I’m as good as you deserve. [ takes his hand again and gives it a squeeze, leading him down toward the docks. ] And absolutely worth getting to see that beautiful smile of yours.
I do not know if I deserve you, Ajax. Nor do I care to dwell on it too much. I would never want to be without you regardless.
[ And he follows Childe, though he will get sidetracked often and by anything. A little tug toward the man running a lottery selling jade here. How accurate Childe was able to recreate this store front or this tree there. And just---
Bursting with love and pride and happiness by the time they do reach the docks. ]
Xiansheng... don't say things like that. If anybody second guesses who deserves who it's me in regard to you. But, agreed, it's not something I like or care to think about too intensely. [ childe finds it hard not to smile when zhongli gets distracted every couple of steps, enjoying all the details he managed to cram into the dream. ]
No. I'd rather you tell me your favorite spot and if you'll help me we can recreate it together.
I would be hard pressed to call any part of Liyue my favorite for I love everything about the land, its people, and those who share an interest in learning more about her.
But there is one place---
North of the harbor and north of even Mount Tianheng where glaze lilies bloom and you can see the city, the mountains, and the water in all of its glory. A perfect balance of the elements - if you will.
[ squeezes zhongli's hand. ] Then let's go there. [ and he'll hand over the reins temporarily to zhongli, so he can paint a literal picture for them - changing the scenery and bringing them both to that very spot. ]
[ Zhongli squeezes Childe's hand back in return - even as the fingertips of his other hand ghost over the hydro Vision he hopes is belted at Childe's waist. ]
[ it sure is! childe is wearing his fatui harbinger outfit, so the glow of his vision is definitely glimmering from his waist. ]
Of course, Xiansheng. [ he smiles warmly at the request and overhead the sky darkens, but not to the degree where it would be consider a storm, and the 'heavens' open up and it begins to rain. ] You're not going to get cold, right? I can give you my jacket.
[ childe is going to make an invisible umbrella above zhongli, so the rain doesn't hit him. if he looks up he'll be able to see the general shape of it, because the rain seems to bend around him. ]
...agreed. [ he moves in front of zhongli to smile. ] I do love the rain. It's real calming, don't you think, ... [ sea creature shapes start forming around them, 'swimming' through the rain. ]
[ Zhongli laughs as he holds one hand palm up outside of the range of the "umbrella", letting the rain thrum gently against his palm and petting one of the water creatures with just his fingertips as to not disturb the shape as it drifts pass.
Golden lines appear on the small sliver of exposed skin at his wrist, brightening until that same gold gold encompasses all of his fingers and travels all the way up to both shoulders. And the ground underneath the soles of their shoes seem to hum in time with the pulsing - thump thump thump like the heartbeat of the earth. ]
Before the Guili Plains flooded in the Archon War, the rivers blessed the people in its abundance. And when we were forced to move south to Liyue, it is the waters that connect us to the outside world even as the mountains shield us on all sides.
Hydro - perhaps more than any other element - has the power to spread life to its surroundings.
How fitting that you are one of the most adept at using it of all the Vision bearers I have ever met.
I can barely recall a time where I felt so. Alive.
[ zhongli's compliment gives him pause, the enormous hydro whale that had started to breach out of the ground coming apart and drenching him in one fell swoop. zhongli, the former geo archon, thinks that *he* is the most adept hydro user? a splash of red dusts his cheeks as his smile broadens, chest swelling with an exorbitant amount of pride. ] Thanks, Zhongli Xiansheng. [ he has definitely done anything and everything within his power to perfect his usage of his element. ]
I'm glad. It's always so nice to see you smile. [ he's back at zhongli's side the next instant, taking both of his hands in his own and bringing them to his lips for a kiss. ]
[ childe is soaked to the bone. ] I'll be fine. I can't get sick in a dream... unless for some reason I wanted to. [ he shakes his head. ] But if you're concerned about my well being and my health... [ smirks, using dream magic to change himself into a set of dry clothes. ]
Hm. I wonder. [ and then he's seeing if he can't use that same dream magic to change zhongli into a beautiful kimono. ]
[ Zhongli holds his arms out, slowly spinning once in place so he can take in the full view of the kimono in all of its glory.
Soft, light and matching him perfectly.
As if Childe would provide anything less than the best for him. ]
You always bring me gifts. Ensure that I feel adored.
But this time might I show a token of my adoration.
[ And he wraps his arms around Childe's neck, fine silk of his kimono sleeves brushing against Childe's back. He raises himself on the balls of his feet so he can enjoy a little bit of height advantage - an inch at best.
Fingers (and arms now glowing pale gold up to his shoulders) glow softly in the rain.
I managed to learn a number of things while in Inazuma. [ he did more than follow bits & pieces of a trail left in scaramouche's wake. ] And I did look forward to eventually returning to Liyue to show you. [ smiles at zhongli, admiring him in all his golden glory. ]
[ childe's smile broadens at the closeness and though he's sorely tempted to kiss zhongli he refrains, simply basking in the glow of his presence as he strokes the back of his neck lovingly. ]
[ The skin warms there, burning hotter and hotter until there the pressure feels like it's about to overflow.
And then with a rumble it does.
Motes of golden light scatter across the surface of Childe's clothes and skin - warm and heavy. Like being wrapped in a blanket. Sturdy like standing under an awning.
And Zhongli's eye glow a fierce amber. Brighter than perhaps Childe has ever seen. The tips of his hair pulsing with that same divine glow. ]
This is my gift of protection - from Zhongli to Ajax.
[ The geo mark on the back of Childe's neck pulses. ]
[ childe's breath catches in his throat as the mark sears the back of his neck, his eyes fluttering closed as he feels the immense pressure start to build behind it. as his mouth drops open he lets out a shuddering breath, nails digging into whatever part of zhongli he's hanging on to, one eye eventually opening to watch as he speaks. ] A gift I humbly accept, Zhongli Xiansheng. [ and he finally does kiss him, the moment the mark pulses his lips are on zhongli's. ]
[ Just as Childe protects Zhongli from the pattering of raindrops overhead, Zhongli wraps his arms around Childe and shelters him from the outside world like an awning over a street corner or a cave carved out of a mountain. Rigid, all-encompassing and absolute.
His arms wrap around Childe's in a vice-grip much more sturdier than their embraces in Imeeji, but no less gentle and tender as he presses his lips to Childe in return. ]
Morax never knew Liyue. It was but a stretch of beach untouched by Osial's wrath at the time he stumbled upon it.
Rex Lapis lived generations of mortal lifetimes there.
But Zhongli - Liyue is home to Zhongli because he met a young, brash and reckless Harbinger named Tartaglia there. Someone who taught him that life is best lived when enjoying it to the fullest.
[ it kind of hurts to be squeezed like this... but he doesn't complain, because he knows zhongli is as strong as stone, and the intensity of the embrace is just a testament to how much he cares. he loves this. he loves him. ] ... [ childe smiles warmly. ] And you, Xiansheng, showed me kindness and friendship... two things that have seldom been offered because of my nature and my status. Every single day I'm thankful for the relationship we shared, even before it turned into this... you're very special to me, Xiansheng, and I'm glad to have met you.
I will. Of course I will. I'd like to wear it in the waking world too, so maybe we can figure out how to manage that. [ childe reaches to his neck, stroking his fingers over the mark with a widening smile. ] Mark or not I'll always find my way to you.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
leaveofabsence) wrote2025-03-14 08:34 am
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I do not know if I deserve you, Ajax. Nor do I care to dwell on it too much. I would never want to be without you regardless.
[ And he follows Childe, though he will get sidetracked often and by anything. A little tug toward the man running a lottery selling jade here. How accurate Childe was able to recreate this store front or this tree there. And just---
Bursting with love and pride and happiness by the time they do reach the docks. ]
Would you like to venture out into the water?
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No. I'd rather you tell me your favorite spot and if you'll help me we can recreate it together.
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But there is one place---
North of the harbor and north of even Mount Tianheng where glaze lilies bloom and you can see the city, the mountains, and the water in all of its glory. A perfect balance of the elements - if you will.
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Is this it, Xiansheng?
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[ Zhongli squeezes Childe's hand back in return - even as the fingertips of his other hand ghost over the hydro Vision he hopes is belted at Childe's waist. ]
May I ask one more thing?
. . .
Can you make it rain?
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Of course, Xiansheng. [ he smiles warmly at the request and overhead the sky darkens, but not to the degree where it would be consider a storm, and the 'heavens' open up and it begins to rain. ] You're not going to get cold, right? I can give you my jacket.
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[ And he leans up closer to Childe's side so they are pressed together shoulder to elbow. ]
I will not catch cold from a little rain.
It just reminds me of simpler times. Before things became so complex.
... Your smile is also beautiful in the rain. As if you felt more at ease because of it.
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...agreed. [ he moves in front of zhongli to smile. ] I do love the rain. It's real calming, don't you think, ... [ sea creature shapes start forming around them, 'swimming' through the rain. ]
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Golden lines appear on the small sliver of exposed skin at his wrist, brightening until that same gold gold encompasses all of his fingers and travels all the way up to both shoulders. And the ground underneath the soles of their shoes seem to hum in time with the pulsing - thump thump thump like the heartbeat of the earth. ]
Before the Guili Plains flooded in the Archon War, the rivers blessed the people in its abundance. And when we were forced to move south to Liyue, it is the waters that connect us to the outside world even as the mountains shield us on all sides.
Hydro - perhaps more than any other element - has the power to spread life to its surroundings.
How fitting that you are one of the most adept at using it of all the Vision bearers I have ever met.
I can barely recall a time where I felt so. Alive.
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I'm glad. It's always so nice to see you smile. [ he's back at zhongli's side the next instant, taking both of his hands in his own and bringing them to his lips for a kiss. ]
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Zhongli can't help but laugh at how he is now soaking wet from his own whale. And how drenched the landscape is around them because of it. ]
I do believe I should worry about you catching ill from the weather. But this is a dream, yes?
[ He smiles a little to sharp into the kiss, eyes burning a fierce gold. ]
So if we do not will it so, then it will not happen. Correct?
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Hm. I wonder. [ and then he's seeing if he can't use that same dream magic to change zhongli into a beautiful kimono. ]
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[ Zhongli holds his arms out, slowly spinning once in place so he can take in the full view of the kimono in all of its glory.
Soft, light and matching him perfectly.
As if Childe would provide anything less than the best for him. ]
You always bring me gifts. Ensure that I feel adored.
But this time might I show a token of my adoration.
[ And he wraps his arms around Childe's neck, fine silk of his kimono sleeves brushing against Childe's back. He raises himself on the balls of his feet so he can enjoy a little bit of height advantage - an inch at best.
Fingers (and arms now glowing pale gold up to his shoulders) glow softly in the rain.
He strokes the back of Childe's neck. ]
Here.
On your skin.
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[ childe's smile broadens at the closeness and though he's sorely tempted to kiss zhongli he refrains, simply basking in the glow of his presence as he strokes the back of his neck lovingly. ]
Perfect.
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And then with a rumble it does.
Motes of golden light scatter across the surface of Childe's clothes and skin - warm and heavy. Like being wrapped in a blanket. Sturdy like standing under an awning.
And Zhongli's eye glow a fierce amber. Brighter than perhaps Childe has ever seen. The tips of his hair pulsing with that same divine glow. ]
This is my gift of protection - from Zhongli to Ajax.
[ The geo mark on the back of Childe's neck pulses. ]
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His arms wrap around Childe's in a vice-grip much more sturdier than their embraces in Imeeji, but no less gentle and tender as he presses his lips to Childe in return. ]
Morax never knew Liyue. It was but a stretch of beach untouched by Osial's wrath at the time he stumbled upon it.
Rex Lapis lived generations of mortal lifetimes there.
But Zhongli - Liyue is home to Zhongli because he met a young, brash and reckless Harbinger named Tartaglia there. Someone who taught him that life is best lived when enjoying it to the fullest.
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In at least this...
[ And he starts drawing Childe back toward the shelter of the mountains, the earth rumbling underneath their feet. ]
Let I find my way to you, and you to me.
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