"Crystalflies" - a mini Zhongli x Childe fic
The team finds a cave full of interesting crystalfles. Lumine makes for a great wingwoman.
“Hey guys! I think we should be able to rest here for the night,” Lumine announced to the rest who were making their way to her. She looked around, surveying the landscape she stood on. A rocky overpass loomed ahead, occasionally emitting little glimmers of light.
“Ooh, what’s that light? Let’s go check it out!” The shrill Paimon yelled out, dashing (flying?) forward ahead. “Paimon?” “Guys, look! Look! It’s full of crystalflies! They’re so pretty!”
Catching up to Paimon, the rest of the group were left stunned at the sight that beheld them. Little geo crystalflies fluttered around the cave, twinkling and glowing like stars in the night sky. Occasionally, they would gently bump into each other before flitting off in another direction.
“There’s at least ten of them…” Lumine muttered, holding out her hand. To her surprise, instead of running away, one of them landed on her hand, its wings still intact before fluttering off again. “These crystalflies are not afraid of humans, perhaps because they’ve never encountered one before.” Zhongli the walking encyclopaedia spoke up, gently poking one of them with his hands. “Do you think they’ll taste different than the ones we see regularly?” Xiangling chimed in, eyes shining like the crystalflies.
“You’ve eaten-?! Never mind, we can try it out tomorrow,” Lumine replied, raising her eyebrows. “For now, let’s sleep in this cave alright? It’s not so often you get to meet crystalflies that don’t disappear immediately!” Childe declared, already pulling out his sleeping bag.
“Alright! Xiangling will sleep with us over here, you can go sleep with Zhongli over there,” Lumine said, discreetly nudging Childe’s side.
“Wh- why? Don’t we all usually sleep side by si-"
“Shh! I’m giving you a chance here. Don’t think I haven’t seen the looks you give him,”she hissed, before smiling and jogging off. Leaving Childe and Zhongli, who’s just come back from the other side of the cave, to their own devices.
“So, Xiansheng! Wanna sleep with me?” Childe flushed, slapping his hand to his mouth. “I mean-! You, you ready to sleep?”
“Of course, come here.” Chalking it down to Zhongli’s occasional obliviousness, Childe sighed, only to feel his heart race when Zhongli placed their sleeping bags together. “Right, right just like always, just like always, nothing more to it,” he reasoned with himself, stiffly moving down to settle into his side. “Goodnight, Childe” Zhongli’s amber eyes glowed dimly in the dark-lit cave, reminiscent of the night sky view of Liyue. A warm feeling settled in Childe, who replied in tune.
Everyone was now asleep, or that was what Childe would’ve liked, as even as he felt the hours tick by, he was still wide awake. The Harbinger just simply could not fall asleep, cursing the recent hectic week where he pulled all-nighters for messing up his sleep schedule. “Maybe if I go and fight some lawachurls it’ll help me,” he thought, as even as he felt the hours tick by, he was still wide awake.
Propping himself upright as quietly as possible, he turned to take an opportunistic peek at Zhongli before he left, and oh-
The consultant’s face was a tranquil sight; long eyelashes fluttering so slightly in the cool night breeze, his usual stone face replaced with a gentle expression, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Childe’s heart tickled, his movements halted as he leaned in closer to Zhongli. Crystalflies surrounded the both of them, their warm glow relaxing him further. Azure eyes drifted around the sleeping man’s face, taking in as much as possible. They lingered on his lips, which fell slightly parted, revealing glimpses of sharp teeth and tongue.
“They look so soft…” Childe held his breath as he reached out, touching a finger pad to his lips. He pressed gently, enamoured with the way they sprung back into shape. “If I… he wouldn’t notice right?”
He leaned closer, feeling Zhongli’s slow breath against his face. He closed his eyes, his own lips hovering just above the other’s when he abruptly stopped.
“No, wait! I want to do our first time properly, when he’s awake!” Childe’s eyes snapped open, reeling his head back, the blood rushing to his face as he comprehended what he was about to do. Just as he was about to get up, he felt himself being yanked downwards again, his lips pressing against something soft and warm. His breath hitched as blue met gold, Zhongli staring deeply into his eyes. He struggled to move, but Zhongli’s firm grip held him still with their lips together, for a moment that seemed like eternity.
Finally he was let go, and he popped off the other’s mouth with a gasp, his face fully flushed as he fell to his side.
“Wh- what?! You-“ Childe spluttered, his mind swirling. Zhongli sat up to face him, leaning in so close that Childe thought he was going in for another.
“For your information, the lord of each element can see through their respective crystalflies,” Zhongli whispered, his soft deep voice sending jolts through Childe.
“I realised when you started moving closer,” Zhongli replied, thoughtfully pausing before continuing. “Why did you stop?”
“That was because I wanted it to be more special…” Childe mumbled under his breath, almost unwilling to be heard. He buried his face in his hands, avoiding looking at the other.
“Oh, uhm… my apologies,” Zhongli’s voice sounded bashful, surprising him. “We could try again next time, to your liking. Let us return to bed for now.”
With that, Zhongli shifted closer to Childe, facing each other. Childe’s heart raced as he realised what Zhongli implied, squeezing his eyes shut.
“If you don’t mind, Childe,” Zhongli brought his arms around Childe’s waist and torso, pulling him close to his chest. The scent of musk and sandalwood soothed Childe, slowing down his heartrate, soon sending the Harbinger to sleep. His last few conscious thoughts were that of Zhongli’s scent and touch (and the same went for the other).
Tieru here! Slowly catching up to my backlog of minifics that I have yet to post to tumblr :''')
I'll prioritise reposting the ones that I'm more proud of, so stay tuned <3