Love Me With Your Sweet Lies [Zhongchili]

Chapter 1 - The Embrace of Your Lie

Author's Note: Please note this fic contains commissioned art. While there is nothing explicit, please do be aware of nudity in Chapters 1, 3, 4 and 5 for those who read publicly.

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Childe braces, slamming back-first onto the bed sheets. He plants his hands against the blankets, ready to propel him upward.

Get up, fight, never put yourself between your foe and the ground, whisper old instincts. Get out, get out, get out.

He needs to fight back. He needs to—

"Childe, you appear rather tense." An ungloved hand caresses the back of the taut skin covering his knuckles and concerned, amber eyes meet his as Zhongli presses him further into the sheets. "We do not have to continue if you are uncomfortable."

Fight back. Foe. Fight.

"Uncomfortable? Never, Zhongli, your choice of bedding is impeccable."

"My choice of bedding? That is not what I..." Zhongli pulls back, one knee resting on the mattress. "You are aware of the implications of the current direction of the evening, yes?"

Get him off.

Childe attempts to push the tension out in a sharp laugh. "Ha, xiansheng, there's only a few places two people and a bed are headed. I'm as ready as you are."

There's silence, and Zhongli stares him down with piercing intensity. Neither of them are unclothed yet, but Childe feels naked beneath him, and his body cries louder, go, go, go. His hands curl into the bedsheets, his stomach dipping and rising with hastened breaths.

Eventually Zhongli says, "Am I correct in believing that you have partaken in this type of activity previously? If my assumption was incorrect..."

"Hey, don't you go doubting me; I can take whatever you have to give me. I'm not some innocent blushing maiden."

It's the truth. Childe is no stranger to activities between the sheets, be it a convenient tool to access a target, or a quick tussle to let off steam during his recruit days. He'd always been on the giving end of the activity prior to today, but with Zhongli he finds himself yielding to every touch Zhongli presses against his skin.

"Very well, if you are certain." Zhongli leans down again and Childe's breath catches, his inner voice determined to ruin this for him.

Fight. Win. Escape.

Zhongli's hand slips under Childe's jacket to rest between his hip and his stomach. "Relax, please," he says, "or I shall not continue. If you are tense, it will make the experience painful and unpleasurable... as you must be aware."

Fight...

Dominate...

"Childe, are you listening?" Zhongli leans in closer, increasing the pressure around Childe's middle. It presses him down into the bedcovers, squeezing out each thread of tension from his body until all that's left is the silk sheets below, and a tender touch from above.

Stay.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Childe exhales heavily. He's still on edge, but it's under control. Releasing his grip on the bed linen to tug at Zhongli's shirt, he frees it from Zhongli's trousers and rucks it upward, his hands lingering on Zhongli's abs. "C'mon, let's have some fun."

This is apparently enough for Zhongli. He leans down, and their mouths meet in a desperate clash. It's all consuming, Zhongli tasting of the jade parcels he had less than an hour prior, along with a faint hint of tea, and Childe dips his tongue in for more, his thoughts offering a rare oasis of silence. Zhongli presses in, the solid bulge in his groin rubbing against Childe's rapidly hardening cock, and Childe groans into Zhongli's mouth, hips bucking upward to chase the sensation.