Back to the surface

Yesterdays

Childe stared nervously at his cell phone. He had gotten into a bit of a conversation with Zhongli in the meantime, but somehow it was strange to be chatting like this now after everything. Actually, he had wanted to ask him if they wanted to meet again. But he didn't really dare and now they were talking about the weather. He didn't even realize that Zhongli could talk so much and detailed and was ashamed that he only replied with simple messages and some smileys. He took a deep breath. I'll just ask him now, he thought to himself, and was about to type a message when Pulcinella suddenly stood in front of him. Startled, he put the phone away.

"Hmm... I've been standing there for a while. And watched you grinning stupidly at your phone. Really funny..." he said, smiling smugly.

"None of your fucking business!" hissed Childe.

"Well, no need to get so offensive right away. I have new orders for you..." he said, walking towards him. After placing the stack of papers on the table, and getting quite close to him, he stroked his arm, neck, finally to his cheek. Childe just sat there upright, barely breathing.

"Thank you..." he murmured, perplexed.

"Don't run away from me... ", he heard him suddenly, very close to his ear. "I still need you..." He got goosebumps. Why, after everything that had happened, he could still trigger something like that in him? He didn't know either. And he really didn't want to let it happen, but it just did.

"You do already have the others and your plastic girlfriend," Childe muttered, standing up because he didn't want to be that close to him. Pulcinella, however, just laughed.

"Yes, a few helping hands at work and a pretty girlfriend can't hurt.... but you're a special snowflake," he said, walking toward him again. Childe stepped back until he was up against the wall.

"In what way?" came over his lips.

"In that way," Pulcinella replied, pressing him against the wall and kissing him intimately. Childe got wobbly knees and a fickle heart - and so he returned the kiss fiercely and longingly.

A few moments and several hot kisses later, he found himself on the table, where they slowly peeled out of their clothes as he felt Pulcinella bite into his neck. He thought it was hot, but after a moment he groaned painfully as he overdid it.... deliberately...

"You're mine. Don't you get any stupid ideas," he finally murmured, but before Childe could say anything back, he felt a hot touch under his shorts and groaned in surprise.

"But you don't even love me!" he poutingly defended himself while returning the touch. Pulcinella moaned as well and grinned at him.

"Ohh, so demanding. Let's make love then, huh?" he said with a grin as his other hand traveled down Childe's leg to his butt.

"That's not what I meant!" retorted Childe defiantly.

"You know that really gets me hot when you're like that, huh?" asked Pulcinella with a laugh, then began to prepare him. Childe wanted to answer, but when he hit his spot, only a lustful moan came from his lips.

"Ah Childe... love is a difficult chapter... why do you always want to be loved, huh?", Pulcinella kept talking while driving him crazy front and back, so that Childe couldn't answer anymore, but only begged with looks to finally get more. He laughed and looked down at him. Then he pulled his fingers out of him and grabbed him by the waist.

"Sex can be pretty filling too.... literally," he murmured, penetrating him with a surprisingly violent thrust. Childe groaned loudly, almost hurting a little. He clawed at his back and twisted his face before losing himself in a maelstrom of pain, pleasure, and uninhibited moans....

#

A day later, Zhongli had finally dared to ask Childe if they wanted to see each other again. The latter seemed surprisingly shy, but had agreed. And now they had a date on Friday afternoon. He had arranged to meet him at a cafe further away. Why Childe wanted to meet so far out, he didn't know either, when they had everything in town. That was so strange again, and Xiao could certainly have given him a multi-page list of reasons why he shouldn't go there. That was why he was talking to Hu Tao now, at least that conversation was the least likely to go wrong....

"Ohhh... how sweet, you're dating!" she said happily to Zhongli, "you made it after all, and without any help from me, I'm surprised."

"Yes, but now I could use your help," Zhongli countered. He had never been on a date before.

"Sure. What's it about?" she asked frankly, propping herself up on her hands.

"Well, what do you do on a date?" asked Zhongli, embarrassed.

"You guys want to get to know each other. Tell him about yourself. But maybe you should make sure you don't tell him so much, it might be exhausting for him. Otherwise, go for a walk and just have a good time," she said.

"All right. Am I talking too much? Anyway... That sounds nice. I'm looking forward to seeing him again," Zhongli replied, gushing.

"Aiya, I'm not going to say anything about that right now. You guys will be fine. I'm happy for you," she said happily, "Have you told Xiao and Aether yet, too?"

"Not yet," Zhongli muttered in dismay, "I get the impression that Xiao doesn't like Childe very much."

"Only because you met him in the underground. You must know, Xiao had such a difficult case there once. So it's not him, it's his superior. There's this gang down there called the Fatui, they are kind of like a mafia. They are responsible for some murders, thefts, illegal trade and so on and so forth. One of their members, called Dottore, they almost caught, but he got away and shot a couple of policemen. That's probably why Xiao is suspicious of everything that comes from the underground," Hu Tao explained. Zhongli looked at her with wide eyes. Immediately he remembered the matter in the backyard.

"How do you know about that?" he asked in surprise. Xiao hadn't told him about it. He wasn't sure if he shouldn't tell him that Childe suspected that the criminals in the backyard were Fatui. But if he knew that he had been in such a situation and had met Childe there, it would only make things worse. Besides, he couldn't remember exactly where the dubious backyard was, so what good would it do the police?

"He told me once. Maybe you can understand him a little now. But I don't think your Childe is a bad guy," she said quietly.

"I don't think so either," Zhongli replied. But he was not so hundred percent sure. Then why had he been there in the backyard too?