Eyes of Perception

Chapter 18

The killer headache he had in the morning was enough to make him regret drinking so much, but the painful reminder of his thought process was an even more painful one that told him getting black-out drunk had probably been the best choice he had at the moment. Still, he found himself rubbing at the bridge of his nose as the world spun around him, and he made a feeble attempt to stand up. 

Okay, bad idea, he should've been more careful. His muscles were sore, as if he'd spent the night on some uncomfortable surface. A glance around was enough to tell him that he was half-hanging off of one side of the couch, which explained a lot about why he felt like he'd been run over several times by a carriage. There was a clink at his feet as he stood, and he looked down to see two empty bottles of firewater, and he silently cursed himself. Drinking alone hadn't been the best idea.

Through extreme pain, he managed to get himself off the couch and to the bathroom, where he spent entirely too long doing his best to clean himself up. The feeling of cold water on his skin was enough to at least make him fully awake, and it was relieving in some way, but the headache from before wouldn't loosen up. Oh well, he'd have to ask Ekaterina for some painkillers later or something. 

Shit. Ekaterina. He still had to check into work today and fill out the report about his mission, and then catch up to whatever paperwork had popped up over his break. That was just wonderful. A glance out the window was all he needed to determine that he was already running late, and he sped through the process of changing into his Fatui uniform. His eyes landed on the marks on his neck and collar bone that Zhongli had left before, and for a second, he considered wearing the winter version of the uniform, just to cover the marks and keep people from asking questions, but then decided that wearing fur coats and turtlenecks in Liyue would be just as suspicious. 

Still, he made a half-assed attempt at raising the shirt's collar to cover at least some of the marks, which did absolutely nothing in the grand scheme. Well, whatever. Most of the bank already knew he and Zhongli were together, even if it was temporary. They shouldn't be surprised by this. He quickly grabbed the rest of his belongings and headed straight for the door, only stopping by the mirror to determine that he looked presentable.

His eyes landed on the hickeys again, and, involuntarily, he remembered that night. The thought alone sent a wave of pleasure through him, and he couldn't help but smile as he walked to his door, before freezing in place.

Holy shit, he fucked a god.

Holy shit, he fucked a god so hard that the god had become exhausted before he did.

...Okay, that wasn't a good thing to think about before going to work, but the thought put a giddy smile on his face. Sure, Zhongli was a god and he was probably just using Childe for whatever he needed and he'd throw him out as soon as he was done, but he fucked a god and had exhausted the winner of the Archon War. This deserved bragging rights. He should be allowed to parade down the streets of Liyue and tell them all that he fucked their god so hard that the god barely had the energy to move by the time he was done with him.

Okay. Okay, no more horny thoughts. Only bank accounts and numbers and financial reports. He was supposed to be getting over Zhongli now, not thinking about being under him. He marched for the bank, thoroughly determined to have a day of productivity despite his breakdown last night. He wasn't going to worry about that, not yet. He still had six months. Six months to enjoy with Zhongli and pretend everything was okay and to try and fall out of love before he got too hurt.

He hadn't even gotten through the door of the bank before the staring began. It was Vlad, first, who looked at him as if he dropped from the moon, and he convinced himself that it was because Vlad hadn't been expecting him to return so early from such a long mission. Nothing else. Walking into the bank only made it worse, and he found himself shrinking back from the scrutinizing gaze of Ekaterina as she pointedly stared right at his neck.