Work Text:
Everything was over in a blink of an eye and Childe was summoned back to Snezhnaya to report on his mission. He was stalling though. He wasn't sure why but he found it hard to leave. He tried to donate some funds for rebuilding the city, anonymously of course, he looked for some gifts for his siblings but for most of the time he had to wear a common Fatui outfit to avoid any ruckus as he was being blamed, rightly, for the events.
He hoped to say goodbye to Mr Zhongli, on private terms, not in front of Signora and Aether, but the man was nowhere to be found.
He was at the last stop on his shopping list. He wasn't sure if that was a good idea but he had to try.
"Mr Wang, do you have, by chance, a pet that can withstand cold temperatures?"
He promised the children a pet. It seemed a brilliant idea to bring something exotic from Liyue but he had to make sure it could survive their winters. He was a responsible adult here, right?
The salesman, Mr Wang, looked at him suspiciously. Childe sent him his perfected smile. “I’m from Snezhnaya. I don’t want to hurt any animal by taking it into a land they cannot live in…”
Mr Wang seemed like the thought of the weather being a problem never crossed his mind. “Choose what you want,” he muttered while shrugging.
Childe looked around. It was a big stand with lots of cages. There were exotic looking dogs and cats, bunnies and birds and even turtles. (Who would want a pet turtle?!) He walked through the shelves, not sure what to choose. Nothing was catching his eye, nothing had a particular connection with the region. He sighed. It seemed he would need to buy just a dog back home, such a pity.
He turned around. There was nothing to look for here. “Mr Wang, thank you, but I think I don't-" Childe looked at one of the cages. "How much for this one?"
Mr Wang looked disoriented for a split second but he was a salesman for his whole life so he recovered immediately.
“Five thousand Mora.”
Childe crouched down. In a cage was a little dragon-like creature, looking him straight in the eye. Childe’s heart fastened. “I’ll take it.”
He packed up all his stuff already. It was about time to leave this beautiful country and go back to the wintery homeland and it’s strict rules. He liked it here. He liked the freedom it gave him. But he missed his family and, even if a little, he missed the winters of Snezhnaya too. He spent his last day wandering around the city, still hoping to find a certain ex-god but it seemed it was a lost case now. It made him a bit sad. He was supposed to leave early in the morning.
Childe sat on the floor. In front of him was a cage. Inside, a little dragon sat in the corner. It was beautiful and so Liyue-like, with it’s dark brown body, a lighter tone of his comb on the back and golden horns and eyes. He was a perfect representant of the Geo region.
“You’re so cute.” Childe reached the lock. “I’m gonna open the cage. You can go out. But you need to behave, alright?”
He held his breath doing it. He had no idea what it actually was but if, by any chance, it really was a dragon, he balanced over the precipice. What dragons ate? Was it possible to befriend a dragon? Was it able to understand him? Or even old enough to try to? It was so small...
There were so many questions and so many things could go wrong but when he was looking at it something in Childe was getting soft.
“Come on, don’t be shy. Come out. I won’t hurt you.” He extended his hand for it to sniff. He acted the way he would towards a cat, but he did it on instinct and that actually never let him down in the past.
The dragon was cautious but he came out eventually, slowly, one step at time.
Childe waited. His hand was steady, not rushing things. Internally he was already squishing it’s paws and oh my gods, it was …
“You remind me of someone.” The dragon was already sniffing his hand but he stepped back, looking at him like he understood what Childe just said. And then he put out his thin, splitted at the end, tongue and licked his fingers. Childe let out a sound of mixed surprise and amazement. He could hold out no longer.
He took it in his hands and raised to his chest. It was unexpectedly warm and soft. “You’re gorgeous,” he exhaled and kissed it in the head. The dragon let him do that. He let him pet itself, he let him squish it’s paws, something Childe wanted to do the moment he saw it.
He leaned back, sprawled on the floor and sat the dragon on his chest. “You’re such a good boy,” he praised it. “And so cute! And beautiful.” He joined their heads. It was good to feel another being so close, even if it was just an animal. “I’m already in love, you know. Let’s not say a thing to the people of Liyue, they’d kill me, but you really remind me of him. I’m gonna call you Morax.”
A loud POOF scared him but he couldn’t move as something heavy pinned him to the floor.
“What the-”
“You surprised me… I lost control of the ilusion.”
A very confused ex-Archon was lying on him in a very unambiguous position, with a knee painfully pressed next to his growing groin. Childe realized he’s becoming bright red on the face.
“I am truly sorry for deceiving you. I was in a terrible need of getting to Snezhnaya and it seemed a very good idea to try and use your transport.”
Mr Zhongli said it all without moving an inch, caring more about the reason he got here rather than a position they ended up in. Childe’s heart skipped a beat. Mr Zhongli’s face was so close, too close, his eyes were losing focus, wandering to his lips and oh, Archons , he wanted to kiss him. Badly.
“I think- I think you could have just asked, you know?” He mumbled, turning his head to the side so he won’t be tempted. This situation was bizarre.
“I was not sure whether you would want to talk to me after I deluded you.”
“So you decided to do it again?”
“I-”
“I was looking for you. Wanted to talk. To say goodbye.”
“It seems I am not an expert on social interactions. I guess I messed up again.”
Childe sighed. He looked everywhere but in his eyes. “A cute dragon? Were you letting me to pet you for the whole ride?” He really was curious about the answer.
“I didn’t mind.” Was all he got. No elaborate, eloquent sentence where you’re losing the context in the middle if you’re not paying attention. A short, modern I didn’t mind .
It seemed unreal. His hand moved on his own. He was more scared than when he thought he was dealing with a dragon. Well, he now knew he was dealing with a dragon. A six thousand years old dragon, a god, an ex-Archon. An extremely dangerous man, even without his gnosis.
“Did you?” He touched his face with just fingertips. His heart was racing, pumping blood to his head. It was madness. He cupped his chin and then snuggled his hand in Mr Zhongli’s hair. His lack of reaction could be either a good or a bad sign.
Childe looked at him but not into his eyes. He was scared. He was used to facing his fears but this, this was different. This involved feelings. And Childe was being taught to ignore feelings, not to deal with them.
This time he didn’t want to ignore them. The mission was over. Mr Zhongli was no longer an Archon, no longer a threat to his country or Tsaritsa’s goals and Childe wanted to…
What exactly?
He finally looked him in the eye. They were dark, narrowed and, oh, he was looking at him so possessively.
Their lips met halfway and all those neglected feelings in Childe exploded when he wrapped his arms around Mr Zhongli’s neck, finding himself in a tight embrace, being kissed hungrily.
“It’s gonna be an interesting trip,” he managed to say between the kisses.