[Anyway, there's an art to it, this whole financial domination thing. It isn't difficult, after all, to get some beautiful man or woman to spend one's money willy-nilly — but doing it in a way that satisfies one's basest urges is an art that few can aspire to.

So maybe it's fair to say that Childe is hooked on the services that Aether provides; no one else does it quite like him, after all. He's always beautiful, unruffled, and perfectly in control; most importantly, he seems to completely understand that dirty little kink Childe has for providing for others, being used for his body and his wealth. At the same time, he never goes overboard: he stays well within Childe's limits and never skimps on the aftercare, even after he's fucked the man out of his mind and left him quivering between his bedsheets.

At the moment, they're in the relative privacy of Childe's swanky penthouse apartment, and Aether is calmly using the man's computer to shop for gifts for his precious client. Calmly, the dominatrix — or is it dominator? — swings one leg where it's coquettishly crossed atop the other, clicking "add to cart" on things with relatively reckless abandon (though he does have an eye and an appetite for quality, mind you).]

...So I was thinking I want to get you a red collar, too. The pink one is cute, but red will look better when I take you for walks outside.

[One of his fingers comes down, traces the heavy, comfortable leather collar currently clasped around Childe's neck. He doesn't have to reach far. After all, Childe is on his hands and knees beneath him, fully naked as he enjoys the pleasure of being dehumanized and objectified as Aether's warm, living chair. Smiling, Aether looks down at him, then traces a long, teasing path from the nape of his collared neck to the middle of his shoulder blades.]

Next... I think we could get you a few new toys.

[With slow, practiced grace, he rolls his thumb against the remote in his hand, intensifying the speed of the vibration that's been buzzing away between Childe's legs for some time now.]

How do you like the one inside you right now?

[The first time they'd slept together — Aether thinks to himself that that was a mistake. He tells himself that it was a mistake, even though he can't actually remember saying yes (and if he didn't say yes, then was it really a choice he made?). He only remembers that he woke up from a dirty dream to find that it was all half real. They'd gone out adventuring together, just to take care of some commissions; then Childe was on top of him, hard already and working him towards hardness too. You came on to me, comrade, Childe had claimed, and how was Aether to know if that had or hadn't happened in his sleep? What was he supposed to do but give in?

It wasn't as though it wasn't good — he remembers coming several times, remembers that his eyelids fluttered shut while Childe was rutting inside of him and the Harbinger's cock stole every gasping breath from his lungs — but he'd ached for days afterward, and every time his hips hurt from exertion he'd been reminded of all of it again, and he wasn't sure if he felt sick with regret or arousal. He thinks he should have tried harder to say no, but it's not as though he didn't want to do it with Childe. He's always thought Childe was handsome. It's just. It's just... Not like that. Or maybe — maybe it was fine? Maybe it was fine.

He hasn't told anyone. Not Zhongli, not Paimon, not Ningguang, not any number of other people who might hold some sway over Childe in Liyue Harbor. He's been avoiding Childe, too; he hasn't asked the Harbinger to help with any commissions since then. He can't guarantee that the night won't end with Childe on top of him again, breathing in his ear about how tight he is, how good, you're being so good, comrade, come on, squeeze tight for me, there's a good boy.

(Why did he feel so used and dirty afterward? Why did he feel so disgusted with himself?)

But — there's only so long that the hunted can avoid a hunter, and in due time, Childe comes to find Aether behind the base of the building that houses the Northland Bank in its walls. The traveler tried to make an excuse to get away, but he's been pinned to the wall; he knows full well that he can't get away, so he averts his eyes, making excuses for why he hasn't been available since the night they shared together.]

Childe, I...

[The worst part is the way Childe's simple touch makes his cock throb in his pants.]

I've just been busy. [The lie tastes sour in his mouth.] I promise.

[Their meetings usually go like this:

They aren't planned, for one thing. Aether rarely calls upon Childe because he wants to see the man specifically. In fact, if not for their usual weekly battle, Aether would never have cause to visit Childe at all. They run into each other, that's all; they happen across each other in the streets of Liyue, or sometimes outside of the doors of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Childe drapes an arm around him, calls him comrade in that too-familiar tone of his; Aether shrugs it off and scowls. He's prickly. He pretends not to care, but he always indulges Childe at the end of the day, and in private, sometimes in more tender moments, he's more than willing to admit that Childe is a friend.

Most of the time, though, Aether doesn't go out of his way to visit his Fatui companion. So it must come as a surprise for Childe that when he comes back to the Northland Bank after a special assignment, his duties concluded for the work day, Ekaterina looks at him through her mask and smiles. "Oh... the traveler was here looking for you, Master Childe," she says, giggling faintly.

What a mystery. What would Aether possibly need Childe for? He isn't the type to come seeking a loan from the Fatui, so perhaps he has some challenge for his Harbinger friend, some divine beast he can't face alone? Thrilling. Aether can be hard to find even in the best of times, but it's not hard to guess where he might be if he's looking for Childe; a short walk from the bank will take Childe to the restaurant district, where the traveler's pixie companion would surely take him for a bite to eat —

— except that when they do run into each other, Paimon isn't floating over Aether's shoulder, and the peculiarly wide-eyed look in Aether's golden eyes suggests that he wasn't expecting to see Childe at all.]

Childe!

[Inexplicably.

Inexplicably, Aether tackles the Harbinger, running and colliding with solid impact into Childe's chest; he takes a deep, shuddering breath, as if he thought he'd never see Childe again, as if he needs to engrave the scent of the man's soap and skin into his memory. As if Childe is the one thing in the world he really needs, though of course that can't be true.

He's never been so openly affectionate... and also, people are staring.]

You're alright... I'm so glad you're alright...

[...Did he think that Childe would be hurt?]

[Aether tells himself that he's supposed to be better than this.

It was supposed to be a — well, a fun day out with Childe. Paimon would be safe with Xiangling over at the Wanmin Restaurant, Aether and Childe would go out to do some dangerous commissions together, and everybody would be happy at the end of the day. Half of Liyue still looks at them oddly when they're together; the local populace must find it improbable that the harbor's savior just casually spends time with the local Fatui Harbinger as if they're fast friends, but Aether doesn't pay attention to the rabble. Childe is many things, but he isn't a bad person, most of the time. Besides, there's no better person to fight with side-by-side.

So a few missions from the Adventurer's Guild took them farther afield, where they fought hilichurls and mitachurls, Abyss Mages and Ruin Hunters, and — earlier in the day, Aether lured an odd pink Whopperflower away from Childe and took the full brunt of its spray of pollen, but he hadn't thought much of it at the time, save that it was odd that it didn't hurt, and it wasn't a Cryo or Pyro type. Elemental Sight hadn't revealed much about the plant, and even after it was slain, it didn't resemble anything but an ordinary Whopperflower with clear, sweet nectar. He'd shrugged it off. Probably nothing. Not worth thinking about.

Aether can't be sure when the effects started settling in.

The reaction — he's been wrestling with it for a good thirty minutes already, but he can't remember when it started, and it's begun to show in the redness of his cheeks, the slightly glassy distraction in his eyes. The two of them are almost done now, and night has fallen; they've settled in to make camp in the wreckage of what looks like an abandoned inn. There are too many beds in the cabin for it to be a regular home, but despite the fact that one wall has caved in from what looks like a passing hurricane, the house is relatively clean, and there's space to build a campfire. Childe is chopping vegetables. Aether has been watching him, something not quite there to his gaze, and he hasn't been thinking about the vegetables.]

Hey, Childe...

[His thoughts don't feel like his own, though they have to be. He's fantasized about this before, hasn't he? He thought Childe was attractive when they first met — just didn't think that it was worth pursuing him at the time, not when he was a Fatui Harbinger and Aether had sworn to bring down the gods if need be. Not when Aether can't promise anyone anything like tomorrow, anything past today. But his mind keeps going in circles, promising him things he'd normally never think about. Just do it. Push him down. Just take what you want from him. And he'd like that, wouldn't he? He'd like it —

Aether stays seated at the edge of one of the beds, staring at Childe with an odd lack of focus, tongue flicking out over his lips.]

...You like me, right?