𝙍𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 [𝘼𝙐 𝙕𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙞 +18]

13: Vámonos a Marte

CW: Smut. 

If you want to skip it the smut starts at "but he didn't do anything to press their lips together again either," and ends at "Childe chuckled, brushing the tears from his cheeks." If you're on PC you can do ctrl + F to find it easily.

Also be sure to have read the "before reading" for this chapter!!

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Zhongli let Childe into the hotel room, stepping aside. Childe had stood still in the doorway, shrugging his shoulders and bowing his head. Zhongli closed the door once they were both inside the room, standing beside him and resting a hand on his back where the jacket still covered him.

"I'm sorry," Zhongli apologized, doing circles on his back, without pressing his scars. Childe raised his head, shaking it.

"It's okay, we've tried," Childe answered, finally looking at him after all the way back to the hotel. Blue eyes examined Zhongli closely, focusing on his lips smeared with lipstick, then meeting his eyes once again. "Can we talk about another thing? I don't want to be thinking about depressing shit right now."

"Sure..." Zhongli took him off his jacket, leaving it hanging on the rack. Zhongli glanced at the heels Childe was wearing, the redhead walking over to the sofa. "Aren't you going to take them off?" He asked, noting how Childe's heels were a little brushed by his shoe. Childe sat on the sofa, resting his elbow on the armrest and his head in his hand.

"I'll pass," Childe replied. "Aren't they look good on me?" He questioned, smiling. Zhongli nodded, sitting down next to him.

"They do," Zhongli agreed, tilting his head to look him in the eyes. They were silent for a while, Zhongli didn't know if several minutes passed before one of them spoke again, but the only thing he was sure of was that hope was over for Childe. He had noticed as soon as Ningguang told them the church was involved, how his expression had gone dark. And well, what could he blame him for? Reality hit them like a bucket of cold water, and Zhongli would be lying if he said he hadn't been disappointed too.

"About the kiss..." Childe's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and the memory of kissing him at the end of the dance flashed through his mind. Zhongli tensed. They hadn't spoken the entire time, and he had almost forgotten that it had happened because of the bad news.

"I'm sorry," Zhongli apologized quickly, looking away and feeling embarrassed. "I think I got carried away by my emotions, I wasn't thinking properly and—"

"Hey," Childe poked him on the forehead with his fingers, making him instantly go silent. The redhead made him look at him, cupping his cheek and forcing him to turn his head. "When did you hear me complain?" Childe smiled. "Besides, the smile you put on when you kissed me gave you away completely, you don't regret kissing me so don't apologize," Zhongli looked away, flushing.

"So you're not mad at me?" Zhongli asked, unsure about how Childe felt about it.

Childe released his cheeks, moving his hand to his shoulder as he sat lightly on his lap, knees on either side of his thighs, bringing his face closer to his. Zhongli's eyes widened, surprised at the unexpected action: blue eyes staring at him. "I want to kiss you again."

Zhongli stood still, watching as the other man approached at a tortuously slow pace. Their noses brushed, as did his lips. The redhead brought them together in a shy kiss, resting his free hand on Zhongli's cheek, and lowering his eyelids. Zhongli returned the gesture, pulling him closer to him at his waist. Neither of them tried to deepen the kiss, staying in a gentle and affectionate act. Childe pulled back a little after a few seconds, his blue eyes fixed on his. Zhongli looked a little disappointed that Childe had pulled back so quickly, but he didn't do anything to press their lips together again either.