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“Zhongli, are we still up for lu– oh. I didn’t know you have a meeting today.”
“I apologize, Ajax, I don’t think I will be able to make it,” Zhongli started, lifting his eyes up from the papers in front of him to lock eyes with Childe who is still standing by the door, “And I think I will be finishing late, please don’t wait up for me.”
Childe waited for a few seconds; waiting for Zhongli to stand up from his seat to give him his usual kiss. But when the mob boss made no moves in moving, Childe simply gave a short nod and turned to leave, not without letting his eyes linger at the unfamiliar male standing a little too close behind Zhongli’s seat.
When did Zhongli hire the new recruit?
“Jinlan,” Childe called out as he closed the door behind him, signalling for the petite lady to come, “Who’s the male with Zhongli? I don’t recall seeing his face when I trained the new recruits.”
“Ah, that’s Xin, Mister Childe,” Jinlan says, her eyes shifting towards her tablet with her fingers swiping across the screen, “It appears Mister Zhongli hired him a few days ago, the system says that Mister Zhongli himself will be the one training him.”
“I see.”
Jinlan could only give a stiff nod in response before she bows her head and hurried to leave, and it’s a good thing she did, because a few seconds later, she jumped in surprise Childe’s fist came in contact with a potted vase that Jinlan knew costs more than a year’s worth of her salary.
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“Ajax, I’m going to be helping Xin with some file sorting and I’ll be eating out with him.”
“I will be going on a business trip to Mondstadt for five days with Xin, be safe, okay?”
“Xin needs a new gun, I will be taking him to our usual place. You can take my place in the meeting with Barbatos, right?”
Xin this, Xin that. Xin, Xin , Xin .
“Ah, Mister Childe! Welcome back!” A young girl called out the moment Childe stepped in Wanmin, a restaurant he frequently visited with Zhongli, “Is Mister Zhongli not joining you today?”
“Xiangling, hi! And he has some matters to handle, he’ll be joining late,” Childe says with a laugh, walking over to his usual seat, “I’ll have the usual, please.”
“You got it, Mister Childe! I have some new recipes ready, I’ll set them out as well since Mister Zhongli likes to test them,” Xiangling says as he jots his usual orders down on her notepad before disappearing into the kitchen.
Childe heaves a sigh, his azure blue eyes flickering over to the clock, watching as the seconds pass by and the plates of food filling up his table, but the seat in front of him stays empty.
Ten minutes, thirty minutes, one hour. Two hours.
“I cannot make it to Wanmin, Xin sprained his ankle so I will be taking him to the hospital,” Childe sees red as he reads the most recent text he received from Zhongli. For the nth time these past few weeks, the older male has cancelled on their regular lunch dates in favor of Xin, and this time, the older man has the audacity to make him wait two hours before he eventually stood him up. He had arrived at the restaurant, ordered all their usual food, waited for more than an hour and to have the older male cancel on him through text ? That snapped Childe’s patience.
With a scowl on his face, he typed a quick, “K,” as a reply and left the establishment, ignoring the confused looks from the waiters and other patrons when he left with his food untouched and a loud bang of the door (a few dollar bills had been placed on the table, Ajax might be a killer but he always pay his bills).
“Hui, gather everything you can about Xin. I want to know everything ; his schedule, families, friends, contact information, residences,” Childe says as he walked towards the car, the frown never leaving his face.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do not tell Zhongli about this, am I understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want it by tomorrow,” swiftly ending the call, Childe’s eyes read over the text from Zhongli once before he frown deepened and he threw his phone to the ground, leaving the cracked communication device on the ground as he enters the car, “Bring me back to the estate and get me a new phone.”
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“Hello, boss?”
“Speak.”
“He asked me about the files.”
“Well, you can’t keep him waiting.”
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For the first time in weeks, Zhongli arrived home before dinner and this didn’t go unnoticed by Childe as it had become a new habit of his to watch Zhongli through the CCTVs installed at headquarters.
Leaving his comfortable position on the sofa when he saw Zhongli’s car enter their estate’s gates, Childe counted the minutes in his head. He has exactly 5 minutes to get himself ready before Zhongli enters the main building.
“Ajax, I’m ho– oh my.”
Clad in nothing but Zhongli’s dark dress shirt with the buttons undone, giving Zhongli a full few of his toned abdomen, Childe descended down the stairs with a lopsided grin on his face as he made his way towards Zhongli, fingers working to undo the male’s suit.
“Welcome home, my love,” Childe says, pushing Zhongli’s suit jacket pass his shoulders before pressing himself against the other’s chest and giving Zhongli’s upper lip a lazy flick with his tongue, “Busy week?” letting the jacket drop to the floor, Childe’s hand soon slid down Zhongli’s arm to take the male’s briefcase and carefully place it on the floor before he moved backwards when he felt hands holding a loose grip on his hips, “I haven’t seen you home in days,” leaning himself against the sofa’s armrest, Childe spread his legs to make room for Zhongli as he looked up at the male’s face with a small pout on his lips.
Zhongli chuckled, moving his hand up to brush his thumb over the pouted lips, “Did you miss me?” He questioned, sliding his free hand past the dress shirt to rest on the red-head’s bare waist before he bends down to ghost his lips over Childe’s with his hand moving down to cup the other’s jaw.
“What are you going to do if I said no?” Childe breathed out, his eyes fluttering as he trailed his hands down Zhongli’s torso, eager fingers tracing the outlines of the male’s length through his pants.
Moving his hand, Zhongli enclosed his fingers around Childe’s neck as he gently press his palm against the male’s throat, not hard enough to cut the air supply but enough to cause the other’s breath to hitch as he tips his head back and a shudder coursing through his body, causing Zhongli to smile, “That would be a shame because I really wanted to run my hands over your body, mapping every dip and curve, kissing every patch of skin; marking every patch of skin. Let everyone know who you belong to, body and soul.”
A breathy ‘fuck,’ slipped past Childe’s lips as his back arched, pressing himself against Zhongli as he slowly wraps his legs around the male’s hips before he craned his neck, flicking his tongue against the shell of Zhongli’s ear, “Then take me,” Childe murmurs, letting himself fall back to the sofa all the while pulling Zhongli on top of him as he cups the male’s crotch, “Show me what it means to belong to you, Morax, Liyue’s underground emperor.”
“Thread carefully, Ajax,” Zhongli growled, shifting in his position to slot his thigh between Childe’s legs as his fingers tighten around the male’s neck before the pressure leaves, moving his arms up to cage Childe’s head between them as he presses his forehead against the male’s.
Childe laughed, airy and light as his eyes fall shut, his hips moving to grind against Zhongli’s thigh with his fingers moving to undo the buttons to the other male’s dress shirt, letting the piece of clothing fall to the ground, “Give it to me, Zhongli.”
“Tell me you’re mine.”
“I’m yours, are you mine?”
“Whose else would I be if not yours,” with that, Zhongli pulled back and gathers the male in his arms, pressing his lips against Childe’s in a bruising kiss; tongues battling for dominance and spit slipping past the corners of Childe’s lips as the couple blindly made their way towards their shared bedroom.
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It was somewhere around 2AM when the lump on the bed started to move, Childe’s sharp eyes never leaving the other’s form as he leaned back against the lone couch in the unlit room.
This is the person who caught Zhongli’s attention? He was competing with someone like him ? What a joke.
Scoffing as he stood up from his seat, Childe calmly walked over to the bed and covered the male’s mouth and nose with his palm, a crooked grin taking over his features as he watched the other’s eyes open wide like saucers before Childe straddles his hips, bending down to hold a knife against the other’s neck.
“I’m curious,” Childe started, voice soft as he moved his knife to trace lines along the male’s cheek, “Has your parents never told you that it is never okay to steal? No matter what the reason is,” flickering his eyes up to meet the other’s, Childe carefully dragged his blade down from the corner of the other’s eye to his cheek, his grin widening at the sight of blood and the muffled wince, “Right, right, I forgot, you have no parents do you, Xin?”
Childe laughed, sitting straight as his head fell backwards, his shoulders shaking with his own laughter, “Lim Xin Ah, twenty-three years old, parents died from a faulty wire which caused your house to burn down when you were five, they say it’s a miracle that you survived the tragedy,” tilting his head with a soft hum, Childe noticed how the Xin’s breathing gets heavier, his tears mixing with the blood from the small gash on his face, “Makes you wonder, hm? Whether or not Zhongli has a thing for orphans. Tell me, does he make you feel like you’re the most special person in the world? In the galaxy, in the whole universe?”
Ignoring the muffled scream from the male below him, Childe swiftly jabbed the knife on Xin’s palm, watching the way the blood started to stain the satin sheets with a purse of his lips, “Does he buy you everything you wanted and need? Spoiling you rotten with gifts?” Drawing the knife back, Childe leaned into Xin’s personal space and held the tip of his blade against the male’s jaw, “Was it his smile that made you stay even though you knew he’s mine? He has a very beautiful smile. I could stare at it all day and every day and I won’t get bored of it. Did his smile reach his eyes when he’s with you?”
The room was silent for a few seconds, the only sounds that could be heard was Childe’s soft hum of an old Snezhnayan tune and Xin’s muffled sobs, his legs thrashing to shake the redhead off of him to no avail.
“Ah, it’s time to go to work,” Childe states as if he hasn’t spent the past few hours digging his knife into Xin, fingers pressing into the wounds whenever the male’s eyes threatened to drop, “I’m going to remove my hand to help dress you now. Don’t scream, okay? I wouldn’t want to stain your bed with more blood and I wouldn’t want Zhongli to miss his little assistant too much,” Childe says with a chuckle, “Nod if you understand.”
With his head pounding and sight blurry–from the blood loss or fear Xin couldn’t really tell–Xin managed a weak nod.
True to his words, Childe did return and Xin kept silent, save for the soft whimpers that left his parted lips. Childe’s definition of ‘dress you,’ though, is what made Xin’s eyes widen because in Childe’s hand is a metal prong collar.
“We shouldn’t keep Zhongli waiting.”
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Childe sat on Zhongli’s throne, his dull, blue eyes glaring at him with a gun on one hand and a metal chain on the other. It wasn’t the state of his meeting room that surprised Zhongli (granted he was rather confused how the redhead managed to bring down the hanging chandelier but that is a matter for later) rather it's who was on the other end of the chain.
Bloodied, bruised, and naked, was Xin.
“Ajax, what is the meaning of this.”
Zhongli didn’t even flinch when the bullet barely grazed his cheek. Tartaglia never misses.
“Keep my name out of your filthy mouth,” he seethes, leaning his elbows on his knees as he roughly tugs on the chain, making Xin fall forward, “You’ve been having a bit to much fun with little Xin here,” Tartaglia smiles, the kind of smile that doesn’t truly reach his eyes as he moved the gun and presses it against the side of Xin’s head, “I just came to see what kind of fun you guys have been having without me .”
“M– mister Zh– Zhongli.”
“You shut your goddamn mouth!”
Another bang as another bullet hits the walls.
Tartaglia was breathing heavily now, gripping onto the chain so hard his knuckles turned white before he pulled, successfully cutting off Xin’s flow of oxygen as the prongs dig into his skin, drawing more blood as it slid down his neck, the quiet meeting room was soon filled with choking sounds from a certain assistant before it went silent, Xin slumping to the ground as he heaved for air when Tartaglia’s hold loosen.
“Tartaglia stop this,” Zhongli said as he walked closer to where Tartaglia sat, sharp amber eyes meeting dull azure blue.
Aiming the gun directly at Zhongli’s forehead, Tartaglia tilted his head with a small pout on his face, it would be cute; on any other day Zhongli would think Ajax’s pout looks absolutely adorable. But with the way Tartaglia was looking at him, the storm behind his eyes and cheeks smeared with blood, Zhongli thought he looked breathtaking. “But why? Sharing is caring, afterall. Xin and I are having so much fun, aren’t we?” Glancing down at the shaking form by his feet, Tartaglia gave a kick to Xin’s stomach when no answer came, “ Aren’t we?” He repeated, to which Xin answered with a wheezed out yes as he coughed out blood.
“You see,” a manic smile bloomed on Tartaglia’s face as he curled his fingers around Xin’s hair and pulled the male’s head up before his fingers moved down to give a harsh squeeze to his cheeks until his lips purse as Tartaglia then leaned his head against Xin’s, “Why are you trying to stop our fun, my love? Could it be that you actually care about him? You love him? Does his life mean anything to you?”
The liyuen watched as several emotions flashed through Tartaglia’s face all at once, and with the hopeful gleam in Xin’s eyes, Zhongli knew that he was going to disappoint someone today.
But it won’t be his Tartaglia.
“Of course not.”
Tartaglia’s smile widened at the answer as he spun the gun in his hand, holding onto the barrel with the grip out for Zhongli to take, “Then surely you won’t miss it.”
“Surely I won’t.”
With his eyes still on Tartaglia, Zhongli took a few steps forward and took the gun, holding the muzzle mere millimeters away from Xin’s forehead.
“Mi– Mister Zhongli, pl– please. I was merely doing w– what you told me! Ma– make Tartaglia jea– jealous. I made him jealous! P– please!”
“Yes, and you did a fine job at that, but now my love has a job for me. I would be a bad lover if I couldn’t fulfill his simple wish,” Lowering his aim towards Xin’s neck, Zhongl gave the male on the ground a crooked smile, “Thank you for your help, though,” Zhongli says in a sugary sweet voice before he pulls the trigger.
“This is why you don’t attempt to steal from me, little Xin. Be sure to tell your other friends, hm? But ah, shame you can’t live to tell your tale,” Tartaglia murmured against the side of Xin’s head before he lets go of his hold on the male’s hair, letting the body fall forward with a thump, his own blood pooling around him.
Slowly standing up from his seated position after he watched Xin bled out and the life leaving his eyes, Tartaglia had his eyes set on Zhongli’s form as the male closed the distance between them, letting the gun drop to the floor with a clang before he slipped his arms around Tartaglia’s waist.
When Zhongli faced no resistance from the male before him, he carefully placed a light kiss on Tartaglia’s jaw with a soft murmur.
“Ajax?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Of course, my love. I will have Ganyu buy you your favorite meal from wanmin,” Zhongli says with a smile, moving his hands up to cup Ajax’s cheeks as he wiped the smeared blood on his lover’s cheek with his finger before he pressed a chaste kiss onto Ajax’s lips.
Ajax purred softly at the contact as he gave a short nod before biting down onto Zhongli’s lower lip and gave a tug, fingers digging into Zhongli’s wrist, “Do not pull something like this again.”
"You have my word," Zhongli murmurs, turning his head to press a kiss onto Ajax's wrist before he wraps an arm around his waist, leading them out of the room, "Xiao, please dispose of the body and get someone to take care of the mess."
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“Why are you doing this?”
“Because he is my world. I am going to make sure that I am his world, too.”