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“This is an unfortunate predicament.”
“That is a very… very polite way of saying I’m absolutely fucked.”
Looking over, Zhongli wasn’t entirely sure what to make of this situation. The situation was very clear. Under the supervision of the Fatui’s latest experiments to boost combat capability, the youngest Harbinger had become something of a guinea pig. It wasn't their initial choice, but when given the option to take it themselves or subject ten of their subordinates to the new drug— the answer was practically made for them. Childe was far more confident in their own capacity than ten others to defeat the worst of the side effects.
Unfortunately, there were a few the staff had not anticipated, or at least pretended to be surprised by. Perhaps it was completely by accident, but Zhongli couldn't help but feel the ailment was designed and tailored specifically to take the Harbinger down.
"So... What happens now?"
"The abyssal energy accumulates, boils my in veins, turns my blood to sludge, and I die within the next three days. Probably," Childe said rather calmly for a man of younger years. "Unless I can find a way to inject my system with a constant flow of celestial energy like god juice dialysis while the drug runs its course. Preferably before I start to mutate. Apparently that part is irreversible."
"Surely that's not too complicated...? Perhaps a statue of the seven—"
"Which basically gives me the hives because I'm already corrupted," they said smiling. "It wouldn't be strong enough anyway for that same reason."
Zhongli frowned. "Is there no other way?"
Childe shrugged, smiling all the same. Perhaps they were in shock. "I don't know. I didn't exactly prepare to be killed by a should-be-mild delusion steroid this weekend."
"This is an unfortunate predicament," he repeated.
This time, Childe did not respond, clapping him on the shoulder with the full width of their palm as they passed. "Come on. I have some things I'd like to do before I turn into a self immolating abyssal monster."
"Wait," he thought aloud, unmoving beyond reaching to grab that same hand before it was gone. "You said a constant stream of celestial energy. How much?"
"I'm not sure the exact—"
"How much, Ajax?" he asked more firmly this time.
Hearing their name made the other back away a tad, weight falling onto their heels. “If it was someone else… a statue or leyline would be enough to tap into for a little while… but me…” they fell silent for a moment. “Because of my existing condition…”
“Ajax… how much do you need?”
He watched their lashes flutter, eyes watering as they didn’t seem to believe there was any way but to accept death as it was. “Probably enough to make a god.”
“How long do you have before it… escalates?”
“Not sure… maybe a few hours if I stay calm. Less if I don’t.”
Gently, he took their arms in his hands to form a delicate cage. Supporting them as they looked up at him with the vulnerable, wet expression of a young man that had just been given a death sentence.
“Go to your room,” he said, voice low and calm. “Take off your clothes. Take a cool shower. Get in bed. I’ll be right back.”
“But where are you— I should go see my—”
“Do as I say,” he said.
“Zhongli I want to see my family one last time—”
“If I can’t find you,” he interrupted. “I can’t save you. I only need a few minutes. I will be with you shortly.”
“Save me…?” they repeated back. “How?”
Zhongli wondered if being dense was a side effect. “I can and I will. I only need a moment of your patience.”
Their eyes flicked between his, “But— you— You don’t have enough—”
“Go to your room,” he said again. “I just need to fetch something.”
He heard Childe try to stop him as he started walking the direction they came— the heart of Snezhnaya not far away. They stopped calling for him a moment later.
It wasn’t too difficult to convince a fellow archon when already in good faith. The Tsaritsa was fairly willing to loan him his own power, especially knowing she could not contend with him if he decided to take it by force. It was easier to simply lend him the object so that he could save her Harbinger and return it afterwards. Prior to, he was given strict instructions to wash his hands… and the gnosis.
Childe, thankfully, had listened to him. He found the young warrior dozing gently in their sheets, wearing no more than a t-shirt. Looking at them now, it was difficult to believe the fearsome Tartaglia was even a threat. Long lashes, freckled creamy skin, and softly parted lips the color of rose petals were hardly warning signs of a danger.
Sitting down on the edge of the bed, the old god watched as they started to come to. “Jong…li?”
“Good boy,” he said calmly. “How are you feeling right now?”
“Tired,” they responded. “Like the energy is being sucked out of me.”
“It likely is,” he traced his fingers over their brow, brushing away the messy layers of tawny ginger. “But I’m going to fix it. I just need you to trust me.”
“How?”
Zhongli held the gnosis up with two fingers. Childe’s eyes opened wide, their body animating to sit up and look between him and the celestial mark that was supposedly gone.
“You needed a god,” he said, taking a breath as he curled his fingers around the piece and brought it closer to himself. He could feel this shell reaching, like tiny fingers as it came closer, trying to touch the supporting pillar. Folding his hand over chest, a wave of pure Geo rippled over his skin and he felt the gnosis activate against his nature again, the tethers attaching tightly and sending shocks of pure energy through him that were visible as streaks of light down his limbs and across his body. “So I brought you an Archon.”
He could see his eyes in Childe’s the amber glow almost alien it had been so long. “So… how are you going to—”
Zhongli swept a hand closer, curling it between the bare thighs, a suggestion that was difficult to deny.
"Oh. That... That would work?"
"It should," he said simply, cupping the delicate flesh in his palm. It was not unusual for Childe to feel weaker to a degree, but with the full influence of his gnosis, they almost felt like glass. "Though... It will require me to stay joined with you for the entire duration of my energy's residence."
"I don't understand," Childe said, swallowing. "What do you mean?"
"Simply put... I'm going to flush you with my own energy. I will take up any space this drug could take form and I will hold it. This means my influence has to remain constant."
"So... You're going to fuck me... for days?" the words came slowly, mildly incredulous.
"That would be the less clinical and lower risk method. Yes. If you find this vulgar or disagreeable, I'm sure a blood transfusion would be—"
The lips sealing his would be enough of an answer. Inhaling, Zhongli thread his free hand into the fine hairs at the back of Childe's neck. They tasted slightly wrong, he noted. Off. A bit off their usual flavor than he was accustomed to, in a way that felt like a medical aftertaste and made his skin turn to gooseflesh.
He didn't have time to waste.
Carefully and somewhat quick, he stayed as gentle as he could while slotting between the Harbinger's knees. Their hands and body welcomed him like always.
"It will hurt at first."
"Taking your dick always does at first," they said with a lopsided smile. "Don't worry Zmeika, I can handle it."
Zmeika... He couldn't help the pained smile to hear that little nickname. A dragon, of sorts, from old tales from their homeland. From stories their father told them as boy of a legendary entity that Childe related him to. It was something they'd simply decided suited him and insisted upon, even if he had been mistaken for a tiny snake more than once for some reason.
Leaning down he gave them a kiss just as soft, resuming the momentum with the time he had left. They hummed against his lips, slipping arms around his neck and bringing him down, resting over them as he reached for his belt. It was an unnecessary practice, pulling bit by bit from the loops they rested in, but Childe noticeably liked it. Perhaps it was the anticipation, but he didn’t mind the indulgence.
Just the sight of his body was enough to excite Childe, but seeing him in a more natural form for a Dragon… that always got a reaction. Their erection tented the edge of the loose tee, twitching as his own threatened to dwarf it. The twin lengths were thick and proud, already ready to claim the willing body beneath them.
“Choose,” he offered.
“Good ol’ Leftie,” Childe managed to say, wriggling closer to him.
Gripping his left cock, he guided it down to the tight ring of their sphincter. He massaged the tight ring with his thumb for a second, softening the tension and earning a few sot sounds from his smaller bedmate before he pressed his cock to the muscle. Sucking in a breath, he hated the way Childe’s voice turned to a mild whimper, catching before it stuttered in their lungs.
Licking against their lips, he distracted them from the sting. Rocking his hips forward he closed his eyes as the grip of their walls threatened to end him early. Zhongli tried to reassure as best he could, stroking their side as his cock bullied it’s way into the body too small for it. Childe's thighs trembled around his hips, already threatened with overstimulation as a small squeak left the back of their throat.
He needed to work quickly, he knew as much. The bile of the abyss on their tongue still making him want to bristle, and as he sank into their heat he could feel it trying to reject him. He was glad for this, in a way, as it made it easier to push back, the glow of godhood streaking across him and into everything he was. The gnosis acted as a battery and catalyst, amplifying the energy he needed from a trickle to a raging torrent.
This seemed to discomfort Childe more than anything. As he pressed them open, the presence of the celestial was almost immediately rejected, from the deep seated rot that was already part of their body, to the new wounds attempting to fester in their blood. Sweeping his hand over their forehead, he tried to reassure with a soft kiss there.
"It'll pass," he told them, focusing on ensuring that as he slicked down the length, giving more glide as his hips became flush. His second cock throbbed as it was pinned between them. "It'll pass, I promise."
"I know," Childe tried to sound strong but their voice was almost a sniffle, eyes clearly watered and fingers curled against his shoulders. "I know… It's okay Zhongli. I’m okay."
It never failed to break an old god's heart to see someone so young and full of life endure in such ways. He nodded a little, holding them close as he took a deep breath to focus for a moment. Buried deep in their flesh, it was easier to flood them from the inside out, igniting what was left of their humanity with divinity.
He heard a confused note from the Harbinger, "Woah—"
Following their attention, he glanced down to see his cock glowing through their skin. Flecks of golden radiance dancing across his skin like neatly fractured glass, forming a perfect image of his entire length in their guts, reaching up to their navel in a straight line.
"Flashlight Cock," they ineloquently commented.
Had the situation not been so dire, he probably would have found this comment endearing if not actually hilarious.
Zhongli gave a light thrust that completely knocked them out of the observation and curious wonder. He needed to be absorbed— his seed to paint their walls and be taken in to anchor his energy. It wouldn't be difficult, he thought, already feeling his balls tighten at the very idea. The very concept of the beautiful little warrior opening up and letting him in with every conceivable aspect was almost erotic enough to undo him.
An earnest moan from the other stripped him off any inhibition, the gravity of the situation dissipating for a second to actual desire. Licking his teeth, Zhongli let himself be enraptured. Calloused hands struggled against his spine, seeking traction over the thin coating of scales.
He would have liked it to be more affectionate, he noted, but there was time for that later. He arguably had days to make up for the first— the setup.
It was a bit harder to seek climax, he noted, when the body beneath him was rejecting him on a molecular level. Like pins and needles to his consciousness, the weight of the abyss and the delusion influence tried to stop him. Had he been a weaker being, or even without the gnosis, he doubted he could handle the agitation. Thankfully, the whimpering moans and wandering hands made it easier to ignore.
Zhongli knew this wasn’t easy for them either, evidence found in the way they bit their lip and the tears starting to stain the ruddy cheeks. His size, his divinity, the shape of him— everything about the two of them was polar and reactive, fighting against the desire to feel complete.
They did not complain, though he didn’t need them to.
Fingers curled around his other cock, circling the thick shaft and unconsciously stroking it as the digits clenched and relaxed, gliding along the length as he thrust their body upwards to sink back down. A shock of pleasure curled through him, forming as a low audible growl.
A chuckle caught his attention, Childe smiling as they palmed the leaking tip of his second. “Think— Fuck— Think this is—” he paused so they could speak, bullying the velvety walls in deeper, shallow thrusts. “Think this is occasion enough to take both?”
“Childe,” he rumbled their name, almost purring the simple syllables.
They gave a breathless laugh, “Come on… it’d be a way to go.”
Shaking his head, “You’re not going to die today.”
“Nah,” they said, panting a little. “Because your big… fat dragon cock is going to save me right?”
He wasn’t sure why the crass language always delighted him so much, dipping down to lick their lips. They continued to toy with his second erection, wringing long fingers over the ridges while warming the first. He could feel their pulse through the walls, muscle flexing to grip him tighter with every shaky breath.
“Gunna pump me so full of your cum,” they murmured, letting him taste the suggestion as it was spoken. “That I can fucking taste it.”
Using the words as an opening to slide his tongue into their mouth, Zhongli silenced the insane commentary with action. Shifting slightly, he tugged the warm body closer to himself, guiding their hips to tilt and open for him with the slight arch of their spine. Their hand drifted off him, finding his chest instead and tracing one of the glowing lines. The first thrust then was deep and hard, rocking their entire frame against him.
“Yea—” Childe’s clipped voice made it through the thrusts, a bit slurred and drawn out as he worked his hips to claim the very air in their lungs. “Come on, Zhongli— Fuck me— I won’t break—”
He growled softly in warning, but subtly knew what they were up to. His cock throbbed at the praise, the encouragement— the want. It was easier to forget this was necessity when his lover actively begged for more. Rolling his hips, he could almost taste the more familiar adrenaline, the scent of finally permeating the air he breathed.
Childe’s hand moved to his hair, tugging him back so they could speak again. "Y—you said you're a god... Fuck me like a god.
He didn't have the strength to say no, giving into the urge to glove his cock in their guts as deep as they could take with a deep inhale. It was becoming difficult to think, the tirade of emotion and need mixing together into an unchecked desire. The other had a point and he did need to hurry. There was plenty of time to make up for any mistakes.
Zhongli's hands moved to the metal bedframe, caging the harbinger blow his arms while pinning them to the sheets with his weight and cock. Blue eyes sparkled at him with obvious interest.
"Fine."
The bedframe, normally bolted to the floor, gave a warning creak with a thrust strong enough to threaten it. The second garnered a clipped noise from the man taking it, choking the air from their lungs. Zhongli quickly found a pattern, dragging our his motions as Childe's body begged for his cock, massaging the walls as he throbbed against them. It was nonsensical how he stretched them, how their legs spread and spine arched to helplessly take every amount of his length, fucking him back to the point he could see the glow of his dick in their deepest guts. His fingers warped the metal as he drank in the needy, growled moans of overstimulated pleasure, fucking the boy so hard they couldn't think of their name and rank.
Zhongli felt the familiar pressure rising in him again, chasing pleasure in their pliant form as they whimpered and begged for it. This time he didn't let himself be distracted, hunting his own satisfaction in the depths of their hot walls and taking what he wanted as he did. His name fell deaf ears, unsure if Childe was begging or pleading to stop or continue. All that mattered at that second was the way his cock scraped the velvet heat of their walls and his balls pressed to their rim. His second cock wedged between them, grinding against their smaller erection as it wept onto spasming abs and taught muscle.
Childe was nearly screaming as he started to feel himself cumming, voice no more than loud moans and clipped syllables as the bedframe tore itself from the floor, clattering loud and scraping across the polished concrete floor and tile. Zhongli licked his teeth, a low growl leaving him as he took it as a sign he was fucking them well, Childe clawing at his skin and unable to form words as he punched the air from their lungs and claimed their body like a beast in heat.
Licking a trail up their pulse, Zhongli's thrusts became quicker and stuttered, pistoning his cock against their guts with intent to break them. He sucked in a growl against a moan, not fighting the urge as he felt the red hot tension of his pleasure coiling tight in his sex, threatening to release with every plunge and whimpered moan of encouragement.
A hand clawed at his shoulder, the Harbinger practically fitful beneath him with a pleading gasp, voice tight and wanting— begging for his cum.
It was enough to push him over the edge, pouring himself into their walls and painting them white while fucking the seed deeper. Zhongli bristled at the sensation, more beast than human for a second as he claimed their open body as his, letting his energies seep into the vulnerable, slick flesh and take hold. The abyssal energy of the Delusion retaliated immediately, but couldn't hold weight against the passion of a god wanting.
Keeping himself as deep as he could, Zhongli allowed himself to come down in the limp arms draped around his neck.
"Fuuuuck—" the other sighed loudly.
He felt less than human as he licked into their mouth, pleased to find more of their natural, normal flavor was returning. It almost felt like they could too, actively relaxing into the kiss and enjoying it until oxygen was too necessary to continue. For a moment they simply stayed there, completely entwined in the sheets on a bedframe lightly warped from his hands.
"So now what?"
"We wait," Zhongli said calmly, sliding one knee up to take the Harbinger more comfortably into his lap. “I hold you. We continue to lay together… but I should not leave you for any length of time for this to hold.”
"I just... Stay like this? On your dick?" They asked tiredly.
"Yes," he confirmed, nuzzling their pulse with greedy inhales, trying to trace any amount of the drugs influence on them.
"How do I eat or... Anything...? This is going to be hell on my hips later.”
"You don't. It will be unnecessary so long as we stay like this. While my energy flows through you, your body essentially that of a god. The grander part of few days should not bother you."
Childe was quiet for a moment before giving a slight chuckle. Zhongli debated asking… he knew that reaction well enough. He knew better than to ask, but curiosity was a winning influence. "What are you thinking of?"
"I'm a god on a stick," they said almost happily, laughing a bit. "A shishkagod."
Zhongli wondered why he asked. "Ajax..."
Childe kissed his cheek, "A Li Cuisine Shishkagod."
He sighed.
"Extra meat and mushroom."
"You are... a menace."
They smiled against his skin. "The world wouldn't be the same without me."
He nuzzled them with a purr. It did not need saying that he agreed.
The next time someone would see Tartaglia, they would be upright, sleeping soundly against his chest with legs curled around his hips. Zhongli would accept the report on their behalf, a blanket around the pair of them to hide how deep he was in their guts, cock warmed by the heat of their body.
Zhongli would not convey to Childe that the patterns of the troops had changed, avoiding their room or coming too close to it; curious why their lord Harbinger moaned the way he did. It was hardly a convenient arrangement, but the other quickly realized the process did have the unfortunate side effect of exhaustion— the energy being absorbed and the other being purged in tandem taking it’s toll on the young body much like a divine flu. Nose to his pulse, they would often drift to sleep as he recounted stories to them to fill the gaps of time.
Four days later, Childe would return to work as if nothing happened. A bit loose limbed, perhaps, but in good spirits. Zhongli followed him in step on the way to the Tsaritsa's chambers, the gnosis in the Harbinger's hands as they happily claimed it from him this time. A prize earned, he thought. A redo of a past mistake.
While he couldn't say it, but he could still feel his energy singing in his veins, strong and healthy. His only regret was there was no way to make it permanant.
At least not at the moment.
Not until Childe asked him to.