Work Text:
“Hey.”
Recognizing that annoying voice which pestered him ever since the start of the school year, Aether quickened his pace to get to his classroom faster.
“I’m hurt, we’ve shared so many battles together, yet you still ignore me? Hey, hey, hey, comra—“
“What.” Aether turned to face the owner of the voice.
With a haughty, punchable , grin, the ginger replied, “You finally looked at me.”
“What do you want, Childe?”
“As usual, so cold… Anyways, as usual, I want to challenge you.”
Every now and then, Childe would come looking for Aether, proposing they should engage in some sort of match. For the two of them, it had become a routine.
Their first ever match started when Aether and Lumine first day of college. During the first week of college, the upperclassmen were like hawks, eager for prey when it came to recruiting freshmen for clubs. Out of curiosity, the twins tried different sports clubs, all of which they excelled at, but weren’t particularly interested in joining, much to the upperclassmen’s dismay.
An upperclassman offered Aether and Lumine to try out the Judo club, seeing Aether’s athletic capabilities. Since Aether didn’t have any reason to refuse, he followed the upperclassman.
The second-year ace of the club, Childe, went to the clubroom, looking for fresh recruits who would seem good enough for a trial match. None of them caught his eye, except for the blond first-year. Although rather than potential, Childe was more intrigued by how a person with such a small frame was scouted by his club seniors.
Childe walked up to his senior, waiting to be introduced to the potential recruit. “Right, Aether, meet our club’s ace, Childe. He’s a year older than you, and is kind of a brat, but you’ll get used to it.” said his senior, while roughly patting his back.
Aether looked up at Childe, making eye contact. Now that he’s able to take a closer look at the blond’s face, he thinks he’s more unfit for the club— milky, fair skin, long lashes, bright amber eyes, seemingly soft lips and —Childe realized he’d been staring at the other for quite a long time when Aether spoke, breaking him out of his trance.
“...Nice to meet you.” His voice was quiet, yet firm.
“Hmm… so, this is the person the leader is trying to recruit?” The tone in Childe’s voice was that of doubt, as if scrutinizing the first-year.
“Then, how about a friendly spar? Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle. If you manage to withstand at least 10 seconds, I’ll give you a pass.”
Aether inwardly snorted, determined to wipe the annoying grin off the older boy’s face.
“Sure.”
The club leader face-palmed, sighing in resignation. He was already used to Childe’s antics. Seeing how both parties agreed on a duel, he had no choice but to let them.
It took less than 10 seconds for Childe to hit the floor.
It all happened too fast before both seniors could process it. The moment the leader finished his signal, Aether made his move, swift and precise, knocking the second-year off his feet. Childe, caught off-guard, was bested by the first-year.
“Huh. I guess the ace of the club was kind enough to treat me gently?” Aether taunted, imitating the same mocking tone the second-year had. Childe didn’t miss the small grin on his face.
“Then, I’ll be leaving. Thank you for showing me around.” He bowed towards his seniors, and hurriedly walked to leave the clubroom.
Childe was stunned. He didn’t expect that such a small body would hold so much strength, enough to knock him over. His heart was beating with excitement, and he only had one thought after their short match, to spar with Aether again.
A week later, he finds out Aether joined the home economics club, much to his disappointment. What a waste of his athletic abilities!
He pestered Aether, asking him to join his club instead, yet all he received in return were rejections from the younger boy. Childe didn’t give up, however, and changed his request. Instead of trying to recruit him, he challenged him to another match, and Aether, tired of the second-year’s nagging, finally gave in. The result was still the same, Aether once again won.
Aether felt relieved, thinking he finally got rid of his tail. But he was wrong. The next week, Childe had come to bother him again, but this time it was a different sport. Aether refused at first, but Childe was persistent, and so Aether once again accepted.
At some point, their matches had extended beyond sports, with Childe challenging him to all sorts of things they could possibly compete over, test scores, video games, or even something as simple as rock paper scissors.
“What did you come up with again this time?” Aether sighed.
“I wanted to challenge you to, well, a cooking or a baking competition.” Childe continued.
“... You’re already at a disadvantage.” Aether snorted, confident in his skills. He was, after all, a proud member of the home economics club.
“And I was the ace of my own club, but I lost to an outsider.”
Aether wasn’t sure why Childe proudly used that fact as an example.
“Okay. I accept.”
“You don’t really have a reason to refuse this time, especially since it’s your forté—wait, what? That’s it? I prepared a whole speech in case you refused.”
“Just as you said, I have no reason to refuse. Especially since I’m at an advantage,” Aether crossed his arms and tilted his head, looking straight at the other’s eyes. “So, what are the conditions?”
For a moment, Childe seemed a bit nervous, but he quickly responded, “Well, we’re making chocolate. Whoever can make the better tasting chocolate wins. We’ll present our chocolate in 3 days.”
“...And the criteria for this is?”
“Taste and presentation! The judges will be just you and me.”
“Wouldn’t that be an unfair match?”
“Well, think of it this way, we both have to figure out each other’s tastes. And surely you wouldn’t lie just to win, right?”
Aether knitted his brow, in deep consideration. “Then, what sort of chocolate do you like?”
“Wow, already prying information out of the enemy, quite bold of you. Well, I’m not really a picky eater, I eat just about everything, so long as it tastes good enough.”
Aether frowned at his response. What kind of answer is that?
“Well then, what about you? What sort of chocolate does my partner like?”
“...Figure it out yourself.” Aether turned on his heels, and started to walk away.
“Hey, that’s unfair! I gave you an answer!” The ginger pouted, only to be ignored by Aether.
—
Although Childe was the one who set the conditions for the match, he was having a hard time figuring out what he should make. Even if this was a ploy to receive handmade chocolate from the younger, the second-year still had his competitive and didn’t want to lose.
He had his pride as an older brother, making all sorts of food and pastries which suited his younger siblings’ tastes. He was just as confident of his kitchen skills, as his siblings often praised his cooking.
He had a hard time finding out Aether’s tastes. He didn’t want to make chocolate that was generally delicious, he wanted it specifically to fit Aether’s tastes. He had asked Aether’s fellow club members, and even coaxed information out of his friends. The responses he received were similar, that Aether ate anything and everything.
Just as he was about to return to his class, he heard a soft voice, speaking in a clear yet firm manner, similar to a certain blond which has been constantly on his mind.
“My brother eats everything,” said Lumine, and Childe turned to look at her direction.
The same as what the others said. He thought, slightly disappointed. Before Childe could say his thanks, Lumine spoke again.
“He prefers salty over sour, and sweet over bitter. But nothing too overpowering, just the right balance. He likes all sorts of flavors, and would be willing or even excited to try something new. Nothing too exotic though, like… Xiangling’s cooking, but I’m sure you wouldn’t be one to put lizard tail in chocolate.”
Childe’s face lit up, immediately thinking of the many possibilities he could make which Aether would like.
“I see! Thanks, I really appreciate it.” he quickly expressed his gratitude, and walked back to his classroom.
—
It was nearly Valentines’ day, and the supermarket was packed with girls rushing to buy chocolate. In front of him were various decorative boxes, ones that were made specifically for containing small food items.
“Just go with red. You can’t go wrong with red.” Lumine exhaled, tired of watching her brother stare at the same three boxes while mumbling to himself for 20 minutes.
He eventually decided to buy a plain box, colored with a deep shade of blue, along with a golden ribbon.
The basket was filled with an assortment of various chocolate and fillings. Aether decided to make chocolate truffles with different fillings inside as he remembered that Childe didn’t have a particular preference when it came to food.
Lumine wanted to comment about how he’s taking this “competition” of theirs too seriously, but chose to keep quiet. She felt a bit sorry for Childe, her brother was quite dense, after all.
The moment they arrived home, Aether went to work.
The smell of melted chocolate permeated through the air, and Lumine felt hungry. Fortunately, Aether planned on making her his guinea pig.
Aether made multiple batches of chocolate truffles, all with different fillings and toppings. Seeing the amount of chocolate her brother had made, Lumine thought he was really going overboard. She ate her fill, eating the “failed” batches her brother made, which tasted absolutely good, but insisted on remaking them because it wasn’t “perfect”.
There were various chocolate truffles, white, milk, and dark chocolate, some plain ones, some filled with fruit, some filled with nuts, and some filled with caramel. The different flavored truffles were decorated with all sorts of shavings, and drizzled with another layer of chocolate. Aether put much effort in both taste and presentation, and was proud of the final product.
“This looks like it could be something you’d buy at a fancy store.” said Lumine, stroking his brother’s ego.
As Aether was about to place the truffles in the fridge, his phone, which was placed on the kitchen counter, rang. Lumine peeked, and saw it was a text which came from Annoying Bastard, as named in his contacts.
Aether stretched, looking at the clock after he finished cleaning up. It was already quarter to 11 by the time they finished. Thankfully, Lumine offered to help, and he was able to finish faster. He checked his phone and saw a notification from Childe, from almost an hour ago. He quickly unlocked his phone.
Annoying Bastard
10:08 pm
hey comrade ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️
tmr🔆 lets meet after ur last class 👀👀👀
dont 4get ok 😾
and prepare 2 lose 😼😼
gnite 😽😽😽😽😽
Aether chuckled, seeing the cat emojis. The excessive use of emojis in his texts bothered Aether at first, but gradually got used to it. It looked like Childe, with the same shit-eating grin.
Lumine, noticing the change in his brother’s expression, cooed. “Humm~ Since when did you guys exchange numbers?”
Aether, noticing the teasing tone in his younger twin’s voice, quickly turned off his phone, as if he was caught red-handed. His eyebrows slightly twitched, and he calmly responded to her question.
“... I just gave him my number so he would stop bothering me about it.”
Lumine wanted to retort, but wouldn’t giving him your number give him more means of bothering you? But decided against it, seeing how her brother was starting to get defensive.
Lumine snorted. “Sure.” Whatever you say.
Aether couldn’t tell why, but he felt embarrassed. Lumine looked at him with a suspicious smile, similar to a certain redhead’s. Aether quickly removed his apron, preparing to retreat from the situation.
“I’m going to wash up and sleep. Good night.”
—
The following day, Aether went to school, excited to make Childe taste yet another glorious defeat. As he was about to open his locker, he was greeted with various sweet treats, accompanied by a few letters.
As realization struck him, Aether suddenly felt his face heat up.
Though their little competition wasn’t made public, Childe’s intel gathering was. It was way too obvious, as if he didn’t even bother hiding it. Aether had heard it from both his clubmates and friends alike, that a certain ginger second-year had been asking around for his preferences in food, particularly his taste in sweets.
It was Valentines’ Day, and he and Childe were going to give each other chocolates. What the hell did that mean?
He had been too caught up in their match that he completely forgot the implications of the current day. Aether, collecting himself, thought that maybe Childe didn’t think this through, that this was, in no way planned, and just one of their silly competitions.
Even then, Aether couldn’t help but feel nervous, and Childe’s opinion on his homemade chocolate seemed to place a greater importance.
The ginger didn’t feel any less nervous than the blond. He was restless, and couldn’t focus on whatever the teacher was saying. He wanted to see Aether as soon as possible, but he was also feeling dread, as he knew his chocolate wasn’t exactly common. He thought it was a risk, and Aether would either like it or hate it.
Childe told Aether to meet him after class, but he didn’t specify where. Aether simply stayed in his classroom after dismissal, waiting for Childe. 15 minutes passed and he looked at his phone, looking for a message that wasn’t there. He rewrote his message multiple times, and settled on “ill be waiting in the classroom”. then passed another 15 minutes, somewhat disappointed, he stood up, grabbed his bag and the carefully wrapped box of homemade chocolate, preparing to leave. He decided to look for Childe instead.
Before he could even touch the handle, the door suddenly opened. Much to Aether’s surprise, it was the boy he had been waiting for. There were beads of sweat on his face. After catching his breath, the taller boy finally spoke.
“Sorry, I got caught up in something troublesome.”
Aether looked at Childe’s school bag, and it seemed as if it was about to burst. Aether concluded “something troublesome” was probably related to that, and he felt upset. The thought of Childe receiving chocolates from numerous people made him unreasonably upset.
As for why he was upset, Aether himself didn’t know.
Childe was the same, as he saw Aether carrying a paperbag filled with various chocolates, and even letters.
The two of them felt even more nervous, and the competition had placed a different type of pressure onto both of them.
“... You’re late.” Aether mumbled, and if Childe paid close attention to the smaller boy instead of the blue box he was holding, he would have noticed the change in his expression, and the small pout that rarely appeared on his face.
“Here. It’s my homemade chocolate. That I made.” Heat crept up to Aether’s cheeks, and he held out the box as near as he could to Childe’s face, hoping it would cover his vision that he wouldn’t notice his reddened cheeks.
“Sorry, I really did try my best to get here as fast as I could.” Childe happily received the box. He scoured through his own bag and pulled out a golden canister, giving it Aether. “Here, my homemade chocolate. That I made.” He grinned, not missing the opportunity to tease the blond.
Aether grunted in response, and instead focused on opening the canister on his hand. Childe was nervous, and unconsciously held his breath. As the content of the canister was revealed, Aether’s expression turned to that of surprise. Childe didn’t know whether this was a positive response, but it wasn’t that of disgust, feeling relieved. Aether took out one piece, looking at it with curious eyes.
“This is…”
“It’s potato chips, dipped in chocolate.” Childe explained. “I made the potato chips from scratch, too.”
Aether was intrigued by the treat in front of him, and was rather interested in tasting it.
“You know, I went through a lot of hard work trying to come up with something you’d like, but all your friends told me the same thing. That you ate everything. ”
“Well, it was only fair. You didn’t give me a proper answer when I asked.”
Thinking back on it, Childe did say he wasn’t particularly picky with his food. He then opened the blue box, muttering a soft “wow”, amazed by the sight.
“This looks expensive. Are you sure you didn’t buy this?” Childe asked, genuinely stunned by the appearance of the chocolate.
Aether huffed, puffing out his chest with pride. “How rude. Since you said you ate anything, I made everything I could think of. From white, milk, and dark chocolate, to fruit and nut fillings.” The blond talked about each ball of chocolate as if it was his own child, and Childe, trying his best to listen, didn’t completely register everything he said. He was focused on the shorter boy who talked so passionately about his own work. He observed how Aether’s eyes sparkled whenever he would ask questions, and the small smile that would appear on his face for a few seconds whenever he would praise him.
Aether doesn’t realize he’d been rambling until he takes a good look at Childe’s face, his smile that was normally annoying, and his gaze that had a streak of mischief was now soft and gentle, as if looking at something he cherished. As they made eye contact, Aether felt himself shrink, and quickly diverted the topic.
“Anyways, let’s get on to the tasting.”
“Then, comrade, pick for me?”
Childe closed his eyes and leaned towards Aether, opening his mouth while saying aaahh —-
The first year paused, then randomly picked a truffle from the box.
The chocolate was kept at cool room temperature the entire day, and slightly melted when it came contact with the warmth from Aether’s skin. As the chocolate made its way to Childe’s mouth, the second-year licked off the chocolate stains on the younger’s fingers. Childe opened his eyes, instantly locking gazes with the blond.
This sudden action made Aether freeze, his fingers numb from the sensation of Childe’s tongue. He slowly retreated his hand, feeling his ears heat up.
Before Aether could completely pull back his hand, Childe grabbed it and smiled.
“Sorry, my bad. Did it out of habit. Then, it’s my turn to feed you next.”
Aether felt something was wrong, but he was still stunned from the past event and could only let out an ok in response.
Inside Aether’s mind there was an ongoing chaos, and many small figures of Aether ran about trying to process the finger licking that occurred.
What the hell just happened?? A mini-Aether, trying to make sense of what happened, panicked.
To hell with that “out of habit” was on purpose!!! Beat that fucker with a stick! Another mini-Aether exclaimed, seething with rage.
You idiot, obviously the best revenge is to just lick his fingers back, don’t you see? We need to beat him at his own game, prove you’re a better finger licker! A third mini-Aether said.
Fuck, you’re right! Lick his fingers back! Prove you’re the best finger licker!! The second mini-Aether agreed.
The first mini-Aether felt as if there was something wrong with third mini-Aether’s logic.
While Aether’s brain was forcibly put on auto-pilot, Childe took a piece from the canister and slowly put it near the first-year’s mouth.
“Comrade, say aaahh—“
Aether absentmindedly followed, and while his thoughts was still in disarray, the chocolate-covered potato chip has already made its way in his mouth, and so, following the triumph of the logically damaged third mini-Aether, he licked the other’s finger, only to realize there wasn’t a single stain on Childe’s fingers as the chocolate potato chip wasn’t fully covered. Aether noticed a change in the second-year’s eyes, as if they were filled with a mischievous glint.
Seeing this, the first mini-Aether tried to help, screaming in his head. We’ve been had! Shit!! Fuck it, just bite him!!!
In a desperate attempt to save face, Aether chomped down and bit Childe’s finger.
“Ow! What was that for?” Childe quickly retracted his hand, small teeth marks visible on his thumb and finger.
“My bad, did it out of habit.”
“You bite other people’s fingers out of habit??”
“Then, what about you? How many people’s fingers have you licked for it to become a habit? Wow… you’re truly…..” Aether looked at him, brows furrowed, as if showing disgust.
“That’s not what I meant!” Childe felt wronged as he was accused of being a serial finger licking pervert.
Aether, pleased that his finger biting turned the tides in his favor, proceeded to question Childe as if he was a criminal on trial.
“Then, what did you mean?” Aether picked up another truffle, and slowly pushed it towards Childe’s mouth, taunting the second-year for an answer.
Crafty bastard.
The chocolate truffle Aether held lightly traced along Childe’s lips.
“Tricking me into giving you Valentines’ chocolates, giving me Valentines’ chocolates, and then licking my fingers… Tell me, what exactly did you mean?”
Unwilling to accept defeat, Childe ate the chocolate truffle in a single mouthful. The ginger pulled on the chocolate stained hand with force, and he leaned forward to kiss the boy, the ball of chocolate still in his mouth.
The soft sensation on his lips came to Aether like a shock, his mouth filled with warmth and the bittersweet taste of chocolate. Aether’s other hand wandered towards Childe, not knowing where to put it, placed it on the back of the taller boy’s head. Aether lightly pulled on Childe’s hair.
This slight tug snapped something within Childe, reciprocating his action, Childe also ran his hand through the blond’s hair, undoing his braid. His kisses became rougher and much more aggressive. Childe bit his lip prompting Aether to open his mouth wider. The younger boy had no choice but to grant him access, and he thoroughly explored his mouth.
Aether’s thoughts were muddled and his brain kept repeating chocolate, tongue, and Childe . His mind seems to have short circuited from the pleasure, as he could no longer think of anything else except for the boy making out with him in the classroom.
The two boys kissed until they could no longer taste the chocolate.
Both of them separated from each other to breathe.
Aether’s hair was messy, from his neck to his ears he was flushed red, and his eyes had a layer of sheen to it, as if he just finished crying. If not for the wet, swollen lips, and the drool, one would think that the first-year was being bullied by his senior.
Childe, feeling somewhat guilty (and proud), quickly wiped the drool off Aether’s face.
Aether was still in a haze, and he quietly leaned onto Childe’s shoulder. This surprised Childe even more, as Aether would never allow himself to be soft, especially in front of him. He felt as if he had pulled a limited 5* thrice in 10 pulls.
To be fair, Childe also never expected Aether would actually accept or even reciprocate his advances, but he did. After the finger licking stunt he pulled, he was ready to get beaten by a stick, stripped off of his clothes, then thrown out on the road.
But Aether instead licked him, then after realizing what he had done, bit it instead. Aether’s ears turned red and Childe felt like he could win the 50/50.
Aether, finally collecting himself, muttered in a low voice.
“…Do you do this to other people out of habit too?”
Childe, confident that his position of annoying bastard will soon be promoted to annoying boyfriend, felt as if there was a hint of sourness to these words. Is he actually being jealous???
Like a dutiful husband, he responded, “No, you’re the only person I’ve kissed, and the only person I ever planned on kissing.”
Aether rolled his eyes and chuckled.
“Bullshit.” Then why are you so good at kissing?
“I’m really not lying. If you ask my friends if I’ve ever been with anyone else they’d only laugh… and my family…” Childe was thinking of ways he could convince Aether, but eventually fell flat..
“Anyways, the important thing is, the one I like is you, and my first kiss is you,” Childe embraced the boy resting on his shoulders.
“The only fingers I’ve licked belongs to you, my first sexual fantasy—“ His heartfelt confession was stopped by a hard pinch on the side of his stomach, a clear indication to shut up.
—
Childe combed through his own hair and braided Aether’s, since he was responsible for undoing it. After they finally made themselves look presentable, they went out of the classroom and walked home together. They both lived on opposite sides, but Childe insisted on walking him home so they could stay together longer.
Aether wonders how a person could be so shameless to be able to say such embarrassing things, but he didn’t object, letting Childe do whatever he wanted. He would never admit it, but he enjoyed Childe’s company as much as Childe enjoyed his.
Their hands entwined while walking, Aether remembered the silly chocolate competition and asked, “So, between the two of us, who won?”
Childe, the freshly turned doormat slash boyfriend, “You, of course.”
“I think your chocolate covered potato chips tasted pretty good though. I liked how it was both sweet and salty. It really did suit my preferences.”
“But the criteria for it is taste and presentation, right? from the packaging alone, you already won. And your chocolates were pretty, too. As for the taste, I don’t even need to tell you it tastes good, since you tasted it too. I especially liked the ones with nuts, biting into the soft chocolate and feeling a crunch, I like it.”
Aether sensed his boyfriend was being a pervert, but let it pass.
“What do I get as the winner?”
“A tall, handsome, rich boyfriend.” Childe stopped and posed, tilted his head, using his free hand as chin support, as if he was marketing a product.
The thought of returning the defective product briefly passed through Aether’s mind.
Aether rolled his eyes and snorted.
“More like an annoying, noisy, perverted bastard… And the punishment for the loser?”
Without an ounce of shame, Childe proudly said, “The annoying, noisy, perverted bastard has to follow the winner, for as long as the winner likes.”
“…… Idiot.”
—
bonus:
by the time they arrived at aether’s gate, the sky already turned into a mix of purple and blue, with a tint of orange. childe finally bid goodbye to his boyfriend after a lengthy exchange flying kisses and middle fingers. aether entered the house and saw his sister eating the leftover truffles watching a suspense kdrama.
lumine heard him enter, and paused to look at him. she first wanted to tease him about finally going out with the redhead he’d been insulting every dinner, but seeing at his pink cheeks and the cut on his lower lip, lumine could only look at him with blank, dead-fish eyes.
fucking couples… saint valentine, may you curse these damned people flourishing on your death anniversary.
“…what.”
“nothing. congratulations on your marriage.”