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Zhongli is no stranger to physical intimacy.
He has been intimate with lovers before, although it has been years, if not centuries, since he last allowed anyone this close to him. Being close always bore a risk of being vulnerable and as a God of martial arts, it was a weakness Zhongli couldn't allow himself to have.
Sex has been a tool for him, mostly. A way to get something else. And at even rarer occasions, it had been a fleeting moment of comfort during war-ravaged times but nothing more.
In short, Zhongli has never really seen the appeal of sex.
That is, until he meets Childe.
Childe, the Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatui and the Tsaritsa's favourite. Childe, whose charming smile never reaches his eyes to set the ocean blue alight and who makes no secret of the darker side to his personality.
A child of the Abyss, Zhongli notices during their first meeting, when they shake hands and he feels the residue of the Abyss sticking to his skin like slime. One of these days he'd like to learn of Childe's history and how he escaped the spiraling darkness.
There's a lot to Childe that doesn't become obvious right away. Zhongli finds himself surprised on several occasions, when he uncovers layer after layer that make up this particular mortal.
It's intriguing.
Look-wise, Childe also turns head wherever he goes - and rightfully so. There's something mesmerising about his riptide smile and the way he laughs.
Zhongli spends long moments studying Childe, committing his image to memory. He takes in the splash of freckles scattered across Childe's cheeks and notices the tiny scar just below his hairline.
He realizes that Childe's gloves have a heart-shaped cut-out on the palm and it distracts him enough to stop talking mid sentence. A fact that Childe teases him with for days on end.
And then there's the patch of exposed skin right above Childe's hip that slowly drives Zhongli to madness. More than once he finds himself staring at where the grey jacket parts just enough to expose pale skin and, sometimes, when Childe stretches with a yawn and his jacket pulls further apart, a hint of a scar.
It's terribly distracting.
Judging from Childe's knowing smirk whenever he catches Zhongli staring at him, he knows exactly what he's doing.
In a moment of weakness, Zhongli confesses his musings to Aether and earns himself a fit of laughter that echoes across Mount Aocang's peaceful little lake.
At least Aether has the decency to look a little embarrassed when he finally regains control, wiping at his eyes.
"You tell me," he starts, fixing Zhongli with mischief glinting in his eyes. "You're not sexually attracted to anyone, but a bit of skin on Childe has you this distracted?"
Zhongli busies himself with his tea, for once not quite sure how to respond. It's true; sex hasn't been of interest to him these past centuries and neither has anyone caught his eye like that, but whenever Childe stretches in front of him or even comes close, Zhongli's mind runs a little… wild.
He choses to remain silent. Aether cocks his head with a grin.
"Sounds like you're Childe-sexual then," he goes on and, when Zhongli looks at him with visible confusion, he grins and adds: "That means you're only attracted to Childe."
Aether's teasing rings in his ears even after they part and Zhongli wonders if perhaps it was a mistake to let the traveler in on his… personal dilemma.
To top things off, Zhongli makes another mistake that very evening, in the form of telling Childe himself about Aether's conclusion.
Childe is already biting his lip and clearly trying hard not to laugh the entire time that Zhongli explains the situation to him - but as soon as the words "Childe-sexual" leave Zhongli's lips, Childe is laughing so hard he cries.
In all his six thousand years of being alive, Zhongli hasn't experienced embarrassment quite like that.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Childe says when he's calmed down a little, arms wrapped around his middle. " Archons , I don't think I've ever laughed this hard."
"I am glad to see you so entertained," Zhongli replies a little stiffly and Childe smiles at him; his blue eyes alight with genuine happiness. It's a rare enough sight, one that soothes Zhongli's ruffled feathers a little. Not a moment later, Childe's hands cup Zhongli's face and his lips are warm when they kiss.
"Cheer up, xiansheng. I'm glad you've discovered your sexuality thanks to me. That's important."
Zhongli would roll his eyes if he were one for such silly human expressions but instead he merely huffs.
"You are a rascal with no manners," he accuses and kisses the little smile on Childe's lips his words earn him.
"You love me regardless."