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2021-02-02
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i let xiao eat a dream but it gets surreal and horny

Summary:

It's been hundreds of years since Xiao last ate a dream. Zhongli offers him the chance to eat his, but Xiao quickly realises that he's bitten off more than he can chew.

[ Xiao was no longer a hunter, a devourer – he’d become swallowed by Zhongli's dream entirely. He could feel it pressing against him. The weight made him gasp and squirm. Every inch of him – of his existence, of his identity, his self – was caught within the dream. Its touch was electrifying, sending tendrils of sweet heat over every inch of him. He was overwhelmed by each ethereal caress. Too much. Not enough. He wanted, wanted, wanted. ]

Notes:

i wrote this for me but honestly i'm not sure it was worth it. anyway if i don't get xiao i'm blaming this monstrosity.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Physically, Yaoguang Shoal was similar to Guyun Stone Forest. Towering cliffs of rock, golden sand, blue water stretching to the distant horizon. To the spiritually attuned, however, the two places could not be more different.

Xiao knew the darkness that lay over Guyun Stone Forest better than most. The hatred and agony of the gods long sealed beneath those pillars choked the air, their voiceless cries carried on wind and wave.

Here, the breeze carried only the smell of salt. The steady rhythm of foam-crested waves breaking against the shore filled his ears, punctuated by the occasional cry of the seabirds wheeling in the vast blue sky. Sunlight danced and glittered on the ocean surface. The sand upon the beach was soft and warm, so fine that it trickled like water through Xiao’s fingers.

Xiao indulged for a moment, closing his eyes and letting his senses drink in the serenity of this place. But he hadn’t come here to stand on the beach and space out.

He turned back to survey the cliffs, scanning the grey rock and green foliage until he spotted his target. A splash of purple, hidden in the shadows between two crags. Xiao homed in on it, jumping from ledge to ledge. A burst of wind brought him against the sheer cliff. He ran along the vertical face, his eyes never leaving his prey. A few more steps, then he lunged and caught it in his hands.

Xiao kicked against the rock, vaulting into empty air. Then he plunged towards the ground – swift and graceful as a spear. A fountain of sand erupted as anemo energy dispersed the force of his landing. Xiao straightened and examined his prize.

It did not appear any different to regular violetgrass. But Xiao trusted in the wisdom of Morax. If his (former) Archon declared that the violetgrass of Yaoguang Shoal was infused with the salt of the ocean and the freshness of the sea breeze and the richness of the golden sunlight, Xiao was in no position to challenge him.

Although he knew this, Xiao still broke off a small petal and nibbled at it, only to find that it tasted no different from regular violetgrass. This was evidently due to his limited palette and ignorance in culinary matters, and not any mistake on Zhongli’s part.

Xiao put the violetgrass in the satchel at his waist, along with the rest that he’d collected throughout the morning. The satchel was full; if he added any more flowers he’d risk crushing the ones beneath. Judging that he’d fulfilled his commands, Xiao headed off to report his progress.

He found Zhongli ankle-deep in the shallows, searching for shellfish. The man had shed his long coat and vest for this task. He’d also hitched rolled up his pants his knees. Now Xiao understood why he’d requested an adeptus to help him with this ‘expedition’ – with his arms and legs bared, the golden markings on Zhongli’s skin gleamed in the sunlight, announcing his inhuman blood to the world.

But aside from the seabirds and crabs, Xiao was the only one around to see. It was indeed a mesmerising sight. The light danced along the brilliant golden patterns each time Zhongli moved. Each flash and glimmer only highlighted the elegance of his movements; six thousand years of martial mastery keenly displayed through his impeccable grace and poise. The form Zhongli had chosen for this mortal guise was closer to the one he’d worn during the Archon War – the first time Xiao had ever seen him.

Sculpted muscles, broad shoulders, flowing dark hair. A striking figure who’d remained in Xiao’s memories, even as Rex Lapis had taken on other appearance. For Xiao, this would always be the face of the one who’d freed him from cursed past.

Zhongli bent as he spotted another shellfish. The lapping waves had damped his clothes, causing his shirt and pants to cling to his skin. Especially his ass, drawing the eye to how perfectly perky both rounded cheeks were…

Xiao shook himself. It was absurd for him to slaver over Zhongli’s form like this, as if he was a dog in heat. They were adepti. Xiao would master these unseemly urges as one befitting his status.

Zhongli straightened. Xiao thought he’d been spotted – caught, said a guilty voice in his head – but instead Zhongli’s gaze passed over where he stood and instead turned to Dragonspine’s distant peak. Xiao relaxed.

Then Zhongli took off his shirt.

Now Xiao could see how the geo markings extended over his chest, trailing down his stomach to disappear past the hem of his pants. Zhongli tied his shirt around his waist. Sweat and seawater had wet his pale skin. Xiao, with his supernaturally keen eyesight, watched as a droplet rolled from his neck down to his throat, over the swell of his pectorals and down his abs…

Xiao blinked. He gripped his satchel of violetgrass tighter. He would go over there and report his success and then leave and stop being weird. He steeled himself, thinking of the cool mists of Mount Aozang to clear his mind.

Then Zhongli straightened and stretched, a groan of relief escaping his lips. The ocean breeze seemed to carry the sound right up to Xiao, hitting him like a tidal wave.

At last Zhongli seemed to notice Xiao standing on the beach, like a creep. He picked up his basket of shellfishes and approached Xiao, oblivious to the effect his dripping wet bare naked chest and stomach had on his thrice-cursed adeptus.

Then he smiled. A genuine, relaxed expression of happiness, the likes of which hadn’t graced this world in three thousand seven hundred years. When he smiled, the gold in his eyes shone like the sun. Warm and dazzling.

Too bright. Xiao turned away, thrusting his satchel of violetgrass towards Zhongli. “Here. Is this enough?”

“Xiao, you’ve outdone yourself. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“I am yours to command. Always.”

Zhongli chuckled. “I am no longer your Archon. There is no contract between us. Only friendship. This is a favour from one friend to another, nothing more.”

Xiao scoffed. He doubted that a trivial task as this would have challenged someone of Zhongli’s abilities. That being said, he wasn’t bothered that he’d essentially wasted his morning on a meaningless task.

In fact, Xiao was quite willing to spend more days like this. Leisurely, peacefully…selfishly.

Rex Lapis had been the Archon of Liyue. His gaze had been ever drawn to the needs of his people, to the threats that could harm them, to the future of the land he protected.

Here and now, Zhongli’s eyes were fixed only on him.

Xiao coughed. “If you have no other tasks for me, I shall leave.”

“I suppose I’ve kept you from your duties long enough. Once again, you have my thanks for indulging me. Do allow me to treat you to a meal sometime to repay the favour.”

“I’m not interested in human food,” Xiao told him. Besides, when it came to favours, he’d never pay Rex Lapis back for freeing him and giving him a new life. They were far from even, but it was Xiao who owed Zhongli.

Zhongli cocked his head, puzzled. It was very cute. “Ah. It would make for a poor reward indeed. Although, it is traditional to repay such favours with a meal, and I cannot let you go without a reward. Is there anything else you would accept in return for helping me?”

“There is no need.”

Zhongli sighed. “Perhaps not, but even though I am no longer the god of wealth and contracts, I cannot bring myself to let a favour go unpaid.”

It was true that honouring such traditions was in Zhongli’s nature. Xiao tried to wrack his brain for something he wanted from Zhongli, looking at the man up and down for inspiration. This was a mistake. Zhongli up close was even more gorgeous than when Xiao had viewed him from a distance; Xiao could really appreciate how his damp skin glistened, and how soft his hair looked, and the deep lustre of the geo markings.

Xiao knew what he wanted. He turned to stare at the waves, muttering, “I don’t want anything.”

“Everyone wants something; that is the basis of the contracts by which the world maintains order.” Zhongli hummed in thought, his deep voice thrumming through Xiao’s ears and down his spine. Xiao ignored where the feeling ended up – it did not bear thinking about. Zhongli, oblivious, said, “For example, you have always had a taste for dreams. Offering you the chance to savour mine would fulfil my want as well: to repay a favour with a meal.”

Xiao gasped. “I couldn’t. It’s too…” Intimate? Disrespectful? To devour the dreams of a god…would surely be blasphemous.

“I admit that my mind is different from a mortal’s, and my dreams may not be your usual fare. You must forgive me for that. Well, do you agree to the terms of this exchange, Xiao?”

The way Zhongli said his name, so gently, affectionately, as if Zhongli wanted nothing more than to please him. That one word pierced through his defences and swept away his sense, and Xiao heard himself replying on instinct, “Yes.”

“Always so eager to agree to my demands,” Zhongli said, chuckling. He looked around the beach. “I suppose a nap by the seaside is conducive to pleasant dreams. Shall we?”

Xiao nodded. Zhongli retrieved his coat from atop a rock and laid it upon the sun-warmed sand. Then he untied his hair so it fanned out behind him as he laid down and closed his eyes, hands resting atop his chest.

His bare, naked, shirtless chest. The day was warm enough that he didn’t strictly need a blanket, and either way he wasn’t susceptible to temperatures the way mortals were, but Xiao still wished he’d covered himself. Zhongli had never witnessed Xiao eating a dream, so it was reasonable that he didn’t realise how much bodily contact the process required.

In this situation, Xiao would have no choice but to straddle his former Archon’s bare chest. He couldn’t say anything now – Zhongli was already being so accommodating, it’d be poor form to whine about such details.

And if Xiao was entirely honest, there was a part of him that was thrilled at the thought of his thighs pressing against that toned body.

Zhongli closed his eyes. His expression was so peaceful that Xiao found bathed in calm just by looking at him. Without thinking, Xiao reached out and brushed a lock of stray hair off Zhongli’s face.

Zhongli smiled. He leaned his face towards Xiao’s touch. When Xiao cupped his cheek, his breathing slowed as he drifted into true slumber.

Xiao closed his eyes as well, reaching out with his senses. It was rare for him to pay attention to someone as they fell asleep. Usually, he purposefully ignored them so he wouldn’t be tempted to eat their dreams, if he couldn’t avoid being near them altogether.

It had been so long since he’d watched a dream bloom. A true, natural dream that came from the sleeping mind – unlike the manufactured ones adepti used to communicate – did not manifest fully formed. They began as wisps of memories and emotions, intangible ribbons of the very essence of the mind weaving together. Shapes and colours and thought coalescing, gaining form, swirling into existence. A true taste of the dreamer; their deepest fears and desires.  

Xiao watched as a golden dream formed. The dream of one who’d lived six thousand years, carved from the memories of the land itself. The dream of a god who’d guided the fates of a million lives, spun from the memories of a nation. The dream of the man who’d given Xiao his freedom and his name. Never had he seen a dream formed from such a depth of knowledge, rich with the weight of the ages. Xiao found himself leaning over Zhongli, lips parted, almost salivating in anticipation.

The dream had not yet ripened, but Xiao couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He needed a taste. It was the dream-eater’s equivalent of a cheeky nibble. As an adeptus himself, Zhongli was more aware of his dreams than most, and Xiao met brief, instinctual resistance from the former god. He pushed forward gently but firmly, carefully monitoring Zhongli’s subconscious defences. Xiao started small so his intrusion would be as comfortable as possible, slowly entering deeper as Zhongli grew accustomed to his presence. It was delightfully novel when Zhongli parted willingly for him – in fact, he eagerly drew Xiao closer until the yaksha could truly savour the deepest part of Zhongli’s mind.

It was…

                                                                           …disappointing.

The dream was unlike any Xiao had ever encountered before. Alien, almost. The thoughts were slow and neatly compartmentalised, layers upon impenetrable layers, so many that they merged into one dizzying mass. At first it seemed barren of emotions until Xiao realised they were locked far beneath the dream’s surface instead of dancing across it. And it was vast – the dream of a god, the dream of ages long past and power beyond comprehension. It was the kind of dream that Xiao would have imagined mountains to have, as they sat proud and grey and lonely while history passed them by.

For Xiao, eating such a dream would be akin to biting into a rock. Bland, with a guarantee of severe toothache.

As Xiao wondered how he could politely withdraw without fulfilling his end of the contract, he felt himself watched back. Alarm passed through him; his first thought was that someone had intruded upon the beach where Zhongli lay.

But then he realised that for the first time ever, the dream he’d come to devour was aware of him. That vast, ancient subconscious landscape was aware-

  intruder

                              friend                                 

               curious    welcome    waiting for     

                                             Contract.

Xiao tensed. Would Zhongli be offended if Xiao told him that his dreams – his mind – was inedible? Or worse, he’d see it as a failure to uphold his end of the deal, a mark against his honour as the former God of Contracts.

Above all, Xiao didn’t want to turn down any kindness offered to him by Zhongli. After all, he was the first to ever show Xiao kindness.

Xiao approached the sleeping god, carefully straddling his chest. The body beneath Xiao’s own was warm. Xiao could feel firm muscles beneath his legs, and each rise and fall of Zhongli’s breaths. At least here he could find pleasure in this whole exercise. He pressed his palms against Zhongli’s stomach, letting them glide up over smooth, pale skin. He followed the lines of the geo markings, marvelling at how they seemed to pulse beneath his touch. Without meaning to, his hands caught against Zhongli’s nipples. The man let out a small gasp. Xiao froze, waiting for Zhongli’s eyes to open or a sharp word to berate him. But Zhongli kept sleeping.

At last Xiao’s body was leaning over Zhongli’s, his hands cradling either side of Zhongli’s face. Xiao brought his face close. He lingered there, reluctant to enter that harsh dream again. He would never have guessed that such a thing lay behind such a beautiful visage.

And Zhongli was indeed beautiful. His eyelashes were long and dark, fluttering ever so slightly as his eyes moved as he dreamed. In this, at least, Zhongli was surprisingly human. His lips parted slightly as he slept, his breath a warm whisper against Xiao’s skin. Xiao stroked Zhongli’s cheek with his thumb as he pondered how to approach the challenge of eating Zhongli’s dream. Then, Zhongli turned, so that Xiao’s thumb caught against his lips.

Zhongli moaned.

In the dreaming world, the dream shifted. Where once there’d been horizonless still silence, something stirred.

It did not move and change as a human’s dream did. Where a mortal’s passions were a whirlwind of vivid flashes, this was a slow, all-encompassing rumble. It shuddered through the dream. The change was absolute, sparing no aspect as the very essence of it turned with the inexorable force of the planet’s rotation.

And Xiao, too, was part of that dream. Too late he realised he’d been caught in the wave. He drowned it in.

Now submerged, he became aware of the heat. It bubbled from the unreachable depths within Zhongli’s mind. As they surfaced and burst, glorious and powerful and hot. Xiao was drawn to them. They wreathed him in their brilliant warmth, covering him with their shimmering, heady fire. Xiao drank, gorging himself with that delicious heat. His body sang with the flames dancing inside.

                              yes        

 

                                             you Xiao  

               desire?

Desire, Xiao echoed. He wanted more. His thighs clenched Zhongli’s body as he bared his needs. Please, I need more!

The dream drew him deeper again. Xiao followed willingly, letting Zhongli guide him. Now he was truly engulfed in the dream. No longer a hunter, a devourer – he’d become swallowed entirely. He could feel it pressing against him. The weight made him gasp and squirm. Every inch of him – of his existence, of his identity, his self – was caught within the dream. Now the heat no longer exploded randomly throughout the dreamscape. Instead, it had become a current of heat that Xiao floated in. Its touch was electrifying, sending tendrils of sweet heat over every inch of Xiao. He was overwhelmed by each ethereal caress. Too much. Not enough. He wanted, wanted, wanted.

In the physical world, Xiao’s mouth opened further, saliva dripping down his chin. He shivered as the dream flooded its heady warmth into him.

                                             want?  

 

                                                            Want.

                                                                                          Want Xiao.

With a roar, the dream changed once again. This time Xiao didn’t follow – he fell. With a thundering crack the surface broke and revealed what had lain beneath all along.

A glowing, burning torrent of pure desire.

The passion of a thousand lifetimes. Tamed and buried, under duty, under sacrifice, under contract, slumbering until the end of an age.

The force of it surged up as Xiao crashed into it. There was no gentleness here, no restraint. The molten essence of the dream licked deep into Xiao, relentlessly driving further in, claiming him entirely. Again and again and again it took him. Xiao cried out as it found the parts of itself that he’d already eaten, and poured in. Too much. Too hot. Every moment of pleasure intensified a thousandfold. The sensations prised Xiao open; stretched out and naked to the colossus that entered him. Xiao could do nothing but leave himself to its mercy. Every sense was overwhelmed, every thought banished by this feast, this exquisite ambrosia. Xiao surrendered completely.

For a gorgeous, fleeting, eternal moment he was nothing. A mere thought cradled within that ancient and beautiful dream. Yet it was exalted above all others – for it was at the centre of that mind, the heart, the treasure.

My Xiao.

Slowly, Xiao came back to himself. He was sprawled over Zhongli’s body, his face on Zhongli’s naked chest. His left cheek was sticky with drool. His body thrummed as the echoes of the dream he’d devoured coursed through him. He breathed deeply, trying to calm his racing heart and regain control of his senses. He felt so luxuriously warm and full. The sound of the waves was soothing yet distant. Xiao stared at the sparkling blue sea, the movement of the birds wheeling in the clear blye sky, the way the sand seemed to glow under the sunlight. Beneath him, Zhongli’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

Xiao laughed. For the first time in more than a thousand years he’d fed.

Zhongli’s stirred at the sound. Xiao watched as his beautiful dark lashes fluttered open. Still drunk on pleasure, Xiao swooped down and kissed Zhongli.

Let the taste of my lips be your first welcome back into the waking world.

Xiao felt Zhongli’s lips curve into a smile before he parted them, letting Xiao’s tongue dip into his mouth. Xiao fancied he tasted the phantom of Zhongli’s dreaming mind in the kiss – the power, the age, the glory. It was in the languid confidence in the way Zhongli moved his tongue, the way he drew Xiao deeper into the kiss, the way his hand cradled Xiao’s head until Xiao broke away for breath.

“How was it?” Zhongli asked, still smiling.

“Wonderful. Thank you.”

“I’m glad. Although, this does leave me with a dilemma.” Zhongli turned his head so he could look at the violetgrass and shellfish they’d gathered. “I was hoping to share a meal with you using the ingredients we gathered here today. Now there’s no use for them…”

“You asked me to do a favour for you…so you could repay that favour with a meal? Isn’t that completely pointless?”

Zhongli laughed. The sound rumbled through his chest, and Xiao felt it too, perched atop Zhongli as he was. “Indeed. Perhaps next time, I should just ask to enjoy your company directly.”

He did all this to spend time with me? Xiao felt himself blushing. He scrambled off Zhongli, then busied himself brushing non-existent dust from his clothes so he wouldn’t have to look at the man’s face. “You’ve spent too much time with humans, if you’ve adopted the same nonsensical way of doing things.”

“Do you suggest I spend more time with you, then, to remedy this?”

“Do as you wish.”

“I wish to spend more time with you.”

Xiao scoffed. “I am not retired. I am busy with Liyue’s defence, among other things.”

“Hm. What if I offer to make it worth your while?”

Unable to stop himself, Xiao licked his lips. Zhongli smiled knowingly.

“Then it’s settled…let’s meet up to share a meal again, shall we?”

“Fine,” Xiao answered.

Notes:

y'know i think if your species eats dreams and you eat the wet dream of a god, it's like getting fucked by a dildo that's been possessed by the ghost of the world's most hardcore roller coaster and i just used nearly 4k words to express what i said in that one sentence

and look if someone knows how to tag this, if this is a genre somehow, can you tell me in a comment or something