Eyes of Perception

Chapter 13

Even though he protested, Zhongli walked him home that night. He'd insisted that it wasn't necessary, that it was fine, really fine and that it should be Childe walking Zhongli home instead. Obviously, that didn't work, because now they were standing outside Childe's building, looking to the moon the way that they found themselves doing more and more, only in the comfort of one another and no one else around. 

It felt intoxicating, in some way, as if spending time with Zhongli could make everything else disappear. As if spending time with Zhongli could erase the fact that he was a Harbinger, a monster from the Abyss, a bloodthirsty killer, because when he was with Zhongli, he... he almost felt like Ajax, like the innocent happy boy who laughed too loudly and cried if he stubbed his toe. Zhongli felt like home, felt like a warm fireplace on a winter evening, like a steady flame that kept him safe throughout the horrors of the dark.

"Thank you for today," he whispered, the words only for him and Zhongli to hear. Private, because anything that mattered dearly to him should be kept private or else it would be used against him. "It was- um. I enjoyed it."

The stroll. The shop. Talking about his siblings. The kiss. Everything.

"Of course," Zhongli breathed out. "It was my pleasure." Fingers covered in dark brown fabric carefully traced over his cheek, pushing a lock of unruly hair out of Childe's eyes. The fingers traced down his jaw, then moved to his right ear. Amber eyes turned focused, unnaturally so, unbreakable concentration on the little stone of cor lapis that adorned him. A smile spread over the consultant's face, one lined with adoration and something Childe couldn't quite place. 

(It almost reminded him of those stories he used to tell Tonia, about dragons lying on piles of gold with a satisfied glint in their eyes. What a silly comparison. There was no gold here, and Zhongli certainly wasn't a dragon.)

"What, do you really like it that much?" Childe teased though he leaned into the touch nonetheless. 

"More than anything," Zhongli replied in a hushed voice. Well that just wasn't fair, for Zhongli to sound like that. So sweet and husky and absolutely heavenly. Childe might just get addicted to it. 

Childe snapped himself out of it before he completely lost himself to the comfort that was Zhongli. "I have to return something to you, actually."

"Do not worry about my coat," Zhongli waved him off without missing a beat. "Please, keep it on until you are inside. It's rather chilly today, I don't want to risk you catching a cold."

Childe raised an eyebrow at that, shaking his head in amusement. Almost subconsciously, he pulled the coat around him a little tighter. "That's not it, don't worry."

"Oh?" Came Zhongli's response, just a little more breathy than usual. "Do enlighten me, then."

This time, it was Childe who made the first move, who stepped forward to caress Zhongli's cheek with his free hand. Fingers that were trained to kill gently tucked away a lock of dark brown hair, and blue eyes that were trained to watch battles locked on sweet honey ones. To think a killer like Childe could be reduced to a bundle of nerves and shyness just by Zhongli's presence alone. 

His thumb grazed over Zhongli's bottom lip. Soft, he thought, his brain too mushy to think of much else. And then he pressed his lips to Zhongli's, this time properly enjoying the kiss. He'd been unprepared before, too shocked and high-strung with emotions to properly register anything but warmth, but now, it was as if someone had opened a whole new world for him. Hesitantly at first, he pressed into Zhongli, waiting for the other's response.

Was kissing always like this? What was he supposed to do? Just- move his lips around? Open his mouth for Zhongli? Was he supposed to do something with his tongue? His teeth? Archons, this was nerve-wracking. He should've prayed to the Tsaritsa to know what the fuck he should do when he kissed others, or at least read some books for research purposes.