Etched In Stone

Lizard Brain Activate

Childe tries on Zhongli's shirt which activates the corners of Zhongli's old lizard brain.

CW: Smut

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It starts innocently enough.

Zhongli is folding laundry, fingers pressing the edges of his shirts into crisp lines.

Childe watches him from the bed, rumpled in the sheets, still half-asleep despite it being mid-morning. "You know," he says, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "that color would look nice on you." A pause. "Try it on?"

Zhongli gives in to the quiet request because who is he to deny Childe? Soft, high-quality cotton of rich wine against pale skin. The cut, however, is...

He stares at himself in the mirror with a pinched expression. "Tight," he murmurs, Childe's shirt pulled taut around his chest. Drags against his nipples. Leaves nothing to the imagination, abs on display, as well as the sharp line of his waist on one side. Not exactly comfortable. "I see why you wear that damned harness now."

"That isn't why!" Childe shuffles around behind him, having climbed from the bed.

"It's too small." Zhongli hooks his finger underneath the high slit and plays with it, testing the give. Very little. No stretch. "I can't even close this properly—"

"Your shirt fits me pretty well."

What?

Zhongli turns to find Childe parading around in one of his shirts, plucked from the fresh pile of laundry. He pats at the collar, the top button undone.

Childe grins, smoothing out the wrinkles down the front. "What do you think?"

Zhongli thinks many things. It's loose but the tailored cut pulls in Childe's waist. The hemline hits just past the swell of his ass and as Childe turns around to show off, Zhongli sees his trim backside peeking out from underneath the silk.

"I..."

There's a mischievous glint in Childe's eyes. "Zhongli, your hands."

He doesn't need to look to feel the way Geo curls about the room, lazy in his power but steady as it thrums. It takes so little for his attention to slip into those baser instincts, but Childe parading around in his clothing proves to be another notch added to the list.

"Ajax, are you not wearing any underwear?"

The answer is obvious. "Oh, I was going to go shower after this, but—Zhongli?"

Zhongli moves before he realizes it, boxing Childe in until his calves knock against the mattress.

Childe's face is already pink. "I have to—um—get ready for work—Ah."

Zhongli slips his hand underneath the shirt that Childe's thrown on, palm nestled against the curve of his waist. "Take the day off," says Zhongli.

He's never impulsive in such a way, but seeing Childe in his clothes has activated old instincts. His lizard brain roars to life and he has a need to just... ravish him. It burns in his gut, pleasure curling.

"I've got to work," replies Childe. But when Zhongli presses a hand to chest and pushes gently, he goes, falling into the bed with no resistance. "Katya," he murmurs half-heartedly.

They both know Katya will be annoyed but let Childe do as he wishes. She's got a soft spot for them and is known to turn a blind eye.

Zhongli laughs as he settles over him, grabbing his chin and tilting Childe's face up. He slots their mouths together and Childe melts, loose-limbed in the bed, legs falling open for Zhongli to slip between. "So good for me," he says, nipping at Childe's mouth, dragging his tongue across the seam of his lips, coaxing them open.