[ Ajax arches a brow as Zhongli taps his pawn, message received as his free hand drums a senseless staccato against the table. But oh, how he loves to raise the ante, even when the pot is already overflowing with bets beyond their means. Nails scrape against the soft hollow of Zhongli's knee as he hooks two fingers underneath the garter. ]
Flattery will get you everywhere, except when I really really want to win, Mister Zhongli.
[ And he really really wants to win. ]
So I'll take that as you still need a little more convincing. Maybe something to sweeten the deal? Oh! Or maybe you're the type who likes a little assertiveness.
[ In one slow and languid motion, Ajax begins to drag the garter midway down Zhongli's calf. Maybe Zhongli will get to enact that fantasy of Ajax absconding away with him to a shadowed corner where the cameras don't see — all smiles full of teeth as he unravels Zhongli thread by thread to reveal what lies beneath. It's been a while since Ajax has been able to indulge in such a power play against a worthy opponent.
It's been never since the strikes had been traded in desire and denial. And oh, does all of Zhongli's confidence (while incredibly attractive) make Childe want to crack his composure. Just a little bit.
Just to hear his name on Zhongli's lips minus all that carefully packaged decorum.
("Careful now, Ajax. You don't want to spook him on the third date." Says the rational part of his brain which he is paying less and less attention to as the tension between them pulls tauter.) ]
Maybe you want me to leave you with no other alternatives.
[ One might think that Ajax is not even talking about the chess game anymore except for the way that the board has stolen the majority of his focus. Even the teasing touch of Ajax's fingers slipping between bare skin and what has to be very expensive silk is just a distraction. A tantalizingly temptation for the way heat pools in his gut, but a distraction all the same. For even if he becomes less outwardly animated in favor of something more coy, Ajax's eyes dart from one piece to the next on the board in an almost erratic pattern calculating strategies that only he can see.
And so the game continues. With Ajax's wandering fingers stroking Zhongli's calf reverently as he does not slide the garter any lower.
Ajax does not move his knight (unless it is in danger of being removed from the board) for the next turn or many thereafter. It stays in silent vigil, as Zhongli's rook does not a few squares away, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Like a trained sniper pressed low to the roof waiting for the perfect opportunity to take the shot.
Like his father taught him back on the frozen shores of their Snezhnayan home as they huddled around the fishing line in the frigid hours of dawn.
Ajax bides his time with the scattered officers left on his side of the playing field. Small groups of them form up into little squadrons of defense, halting Zhongli's forward momentum. On occasion, a piece is set out to bait to lure the consultant in a very obvious and foolhardy feint. Ever rarer is a feint staged three layers deep so that the logical move results with Ajax's laughter as he triumphantly lines up one of Zhongli's pieces on his edge of the board (always fewer than what Zhongli has managed to capture from Ajax's side).
The outside world does not exist. But neither is this the world where Ajax is but a humble toy salesman.
no subject
Flattery will get you everywhere, except when I really really want to win, Mister Zhongli.
[ And he really really wants to win. ]
So I'll take that as you still need a little more convincing. Maybe something to sweeten the deal? Oh! Or maybe you're the type who likes a little assertiveness.
[ In one slow and languid motion, Ajax begins to drag the garter midway down Zhongli's calf. Maybe Zhongli will get to enact that fantasy of Ajax absconding away with him to a shadowed corner where the cameras don't see — all smiles full of teeth as he unravels Zhongli thread by thread to reveal what lies beneath. It's been a while since Ajax has been able to indulge in such a power play against a worthy opponent.
It's been never since the strikes had been traded in desire and denial. And oh, does all of Zhongli's confidence (while incredibly attractive) make Childe want to crack his composure. Just a little bit.
Just to hear his name on Zhongli's lips minus all that carefully packaged decorum.
("Careful now, Ajax. You don't want to spook him on the third date." Says the rational part of his brain which he is paying less and less attention to as the tension between them pulls tauter.) ]
Maybe you want me to leave you with no other alternatives.
[ One might think that Ajax is not even talking about the chess game anymore except for the way that the board has stolen the majority of his focus. Even the teasing touch of Ajax's fingers slipping between bare skin and what has to be very expensive silk is just a distraction. A tantalizingly temptation for the way heat pools in his gut, but a distraction all the same. For even if he becomes less outwardly animated in favor of something more coy, Ajax's eyes dart from one piece to the next on the board in an almost erratic pattern calculating strategies that only he can see.
And so the game continues. With Ajax's wandering fingers stroking Zhongli's calf reverently as he does not slide the garter any lower.
Ajax does not move his knight (unless it is in danger of being removed from the board) for the next turn or many thereafter. It stays in silent vigil, as Zhongli's rook does not a few squares away, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Like a trained sniper pressed low to the roof waiting for the perfect opportunity to take the shot.
Like his father taught him back on the frozen shores of their Snezhnayan home as they huddled around the fishing line in the frigid hours of dawn.
Ajax bides his time with the scattered officers left on his side of the playing field. Small groups of them form up into little squadrons of defense, halting Zhongli's forward momentum. On occasion, a piece is set out to bait to lure the consultant in a very obvious and foolhardy feint. Ever rarer is a feint staged three layers deep so that the logical move results with Ajax's laughter as he triumphantly lines up one of Zhongli's pieces on his edge of the board (always fewer than what Zhongli has managed to capture from Ajax's side).
The outside world does not exist. But neither is this the world where Ajax is but a humble toy salesman.
Queen takes knight. ]