"'Back in the age when the gods still walked upon the earth—'" Zhongli's voice was as charming as ever as he reads aloud. "'—the deity whom we now worship as Rex Lapis was but one among many…'"

Childe could listen to it for ages, folding himself into the deep timbre, melting underneath the weight of its sound. Zhongli knows. Oh, he knows, and it's why he loves to read to him, fingers dragging through Childe's unruly hair, scraping his scalp.

"'In those days, the rumor among the common folk was that the Lord of Geo was a cold and unfeeling god—'"

"Oh?"

Zhongli pauses and raises a brow. "Ajax, stop acting as if you haven't heard this one thousand times before."

"Cold and unfeeling," repeats Childe. Then he laughs, turning slightly until his cheek is pressed into Zhongli's thigh, not the back of his head. "What dastardly rumors."

"As I was reading," continues Zhongli with a soft huff. "'His conduct was just in all things and his judgments were rational and dispassionate, but he lacked normal human sentiment—' Ajax."

Childe's gaze tips up. He does his best to look innocent, as if his hand hasn't smoothed over the length of Zhongli's thigh, or his fingers grazed across the front of his trousers. Despite his protest, the effect is immediate. Zhongli's cock twitches, filling out under Childe's palm.

"Dispassionate," says Childe then. "Lacking normal human sentiment—"

"Ajax—"

"I don't know. Judging by this guy you aren't exactly unfeeling." Zhongli grunts as Childe squeezes his cock, taking in its length and tracing its shape. "Go on, keep reading." Zhongli is vexed and pink-cheeked as he fails to ignore his arousal. Childe has this damn book memorized. He wants to hear the next bit drip from Zhongli's mouth as he slips further and further into Childe's teasing touches.

"'Like the rocks—'"

"Rock hard," teases Childe, leaning forward to nuzzle his dick.

Zhongli tenses but tries to continue on. "'—he was without warmth or softness—'"

"Definitely not true." Childe bites at the bulge in his trousers, teeth sinking into the material. "Ask me. I'd know."

Another huff. Zhongli shifts, leaning into the couch. He sits properly, feet on the ground, but he spreads his thighs wider to allow Childe better space. "'Despite this, people revered and placed their faith in him all the same—'"

"That's one thing that is true; the faith that I put in you. Zhongli, you cannot fathom how much I trust you."

When Zhongli stops reading this time, his gaze is unreadable. "Ajax, you don't need to—"

"Oh, I need to," cuts in Childe, undoing Zhongli's trousers and sinking his hand into the opening.

"That isn't what I meant—Oh." A soft moan as Childe's hand wraps around him, giving him a stroke. And then another innocent look back to his face. "You're done reading?"

A blush coats Zhongli's cheeks like a fresh sunset. "I'm—You're—" A pause as he breathes in. Then, he turns back to his book, bending the spine a little too far in his distraction. "'But even gods are powerless to control the beliefs and doubts of their mortal followers.'" Zhongli's skipped a few lines, leaving Childe to smirk against his thigh. "'And even a god who is the guardian of justice has no means of instilling the words of his rules and regulations into the heart of every individual.'"

Time stands still as the lock gazes again. Childe says, "I can't resist you anymore. You're always so—" He turns over onto his knees, pressing his face into Zhongli's groin. "Tempting." He kisses the sliver of skin on display where his trousers are open. Then, the base of his cock before pulling it out properly, weighing the heft of it in his palm.

Zhongli holds on impressively as Childe licks the length of his cock. He smirks, seeing the white-knuckled grip of Zhongli's fingers across the leather cover. "Xiangsheng," he calls him, teasing the slit of Zhongli's cock with the tip of his cock. "You know that I love to learn from you, right?"

"Rascal," Zhongli finally says. "Hah—" His book snaps shut with a clap. Zhongli lays it on the table beside the couch. "Ajax," he says, quieter, softer, dripping with affection. His fingers find Childe's hair, brushing it back sweetly.

Childe preens under the touch. Kisses the tip of Zhongli's cock before swirling his tongue around the tip, lapping at the precome that wells there. Salty. Perfect. All he can taste and smell is just Zhongli because he permeates everything. Childe holds the base of his cock upright and slides his mouth down, sucking.

Zhongli is loose-limbed against the couch. He sighs, melting against the leather, eyes slipping closed at the feel of Childe's mouth around him. Childe sinks deeper, moaning around his cock. His tongue slides against the underside as he pulls back, bobbing along the length of it.

Childe is hard too, his erection aching in his trousers. He grinds against the couch to relieve the pressure.

"I should've known," says Zhongli then, "the moment I saw your shirt undone. The way that you unbuttoned mine next. 'I just want to see you,' you'd said."

Childe smiles as he kisses the tip. "I can't play all my cards too early. Besides, you wanted to read to me, and you know that I love that."

Zhongli pets his hair, fingers combing through the strands. Childe purrs at the touch, tensing easing from his body as Zhongli's nails rake against his scalp. "So good for me," says Zhongli then. He reaches out and cups Childe's cheek, smoothing his thumb across the seam of Childe's mouth.

Childe's lips part. His tongue darts out and tastes the old leather of Zhongli's glove. Zhongli tugs him back to his cock, a wordless request. And Childe swallows him down eagerly, hand grasping the part that his mouth doesn't easily reach.

It's easy to lose himself like this. Zhongli is such a solid presence underneath him, comforting and solid. Childe sucks at his cock, eyes closed as everything else slips away. Only Zhongli, the length that fills his mouth, the sloppy sounds as he suckles it. His lewd tongue, tracing its curve and bulging veins.

Zhongli's hand cups the back of his head, fingers tangled in Childe's hair. The other joins it, pushing. Gently but with authority, just enough strength to make it a silent request. Childe groans as he sinks until Zhongli's cock hits the back of his throat. Moans when his lips meet skin, nose buried in the coarse hair at the base.

"Fuck." Zhongli only curses at times like this, in the heat of the moment. His hips buck, driving deeper, and Childe chokes around him. "So good—Ajax, Mhmn."

Childe breathes in through his nose. Relaxes his throat as Zhongli thrusts into his mouth, short stuttering movements that he meets eagerly. Zhongli holds his head there with authority. His fingers pull at his hair, tangling those auburn curls.

His cock aches. Childe paws at it blindly, too dizzy to pop the button on his trousers and stick his hand in. His brain is fogged from the thick cock in his throat and Zhongli's sweet words as he praises him. Childe's hands find purchase against Zhongli's thighs, digging into his trouser leg. He grinds against the couch, seeking out what friction he can, eyes half-lidded, eyelashes grazing his cheeks.

He must look and sound a mess, debauched and aroused, humping the furniture as Zhongli sinks his cock deeper. But it's soft. Sweet even, slow and languid as Zhongli makes love to his mouth, not fucks it.

Childe's nostrils flare. His lungs burn and tears leak at his eyes. Spit pools at the corners of his mouth, wet and messy as trails of spittle drip into Zhongli's lap. And the sounds—Zhongli's breathy sighs and soft words; Childe's unabashed moaning around his cock; the creak of the leather couch as his hips slide against it.

He doesn't care about finishing. It was all an excuse to just enjoy Zhongli, to lose himself for a moment, to indulge in something that brings him comfort. He'd meant it earlier, about the trust he has in Zhongli, which is why Childe lets him thrust into his mouth, head held still because he knows it'll never be too much.

"Ajax," hisses Zhongli. His fingers pull at his hair enough to sting, but it's good, it's so, so good. Childe just swallows him down, humming, fingers digging into the meat of Zhongli's thigh as he clings to him. He drowns in it all. Zhongli whines pitifully as his hips halt, pulling Childe's face down until it's nearly flush. "Gods, you are perfect. Darling. Baobei, I—"

Childe nearly laughs when Zhongli comes. It must sneak up on him because Zhongli tugs his mouth off abruptly, with little grace, just in time for him to finish all over Childe's lips and cheeks.

Zhongli looks at him with glassy-eyed wonder, pink in the cheeks, chest heaving. Embarrassed. Childe grins, leaning back. He sweeps his fingers through the mess, bringing it to his mouth for a taste. "'Cold and unfeeling,'" quotes Childe from earlier, Rex Incognito almost a distant memory of the night.

"You didn't…" Zhongli trails off as his gaze drops to Childe's hard cock. Right. That. It aches so much that it nearly burns. Childe tries to wave it off but Zhongli grabs his wrist, tracing the bone with his thumb. A kiss to it before he says, "Come here."

Childe falls into Zhongli's lap gracelessly. His cock is pulled out, cradled by Zhongli's dangerous fingers. "You held yourself back," says Zhongli into his ear. "You did so well, taking care of me."

"Zhongli—"

A kiss to his temple, the shell of his ear, the arch of his cheek. Zhongli nuzzles every slip of skin that he can find, all the while his hand strokes Childe's cock, twisting around the head in a way that makes Childe lose all thought.

"So sweet." Zhongli's voice is far away, tipped with adoration. His cock twitches back to life, quick to harden due to his godly visage.

"Fuck," curses Childe when Zhongli presses their cocks together. A quick rifling around the drawer of the table next to them finds a bottle of oil. "That's—why is that there?"

"Why do you think?" Zhongli laughs at him. "How many times have I made love to you on this couch?"

Too many to count. Zhongli peels away a glove and slicks his hand, then their cocks. Childe rolls his hips experimentally and whines at the friction.

"Just like that," says Zhongli. A hand falls onto Childe's hip, guiding him. The other squeezes their cocks together, sliding as they both fuck into the grip. The tip of Childe's cock is red where it peeks out from Zhongli's palm. And Zhongli's cock is dark at the tip, leaking again. A sight to behold.

Childe kisses him, finally within reach. Zhongli keens, opening his mouth, tracing Childe's lips with his tongue. Then that tongue dives deeper, sweeping over Childe's tasting every corner, every tooth, every breath.

"I love you," says Childe. A sweet kiss, a soft peck that pulls a sigh from Zhongli. "Gods, I—Gods, Zhongli."

Zhongli moves his hand faster, tugging both of them. Childe's back arches as his head tips. He meets his palm with thrust after thrust, Zhongli's face buried against his neck. He mouths at Childe's skin, fangs raking over his nape. He breathes heavily. He ruts against him, cock thick and heavy as it drags against Childe's length.

Childe calls his name as he comes, arms wrapped around Zhongli's neck, fingers pulling at his hair. Zhongli's trousers are painted white and tacky with his spend. Zhongli's breath hitches as Childe's hand finds his, squeezing it tighter, moving it faster.

Overstimulated and dazed, Childe pants into his ear. "Another," he says. "You're always pulling a second one out of me, but this time, Zhongli, I want to see you come again."

Zhongli murmurs something that he doesn't catch. His hand moves quickly, eased by Childe's come, and—there it is. Zhongli spills again into their joined hands. Childe shudders as everything stills, the high of his orgasm still coursing through his veins. His hips jerk, chasing more even though he knows he's spent, and Zhongli chuckles softly as he kisses his forehead.

"What a divine thing you are," says Zhongli then, as if he isn't the god. Childe already feels the telltale swirls of Geo around the room as Zhongli relaxes so much he begins to lose his grip on himself. "And to think, I was just planning on reading to you tonight."

"To be fair, that was the plan." Childe makes a face when he realizes the mess they've made. Sweat and come coat them both, soiling their clothing.

Zhongli hums softly, brushing back his hair. "I think a bath is in order."

"The book stays out here."

"Oh?" Zhongli looks amused by the command. "And why is that?"

"It was you reading aloud—it always does me in. Like those old romances that Tonia reads. You're just so…" Childe waves vaguely.

Zhongli's arms settle on his hips, a palm pressed into the small of Childe's back. "And if I want to ravish you more? If I want to see you come on my cock this time?" Zhongli says it so easily, mouth curling around the words as if they aren't the licentious prattle of an old lizard.

Sounds perfect. Childe has a need. But— "At least wait until the bedroom."

Zhongli laughs as he stands, Childe tipping against him in surprise. "W—wait." Childe feels weightless as Zhongli holds him so easily. By the time they reach the bath, Zhongli's skin has darkened, charcoal welling from his flesh.

And if they bathe, only to be soiled again? For Childe to lose himself again to Zhongli's practiced hands and well-curved cock?

It's nothing but romance, as far as he's concerned.