Kids These Days | Zhongchi | Genshin Impact

One shot

Childe never backs down from a challenge.

So long as it doesn't cost him a life or too many limbs (can't tear down Celestia with no arms or legs now, can you?), Childe has no qualms putting his well-being on the line for the sake of a fight, for that surge of adrenaline. The chemical rush gets him high everytime; it makes his chest feel light and sends shivers down to the very tips of his fingers. Who cares if it hurts him? He'd be disappointed if it didn't, actually.

And right now, as he's standing in front of the seated Liyuen man-no, not a man, Rex Lapis. The eldest of the Adepti, the Archon of Liyue. Ex-Archon, technically, he has to remind himself with a bitter snicker.
Childe's standing in front of him, every nerve in his body wound tighter than a spring, waiting for the other man to say something, anything-but he's just staring. Sharp eyes focused and calm, gaze steady as ever and back straight, long legs crossed.
That feeling, that excited, nervous tingle creeps up the base of his spine, coiling in his gut and gnawing at his esophagus. The two haven't even done anything, and yet the tension makes breathing difficult.

"...So?" Zhongli is the first to break the silence, deep voice smooth as the waters gently lapping at the ports of his beloved Liyue.
"So what? Getting impatient, Mr. Consultant?" Childe takes a few steps towards him, calmly, as calm as he can manage. He's not afraid-no, not at all. This feeling deep in his gut, this something that's about to burst isn't fear. It's something else. Something Childe craves to unravel and indulge in even if it tears him to pieces.

"Perhaps. The contract states that tonight you and I would engage in sexual acts together; a proposal you came to me with, may I add."

"And a proposal you accepted-" Childe is leaning over him now, both hands placed on the arms of his chair. He can feel his breath. It's warm, far warmer than a normal person's should be-and that sizzling feeling, the tension, both inside and out of him, it keeps building and building and for a split second, Childe wonders if he might actually burst, if it'll be too much, and he'll explode in a shower of red and blue and purple and-

Zhongli pulls the young man closer, chin snug between his thumb and index. The distance between them, between Childe's lips and his, is infinitesimal. Their noses are touching and all he can see is gold. Gold like the millions of mora in the palace he nearly tore down in a fit of blind, hot rage, gold like the cor lapis growing atop the peaks of impossibly tall mountains, gold is his whole world and that gold envelops him, drawing him even closer.

"Perhaps you are nervous. I understand. I will not hurt you, nor do anything to cause you discomfort, so please do not be afraid."

Childe wants to retort, he wants to bite back and say that's not the point, but suddenly, warm, soft lips are pressed against his and his mind draws a blank.
Childe has only ever kissed another person up until this point: a girl back in his Snezhnayan hometown whose name he's long forgotten. She had soft brown curls and big green eyes. She was cute, shy, and Childe can faintly recall her bashful smile and the way her cold, chapped lips felt against his.
Those thoughts flicker in his mind for a second, before quickly being snuffed out. Those same warm, warm lips are pressing against his again, and Childe doesn't know what to do. That knot his chest begins coming undone, molten and hot like lava running down his bones and when Zhongli places a hand behind his head, grip firm as it is steady, he lets out a sound one could generously refer to as "undignified".

He's about to say something, but he's silenced by something warm and wet prodding at his mouth. Ah, right, this is how it works: Childe parts his lips and allows him entrance, the gentle yet steadfast movements of an experienced tongue unraveling him bit by bit.
The heat in the pit of his stomach burns stronger with each passing second, sparks fly and catch fire, and Childe inadvertently clacks his teeth against Zhongli's. A rookie mistake, but one that the older had been expecting. He lets out a sonorous chuckle as he pulls back, thin string of saliva connecting the two before breaking.