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“xiansheng, are you ready?” childe asks.
“why would i not be? i asked you to accompany me.” zhongli murmurs.
“right.” childe huffs and summons his bow.
currently, the two are standing behind a bush not too far from a hilichurl camp. zhongli offered to help ather by eliminating some camps around his once a week evening walk path so that aether can take a small rest. childe was informed later that day, zhongli asked him to come with and childe didn’t turn the offer down.
it didn’t take long for the two to find a camp, after-all, their towers stick out like a sore thumb. this camp is quite big though with two towers with hydro crossbow wielding hilichurls, a handful of normal hilichurls sitting in the grass with two axe wielding mitachurls. zhongli has fought worse before so this is nothing but if this were aether alone, that might not have gone very well.
childe aims his bow to the one hilichurl on the tower until his arrow its infused with hydro. he lets go and the arrow hits the hilichurl in the head, making it fall off the tower alerting the rest. zhongli briefly sees childe switch weapons to his hydro blades before he summons his own weapon. childe is the first to run forward, aiming for the hilichurl that was the closest. zhongli runs past him to the next hilichurl and throws his polearm through its chest.
the rest of the fight goes on in a blur of blood, geo, and hydro. zhongli has a few scratches on him, some drips of blood falling from the cut on his cheek. he stabs his polearm through the head of a hilichurl, finishing it off quickly. he wipes his bleeding cheek with the back of his gloved hand.
“zhongli! what are you doing?! watch out!”
huh?
zhongli hears a non-human screech and his head snaps towards the direction of it. he looks up and he feels like time freezes. the mirachurl has the axe held up high, ready to slam it down on zhongli.
shit . he can’t summon his shield fast enough.
his breath catches in his throat as he freezes in place, unable to move from the sudden shock of staring a giant axe in the face with the threat of his whole body being cut right in half.
then he feels a solid, wetness around his waist. he can only look down at it for a second before he’s being yanked backwards hard . enough to knock the breath out of him.
his back collided with something hard, and judging by the “oof!” he landed directly on childe. the force was enough to knock them both backwards.
“xiansheng!” childe yells, “what- ah fuck!” whatever childe was going to say, zhongli never hears because the mitachurl recovered from its attack. zhongli still can barely move, adrenaline flowing through his whole body. he can only stare wide eyed as he sits on the ground, his clothing soaked from when childe grabbed him with... whatever that was... a water rope? no. more of a tentacle? ... he’ll just call it that for now.
a very loud thud snaps zhongli somewhat to reality. he looks towards the direction and the mitachurl fall to its knees before vaporizing into thin air.
“zhongli!” childe’s water blade evaporate as he runs over to zhongli, nearly tripping on his way. he falls to his knees in-front of him and cups his cheeks. zhongli watches the panic in childe’s eyes as he inspects zhongli as if he were checking if he was real.
zhongli leans into the touch and rests his own hand on childe’s. “i’m okay. i’m here.” he says. childe yanks him into a hug, squeezing zhongli a little too hard.
“i don’t think it could have killed me. i’m a god, childe.” zhongli’s voice is laced with uncertainty, which does not comfort either of them. maybe it could have actually killed him since he is living as a human.
“i’m sure it would have. either way id rather not see my lover be cut in half or pop like a bubble.” childe pulled back, zhongli could see the beginning of tears in childe’s eyes.
“it’s okay, ajax, i’m here. i’m alive, i’m right here.” zhongli reaches out to wipe the tear that fell from childe’s eye. childe sniffles and brings him into another tight hug.
—
a while later when the two both calmed down, they gathered whatever the hilichurls dropped and were on their way back to liyeu harbor. zhongli thinks one camp was enough.
while they’re walking, zhongli asks him. “so what did you do earlier?”
childe blinks, “...killed hilichurls?”
“no, when you pulled me away. what was that? my coat is still wet.”
“oh! that! i can do a few things with my vision.”
“so what was it? like a...” zhongli pauses, “a... tentacle?”
childe stops walking and laughs, “i guess you could call it that! i don’t actually know what it is it’s just kind of... water.”
“could you summon it again?” zhongli asks.
“well, i don’t see why not.” childe says. zhongli watches as childe’s palm momentarily glows a bright blue before zhongli feels a wetness on his wrist. he looks down and there’s a small little water loop clinging to his wrist. another water loop forms on his other wrist and then they’re being yanked together.
“childe.”
“zhongli.” childe tries to stop his giggle, obviously it fails. childe jokingly put zhongli in hydro handcuffs. it’s kind of funny looking and zhongli’s unamused face adds to it.
“childe, really?”
“yes!” childe chirps.
the hydro cuffs squeeze tight for a split second before releasing. but in that second zhongli winces as a wave of... something he can’t pinpoint... washes over him.
“come on xiansheng! we’re almost to the harbor, i want to eat!” childe skips on ahead, calling for his beloved once again.
zhongli joins him.
he kind of wants childe to do that again.
— — —
the two return to the harbor when evening hits. zhongli told childe to wash up before they go out to eat. childe complained, but agreed anyway.
while childe was in the shower, zhongli hung his damp coat and button up over the back of a chair to air dry. he notices a few slices in his coat, he sighs a bit. he’ll have to ask hu tao if she can fix it for him once again.
zhongli walks to the nearest mirror and looks at the cut across his cheek. it’s not bad, but it’s a bit worse than he thought it was. he wipes away at the dry blood stuck to his cheek. he further inspects his arms and bare torso, counting each little cut he managed to gain today and ending with a total of seven. nothing too serious though but there’s too much dried blood. he really needs to shower.
he gathers a fresh set of clothing and sits on the edge of his bed. he wrests his arms palm up on his legs and stares at his wrists. hmm. weird.
he experimentally wraps his right hand around his left wrist and squeezes. hmm. maybe? he squeezes harder. nothing. he hums to himself, confused and slightly annoyed. he tried again but using his thumb and middle finger.
“oh.” he flatly says to himself as he lets go of his wrist. nothing is compared to when childe used his vision. he sighs. he can’t simply ask childe to do it again. okay. well, yeah he can. but he won’t! he doesn’t have the courage.
what could he do for it to happen again? another near death experience is out of the question. he’d rather not risk his life and terrify childe again.
— — —
the two finally receive their food and childe is drooling and does not hesitate to dig in. zhongli finds that amusing and quite cute. he still struggles with the chopsticks, even though he’s been here long enough to figure out how to use them by now.
“now now, childe. you’re making a mess, here,” zhongli picks up a dumpling with his chopstick and offers it to childe who chomps down on it happily.
the two much down in a comfortable silence. zhongli stars thinking though. he really wants childe to hydro-cuff his wrists again (he doesn’t know why) but... maybe he will try this.
when childe goes for his next dumpling (that he just stabs with a single chopstick and hopes for the goddamn best that he can pick it up. surprisingly, it works) zhongli reaches over and yanks it from him.
the offended look childe gives him makes zhongli laugh, “the audacity.” childe playfully glares at his lover. zhongli gives him one of zhongli’s dumplings to make up for it. hmm. maybe he has to keep trying? to which he does keep trying, but childe never even showed a sign of annoyance to zhongli’s thieving chopsticks.
the two finish their meals and head home.
“that was delicious! much needed after today!” childe chips. he’s in a good mood, zhongli notes.
zhongli hums in agreement.
“i could so go for desert though.”
“haven’t you enough?”
“nope! i’m probably gonna raid the food when we return home!”
and raid childe did.
zhongli made two cups of tea for them both and it was enough time for childe to hoard junk food and plop it all on the floor in-front of the couch next to him. zhongli simply shakes his head at his lover, amused.
the two once again sat in a comfortable silence aside from childe’s constant crunching and the sound of book pages flipping.
then zhongli gets another idea.
steal childe’s snacks .
zhongli knows childe protects his snacks. he’s told stories about how he’s fought scramouche over snacks before.
zhongli shuts his book and sets it down. he shifts on the sofa to lay on his stomach and slowly reaches down for one of childe’s snacks.
“xiansheng.” childe warns. there’s no threat behind it so zhongli keeps reaching till he grabs one of childe’s snacks.
“and what do you think you’re doing?” childe turns his head to face him.
zhongli lays there and smirks. he teases by pretending he’s going to take a bite.
and then zhongli finally gets what he wants.
out of thin air, a hydro tentacle wraps around his wrist tightly, which halts zhongli’s movement. he drops the snack and almost- almost whimpers.
“xiansheng, i love you but i will not hesitate to kill you if you try for my snacks.” again, a treat with nothing behind it since we all know childe is too in love with the man to hurt him.
fuck.
the tight grip the hydro tentacle on his wrist is just what he needed, but, his other wrist tingles from the lack of water tentacle squeezing the life out of it. he wants more. he needs-
zhongli reaches for the snack again with his free hand and in the blink of an eye a water tentacle forms, squeezes harder than the other, and stops zhongli from grabbing it.
this time, zhongli whimpers, finally. finally !
but his joy is short lived when childe freaks out, thinking he hurt him. the water disappears and childe is quick to spin around and lightly grab his hands, “i’m sorry! did i actually hurt you?”
zhongli takes a second to collect himself, “do not worry, i... i’m fine but...” zhongli trails off.
“but?”
zhongli takes a deep breath and decides to just take the dive. he’s sure childe will never get the hint. “but could you- could you maybe do that again. please.”
childe looks at him for a moment before his eyes shoot open, “holy fuck, zhongli.”
zhongli’s face flushes of embarrassment. but no time later hydro wraps around both of his wrist and it squeezes. hard.
zhongli whimpers again, “childe, i-“
“xiansheng, you kinky little shit.”
zhongli’s face burns. the pressure eases and zhongli almost complained but he didn’t have a chance because of childe pressing his lips to zhongli’s.
it’s far from gentle, all teeth and tongue. so no taking it slow today huh. zhongli isn’t one to complain.
it does not take very long for clothing to be discarded and for zhongli to be whimpering under childe’s touches.
“i can do other things, xiansheng. many things,” childe says as he sits up.
“like...?”
childe smiles but zhongli knows he’s up to no good with that smile. childe’s palm glows and a little water tentacle forms on top of zhongli’s chest. it’s splits in two and zhongli realizes what he’s doing a little too late. both the water tentacles sliver across his chest and attach themselves to each of his nipples and suck. as to how water can suck, he doesn’t know but he softly moans anyway, back arching slightly bc holy shit- it’s water- what-
and when he suddenly felt a cool, wet, and thick texture on his cock, he jumps, looking down at it.
“c-childe you fu- ah!” zhongli cries out and collapsed back against the couch.
“xiansheng, you’re really falling apart just because of my water? don’t you think it’s a little slutty?” childe says.
zhongli opens his mouth to say something but instead his mouth gets filled with water. thick and slimy just like a tentacle. he chokes on it for a second, his mouth being forced open wide and stuffed full. at the same time his wrists became bound by hydro above his head against the wooden armrest of the couch. zhongli moans, struggling against all the hydro that’s effecting him.
fuck. this is- it’s overwhelming. too many things at once. he cant stop twitching, pathetic little sounds constantly escape him as he completely falls apart and childe has only kissed him today. shit shit shit.
waves of pleasure keep flowing through him, or giving him a chance to ground himself or even breathe . he’s falling apart second by second due to water and it’s embarrassing. but he loves it. and childe’s lust filled expression watching him shake and write adds fuel to the fire.
childe’s eyes wander all over zhongli’s body, “xiansheng you looked so fucked out and i have barely touched you. we barely started yet youre this close already!” childe brushes his hands over zhongli’s thighs, spreading them wide. zhongli jumps from the touch.
“i wonder what will happen if i touch.” childe says reaching for zhongli’s hydro-encased cock. he stares at zhongli who starts shaking his head, making an attempt of telling him to stop, don’t touch but he can’t, his mouth is stuffed to the brim.
childe keeps eye contact as he wraps his hand around the hydro cock. zhongli’s back arches high and childe quickly works his wrist.
and zhongli’s releases a muffled wail as he cums. splurt after splurt of white mixing with the hydro that covered his dick. it’s kind of lewd. childe continues to work his hand over his lovers cock, even when he collapses back and trembles like a leaf against the cushion, tears forming in his eyes and spilling over taking the red eyeliner with it.
childe eventually stops a few seconds later and all the water evaporates. child leans over zhongli’s body to give him a small kiss, “you okay? you with me?”
zhongli says nothing, he whimpers instead and weakly nods his head. he hasn’t cum that hard in a long time, each small touch makes zhongli jolt and whimper.
“m-more,” zhongli props himself up on his elbows, “i want more. please.”
“xiansheng, you’re so fucking filthy . ” childe leans up and bites down hard on zhongli’s collarbone before sucking a bright red mark. he continues to liter zhongli’s body in bright red blotches and teeth marks till he reaches zhongli’s prized possession thats still hard. wow.
he gives it a small kiss, “i have to go get something love, be good and stay here i’ll be right back.”
zhongli whines when childe gets up to fetch the small bottle of oil they keep in their room. when he returns, the sight before him makes him groan, “you’re so lewd, xiansheng.”
before him lay zhongli (duh) except his legs are spread wide with one hand between his legs with one finger stuffed inside of him.
“i cant wait anymore, i want it. please, ajax!”
childe settles himself between zhongli’s legs and pours a generous amount of oil on zhongli’s fingers, “go on and finger fuck yourself, since you couldn’t wait for me you little slut.”
the name slut made zhongli shiver. he swallows hard and begins to pump his finger inside himself, feeling the warmth of his own walls. one finger becomes two, and two becomes three. childe sits back and watches zhongli finger himself. wet squelching sounds flood into zhongli’s ears and it only turns him on more.
“you’re so good for me. now turn over for me,”
zhongli’s fingers slip from his hole and he whines at the loss but he turns over anyway, pressing his ass in the air for childe to see. “please,” zhongli whines, looking over his shoulder.
“look at you,” childe’s hands grope zhongli’s ass, squeezing and pulling at the flesh. zhongli wiggles his hips, “ajax... come on...”
childe squeezes zhongli’s cheeks and pulls them apart to reveal his pretty pink hold to the cool air around them. zhongli cries, “would you please!”
“please what, my love?”
“just fuck me already!” zhongli growls.
“as you wish, my love.” childe grabs the bottle
of oil again and slicks himself up before roughly grabbing zhongli’s hips and pushing himself up all in one go, stuffing zhongli full of his cock.
and zhongli moans . his hands scramble to find purchase as childe begins to piston in and out of him hard and fast. he doesn't allow zhongli to do much but lay there and take it, almost just like a toy for childe.
and the thought of it makes him tremble.
"so good for me, xiansheng. nice and tight, just how i like it."
zhongli whimpers, "just for you, a-ah, ajax! only for you..."
with that, childe fucking smirks, "that's right."
- - - -
some time later, after zhongli's nth orgasm and after many tears and many pathetic pleas, childe finally lets up and asks for one more. zhongli whimpers, but shakes his head anyway. sometime during their fun, childe flipped zhongli to lay on his back and finally got to see the mess zhongli was. his eye liner was smudged and streaking down his cheeks, face flushed and eyes staring off to somewhere. all in all, he looked like he wasn't there mentally, fucked to the point where all he could think about was childe's cock hitting the spot that made him see stars every single time.
"don't worry xiansheng," childe slips his hands under zhongli's knees and pushes them up, bending him in half, "you're doing amazing. just one more, okay? i'll be quick," childe says but he thinks zhongli didn't hear him, only softly moaning with each snap of childe's hips against his ass.
"ajax," zhongli mumbles and weakly reaches in the direction of childe. the harbinger takes ahold of zhongli's hand and kisses his knuckles, "it's almost over, okay?"
zhongli shakes his head, crying out when childe speeds up to chase his own. he whimpers when he feels the familiar warmth explode inside him. when childe pulls out, the obscene wet squelch makes zhongli's cheeks burn. he can feel it leaking out of him.
childe leans over and gives zhongli a soft kiss, "you did well, xiansheng. so well. lets take a bath to clean you up, okay? i'll be back."
"okay." zhongli weakly says.
zhongli is pretty sure he fell asleep within the few minutes he was gone because him being picked up made him jump, "ajax-"
"shh, i got you."
zhongli lets himself be carried by childe, well he didn't have a choice. he's sure his legs are pure jello at this point. childe carries him all the way to the bathroom where a steaming bubble bath is ready for them. childe carefully steps in and sits down, maneuvering zhongli so he's sitting comfortably against him.
some time later after the silence and childe absentmindedly playing with zhongli's hair and when zhongli can actually think again, he yawns. "this was much needed."
childe softly laughs behind him, "i agree. also can we talk about your new little kink today? you like your wrists being restrained hm?"
zhongli elbows childe in the ribcage, embarrassed. "we shall never speak of that."
childe wraps his arms around zhongli's shoulders and pulls him back, "oh but i want to. you realize my intention was to save your life right."
zhongli sinks into the water, "i appreciate you for saving me."
"no i just think you appreciate my vision."
and then zhongli's wrists are suddenly pulled together. he yelps, "ajax! i swear to celestia!"
childe simply giggles.
one day he'll restrain zhongli even more.
one day.
and zhongli is all for it.