Double Trouble Disco Dance

26

"Why did you threaten them like that?" Zhongli ran his hands through Childe's hair as he lay on his lap. 

"I want them to go home." 

"There are better ways to do it." 

"Not if I want them to go home quickly," Childe insisted, rolling over to hug Zhongli's torso. "I don't intend to wage war but I do want to kick them out." 

"You may have ended up waging war regardless." 

"I don't think so..." 

"And, why is that?" 

"Because why would they want to fight me when most of them are attracted to you?" Childe looked up at Zhongli. 

"I don't think they're attracted to me," Zhongli laughed. 

"The King of Mondstadt certainly is..." Childe puffed out his cheeks and pouted. 

"The King of Mondstadt is after my intelligence, nothing more. He sees me as a valuable, and somewhat attractive, a potential ally. Much more suited to help him rule Mondstadt than a ruthless emperor," Zhongli poked Childe's nose. 

"Didn't seem that way to me. He flirts with you too much." 

"There is no need to worry," Zhongli continued playing with Childe's hair. 

"I'm not worried," Childe sighed, faceplanting into Zhongli (coincidentally, or not, right over his crotch). He inhaled a long breath. "I want them to go home," he mumbled. 

"I know you do." 

"Why won't they go home?" 

"They have yet to ascertain if you are a threat, my dear, and threatening them didn't help." 

"Highness?"

"Yes?" 

"How long are you going to ignore me?" Childe glanced up again, rubbing his cheek on Zhongli's crotch. He moved his lips to Zhongli's stomach, kissing where he could see from the robe not being closed all the way. 

"Is that what you were after?" Zhongli removed his hand from Childe's hair. "And here I thought you were just being cute," he smiled. 

"Highness," Childe paused before his lips could touch Zhongli's skin again. "Highness?" He moved his hand up to right beside where his lips were, shifting his fingers right under the robe. Childe pressed his fingers against the spot, feeling what looked like black scales. They weren't there before. Or, if they were, he hadn't noticed. Childe frowned, surely he would've noticed that. 

"Do they bother you?" Zhongli asked, covering them again with his robe. He didn't move Childe's hand. 

"Are they scales?" 

"How much do you know about the Liyue Empire, Your Majesty?" 

"It's vast and grand and currently has a very beautiful empress?" Childe sat up but didn't remove his hand from Zhongli's torso. "I've never personally been to Liyue." 

"I see," Zhongli adjusted his robes to pull them on tighter before ultimately deciding to remove them entirely. "They started to appear as blotches recently." Sure enough, the scales were in random patches all over Zhongli's torso. Since they'd just been training recently, this had to have happened overnight sometime after that duel. Childe's hand wandered over Zhongli's torso. 

"What do they mean?" 

"There is a legend relating to the founding of the empire," Zhongli began, placing his hand over Childe's. "The founder and first emperor was a dragon. He gave his life to protect the city from a falling meteor."

"What does that have to do with this?" 

"Because the legend states that once every few years a descendent of the first emperor will show up and protect Liyue from another natural disaster." 

"What's that mean? Are you going to turn into a dragon or something?" Childe forced a laugh, trying to stay calm. 

Zhongli didn't say anything but remained smiling. 

"What happens if you turn into one?" Childe's voice wavered. "What happens?" he panicked. 

"If I turn into a dragon, I'll have to give my life to Liyue." 

"You'll-" Childe stopped, not wanting to say it. 

"I'll die," Zhongli replied as if it didn't impact him at all. 

Childe hugged Zhongli, pushing him onto the bed, holding him close. "I won't let you leave. I'll lock you up in a secret room underneath the palace. A room big enough for a dragon." 

"Your Majesty..."

"Everyone else can go assist Liyue. You don't have to." 

"Your Majesty." 

Childe squeezed tighter. "I won't let you go. I refuse." 

"Your Majesty!" Zhongli grabbed his shoulders and spun him around, pressing him against the bed. He growled slightly, annoyed that Childe wasn't paying attention to what he was trying to say. Childe lifted his hand to Zhongli's face, cupping it, and moving his thumb toward his mouth, lifting his lip. 

"Your teeth have changed too." 

"Ajax, I love you, but I will not watch an entire empire burn when I could save it." Zhongli didn't bother removing Childe's hand. 

"Can't we find another way?" Childe's eyes swelled up with tears. 

"You are certainly willing to look but I don't know how much time there is or what we need to find the solution for. I don't know if another meteor is expected to strike or if I'm supposed to die in battle. I just know I've started shifting." 

"I don't want to lose you." 

"I don't want to lose you either," Zhongli kissed Childe's forehead. "But I will do what is expected of me for my home, you must understand that."