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The scent of blood that permeated the air was so close, Childe could practically taste it, feel it coursing through his own veins. He ran his tongue over his fangs, eyes narrowing at the welcomed intrusion. He had been on the hunt for blood all night, waiting eagerly in the shadows of the city for an unsuspecting passerby with their neck on display for him. The metallic scent stirred him from his boredom, knowing he had a meal waiting for him.
Childe stood silently and listened closely for the sound of footsteps to tell him where the person was coming from. His breath was quiet, he was focused, his eyes closing for a moment. And then without a moment’s delay, his eyes flew open and he whipped around just in time to pin the body of the taller man against the stone wall.
Zhongli reeked of blood, he was absolutely covered in it, yet none of it was his own. He had been out late tormenting the city, reaping the lives of complete strangers who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tonight it was two people Zhongli had killed, a couple that was out on a late night stroll, completely oblivious to the fact that not long after they left their flat, they would both be dead in a puddle of blood for some poor old woman’s dog to find in the early morning on a walk.
Childe followed Zhongli from the shadows, back pressed against the wall of the alleyways as he weaved between them. As far as Childe was concerned, Zhongli was his prey, and all he had to do was wait for the perfect moment to strike.
As far as Zhongli was concerned, however, he was safe. A cold-blooded killer with a knife tucked inside his black coat, making his way back home after another successful hunt. Alas, he was privy to the fact that he was now being hunted down by a vampire.
Zhongli tucked his hands in his pockets, breathing out a breath of cold air into the winter night. Snow crunched under his feet as he walked down the empty streets, making sure to stay close to the shadows in case any car came driving by with their bright lights beaming. He was on his usual route back home which just so happened to lead him through a graveyard. Quite fitting.
As Zhongli walked further into the graveyard along the dimly lit path, Childe wasn’t far behind him. Childe was fast, he had mastered the art of disappearing into the night, and mastered the art of stalking.
Zhongli froze when he heard a noise behind him, standing still as he listened, but there was silence. He exhaled softly as he reached a hand inside the lining of his jacket, fingers grazing the blade of his knife as he began to turn. Surely it was just an animal, but what if it wasn’t? Zhongli turned around fast, not yet drawing out his blade. He let out a breath of relief when he saw nobody was behind him. He let go of the knife, but all too soon.
As Zhongli went to turn back in the direction he was headed, he was thrown backwards, landing on the concrete, air knocked out of his lungs. Childe was quick to pounce, hands landing on Zhongli’s shoulders, pinning him down to the ground as he towered over him. Zhongli stared up into the red eyes of the man above him, head spinning from the rough landing he had had. He struggled against the firm grasp Childe had on him, his hands finding the man’s shirt, trying to push him off. But Childe was too strong, inhumanly strong. It was no use struggling as Childe pressed a knee into Zhongli’s abdomen, causing him to groan in pain.
Childe’s breath was hot as he leaned in close to Zhongli. “This blood isn’t yours, is it?”
Zhongli swallowed, still trying to push off the other. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Childe chuckled, “I can tell, you know. The blood on your shirt does not match the blood coursing through your veins right now.” He leaned in close, pressing his face to the collar of Zhongli’s shirt and inhaling. Zhongli stiffened beneath him. “I think I know your dirty secret.” He whispered against the shell of Zhongli’s ear.
“Get- get off of me.” Zhongli groaned.
“Struggling will get you nowhere.” Childe spoke, finding it amusing how hard Zhongli was trying to free himself.
“I don’t know what you want from me.”
“I want your blood,” Childe spoke in a low growl.
Zhongli’s eyes widened. This was his first time in the shoes of his victims, completely defenseless. He should have pulled out his knife when he had the chance.
“Do you know what I am?”
“I don’t understand.”
Childe smiled, showing his fangs, the moonlight reflecting off of them. “Do you understand now?”
Zhongli stared at the two fangs being barred by the other man. He couldn’t possibly be… no, vampires weren’t real. “You’re insane!” He spat.
Childe scoffed, lowering his head and letting his fangs graze against the skin of Zhongli’s neck. He could feel his pulse, heart pumping blood even faster. “Just a bite.”
Before Childe’s fangs could pierce his skin Zhongli shouted, “Wait! Just wait, please!”
“Begging?” Childe smirked as he lifted his head back up so he could see Zhongli’s panicked eyes.
“You asked me about the blood, you asked about the blood that’s on me!” Zhongli spoke quickly. “You’re right, it isn’t mine. I killed two people, the blood is theirs, it’s all theirs.” He felt like he was going to throw up. He felt so pathetic.
“A killer,” Childe’s voice softened, “just like me.”
“Yes. Yes, just like you. Let me go and I’ll tell you where the bodies are, you can have their blood, you can have all of it!”
Childe tilted his head, “You make an interesting bargain. How could I refuse? But still, there is more I must ask of you in exchange for sparing your life.” He moved his knee off of Zhongli.
“What is it?” Zhongli asked.
Childe let go of Zhongli and stood up, towering over him as he stayed on the ground. “You’ll work with me. You’ll bring me the bodies of your victims. Some of them alive, and some of them dead, however you would prefer, I’m not picky about my blood.”
Zhongli sat up, planting his hands on the ground to push himself up. “If I bring you blood to drink, you’ll let me go tonight?” Childe nodded. Zhongli stood up, he was tempted to grab his knife and plunge it into Childe’s heart. But if he really was a vampire, and if the stories people told weren’t a lie, that wouldn’t do anything but aggravate him.
Zhongli nodded, “Okay, I’ll do it.”
Childe smiled, “Perfect.” His hand slipped inside of Zhongli’s coat, pulling out the knife. He brought it up to the moonlight, looking at the blood on it and humming before licking the blade slowly. The sight made Zhongli’s stomach sink. “What is your name?”
“Zhongli.”
“I’m Childe.” He licked the knife clean, all while Zhongli watched, unable to look away from the sight. “You will meet me here again tomorrow night at midnight, is that clear?” Childe raised an eyebrow.
Zhongli’s eye twitched. There was something about the way that Childe had said the last part. He should have been mad, should have felt degraded to have someone command him to do something, but he wasn’t. He nodded slowly.
Childe handed the knife back to Zhongli and licked his fangs. “Well, I’ll see you then.”
It seemed like he was gone the second Zhongli blinked. He pocketed the knife once more and rushed back home. He kept looking behind him as he walked fast, Childe’s gaze still burned in the back of his mind. He threw his clothes into the wash, dropped his knife into a bucket of bleach, and got into the shower, burning hot, he scrubbed his skin harshly. He sank down against the shower wall, wondering what he had just gotten himself into.
–
The first time Zhongli was offered a taste of blood was a month after he and Childe had first come to terms with their agreement. Once a week at midnight, Zhongli would drive to Childe’s house outside of the city with an offering. A person for him to drink the blood from. While Childe would have preferred it to be at least twice a week, Zhongli had to be cautious of the police still, he couldn’t go around kidnapping and killing too many people. They were already searching for him, after all.
Zhongli had brought Childe a young woman, unconscious, but alive. He had kidnapped her just a while earlier. She was drunk, stumbling around the streets when Zhonglin offered her a ride home. The thing about Zhongli was that he looked kind. Soft eyes, a charming smile, put together. He looked like a man you could trust with your drink at a bar.
The woman had gotten into his car and he had driven in the direction she had told him to go. However, when he was sure there were no other cars passing and no one was walking on the street, after a while, he pulled over on the side of the road. The woman slurred a question, “What are you doing?”
Zhongli unbuckled his seat belt and reached into the back seat, opening up a plastic bag and removing a cloth soaked in chloroform. Before the woman could speak again, Zhongli grabbed the back of her headrest with one hand, and with the other he pressed the cloth against her face. The woman struggled beneath him, flailing in the seat and trying to scream out, all while the chemical worked its way inside of her bloodstream, traveling from her lungs to her brain. After a few minutes, and him dowsing the cloth in the liquid once more, she was unconscious in his front seat.
He exhaled a sigh of relief when she fell unconscious, collapsing back against his seat and glancing over at her before buckling himself up again. Zhongli drove the short distance to Childe’s house from there. Once he arrived he carried her limp body inside. Childe had already been at the door awaiting Zhongli’s arrival and swinging it open when he saw his car.
Zhongli laid the woman down on the floor of the living room, a blanket beneath her. Childe stood behind Zhongli, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I want you to drink her blood with me.”
“Huh?” Zhongli turned his head to look at the other.
“It’s the first person you’ve brought me who was alive, and trust me, blood tastes even better when it’s freshly pumped.” Childe’s eyes were lustful as he spoke. “You’ve never tasted someone else’s blood before, this is a big moment Zhongli. Let me share this moment with you.”
The way Childe spoke to him, the way he looked between him and the woman so hungrily, it stirred something in Zhongli’s stomach. He had watched Childe drink blood from his other victims and he had never thought about doing it himself, but if it was as good as Childe made it sound… How could he refuse?
Childe waited until the woman was awake, he wanted Zhongli to get the full experience of drinking blood from someone who was alive. The woman stirred and as her vision unblurred, she mumbled incoherently. Zhongli sat back on his heels on the floor, watching as Childe got down beside the woman.
Childe placed a hand on her cheek, guiding her to look at him. Zhongli couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of jealousy at the action. “My, my, you picked a pretty one, Zhongli.” Childe smirked. He leaned in close to the woman and whispered in her ear. “This is going to hurt.”
Without sparing another moment, Childe sank his fangs into the woman’s neck, just above her collar bone. He pressed her head to the side away from him so he had room. The woman screamed, eyes going wide as pain shot through her. She couldn’t move, her body like stone as Childe drank her blood. She was looking directly at Zhongli, eyes begging him for help, yet he was the one who brought her here.
He peeled his eyes away from the woman as Childe extended a hand to him, an offering. Zhongli got up and made his way to Childe’s side before sinking down beside him. Childe pulled away from the woman’s neck. His fangs were still retracted, blood ran down his chin in a small stream. Zhongli felt dizzy, he felt… aroused.
Childe looked at Zhongli and licked his lips clean. “Drink,” he purred.
Zhongli nodded, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder as he leaned in. Blood. Blood was staining her tanned skin from two perfectly round holes in her neck. His heart was racing, it felt like it was going to explode at any minute. His lips closed around those two holes, tongue lapping at them before he began to suck. The taste of blood, bitter and metallic, filled his mouth. He groaned as he closed his eyes, sucking harder at the flesh. He must have looked like an animal then.
Childe placed a hand on Zhongli’s back, pressing gently. He watched intently as Zhongli drank the woman’s blood. He grinned, seeing how much the other man was enjoying it, just like he knew he would. Slowly the woman stopped trying to struggle, she fell silent, and the life from her eyes drained.
Childe’s hand moved to Zhongli’s hair, running through it. Zhongli detached himself from the woman’s neck and panted softly, looking down at her still body. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at Childe.
“Can I do that again?”
–
After that night, Zhongli got into the habit of drinking blood with Childe whenever they met. While Childe preferred sucking blood from their victim’s necks as most vampires did, Zhongli had gone about a different route. On occasion, he would bring an alive victim to Childe’s house, and there he would slit their throat open while Childe held a goblet underneath, collecting the blood.
There was something so satisfying about watching the rush of red that followed the slash of his knife. Then there was the look of horror on the victim’s face as the life drained from their body while the two men smirked sickeningly as they watched. The method was messy, but the results were worth it.
Zhongli drank the blood like wine. Leaning back on the couch, looking down at the blood filled goblet, and swirling it around before taking a sip. It was macabre.
There were times when Zhongli would let Childe drink his blood. It was never enough to harm him, but just enough to make him feel dizzy when he stood. It took some convincing before Zhongli let Childe drink his blood for the first time. He of course had some concerns, most about himself turning into a vampire, but Childe reassured him that wouldn’t happen.
Zhongli learned he could not deny Childe anything. Whatever Childe asked of him, he would do. It came so naturally, being commanded and obeying every order like a dog.
As time went on and the two of them grew closer, Zhongli would come to Childe’s house on days when he had no body to deliver. Their relationship grew sexual in nature, with their nights ending off with Childe’s cock being buried deep inside of Zhongli while his fangs were sunk into his neck. Zhongli got off on the pain and the pleasure.
Childe’s stamina was nearly triple that of a human, but Zhongli didn’t mind. He would cum as many times as Childe wanted him to, passing out from the overstimulation his body went through. Zhongli loved when the other would kiss him when his mouth was bloody, tasting himself on Childe’s tongue as they sloppily made out.
Tonight, however, Zhongli had a different idea.
There was a sheet laid out on the floor. Zhongli was on top of Childe with his cock buried inside of him and Childe’s bruising grip on his waist. Zhongli’s hands were on Childe’s chest, pressing him down as he fucked himself on the vampire’s cock. It was a sight to behold, Childe’s chest rising and falling, his face flushed as he watched Zhongli take the lead, take what was his. It was a side of Zhongli that he rarely saw. Zhongli was so submissive, but when he used Childe’s cock to get himself off… Gods.
“Childe.” The way Zhongli moaned his name, it was music to his ears. He sounded so pretty, so desperate and needy. “I’m close.”
“Again? Three times already? You must really love riding me, hmm?” Childe teased him. He removed a hand from Zhongli’s waist and reached beside him to pick up the goblet full of blood. He handed it to Zhongli who had removed his hands from Childe’s chest.
Childe sat up, pushing his cock further into Zhongli and earning a gasp from him. Childe held onto Zhongli’s hips once more, stilling him. Zhongli lifted the goblet and slowly tipped it, pouring the blood over him and Childe. They both opened their mouths, catching the red liquid in them as the rest spilled onto their bodies.
Childe kissed Zhongli through the bloody mess. Zhongli tossed the goblet aside and his hands found Childe’s face, holding it as they made out, tongues tangling in their mouths. Zhongli began to ride the other again, their bodies sliding together, smearing the blood around their torsos and dripping onto Zhongli’s hard cock.
It was messy. It was hot. It was disgusting. Zhongli reached his high first, pulling away from the kiss with a string of saliva dyed red. He tossed his head back, moaning loudly as he came across Childe’s stomach. Childe took his chance, pouncing forward and sinking his fangs into Zhongli’s neck as he thrusted faster. He sucked on Zhongli’s blood as he came inside of him.
As they both came down from their highs, Childe retracted his fangs, letting Zhongli’s body slump against his, exhausted. He chuckled, running his hand through Zhongli’s hair.
“Sleep, Zhongli. The bodies can wait to be buried until tomorrow.” Childe hummed as he looked at the four bodies of the family whose home they were in lay piled in the corner.