown that extends up his thighs, bedecked with sigils just like his arms. But his cocks are outright glowing, certainly not entirely human in shape with all those unusual ridges, and positioned one right atop the other in a way that suddenly gives Childe very terrible ideas.

“Did you know?” He asks, despite not expecting an answer. His voice squeaks for an embarrassing moment. “Did you know I’d see these? You can’t be built like this all the time, I’d have… damn it, xiansheng, do you even know how much I want you?”

Zhongli’s nostrils flare and he makes that rumbling noise again. It’s accompanied by a strange rattle that makes Childe think of ravens. It doesn’t do anything to extinguish his desire.

“Say my name if you want more,” Childe demands, crossing his arms. “Zhongli, I mean it. If you’re somewhere in there, say something.”

But Zhongli seems to have exhausted all his words earlier. His eyes slide closed and he clutches at the sofa beneath him, his cocks twitching heavily as his stomach trembles and his thighs tense. Childe stares as one of his charcoal-tinted hands wraps around the base of both his shafts, not able to fully reach around them by a long shot. Zhongli thrusts up messily into his own grip, lacking his usual pristine coordination.

Damnit. Childe wants to stare at those hands, those claws, that body, but he wants to touch even more, so he wastes no time dropping his shorts to the floor and straddling Zhongli with legs shaking from adrenaline, pressing him down into the cushions.

Fuck, he shouldn’t be taking the lead like this— he should just let Zhongli do as he pleases, he shouldn’t be pushing him into anything— but those thoughts scatter the moment Zhongli grips him hard by the hips and winds his other arm around Childe’s back, pulling him close with a deep groan that actually sounds like him for a moment.

Childe squeaks, eyes rolling towards heaven as he feels those heavy cocks thrust up against him, dragging against his messy cunt and making his insides spasm with sheer, unadulterated need.

“Zhongli— wait, just a second, okay? This isn’t gonna make some kind of binding—“

And then he screams, because Zhongli’s just grabbed his hips with sharp-taloned fingers and shoved one of his cocks inside, sans warning— not all the way, thank the sweet merciful gods, but far enough for Childe to realize just what he’s gotten himself into.

It hurts despite how wet he is, because he simply wasn’t prepared, but it’s so good burns so sweet he’s so terrifyingly full he could surely cum just from this, and there’s still another one, holy shit.

“Fuck! W-wait, just—”

Childe’s nerves are blistering with the sheer overwhelm of being filled so suddenly. He swallows down his own spit, gasping for breath, but Zhongli’s already moving and it feels so damned good having that thick, ridged cock splitting him open that he can’t actually bring himself to stop it.

“Shit. Please, y-yeah— fuck me. Fuck me!”

Zhongli slams upward as he forces Childe’s hips down hard, making him see more stars than surely exist in the actual heavens. It’s much too deep but he can’t be upset, not when he can press his hand to his taut, scarred abdomen and feel Zhongli from the outside.

“Oh my gods, you— don’t stop.” Childe keeps one hand pressed beneath his navel, where Zhongli moves within him, and the other braced against Zhongli’s glorious chest. He’s losing his mind staring down at the pleasure wracking Zhongli’s handsome face, those distant, glowing eyes slitted nearly closed. He’s breathing heavy, open mouthed, and Childe wants to kiss him more than anything, but he thinks, as he has so many times before, that he shouldn’t… he really shouldn’t.

Zhongli makes a loud purring noise, sounding satisfied as Childe leans in closer, watching him with those hooded, jeweled eyes, nostrils flaring when Childe whines and meets his next thrust.

“Please tell me we can— hnngh— do this again when you’re awake,” Childe insists, because he feels like he might die if he doesn’t get to do this at least once or twice more. He’s on the verge of delirium, wondering in his addled state just how much Zhongli might cum when he’s in this form.

It’s maddening, how perfect Zhongli feels in him now that he’s gotten the chance to adapt a little. He’s too much, in all the right ways. Childe likes to fuck, but he gets bored easily without feeling like there’s something to conquer, and this is satisfying that need so perfectly— especially with the way Zhongli’s inhuman cock curves upward in him.

The second shaft above it is also doing a damned fine job of giving him something to grind against, Childe’s little cock frotting against Zhongli’s much larger appendage where it’s trapped between them. It’s a shame more men don’t come so equipped— he really likes this, he really likes this too much, it’s a crime. It’s pathetic, the amount of needy, whiny noise he’s making.

“Zhongli,” he moans, letting himself be a little sluttish as Zhongli continues to hold his hips steady, keeping Childe just where he wants him. “Changed my mind, don’t you dare remember this tomorrow. Promise me you’ll forget all about it, okay? You can’t— hold it against me when it feels this— aghhh, this good!”

Zhongli just grips him steady and pounds into him, seemingly lost in the feeling. His claws dig into Childe’s hips, the hot points of pain a delicious counterpoint to the deep ache inside him. He’s so beautiful like this, hair askew, chest flushed and thrumming throughout with adeptal energy. How is Childe supposed to resist the sheer power that rolls off him like mist, that’s so brutally evident in the strength of his thrusts.

He’s fucking a god. It makes Childe delirious, touching someone so unassuming as Zhongli and so divine as Morax. He wants to be shoved into the earth and bite and fuck and—

Childe doesn’t realize he’s bent down and sunk his teeth into Zhongli’s collarbone until he tastes the warmth of his skin and the strange amber that covers it. Zhongli groans deep in his chest and clutches him tighter, one clawed hand spanning his back and grabbing at his shoulder blade while the other holds his hip steady. He fucks into Childe with abandon and it’s impossible not to bite him again just to hear more of those guttural moans.

“So good,” Childe pants wet against his skin, eyes rolling back. He snaps his hips harder, grinding his cock against the base of Zhongli’s. It's dripping all over his stomach and the ridges feel so damned perfect to rub against, he’s losing his mind. “C’mon, yeah— you can go harder, I can take it. I know you've got more.”

Zhongli doesn’t respond in words, but he does react to Childe bearing down on him, squeezing and coaxing him to stop holding back. It happens too fast even for Childe’s senses to detect— one moment, he’s atop Zhongli on the sofa, the next he’s on his back with the breath knocked from him and his legs pushed to his chest, Zhongli doing his level best to fuck him straight through the floorboards.

No— it’s not his best, or the floor would be utterly ruined already.

“Gods!” It’s all Childe can wheeze with his breath still missing, his head smarting from the impact. Zhongli’s fucking him hard enough to make filthy, wet slapping noises that fill the room, hard enough for his hipbones to jab bruises into Childe’s ass. There’s not much give to the bamboo slats below him, so he just has to take the full brunt of each thrust. His cervix is crying out for mercy— or for more, because he’s a filthy masochist and damn if he doesn’t love the feel of that thick beast of a cock dragging against it with nearly every thrust.

If there’s anyone who can bruise his insides to his satisfaction, it’s clearly Zhongli.

Childe tries to flip them, just to see what will happen. He’s immediately pinned even harder, Zhongli giving a warning growl as his tail thrashes behind him, smacking against the floor and then the sofa, knocking cushions to the floor.

“What, you thought— I was just gonna behave?” Childe laughs, breathless for more reasons than he cares to count. “C’mon, show me why you’re the best.” This time, he fakes Zhongli out by twisting to the left, only to change directions and hoist with all his might. He manages to knock them onto their sides— Zhongli still deep inside him, and how in the Abyss has he never properly wrestled someone while they’re inside him, this is bliss— but Zhongli makes a threatening, rattling noise and Childe finds himself being pressed down face-first into the floor with Zhongli pinning him from behind.

“Fuuuck,” he whines. “Put it back in!”

This time, with the lower of Zhongli’s two cocks sinking back into his cunt, he gets to grind his ass against the upper one. Damn… he’s getting ideas again. Time to use his Vision for his other favorite kind of combat.

“Put it in there too,” Childe demands, already summoning Hydro to help lubricate the hole that rudely refuses to take care of such business on its own. With the arm that isn’t pinned to his back by Zhongli’s grip, Childe reaches around and grabs a fistful of his own flesh, pulling his asscheek to the side in hopes Zhongli will get the idea.

“C’mon, c’mon. Zhongli… Morax, here too. Breed me here.” It makes him flush with the familiar prickling, heady feeling of getting away with murder, both using Zhongli’s former, sacred name and being so brazen. He’ll make time to feel properly repentant later, but right now he just wants Zhongli to break him open and glut himself on the spoils.

Zhongli reacts favorably— though it’s hard to tell if the name cuts through his distant subconscious or it’s merely a instinctive response to the sheer, flagrant display of Childe’s neediness for him. A clawed thumb catches on his rim and Childe hisses. They’re not outright razor points, thankfully, but even the blunted ends are plenty sharp enough to cause some damage if Zhongli isn’t careful. But the hydro’s done its job, coating and protecting his delicate insides, and Childe drops his face down to the floorboards and groans as he feels Zhongli pull at him, tugging to one side as if confirming that this is, indeed, another fuckable orifice.

A rumbling purr is the only real warning he gets before Zhongli’s thumb delves in deep, all the way to the base. Childe spasms hard, dizzy at how much intensity that one action lends to their coupling. His cunt is already nice and warmed up, which makes the sudden penetration easier in some ways and more overwhelmingly stimulating in others.

But then the thumb is quickly replaced by the smooth, sculpted head of Zhongli’s rigid second cock. And he’s pushing in with a growl that makes Childe want to cum right then and there.

And then he does, from all of it. The immense burn and stretch and how suddenly full, unbearably full he is. Zhongli’s weight heavy on him as he sinks deep and presses Childe into the floor of his home. The feral noises he makes, so unlike anything Childe could have imagined his regal, genteel consultant uttering.

The hard, possessive bite he sinks into Childe’s shoulder, right at the base of his neck.

Everything swirls together in an unstoppable cacophony that pushes Childe past his last vestige of restraint, wracks him with shudders as he shrieks his pleasure into the floor and clenches uncontrollably around Zhongli’s cocks— which only has those long canines sinking deeper into his flesh and Zhongli rutting into him even harder as he mounts Childe like he’s honest to Celestia trying to knock him up.

Childe barrels straight from one orgasm into the buildup of another, arching his back and pushing back to meet Zhongli’s quickening thrusts, wanting to feel those cocks in his damned throat.

“Zhongli.” His voice is going to be a wreck tomorrow. So is his neck. He hopes it scars. “Don’t hold back— don’t you dare—“ He’s just spouting pure gibberish now. “Go harder, I won’t break— yeah, fuck.” His ass is alight with so much sensation he can barely feel his cunt at times, and then everything shifts and he’s hyperaware of his own stiff, little cock throbbing; of Zhongli’s humid breath and his slick, rough tongue lapping at the wound he’s made on Childe’s neck.

He already feels like one giant bruise and he only wants more.

“Hhh-ah!” Zhongli’s cocks are rubbing together through his inner walls, and the friction is killing him even more now that he's cum once already. Childe’s panting, clawing at the floor, his arm aching where it’s wrenched behind his back to act as a handle. He thrusts back messily, needy sounds scraping their way out of his throat. Fuck, he wants to cum again— normally he needs to touch himself to make it happen, but this is so overwhelmingly good, so above and beyond anything he’s used to. The sheer intensity of feeling the man for whom he’s held so much helpless, pent-up desire finally tearing him apart like this…

Does it feel good to Zhongli, too? Not just to the bestial part of him currently in control, but to the man himself, the consciousness buried somewhere in the back of his mind?

“You gonna mate me?” Childe’s rambling gibberish now, feeling himself speeding closer to the next summit. “G-gonna breed me, xiansheng? Cuz it sure—hhhah!— feels like that’s what you’re doing. Gods. Right there right there, don’t— don’t you fucking stop.”

Zhongli’s heavy breath is humid against his skin, their bodies slick where they meet with all manner of fluids. He’s still holding Childe’s arm behind his back, and he rests his weight more fully onto Childe’s body as he slides his other arm around front beneath Childe's shoulder to grasp him by the throat. It’s not meant to choke, but to contain. To claim.

Childe swoons, utterly pinned and split open, filled so completely he can barely comprehend anything beyond the way Zhongli owns him in this moment.

No, not just this moment. Who is he even kidding.

“Please,” he manages to beg, voice thick, mouth wet with spit. “C-cum. Mate…”

Oh. That’s the ticket. Zhongli growls so thunderously it vibrates right through Childe’s body into the floor. He slams down into Childe’s abused holes with such intense force that he’s certain he would have torn if not for his Vision, but oh, oh please, he’s crying and babbling nonsense as he begs harder for Zhongli’s cum than he’s ever begged for anything.

His vision swims at the edges, he thinks he might be on the verge of losing consciousness from the sheer overwhelm of the twin battering rams inside him pushing him to the brink, his guts churning in delicious agony— and then Zhongli viciously bites down on his other side, where the neck meets the shoulder. A twin mark to match the first.

The sharp, cold sting of those teeth brings him back to consciousness right as Zhongli lets out as close to a roar of triumph as Childe could imagine, and then his insides are on fire, like pure magma is spilling into him, lighting him up from within.

Childe climaxes like it’s been punched from him, choking on his own breath and spit as his body tries to arch and seize, only to be held captive under Zhongli’s unrelenting hold— which just makes him thrash harder and the pleasure hit stronger. It keeps going and going, both his own downright paralytic orgasm and the crash of Zhongli’s hips against his ass, the harsh kick of his cocks as they continue to spill deep into him. Each jerking movement inside him has Childe twitching more, his eyes rolling back, hand pressing Zhongli’s fingers harder around his throat.

He has no idea later if he stayed conscious the entire time or not, but eventually, Zhongli drags himself up just enough to release Childe’s numbed arm from behind his back. It tingles and stings horribly as blood flow slowly returns, but all Childe can think about is that he can’t seem to catch his breath, and that Zhongli still hasn’t pulled out.

And then he realizes, when he shifts ever so minutely— that’s because Zhongli’s swelled inside him. There’s a dull pressure at both his entrances, he’s pretty sure, though everything’s so woozy and the sensations are all blurring together in the aftermath. But the two shafts feel even bigger than he remembered, still pulsing inside him like Zhongli somehow isn't finished… and he’s pretty sure he’s not imagining things when he tries to move again and intense, nearly crippling sensation shoots through him. He's plugged tight, his belly on fire from the inside.

“Fuck,” he croaks, eloquently. “Zhongli… Archons, you…”

Zhongli’s doing that deep chest purring thing again, and he’s kissing down Childe’s neck, the back of his head; and then he’s actually licking over the bites along Childe's neck that he made, the absolute madman. Childe thinks about teasing him but he’s so spent, as if he’s just sparred with Capitano for an entire day straight.

“Zhong…li…” He mumbles into the floorboards, wincing when he flexes his arm and more pins and needles shoot through it. “Gods above, you… you’re…”

“Childe,” Zhongli rumbles, low and almost lucid, Childe thinks. “Mmmm.” He licks slow and lazy, catlike with that textured tongue of his. The sting of the bites is already fading. Childe hears him murmur some other nonsense that he can’t quite make out, but it doesn’t sound like proper words. Just dragon mutterings, probably. He’s too stunned to really think about anything right now beyond the fact that Zhongli just railed him into another dimension and he doesn’t know how he’s going to have sex with anyone else ever again without feeling disappointed.

Zhongli is still laid right up against his back, though he’s not flattening Childe beneath his weight anymore, and Childe finds that he misses the pressure. Zhongli’s cum still burns deep inside him; he’s utterly full of it and plugged by those unceasing cocks that still haven’t shown any signs of deflating.

“Guess we’re stuck like this,” he slurs with a dawn laugh that sounds loony even to his own ears. “Mm. Wake me up when you… when ya…”

But Childe doesn’t get to finish that sentence before sleep takes him. And he doesn’t hear the soft churr that Zhongli lets out, curling his tail around Childe’s legs as he breathes out a single word.

“Mine.”

xx

Chapter Text

xx

Childe wakes with a start, sitting up abruptly before he’s even registered his current state of being. It takes a moment for the mists to clear from his eyes and for his felt sense to confirm that he is indeed laying upon a sofa. He’s in Zhongli’s living room, of course. Right, and—

Oh.

Oh…

Childe immediately glances around, looking for some indication of where the troublesome former Archon might be. The man of the hour is, of course, nowhere to be seen. The angle of the light coming in from the eastern windows suggests it’s still morning, but rather later than either he or Zhongli are typically wont to wake. And yet the air in the home sits quiet and hushed. Motes of dust dance illuminated in the air, and Childe can hear the high tide washing up against the rocks just beyond Zhongli’s walled garden.

Childe bites his lip, glancing about as he considers his next move. Memories of last night sit heavy on his skin, in the ache between his hips and the tenderness of his sopping wet holes when he adjusts his weight.

They’d fucked like absolute beasts and he still has no idea if Zhongli was aware of anything at the time. However, since Childe was an utter fool and dozed off before covering their tracks or getting Zhongli cleaned up and back to bed, there’s no chance the man hasn’t figured it out in the meantime.

Given that Childe now finds himself alone— his nakedness covered with a blanket, which was an oddly thoughtful touch, or maybe Zhongli was just that embarrassed— he can only assume the former Archon must have come to his senses at some point in the early dawn and scurried off to his bedroom, or perhaps ran out of the house entirely.

The general disarray of the sitting room remains as one would expect— the floor strewn with pillows, for one. A few knicknacks of Zhongli’s knocked askew by the flailing of his tail. Beyond that, there aren’t many clues as to the man’s current whereabouts. Childe had planned to rely on his overly-alert senses to wake him if the front door opened, but he hadn’t counted on being railed into the floorboards before passing out in post-coital oblivion. Who knows what all he might have slept through in his Zhongli-induced slumber, considering he didn’t even stir at the blanket being placed upon him?

Childe runs his hand through his hair and exhales. Time to clean himself up, track down his favorite wayward ex-Archon, and face the music.

Zhongli is, to his great surprise, curled up fast asleep atop his grand four poster bed when Childe peeks his head in. The sheer, pale golden curtains are drawn back, giving him a clear view of the man he seeks. The gently glowing antlers from last night are still visible, and Zhongli’s tail— which looks far less tangible in the soft morning light— is curled up protectively around his bare legs, those long and well-formed limbs still dark as rich loam and bedecked with the sigils of Morax. He’s wrapped once more in his silk house robe, but a peek of bare chest reveals he’s likely wearing nothing else beneath, and the sash is tangled as if he’d thrown it on in a hurry.

Childe has the most maddening urge to walk right in and curl up against Zhongli’s broad back, but there are certain lines he knows he ought not to cross. He carefully closes the door, wincing when it squeaks ever so slightly, then turns to tiptoe back to the living room to gather his things and go… somewhere, anywhere, he isn’t sure.

“Childe?” That familiar deep voice lilts soft and sleepy through the door. “Is that you?”

Childe freezes, heart ticking with sudden nerves. He tugs his own robe tighter around himself and tries to tame his hair a little, then clears his throat and calls back through the wood.

“Yeah, s’just me. Just wanted to make sure you were safe and sound, and it looks like you are, so uh, I’ll just be—“

“Come here.” It is a polite request, certainly not a demand, but Childe feels the pull like he’s been given a divine charge from his own Archon.

Breathing out slowly to tame his nerves, he opens the door and cautiously steps inside. Zhongli is sitting up on the bed now, fully covered by his robe. The tail and antlers are nowhere to be seen, but the deep chocolate hue of his limbs is still intact, as are the sigils decorating them.

“They’re golden, now,” Childe says without thinking, eyes catching on Zhongli’s hands. Those long, graceful fingers are burnished a rich caramel, and he’s damned certain they weren’t like that before. The man tilts his head in acknowledgment, looking down.

“Ah. Yes.”

“They were dark all the way down to your fingertips last night,” Childe tries to explain, and wow, he is blushing and fumbling this, hard. “Anyway. Not important. Uh—“

“Thank you,” Zhongli cuts him off, looking up at Childe briefly before his gaze moves askance. "For your assistance. I apologize tremendously that it came at such a great inconvenience to you, my dear friend." He moves as he speaks, adjusting until he’s sitting up properly at the edge of the bed, bare feet flat on the rug-covered floor and shimmering golden hands resting delicately on the mattress to either side. "I did not think I would pose such trouble. At the least, I had hoped I would not. And I confess, I did worry upon waking— I did not strongarm you into anything…?”

Childe swallows. His throat’s gone bone dry. Even with the furrow of worry between his brows, Zhongli looks so damned handsome. He just wants to slip that robe down off Zhongli’s shoulder and press his mouth to the darkened, geometrically patterned skin.

“No, nothing like that. Truly, it’s fine,” Childe says brightly, waving off the apology and the misplaced concern. “Really, xiansheng. Not a problem. I mean, you kinda warned me that things could get a little rowdy. Not exactly what I expected but, it’s uh… don’t worry about it!”

What he really wants is to tell Zhongli that they need to have a repeat, immediately if not sooner. But from the way Zhongli’s twisting his golden hands together, that might not be so well-received.

“I did not cause you any harm, did I?” Zhongli finally looks over for longer than a brief second, trying to scan Childe’s body for injury.

“Nah, just a couple of bites and scratches, nothing I don’t normally walk away from a good night with.” Childe flashes him a teasing grin, leaning against the door frame. Trying to muster his charm, ease the tension a little. “All good, xiansheng. I promise. Really, you know me, I’m as tough as they come.”

But Zhongli’s face is going rather pale as he talks, and he swallows visibly. “I— I apologize for asking, Childe, as my memory is terribly hazy and incomplete, but where did I… You said I bit you?”

Childe frowns, then opens his robe for Zhongli to see his neck. He’s wearing his sleep shorts again, it’s not rude, is it? “Just here and there mostly, either side of my neck. Why, is that bad? Are you venomous?”

Zhongli doesn’t laugh at his joke. He’s holding his hand over his mouth, eyes lingering on the twin, reddened marks. And then he looks down at the floor as if in deep consternation.

“I believe,” he starts, slowly. “Perhaps it would be best if you did not stay a second night. With your permission, we will mutually dissolve the contract. I should have noted this scenario as an exemption, but I was hesitant to mention something so crude. Foolish of me, in hindsight. It is always such conditions that are most important to acknowledge.”

Childe reels internally, but he keeps his expression and voice light. “Oh? I mean, if you want to avoid any, uh, repeats…" And then it hits him like a surprise strike to the gut; no chance to brace. "Shit, I'm so sorry, Zhongli. Gods, this is all my fault—"

“You misunderstand, Childe,” Zhongli sighs, cutting Childe's impending meltdown off at the pass. He sounds exhausted all of a sudden. “My innermost self. The part of me that sets my feet to wandering. It has evidently decided that… well. It’s of little consequence, now.”

“What has it decided?” Childe’s throat feels like it’s been caught in an invisible noose. “Wait, the bites… why are you so worried about that? Do they mean something to you?”

Zhongli nods, face going grim. He looks like he wants to crawl under the bed and hide until Childe goes away.

“The urges will pass,” he says to himself more than anyone, but Childe can tell he’s chewing on something big. “It was simply the heat of the moment; I was not in my right mind when I made such presumptions about your intentions. My apologies once again for the inconvenience, Childe. You are a very dear friend, and I would hate for my lack of self control to sully things between—“

“Whoa, back up. My intentions? Zhongli, you're saying everything without saying anything." Childe hugs his robe around himself, feeling awkward and confused, like he's missing something vital.

"I apologize," Zhongli bites out. He seems unusually ruffled, perhaps even frustrated, but he doesn't seem specifically annoyed with Childe. "What I mean to say is, my inner self saw potential in you and decided to act purely upon instinct when I bestowed those bites."

Childe tilts his head, trying to puzzle through everything. "So you're just upset because your internal dragon instincts think I’m… what, good mate material or something? Why should I be mad about that? It's kind of a compliment, isn't it? And it's not like you mauled me, or anything. You worry too much, old man.”

Zhongli shoots him a despairing look, even as his mouth twitches at the corner. “Childe, while I do appreciate your candor, I don’t believe you apprehend the gravity of the situation.”

“Mm, maybe not?” Childe takes a step inside, plunking himself down on the nicely upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. Zhongli looks almost spooked for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected it. “I mean, you didn’t exactly explain in all that much detail how somebody like you goes about these things.”

That, at least, is nothing new. Zhongli is the reigning champion of leaving out pertinent details, and Childe has accepted by now that there would always be more to the story that Zhongli simply hadn’t thought necessary to share— or else, had left hidden for his own absurd reasons. It used to piss Childe off, and rightfully so, he thought, considering how the first year of their friendship had spectacularly imploded thanks to Zhongli’s grand manipulations.

But right now, he’s less pissed off and more getting a sinking feeling that Zhongli is already regretting what had just unfolded; and that the chances of it happening again are rapidly dwindling.

Zhongli clears his throat delicately. “You’re right, and for that I must apologize yet again. I did not wish to overburden you with unnecessary detail. However, I was also unaware that you were… how shall I put this?" He pauses for a brief moment, eyes flickering over Childe. "You are physically capable of bearing young, if I am not mistaken?”

Childe swallows, his stomach suddenly falling. Up until this very moment, he’d been thinking of this whole “mate” business purely in the companionship sense. It hadn’t truly occurred to him that there might actually be a biological imperative for children involved— after all, as far as he knew, Zhongli had never become a father in all his thousands of years… had he?

“I mean, technically, yeah. I still have all the equipment. To tell you the truth, I didn’t really think about that." Childe scritches the back of his neck, strangely sheepish. Of all the ways for this particular topic to come up. "I usually assume the other person in the equation's gonna be awake for that sort of conversation, if it ever happens."

And then it occurs to him, belatedly, why Zhongli might be freaking out.

"Oh, but don't worry!" Childe rushes to reassure, holding out his hands between them in an attempt to calm. "I take contraceptives to get rid of my bleeding, so it won’t be a problem, if that's what's got you all concerned. I know we uh, didn't use protection, but I've got it covered! The Fatui are very good at making sure there's no unexpected babies!”

And now he's rambling, great.

Zhongli breathes out a slight sigh of relief. “That is… good to hear. I am sorry for the abruptness of my asking. It is simply that I did not expect to… well. I believe I may have attempted to…”

It’s rare to see Zhongli so flustered or lost for words. He’s always so composed and erudite that it makes Childe’s heart squeeze a little in sympathy. He gets up from the bench and rounds the corner of the bed, standing just to Zhongli’s side.

“Alright if I sit?”

Zhongli nods, gesturing for Childe to make himself comfortable. "Of course. Please." Oh… he’s blushing? Archons wept, Childe just wants to push him back into the bed and ride him stupid.

“At any rate,” Zhongli says, clearly trying to collect himself. “Childe, what I am struggling to say is that I did not realize that we were physically compatible in a way that would speak to my… baser instincts. You probably noticed I have more than one appendage in the form I took last night.”

Childe gives a disbelieving laugh, feeling a little insane. “Yeah, I uh… I noticed, alright.”

Zhongli’s ears are going red now. Oh, this is precious. The man covers his mouth with a glittering golden hand as he stares carefully at the sheer gauze curtain covering the bedroom window, avoiding eye contact.

“One is for oviposition,” he says, a moment later. “The laying of eggs, in other words. The second is for fertilization.”

“Huh?” Childe turns and blinks at him. “Wait, start over. They do different things?”

Zhongli nods, gaze flicking sideways toward Childe before returning to the wall. His ambergold eyes go distant.

“In my usual guise, I would be able to father half-adeptal children in what would be considered the traditional, human manner. I made the mistake of assuming you likewise did not have a womb, and therefore, I did not imagine your physical form would trigger anything in my subconsciousness related to the bearing of young.”

“Uh huh,” Childe says. “I gotta say, this is the strangest 'birds and the bees' talk I’ve ever had, Zhongli.”

That, at least, brings a small smile to Zhongli’s face.

“However,” he goes on, voice less hesitant. “My draconic and qilin heritage comes with certain provisions. My adeptal form is able to handle both the laying of eggs and the fertilization process. With joining with another one such as myself, I would merely adopt one of those roles—father, or mother."

"Okay, I'm following so far…?" Childe has to fight a little smile at Zhongli describing himself as a potential mother. That's… kinda cute, actually.

"All that said," Zhongli goes on, in his typical meandering way, "the same cannot be said if I lay with a mortal being. I cannot be seeded by any other than an adeptus or being of similar stature. Thus, in the presence of a suitable mortal recipient— that is, someone both able to incubate my brood and capable of embuing my offspring with their unique elemental signature— I would naturally serve both roles provided for by my anatomy, thus fertilizing my own.

"It may seem strange, but the elemental energies provided by the carrying recipient are enough to establish them as the second parent. At least, in theory. I have never tried."

"Oh…" Childe blinks slowly, shifting on the bed as he tries to imagine how that would work. "That's… kinda wild. You really. Uh. Wow, you've thought of everything." He swallows, connecting all the dots. "So when you came across me and realized I, uh… had the necessary components…"

Zhongli taps his fingertips against his mouth. He seems lost in thought. Maybe it's easier to speak about all this when he's treating it like one of his usual lectures. "I believe it is this response that your anatomy awoke in my subconscious," he finishes Childe's thought. "Hence my transformation into a state which would allow for—“

“Wait, wait, so what does all that have to do with you biting my neck,” Childe breaks in, head already spinning with how weirdly turned on he’s been getting from Zhongli’s carefully neutral explanations. “I mean, okay, so you wanted to… lay dragon eggs in me or something? You didn’t try to do anything like that last night, if that’s what you’re worried about. Pretty sure I’d remember that. And for that matter, if you can just have regular… well, half-adeptus kids with a normal human, why would your body go to all the effort to transform just because I'm… y'know.”

Zhongli sighs, tightening his robe around himself and standing, arms tightly tucked against his torso. If he's trying to make his chest and shoulders look absolutely devourable, Childe has to admit he’s doing a great job.

“Because I am still the Prime of the Adepti." Zhongli stares out the window, still talking as if they're speaking regarding someone else. Something in a history book. "It is in my nature to seek to create the strongest offspring with the greatest percentage of adeptal blood in their veins. Short of laying with another adepti, choosing a mortal to bear my brood is the next best means."

Childe slumps back onto his elbows, considering this. "So… basically you're saying that I fit the ticket."

Zhongli finally glances back at him, nodding. "Forgive me for being crass, but my ancestral blood would not wish me to settle for producing half-adeptal children when the opportunity arose to create offspring more capable of carrying on my legacy. Does that answer your question?"

Childe worries his lip, trying not to stare too obviously at Zhongli's arms. This conversation is clarifying, to say the least, but there's still something that remains unanswered.

"The bites, though. Why did that freak you out? I mean… if you woke up first, you probably noticed we didn't use protection. So you weren't actually scared you'd knocked me up, were you?"

"Ah, yes." Zhongli blows out a long-suffering breath through his mouth, ruffling his hair. "Rest assured, Childe. Whatever you are using for contraception would stand no chance of refusing my seed were I to wish it." Oh. That's… shit, why is that so hot? "But the fact of the matter is, I would never attempt to impregnate an individual in the typical human manner nor bestow my brood upon them without a mating contract in place. The bites are a sign of my subconscious intention to form one such contract."

Childe sits straight up, confused all over again. "Whoa. Wait. You even have contracts for that? You're kidding me, right?"

Zhongli looks amused by this reaction. "Naturally. Out of everything I have told you, is that truly what surprises you most?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Fortunately," Zhongli breezes on, waving a dismissing hand, "you did not complete that contract, so we were spared the difficulties that would have ensued, but that was a very near thing. In my lack of foresight, I nearly saddled us both with a considerable burden. You surely see why I am loath to allow you to stay any longer.”

Childe just flops onto his back on the bed, trying to process everything. So he hadn’t been entirely off the mark, he just had no idea that he’d come so close to… what, Zhongli pumping him full of eggs? The thought was bizarre, to say the least, but for some reason the first question out of his mouth was, “how would somebody complete the contract?”

Zhongli inhales sharply, and Childe realizes how that must sound, far too eager, so he scrambles to add a skeptical, “I mean, doesn’t that normally involve signing something? Or at least a handshake?"

Zhongli sits back down on the mattress. Childe wants to pull him down all the way and wrap his limbs around him, weird dragon mating habits be damned.

“Not all contracts are written, or even spoken," he says, carefully. “In this case, a mating contract amongst my kind is signified by returning the bites on either side of the neck during coitus. If the skin is broken and blood is spilled by both parties, this is enough to form a lifelong mating bond. It is not imperative for offspring to be part of the arrangement— indeed, Guizhong and I had no such plans when we formed one such contract, long ago— but for one such as myself, such a contract is an essential precursor to procreation.”

Childe lets out a low whistle. “See, here I was thinking the craziest thing that might happen was, oh, maybe your inner dragon would take a look at my impressive strength and agility and wanna spar, maybe even cuddle a little and take a moonlit walk by the beach! But in reality, it realized I'm the perfect incubator for all those little adepti you wanna make and tried to lock me down. I've gotta say, that's one elaborate way to try and baby-trap somebody.”

He says it teasingly, because in all truth, it’s pretty funny to think of someone as regal and put-together as Zhongli, as the former Rex Lapis, losing his grip on reality at the mere promise of pussy with a functioning womb attached.

But Zhongli actually looks at him properly then, an aghast expression written all over his face.

“Childe, no… it is nothing so crass. I would not— that is not at all how I see you, I—“

“Easy, xiansheng,” Childe murmurs, daring to reach over and rest a reassuring hand on Zhongli’s arm. “I was only teasing. I’m not so easily offended as all that. And you shouldn’t feel too bad, there’s not many people who know I’m equipped a little differently than your average man. But maybe you should bear that possibility in mind the next time you invite a guy to spend the night, eh?”

Zhongli’s mouth twitches. “You mean, the next time I allow a friend to volunteer to sleep on my sofa?”

“Exactly,” Childe says, pleased he managed to lighten the mood, even if Zhongli's emphasis on 'friend' is more than a little disheartening. He resolves not to dwell on it, propping himself up on an elbow. “But look, on that note… I really don’t mind staying longer, if it keeps you from wandering the entire damned countryside. Now that we know what to expect, it should be easy from here on out, right? And then there's no risk of you trying to bite anybody else."

His heart is pounding. That doesn’t sound too desperate, does it?

Zhongli turns to face him more fully, seeming surprised by his conclusion as well as the offer. “I… am uncertain it would be wise, Childe. I don’t want to put you into a precarious situation.”

“Pfft.” Childe waves him off. “I would hardly call it precarious, now that we know what we're dealing with. Look, it’s a good way for me to blow off steam, too— so really, we’d be helping each other out. Who knows, maybe some nights you’ll actually want to spar instead of, uh… y’know.”

Images from the night before spring up in his mind’s eye and Childe finds himself flushing a little. Damn his ginger complexion.

“Only if you are certain,” Zhongli says, dubiously. He shifts his weight but doesn’t move away from Childe. They really have navigated closer to each other on the bed. Intentional, or subconscious? Childe's pulse is doing a damned Mondstadt line dance. “But please, you must ensure you take care to avoid accidentally closing the mating contract. Now that I have unwittingly initiated it, it will remain open indefinitely.”

“No neck bites, got it.” Childe nods, sitting up so Zhongli can look in his eyes and see he means it.

Well… fuck, it’s not as if he’s not bizarrely tempted, because if there’s any six-thousand-year-old former-Archon he could see himself being tied to, it’s gotta be Zhongli. But Childe's got plenty of his own responsibilities and ambitions, and he’ll have to leave Liyue at some point to continue his work in the service of Her Tsaritsa’s Majesty, and … well, he knows it’s a bad idea.

Especially since Zhongli in his conscious state clearly doesn’t actually want that sort of binding covenant between them, no matter what the sleepwalking part of Zhongli desperate to make more little Rex Lapises has to say about it. Certainly, it’s better to simply forget about the whole thing and pretend it never happened. But the bites on either side of his neck burn with intent the more Childe tries not to focus on them.

Zhongli’s eyes drop to the marks as well, and Childe wants to think a possessive look flashes across his face for just a brief moment.

“Alright,” Zhongli says, finally standing and leaving Childe on the bed. “Then if you are intending to stay another night, I suppose I ought to draw you a bath. I know you have your Vision, but it’s the least I can do.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say no. See, you’re a great host,” Childe grins at him, suppressing the urge to fist pump the air in triumph as Zhongli moves past him to the door, though he gives in immediately once Zhongli is out of sight.

He’s still in the running, then. Excellent. Fantastic, actually. That's one crisis averted. Even if it’s just sex and not… well. More than that. But Harbingers— or rather, Har-beggars— can’t be Har-choosers, as the old adage goes.

Childe slowly gets to his feet, savoring every little ache and pain. His favorite new battle scars catch his eye in one of Zhongli’s mirrors and he stops to admire them— those two, reddened bites.

As much as he’s looking forward to another potential round, it would be kinda nice if Zhongli were conscious for more of it… but he’s a little hesitant to ask about that just yet. Zhongli doesn’t seem to remember many of the details, unless he recalls more than he’s letting on, and it’s perhaps for the best to keep it that way.

The bath gives Childe time to think— and to gawk at his bruised and bitten body more thoroughly in the full length mirror in Zhongli’s large bathing room. He’s got more scratches than he recalls receiving, and the bruises from Zhongli’s grip on his hips are already developing into lurid shades of red and purple.

It’s difficult to resist touching himself to the sight, but the whole point of being here is that he’s meant to wash up.

So Childe soaks in the warm, fragrant water— Zhongli has opinions on baths, apparently, and he insisted on adding what he referred to as a ‘restorative blend’ of salts and botanicals. It does feel good on his aching hips and thigh muscles. He hasn’t had anyone fuck him like that in a long time. Feels like he’s been plowed over by a Mitachurl. Hard to say if Zhongli would appreciate the comparison.

Smiling to himself, Childe settles back against the tub, casts his gaze upwards, and considers his predicament.

The problem is that he wants Zhongli— wanted him long before he knew anything of this whole mating business. Before he realized just how truly lonely and aching for companionship Zhongli must be, for his subconscious to drive him to search at night for a remedy.

And Childe’s pretty sure Zhongli might just harbor some similar sentiments about him. Or at least, a mutual attraction. After all, he didn’t seem terribly surprised that Childe’s overnight stay resulted in sex, nor upset at the prospect of it happening again in of itself— just taken aback that his inner dragon tried to push things to the next level.

And for all Childe’s jokes, that has to mean something, right? There haven’t been any reports of Zhongli attempting to seduce people in his sleepwalking state. This is evidently the first time his subconscious has decided to try staking a claim on someone. Even if Zhongli’s theory is correct that it was merely Childe’s particular anatomy and elemental energy which had brought out the dragon in him, it's not as if there's any shortage of people with similar internal equipment and Visions in Liyue.

Not to mention, he’d said Childe’s name last night. Somewhere in there, Zhongli had clearly known it was him. Fully conscious or not, that slippery, old god surely knew exactly who it was he'd been kissing and pressing down into the cushions and fucking so thoroughly. Recognized Childe's voice, or maybe his scent, if not his appearance.

Maybe Zhongli's inner dragon was simply Zhongli at his most uninhibited; freed from the restraint of his impeccable self-control. Perhaps these two bites were a sign that if consequences were of no concern, Zhongli would want…

Childe groans, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes and sinking deeper into the water.

The problem is, beyond his insistence that Childe not complete the mating contract, it still isn’t entirely clear what Zhongli in his conscious state actually desires versus what he might have felt compelled to say out of apology, or from a place of not wanting to influence Childe’s decisions.

As if Childe isn’t stubborn and willful enough to make his own decisions.

Regardless, it seems a bit too brash, even for him, to outright come clean to Zhongli about the nature of his feelings. Not right this moment, when Zhongli’s clearly feeling a little out of sorts and fragile about the whole thing.

Childe can’t really blame him; it’s got to be a bit alarming, having this part of him that’s acting of its own volition— and fucking by its own volition— while he’s only semi-conscious. Zhongli seems downright embarrassed, worried that Childe will be upset with him, and the last thing Childe wants is to muddy the waters even worse. It would be wrong to take advantage of the fact that Zhongli clearly just needs somebody to be there for him right now.

Childe wouldn’t say he’s all too mature in matters of the heart, but it feels too cruel to ask Zhongli to take Childe’s affections into account, on top of everything else. What if Zhongli doesn’t want things between them to go further than sex? What if he disagrees with his dragon brain; what if he truly does just want to get through this weird phase he’s in and go back to his quiet, retired bachelor’s life?

What if having sex with Childe is the ticket to helping Zhongli through this whole mess, but finding out about Childe’s feelings makes it so he can’t bear to continue? Zhongli’s used him without compunction in the past, sure, but after the fallout from that whole mess, he might not be willing to do the same this time— even with Childe’s permission.

Childe sinks low enough to blow bubbles into the bathwater. It’s a terrible hypothetical scenario. His stupid heart feels needy and weak and heavy at the thought of Zhongli pushing him away. He shouldn’t dwell on something so dismal— the answer is simple. Just keep his damned trap shut and don’t let on that this is anything more than sex to him.

Maybe once Zhongli’s weird lizard hormones settle down and he’s not in such a desperate state, then they can talk more frankly about… well. If there’s any real reciprocation.

Zhongli has to know, though— a little voice pipes up unhelpfully. Has to know that Childe has some kind of feelings for him. Surely he’s aware, surely it’s become exceedingly obvious by now that Childe is nice to lots of people but he’s forgiving of very few, and he bends over backwards only for those who have truly earned his love and loyalty.

Childe knows he’s not the most subtle guy in Teyvat, not by a long shot. Dear, precious Zhongli might be exceedingly oblivious at times, but he has to know…

No. Just stop thinking about it!

Childe finishes up his bath in a huff, washing his hair and getting out as quickly as possible.

It’s fine. He’s just going to be the best damned lay Zhongli’s seen in thousands of years, and hope to Celestia the rest falls into place.

Zhongli disappears to take his own bath shortly after Childe emerges fresh and clean and smelling like an apothecary. The former Archon gives Childe a soft smile and tells him to please help himself to anything he’d like to eat, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes and he’s gone so quickly that Childe feels a pang in his gut.

He’s just embarrassed, Childe tries to remind himself as he cobbles together some basic rice, eggs, and stir-fried vegetables. Zhongli just thinks he’s being a burden upon a trusted friend, when he couldn’t be further from the truth.

Maybe he’s gotta impress upon Zhongli that he really likes having depraved, raunchy sex with his unconscious body…

Childe winces.

Okay, maybe he can work on the phrasing.

He plates up the food and leaves a portion for Zhongli, whose empty teacup still sits at the table. He has no idea if Zhongli’s eaten breakfast yet, but it doesn’t seem like it, from the otherwise untouched state of the kitchen. After all they got up to last night, surely he’ll need some energy.

Childe realizes he’s acting like a fussy mother hen— or worse, a wife— and decides to just stop thinking altogether as he eats.

His hair has nearly dried and he’s clothed himself in a casual pair of Liyuen trousers and tunic from his rucksack by the time Zhongli reappears, damp haired and fresh cheeked, looking handsome as ever in an equally casual outfit beneath a deep chocolate silk robe. He is barefoot once more and it's alarming how much that drives Childe crazy.

It was truly a stroke of luck they both had the day off work today, but Childe wonders if either of them will manage to show up on time tomorrow. He’s used to making do with little sleep, but Zhongli seems to enjoy his rest— even though Childe is fairly certain Adepti don’t actually need to sleep all that much. Maybe it’s a dragon thing.

“There’s food for you,” he says, hating how immediately everything feels better when Zhongli gives him a surprised glance that melts into a warm, genuine smile.

“Ah, thank you, Childe. I admit, I wasn’t in much of a state to cook earlier.” Zhongli’s expressions are always reserved, but his eyes crinkle when he’s truly pleased, and it makes something inside Childe want to purr.

No, don’t think about how Zhongli purred against him last night. Don’t think about it, don’t do it, by the damned Abyss don’t dwell on it.

“No problem, it’s honestly easier for me to cook for a crowd than just for myself. And we’re in your house, eating your food, so…” Childe trails off, scooping the last of his breakfast into his mouth with a shallow soup spoon. Chopsticks be damned. “Anyway, you feeling better now?”

“Much,” Zhongli says, taking his customary seat at the table. “It is remarkable what a good soak can do for one’s mindset.”

His bare hands look so damned graceful manipulating his chopsticks— they’re entirely back to normal now, but Childe suddenly envisions them with that dark, black earth hue and those claws… His cunt pangs with need and he presses his thighs together, grateful for the cover of the table.

“Well, that’s good.” Childe clears his throat, scrambling for words. “And just so we’re clear, xiansheng, there’s nothing you need to feel bad about. We’re good. Totally good. Fine and dandy. I’m very okay with everything that happened, so just... don’t worry about it, alright?”

Okay, maybe he's laying it on a bit thick. Zhongli looks up at him, brow arched, clearly amused.

“Is that so?” And there it is, the hint of a tease. That regal bearing with a glimpse of the Mt. Tianheng-sized ego lurking beneath. “Is that your way of telling me I was adequately pleasing?”

Childe fumbles his spoon and bowl with a loud clatter, having foolishly been in the middle of picking them up to return them to the kitchen.

“Oh! Well, not if you’re going to gloat,” he shoots back, flustered but not about to lose this battle.

Zhongli actually tips his head back and laughs, bright and delighted, and sweet Archons, Childe is so gone for him. So utterly stupidly foolishly in love that if this doesn’t pan out in his favor, he is absolutely putting in a transfer request post haste and never showing his pathetic face in Liyue ever again.

“You tell a guy not to worry about something and it goes straight to his head,” he mutters in feigned exasperation, finally making it to his feet and heading to the kitchen. “Here I am, just trying to be a good person and assuage your guilt, and lo and behold— the ego of a former archon, truly unmatched!”

Zhongli lets out a sigh as his laughter trails off, and Childe can almost hear him shaking his head.

“You are truly a balm to this old man’s soul,” he says, and his smile is even sweeter than before when Childe returns. “Here I was, fretting away the day…”

“No fretting,” Childe insists, knocking his knuckles against the wooden tabletop. Does it show on his face, how enthralled he is? “Save that for some other Harbinger, I won’t have it. No regrets, Zhongli— if I don’t want to do something, I won’t. Unless it’s for my archon, but you’re not her, so stop worrying. You’re nothing I can’t handle.”

Okay, maybe he’s flirting now, but Zhongli seems receptive, if the slight curl of his mouth and the way he looks at Childe as if seeing him anew are any indication.

“Perhaps I have not yet learned my lesson when it comes to underestimating you,” he says, voice contemplative but still carrying that teasing edge. It makes Childe’s heart trip faster, anticipation tingling beneath his skin, in his fingertips. “I am simply used to composing myself in a more gentlemanly fashion, you might call it. I would hate for you to think of me as some feral, uncivilized beast.”

“What’s wrong with that? Maybe that’s exactly what I’m into,” Childe dares to suggest, leaning ever so casually against the table with one hip and crossing his arms as if they’re just having a chat. “Do you really take me for the type to care about etiquette, xiansheng? Tsk, it's like you don't know me at all…"

Something passes over Zhongli’s gaze just then. A darkening of those vivid, golden eyes. It makes the hairs rise on the back of Childe’s neck.

“Perhaps you may not care about such things,” Zhongli says, carefully, deliberately. “But you certainly deserve the proper courtesies, and I will not allow anyone to suggest otherwise.” His voice carries a quiet intensity that has Childe’s underwear clinging to his wet cunt. Celestia have mercy, this absurd man…

“I deserve a crown on my head and a throne under my ass, too, but who’s counting?” Childe half jests, unable to keep his eyes from dipping down towards Zhongli’s mouth. This feels like it’s rapidly spiraling towards something, and he has no idea which of them will back off first. If at all. “I’m just saying, I like myself a little tussle. Keeps it interesting. You can’t be a gentleman all the time.”

Zhongli’s gaze feels hot enough to brand. He’s still seated, but his grip on the arm of his chair has gotten a little tighter, if the whiteness of his knuckles is anything to go by.

“Perhaps not,” he admits, eyes dragging over Childe’s body with nearly tangible weight, then looking askance to gaze out the window of the living room beyond. Or maybe he’s staring at the sofa where he had Childe laid out beneath him last night. “I do have to wonder if my insistence on propriety is part of what led to this recurrence of an old, forgotten cycle.”

“What do you mean?” Childe’s curiosity is piqued.

Zhongli sighs, seeming to mull something over. “Perhaps,” he starts, slowly, “if I had allowed myself to indulge more frequently in the company of others, I would not find myself being strong-armed by my baser instincts. I simply did not deem such companionship necessary for such a very long time. It seemed somewhat improper to form close ties as Zhongli amongst my unknowing subjects.”

Childe wants to point out the absurdity of this logic in the face of everything else Zhongli had, evidently, deemed appropriate to undertake in his human guise— but he decides that’s a tangent best left untouched. He chooses the more interesting route.

“What changed, do you think?” He knows it’s a leading question. Tries not to expect too much from the answer. There could be many reasons, after all. “Giving up the Gnosis, maybe?”

Zhongli hums. “Perhaps. I am not entirely certain. I have my guesses, but only time will tell.” He shifts his gaze back to Childe, who immediately feels a frisson of anticipation runs down his spine. The way Zhongli’s looking at him… surely…?

“Do you remember anything else?” Childe blurts out before he can stop himself. “From last night? I mean, it’s alright if you don’t, I just— I was just wondering—“

Zhongli had taken a sharp, surprised breath when the first question left Childe’s lips, and now he simply stares. “Yes and no,” he says, and oh, he’s so careful. “Much like a dream, it is rather muddled and incoherent, but there are… certain things I believe I do recall.” He pauses, brows drawing together in question. “Dare I ask why you wish to know?”

Was it Childe’s pure imagination, or did he sound hopeful?

“I— no reason, really. I was just curious. You, uh… you said my name, so I thought maybe you might have been a little bit awake, somewhere in there.” Childe chews his lip, wondering if this is going too far. He runs his nail along the edge of the table. “Anything stand out?”

He’s not looking at Zhongli now. It’s for the best. He might implode if he did.

A pause, and then, in a low, slightly roughened voice, Zhongli finally replies, “I remember your voice breaking through that dense, unending mist. Your… scent. I don’t entirely know how we ended up in the living room, but I do recall you… encouraging me.”

Childe’s aching so hard between his thighs he could faint. He’s so wet just listening to Zhongli recount that much that he’s certain if he touched himself, he would climax with embarrassing swiftness.

“Encouraging you…?” His voice feels raspy, and he has to swallow to try and wet his throat.

“You told me to…” Zhongli stops short, clearing his throat. He blinks rapidly, as if coming out of a daze. “Ah— I apologize. I don’t know what came over me, I must—“

“No, hold on.” Childe isn’t leaning casually against the table anymore. He’s standing before Zhongli’s chair, staring down at the object of all his insane, twisted affections and feeling like he might die if Zhongli doesn’t continue.

“Don’t do that annoying thing you do— just, tell me.” And then, mustering his will, “I wanna know, because it doesn’t seem fair if it’s all one-sided and you can’t even remember anything. If I know you enjoyed it at least a little, then I won’t feel so bad for enjoying it, too.”

The silence between them drags thick. Zhongli finally looks up at him again, and Childe doesn’t think he’s ever seen those eyes so dilated. Well. Except for last night.

“I was certainly somewhat mystified when I first awoke this morning, still inside you,” Zhongli confesses. His hand curls into a fist atop the table. “As I said, I was fearful I had forced myself upon you. But then I remembered your smile and your teasing. Your voice in my ear. How you felt around me.”

Childe thinks he might pass out. Zhongli has to be able to hear his heartbeat, or else see it racing above the collar of his shirt. He feels paper-thin, transparent as parchment. “You’re not too afraid to do it again, are you?”

His voice is as teasing and steady as he can make it, which is… oh, moderately steady, but it wouldn’t take a genius to see how eager Childe is as he leans in a little more, bracing his own fingers on the table not far from Zhongli’s.

It strikes him then, when Zhongli meets his eyes. Just how ancient this man— this elder god— before him truly is. What an absurd question to ask such a being, and yet…

“Mm,” Zhongli hums, gaze flicking to Childe’s mouth with obvious intent. “Now that it appears I am being seduced outright, I find myself somewhat less concerned.”

That teasing, sly voice. He swears he could cum to that voice alone.

“You should still be careful, xiansheng,” Childe teases back. He can hardly keep from throwing himself at Zhongli while the poor man is still seated at his dining table. His mother would have a fit if she could see him now. “I’m not exactly known to behave myself. You might not get a single wink of sleep if you keep me around much longer."

Zhongli pushes his chair back and stands, and Childe finds he loves the scant few inches of height the former Archon has on him. Just enough to make him have to look up.

“Threatening me in my own home?” Zhongli sounds amused, diffusing the tension between them just enough to allow Childe to catch his metaphorical breath. “What a rude houseguest you’re turning out to be.”

Oh? Is Zhongli goading him on? Childe charges forward, high on the prospect of getting what he wants.

“I get ruder,” he promises, daring to reach out and grip Zhongli by the lapel of his house robe, dragging him a little closer. Oh, the way those intense cor lapis eyes dilate… well, well. The old man must like a bit of healthy disrespect. "And I think you should have me right now, while we’re both awake, so you can see just how incorrigible I am.”

Zhongli looks like he’s torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to devour Childe alive, clothing and all.

“Finally," he says with an unabashedly smug grin, a rough edge to the smooth purr of his voice. "Something we can both agree upon."

xx

Chapter Text

xx

They make it as far as the stairs leading to the bedroom before Childe pulls Zhongli in and lets himself be caged in against the wall, Zhongli’s mouth hot and greedy on his.

Fitting, that this is where it started last night. He doesn’t know if Zhongli remembers that part, but he quickly finds he’s too distracted to care— not with the way Zhongli’s clutching at his hip and cradling his jaw, pushing him hard against the wall. Zhongli's cock is a heavy weight against Childe’s inner thigh, and Celestia be praised, it feels every bit as substantial as the ones Childe had encountered last night.

He supposes that when one is a renowned shapeshifter, one may as well equip themselves with the best in every form.

It doesn’t take long for Zhongli to push his tongue into Childe’s mouth. They fight for control of the kiss for lengthy seconds, Childe loving every moment of struggle as he yanks Zhongli’s hips even closer and grinds against him. It’s exhilarating doing this in the light of day; it’s daunting doing this while Zhongli is fully in control of his faculties.

But he’s been craving it so damned bad that nothing else matters in the end— Zhongli wants him like this, perhaps just as badly as Childe does, and his body feels so ungodly good, pressed as close to Childe as they can get.

Well. There’s one way to get closer, if they can manage to disentangle themselves long enough, but Childe’s admittedly a little sidetracked by the way Zhongli sucks on his tongue after he manages to slip it inside the older man’s mouth. The aroused little groans Zhongli's making are enough to drive Childe to madness, and the mess he’s making of his underwear surely has to have soaked through the fabric by now. So much for keeping his extra set of clothing clean.

They finally part for breath, hands seeking out skin and pulling at buttons and closures and annoying hidden clasps. Even Zhongli's casual clothing is overly complicated.

“Too many damned clothes,” Childe pants. “We should have just stayed naked.”

“Probably,” Zhongli breathes against his mouth, groaning and then clearing his throat when Childe works a hand between them and shamelessly gropes the length of his cock, making it twitch where it’s trapped against his thigh. “Ah— bedroom, shall we?”

“You sound way too composed,” Childe retorts, then bites at his own lower lip and secretly gloats at the way Zhongli’s eyes narrow with covetousness, like he's annoyed he's not the one doing the biting. "Fine, fine…”

It takes them an absurdly long time to reach the bed, because they can’t stop touching long enough to move. Childe’s head is spinning. He didn’t think this would actually happen— that Zhongli would want to bed him so readily and openly. Guess whatever happened last night served as the ideal catalyst. Or maybe it’s just all those pent-up dragon hormones pumping through the god’s body, but either way, Childe isn’t complaining.

It’s a miracle they don’t pop any buttons in their haste to get naked. Childe’s about to remove his chest harness— for he tends to wear it all the time, even out of uniform— when Zhongli stops him.

“This,” Zhongli says, eyeing the leather with interest. “Leave this part on, the rest can go.”

Childe flashes him a saucy look at the request. “Oh, can it now? Has the proper, gentlemanly Zhongli-xiansheng thought about me in nothing but my harness before?”

Zhongli doesn’t answer, nimble fingers seeing to his own shirt now that his robe has been removed. But he looks more than a little coy, if not downright guilty.

“You sly old lizard,” Childe teases, removing his own tunic before fastening the straps back across his chest. “Well, I’m in the mood to grant perverted old man fantasies today, so—“

“Childe!” Zhongli is doing his damndest to look scandalized but the way he’s holding back laughter is sort of undermining the effect. “The mouth on you.”

Childe’s still got his pants on, but sod it— he drops to the floor in front of Zhongli, hands sweeping up over his knees. “I would like to get my mouth on you, if it’s all the same.”

This time, Zhongli doesn’t laugh at the silly throwaway joke. His eyes are burning as Childe slides his hands up those muscled thighs, feeling the swell of his flesh through his soft, dark brown trousers. What he wouldn’t give to see Zhongli’s limbs darken to that hue again. Maybe, if he’s lucky…

Childe reaches for the fastenings of Zhongli’s trousers, teasing his cock more than anything, and Zhongli shoves his hands out of the way with a noise of aggravation.

“Impertinent boy,” he chides, and Childe isn’t too proud to admit within the secrecy of his own grey matter that it does something to him, Zhongli calling him that. His cunt is downright throbbing but he can ignore that for now, because Zhongli’s finally opening the front of his trousers.

Confirmed Zhongli is in possession of only one very handsome cock this time, flushed and nicely veined, but that’s fine with Childe— he’s pretty sure he couldn’t fit two in his throat no matter how hard he tried. He immediately leans in with an eager groan, mouthing at the head, taking Zhongli in hand and smearing the wetness at the tip over his lips.

“Childe,” Zhongli starts, and then hisses when Childe sucks at the tip with enthusiasm. “Ah! Slow down a little for this old man, would you?”

That’s not what you said last night, Childe thinks to himself, but his mouth is full and Zhongli tastes so delicious he’s not about to let go anytime soon. But he does linger here instead of forging directly ahead— suckling at the tip, exploring its shape with his tongue. The head is well pronounced even in this form, and despite the lack of extra ridges, Childe imagines it’ll do the trick very nicely indeed.

The groans Zhongli lets out are far more human this time than his rattles and growls and croaks from last night, but Childe soaks them up just as eagerly. Zhongli’s hands make it into his hair, and when he breathes out “Childe” in something approaching awe after Childe swirls his tongue along the underside of his cock… well, damn. That’s seared into his mind for good.

Childe hums in response and works his way down, letting Zhongli acclimate as he takes him deeper. Maybe he’s naturally more sensitive like this, or perhaps he’s just easily stimulated after the night they had. Regardless, Childe isn’t too upset to be asked to take his time. He likes a good, frantic fuck, but considering this is the first time Zhongli’s properly lucid with him in bed, it seems right to allow the old man his request. Besides, he can never resist showing off his skill in this arena.

Zhongli’s fingers clutch at his scalp, pushing through his hair and tugging ever so slightly. Childe groans without even meaning to, which makes Zhongli sigh as the vibrations travel through his cock.

“I’ve never heard you this quiet before,” he remarks, clearly trying for levity, but he sounds so immensely aroused that Childe can’t help squeezing his own thighs a little tighter together. “And it wasn’t my imagination, then, that you felt this hot inside.”

Childe groans again, shamelessly this time, and takes Zhongli even deeper, until he has to open his throat for the last few inches. It’s with a feeling of immense triumph that he presses his face flat as he can get it against Zhongli’s smooth abdomen, willing himself not to choke when the shaft twitches at the stimulation.

Zhongli’s thick in his throat, hurting in the best way, and he’s moaning like a damned seductress as Childe begins to bob his head. Oh, if Liyue could see her former Archon now.

“Childe, you…” The normally verbose Zhongli seems to be struggling for words, which only makes Childe want to make it more difficult for him. “Ah! Yes, that’s it. All the way for me, dear boy.”

Childe closes his eyes so he doesn’t obviously roll them back at the praise. Ugh, he’s so damned pathetic for this ridiculous, foolish, fastidious, oblivious man— all he wants is for Zhongli to fill him in every hole, to tell him how good he feels, how perfectly he’s doing. For Zhongli to confess how much he wants to keep Childe all for his own, to mate with him and breed him and—

Zhongli’s fingers feel sharper against his scalp than before; when Childe draws back down to the tip to give it some extra attention, he sees the motes of Geo shimmering in the air around Zhongli, who wears an utterly blissed out expression as he stares off into his thoughts.

And then he looks down at Childe, the cor lapis of his gaze flashing intensely as his eyes focus, and he grips Childe’s skull with intent. Oh yeah, those are definitely some claws coming out. Blunter than last night. Can he control that?

“Childe…” Zhongli swallows, and he’s about to continue when Childe pulls off his cock, holding it steady at the base, right above the opening of his trousers.

“Ajax,” he says, utterly impulsive but knowing immediately it’s what he wants. “Call me Ajax, if we’re going to do this.”

Zhongli raises his dark brows, looking upon Childe with curiosity. “Your given name?” He seems distracted from the cock-sucking for a moment, and Childe might as well indulge him a little.

“Yeah. Nobody but my family really uses it or even knows of it. But I figure, y’know… it’s probably safe with you.”

He thought it would be more difficult to give up, but it's easy as anything. This all feels so damned easy.

Zhongli, for his part, looks rather taken aback, as if Childe has just bestowed some great treasure upon him instead of merely giving him permission to use his name.

“I see,” he says, thumb meandering over to pull at Childe’s lower lip. “Ajax… a handsome name. I will look forward to saying it against your skin when I am buried inside you.”

Childe doesn’t even know what to say to that— Zhongli’s archaic way of speaking dirty keeps catching him off guard.

“Celestia, you’re insane,” he mutters, swallowing Zhongli back down in an attempt to keep them both from saying anything else. By the damned Abyss, his ears are burning.

“You have an unprecedented effect upon me,” Zhongli sighs, rolling his hips slowly into Childe’s descent. “Any of the gods of old would weep to feel your mouth. I am no exception.”

Childe feels almost itchy at the praise— it’s too over the top. But deep down, he likes it far too much; Zhongli spouting poetic nonsense at him while Childe tries to suck his soul out through his cock.

It should be absurd. It is absurd. And yet he can’t help but want to make Zhongli feel more rapturous than anyone else ever has. Six thousand years is a tall order to beat, but no one is more determined than him.

Childe swallows him eagerly to the base once more, wrapping his arms around Zhongli’s thighs as the other man shifts closer to the edge of the mattress. Like this, he can get two cheeky handfuls of Zhongli’s unfairly tempting ass and squeeze to his heart’s content as he encourages more of those rolling thrusts.

It’s easy to get lost in this— the weight of Zhongli on his tongue and the overwhelming presence of him in his throat. The delicious smell of his skin, the faint, almost earthy musk when Childe’s nose is pressed to his groin. His Hydro simmers beneath his skin, wanting to react to the Geo hanging heavy and fragrant in the air.

“Petrichor,” Zhongli murmurs, amidst his quiet, encouraging groans. “The scent of rain falling upon the soil. Ajax, you marvel…”

Ah, so that’s what it was called. He thought he’d smelled something similar last night, but he hadn’t had the word for it— hadn’t recognized it was the result of their innate elements meeting.

A tug at his arm pulls him from his thoughts. Zhongli’s coaxing him up, breathing heavily all the while. He’s flushed down his chest and onto his stomach, his glowing horns have crowned his regal head once more, and his arms have regained their deep charcoal hue, delineated with golden marks of his element. Symbols of his power.

Childe wants him so badly he can barely think. Especially not when Zhongli is looking at him so beseechingly with those brilliant eyes.

“Let me taste you again,” Zhongli insists. Childe doesn’t bother with a silly comeback this time. He straddles Zhongli’s lap and falls into another heated kiss. Zhongli must like tasting himself on Childe, because he groans deep in his chest and grips Childe’s thigh with his claws while the other hand grabs a proper fistful of Childe’s hair. Shit, now he’s the one moaning and trying to grind against Zhongli through the absolutely drenched crotch of his trousers.

Zhongli makes a sound oddly similar to his purring noise from last night, breaking the kiss to mouth at Childe’s neck and jawline. He tilts Childe’s head back using his hair as a grip, and Childe can’t help but clutch at him, rolling his hips forward against that exceptionally tempting cock.

“Finding all my weak spots already,” he jokes, breathless. Zhongli’s mouth finds his unpierced ear and sucks on the lobe, making Childe shudder against him. “Ah, damn… there’s another one.”

“I would like to find all of them,” Zhongli murmurs, kissing along the other side of his jaw now. “Chi— Ajax, you’re soaked through.” It’s probably meant to be a tease, but he sounds too breathless to really stick the landing.

“Can’t help it,” Childe mutters, gasping in delight when teeth tug at his earring. “You get me— ah~!— a little riled up. Take ‘em off already.”

And Zhongli does, by ripping his trousers right down the middle seam. It’s not the kind of thing Childe would have ever expected of him, and now he just stares down in awe and raging arousal.

“You weren’t attached to those, were you?” Zhongli’s already kneading at his newly-exposed ass, because oh… right, that’s why he’d soaked them so easily, he hadn’t actually put on a new pair of underwear after his bath. “Goodness, Ajax, you feel…”

Childe grinds his bared cunt against Zhongli’s shaft, eyes rolling back into their sockets until he sees constellations. Oh, he’s salivating. He can’t wait to get this cock back where it belongs, deep inside him.

“I know you aren’t going to buy me new ones anyway, just— damn it, just fuck me already, you tease.”

“I’m the tease?” Zhongli sounds taken aback by this, as if he has any right, but he quickly grips himself by the base and angles his cock properly for Childe to rock down onto the head, and— this is it, this is heaven, he can’t even believe—

“Archons have mercy,” he groans, gripping those powerful thighs tight with his knees as he sinks down further onto Zhongli, uncaring of the tattered remains of his trousers pooling at his knees on either side. “Oh fuhhh—hahhhh."

“Ajax.” Zhongli clutches him tightly, like he’s trying to grab Childe everywhere at once. He rocks his hips up, pushing himself deeper, meeting Childe’s downward thrust. Everything feels like heat and honey, pleasure burning through Childe’s gut and fizzling down his limbs.

He feels drunk off it already; his cunt aches from last night but it’s such a heady, addictive pain, and the stretch as he’s forced open again is mind-shattering. Zhongli’s making the most deliciously wrecked groans that vibrate through them both, his claws digging into Childe’s hips.

Childe can’t bear to look at his face right now, because he knows he’s probably got something too revealing all over his own, so he hides against the side of Zhongli’s head and tangles his fingers through the long hair at Zhongli’s nape, pulling it free from its ornament.

“Fuck me,” he pleads, already rising up on his knees and dropping himself back down. “Fuck me, fuck me good, xiansheng.”

Zhongli makes a throaty growl and slams up to meet Childe, once, then again, until Childe is bouncing in his lap with abandon, air being punched from his lungs with each steady thrust.

It’s good— oh it’s so damned good. Zhongli’s gripping his ass and hips nice and hard, enough to add bruises to his collection, and he certainly knows how to angle his hips to get himself nice and snug alongside Childe’s cervix each time they slam together. It’s so messy, he’s sloppy and wet and the sounds mingle with their heavy breaths in the quiet of Zhongli’s bedroom.

“So wet for me,” Zhongli groans, pausing their rhythm to grind for a moment, just rolling his hips into Childe’s. “You feel— so heavenly—“

“Don’t,” Childe says, pleading. He can’t take the praise. “You’re gonna make me— ugh.”

“I’m only speaking the truth,” Zhongli shoots back, voice thick with lust and breath warm alongside Childe’s ear. “That you should take me this well… if I had known…”

“You’d have given it to me like this sooner?” Childe can’t help but tease him, even if his pathetic little gasps keep interrupting his attempts at playing things even remotely cool. “Yeah, you should have, but it’s fine, I won’t hold it— ah, fuck— against you.”

Zhongli’s picked up the pace again, bouncing him on his dick with such ease that Childe is pretty sure he’s done for. He slips a hand between them, pinching at his own hard little cock, bucking into the feeling and getting sloppy with his timing.

“Zhongli— I’m already— shit, I think I’m close.”

Zhongli makes a low rumbling noise that pushes Childe even closer. “What if I asked you to wait?”

Childe groans, face flushing with instant heat. Oh no, that’s so… oh, wow. Okay. Okay? He forces himself to protest regardless of how hot that gets him. “So mean! Why can’t I— agh!”

Zhongli rolls them sideways so he’s standing on the floor and Childe’s legs are spread and hanging over the edge of the mattress, the remnants of his trousers falling to the rug. It’s another instant pang of arousal, seeing how easily he does it. They need to spar, Childe has to fight him, he needs it as badly as he needs Zhongli to split him open.

“Let me see you,” Zhongli says, standing and looking down at where Childe’s cunt weeps miserably, flexing around nothing now that he’s withdrawn. “Ah… such a fiery blossom suits you like nothing else. I find myself particularly fond of this.” Childe nearly loses it right then and there when Zhongli’s hand lands on his lower abdomen, those darkened fingertips stroking over the little patch of bright russet curls atop his mound. “What a lovely boy you are.”

He thumbs at Childe’s cock and makes it twitch once, twice, then sweeps his fingers over the swollen, flushed folds of Childe’s pussy. The lewd, slick noises are beyond embarrassing— Childe didn’t think he had any shame left when it came to sex, but Zhongli just toying with him like this? Standing between his spread legs and staring down at him? Makes him absolutely want to writhe.

“Dirty old man,” Childe grumbles, turning his face to hide how stupidly hot that gets him, but there’s no hiding anything when Zhongli sinks his cock back inside him and makes him downright squeal, back arching off the bed. “Ohhh, fuck! Oh gods!”

“Touch yourself,” Zhongli says, intently. One of his hands slides up Childe's chest, fingers curling under his leather harness. “Show me what gives you pleasure.”

Childe can’t look at his face, he can’t, so he closes his eyes and slips his hand down to rub at his stiff little cock, loving how Zhongli’s thrusts push his hand down harder every few moments. The friction inside him is so delicious at this angle, Zhongli’s cock pressing up against that spot inside him that makes everything clench up so good.

“I can see myself inside you,” Zhongli groans, and Childe finally cracks, sneaking a look down his body to see that, indeed, each heavy push of that thick cock makes his flat, toned stomach bulge outward.

That’s what pushes him over the edge— it all happens in a snap, Childe barely even touching himself as it rushes over him like a sudden crack through a frozen river.

“Shit, I’m— Zhong—“ Childe can’t manage to form words, too caught up in the seizing pleasure of it. Zhongli fucks him steady, eager, right into that spot that makes him spasm over and over again, a howl ripped from his throat as the first peak suddenly turns into the rise of a second before he’s been had a chance to catch his breath.

“Don’t stop, don’t— fuck, I’m gonna!”

This wave hits him even harder and Childe wails, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he clenches around Zhongli, chasing every last drop of sensation as he’s pounded right through it, Zhongli leaning down close over him, forcing his hips wider apart, oh it’s so damned deep he can’t even breathe, it’s so good, it’s so good.

“Ajax, where should I… my release is close,” Zhongli pants above him, those strong hips still slamming so steadily in him. “Tell me where.”

“Inside,” Childe begs, grabbing at him and pulling him even closer so he can’t back out. “Oh fuck, put it in me, Zhongli, fill me up.”

Zhongli seems like he’s about to protest but Childe just hauls him into a ferocious kiss, not caring that he must sound insane. He wants it all inside him so badly that nothing else will possibly do, and Zhongli quickly caves and sinks into the kiss, fucking into him with enough vigor to properly rearrange his guts for weeks. He feels Zhongli tense after a moment of this, like he’s just on the brink, so Childe breaks the kiss to plead again.

“Please, give it to me. Want your cum, need it so deep. Want you to breed me—“

It works like magic. Zhongli stiffens and then groans deep and resonant, and Childe can feel the sheer force of his cock kicking inside with each wave of release. He normally can’t feel much when someone cums in him, but Zhongli’s spend really is something else, warming him right through, soothing the needy, cumdrunk, desperate part of his hindbrain.

And it doesn't stop— the man simply does not stop.

“Celestia wept,” Childe manages to groan, holding Zhongli as the former Archon continues to spasm and empty himself into Childe’s eager body. “You’re still going.” It’s said with awe— for Zhongli is absolutely shaking above him, his breath ragged as his hips give a last few eager thrusts.

And then he finally pulls back, slowly, almost reverently, and lowers himself to the mattress alongside Childe, evidently needing to catch his breath. That’s fine with Childe— he’s still reeling at the fact that he just told Zhongli to breed him and Zhongli did.

Geo shimmers in the air around the bed, little glinting motes of sunset orange and gold. Pretty like Zhongli's eyes…

Childe rolls onto his side, his heart still clamoring wildly, his veins practically vibrating. He stares at Zhongli, who has his eyes closed and his lips parted as his breath gradually slows; who looks more beautiful than any being Childe's ever laid eyes upon; whose sheer power is glowing upon his cor lapis-inlaid skin, thrumming off him in tangible ripples right now in the afterglow…

Want isn't strong enough a word. Need barely scratches the surface.

"Damn," he breathes out, letting his eyes slide closed so he can ensure that image is forever burned on the inside of his eyelids. "You really just…"

But what is there to say?

Zhongli's looking at him when Childe opens his eyes again. He's got that freshly-fucked glow to his face, with a soft smile tugging at his mouth. It's impossible not to mirror it.

"Convinced that I can handle you, yet?" Childe falls back on a joke to keep from confessing all sorts of things he ought to keep to himself. He's still lightheaded and he can feel Zhongli's inhumanly warm cum seeping onto his thighs and down his ass crack, and it's exceedingly possible he might blurt something stupid with all the endorphins currently buzzing through him. He feels like he just slew an entire army single-handed. Like he put Osial to rest all on his own. Like he conquered an elder god with his bare hands— and in a way, he supposes he did.

Well, bare hands and pussy…

"Mm," Zhongli says after a moment, gaze lingering on Childe's face before he finally tears it away and closes his eyes with a pleased hum. "I find I am somewhat reassured."

"Good." Childe nudges him with his elbow, finding he doesn't want to stop touching just yet. "I told you. I'm made of sturdy stuff. They don't give out Harbinger status to just anybody."

"I would imagine not," Zhongli allows, turning back to face him. "Still, you are the only one who bears that title that I have ever taken to bed, so you cannot blame me for my desire to exercise caution." He's smiling ever so slightly, so it's an intentional joke, and Childe snorts in amused response.

The banter is honestly reassuring. He was so worried it'd be awkward, after. But it's easy to roll along with the flow of conversation, just like the old times before he knew how deep Zhongli's cocks reached inside of him.

"Yeah, yeah… honestly, thank goodness I'm the only one you've tried it on with. I'm the sanest one of the bunch, and that's really saying something." Zhongli's still got those elegant horns glowing atop his head, and the way his hair falls in his face has Childe reaching out to brush it back before he can think twice.

He catches himself and nearly freezes, then decides it's better to play it off as casual. "Ah, well, I messed your hair all up; apologies, xiansheng. There's no way you can leave the house like this, now."

The laugh he startles from Zhongli is so pure he could drink it. Oh gods, he wants to memorize that laugh, that crinkle-eyed smile. His heart is clamoring, oh this is so stupid this is such a terrible idea and there's no way he's stopping now.

"I suppose not," Zhongli concedes, once his laughter dies down. "Although… if I may be so bold as to ask— was it solely for my benefit, that last request you made of me?"

What? Oh. The breeding thing? Oh no, Zhongli wants to talk about it. Of course he wants to talk about it. Childe groans, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow. "Uhhhhh… sure, let's say that."

"Ajax," Zhongli scolds, and… oh no, that tone might be doing things for him, too. "I would prefer to know the truth. After all, I do not wish for you to engage in anything purely to appease me. Your presence is more than enough."

Childe sighs, uncovering his face. "Ahh… don't worry." He skims his foot along Zhongli's calf, marveling again at the strange, somewhat incorporeal feeling of his tufted tail as it brushes against his skin. "I wouldn't have asked for that if I wasn't going to enjoy it. I'm not that selfless in bed. It was alright with you, though, wasn't it?"

"Mm. Yes, more than alright. Even that, I am tempted to call an understatement." Zhongli at least has the decency to sound slightly abashed. "But thank you, dear Ajax. That is reassuring to hear. I am glad our interests in this regard are… compatible."

The absurdity of them laying side by side covered in sweat and cum, delicately trying to navigate such a conversation hits Childe all at once and he snorts with laughter, rolling onto his side to properly face his odd bedfellow.

"Zhongli… did you ever imagine when we first met that we'd one day be laying in your bed, discussing our mutual breeding fetish?"

"It isn't a fetish!" Zhongli replies hotly, then stops short, a look of comprehension flashing across his unfairly handsome face. "Ah, you're making fun of me."

"I'm just enjoying the view," Childe flirts, purely to see if he can fluster the man. "I have to say, you certainly make it easy. Who wouldn't want to be filled with your seed? I might even fancy another go, later…"

Lo and behold, Zhongli does glance away and purse his lips like he's struggling to keep a nonplussed face, his cheeks lighting up with something quite unlike Geo energy. Oh, this is going to be fun to fluster him, if Childe can just keep his own wits about him.

"If you keep speaking of such things, that 'later' may arrive sooner than you expect," Zhongli warns, and Childe catches movement in the corner of his vision. Zhongli, filling and twitching against his thigh already? More likely than you'd think.

"So I see… one mention of breeding and you're already hard and raring to go again," Childe observes, shamelessly taunting. "I'm still dripping all over your sheets from the first load you gave me; are you really going to attempt a repeat so soon?"

"Are you complaining?" Zhongli turns and sits up enough to bracket an arm over Childe's chest, looking down at him in genuine curiosity. The tease clearly went right over his head this time. "I do not need much recovery time due to my adeptal nature. I am also given to understand that humans with vulvas require less refractory period time than those with penises."

Childe snorts, finding himself so hopelessly endeared by the earnest look writ across Zhongli's face.

"You are absurd," he declares, and pulls Zhongli in for a brief, playful kiss. "Why would I complain about that? Do you know how difficult it is to find someone who can go as many rounds as I can?"

"Oh?" Zhongli sounds intrigued. "Do your lovers often leave you wanting?" There's something challenging in his voice, like he's about to personally hunt down everyone Childe's ever slept with and give them a thorough scolding. It's cute. Childe wants to think it's not just a matter of pride— of the Prime wanting to be the best— and more a matter of Zhongli wanting to be the best for him.

"Well… Let's just say I'd kinda given up on it, for now," he admits, coy. His hand wanders down between them, stroking over the sticky tip of Zhongli's cock, loving how it kicks into his hand. "I mean, no offense to Liyue, but the men here are way too polite. What's the word you like? Genteel. It's not like back home in Snezhnaya where they'll toss you around like they're trying to break something. "

Zhongli tsks, his eyes narrowing as he looks down at Childe, examining his face as if he's trying to discern how much of this is in jest. "I certainly would not wish to break you," he says, mouth stern. "But neither can I let my countrymen leave such a poor impression upon our esteemed guest. Perhaps I may yet be able to set this injustice to rights."

"Oh?" Childe's feeling hot in the face again as he runs his other hand up Zhongli's arm, unabashedly soaking in his strength. "Well, you did a decent enough job throwing me around last night… I'd say it was a pretty good start. What do you reckon, xiansheng? Think you can singlehandedly salvage Liyue's reputation?"

"I am certain of it," Zhongli says, nostrils flaring as Childe stops teasing and strokes him in earnest. His eyes have dilated and fuck, he looks good enough to eat like this. Childe's feeling some kind of way between his thighs again. "But there is something I wish to do first, before we get ahead of ourselves."

"Oh?" Childe's hoping it's a sex thing. If Zhongli cockblocks him right now, he might have to throw the man through his own bedroom window. "What's that?"

Zhongli just leans in, licking shamelessly up Childe's neck. His tongue feels like a normal human tongue right now, but it's still hot and slick and perfect. Childe shudders and clutches his forearm, stroking him from base to tip. Zhongli's already dripping again, easing the way, and he thinks that he could lay here and do this all day without reprieve if Zhongli let him.

"I would like to taste you between your legs," Zhongli breathes against his neck, low and eager. Childe's pretty sure he's about to have a damned nosebleed if the tingling in his face is any indication. "Would you allow me?"

"Allow you? Fuck, I'll beg you," Childe groans, running one of his legs up over Zhongli's hip. "Even though you just—? Ungh, you really are filthy. I mean that in a good way, just in case it wasn't obvious."

Zhongli just hums, nuzzling against one of the aching bites from last night before he seems to catch himself and draws back. Childe stares up at him, feeling absolutely insane. How is this really happening?

"Think of it as something to satisfy my instincts," Zhongli says, pushing Childe's legs open with casual strength and kneeling between them, settling Childe's thighs over his own. His gaze trails down over Childe's body, and Childe takes the opportunity to do the same. Celestia above, how in Teyvat did he manage to get himself here? Zhongli's palm smooths over Childe's flat stomach, following the cut of his abdomen down to his mound. Zhongli thumbs through the damp red curls once more, humming in approval. Guess he really does like redheads.

"And what shall I call this lovely part of you?" His thumb has swept over Childe's hood, teasing the aching stiffness below it. "What nomenclature do you prefer, Ajax?" Childe bites down on his lip, lifting his hips into the touch.

"Call it anything you want," he says. "Cock, clit, dick, I don't care. S'long as you keep touching it."

"I see." Zhongli seems amused by this. "And here?" He teases his fingertips down to Childe's slit, dipping his thumb just inside the opening. "What would you have me call this?"

Yours, Childe wants to say.

"My cunt," he breathes. "My pussy, my hole, whatever. Can't really see you saying 'pussy' to be honest, but since you asked…"

Why is this driving him out of his mind? Zhongli just touching him, looking at him, asking him how he likes it? He half wants to tell the teasing bastard to get on with it already, to make good on his promise to eat Childe out. But there's something else that he can't get enough of, and it's Zhongli wanting to know all these secret things about him. Wanting to do this on his terms.

Maybe it's just that Childe likes being looked at, likes showing off his hard-won body. Maybe it's something else. He's not sure what to call the warm feeling that rises in his chest, but he's not used to it, and it feels too good not to savor.

Zhongli hums. "I will call you whatever you like, Ajax." There's a hint of a devious glint to his eye. "If I mean to devour your pussy after you allowed me to fill it with my seed, it's only fair you set the terms."

Childe blushes furiously. "Oh no. Oh no, you can't say that." He hides his hands behind his face, moaning in embarrassment. "Forget I said anything! That's just too lewd, I can barely handle the things that come out of your mouth as it is!"

"Are you certain?" Zhongli's voice is pure tease. Absolute evil incarnate. "You don't want me to eat your pussy, after all?"

Childe wails and tightens his thighs around Zhongli, wondering how awkward it would be for his subordinates if he just died right here, right now.

"Zhongli! Just stop talking! I'm going to throw you into the damned ocean!"

Zhongli laughs so hard it's impossible not to join him, a strange headrush of euphoria bubbling up in Childe as he tries to maintain his glower while peeking at Zhongli through his hands.

"You're a monster," he accuses, and he knows he's red down to his chest, he can feel it.

"I thought you enjoyed that?" Zhongli has adopted a look of innocence, but then he licks his fingers and pushes two inside Childe's cunt and oh… okay, well. Consider him sufficiently distracted.

"So mean," Childe huffs, canting his hips into the touch anyway. "Never, ever say that again unless you want me to self-immolate."

"I'll bear that in mind," Zhongli says, sounding very amused indeed. He gives Childe's insides another fond stroke before he withdraws just enough to move down the bed and get his face between Childe's thighs, immediately pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive flesh there.

Childe reaches down for him, getting a handful of silky dark hair, and has a deranged thought. "Zhongli? Your horns… can I touch them while you…?"

Zhongli merely hums in permission and Childe immediately takes hold of them, and oh… that's a nice noise that just came from the mouth currently sucking on his inner thigh. He strokes over them, enjoying the strange, sleek gem-like texture, nothing like a real antler. Zhongli makes another pleasured sound, and then his mouth is immediately on Childe's cunt, like he can't wait another second.

The heat of his mouth is intense, Childe's mouth falling open as he drops his head back against the bed. "Oh… fffuuuu—" That tongue is lapping at him eagerly, lips sucking on his cock while Zhongli's hands work their way under his ass, thumbs spreading him. He grinds up into that perfect mouth, whining when Zhongli releases his cock and licks down into his slit. They groan in unison then, and Zhongli's tongue only gets more eager.

Wait. No— not just more eager, it gets longer. Thicker. Just like last night.

Childe's in absolute heaven, gripping those antlers in eager encouragement. He doesn't often bother letting people eat him out, because in his experience, so many are just bad at it, and he'd rather get his brains railed out while he has the opportunity.

But Zhongli gets his whole mouth into it, kissing and sucking and using his lips in ways Childe didn't realize would feel so damned good. That tongue reaches so far into him he's seeing stars every time it thrusts inside, and the thought of Zhongli drinking his own cum from Childe's chalice is enough to have him swooning.

Childe didn't know he could be this filled by a tongue alone, but then again, he'd never slept with Zhongli before. Why does this man seem to possess everything he could have thought to ask for, and then some? It isn't fucking fair.

This is insane. This can't be real. But Zhongli's grip on him is firm, blunt claws digging into his skin. The vibrations of his groans as he samples Childe thoroughly are undeniable as they travel through his flesh, setting his nerves even more alight. This isn't a dream, but it is. Maybe he's the one who's sleepwalking this time.

"Zhongli…" his voice comes out broken. He doesn't even know what he's trying to say. "Oh gods… yeah, like that, whatever you just did with your tongue, oh fuck me—"

The man is licking his goddamned cervix, Childe realizes with a start as the action is repeated upon his request. Oh… oh fuck. That's too much, it feels too good, he's losing his entire mind thinking about Zhongli trying to push inside it, past the barrier, trying to force his cum even deeper until it takes— he doesn't even think that's possible, really, but in his delirious fantasy it works, it works, it works. The pleasure in his gut is spiraling tighter, the electro humming in his nerves nearing overload.

"I'm close, oh fuck don't stop, don't stop! Pleasepleaseplease, Zhongli, right there, I'm gonna cum!"

He seizes in a full-body spasm, the pleasure hitting white-hot along the surface and slower, heavier where Zhongli's tongue laves deep inside him. It's everywhere all at once, his eyes are tearing up, he's crying out so loudly that he barely even registers the noise until he feels it scrape his throat.

Zhongli doesn't quit, even though his jaw must surely be aching. He moans into Childe's core, swallowing down the fresh wave of slick that seeps from inside, not giving up his meal even when Childe starts to whine with overstimulation. He merely tightens his grip and thrusts his tongue deeper, lips working the entrance, and Childe chokes on his own saliva as he's forced into a second peak—or maybe he's just been cumming the entire time, he doesn't even know anymore.

"Zhongli," he pants, delirious. "Zhong… li… please."

Please stop? Please keep going until he melts into a useless puddle of cum? Who knows.

Zhongli just hums in what sounds like approval, and then he's finally withdrawing his tongue from deep inside to lap up the mess he's made of Childe, swallowing with his mouth sealed against Childe's cunt. The suction feels so good, and then it only gets better when Zhongli returns to Childe's cock and gives that another round of attention. It's throbbing with the aftermath of his orgasms and so, so sensitive that Childe feels himself tearing up again.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck, oh gods that's too much, fuck!"

But he keeps his grip tight on Zhongli's antlers, and Zhongli must sense he likes it like this, because he doesn't let up with the attentions, even going so far as to slip both his thumbs into Childe's wrecked cunt and pull him open wide.

Childe is heaving for breath, one hand scrabbling for Zhongli's arm while the other stays firmly affixed to his antler. He needs to touch more of him, he needs so much more. And it becomes obvious once he feels Zhongli's arm that he's rocking his hips into the bed, grinding against the mattress while he dines on Childe, and that has him swooning even harder.

"You're gonna kill me," he breathes, voice wet and thick from how goddamn much saliva has pooled into his mouth. He struggles to swallow it down, gasping for breath. The pleasure is piercing and sharp, his cock screaming for mercy, and he doesn't want it to stop. "Hurts so good, please, please, just a little more."

Zhongli slips his thumbs deeper inside Childe, making his cunt ache and fill with more slick, eager to be fucked after the tonguing it just got, and he's dizzy with all the sensations running through him, he needs to get fucked again already but he wants to cum, he wants to cum—

It hits him hard and heavy, thanks to Zhongli teasing the hood back before sucking him hard into his mouth. The bastard times it right as he withdraws one of his thumbs and replaces it with two more fingers, dragging hard against Childe's trigger spot.

Childe falls to absolute pieces, shrieking his pleasure as it overwhelms every last inch of his body. He thrashes but Zhongli holds him still, anchored by his cunt and an unexpected geo construct that shimmers into place between Childe's navel and pubic bone, and oh fuck the added pressure of that heavy, warm cube; those fingers stroking him just right. Ohhh, he's gonna explode, he's gonna—

"Gonna—make a mess," he tries to warn Zhongli, but the man bullies him onward, uncaring, and so Childe has no choice but to spill all over him, hot liquid spurting all over Zhongli's chin, neck and chest, wetting his hand and the blankets beneath them. Zhongli, to his credit, doesn't stop fucking into him, not until the last wave of squirt has been coaxed out from its hiding place, and it's only then that Childe goes boneless, too fucked out to even make a noise.

He stares blearily at the canopy of Zhongli's bed, trying to catch his breath as Zhongli carefully pulls free. He can't even hiss in surprise when Zhongli's tongue laps softly over his swollen cunt, licking him clean, trying carefully not to overstimulate him anymore. Feels good, too good to argue against, so he lets his eyes fall closed for a moment and just doesn't think about anything.

Zhongli comes to lay alongside him after dismissing the construct and delicately prying Childe's hand from his antler, and the warmth of his body settling close is everything Childe wants. He summons the last of his energy to turn on his side and nuzzle closer, burying his nose in Zhongli's chest.

"You did so well, Ajax," Zhongli says, voice low and still clearly aroused, and the praise makes Childe's entire body sing. "I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did."

He's purring again, wrapping his strong arm around Childe's shoulders with a soothing noise, and he smells like cunt. Childe thinks he might explode in a whole new way.

"Put it inside me 'gain," he murmurs, pawing at Zhongli's waist, slinging a heavy leg over the other man's hips. "Know you're still hard."

"After I've just cleaned it all from you?" Zhongli protests, but it's clearly a token effort. He is undeniably every bit as aroused as before, twitching against Childe's wet inner thigh. It'd be so easy to slip in, and they both know it.

"Yeah," Childe murmurs, rocking his hips forward. "Want you t' do it again. Like it inside."

Zhongli gives in without any more encouragement, hoisting Childe's leg higher and clutching his ass with a broad hand, two fingers still sticky from where they'd been inside, and slides home easy as anything. It isn't long before he's rolled Childe onto his back and settled atop him once more, thrusting slow and languid.

"Ajax…" he says, and then trails off, mouthing along Childe's temple until they wind up kissing again, tongues tangling lazily. Childe doesn't want this to end, hovering in this dreamlike state where Zhongli's body is warm and solid above him, hips pressing him into the bed as that glorious cock keeps him plugged inside. It isn't all that long before Zhongli picks up the pace, his hips driving harder and his breath coming faster.

"Yeah, like that," Childe murmurs, and something inside him goes a little ballistic when Zhongli's hand encircles his wrist. "Fill me back up. You do it so good."

"Ajax," comes the hissed response, and then Zhongli's rhythm stutters and he fucks in deep, shuddering hard as he succumbs to his own climax. Like before, it seems to pump out of him in wave after wave, until Childe can feel it overflowing and running down the crease of his ass.

No wonder the man's so desperate to breed, Childe thinks semi-hysterically. Even in Zhongli's most human form, he's built to fuck. And this entire time, he's been hiding all that under those buttoned-up, pressed suits and gloves. Now that he knows what lurks underneath, he's never going to look at Zhongli fully-dressed the same.

Zhongli gives a final shiver, then lifts his head to look at Childe. There's something feral, animalistic in his eyes for a moment before the haze clears. Childe doesn't think he'll ever stop being hungry for those little glimpses of Zhongli's inner nature. Just like before, how he savored catching the rare glimpse of pale wrist; it's become his new favorite tease.

"Damn…" Childe says, because what else can he say? He gives Zhongli a lazy grin. "Alright, so maybe I won't write off Liyue just yet. Can't remember the last time I came that hard."

Zhongli's face breaks into a smug grin, and then he clears his throat and looks aside, as if trying to hide it. "I am glad to hear it," he says, clearly trying to act all prim and proper, but Childe isn't buying it for a damned moment. The old dragon is practically preening, as well he should be. "Though… I suppose I ought to draw you another bath, now that I've gone and spoiled your first one."

Childe snickers, pulling him in for a kiss, grinning against his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure. Just lemme get my legs back, alright? I'm not letting you watch me wobble and fall on my ass after all that." Right on cue, an aftershock sends tremors through his thighs, and Zhongli just looks even more pleased— verging on predatory.

"Who said you would have to walk?"

xx

Chapter Text

xx

The question soon arises of what to do come nightfall. In the aftermath of their second round in less than twenty-hour hours (or was it technically their third?) Childe finds himself once more soaking in a bath and wondering if he even has it in him to take Zhongli again that evening, were the consultant to resume his wandering and stage a repeat of their first encounter.

Is it possible Zhongli's draconic subconsciousness might finally be satisfied enough to sleep through the night? Or will it be even more amorous, now that this so-called mating contract has been left dangling?

Zhongli hums thoughtfully when Childe poses the question whilst sitting at the counter, dressed in a set of Zhongli's spare gardening clothes and watching the man himself prepare their mutual favorite: slow roasted bamboo shoot soup. His golden eyes have been flickering to Childe's neck somewhat obviously every time Childe engages him in conversation.

"That is a question to which I do not have a clear or immediate answer," the former archon muses, a frown settling on his brow as he stirs the pot, causing more of the delicious aroma to waft towards Childe. "I did not attempt to sate my urges with another when this happened last, so I do not have practical experience to draw upon."

There's something just a little cagey about that answer. Childe tsks as he leans forward, propping his elbows on the stone-topped wood counter. "Mmm, are you saying that because you do have an inkling, but you just don't want to share with the class?"

Zhongli does not look up, merely blows on the ladle of broth he's about to taste.

"I suppose it would be wise to prepare for the worst," he concedes, then straightens to his full height. Childe watches him delicately sip the hot liquid, feeling a little warm under the collar thinking about the places he recently felt that mouth. Celestia.

"Well, if by 'prepare,' you mean, 'ready your ass for another thorough pounding,' then I suppose I'll have to do just that."

The look on poor Zhongli's face is so priceless, Childe yearns for a kamera.

"Childe— Ajax. If you're certain about staying, I must insist you allow me to provide you with a restorative draught. I did not expect we would carry on this afternoon the way we did."

Oh, he looks so deliciously guilty, what a rare treat to see.

"Aw? Is that shame I see on that stone face of yours, xiansheng?" Childe rests his chin on his hands, giving Zhongli his most dashing smile. "Don't worry, I can handle an amorous dragon, asleep or awake. You're making me think it's gonna be another rowdy evening; maybe we should nap after we eat?"

Something fond breaks through the abashed look on Zhongli's face. "Perhaps that would be wise," he admits, gaze lingering before he turns back to the soup. "I insist upon making you a cup of tea from Chenyu Vale. It will soothe any lingering aches and pains that the soup alone does not alleviate."

"Only if you're planning on giving me some new aches and pains," Childe teases, enjoying this new means of badgering Zhongli.

The adeptus once again flusters at his words before managing to smooth his expression.

"We'll see about that," he says, putting on a stern face, but a little smile peeks out as he reaches for the kettle waiting nearby.

He looks happy in a way Childe hasn't quite seen on him before. Sure, he's plenty used to the serene joy that the consultant holds for the many things that delight him. To the peaceful rapture that a good cup of tea brings him, or the wistful silence when Zhongli gazes upon a particularly moving opera performance.

This mood seems far more vibrant, Zhongli's movements and overall mien somehow more invigorated. Perhaps it's just the adeptal glow that comes with getting laid— Childe's not stupid enough to think Zhongli never indulges, but it's probably been a while. Or maybe it's more to do with his inner dragon finally getting some relief during its time of need.

It would be foolish to read too much into it, but Childe still feels an undeniable sense of pride at putting that extra, metaphorical bounce in Zhongli's step. This wouldn't be so bad, he lets himself think. Warming Zhongli's bed, cooking for each other. A strangely domestic little dream— punctuated with healthy bouts of sparring and knocking out bandits and ruin guards in the valley together, of course. No dream of Childe's would be complete without that.

He knows it's more than foolish to entertain such notions, but the way Zhongli looks at him when he hands over a perfectly brewed cup of tea makes Childe think that maybe, just for now, they can both be indulged.

After a while of puttering around Zhongli's garden to kill time while they waited for the soup to cook, Childe settles himself on the (slightly besieged) sofa with a full stomach and a grateful groan for what ended up being nearly an entire pot of restorative tea Zhongli made him swallow down over the course of the afternoon. It's already approaching early evening, but he has a feeling that any catnap he can manage to sneak in will be well worth it. After all, he has more things he wants to try with his new midnight paramour.

He can't help but feel a little disappointed that Zhongli didn't invite him to nap together in the bedroom, but in all fairness, that would be a bit of an intimate overture— which Childe certainly wouldn't say no to, but it's clearly more than Zhongli's comfortable with. And besides, he can admit they probably wouldn't get much resting done…

Still, despite his fatigue, Childe finds it impossible to nod off right away. His borrowed clothes smell like the sachets Zhongli keeps in his chests of drawers— it's impossible not to think of him any time Childe shifts and catches another waft of that distinct, faintly spiced scent.

And he can't stop thinking about the way Zhongli so eagerly fucked him this morning; his low, encouraging voice and his firm grip, the intense arousal in his eyes. The way he said Childe's name and spilled inside him so readily at the mildest of provocation. How he moaned with his mouth between Childe's legs, his draconic tongue pushing so deep inside that Childe saw entirely new constellations of stars and made a horrible mess of the blankets.

Getting to have him while fully conscious had erased any doubt that Zhongli had wanted to bed him all along, and now Childe is finally alone and reeling with his thoughts, somehow still longing for more.

It's staggering to think how much has changed between them over the course of a single day, and a little embarrassing to admit how much more he still wants. Zhongli's eyes lingering on his bitten neck… ahhh, it's doing things to Childe's heart and dick it shouldn't have any right to.

He sighs, restless, and idly rubs between his legs to stave off the ache. Tries not to think about returning those fateful bites with both of Zhongli's cocks deep inside him; tries not to imagine what being Zhongli's mate would feel like. Having him awake while transformed, whispering encouraging, lovely filth as he fills Childe with far more than just his spend; as he uses Childe's body as an incubator. A warm, secret place to keep his offspring.

Aghhhh. Tsaritsa have mercy, he really must be losing his mind if the thought of Zhongli doing that isn't enough to kill his arousal. As much as Childe adores his little siblings and had always loved growing up in a big family, never before has he been terribly into the thought of making babies, himself— never mind getting off on the idea.

Still… he's had plenty of naughty thoughts about Zhongli's draconic form after his encounter with the Exuvia, his hasty masturbation session just the other day being just the latest example. Is it any real wonder this is all doing strange things for him?

Childe huffs and stares at the ceiling in the waning light, forcing himself to lay still, to refrain from getting up and crawling into Zhongli's bed with him. Maybe it's just some weird lingering effect of letting Zhongli cum inside him several times… some kind of adeptal mind control that's making him crave the most obscene things.

He wouldn't be surprised by much of anything anymore.

Childe wakes with a start. He hadn't even realized he'd started to nod off, but it's completely dark in the living room, save for the soft glow of a table lamp. The reason for his abrupt waking becomes obvious; Zhongli is on his knees beside the sofa and his horned head is bent forward, resting atop Childe's stomach. His face is obscured by his arm, as if he's trying to hide from the fact that he's practically clinging to Childe's waist.

After taking a breath to calm his racing heart, Childe realizes there are golden-brown motes of Geo hovering around Zhongli once more, just like last night. His skin is glowing again, the tattoo-like sigils showing right through the thin fabric of his silken tunic and loose trousers. When Childe looks down to the side, he can see the illuminated, incorporeal outline of Zhongli's tufted tail shifting against the floorboards, and his throat tightens around a sudden lump of anticipation.

Zhongli had partially transformed this morning, but Childe has yet to see him with the tail while he was fully awake and cognizant. Does this mean…?

"Zhongli?" He's hesitant to speak too loudly, but he reaches out to stroke his fingertips over Zhongli's shoulder. "Are you alright? You with me?"

Zhongli's back rises and falls with a deep breath. He doesn't respond at first, his face still buried against Childe's stomach, and Childe is starting to think his nightly wanderings have begun early when that low, dulcet voice finally replies.

"Forgive me, dear Ajax…" The golden antlers shimmer as Zhongli raises his head. His eyes are blown, burning brightly as molten mora, but it's not the same distant glow they displayed when he was sleepwalking last night. Childe's heart pounds to realize he's lucid. "I found myself drawn here and could not summon the will to deny my urges."

He looks so gorgeous like this, burnished copper hair framing his cheeks and spilling loose over his back, his handsome face flushed and his cheek ever so slightly pillow-creased. Had he awoken from a dream? Did he sleep at all? Childe finds himself struggling to find words to respond. He knows Zhongli's just talking about sex, about the urges and demands of his inner self, but for a moment he feels delusional enough to let himself think it's more.

"It's fine," he finally settles on, sitting up against the pillow with care so he doesn't oust Zhongli, who begins to draw back regardless. "Hey, hey— you don't have to leave. You can stay." He squeezes Zhongli's shoulder. "I don't mind."

Zhongli glances at him furtively, like a guilty dog, then huffs out a beleaguered laugh as he closes his eyes and furrows his dark brows, holding himself still as his hands tighten in the blanket covering Childe's waist.

"I did not expect this to pose such difficulty," he confesses a moment later, eyes still closed. "But your scent… it called to me."

Childe's pulse jumps upward. Can Zhongli tell when he's reacting to his words? Hear it somehow, how Childe's heart races? If he can smell Childe's presence from another room away, who knows what other heightened senses he might possess in this form.

"Is that… bad?"

Zhongli opens his eyes and looks at him with a serious expression. Combined with the flush in his cheeks, it's downright adorable. "My body seems to be under the impression that it has unfinished business with you, despite our earlier activities. Thankfully, it has already done the worst it can…"

And here his gaze flickers once again to Childe's neck, his fluster visibly growing. Childe watches in fascination as Zhongli takes a steadying breath, then looks away. His tail swishes against the floorboards like that of an irritated cat. It's strange to witness more and more of these moments of Zhongli getting worked up; Childe is beginning to appreciate the considerable turmoil behind that placid exterior, whether Zhongli means to let him or not.

"Does it hurt or something?" Childe tries to rub his shoulder reassuringly. He can't help but want to comfort. "You're not suffering, are you? I don't know how these things work."

Zhongli's mouth presses thin for a moment. He doesn't meet Childe's gaze. "I can certainly bear it," he says, slowly. "It is a bittersweet sensation. I dislike being so ruled by instinct, but such things are beyond even my power to circumvent entirely. I apologize for my weakness." He says it so stiffly that Childe knows he must be chastising himself. That's something he knows a thing or two about.

"Well, I don't mind it," he says, firmly. "You've got nothing to feel sorry for, xiansheng." Punctuating his words with a squeeze to Zhongli's shoulder, he dares to reach further and trail his fingers through Zhongli's hair, tucking a loose strand behind his pointed ear— wait, have they always been pointed in this form?— and feeling too many things to possibly put into words.

Like he's maybe just betrayed a little too much with that tender gesture.

Zhongli's mouth twitches, but he doesn't seem upset with Childe; his aggravation seems fixed upon himself. "I appreciate your tolerance, my dearest friend."

"It's not tolerance," Childe insists, smarting a little at the continued use of that annoying title. He doesn't just want to be friends, he wants— aghhh, too many things. "I told you, I'm here to help! And it's hardly been a chore to let you to touch me; I mean, look at you. I was serious when I said that it's rare anyone can keep up with me! The fact you had to strip your entire bed because of me should be proof enough that I've been enjoying myself."

Zhongli returns his gaze then, his eyes flickering over Childe's face as if to assess any falsehoods. Childe holds fast despite the burning flush he can feel in his cheeks, stubborn til the end— wondering how the Abyss he's going to manage to keep convincing Zhongli that he's fully on-board without giving away too much.

"You can bite me again," he says, impulsively, tilting his head to display his neck with a sharp, sneaky grin. "Would that help?"

Zhongli goes stiff. "I—" And then he stammers, so out of character for him that it makes Childe go a little dizzy at how badly he wants to just tug Zhongli closer and maul him. "Childe, you shouldn't— even if you do not return the marks, that will only make it worse."

"Yeah, well, we're doing all this to appease your dragon instincts, right?" Childe sits up further, tugging his borrowed linen shirt open wide enough to display the swath of his bruised collarbone. "And like you said, you can hardly do any worse, right? No point in half-assing it. You're still awake right now, so maybe this'll satisfy you properly for the night." He hesitates for a moment, then decides to hell with it. "And it's Ajax when it's just us, remember?"

A low growl rumbles up from Zhongli's throat— one that clearly catches him by surprise. "Ajax…" His hands clutch tighter and he looks like he wants to crawl atop the sofa and eat Childe alive, which is doing very interesting things to Childe's pussy. "Now you are tormenting me."

"It won't be torment if you just give in," Childe says, feeling like he's holding the entirety of Teyvat in his hands. Having a god practically begging at his feet is a heady sensation, and one he's not about to waste. Feeling bold, he adds, "that's an order, Zhongli. Mark me again."

Zhongli is straddling him in the next second, faster than a blink, pulling the light blanket aside and pushing Childe back down into the cushions as his mouth seeks out Childe's throat and his hand finds Childe's wrist. His groan of relief is long and deeply felt, like he's been trying so hard to hold himself back and Childe has finally snapped his leash.

Fuck.

Childe bucks up underneath him at the feel of his tongue, long and hot and textured as it sweeps over his throat and down to the juncture of his neck. He groans as Zhongli laps and sucks intently over one of the healed-over bites, the bruisy sensation sending a pang of desperate need between his legs. Zhongli rumbles in response, pinning Childe's squirming hips with his own. It's easy to feel his dual hardnesses coming to life through the remaining few layers of fabric between them, and fuck if he isn't already half-drenched from the tension alone.

He has no idea what they're doing, all he knows is he wants more of it.

"Ajax…" Zhongli says in a far-away voice laden with desire. "Say it— again—"

He might be slipping into another trance, Childe isn't sure, but he's happy to oblige as he grips the back of Zhongli's neck with the hand that isn't being pinned to the sofa and tilts his own head further to the side in invitation.

"Mark me," he says again, firm— slipping into the voice he adopts when training new Fatui recruits. His Harbinger authority rises to his bidding even as his heart thuds and his head goes woozy like he's about to faint. "Claim what's yours, Morax."

Zhongli's sharp eyeteeth break skin with an obscene moan, his grip on Childe's wrist and hand tightening as he grinds down against Childe's pelvis. The bright flush of pain is nearly orgasmic, sending Childe hurtling towards ecstasy with terrifying speed— except he's not afraid at all, because he wants it, he wants it so bad. Just like this, so perfect like this.

He grips Zhongli's neck to hold him in place, whining at how goddamn good it feels, writhing beneath him. He feels Zhongli's tail wrapping around his ankle and foot, like the Adeptus Prime can't let a single part of him go untouched.

"Zhongli— my god." And he means that as literally as one can. Being bitten and clawed up was delicious enough when Zhongli was asleep for it; like this, knowing he's fully conscious and still wants to bloody Childe's flesh just as badly as before… Childe is losing his mind. "More. Mark me everywhere, fuck."

Zhongli licks at his neck with fervor, then bites again just a little higher up. Childe moans with shameless abandon; he's known for a long time that he likes pain, but this is pure bliss pumping through his veins. He needs their clothes off, he needs Zhongli to—

"Inside," he urges, suddenly. "Need you inside me when you do that, I swear by the damned Abyss, I'll cum so hard if you do that while you fuck me."

Zhongli makes a ragged noise, grinding down hard enough for Childe to see stars. His prim and proper consultant, reduced to such a writhing, needy mess… it's more than he could have dreamed of.

And then they're working together in unspoken agreement, Zhongli sitting up so they can claw off each other's shirts and shove Zhongli's trousers hastily out of the way, kicked to the floor with the blanket. Childe doesn't even bother to worry about the sleep shorts he'd changed into— he's naked underneath them anyway, and they're loose enough to be easily pushed to the side. Or ripped off, if Zhongli feels like attempting a repeat of this morning. He wouldn't exactly mind…

"Ajax," comes the heavy sigh as Zhongli sinks between his legs, Childe wrapping his thighs around that trim, powerful waist. "You continue to tempt me— far too greatly."

"So get inside me already," Childe huffs, dragging him down into a messy kiss. His wish is granted almost immediately— one of Zhongli's cocks slips in the mess of his folds, still faintly swollen from their earlier activities. Only this time, instead of the large but perfectly human-looking cock Childe enjoyed this morning, it's one of the obscenely ridged, glowing monsters he encountered last night, heavy and laden with Geo energy.

It's big. It's so damned big, but thanks to their earlier romp, he's still well-enough warmed up for it. Childe sobs into Zhongli's mouth with sheer relief as it stretches him open once more, the other cock grinding insistently against the cleft of his ass, wetting the fabric of the shorts.

It's a blur of needy panting and groaning after that, Zhongli rutting into him with filthy slapping noises that would make even Barbatos blush. He presses his face into the other crook of Childe's neck to savor the skin he hasn't freshly bitten yet, a heavy purring rumble vibrating through his lips against Childe's skin.

"Bite me," Childe demands, scratching at his back, desperate to feel that bliss again. "Keep going. It'll make you feel better, so just do it." He thinks about how he bit at Zhongli's collarbone last night, before he knew what promises a bite in the right place could carry… how close he had unwittingly come to completing the contract. His mouth is salivating at the thought of returning each press of teeth, tenfold.

Zhongli's mouth is wet against his neck, a bestial noise working its way up his throat as he indulges, tasting Childe's skin before biting down right as he pushes in deep. Childe jackknives beneath him— or he would, if Zhongli's gloriously broad shoulders weren't pinning him down. The heavy scent of petrichor settles over them again, and Childe tightens his cunt what little he can around Zhongli when he smells it.

That's what they create, together. That's their scent, earthy and otherworldly all at once. Childe knows he'll never be able to smell the rain hitting the soil again without thinking of this. He's done for, he's absolutely done for.

Zhongli groans against his skin, licking over the latest mark he's bestowed, then bites higher on Childe's neck as he fucks in deeper with utmost urgency. Childe feels it barreling toward him, then. An oncoming impact far sooner than he expected, one he's helpless to escape.

"Zhong— Zhongli, I'm going to— fuck, please." His words turn into a shaky wail as his orgasm steals his words from his lips. It's a heavy, brutal thing that has him all but screaming the next moment when Zhongli groans and pushes deep, right into that perfect spot alongside his cervix. The sudden, intense fullness makes him see spinning constellations behind his eyelids.

"Fuck, I'm gonna— don't stop, don't stop," Childe demands, breathless, soaring. "Oh gods, Zhongli. I'm gonna spill again, I'm so close, right fucking there, please, please—"

Zhongli makes a rattling, inhuman groan and batters into that perfect spot with precision, each thrust dragging those devilish ridges against the other place just inside Childe's entrance that will make him spurt. He realizes how swollen he is there, how close he is to spilling over. How is this even possible, twice in one day? He can't hold it back, he can't—

"Ajax," Zhongli breathes against his bitten skin; rough and heady. "Show me."

It gushes from him in a torrent, soaking their legs and his sleep shorts in an instant. Every time Zhongli pulls back, more of Childe's cum squirts from between them. He's too gone to even care about making yet another mess— the ecstasy of so swiftly finding his release from just Zhongli's cock and teeth adding to his daze.

Zhongli's groaning with nearly every thrust now— the pressure is building at Childe's aching entrance, that same swelling from the night before. Zhongli must be getting close. Childe stares up into that beautifully pained face as he shudders through seemingly unending aftershocks, gripping tightly at Zhongli's muscular back, his blunt nails digging in as if they were claws of his own.

Ruined. He's absolutely ruined. How is he ever going to lay with anyone else now that he's had this?

Childe doesn't stop to think— he drags Zhongli down within range of his teeth and bites hard into the corded muscle and tendon where neck meets shoulder.

Right where he absolutely fucking shouldn't.

Zhongli jerks back hard just as soon as Childe's teeth break skin, hot metallic fluid flooding his mouth as he realizes what he's just done.

Shit! He's such an idiot, he just wanted—

"Ajax—" Zhongli bares his own bloodied teeth, flushed and almost furious, but then his eyes roll back and he's burying himself to the hilt with a deep groan, hips twitching as his first cock empties inside Childe and his second spills all over the cleft of Childe's ass, adding to the soaked mess of the cushion.

"Sorry," Childe pants, licking the heavy taste of a god's golden ichor from his mouth. It tastes not of copper nor iron but of some other metal entirely, far less sickly bittersweet than human blood. It tastes like pure elemental power.

He's drooling and reaching back for Zhongli's shoulder to lap at the wound before he can help himself, the heat of Zhongli's cum filling his belly as that familiar weight of a knot locks them together. "Mmhh— sorry, m' sorry."

Zhongli growls, clutching him tighter and pressing Childe's face into the bloody mess he's made. He doesn't stop licking, and Zhongli doesn't ask him to.

"You impossible boy," he chastises, but his voice is heavy with the satisfaction of a man who's just emptied his balls for the nth time that day. "Did I not warn you."

"I dunno what came over me," Childe tries to explain, mouthing at the bitten skin, although he has his suspicions that it's pure and simple insanity. "It just felt so good and you were right there and I just— I'm sorry! Fuck, 'm sorry, I won't bite the other side. I just… fffhhh it tastes good, why does your blood taste so good?"

Zhongli doesn't say anything, merely sighs heavily as he grips Childe and rolls them onto their sides as best he can atop the tainted sofa cushions— thankfully there's just the right amount of room for Childe to sling his leg over Zhongli's hip while keeping them connected, and he's able to use his Vision from its nearby resting place on the side table to whisk away the offending sogginess of his shorts and the cushions beneath. Not to mention all the slick cum clinging to his ass…

"It will take roughly thirty minutes for my knot to subside," Zhongli finally says, once they've settled. He's quiet, as if already lost in thought, and there's a tautness to his voice. "We will be locked together until then. Let me know if you need to change positions for your comfort."

"Mm. Considering we did this on the floor last time, this suits me just fine," Childe says, pressing his nose into Zhongli's chest and feeling more than a little guilty. It settles into cold dread in his stomach. "I'm sorry, xiansheng, I really didn't mean to bite you just then. I promise I can control myself— or we can put a muzzle on me next time."

He's half joking, hoping to lighten the mood, but if Zhongli sets that as the price for continuing to fuck like this, it's one he'll gladly pay. Zhongli merely huffs, long-suffering, stroking up Childe's back with the faint scratch of nails.

"I would not mind you partaking in such things so lightly, were it not for my grave concerns for your future." He sounds burdened more than angry, which is arguably worse. Childe's guilt multiplies. "You are so very young, baobei. I have lived three hundred of your lives already."

"Mm? Baobei? What's that mean?" Childe feels faintly drunk, truth be told, his mouth tingling with the remnants of Zhongli's divine blood. It's making it a little difficult to think, and he reaches for any distraction he can. "And by the way, is this 'knot' a dragon thing, or an adeptus thing, or just a 'you' thing?"

It's a clumsy attempt to change the subject, but Zhongli merely sighs, resting his chin atop Childe's head. "It is an adaptation common in oni as well as adepti with draconic and lupine yokai ancestry, wherein the base of the phallus swells to seal the entrance tight and ensure our seed takes. Unnecessary in this particular moment, of course."

"Huh. Well, I kinda like it," Childe admits. "S' nice being stuck together for a bit. I was so wiped out last time it happened that I didn't realize it lasted for so long." He nuzzles closer, faintly realizing that Zhongli had purposefully laid on the side Childe hadn't bitten, keeping that part of his neck safely out of reach. Probably for the best; he already wants to do it again. "I mean it though, about the muzzle."

"Mm. Or perhaps a gag to quiet that sordid tongue of yours," Zhongli teases softly, running his fingertips through Childe's hair as they lay intertwined. "All joking aside, I am serious about this, Ajax. I cannot allow you to make such binding commitments accidentally in the heat of the moment. I know you do not fully comprehend the seriousness of the matter, but believe me when I say that completing such a contract would jeopardize your very standing as a Harbinger. You must understand."

The scolding sobers Childe up a bit. He feels like a damned idiot.

"Ah. Yeah… right." He deflates, shame burrowing deeper into his chest. "Sorry. I really didn't mean to, I just got carried away. Seriously haven't had anyone who could match me in bed in… well, pretty much ever." It's not even an exaggeration. He's slept around his fair share, but he can scarcely recall names or faces or even body parts now that Zhongli's gotten his claws into him.

"But I won't do that to you," he goes on, voice firming. "It wouldn't be fair for you to be locked into something you didn't really choose, all because I was thinking with my dick for a moment. And I won't forget my vows to my motherland. Nothing's more important to me than serving Her Majesty."

It's true, but why do the words feel so bitter on his tongue?

Zhongli hums above him, vibrating through his skull. It's sort of weirdly soothing, especially when combined with the way Zhongli's tail seems to be absently rubbing along Childe's ankle. It always seems to gravitate there.

"As Prime of the Adepti, I would not tolerate my mate leaving my domain for long periods of time." The words are soft and somber. It's easy to forget for a moment that Zhongli is still locked deep inside him, keeping Childe's womb bathed in his seed. "For all my years and acquired wisdom, I am a jealous and possessive beast at my core. I was built to hoard and amass wealth in all its forms, and to keep it safe. If not for my selfish weariness of my duties as Archon, I might have hoarded Liyue herself for an eternity. It is no light matter to enter a mating contract with a dragon, even one in his retirement. You should not be fooled by my typical mild demeanor, Ajax. You have seen the truth of what occurs when I am not in my right mind. Until erosion finally takes me, I will remain lord of possession and greed."

Childe can't help but shiver eagerly in Zhongli's arms, eyes flicking up to the bite he'd inflicted. It's already stopped bleeding that golden ichor, the mark perfectly smoothed over like it was tattooed into Zhongli's flesh.

Everything Zhongli's saying should be his sign to back the hell off. To remember his sworn path. The oaths he's taken. The blood he's shed to get to where he is. The pieces of himself he's traded like currency along the way.

So why does he suddenly want to throw that all to the wind and fling himself headfirst into this? Why does it feel like a challenge meant just for him? Why does he want to be hoarded and treasured by the dragon lurking beneath Zhongli's polite face? He's already Zhongli's dutiful wallet, happy to serve the man to whom mora means both nothing and everything.

"Maybe I haven't lived very long," Childe says, licking his dry lips. Tasting the traces of ichor that still linger. "But even I know that people change, Zhongli. You might think you're still the same mean bastard who took no prisoners in the Archon War, but you keep saying you're not Rex Lapis anymore, right?"

Zhongli makes a soft, conflicted rumble, and Childe takes that as his cue to continue.

"I mean, way back then, did you ever think the day would come where you just wanted to retire among your people and have a quiet life working at a funeral parlor? Maybe you're underestimating yourself, just like you always underestimate me." Childe hesitates, then adds, "Maybe you'll find somebody, one day, and it won't be as bad as you think."

Zhongli has gone very quiet. Childe has a hard time not just filling the silence with more words. He doesn't really have a plan, here. He just wants to be able to keep doing this together— and maybe he's selfishly hoping Zhongli might relax a little and stop worrying so much about this damned contract. Childe can rein himself in and behave. He'll have to, from here on out.

"Perhaps…" Zhongli finally says. "But I fear there is little recourse. The only way to find out if those instincts have dulled along with the rest of me would be to enter such an agreement in the first place."

He sounds wary; his hands have gone still on Childe's back, no longer idly stroking his skin. It makes the girth of him and the pressure inside Childe's cunt all the more noticeable.

"I mean," Childe tries, "would that be so awful? Couldn't you just try it and see?" Oops, that sounds too much like he's asking for things he shouldn't. He backpedals rapidly. "I'm not saying it should be me, of course! I just mean, it's not like you to be so defeatist, old man. Where's the crafty Zhongli that I know?"

Zhongli pulls back, just enough to shift so they can look at each other in the face. It's difficult to read his expression— fond, amused, exasperated, tired? Perhaps even resigned?

"Let me remind you, Ajax: dragons and quilin of my ancestors' kind mate for life. Had Guizhong survived the war, you and I would not be laying together as we are now." His eyes crinkle softly at the corners, both wistful and something else Childe doesn't know how to interpret. "It is no small commitment to ask of another, even if perhaps I have become more lenient in my golden years. But say I have not; could you imagine being in my place? Asking someone with so much life ahead of them to forsake their travels, their body, their very independence, just to fulfill an old dragon's whims? All the while knowing they will grow old and die in your captivity and you will live on? How could I ask for the entire life of another when I have only a fraction of my own to share?"

Childe's eyes dart over Zhongli's face, allowing those somber thoughts to sink in. "Right," he says, filled with a strange burst of jealousy for a goddess long buried, though the aftertaste is morose. "I… I get what you mean. Still, it isn't your fault you are who you are. Just because you'll outlive most everyone else doesn't mean, y'know. That you should never have the chance to live like other people do. Just seems like a lonely future."

An earlier thought circles back round and Childe can't help but asking, "you never had kids, did you?"

Zhongli gives him a soft smile, shaking his head no. "Alas. After Guizhong's passing, I decided that was not to be in the cards for me. Perhaps it was foolish, that I never pursued such things, but… well. It doesn't matter now. While I appreciate you thinking of my comfort in my sunset years, I am far from alone. I have many good friends who know me as Zhongli and others who know me as Morax. I am not wanting for company. Your presence in my home proves as much."

Childe frowns, sitting up awkwardly until he manages to get atop Zhongli, who graciously settles down on his back so Childe can perch above him. His cock is pushed deeper than ever like this, and Childe has to stop and marvel in horny, stunned stupidity for a moment as he realizes just how visible the swell of his lower abdomen has become. He pushes down his sleep shorts even further to see. Zhongli notices it as well.

"Are these not bothering you?" He asks, tugging at the drawstring hem of the shorts. Childe almost replies that it's fine, but then he realizes the opportunity that's in front of him.

"Ah… yeah, they are kind of in the way, aren't they?" He allows himself a sly, suggestive grin. "Maybe you could do something about that."

He hasn't even finished speaking before the shorts are falling in tatters around them and Zhongli is unabashedly staring at the unobstructed view of where Childe is perched atop his knot.

"Much better," he says, voice graveled as he pets over Childe's auburn thatch of curls, then traces his fingertips along the bulge he's making in Childe's stomach. It makes Childe hiss to feel the slight touch— or maybe it's the possessiveness of the gesture and the look on Zhongli's face as he does it.

Their next eye contact is heated but brief. Childe feels as if Zhongli's about to flip them back over and keep fucking him stupid, but Zhongli quickly breaks the line of vision, closing his eyes as if trying to erase the image of Childe's body accommodating him so generously.

Trying to recover from whatever that just was, Childe grasps onto the thread that he was trying to follow. The point he meant to make.

"You know, you say that you're not lonely, but isn't that the entire reason you've been wandering at night? Isn't that what you told me, before?" It doesn't make sense that a content man would behave in such a way, not if that was truly the reason behind it all. "Why would your instincts make you search so hard for a mate if you were happy just as you are? Something doesn't add up."

Zhongli finally returns his gaze, resting his hands upon Childe's bare thighs. His smile is quiet and fond, the possessiveness of just a moment ago seemingly shoved back down. "Dear Ajax," he says, gentle as anything. "These are not your problems to solve. Let us not dwell on such things; I am already more than satisfied as I am right in this moment."

Childe flusters at the warmth in his eyes and feels suddenly self-conscious. It's almost worse than the outright hunger from before. He crosses his arms in front of himself, glancing down at Zhongli's chest. "I guess you got a point," he admits, biting the inside of his lip. "This is… pretty wild."

Zhongli laughs, the tightening of his abdomen sending little jolts up into Childe. "I suppose it is," he says, seeming almost smugly at ease now that they've moved on from the difficult topics of before. "I admit, I had my doubts as to whether you were interested in such things…"

Childe blinks at him in disbelief. "What do you mean!?" He gestures wildly between them, trying to convey how absolutely absurd of a statement that is. "I was being so obvious about wanting to bed you, are you kidding me? I mean, I know you can be stupidly oblivious at times, but even Xiangling has been making jokes at my expense for months now! If anything, I was the one who couldn't tell if you wanted to!"

Zhongli hums, clearly amused, then runs his hands back and forth over Childe's thighs before settling them on his hips. "Ajax, you must admit, you are a flirt by your very nature." His tone is almost scolding but his eyes and smile are fond. "How was an old man such as myself meant to discern which flirtations were in earnest and which were merely passing fancies?"

Childe groans, drawing a hand over his face in a fit of dramatics. "Oh please! I eat lunch with you almost every day, and I always foot the bill! I stopped letting my men pick fights with the Millelith! I forgave you for making me look like a complete fool in front of Signora and the Traveler! Hell, I even tried to learn how to eat with chopsticks just on the off-chance it would impress you enough to get me into your bed. You're just clueless!"

Zhongli squeezes his hips, looking downright mischievous. "Oh? And here I thought you were doing all those things simply because you were my dear friend." His mouth settles into something resembling a pout. "How disappointing to find out it was all predicated on your lustful urges."

"Oh shut up, you know it wasn't just that!" Childe swats his arm, then pinches his nipple, making Zhongli jump and bark out a very unexpectedly funny noise. He grins, pinching at the brown nub again until Zhongli grabs his wrist to stop him, then leans in and leers.

"Why can't I want to screw my friends, Zhongli? I've got a very big, thick dragon cock stuck inside me that says you're just as guilty as I am."

Zhongli doesn't even have the grace to look ashamed at this point, though maybe that's because he's still recovering from the surprise pinching attack. It's a great look on him.

"I suppose we are both criminals in that regard," he teases breathlessly, rocking his hips upward and making Childe suck in a breath when that thick knot shifts inside him. Zhongli's still holding Childe's wrist, but he doesn't stop Childe from bracing both hands on his chest as he continues. "I admit to having harbored my attractions for quite some time, but of course, I couldn't say anything before you knew of my identity. And afterwards, I did not wish to further risk our friendship or put our camaraderie under additional strain. I'm merely pleased to find out that the interest is returned, after all."

Childe just shakes his head, trying not to freak out overmuch at the admission that Zhongli's apparently wanted him for… what, nearly the entire time they've known each other? Bastard. Bastard! That deserves at least a little retaliation!

"And I'm pleased to find that fat ass of yours isn't just for show," he finds himself saying before he can censor his sordid thoughts. "Who knew you were so deadly with your hips, xiansheng?"

Bingo. Zhongli's face flushes almost immediately and he stares at Childe like he can scarcely comprehend the words coming out of his mouth.

"My…? Excuse me—"

"You heard me," Childe purrs, rocking his hips and delighting in the dilation of Zhongli's pupils that follows. "You think that fancy coat of yours covers everything? Hah! Hardly. It's well-known that Zhongli-xiansheng has one of the juiciest asses in all of Liyue. They say that more cushion is better for the pushin' but I didn't realize it worked for the guy on top— whoa!"

With an effortless heave, Zhongli's sat up, clutched Childe's ass and thighs against him, and flipped them on the couch so Childe is pinned beneath him, still fully locked together. It knocks the wind out of him just a little, and then he's laughing almost hysterically at the intense look on Zhongli's face.

"Ahahah! What?! You made your ass look like that when you created your human form, didn't you? Did you not think anyone was— hah!— gonna comment?! It's so smackable, I can't believe you aren't harassed in the streets on the daily."

Zhongli just growls, thrusting his hips forward and pushing his knot so deep inside that Childe squeaks. He swears he feels it in his throat.

"I know I shouldn't pay attention to your childish taunting," Zhongli says, low and playfully stern. "But I have half a mind to teach you a little respect, young Harbinger."

"You've already fucked me silly," Childe says, gasping for breath as Zhongli gives another thrust, dropping his hips down into Childe's with enough force to make a proper smacking sound despite how closely they're stuck together. "Gahhh! What, are you really going to keep going?!" He's so full, he can barely breathe when Zhongli fucks his knot deeper. Oh gods, this might actually come close to breaking him if the bastard keeps it up.

"Perhaps I will, you insatiable little whelp," Zhongli growls, and oh, he's making one of those otherworldly noises deep in his throat, just like he did last night. Childe's having the best déjà vu of his life. "If you still have enough energy to taunt your elders, it would seem I simply haven't worn you out enough. And, as luck would have it, I seem to have recalled something else from last night. Something you asked of me…"

"Whaa—?"

And then he realizes what Zhongli's referring to; the head of that second cock is nudged right up against his asshole, and oh… he's tempted to commit to filling the next twenty-four hours with even more of the most insane marathon sex of his life.

"Indeed," Zhongli breathes, low and pleased that he's caught on. "It would be remiss of me to leave you able to speak complete sentences."

Childe is incredibly on-board with this idea. There is, however, a question of logistics.

"But how…? You can barely move properly when you're stuck in me like this," Childe tries to point out, despite the fact he can't stop trying to rock his hips back in encouragement. "How are you gonna fuck me in a second hole when your knot is still in the first? And wait, wait— does that one do the knotting thing too?"

In truth, Childe still isn't entirely sure what all he'd been stuffed with the night before; the sensations had been too overwhelming to parse any one thing.

"I mean, if the second cock is only for, uh, depositing your brood, then there's probably no reason for it to have a knot, right? I'm guessing whatever mess it got all over me earlier was just to make the uh… the process easier?"

He couldn't bring himself to say 'laying'— it was just too weird.

"You are correct about all the aforementioned," Zhongli confirms, leaning in to nose at Childe's temple. Is he sniffing him? "The fluid it spills is not unlike your own lubrication— merely there to ease the way. And indeed, when left to its natural devices, an ovipositor would have no need for such a knot— eggs hold themselves in place once delivered, and additional swelling would only impede the entire process, rather painfully at that."

And then Zhongli pauses. It feels like a dangerous pause.

"However, since that is of no concern to us, should you desire to feel a second knot inside you, I will gladly make it so. Perhaps that will return some of your manners to you."

Oh, shit. That means he didn't even get to feel Zhongli at full capacity when the man fucked both his holes last night? Holy smokes, he had felt that immensely full with just one knot? Who knows what it would feel like with two rubbing together through his inner walls?

Childe feels his greed rise at the very thought, already summoning Hydro to slick the way.

"I definitely wanna feel that," he groans, unable to help himself. "Fuck, I'm so sorry for teasing you about your ass; it's a very nice ass. I would even call it a perfect ass. I know mine isn't nearly as sexy, but if you wanted to put something in it anyway, I wouldn't complain. Don't leave me hanging, c'mon. Let's do this."

"Do not speak so poorly of your own form," Zhongli chides, reaching down to cup Childe's rear and hoist his leg further up and out, exposing him even more. "I happen to be very fond of it, myself."

Childe flushes with eagerness— he's not blushing like a schoolgirl at the thought that Zhongli's been checking him out all this time, no way. Definitely not. But he doesn't have a chance to fire back a response, because Zhongli's angling his second cock just so, and then he's pushing forward against Childe's rim. He's still fairly relaxed from last night, and Hydro is truly a blessing in that he can use it to open himself for Zhongli— so despite the girth, the head starts to slip in just like that.

"Oh gods," Childe whines, trying to resist the urge to tighten around that intruding force. He settles for clutching at Zhongli's arms as the god mounting him lets out a rumbling groan. Even in the dim lighting, Childe's freckled skin shows up pale against that pretty charcoal color, hints of gold glowing between his fingers. "Y-yeah. Keep going. Don't stop."

"I don't intend to," Zhongli snarls, and then he's shoving his cock further in, those devilish ridges sending electro shocks up Childe's spine each time one more sinks past the tight barrier. All the commotion is tugging on the knot inside his pussy, and Childe can't help but make a satisfied, wounded noise as Zhongli gets closer to bottoming out.

"Gimme more," he pants, tilting his head back against the sofa and trying to rock down into the broad, clawed hand cupping his ass. "Fuck, yes. More. Need more."

"Demanding little thing," Zhongli says, voice harsh and graveled, and then he's slamming in deep, locking them tight together. Something new is already swelling just inside Childe's rear entrance. "Let us see how you enjoy this, shall we?"

Childe's eyes roll back and his mouth drops ajar as he feels it— the second knot beginning to push at his walls in earnest, filling him up even more. It's already beyond overwhelming, feels like there's no way to distinguish between where the two of them end and begin. His nerves are singing and sizzling, every single part of his body activated and humming.

"Aaa—" It's barely more than a creaking gasp. His whole body twitches with over-stimulation and he doesn't want it to stop, but all he can do as a means of begging for more is to tighten his hands on Zhongli and hope he gets the picture.

The moan Zhongli makes when he pushes both knots deeper is a pure orgasm for the ears. Childe didn't know just how thoroughly the sounds of Zhongli's pleasure would end up driving his own, but as the former archon begins to fuck him in earnest— the inward thrusts suddenly paling in comparison to the feeling of when he draws back— Childe feels everything else but Zhongli disintegrate from existence.

There's nothing left but this; nothing but Zhongli's body entwined and interlocked with his, nothing but the sheer overwhelming bliss of being surrounded by the man he'd give his entire existence to, if he only asked.

Childe's face is wet— he only realizes it when he feels his tears run damp and cold down his temples and into his ears. Zhongli's mouth is on his in the next instant, swallowing down his wails. One of his hands slips beneath Childe's head and cradles his nape, keeping him steady for that tongue to plunder.

He's never felt anything like this— their first time last night was mind-blowing, but having Zhongli here, lucid… doing this on purpose. Fucking the very last bit of sense out of him. All he can do is sob for how good it feels.

There's a rough purr vibrating through their bare chests, buzzing through Childe's inner thighs where they're spread to make room for Zhongli's muscled torso. A growl rises in Zhongli's throat when his next thrust rips a cry from Childe, quickly disappearing between their mouths as they kiss frantically, messily— more like animals than men.

It's only when Zhongli pulls back with a snarl that Childe realizes those eyes are glowing and the distant look is back— the man is gone, the beast remains.

"Fuhhhhck," he breathes, grabbing at his draconic lover's neck, trying to keep him close. "Zhongli— Zhongli." He doesn't know why, but he doesn't want Zhongli's consciousness to slip away so soon. "Ah! Fuck, come back!"

Zhongli's reptilian, slitted pupils dilate but he doesn't respond, only making another of those rattling sounds deep in his throat Childe heard last night. His eyes slip half closed, that long tongue peeking out to wet his lips. Childe feels like prey, which admittedly he's stupidly into, but right now he just wants Zhongli's conscious self back with an intensity that shocks him. It's not that he doesn't love this, too, but he needs something right now that Zhongli's ancient inner mind can't exactly give him.

Childe yanks him down into a kiss again, then nearly chokes as that tongue shoves deep into his mouth. He remembers it lapping at his cervix that morning and tightens around both the impossibly thick cocks inside him, a fresh wave of tears erupting as he pulls back and coughs. It's like an endless feedback loop, everything he does making him shiver and shudder.

Zhongli purrs louder in his ear, tongue lapping at his neck, teeth exploring the lobe of his ear. His claws dig in and Childe moans, voice breaking. The sharp pain feels good, piercing through the heavier sensation of being fucked so full he can barely move.

"Zhongli," he tries again, a wave of heat passing over him. "C'mere, come back— fuck. Want you. Tell me you can hear me in there."

He thinks he sees a flicker of recognition the next time Zhongli leans back, his nostrils flaring and his expression intense. For such a beautiful man, he really can look terrifyingly inhuman when his eyes go distant. Childe knows he'll want more of this side of him later— so much more. But he's spurred on by that brief moment of potential triumph; if he can be the one to draw Zhongli back out of his draconic subconsciousness, won't that be proof that they're meant for this? That Childe can stand as his equal?

Encouraged by this sudden thought, Childe cups Zhongli's face and thumbs over his cheek. "I know you're in there, xiansheng," he breathes, voice hitching with Zhongli's shallow thrusts. "C'mon. It's me. It's Ajax. Come back, Zhongli."

The look in Zhongli's eyes flickers again. His lips twitches upward, revealing a sharp canine, and Childe can't help but think about it again. The contract. The one bite it would take to fulfill it.

Zhongli really should have muzzled him.

"Come back, Zhongli," he insists, firmer this time as he wraps his legs tighter around Zhongli's waist despite how weak his thighs feel. "Fuck me as yourself, you coward. Let me have you."

Zhongli closes his eyes, a low, agitated noise coming from the back of his throat before he takes a sharp breath, lashes fluttering. "Childe," he rasps, and then his eyes focus a little more. "You…"

"C'mon, stay with me," Childe urges, patting his cheek. "You're gonna be so mad if you miss out on this again."

Zhongli gives a faint laugh, the muscles of his stomach tensing. His darkened shoulders ripple as he shifts above Childe, then finally seems to break back through his mental fog.

"Ajax..."

Childe can't help it; he surges upward and tugs Zhongli into a kiss, and this time he can tell the former archon is all there as his hips slow to a pause, giving them a moment of reprieve. Their tongues tangle together— one draconic, one human— and it feels just right. It's everything he fucking wants. All his, all his.

"Stay here," Childe pants between their mouths, pressing another kiss to the corner of Zhongli's. "I wanna have you like this, want you to remember it." He's showing far too much of his hand right now, but he can't help it.

"This form is fighting me," Zhongli breathes back, returning the kiss with another of equal urgency. "It is difficult not to slip when you feel this divine."

"Yeah, yeah," Childe shoots back, clutching at his jaw with both hands, needing to touch everywhere. He still puts enough space between them to glare up into Zhongli's face so the man knows he's serious. "Do better, don't let it win just yet. Make it wait its turn."

Zhongli just pushes through his cupped hands to bring their foreheads together and moan into his mouth, a slow roll of his hips leaving them both dizzy. "My inner self is as greedy as I am," he says between kisses, voice thick. "You are too great a prize for it to ignore. But— I will force it back if you wish… I want to remember this, as well."

"Good," Childe says, licking his lips and catching Zhongli's in the process. He's spinning, trying his best not to slip into a delirium of his own. "Tell that damned dragon it can— hnngh!— it can have me when you're done with me, and— ah, gods— no sooner. Ohhhh fuck me fuckmefuckme!"

It's hard to speak again, all of a sudden. Being stuffed to the brim is one thing, but when Zhongli moves with regained purpose, the immensity of the pleasure and the ache of being pushed to his limits has Childe reeling.

He's almost expecting Zhongli to laugh at the way he so quickly falls back to pieces, but instead the man just buries his face next to Childe's and holds him tight, rutting into him in a manner that feels almost desperate, needy. Not anything he ever would have associated with his cool, collected consultant. It must feel overpowering for him too, especially with how ridiculously wet he's gotten Childe and how much cum he'd pumped into him earlier— never mind having his second cock stuffed into an even tighter, hydro slicked hole.

"Ajax," Zhongli makes a muffled sound into his hair that almost could be called a whine. His claws clutch greedily as his hips give a deep, sinuous roll. "I cannot believe— you're taking all of me— so well. So very well."

Childe feels more overwhelmed tears leak from the corners of his eyes, streaming down to soak the hair at his temples. "Feelssogood," he says, only to end up slurring. "So fuuuullll…"

"Such a dear, precious boy," Zhongli's rambling into his neck, breath humid enough to dampen his sweating skin even further. His hips draw back enough to make Childe howl as the knots tug on both of his rims, and Zhongli cruelly draws it out before pressing back in close to bring relief, soothing him. "That's it. So— so good for me."

"Fill me up," Childe moans, feeling himself be ragdolled by Zhongli's thrusts. "Breed me again. Pleeeease." He's gonna lose his mind if this doesn't let up, but he doesn't want it to stop at any cost. Please just let Zhongli keep breeding him full and knotting him, over and over. He'll give anything, he swears he'll do anything to stay suspended here in this blissful, mind-breaking agony.

Zhongli rattles low in his throat, and his tongue laps more insistently at the bite on Childe's neck. A fresh surge of arousal at the reminder rushes through him— fuck, he wants it so bad.

"Keep goin'," he urges, breathing hard and trying to pet at Zhongli's hair in encouragement, tangling his fingers in the long tail slipping over Zhongli's shoulder. "Take— me— nnnngh, fuckin' breed me, goddammit!"

Zhongli bites him without warning and Childe's back immediately bows in an arch as he howls— which only makes him shriek even more because of how deeply it jostles the two knots warring for space inside him. His ass and cunt are on fire and his neck is stinging and raw, and he doesn't even know if he can cum when he's this stimulated but fuck, he might—

"Zhongli," he whimpers shamefully, feeling so goddamn weak. He has to get stronger so he can take these knots without complaint, he'll learn to do it like it's second nature, he'll let Zhongli break him in nice and good— fuck, the mere thought of being loose and relaxed enough to take him at a moment's notice is making him feel faint.

The object of his affections just growls back, lapping at the bite he left, overlapping with the original one if the deep, bruisy feeling is anything to judge by. It feels so good between the pain and Zhongli's tongue and how stretched open Childe's ass feels, how stuffed his poor pussy is. But something in his gut tells him to check on the god currently humping him into the sofa cushions.

"Zhongli?" He tries, and gets no response. He clutches at that broad, muscular back and greedily absorbs the feel of him for a brief moment before his strained attention is dragged elsewhere. "Zhongli— you're not gone again…?"

But Zhongli does indeed appear to have succumbed once again in the struggle for dominance between his conscious and unconscious selves. He grunts and croaks but doesn't speak, though his luminous gaze doesn't feel quite as distant when Childe, squirming beneath his tongue, manages to shove him back enough to see.

He's definitely glazed over, but Childe isn't too worried— he pulled Zhongli out of this state once already. With any luck, this time will be easier.

"You reptilian bastard," he whines, digging his fingers into Zhongli's shoulders. Maybe that'll get his attention. "Can't even s-stay— stay here for a— fuuuuck. Oh fuck, itssomuch—"

Despite his griping, Childe lets himself be mauled thoroughly by that hungry mouth, his neck and jaw getting the brunt of the attack. He feels overwhelm creeping in, like he might actually lose consciousness if Zhongli keeps fucking those knots into him like this.

"Come back—" he tries to get out. "H-hah— gonna make a mess of me like this." Hands scrabble weakly, Childe mustering his strength to curl his fingers through Zhongli's hair. A tangle of longing and frustrated need has him fully caught in its snare. Each lap of Zhongli's slick tongue against his throat makes it worse.

"Why'd you gotta— make me go so crazy for you," he huffs, aggravated and so utterly gone as he pulls tighter at Zhongli's hair. "Not fair— completely unfair— bastard, why'd you have to make me fall this hard for you— hngh!"

Childe cuts off anything else damning he might say and arches his back into the next thrust, trying to retain enough of his sanity to keep from spilling all his secrets. He finds himself laughing hysterically, high on endorphins and the sheer thrill of it. "You're messin' me up," he slurs, giddy and delirious. "Zhongli— aaaaah, you're gonna make me say bad things… mm, come back already. Need you back."

It all blurs together, the vision of Zhongli glowing and radiant against the darkness of the room, so much like a dream that Childe starts to question if that's not all this is, despite how open and full and thoroughly battered he is. Why would any of this be real?

"Zhongli…" He tugs the man down close so he can bite his jaw and lick at his mouth, plaintive. He feels insane, as if he's lost control of himself entirely, too cockdrunk and lovesick for self preservation. "D'you already know…?" He hears himself asking, cupping Zhongli's face and keeping him close, their noses brushing in an approximation of a kiss.

Childe's heart is ricocheting around his rib cage. He wonders madly if he confesses to Zhongli like this, whether it will be remembered later. The words want to bubble to the surface and it's only by merit of his innate stubborn will that he keeps them at bay, despite how badly he wishes he didn't have to keep this secret.

"You have to know," he moans instead of the words he really wants to say. Thumbing over Zhongli's lips and feeling himself falling even deeper into an abyss from which there's no return. "Zhongli… xiansheng..."

He kisses Zhongli fervently, knowing there's a chance Zhongli will be awake enough to understand everything bottled up behind his lips. The potential danger of not knowing whether he's laying all his cards on the table to an aware audience has Childe pulsing and squeezing around the thick intrusions keeping him stretched and full. He can't stop stroking Zhongli's cheeks with his thumbs and kissing him deeply, as if he were allowed to treat this man, this god as a true lover in every sense.

Zhongli doesn't respond to the kiss properly at first, just letting Childe do as he wishes, but then Childe feels something shift around them— some faint fluctuation of elemental energy that's starting to seem familiar. Regretfully, he goes to pull back, only for Zhongli to clutch him closer and kiss him back properly with slow sweeps of his tongue as if to savor his victory, the man having triumphed over the beast once more.

They eventually part for breath, and Childe thinks he might hyperventilate if he thinks too much about how bare he's just laid his feelings and the uncertainly of whether Zhongli has understood.

"Xiansheng…?" His voice is raspy and he has to clear his throat in order to continue. "Are you there?"

There's a soft hum of acknowledgment, followed by a low and smooth murmur as Zhongli speaks just above a whisper against Childe's open lips. "Ajax…" His voice alone is a caress, running down Childe's spine like the brush of silk. "Dearest boy, do not fret."

"You're back," Childe says stupidly, slipping his arms around Zhongli's waist and clutching tight. It's a bit pathetic and unbecoming, even juvenile, but he's giddy and delirious and so relieved, so unspeakably relieved. "You came back."

"I will not leave again," Zhongli says, firm and aggressive as if he's issuing a challenge, which fills Childe with a strange effervescent joy.

"Promise?" Childe knows he's being ridiculous— Zhongli probably can't entirely control such things, even gods must have their limits. And heaven knows, he shouldn't be so pathetic as to need such a childish reassurance, he's a damned Harbinger, but Zhongli's eyes only flare brighter in response.

"I promise you."

It's a contract, Childe realizes in the same moment that Zhongli leans in and devours his mouth hungrily— as if they haven't just shared a kiss, as if they haven't been doubly joined all this while. Childe wonders inanely how Zhongli can even still speak at all when his draconic tongue is so large, so capable of plunging so deeply. He can barely breathe, sucking in much-needed air with a giddy swoon as soon as Zhongli bends down to mouth greedily at his bruised neck, grinding their hips slowly together.

"You wear my marks so well," Zhongli speaks against his battered skin, so quietly Childe barely catches it. As if, perhaps, it wasn't meant for his ears. But Childe is built for eavesdropping; his cunt throbs and something in his chest feels as if it might erupt.

"I— I like them," he confesses, groaning and tilting his head as Zhongli licks over his throat. "I want more."

"You'll have as many as you desire," Zhongli says, breath cool as it washes over the wet trails he's left. He shifts his weight to one arm, running his palm up over Childe's hip to cup his chest, thumbing at the nipple. "I cannot reach lower than your throat while we are joined, but soon… perhaps I will leave more here as well."

Childe shivers as that teasing thumb plays with the hardened nub, clenching down on Zhongli's knots and whining at how damned good it feels.

And then … something suddenly clicks, despite the haze of pleasure stupefying his normally sharp mind.

"Wait… if you can give yourself a knot, you can get rid of one too, can't you?" He suddenly laughs— half a moan, really— and reaches up to tug at one of Zhongli's horns. "You sly bastard, you just made up an excuse to stay stuck together like this, didn't you?"

Zhongli looks down at him in the dim light of the room, his eyes no longer illuminated as they were when he was lost to his subconscious but still flickering with the warm glow of banked embers. His mouth curves ever so softly. "It's simpler to let nature take its course," he says, sidestepping the answer and confirming it all at once.

Childe traces down his antler, fingertips falling to Zhongli's cheek, thumb idly stroking the divot just below that lovely, kiss-swollen bottom lip. They aren't even fucking anymore, not really… just caught here together in a strange, stolen moment. Why is he suddenly nervous? Why is Zhongli looking at him with such a strange, inscrutable face?

"Is that the only reason?" He dares to ask. Zhongli's gaze flickers down to his mouth, then back up.

"No," he admits, a moment later. Then, before Childe can press the point, "Would you rather I get rid of them? I don't wish to keep you longer than you would like to be kept."

Childe swallows and wets his lips, thumbing over Zhongli's mouth directly. He's pretty certain he's already given himself away and Zhongli's just giving him an easy out if he wants to take it.

"If you just wanted to be close, you could've said so," Childe says, trying for levity and probably failing miserably. "I don't mind being kept." Understatement of his life, probably.

Zhongli stares down at him for a long moment, and then he adjusts his weight so he can rock his hips against Childe's once more. Their twin moans meet in the scant air between them, Childe's hand moving to cup the sharp delineation of that lovely, clenched jaw.

"Next time," Zhongli says. "I will remember that."

It has been far longer than the thirty minutes Zhongli deemed necessary by the time Childe finally collapses into the sofa cushions, weak from the last orgasm that just threatened to rend his soul from his body. He shivers with the aftershocks, thighs shaking well after Zhongli has left him vacant. Empty. Longing already to be filled again. He knows sex isn't meant to complete a person, but damned if it doesn't feel like he's being deprived once Zhongli's not inside him, stretching him to his limits.

The god in question sits back on his haunches on the sofa, a gentling hand cradling Childe's knee where it points up towards the ceiling. True to his promise, Zhongli managed to stay present with Childe the rest of the time— which must have been no small task, especially with two knots inflated inside a warm, welcoming body.

"Wow…" Childe finally finds his voice again. It's rasping and raw from screaming as Zhongli fucked him mercilessly, stretching him to the brink all through his climax. "That was… h-hah… you're a beast."

Zhongli hums softly. He looks well-fucked and a little exhausted, beautiful and otherworldly with his Geo-adorned skin and the faintly glowing curl of his tufted tail, still brushing against Childe's ankle where it hangs limply to the floor.

"The hour has grown late," he demurs, squeezing Childe's knee before sweeping his palm down the muscle of his calf. "I believe I have worn you out enough for one evening."

"Hardly," Childe huffs, even as he admits privately that, yeah, after the last day he's had, he's a little wrung out. Marathon sex accomplished. "I could go again."

Zhongli favors him with a mirthful smile, a quiet laugh below his breath, then slowly rises from the cushions. Childe drinks in the sight of him; the long tail of hair tousled and draped over his flushed chest, his darkened limbs and brown nipples, all that tall and lithe muscle. His abdomen, taut but still with that appealing layer of softness and sheen of sweat; his twin cocks now flaccid and resting between his powerful thighs, looking somehow perfectly natural despite their number and size. Every inch of him a masterpiece.

"I won't wake you too early," Zhongli assures him. "But we both must attend to our duties tomorrow, alas. Let me fetch you some water," and it's only when he makes a step away from the sofa that Childe realizes he's being bid goodnight to.

"Wait." He struggles upright, savoring the delicious ache in his hips and the fucked-out feel of his holes. "Can I join you? Since we've already…?"

Zhongli's face shows his surprise for a brief moment before it's smoothed over. "If you wish," he says, seeming to think his words over, "I would not be opposed."

Childe vaguely remembers getting up from the sofa and using his Vision to clean up the worst of the mess they made of the cushions (and himself), and then he's drinking a cool glass of water Zhongli brings him, and then finally he's collapsing into the cool sheets of Zhongli's bed.

"Sorry 'f I get clingy in the night," he mumbles, feeling ready to pass out almost the moment his head dents the pillow. "Or try to kick you. I've been told I do odd things in my sleep, sometimes." He's insisted on sleeping alone for many years now, never finding it advisable or enjoyable to spend the night with strangers, and he's filled with a strange sense of completion and relief when Zhongli slips beneath the covers alongside him. The bed is large enough to leave considerable space between, but the archon— looking like his regular, human self once more— edges close enough for Childe to feel his body heat.

"Rest assured, dear— friend. I will not take offense if you flail. You will not harm me."

Was it just him, or did Zhongli stumble a little over his words? Hm. Childe yawns into the pillow, then blinks sleepily as Zhongli turns off the lamp and leaves only the faint glow of moonlight through the windows to illuminate them.

And perhaps it's the darkness that gives Childe the courage to ask, "would you… come closer? Kinda wanna spoon. Haven't done that with anybody in a long time."

His voice is bleary with sleep but even exhaustion can't diminish his joy when Zhongli makes a soft noise of assent. "In which direction?"

"Wann' be little spoon so we can wake up n' a compromising position," Childe mumbles, summoning the last of his strength to flop over so his back is offered to Zhongli. He's fully slurring his words with sleep, but there's one last thing on his mind that he wants to get out before he passes out. "Don't mind f' you wanna have some fun while I'm sleepin', either. Can wake me up with one a' them knots of yours. Call it an alarm cock."

Zhongli's laugh at his stupid joke is both generous and gentle, ruffling the hair at the back of Childe's head. "Mm. I should have anticipated such an answer from you." It's said fondly, the approving timbre of his voice enough to warm Childe all through the night. "Rest well, Ajax. I wish you the most pleasant of dreams."

"Mmm. You too, xiansheng."

The last thing Childe recalls before drifting off is the feel of a welcome, solid arm wrapped around his stomach and a pair of warm, soft lips pressing a kiss to his hair, mouthing faint, unintelligible words against the back of his skull.

"Wha…?" he asks blearily, trying to sharpen his ears despite unconsciousness closing in. "Did you jus' say somethin'?"

"Sleep, Ajax," Zhongli urges him, and Childe does.

xx