@visionhcld
Head propped up on his hand, Ajax regards Zhongli with a contemplative, curious air. “You know, you’ve always been willing to indulge me when we’ve been intimate, no matter what it is that I wished to try. But what about you?”
He straightens, leaning forward with an intent look in his eyes as his fingers loosely lace together. “What desires or whims bide their time unspoken in your heart, xiansheng?”
zhongli notices, of course, the pointed stare he receives from across the table. he always does. and sometimes, he responds to such displays proper— a tilt of the head and a question posed between careful bites of food or a slow sip of tea. today, however, he can sense something behind that gaze, something beyond mere thoughtfulness or simple-minded curiosity.
and so, he simply continues eating as though he has not a care in the world, the whole of his focus seemingly settled on the particularly delightful bowl of freshly fried rice in his hands when ajax's question, at last, slices through.
ah, that. he hmph's a quiet laugh to himself before quickly, gracefully, setting his half-eaten side-dish aside, finally meeting the other man's eyes just as he leans forward, lacing his fingers together. his own eyes widen slightly, then—
even without trying, to him, ajax is... well, beautiful.
it's hardly a strange question, zhongli thinks. and quite frankly, he's somewhat surprised it has never been posed before now. he chooses to answer it two-fold. " i enjoy indulging you. " he begins, stating the simple truth. " and i have had countless lifetimes to try an equally uncountable number of things, as you well know. " allowing the man to test both his bounds and the edges of his tastes was, truly, a pleasure in itself.
curiosity, after all, was certainly one of the things that made humans— well, human. and zhongli delighted in it and in witnessing it in a way so close, so personal.
" that said... " he continued, knowing so simple an answer would never suffice. " perhaps that which i desire most from you is the art of surprise. i enjoy a great many things; but, you are often unpredictable in your passions. that you continue to take me by surprise is a feat in and of itself, to be sure. do not underestimate that particular talent."
in truth, he quite liked being worn down, pulled along, by the other man's current, as though he were a river rock, shaped by his time with this young, wild man. of course, he too enjoyed trying to catch the other off-guard from time to time. and so, he tries his hand at that now, adding one last anecdote as he returns his attention to his meal.
" if you instead long for a far more specific answer, i often find myself lost in thought at your... more public displays of affection. "
“Hey, the only thing I whine about you denying me from the experience of those ‘countless lifetimes’ is the full manifestation of your martial power, and we’re working on that.” Truly, they are. With fire and fulgur and the bone-snapping, bloody-toothed pain of mortal determination, Ajax is slowly clawing forth more and more of Morax’s long eons of combat expertise with each clash between them.
Even so, he does wonder what urges or passing fancies Zhongli entertains that might surprise him — what things he might wish for that Ajax has never even thought of.
The first answer he receives strokes his heartstrings, stokes his pride, and leaves him with almost nothing to work with. It is no small measure of maddening given that he was fishing for something in particular to indulge Zhongli in, and yet,‘to indulge you’ brings a suffusing warmth to his chest that makes him feel seen in a manner that he cannot quite pinpoint.
The second answer, well…
“‘Surprise’ isn’t quite the response I was looking for, no, but it’s an appreciated one nonetheless.” He grins and leans back to rest his head on his fist once more, gaze flickering over Zhongli’s form despite its faraway focus, less a rakish glance-over than a moment where one can see the calculations ripple behind his eyes.
It’s not as if he’s never inquired before, but the question has always been phrased as a ‘what do you want, Zhongli?’, ‘what would you have of me?’, or ‘ohh, you want that, hmmm?’ often when they’re already occupied with hands on buttons and fingers raking through hair, or in the honey-thick moments when their desire pulls against and towards one another with a terrible, inescapable gravity.
Surprise is one thing — one he very much intends to keep going, even when he wasn’t particularly aware of doing so beforehand, so eh, roll as he goes — but the other is… notable.
“Public,” Ajax breathes, and oh, that admission sparks coals low in his gut that he hadn’t realized were there to begin with. He banks them deliberately, but even so, the slow, wide grin and suddenly feral air of his gaze stands testament to the maelstrom of ideas churning up to the forefront of his mind. “Can’t say I’ve had any tendency to be subtle, so I’ll have to ask you to narrow that down a little further, xiansheng.”
He picks up his teacup with a little swirl, mischievous delight and more than a little heated interest evident as he takes a sip. “More subtle claims, like that hair clasp of ruby and white gold I’ve seen you wear on occasion?
“Maybe the more hidden kind, where you consciously keep the marks that I’ve left on you below your collar while the people around you walk past, carelessly oblivious to the physical evidence of my touch?
“Or perhaps,” he says, raising the teacup to his lips with nonchalant grace, “one day I should keep you detained before we head off to work and afterwards hear how long it took before you relaxed and started leaking my come?
“Though perhaps I should ignore all of that and bend you over the railing of the Baiju Guesthouse to see what kind of noise you make when your face is bared for all of Chihu Rock to see as you find your pleasure against the brilliant silhouette of Liyue Harbor’s lights, a dark shadow of need and greed splayed against this singular balcony where all in the city know the Harbinger takes his rest?”
Ajax leans halfway across the table, plucks up Zhongli’s hand, and his lips alight on the tendons of that wrist, thick and apparent against the scholar-thin forearms Zhongli sports in this appearance.
“Though since you so enjoy it,” he murmurs, “perhaps I shall simply surprise you.”
