Zhongli finds it difficult to keep up with Childe.
CW: Smut
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Fucking Childe for the first time awakens something in both of them.
They can't keep their hands off of each other. Every moment, every touch, every stare is flooded by arousal and want. Just like the handholding, Zhongli has a visceral need to slather Childe in his scent, to fuck him full of his come, to bite and claim in the ways of old.
And Childe—oh, his dear Ajax—is enthusiastic in return. All it takes is for Zhongli to whisper something into his ear or drag a hand down his side, and he's spreading his legs for more.
There is a problem that Zhongli does not expect. He's robust in his being. He's still a god. But he's old, and Childe is an impetuous young mortal, leaving Zhongli to overestimate exactly what that entails.
His own stamina is... less than expected. Zhongli chalks it up to the fact it's been centuries since he last fucked, and even then, it wasn't regular. Childe is more than youthful, his wants are at a heightened level, and, adeptus or not, Zhongli finds it hard to keep up.
Embarrassing. He's quick to shoot and while Childe pays it no mind, it's mortifying. Paired with Childe's insane libido, Zhongli finds himself worn, ragged, and wasted. "Practice," he tells himself. "Build up a tolerance." Once he's more used to it it'll be easier to keep up.
And the only way to do that is to keep working at it.
Which, as many things are, is easier said than done.
#
Childe makes it both easy and difficult.
On one hand, Zhongli is eager. Raring to go. Getting him started is the easy part.
It's the follow-through that is difficult. If given the chance, Childe will keep going. Once is rarely enough; sometimes he demands to be fucked within an inch of his life, to be bent over backward twice and then thrice. And Zhongli will do the best that he can.
But there's only so much that he can take.
Like tonight.
Childe rides him, working himself towards a third orgasm. Once on Zhongli's fingers, a second time on his cock. Zhongli has already come once too, spending himself into Childe's slick insides that squeeze him tight.
Then, Childe leaned over and told him how good he was. "I want another," he'd crooned, nipping at Zhongli's ear. Expectantly, Zhongli's cock twitched. A moment later he was rolled onto his back with Childe across his hips, grinding that second erection deep. "Come on, Zhongli. Again."
He wants to give him that. Zhongli would die to give him whatever he asked for and so he hangs onto him for dear life as Childe moves over him.
Zhongli holds Childe with one hand on his hip. The other reaches around, fingers pressed between Childe's crack, feeling the slippery slide as Childe fucks himself. Come dribbles from where they're connected, coating the insides of his thighs. Childe moans, head tossed back, palms flat against Zhongli's chest for leverage.
"Gods you feel so good. I could do this forever." Childe bites at his lip. He moans. His breath hitches. It's a recipe for disaster—where this any other time, Zhongli would be trying not to tip over the edge at the sight alone. But, but—
His cock flags just slightly. Sweat beads along his brow and he grunts, in not quite pleasure but not quite pain. "Ajax," he murmurs.
"Fuck," hisses Childe as he drops himself quickly, forcing Zhongli's cock so deep that the air is punched right out of him.
Zhongli floats somewhere in the hazy aftermath of his orgasm and his struggle to finish for a second time. His thighs tense as he shifts, trying to thrust into him and meet every grind of Childe's hips.
But he's tired. His bones ache and his joints creak, and even if he's a god, it's clear that he has hit his limit. But Childe. Zhongli can't stop staring. Childe looks divine as he's lost in the throes of pleasure. He shakes with overstimulation as he fucks himself right through it, sliding along Zhongli's cock, letting it sink deep.
Childe's dick is red at the tip, leaking all over Zhongli's stomach. It bobs with every movement, with every rise and fall of Childe's hips. Zhongli holds him by the waist and helps him move faster, hoping it might be enough.
"Zhongli, are you close?"
He is not. The pleasure is there. It spears right through his gut, but it's dull, tempered, more like a simmer than the overheated boil that comes right before spending himself. Zhongli groans. "Ajax—"
"Come on, give me another."
"I—I can't."
Childe stops dead, Zhongli's cock buried in his ass. He looks at him so flabbergasted that Zhongli bursts into laughter. It is a terrible moment for it, but it's funny—Zhongli balls deep in Childe, unable to come.
"Um—"
"I apologize," says Zhongli once he's gathered himself.
"Have I done something...?"
"No." Zhongli's answer is immediate. He rubs circles into the scarred skin at Childe's waist. "No, it is entirely me. I'm tired. I know that you want to keep going but it's hard to keep up, and I'm exhausted, so—What's with that look?"
Childe is looking away, a grin cracked across his face. He snorts, trying to hide his amusement. "Wait, wait—are you saying that you can't keep up with me?"
Zhongli wants to melt into the sheets and disappear forever. He tries to hide his embarrassment by turning his face into the pillow. "I seem to have overestimated my stamina. I am... unused to such... regular activities, simply put."
His cock slips out of Childe when he moves. Childe dips close, turning Zhongli's face back towards him. "You were trying though, weren't you? There's no need to wear yourself out just because I'm horny."
"I want to please you," says Zhongli, nuzzling Childe's palm with his nose. "I want to give you what you ask for."
"And you can. Archons, Zhongli, fucking me with your dick isn't the only way to satisfy me." Childe leans back slightly and tugs Zhongli's hand down to where his cock lays between them. Still hard, twitching, come dribbling from the tip, thin and liquidy.
He wraps Zhongli's hand around it and squeezes it tight. "Are you so old that you've forgotten how to be creative?" Childe gives an experimental thrust into the grip and moans. "Oh, okay, yeah."
"Ajax—"
"This is good too. Everything about you is good. Zhongli, I could just look at you and get off." Another thrust into his hand. "Actually, we should try that sometime."
The thought is sinful. Zhongli can imagine it, Childe laying out in the bed, eyes trained solely on him. Zhongli could fuck his own hand, pretending, and see just how he squirms. Delicious. He moves his hand, jerking Childe to the thought. "You'd like that, hm?"
"I—yes."
Zhongli hums, stroking Childe's cock. "Come here," he asks. Childe tips forward immediately and Zhongli captures his mouth with a kiss. It is slow and languid as their tongues search for each other. His hand moves fast though, sliding over Childe's length, coaxing him towards the end.
Childe moans into his mouth. His hips stutter, fucking into the tight squeeze of Zhongli's fingers. "Fuck," he mutters. "Fuck, I'm—"
Zhongli swallows his moan, and then the next, and the next. He feels a little stupid for forgetting the magic of just hands and mouths, but he's so drunk on his arousal that he hasn't thought straight for weeks. "Ajax," he whispers against his mouth, "are you close?"
"Y-yeah."
"Can you give me another?"
Childe whines when Zhongli presses his thumb into the slit of his cock. "Oh, mhmn—"
"Will you come dry?" A tantalizing thought—Childe shaking with a third orgasm but nothing leaking from his cock. Wholly and utterly spent, fucked until he's bone dry.
"Hah, I'm—Oh Gods, oh, Zhongli—"
There is come with his third orgasm, but it's thin, and there is very little. Childe shudders and cries out, holding himself up on trembling arms. He fucks Zhongli's hand through it. Tears leak from the corners of his eyes as he teeters on the end of just a little too much.
"There's a good boy," praises Zhongli, kissing his temple. He lets Childe do as he pleases, waiting for the signal to let go of his cock.
"Okay, okay, that's—enough."
Zhongli lets go. He pets Childe's hair and kisses all over his face, and they both laugh as Childe falls against his chest, boneless.
Later, Zhongli says, "Are you too tired for a bath?"
Childe grunts, but moves, and Zhongli helps him into the warm water once it's filled the tub. The water sloshes about as they soak up the warmth.
"So," says Childe, dragging his fingers through the bubbles, "there's no reason to be embarrassed—"
"I'm not embarrassed." Childe gives him a pointed look and Zhongli sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright, so I'm a little embarrassed—"
"I mean, all guys of a certain age deal with this, you know?"
"Of a certain age," repeats Zhongli flatly.
"And I mean, you're pushing six thousand so it's a miracle that you can even get it up—hey." Childe jerks as Zhongli slathers a handful of suds right across his face.
"Don't speak ill of your elders."
"Oh god, never call yourself my elder ever again. Wait, wait, don't push me under—"
Zhongli grins as Childe collapses under his weight and dunks under the surface. When he resurfaces, everything slows because Childe stops at his expression. Love, he knows. Zhongli can't help it. Childe leans closer, settling into Zhongli's lap, noses knocking together as he wraps an arm around his neck.
"I love you," says Childe. "And no, you don't have to..." He waves vaguely.
"Ajax, I just need some time. Once my virility comes back—"
"Is that a threat or a promise?" Childe's eyes shimmer with mirth.
Zhongli presses his palm flat against the small of his back. "Mmhm—both."
Childe laughs and says, "I look forward to it." Then, he closes the gap and they spend their time kissing instead of cleaning off.
And this is nice, too, just enjoying each other. The slowness of their kiss and the way their skin slides together. Childe's cock hardens again but he bats away Zhongli's hand when it snakes south and into the water. "Leave it. He'll go away. I prefer this right now. Isn't this what old people do?"
"More like fumbling teenagers." Zhongli nips at Childe's lips before sliding his tongue in. Childe moans, a light and teasing sound, pressed so close to him that they practically melt together.
Zhongli's chest feels lighter, and he laughs more and more with every teasing kiss.