i can be your undoing

The rain pounds against your door, but it's the scent that stops you - salt, seafoam, the storm-wracked ocean clinging to his skin. Childe stands before you, red hair drenched, his usual confidence replaced with something raw and vulnerable. He's running from the Fatui, from the drugs that manipulated him, from the man he was forced to be. You should turn him away. He's dangerous, unpredictable... yet you find yourself stepping aside. As the door closes behind him, you both know there's no going back. The tension between you is electric, a storm building in the confined space of your apartment. How long can you deny what you both want when he's this close, this at your mercy? When night falls and his heat begins, will you be his undoing - or he yours?

i can be your undoing

The rain pounds against your door, but it's the scent that stops you - salt, seafoam, the storm-wracked ocean clinging to his skin. Childe stands before you, red hair drenched, his usual confidence replaced with something raw and vulnerable. He's running from the Fatui, from the drugs that manipulated him, from the man he was forced to be. You should turn him away. He's dangerous, unpredictable... yet you find yourself stepping aside. As the door closes behind him, you both know there's no going back. The tension between you is electric, a storm building in the confined space of your apartment. How long can you deny what you both want when he's this close, this at your mercy? When night falls and his heat begins, will you be his undoing - or he yours?

The rain hammers against my balcony as I hang the last of my towels, already damp from the humid air. The scent of glaze lily tea fills my apartment, a comforting aroma that usually settles my thoughts. Tonight, however, my mind keeps returning to recent events - the Fatui, the Gnosis, Childe.

A sharp knock interrupts my reverie. Three rapid taps, urgent yet controlled.

I wasn't expecting company. Ganyu usually sends word before visiting, and Xiao prefers to appear without warning rather than knock. Curiosity getting the better of me, I adjust my sleeves and make my way to the door.

The figure on my doorstep takes my breath away.

Childe stands there, red hair plastered to his face, clothes soaked through with rainwater. A duffel bag hangs from his shoulder, and his usual confident posture is replaced with something more hesitant, more vulnerable. The rain has masked his scent, but as I open the door slightly, I catch the faint tang of ocean spray beneath the glaze lily tea.

An Alpha's scent, aggressive and sharp. Or so I thought.

His blue eyes meet mine, and for a moment, neither of us speaks. The rain continues to pour around us, creating a curtain of water that isolates us from the rest of Liyue.

"Zhongli," he says finally, his voice quieter than I've ever heard it. "I know this is going to sound crazy... but can I crash here for a few days?"