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[leaveofabsence]

[ The default voicemail message greets you. ]

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[leaveofabsence]

[ Instinctively he reaches out to touch---

But he stops with his gloved hand hovering over the womb tattoo. ]

May I?

[childeishly]

Ah, s- sure. Just, ah, be... careful... it... it's sensitive...

[leaveofabsence]

. . .

[ He carefully traces over the hydro portion of the tattoo with just his fingertips. ]

[childeishly]

[ his hands twitch at his sides as he tries to keep from grabbing zhongli's wrist. turns his head aside as his face ignites with color, chest heaving a number of uneven breathes. ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ And he pulls his hand away. ]

Does it hurt?

[childeishly]

No, it's... it's kind of the opposites, actually.

[leaveofabsence]

Perhaps I should rephrase the question. Does it bother you?

[childeishly]

D- Define bother.

[leaveofabsence]

Distract you. Or perhaps makes you uncomfortable.

[childeishly]

...a bit of a distraction. But not in, ah, a bad way...? I mean, it's not exactly good, but... [ clears his throat. ] Uncomfortable isn't the right word.

[leaveofabsence]

I see. . .

When did this start? They were not so sensitive a few days ago.

[childeishly]

The others aren't sensitive, but it's not like I normally sit around touching them... I just thought they were tattoos and not... whatever the hell they actually are. Sensitivity points???

[leaveofabsence]

[ He looks at Childe for a long time, slowly letting all of this sink in. The Abyss. The mask. The nightmares. And now this - on top of everything else. ]

Is there something that I can do?

[childeishly]

...

Xiansh- [ coughs. ] Ah, what do you mean, you’re already helping by being here. And this is, uh, it’s not something I imagine you... I can probably deal with this. It was just alarming. It’s not everyday I think I’m going to [ clears his throat. ] if someone so much as touches this, h- hah.

[leaveofabsence]

I'm afraid I do not understand. Is there something else to this tattoo?

[childeishly]

K- Kinda.

[leaveofabsence]

[ He waits to see if there is going to be a follow up to that, clearly confused about this whole situation. ]

[childeishly]

[ looks aside. ] T- Touch it again.

[leaveofabsence]

[ And so he does.

Very carefully. With just the press of his fingertips. ]

[childeishly]

[ he grabs zhongli's wrist and holds it there, cheeks flushing a dark red as contact remains persistent. ] It feels like my entire body is on fire, Xiansheng.

[leaveofabsence]

[ Oh.




Oh, okay. He gets it now.

He doesn't know what he is supposed to do about it, but he gets it now. ]

Childe...

[childeishly]

[ he takes a step back, though his grip on zhongli's hand only tightens, like he wants to break the contact, but at the same time he wants to keep it there, because it's his only source of relief at the moment. ]

Why the hell would they do this? [ he manages to release his wrist and force himself another step back. ] This is... ridiculous. [ and embarrassing. ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ When Childe takes a step back, Zhongli reaches for his retreating hand with both of his and squeezes his fingers lightly. ]

I suppose the answer would be like any other. Entertainment.

[childeishly]

[ he forces a broken laugh. ] I guess that's true. The others just change different hues or seem to move around, but they don't... [ sighs, exasperated. ] This is the only one that does this, but I thought the placement was a little... off.

[leaveofabsence]

It does seem...

[ But the words trail off as Zhongli gets caught up in his own thoughts. With a shake of his head, his focus returns to Childe. ]

But let's get you comfortable, and then you can decide how you'd like to proceed.