Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Childe, being the deferential, dutiful soldier he was, never minded crossing paths with Pulcinella - when his senior would inevitably step between him and whatever destination had been in his sights without regard for the business his former ward needed to attend to. Pulcinella would usually just order to be briefed on Childe's activity where it concerned him (though he had long since hung his hat as the vanguard's commander, Childe found it difficult to say no to one of his many "personal" requests), but often, he would simply enlighten him on some of his own mayoral endeavors or bring back news from Morepesok if he’d recently paid Childe's family a visit.

Put simply, Pulcinella liked catching up. Chatting. Sometimes incessantly, in Childe's opinion. But he never minded it all that much, especially not when his own family was so often the topic of conversation. And besides that, though Childe largely considered himself to be a self-made man, he couldn't deny Pulcinella's many contributions that had gotten him where he was today. He owed Pulcinella a great deal; letting the old man talk his ear off every now and again was the least he could do.

That night, however, when Pulcinella all but cornered him just outside the frozen cathedral they'd just left, Childe could have throttled him.

But seeing as that wasn't fair to the mayor - as well as dreadfully inadvisable, and more than likely to get him blacklisted throughout the entire city - Childe resisted the urge to brusquely shove him aside, putting on a forced smile as he anxiously peered just beyond him at the target he'd just been attempting to tail.

Dottore was just up ahead, speaking to Columbina. A woman of very few words, the conversation did not seem to hold her interest for long, and she soon sauntered off in a different direction.

As Pulcinella prattled on in front of him, Childe could see Dottore glance their way. He locked eyes with Childe solemnly, still donning the demeanor of an important man at an important funeral.

Then, his face split in two with a toothy, derisive grin. And with that, the Second simply turned away, leisurely making his way back to the palace.

Forget Pulcinella. If Childe was to throttle anyone tonight, it would be Dottore. Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing. Not that Childe really had any doubt about that in the first place. But that pointed little sneer spoke volumes, validating the suspicions that had already begun forming in Childe's mind.

His relationship with Dottore was… complicated. Well, the relationship in and of itself wasn't, at least to Childe; they were fucking. Simple as that. They had been for quite some time, and Childe had yet to develop any reservations about their casual but habitual encounters, of which there were many. The real complication, naturally, stemmed from Dottore himself.

Childe could still remember the day it all started, as clear as sunny skies. It was long before they had ever laid in bed together, and even before Childe had been given his title as a Harbinger. It was back when he was still known only as Ajax, the highly accomplished young Lieutenant serving under Lord Pulcinella. But one day, he had been temporarily assigned to work under Lord Dottore when one of the Second’s sites in the city required extra manpower. However, upon arriving at his assignment, Childe would quickly discover that the job consisted of little more than moving heavy crates from one corner of the room to another. But though it grated on his nerves, Childe wasn't necessarily surprised - even back then, knowing next to nothing about the Second Harbinger.

Up until that point, Childe knew nothing more of Dottore than the whispered hearsay surrounding him. He'd certainly heard of his work, and had even passed by him in the walls of the palace a handful of times while under Pulcinella’s tutelage. So though Childe did not know him well, he knew enough to realize that Dottore was a malevolent, stand-offish man that did not think much of the young recruit the Fifth was bringing up. This didn't matter much to Childe, of course; none of his soon-to-be colleagues aside from Pulcinella had taken to him exceptionally well, and he had no real interest in winning any of their favor.

But still… To snatch up what was, at the time, one of the most valuable lieutenants in their ranks and utilize such a resource for mere heavy lifting… If Childe hadn't already gotten the message that Dottore didn't approve of his upcoming induction into the Harbingers, there would certainly have been no denying it after that. And it was perhaps only because of his wounded pride that the moment he caught sight of Dottore that day, standing a few paces off and issuing orders to a group of senior researchers flittering around him like flies, Childe had spared a few moments to regard him with an unabashed scowl.

But it was only after letting his attention linger that Childe noticed that something was off.

The indignant glare he'd focused on the Harbinger quickly shifted into a mask of bewilderment as Childe wracked his brain to discover why such a profound feeling of uncanniness had suddenly come over him. As he did, his staring finally caught Dottore's eye. His senior only glowered at him in mild annoyance at first, but when he was met with nothing but the young man's perplexedness, something in his expression changed. For a moment, he too looked a bit disarmed by the situation.

Then, he just smiled - a knowing, reckless kind of smile that was brimming with teeth and ill intent. It was the kind of smile that people might have feared, so strikingly genuine in its disingenuousness that it spelled nothing but trouble for those staring down it like the edge of a blade.

But if there was one thing Childe couldn't - and wouldn't - avoid, it was trouble. So he paid no mind to the danger of the man's crooked grin, and instead continued to wonder: what was wrong with this picture? Why did it suddenly seem there was more to him than anyone's eyes could see?

After a moment, Dottore simply turned away and slunk back into the group of people crowding around him. Childe lost sight of him and did not see him for the remainder of the day. But even after he'd left his field of vision, there was but one question running laps through Childe's mind.

Why had looking upon that man's face felt like looking upon the face of a stranger?

It was not until after the fact, that Childe would discover why he'd gotten that impression. It was because, for all intents and purposes, the man that smiled at him that day had been a complete stranger. Someone with the same face, same voice, and the same name as the man he'd already come to know; and yet still someone entirely new.

Later, Childe would also learn that he caught Dottore's attention that day as much as the other way around. He of course knew of Pulcinella's ward, and the intention to one day initiate him into the Harbingers' ranks, but Dottore hadn't paid his presence much mind. In his words, he'd seen Childe as a "reckless henchman" that was nothing more than a "nepotistic elect born from the Mayor's sentimental inclinations." The Second could be very transparent in certain ways; he kept no secrets in regards to thinking absolutely nothing of Childe for the majority of his service with the Fatui. But apparently, it wasn't often that an outsider could so quickly pick out one of his Segments from a crowd - Dottore also did not bother concealing this fact, simply because he found it interesting. 

The Segments… Those arcane, fastidiously constructed marvels that Dottore had created sometime in his earlier days. As far as Childe could tell (being as ignorant to these sorts of sciencey things as he was), they were basically clones. They flawlessly reflected their maker as how he was at certain ages, and while they possessed a great deal of personal agency and sentience, they were meant to serve as carbon copies of Dottore's thoughts and worldviews from that period. 

The exact circumstances of their existence seemed to be highly classified information, so Childe still didn't know all the particulars  - how they were made, what exactly they were made of, etcetera. All he knew was that they appeared to be at least partially organic, inarguably human at first glance and even closer than that. They were also deeply connected to their creator, though Childe could not determine just how deep this connection went. And lastly, there was something… just a bit off about them. Something that made them easy for Childe to call out, especially as he grew more familiar with them and their creator. Why Childe could so easily make this distinction while others could not, he did not know. He honestly didn't think even Dottore knew the reason. But in that matter, they had reached a stalemate. Reaching any kind of conclusion as to Childe's ability to identify the Segments would have required one or both of them to divulge secrets they'd rather the other did not know - which neither of them were willing to do. 

So this advantage largely went unspoken between them, despite it ultimately being the only thing that had piqued Dottore's interest. But after that day, his attitude toward the young Ajax had suddenly shifted. The lieutenant would soon hear Pulcinella marveling as to why the Second was suddenly offering his full approval to “the boy’s” eventual induction into the Harbingers.

And of course, their shared interest in one another would one day shift in a different direction. Mostly due to Childe’s own initiative, of course. Not that Dottore had been eager to dismiss him after a particularly forward advance finally brought his crude intentions to light.

So over the years, Childe had come to know Dottore - the collective of his Segments and the man himself, who his proxies referred to as "the Prime Segment" - very well.

Too well to let Prime's absence at Rosalyne's service go unnoticed.

The Segment present in the cathedral had been the very one that had caught Childe's eye all those years ago as a young lieutenant. He was one of the "newer builds," in his own words, and Childe wasn't entirely sure how "new" that actually made him relative to the age of his body. But what he had eventually learned was that day they first saw each other just so happened to be the Segment's first day on his new assignment; since that day, he'd been responsible for the majority of Dottore's operations within the city and in the palace whenever Prime was otherwise occupied. The problem was that Prime had been growing more and more occupied as the months came to pass.

Childe had noticed it for a while, but had been willing to let the issue fall by the wayside for some time. However, he'd been expecting - and hoping - that Prime's persistent absence would abate as the Fatui's confiscation of the gnoses began. Instead, it got worse; Childe had since lost track of the exact days, but it had to have been over a year since the last time he'd seen Prime in the flesh.

It wasn't that Childe distrusted him, necessarily. But the fact was starting to nag at him, and Scaramouche's recent betrayal did nothing to soothe his nerves. Childe didn't really think that Dottore, of all men, was foolish enough to commit treason against the Tsaritsa herself, but all this begged the question: if the Second seemed to be doing just about anything but personally attending to his duties as a Harbinger, then what was he doing instead?

It was Dottore's lack of transparency that bothered him. It wasn't like Childe expected him to tell him everything ; Childe didn't mind secrets, nor did he mind the idea of one potentially having a foot in two different worlds so long as they did not unduly intersect with one another. Furthermore, there were surely matters that simply were above his station. Though Childe was a bit perturbed by the seemingly incomprehensible hierarchy established amongst the Harbingers, it had been the Tsaritsa's to establish. He ultimately trusted Her Majesty’s judgment, even if he did not understand it. And Dottore was the Second, with Childe sitting as the Eleventh; it was only natural that some of the deeper machinations of their operations would not make it to Childe's ears, regardless of how close they were.

As far as Childe was concerned, however, there was a difference between minding one's own business and keeping oneself willfully ignorant, as well as a difference between harboring secrets and manufacturing delusions. And perhaps an aptitude for creating convincing delusions may have even been a desirable trait in their line of work, but it was something that Childe could not abide by when he was one being caught in the crosshairs of such farces. He could dutifully be kept in his place at the Tsaritsa's behest, but the one thing he could not do was allow himself to be kept in the dark. He'd already fought tooth and nail to drag himself out of the darkness once before - this time, he intended to keep himself afloat long before it could manage to pull him under.

So now, Childe simply gnawed restlessly at the inside of his cheek as he gave Pulcinella the barest amount of indulgence he could offer. But after a few minutes, he sputtered out some half-assed excuse to take his leave, rather brusquely removing himself from the mayor's immediate area. Pulcinella looked less than pleased at his rude exit, but Childe would have to deal with his reproach at a later date. For now, Childe was more concerned with Dottore. If Prime couldn't even bother to be here - of all places, of all times - there was definitely something fishy going on. And Childe was now determined to figure out what it was.

Childe quickly made his way to Zapolyarny Palace, ready to scour the halls and Dottore's usual haunts to find where he had scurried off to. Fortunately, he did not have to look long; Childe managed to stumble into him straight away in the first place he checked, right outside the elevator to his underground lab. He expected the lab itself to be empty at this time of night, especially with the following half-day's mandatory observation of mourning for their fallen comrade. But Dottore was joined by one of his subordinates, a young man Childe had vaguely come to know based on exposure alone. As far as Childe could guess, he was one of the Second's attendants at the palace, and often found at his side whenever the Doctor was in. 

It looked like they were in the middle of a discussion, and Childe fought off a grimace. It looked like he would have to wait just a bit longer to start his interrogation if he didn't want to involve one of their inferiors. But that wasn't to say he couldn't give Dottore a little push in the right direction.

Childe forced a casual grin, quickly sidling up to Dottore and clapping a hand on his shoulder. Dottore didn't seem all that surprised, but the sudden intrusion was enough to make his attendant jump, the man immediately going rigid upon realizing that another Harbinger was in their midst. Whatever he had been in the middle of saying stuck in his throat, and he drew his lips back into a thin line as he fell silent.

"Come on, Dottore," Childe laughed lightly, shaking Dottore's shoulder with a friendly spirit. "Don't tell me you're bothering one of your men with work nonsense just before our time off. Why don't you give it a rest for once? It's only half a day, after all."

Dottore smirked as Childe pointedly tightened his grip on his shoulder.

"Interrupting your senior in the middle of a private discussion, Tartaglia?" Dottore asked. Despite his outwardly light tone, it was easy to tell his tongue dripped with venom. "That's a little bold, even for you."

Childe fought the urge to squeeze even harder. The particulars of their relationship were probably one of the worst-kept secrets amongst the Fatui, but Childe knew better than to give Dottore a rightful piece of his mind in front of one of their subordinates. If anything, he'd be sure to never hear the end of it. Dottore was more of a stickler for professionalism than he was, and he did far outrank him.

Childe, however, was quickly losing his patience.

"Oh, please, don't take it the wrong way! I'm simply looking out for Fatui morale - of you and our soldiers both," Childe said cheerfully. He gave Dottore a very purposeful, slightly malicious grin. "I don't mean anything by it. You should know I hold a great deal of respect for my elders. Especially those as elderly as you."

That did the trick. Dottore, to his credit, did not let his smile fall, but Childe could see it briefly twitch in discontent. The atmosphere in the hallway grew thick with tension as a stifling silence settled around them.

Eventually, an audible gulp from Dottore's attendant broke through the oppressive quiet.

"I- M-my Lord," the attendant stuttered. "Do you-"

"You're dismissed," Dottore interrupted quickly. His lips downturned into a stern frown. "We can discuss matters further once operations resume tomorrow."

The attendant's mouth floundered open for a moment, taken aback by Dottore's sudden change of attitude. His head began twitching slightly as his masked gaze flickered between the two Harbingers anxiously.

"W-well," the man began. "It… My Lord, it- it is rather urg-"

"Are you deaf?" Dottore snapped, his commanding voice easily drowning out the soldier’s. The young man's mouth quickly snapped shut. "I said you're dismissed. So go. Now. "

The attendant stood straight and stiff as a board, giving an almost imperceptible little nod. Then, without another word - which was also a bit improper, though Childe didn't necessarily blame him in this situation - he marched down the hall with haste. Childe and Dottore both watched him go, assuring the man was well out of sight before moving from their positions.

Finally, Dottore scowled, abruptly shaking Childe's hand off his shoulder.

"Little shit," Dottore hissed. He sighed, planting his hands on his hips and shaking his head disdainfully. "You and the others are absolutely incorrigible, you know that? Now it's 'you're too old,' before that it was 'you don't seem old enough' - I can't catch a break tonight."

"You say that as if you deserve one," Childe retorted, glowering at Dottore as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Now what the hell are you doing here?"

"Attending a funeral. Same as you," Dottore replied coolly, a smirk reforming on his lips. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Don't. I'm serious," Childe snapped. He drummed his fingers against his bicep impatiently. "What are you doing here?"

The Segment just chuckled lightly, pressing a hand against his chest in mock offense.

"What? Are you not happy to see me?" He teased. "I thought you didn't pick favorites, Childe."

"Don't play dumb with me," Childe retorted dryly. "I've minded my own for long enough; I intend to get some answers from you this time."

"Putting your foot down, are you?" Dottore laughed. "Then let's at least be clear with our intentions, shall we? If you want answers, then what exactly is the question?"

"You know what it is," Childe said. He sighed in exasperation, then added, "Where is Prime? What's the excuse this time?"

"Oh, same old, same old," Dottore replied, flippantly waving a hand in front of his face. "I'm a very busy man, Childe. You know this. When duty calls, I have no choice but to be at its beck and call."

"And what duty is that, exactly?"

"Nothing that you need to be presently worried about, my boy. You're really getting worked up over nothing."

Childe gave him a cold, warning glare. "Dottore. I don't appreciate being treated like a fool. If it were nothing, you would have no problem telling me what it is."

"I disagree with that sentiment," Dottore droned, now sounding bored. "It simply means that there is no need to bog you down with all the details. There is nothing you don't know that you would find any value in knowing."

"If I believed that, I wouldn't be here," Childe argued. "It's too much to ignore at this point, and you should be smart enough to realize what it's beginning to look like. At the very least, I would have expected him to be here of all places. This isn't exactly an occasion that you can brush off as inconsequential."

"I'm afraid I must disagree with you again, as far as this sordid little affair is concerned," Dottore said. But he exhaled wearily, lifting up his mask a bit to pinch the bridge of his nose. "However, I did anticipate that you may not be entirely pleased with these circumstances."

"Did you, now?" Childe asked sarcastically. "And who managed to deduce that? You or him?"

"Both, naturally," Dottore said. He turned around then, offering Childe nothing more than a brisk snap of his fingers as he began to walk down the hall. "Walk with me. Quickly."

Childe pursed his lips in annoyance, but jumped in step with the Doctor anyway. He should count his blessings that Dottore was at least engaged enough to have him follow along, and he was determined to at least get something of worth out of him. But he certainly had a lot of nerve, didn't he?

"Snap your fingers at me again, and soon you won't have anything left to snap," Childe threatened dully. Dottore let out a loud, irritating laugh at that.

"Ooh. Testy today, aren't we?" Dottore snickered, throwing a smirk over his shoulder. "You must really be in a bad mood. Perhaps you're just envious that your reach does not extend as far as mine. Wishing you could have been absent as well, hm?"

"Well, that doesn't help," Childe grumbled.

"Poor thing. Being forced to pout through the entire service like that. Couldn't even muster up the enthusiasm to join Arlecchino in inciting a laborers' revolution over dear Rosalyne's casket."

"I wouldn't have done that anyway. It was a funeral. I'm not some kind of animal."

"Oh, don't act like you have any respect for the dead."

"I don't," Childe admitted tersely. "But I have respect for death itself. And because of that, I know this was important. Rosalyne was our first loss. The first pawn sacrificed for the sake of Her Majesty’s mission; this is the art of war, and now is the time we all need to stay vigilant and-"

"I get it, I get it," Dottore interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "Please, spare me the speech. The chess metaphor is all fine and dandy until you realize that the concept of ‘black versus white’ is just a crock of shit. War isn't a fair round of chess, and the fact is that one of our other 'pawns' has now run off the board and is playing an entirely different game. Rosalyne's death was meaningless in every perceivable fashion. The fact that I had to be present for such an insipid little formality in any capacity is ludicrous."

Childe clenched his jaw. "Can we not digress from the matter at hand? Your glaring lack of investment doesn't exactly give me any faith that I shouldn't be worried."

"That's because I wasn't trying to make you feel better," Dottore scoffed. "Worry all you want; I could try to convince you that such fears are unfounded until I'm blue in the face, and it still wouldn't make a difference. You wouldn't believe me."

"That definitely doesn't make me feel better," Childe muttered, clicking his tongue. "I'm not a moron, Dottore. If you just even tried explaining I'd-"

"It's not that simple, Childe," Dottore said curtly. "The work I am currently attending to is the culmination of experimental series and strategic schemes that have been in motion for far, far longer than you've even been alive. Believe you me, if I could reasonably condense all those years of knowledge into something you could swallow instead of having such a tedious discussion as this, I would. But the fact of the matter is that you are lacking the context necessary to understand why this macabre affair is so laughably negligible. And without that context, my explanations would be meaningless to you. So why should I waste my breath?"

Childe opened his mouth to fight back, but quickly closed it again. Not because he didn't want to argue, but because he simply didn't know where to even begin . He sincerely doubted that the particulars of Dottore's work were so incomprehensible that there was literally no way to communicate their significance or how they connected back to Dottore's current behavior. But Childe was wary of pushing any further; if he asserted his stance, he might put himself in a precarious situation. Truthfully, Childe understood much more than he let on. The trouble was, he wasn't eager to explain exactly why this was the case. Nor did he want to lose what little footing he had with Dottore should the Second choose to believe the evidence of his expertise and close himself off even further. In this situation, it was probably better to play a little dumb and try to wring information out of him through other means. Childe didn't like playing games like that, but Dottore wasn't exactly giving him a fair opportunity to be direct.

But at the very least, Childe could not be content to feign affability. His hand flew to Dottore's wrist, stopping them both in their tracks as he swung the Second around to face him.

"What are we even doing, then?" Childe interrogated. "If you've already decided you're not going to offer me an explanation, then what are you wasting my time with? Where are we going?"

Dottore's head dipped down, studying the hand on his arm before shooting a dangerous glare at Childe. Childe did not falter, and even squeezed his wrist a little tighter.

After a tense few moments of silence, Dottore finally wrenched himself from Childe's grip with a huff. He stood up a little straighter, trying to casually rub out his wrist with a scoff.

"Well, first of all," Dottore began, sounding annoyed, "I would prefer not to have these kinds of conversations out in the open. The last thing I need to hear tomorrow is the soldiers whispering about a lovers' spat between their superiors that they witnessed in the halls. I thought it would be more appropriate to take this to my quarters."

Childe sighed dejectedly, carding a hand through his hair. "Okay. Fair enough. What else?"

"Second of all," Dottore continued. Then, he abruptly stopped. His expression changed, and he seemed to brighten up a bit as a smirk curled his lips. "I have a surprise for you."

Childe could only blink vacantly at him as he tried to wrap his head around the statement and Dottore's sudden change in attitude. Truth be told, it made him a little nervous.

"A… surprise?" Childe asked cautiously.

"Mm hm," Dottore hummed pleasantly, giving a little nod. "A gift, if you will."

That managed to throw Childe off even more. Worst of all, it made his heart flutter just a little. 

Dottore didn't exactly… do gifts. Childe took no offense to that, the state of their affairs not warranting those kinds of gestures, though he himself had grown so accustomed to keeping an eye out for little novelties to send home to his family during his travels that he often couldn't help himself. He'd picked up a few things here and there with Dottore in mind - interesting-looking gadgets, mysterious artifacts, anything that looked like it might have a use in a pair of patient, curious hands. But these things were more or less over-glorified requisitions, and many of them Dottore would blatantly show a complete lack of interest in after assessing them to be of minimal value. And Dottore himself had never returned such a favor, though Childe had always bargained that this was for the better; he couldn't imagine Dottore frequently coming across things that would be capable of holding his interest anyway.

But now, suddenly, he'd gotten Childe a gift?

That was… still a little nerve-wracking, actually. But it managed to pique Childe's interest enough to momentarily quell his discomfort.

"A… gift?" Childe parroted slowly. "Uh… why?"

"I told you, didn't I? I knew you wouldn't be happy with this arrangement. So I thought a little something may be in order to… soften the blow, so to speak."

"Well…" Childe shifted his weight around awkwardly. Much to his chagrin, his pulse had quickened a bit on the heels of hopeful excitement. "What- What is it?"

"Come now, do you really want me to spoil the surprise?" Dottore asked, tittering at the Eleventh's trepidation. He reached out to put a hand on Childe's shoulder, gently urging him to continue moving forward. "We're almost there, at any rate. You'll soon be finding out for yourself."

Childe found himself unable to do anything but sputter out an incomplete reply as Dottore finally got him moving forward again. Shit… This wasn't good. Dottore had managed to completely catch him off guard. His rightful discontent had all but completely melted away, replaced with primarily confusion, but also-

No, he couldn't start feeling giddy now. He couldn't just let Dottore get away with his obstinance all for the sake of a gift that had yet to be given. Childe couldn't be such a blatant sap, could he?

But it was a nice gesture. Perhaps the bare minimum, as far as anyone else was concerned, but for Dottore?

Well, there couldn't be harm in at least seeing what it was.

When they got to Dottore's quarters, the Second quickly ushered him inside, making sure the door was shut and locked behind them. Childe began anxiously scanning the entryway as he stepped into the hall, as if he expected to spring some kind of booby trap hidden in the walls. He didn't really think that would happen, of course, but- On second thought, with Dottore it probably didn't hurt to remain vigilant.

"So… where is it?" Childe asked a bit nervously, glancing back at Dottore for reassurance. Dottore didn’t answer at first, only reaching his arm out in a gesture that Childe didn't immediately recognize. Dottore reemphasized his reach, nodding vaguely to Childe’s person, and when that still didn’t do the trick, he gave him a sly smile.

“Coat,” Dottore said simply. 

It still took Childe an embarrassingly long time to catch his drift. But it was no wonder, once it finally sunk in. What, now Dottore was even offering to take his coat for him, on top of everything else? Maybe he just didn’t want Childe shaking off snow onto the carpets, but this uncharacteristic thoughtfulness was still disarming. Childe removed his thick coat with an overabundance of caution, practically expecting an ambush to follow immediately after. But none came, of course, and Dottore merely chuckled as the jacket was finally draped over his waiting arm.

"Oh, don't look so nervous," Dottore teased. "It's not going to bite you. Not too hard, anyway."

Well, that certainly didn't set Childe's mind at ease.

"I-" Childe stammered, narrowing his eyes at Dottore as he tried to unravel the meaning of the dubious statement. "What the hell are you t-"

Suddenly, there was a loud banging sound from the next room over, cutting Childe off in the middle of his sentence as his entire body went rigid with hypervigilance. He was so startled, he nearly summoned a Hydro blade in his hand before he managed to catch Dottore's reaction to the noise - the Second seemed entirely unsurprised by the disturbance. If anything, he just looked a little annoyed by it. His lips were drawn back into a closed-mouth grimace, and he heaved a long-suffering sigh as he pushed past Childe toward the source of the noise - the door to his bedroom.

"Speak of the devil," Dottore droned wearily, opening the door and peering inside his own room. "Forgive me. It seems somebody was feeling a bit impatient."

"Wh-" Childe quickly stepped beside him, following Dottore's gaze. "What are you talking ab-"

Childe yet again found himself too stunned to speak properly. His sense of urgency died out in his throat as his eyes fell over the space in front of him. 

The room itself was no different from how it was usually arranged. Childe had been there many times before, so he knew the layout like the back of his hand. The same large, lavish bed pushed back against the wall in the center of the room, framed by two large stained-glass windows on either side. The same sparse walls and dull furnishings that had been provided to him by the palace attendants, showcasing a distinct lack of character so as to not offer any distractions to its owner - the desk directly to their right was the only thing in that room that distinguished it as Dottore's room at all, littered with messy, disorganized notes and assorted mechanical components and blueprints. Directly across from the desk on the other side of the room was an armoire that was currently open, one of the doors even hanging a bit askew as if they had been wrenched open by force.

And laying on the floor, spilling out of the open armoire along with a few random articles of clothing pulled from the rack, was Dottore.

Not the Dottore that had brought him all the way here, of course. That one was still standing right beside him.

It wasn't the first time Childe had been in a room with two Segments at once, but it happened infrequently enough that he had yet to adjust to the uncanny feeling that came with seeing the same man twice over. Childe didn't think he ever fully would, though he could usually manage to take it in stride well enough to quickly rekindle his right mind.

This time around, however, there was a bit more that needed adjusting to. Starting with the fact that the Segment on the floor was currently bound and gagged before them - arms tied up behind his back, legs restrained with his knees bent and calves battened down against the back of his thighs, and what appeared to be a scarf shoved into his mouth to muffle whatever irate shouts he was attempting to voice as he thrashed and struggled at his binds.

For a moment, the only thing Childe could do was stare, even as the Segment began to vocalize more frantically, presumably beckoning for the Eleventh to untie him. Then, Childe slowly looked back up at the Segment standing beside him. That one had a smug, impish grin on his face. He gestured at the tied Segment with a showy flourish as Childe gawked at him in disbelief.

"Surprise," he said in a coy little singsong.

And with that, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. 

"You…" Childe trailed off, still dumbstruck. His voice began to rise in both pitch and volume. "What?"

The Segment let out a pleased hum, walking into the room, completely disregarding and stepping over his bound counterpart in favor of picking up the clothing strewn about around him. This, unsurprisingly, made the prone Segment's muffled screams increase in ferocity.

"I told you I had something for you, didn't I?" Dottore chuckled, putting his clothing back in the armoire calmly. He slipped Childe’s coat in as well, and began removing his own jacket. "Well, here it is. A little gift, from me to you. And like any proper gift, I thought it was only right for it to be neatly wrapped."

Childe had numbly started following in step behind him, but finally snapped out of his stupor as he locked eyes with the Segment on the floor. Childe was pretty sure he recognized this one, but he was thrashing around too hard for him to tell for certain. Without a second thought, Childe immediately knelt down beside him, pulling the Segment upright - he obviously could not stand up in his current state, but Childe was able to get him steady on his knees. He reached for the spit-soaked fabric wedged inside his mouth.

The other Segment turned around just as Childe started pulling out the gag. "Oh, no, please don't-"

"-miserable, shit-brained, cocksucking son of a fucking whore! " The bound Segment continued his previously muffled tirade without missing a beat, immediately whipping his head towards the other Segment in anger. "If you don't fucking untie me right this very instant, I’ll tear off your goddamn head and shit down your motherfucking throat, you insufferable cunting prick! I'll slice you in two from the asshole up! What kind of goddamned lunatic-"

Childe could only wince as this continued with no end in sight, slightly regretting his decision to ungag him. But at the very least, he'd managed to confirm which Segment he was looking at.

He knew that this Segment was an "older build," as Dottore phrased it. And as far as Childe could tell, this identifier generally denoted Segments of younger appearance. Though the Segments were at least partially biological in nature, they did not appear to age, and their physical form usually seemed to fall in line with the age at which their consciousness was recorded. (This was mostly guesswork on Childe's part, as none of them had ever told him as much outright. But despite how chaotic Dottore's modus operandi could be, for whatever reason this trend seemed to be fairly consistent.) Childe wagered that the tied-up Segment before him now was only a few years older than his current age. Which already made him quite distinguishable from the newer builds - the New One that had brought him here included - by his youthful face and comparative gawkiness. But what really set this one apart from the rest was the long string of obscenities still pouring wantonly from his mouth. 

Childe had only encountered this one a few times before, but even in more pleasant circumstances he'd recognized him as being… exceptionally vocal. He'd always reminded Childe of the fresh recruits that would sometimes mouth off to their superiors and showboat around in an attempt to make a name for themselves as soldiers; the epitome of all bark, but no bite. Perhaps at this stage of Dottore's life, he hadn't quite hit his stride as the Second of the Harbingers. Now, of course, all that seemingly remained of this ineffectual, explosive nature - and of his particularly "colorful" vocabulary - was this Segment. His brash tongue had since gone silver with age, and he understood that some things went better left unsaid. The Segments, however, seemed to be either unable or unwilling to evolve past the point in time they represented. They were simply stuck in their ways, regardless of how many years passed them by or how many experiences attempted to shape them. Childe was honestly unsure why this was the case; he did not know enough about the inner machinations of either their minds or bodies to make such an assessment. But at the very least, it made them easier to tell apart.

He heard the New One sigh, walking over to the two kneeling on the floor. As the Loud One continued screaming, so red in the face Childe thought he might pop a blood vessel, the New One snatched the scarf out of the Eleventh's hand. Without a word, he balled it up and unceremoniously shoved it back inside his doppelgänger’s open, screaming mouth.

The Loud One's eyes flashed with renewed anger, his screams persisting even with the gag once again smothering them. The New One stood back up with a frown.

"Please don't do that again," the New One said with a sigh. He walked over to his desk, slipping the mask from his face as he went. "Not while there's nothing else to keep him occupied, anyway."

Childe met his eyes as he turned back around, giving him a disparaging look despite not feeling the need to argue with him on that specific matter. If anything, he was grateful for just a little bit of quiet to process everything.

"Archon, Dottore, did you-" Childe ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head in disbelief. "Did you really kidnap yourself?"

"What? No!" Dottore shot back defensively, setting his mask on the desk. "Don't be absurd! He came here of his own volition, of course. The problem, however, came when I needed him to keep quiet. I couldn't have him squawking around the palace while we were at the cathedral, could I? This was really the most feasible option."

"How the hell is this feasible?!" Childe exclaimed, gesturing back at the bound and irate Segment next to him. "And more importantly, how is this supposed to be a gift?! When you said you had something for me, I didn't think it would just be yourself!"

The New One clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disapproval.

"After all the trouble I went through wrapping it up for you? So ungrateful," he chided. But a smirk soon broke out across his face. "But I suppose I can forgive you for the time being. You're still a little keyed up, after all, and I can understand that. Which is exactly why I brought this one along. Please do disregard his mouth; as I said, he came here of his own free will, and is more than willing to assist in… relieving you of some of that tension."

Childe glanced back down at the Loud One, who promptly fell silent, sheepishly casting his gaze to the floor. If his face had not already been flushed with anger, Childe could bet that he'd be blushing. So his supposed consent for the initial part of his journey was likely not a fabrication. But it did poorly to improve Childe's mood. He turned back to the New One, still completely exasperated.

"So you knew you were going to end up pissing me off, and to rectify this you decided to bring someone else to do your dirty work?" Childe asked, scoffing loudly. "Prime can't fuck me himself, and apparently neither can you? Archon, Dottore… What do you even expect me to do here? Were you just going to leave the room before we got started, or would you prefer to do some work at the desk while we start canoodling behind you?"

"Canoodling?" Dottore parroted, raising an eyebrow at him. "What kind of expression is that out of a young man's mouth? You sound like the mayor."

"Dottore. I'm being serious."

"You could have fooled me," the New One replied with a titter, shooting Childe a sneer poorly concealed behind his hand. "Who said I had no intention of participating, anyway?"

Childe suddenly fell silent. He blinked at the older Segment stupidly, unable to fully wrap his head around the implication.

"You… what?" Childe finally cautioned.

"You heard me. In this particular instance, I have no plan to remain a casual observer," Dottore said simply. He paused, awaiting Childe's reply, but upon realizing the boy was still too dumbstruck to come up with anything, he merely sighed. "Look, you may think of me as a heel, but even I don’t turn a blind eye to the concept of fairness. And I knew my usual method of repentance wouldn't be quite enough to bring you your recompense. So obviously, I concluded that I would have to… double my efforts."

The last part was delivered with a salacious drone and coy flash of his eyes, and Childe went a bit weak in the knees from the abrupt sensation of heat pooling in his lower abdomen. Childe glanced again at the Loud One, who now somehow looked even redder than when he had been thrashing around on the floor, now boring holes into it in an attempt to avoid eye contact. Childe looked back to the New One.

"You're- You're kidding," Childe said dumbly.

"I can assure you, I am not," Dottore replied. "Don't look so shocked; surely, you must have considered this scenario before, hm?"

Had he considered it? Oh, boy, had Childe ever considered it. But up until this point, he'd always brushed off the idea as being entirely too much, even for him. Dottore wasn't necessarily a prude, but it was no secret that Childe's libido far surpassed his in extravagant leaps and bounds. Childe had thought about it before, alright… and then promptly buried those thoughts as deep as they could go after imagining the absolute fit Dottore would have thrown at the suggestion of bringing one of his other Segments into the bedroom with them. It was just too weird. Or so Childe had always assumed.

But now… Childe was almost ashamed at how quickly his body reacted to the prospect, his cock already beginning to twitch to life in his pants as his mind bolted through the myriad of possibilities now at his disposal. 

Shit… he was supposed to be pissed off. He was still pissed off.

But… he could still be pissed off after all was said and done, couldn't he?

The New One let out a smug little hum of amusement and began to saunter towards Childe with a slow, lackadaisical gait.

"Oh, dear. It seems I've managed to leave you speechless, haven't I?" The Segment chuckled. As he walked, he placed a palm in the center of Childe's chest and started pushing him towards the bed. Childe, despite his better judgment, could do nothing but let himself be pushed. "Since it seems like you have nothing more to add, let's just jump right to it then, shall we?"

Before Childe could think to protest - not that he was sure he would have - the New One gave him an abrupt shove. Childe had no chance to maintain his footing, and promptly fell back against the bed, which he hadn't even realized was already right at his heels. He at least managed to catch himself with his hands, sitting himself upright and trying to regain his composure as Dottore swiftly turned back to the bound Segment on the floor.

Childe could only watch as the New One marched over to his younger counterpart and, with no manner of delicacy, grabbed him by the back of his coat as if he were snatching a kitten by the scruff. This, of course, prompted the Loud One to resume his muffled reprimand as he was dragged haphazardly across the floor before being plopped smack dab between the Eleventh's legs. Childe was thrown back to reality at that moment, if only from the shock of nearly having the Loud One's face shoved forcibly into his crotch.

"For the love of-" Childe stuttered, shooting a glare at the New One as his hands instinctively shot out to help the other Segment steady himself. "Be careful, Dottore! He almost headbutted me in the dick!"

"Oh, my apologies," the New One droned sarcastically, taking a knee and lowering himself to the ground. "We wouldn't want him chipping a tooth on that thing, would we?"

As the New One settled into a kneeling position at a Childe's side, the gagged Segment fixed his flustered gaze back on his counterpart, his indecipherable obscenities uninterrupted. Childe vaguely wondered how long someone could possibly manage to cuss themselves out for, even in a situation like this. It was a bit strange, being thrown into the middle of it. Suddenly, it occurred to Childe that though he'd seen two Segments in the same place at once before, this had already far surpassed the longest and most involved interaction he’d ever witnessed. The Segments didn't dwell in each other's company for very long; if they ever did cross paths, it was in the midst of one making way for another's arrival. It really only made sense; what was the point of all these different versions of himself if Dottore intended to herd them all into one singular location? 

So Childe had never seen any of them interact with each other like this. And what he'd witnessed thus far had been… weird. Really fucking weird. Archon, was this too weird, even for Childe?

Childe's stomach began churning anxiously as second thoughts flashed across his mind, but the New One was already working on the buttons on his pants. And unfortunately, Childe's initial excitement had yet to abate; his semi-hard cock was quickly exposed to the open air, and he shivered as the chill of Snezhnayan everwinter settled around him. With Childe's burgeoning erection in one hand, the New One brought the other to the younger Segment's head, grabbing a fistful of his hair and tugging at it. The Loud One let out a muffled yelp, which seemed to catch in his throat as his eyes were wrenched forward, staring headlong down the center of Childe's cock. The New One smirked at the silence that followed before leaning in close to the Loud One's ear.

"Now, if you have anything else to get out of your system, I do hope you can at least save it until after we're finished here," the New One drawled condescendingly. "We certainly wouldn't want to disappoint him, would we? Let's use that busy mouth of yours to do something much more productive."

The younger Segment furrowed his brow in discontent, but made no attempt to speak up. With that, the New One's gaze flickered back to Childe's face with a coy smile.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" He urged. "It's time to start unwrapping your gift, Childe."

At that moment, the Loud One looked up at him as well, almost pleadingly. Although he was probably just eager to start breaking free of his binds, the sight was truly one to behold. The same set of eyes twice over, washes of blood red on a stark white backdrop - one pair filled with heated desperation, the other with icy conviction. Their twin gazes bore into Childe, igniting something within him, like kindling thrown into the fire already raging in his belly. He gulped audibly, suddenly cognizant of the excess saliva building on his tongue. 

This was crazy. It was stupid. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Childe realized that if Dottore was willing to go this far to take his thoughts away from his concerns, he may have more to worry about than he initially thought.

But that didn't necessarily mean he had to worry about that right now.

Childe brought one of his hands forward - trying not to shake in excitement and encourage either of their mockeries - and grabbed at the wad of fabric stuffed into the Loud One's mouth. He yanked it out quickly, simply letting the soaked garment pool against the ground in front of them as it fell. When the last of the scarf was finally drawn out of him-

"-goddamn, limp-wristed fucking cock!" The younger Segment delivered hoarsely, immediately throwing a vicious scowl in the New One's direction. 

Apparently, he hadn't been quite finished airing his grievances. 

Childe couldn't really blame him, but the New One promptly punished this transgression by yanking his hair even harder, craning the Loud One's neck back and causing a cry of pain to escape him.

" Really? " The New One admonished in a gravely, irritated tone. "That's the last word you had to get in? Then please, do enlighten me; if that's what I am, then what would that make you, hm?"

"You drugged me, you insufferable fucking cretin!" The Loud One hissed with a wince. "I cannot fucking believe-"

"Oh, come now. It was just a little bit of sedation. A microdose. An over-glorified nightcap, honestly."

"You threw me in a goddamn closet, you fucking lunatic! It's been hours, I could have-"

"It has not been hours. Don't be so dramatic."

"Don't fucking tell me what to feel, you festering ponce!"

"Really, now. Do you genuinely not realize how counterproductive insulting me is?"

"I'll insult you all I want, goddamit, you-"

"Okay, okay!" Childe interjected quickly, raising his voice to a booming volume just to be heard over the din. It managed to catch their attention, and Childe sighed in exasperation as their eyes fell back on him. "Can you- Can you at least not… fight around my dick? Please?"

Seeming to remember where he was, the Loud One suddenly looked mortified. He managed to jerk himself out of the New One's grip and turn his head as far as it could go in an effort to look anywhere but at Childe's exposed crotch. The New One let out a scoff of annoyance.

"Oh, so would you prefer to just sit there with nothing to do?" The New One jeered at his copy. "If that's really what you want, then get comfortable. I intend to make this time well spent."

With that, the older Segment leaned in over Childe's thigh and flicked his tongue out against his cock. He started by licking a heavy, languid stripe up the side of his shaft and all the way to the tip, catching Childe's eyes as he finished with a swirling flourish at the head. His lips upturned satisfactorily as Childe let out a whine at the contact, the blissful warmth of his mouth sending a shiver through him. 

The New One continued lavishing him with attention, and Childe was already getting harder by the second. He could feel his last remaining reservations begin to roll off his back. Yet he couldn't help but look back at the younger Segment still kneeling stationary between his legs. The Loud One's neck was a deep red, and his eyes bore holes into a spot on the ground next to him, as if an intense staring contest with the floor was the only way to ignore what was happening just beside his head. Childe swallowed thickly.

"Did you really-" Childe fought off a moan as the New One slipped his tongue under his foreskin, rolling it against the underside of his cockhead. It was so abrupt, so pointed, Childe wouldn't have been surprised if it had been done with the sole purpose of silencing him. "D-did you really come here on your own? Because if you don't want to be here, I don't-"

"I never said that!" The Loud One blurted out suddenly, whipping his head back around indignantly. His eyes briefly flickered to his counterpart, still working on Childe's growing erection as if nothing were happening, then quickly found Childe's face again. "I'm- I am not some kind of incompetent dolt! I wouldn't have let someone drag me all the way here against my will! Least not this fucking-"

"So you do want to be here? Like this?" Childe interjected quickly, not eager to hear what else Dottore could possibly call himself. Moreover, he just wanted to get to the point; the last thing he wanted to do was contribute to anything more dastardly than what the New One had already done, but any longer in this position, and Childe was bound to forget his good sense. As if reading his mind, the New One's grin broadened before fully enveloping the tip of his cock between his lips with a low moan, making the Eleventh's breath hitch.

The Loud One's gaze yet again fell to Childe's crotch, this time lingering a bit longer than before. He looked back to Childe as flustered as could be, a conflicted look on his face.

"Well, I mean-" He sputtered, fidgeting in place uncomfortably. His gaze fleetingly dipped downwards again before he snapped his attention back to Childe with a forced scowl. "You can't just lead the question like that! Don't you dare get the wrong idea, boy! I was simply- I happened to have some time on my hands, and I- Shit. Shit!"

The younger Segment now seemed to find it impossible to avoid the sight in front of him, his eyes continually flickering downwards and lingering there just a bit longer each time. His mouth, similarly, continued to flounder open with half-formed excuses until he could barely keep it closed at all. He still fidgeted relentlessly between Childe's legs, but gradually, it became obvious that it was for a different reason. He strained at his binds, his hips rolling around desperately in a clear attempt to find some friction between his legs.

Oh, he'd definitely been waiting for something like this. And while he probably - and rightfully - wasn't pleased with the particulars leading up to this, he was still-

"Oh, shit," Childe breathed. It was half a gasp, half an awestruck little laugh as a pang of renewed arousal swept through him, unable to keep himself from finishing his thoughts aloud. "You're getting off on all this."

The Loud One's eyes immediately flashed angrily at the Eleventh, the tips of his ears burning red. "Fuck off, you cu-"

He didn't have a chance to finish. The New One's hand suddenly shot up to the other Segment's face, seizing his jaw between his thumb and fingers and cutting him off in surprise. The New One pinched at the hinge of his jaw with painful pressure, forcing his counterpart's mouth ajar. As the Loud One squeaked in protest, the New One released Childe's cock from the suction of his lips.

"Are you quite done, then, now that you've been caught?" The New One asked impatiently. "Honestly, even you should be able to see there's no sense in making a fuss any longer. So open up."

The younger Segment froze as his head was forcibly led to Childe's erection, one final flash of desperation widening his eyes. But then, the New One stopped pushing. He kept a hand on his counterpart's jaw, assuring his mouth remained open, but stopped just short of forcing him to make contact. He was close - so close that Childe could feel the heat of his labored breaths hitting his cock - but not quite there.

Childe saw him draw a sharp breath inward. Saw his gaze shift to a new kind of desperation. Saw his tongue twitch inside his open mouth, as if fighting the urge to give a timid lick to the tip of Childe's cock.

And suddenly - miraculously - it seemed that the Loud One had run out of things to say.

He closed the distance himself, still with a slight air of either caution or embarrassment, but Childe was soon moaning at the sensation of Dottore's lips closing in around his cock at last - or again, rather. At this point, the bizarre thoughts quickly passing him by only added to the feeling of giddy lust coursing through him.

"Enjoying yourself this much already?" It felt a little strange to hear Dottore's voice pipe up beside him as Childe simultaneously watched him sink down further on his cock, pressing his tongue against the underside of his shaft and letting out a soft, throaty sound as he settled into the position. Childe didn't exactly know where to look. His eyes were darting between the two, but he was able to catch the New One licking his lips before he spoke again. "Not too much, I hope. It'd be a shame to let this opportunity pass too quickly, wouldn't it?"

Childe managed to croak out a laugh at that, shaking his head.

"Not a chance," Childe rasped, leaning back on his hands to broaden his view. He was tempted to start bucking into the warmth surrounding him, but willed himself to keep still. Dottore was right - he wanted to hold back a little.

The New One let out an amused hum. He released the hold he had on the other Segment's face, but kept his opposite hand wrapped around the base of Childe's cock. "Taking that as a challenge? Why am I not surprised?" A mischievous look soon lit up his face. "Well, if that's how you want it, I'll be sure not to disappoint. I know how much you like a good challenge."

With that, he leaned back in - and suddenly, Childe didn't have to deliberate on which face to look at. They were both there, right in his lap, as the New One quickly took liberty of the small part of Childe's cock that was not yet surrounded by his fingers or the younger Segment's mouth. There wasn't much he could really do with such sparse real estate; but what could be accomplished he did so in earnest, pressing a kiss to the exposed skin before licking wherever his tongue could reach. His eyes locked on Childe's as he reveled in his own showmanship, radiating arrogance as he drew a needy mewl out of the Eleventh. 

The Loud One looked put off by his counterpart's sudden advance, pulling back a bit to put some distance between them. Annoyance furrowed his brow when it only enticed the New One to take up even more space, but at that point, he seemed unwilling to relinquish his position for the sake of arguing. If anything, the intrusion only spurred him on further. He sank down again with determination, as if to make up for the ground lost. Their cheeks were almost pressed together as they continued like this, their lips and tongues occasionally making contact as they ravished Childe's cock from base to tip.

This was… definitely going to be a challenge. Childe fisted his hands into the sheets below him, gritting his teeth through the urge to come undone. A lesser man in his position probably would have already gone crazy from this kind of attention - perhaps even in the literal sense - but Childe was more disciplined than that. He could last when he really wanted to, and boy did he really want to now. It wasn't just that the sight alone was unbelievably, ground-shakingly arousing; the idea of two of Dottore's Segments coming together for him, even if only for the sake of misdirecting a few well-warranted concerns, did something to Childe that he wouldn't have expected. Dottore was not a man that wasted time freely - and to such an extreme degree that he'd made sure that the scope of his jurisdiction far surpassed the capabilities of merely one body. If he was to be anywhere at all, it was because he considered the matter to be of the utmost importance. But if two of him were somewhere? It should have been absolutely unheard of. And yet here he was. Here they were. Just for him.

The train of thought soon brought him to another overwhelming wave of arousal, and he bit his lip to futilely stifle the wanton moan that tumbled out of him. He couldn't start groaning and whimpering this early on. It would only entice Dottore to try pushing him even further over the edge.

Sure enough, the New One's eyes lit up at the sound that escaped Childe. He backed off, wiping away the spittle from his lips with the back of his hand.

"What's wrong?" The New One teased. "Trying to hold it back? I wish you wouldn't. You know how much I enjoy hearing you sing for me, gorgeous."

The salacious timbre of his voice made gooseflesh break out across Childe's forearms. He chuckled weakly, trying to maintain some composure.

"Slow down just a little bit," Childe urged, desperation seeping into his voice. "It's no fun for anyone if you rush through things."

"Mm, I can't say I entirely agree," the New One hummed, almost absentmindedly stroking the base of Childe's cock where the other Segment's mouth did not reach. "Besides, that wouldn't be much of a challenge, now would it?"

Childe's pride would not allow him to protest. He could only chuckle nervously, suddenly intimidated by the sly look on the New One's face. "Shit. You're really not gonna go easy on me, are you?"

"No," the New One chuckled. "No, I don't think I will."

Childe hadn't even realized that the New One's free hand had drifted up to the Loud One's head and almost tenderly laced his fingers into his hair - not until he abruptly clenched a fist around the blue locks. Suddenly, he shoved the Loud One's head forward with this grip, forcing him to take Childe's cock even deeper than before. Childe nearly jumped in surprise at the sudden movement, then again at the sensation of the young Segment's throat tightening and spasming around him as he gagged around the intrusion.

" Oh , fuck-" Childe gasped, the words coming out as a pathetic, broken little yelp. His hand instinctively reached out to push the Loud One's forehead back, but the New One kept his counterpart held firmly in place. "Shit, b-be careful!"

The older Segment was unperturbed by Childe's protests, as well as the obscene retches he was eliciting from his younger self as he began thrusting his head forward, bobbing him up and down on Childe's cock.

"Oh, fuck, I'm serious," Childe protested, shifting forward to still his hand. "Take it easy! He's gonna bite down."

The New One gave Childe a disparaging glare as he stopped his hand, and the Loud One took the opportunity to pull himself off entirely. He came up for air with a thick, choked gasp, coughing up strings of mucous saliva as he struggled to catch his breath

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," the New One chided Childe, paying no mind to the suffering Segment beside him. He then raised an accusatory eyebrow at the Eleventh. "You've never had the decency to be so concerned about this sort of thing before."

Childe grimaced sheepishly, but his gaze still flickered worryingly to the gasping Segment between his legs. "Well- I don't know, it feels weird when there's someone else controlling it."

"He'll live," the New One said dryly. He gave Childe a knowing smirk. "Besides, don't let it fool you. He's enjoying himself immensely. I should know, shouldn't I?"

Childe grimaced. Maybe he had a point. Technically, there wasn't really another party involved. He was only talking about himself, at the end of the day. In fact, the idea that Dottore was backhandedly revealing inclinations that he normally wouldn't have vocalized was nearly enough to throw Childe right back in the mood without a hitch. Still… Perhaps it could be too easy to volunteer yourself for the veritable chopping block when you knew another's throat would be on the line.

"A-asshole!" As if on cue, the Loud One finally composed himself enough to throw a scowl and a raspy curse in the New One's direction. The New One merely rolled his eyes, quickly pushing his doppelgänger's head forward to reunite his lips with Childe's cock. Despite his indignance, the Loud One begrudgingly let his erection slip back into his mouth without further protest.

"Just… just go a little easier," Childe urged. He soon groaned in pleasure as the Loud One's head was pushed back into place until his lips were flush with the New One's fingers, still wrapped around the base of his cock. He was able to take it with less trouble now that he was expecting it, but Childe could tell he was still struggling not to gag as his erection settled against the back of his throat.

"Now, aren't you being so considerate?" The New One teased Childe. He did give the Loud One much time to adjust before he began rocking his head back and forth once more. "What's the matter? Does it tug at your heartstrings to see me in such discomfort?"

He wasn't exactly wrong, but Childe's breath hitched as he watched the younger Segment's tightly suctioned lips slide up and down his cock, and he found himself unable to respond. He noticed tears beading at the corners of the Loud One's eyes from the strain of taking him so deep - they were screwed tightly shut as he tried to bear it. But even with his evident struggle, he couldn't hide the erratic buck of his hips or the few moans that managed to eke out of him during his meager retreats. He was still getting off on this. Even as one of those tears finally broke through his lashline and began to stream down his flushed cheeks.

Husky moans fell wantonly from Childe's lips as he brought a hand to the Loud One's face, cupping his cheek in his palm. Trying his best to keep his hand steady against his bobbing head, he swiped the stray tear away with his thumb.

"Look at me," Childe muttered breathlessly. "Can you look at me?"

The Loud One let out a strangled, needy sound as his eyelids fluttered open. He craned his gaze up as far as he could, meeting Childe's hungry eyes.

"Oh, shit, yes," Childe moaned immediately. "You look so fucking good like this. You feel- Ah , you feel so good."

The sight was almost overwhelmingly familiar in the great expanse of surrealism that had taken over this situation. Like coming home after a long expedition in foreign territory, battle-weary and pining for respite. It didn't matter which one of them it was - not the length of their hair, nor the way they carried themselves, or even the absence or presence of lines that had gradually begun to crinkle his features with age.  The time the Segments were made to represent was written clearly for those that knew where to look, but some things could never be confined to a linear timeline. It was always the same eyes that looked up at him like this, smoldering red like an ember kept alight by nothing but the wind carrying it, dampened by a rare, precious moment of vulnerability. A surrender to the moment, a release of inhibitions that were otherwise as staunchly maintained as their time-frozen forms. But here, for Childe alone, all of those silly distinctions came undone. 

It was never just another Segment that looked at Childe like that, eyes glazed over with lust and brimming with need. It was only ever Dottore. The way he embraced and submitted to his basest desires - his wild, dangerous desire for Childe - always remained the same.

"Oh, yes," the New One suddenly cooed. Again, there was disorientation upon hearing Dottore's voice from an unexpected source, but it was too fleeting and insignificant for Childe to hold onto. The New One finally released his hold on Childe's cock, his steadying hand now an unnecessary asset - it fell down to his own lap to make better use of itself. "This view is certainly… an oddly refreshing one."

As he continued directing the Loud One's head on Childe's length, his other arm began to make an unmistakable bobbing motion over his lap. Childe's leg was in the way; he couldn't see it, but the knowledge of what he was doing was enough to make his toes curl in his boots.

"Are you gonna get off watching me fuck your own face?" Childe asked with a breathless chuckle. It was half teasing and half genuine, lust-delirious fascination. He vaguely wondered if he would feel the same allure in Dottore's situation, and couldn't deny the rush of excitement the idea sent through him. Though perhaps they were both just a bit narcissistic.

"Only if you two can put on a good show for me," Dottore said, the lowness of his voice practically coming off as a purr. "But I'm afraid it's already starting to get a bit stale. I don't think he's really pushed himself yet. Do you?"

With that, on the next push downwards, the New One stilled his hand. When the younger Segment still attempted to pull back a bit, the hand guiding him retaliated; it started shoving him forward even further. Childe bottomed out in the back of the young Segment's throat, eliciting a guttural sound from him. He'd taken him so deep, his nose was now nearly brushing against Childe's taut stomach.

" There we are," the New One cooed almost maliciously, keeping his counterpart's head firmly in place. "Just a little further now, hm?"

The Loud One started straining desperately at his binds, eyes gone wide as he tried to accommodate the length he was plunged down upon. Childe felt less inclined to intervene this time around. His thighs were now shaking from the tight, wet sensation of Dottore's throat closing in around him, the urge to come getting harder and harder to fight off.

" Oh, just like that," Childe urged, mindlessly carding his fingers through the Loud One's hair. Whether this was an attempt to soothe himself or the Segment, he could no longer distinguish. "You look so good, taking it all for me. Fuck. You're doing so good."

The Loud One tried to moan, but it only came out as a buzz that vibrated throughout Childe's cock and all the way up his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up at attention. Seemingly spurred by his praise, the Segment swallowed his length down until there was no further for him to go. His nose was now nestled deep in ruddy tufts of pubic hair, pressed flush against Childe's groin and held in place there by the unyielding hand of his older self. Childe moaned shamelessly as Dottore's tongue lapped at the base of his cock. Shit, he was close. He was-

Without warning, the Loud One's head was roughly yanked back. The New One pulled his hair until he was separated from Childe's cock entirely, and the younger Segment released him with a wet, wheezing gasp for air. Childe ended up gasping as well, the sudden absence of his heat almost painful.

The New One just snickered at their respective states of disarray, still leisurely stroking himself as he grinned up at Childe.

"Oh, what's the matter? You look a little frustrated," the New One remarked, feigning obliviousness. "You did look awfully close. I just thought a little break might be in order. You did mention how eager you were to make this last."

Childe couldn't even compose himself enough to string a sentence together. He just sucked his bottom lip between his teeth with a shrill groan, looking down at his slick, twitching erection that was now woefully exposed to the cool air.

"P-please! " It was a plea that echoed Childe's thoughts exactly, but it did not come from his own lips. The sound caught the New One's attention, and he quickly shot a glare at the bound Segment in response to his outburst.

"Quiet," the New One snapped.

"Please! " The Loud One repeated with a gasp. His voice was remarkably hoarse, and he'd yet to adequately catch his breath. The audible effort it took him just to speak made Childe feel a sobering pang of remorse. " I just- Shit, just touch me, please! I ca- I can't take anym-"

With a swift tug of his hair, the New One promptly cut him short while clicking his tongue.

"A reward before the job's even done? How presumptuous," the New One admonished. "I wouldn't waste my breath, if I were in your position. The break wasn't for your sake."

" No, please! " The Loud One rasped, the words nearly coming out as a sob. " Please, ju-"

As his mouth fell open, the New One took the opportunity to shove his head forward once more, forcing his lips back around Childe's cock. He managed to choke out a mournful sound before being completely silenced by the obstruction soon pressed to the back of his throat, but didn't put up much of a struggle; whether this was because he didn't want to risk injuring Childe or simply because he was too worn down and incapacitated to do so wasn't clear. But he shot a pleading, teary look up at the Eleventh as his head was pushed back into place, and it was enough to make Childe's heart skip a beat.

"W-wait," Childe urged, voice strained as he momentarily fought back his own desire. "Just… give him a little break. He's the one sticking his neck out here. And you did tie him up and shove him in a closet."

The New One glared at Childe with an annoyed expression.

"Oh, excellent. It seems you've decided to be a proper gentleman today," Dottore droned sarcastically. "A little too proper for my taste. I understand acting with an overabundance of caution in uncharted territory, but it's honestly starting to get annoying." 

Childe bristled indignantly. "Hey, don't start acting weird! He just wants to get off; it's not a big deal."

"And have you considered why exactly he's gotten so worked up in the first place? There's no need to coddle him. He's just being theatrical. Would you expect any less from this one?"

He had several valid points, and more than that, Childe wouldn't have put it past any of the Segments to simply bite down in this position if they honestly felt inclined to do so. It wouldn't kill him to go untouched, and the fact that his desire was so urgent spoke to at least some level of fulfillment. But at this point, the denial felt awkwardly unnecessary. Like Dottore was cutting off his nose to spite his own face in the most bizarre, convoluted fashion imaginable. It didn't sit quite right with Childe, but at the same time, he didn't really have any sound logic behind the feeling. And calling off everything now would likely only put all three of them on worse terms than they started out in. Perhaps following through was the simplest way of resolving the issue cleanly.

Or maybe that was just letting his dick do all this thinking for him. Hell if he could tell the difference; this had all happened far too fast for Childe to possibly think straight.

But at the very least, he could make sure that if the Loud One wasn't quite able to have his way, then the New One wouldn't be able to either.

"Fine. Whatever," Childe yielded. "Just keep going. I feel like I'm gonna go crazy if this goes on much longer."

The New One smirked, a triumphant glimmer in his eyes as he chuckled at Childe's supposed urgency.

"What happened to wanting to make it last?" Dottore asked mockingly. "You're insatiable as always, at the end of the day. Well, don't worry; I'll make sure you've had your fill."

The Loud One let out a miserable noise as his counterpart began directing his head again, squeezing his eyes shut tightly as he struggled not to retch. Another tear fell from his lashes, and Childe put his hand back on his face to wipe it away, shifting around a bit uncomfortably.

"Easy," Childe muttered softly. He shot a defiant glimpse at the New One, who had quickly grown transfixed on matching the pace of his self-pleasuring hand to the bob of his younger self's head. Childe again shifted his weight around subtly, stroking the Loud One's face to soothe him. "Easy."

The Loud One's eyes suddenly shot open, and Childe could sense him grow so rigid that he was worried he would choke. But he managed to compose himself somehow - even as Childe's foot quietly slid between his legs. In the guise of readjusting himself where he sat, he'd managed to pull his leg in and extend it back out toward the Segment's lap without the New One taking notice. He had made clear he had no interest in paying attention to the need straining against the Loud One's pants, after all. And as things progressed, Childe assumed he would be even less inclined to glance in that direction. He wouldn't have anything to be annoyed about until after all was said and done; sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.

And oh, Archon… Childe could only feel so much through his boot, the curve of his ankle sliding neatly into place with the bulge in the Loud One's pants, but even with a layer of leather between them he could tell how hard he'd gotten. It was almost painful to imagine with how prominently it was sticking out from his lap, how Childe could feel the faintest sensation of movement just from his leg slipping into place - no wonder he'd sounded so desperate.

Childe tried to quietly shoot the young Segment a knowing look, though whether or not he actually caught it was up for debate. The Loud One's eyes briefly rolled back in his head before fluttering closed, immediately starting to grind his clothed, neglected erection against Childe's leg. This was fine too; he'd already been rutting so fiercely against nothing, this would most likely go unnoticed as well. Childe still held onto the notion that even this seemed like an unnecessarily conservative boon, but so long as both Segments looked a little more content, he was more than happy to leave it at that. And with his own reservations soothed, Childe's own pleasure quickly began to take priority again.

Appeased by Childe's benevolence, the Loud One seemed to melt into the movements he was being guided through, his throat as open and willing as his natural reflexes would allow. Childe doubted he even needed the New One's coercive hand at that point; if left to his own devices, he would have surely followed through of his own volition. He was moaning for it now, and more than hearing it, Childe could feel it. Toe-curling vibrations and the sinful sensation of his insides convulsing tightly around him. His tongue laid out flat against the underside of his length, undulating against him with every hungry, choked swallow.

Childe could no longer contain himself, his thighs shaking as his hips erratically bucked forward, sending him bottoming out in the back of Dottore's throat. It was no doubt sending little jerks down the rest of his leg as he kept it pressed firmly against the Loud One's groin, because the frequency of the Segment's gagged mewls only increased as he continued. Childe was close, but with how desperately the Segment was rocking against him, he suddenly wondered if he was even closer. 

"Look at me again," Childe moaned almost urgently, brushing the fringe away from Dottore's forehead to get a good view of his messy, tear-soaked face. "I want to see you coming. Come while I'm fucking your throat."

Saliva bubbled out from the seal of the Loud One's lips as a plaintive sound struggled to eke out of him. He opened his eyes again, craning them up to watch Childe.

Childe wasn't in the right mind to realize that he'd just outed their position to the older Segment, though at that point he no longer seemed concerned with the status of his young counterpart's arousal. Maybe he'd figured it out a while ago and just let it be; or maybe he was just taking the inconsequential betrayal in stride. Regardless, a deep, lusty chuckle rumbled out of the New One's chest as he looked down at the product of Childe's defiance.

"You're trying to spoil me rotten, aren't you?" The New One laughed breathlessly - he didn't sound quite as cool and collected as he did before. His other arm was now bobbing almost frantically over his lap, and his gaze flickered back up to Childe's face. " Hah. That wasn't supposed to be the goal here."

" Oh, fuck the goal," Childe groaned, his face twisting up in delirious pleasure. A high, airy laugh escaped him. "Fuck whatever it is you're trying to pull. Don't- Ah, don't ruin a good thing."

"Tell me just how good you think it is, and I'll consider it," the New One shot back defiantly, biting his lip and smirking into it. 

"If you don't stop talking, I'm fucking your throat next," Childe grunted, grinning all the while. With his mind now running wild as his release grew closer and closer, his mouth followed suit. He felt more daring being so close to climax, willing to press his luck with tawdry dirty talk that would normally only earn him a slap on the wrist. "I know now you know that's the best use for it, you fucking whore. Ah, hah… I'm more than happy to ruin both your pretty little mouths, if you want it that badly."

He watched the New One's mouth fall open, probably to tell him off for his words, but Childe could no longer focus on anything else. Saying it - imagining it - made Childe feel so high with arousal that he was sure he'd finally passed the point of no return.

But at that moment, a sobering sound between his legs suddenly tried to bring him back down to earth.

Childe immediately focused back on the Loud One as the Segments let out a shrill, wheezing noise, followed by an alarming choking sound. A real one; one that was definitely not sexy or alluring in the slightest, even to Childe's buzzing ears. But unfortunately, the sudden gasp inwards that had caused the Loud One to slip up only squeezed his cock tighter.

Childe still tried to reach out to help him off, but the Loud One was already jerking his head back to disconnect himself - seemingly with no resistance. Childe was vaguely surprised that the New One would offer him so much leeway, even with his hand still tightly gripping the hair at the crown of his head. But Childe didn't have much time to ponder his motives presently. With a drawn-out moan, Childe was helpless to his own release, watching his come paint the front of the younger Segment's face, some of it landing in his open, coughing mouth. The Loud One managed to turn his head away, the rest of it shooting out against the side of his face. 

As the Segment tried to breathe, every sound between the wheezing gasps for air were shrill whimpers. While Childe rapidly attempted to regain his bearings in the wake of his orgasm, he suddenly realized the frantic thrust of the Loud One's hips had petered off. Not stopped completely; he was still bucking forward against Childe's leg erratically, even through his evident struggle to breathe, as if he had no control over the movement.

The pieces started falling into place. As the ringing in his ears subsided, Childe could quickly assess what had happened from the way the Loud one moved and how he bonelessly slumped against his inner thigh as he tried to steady himself. Childe sucked in a sharp breath as he pulled his leg away from Dottore's crotch, taking a glance downwards. There was a wet spot at the front of his pants. Childe could even catch a bit of slickness smeared against the front of his boot as he brought it into a better light. That was probably why he ended up gasping and subsequently choking, if it had managed to catch him by surprise. 

He'd come in his pants. Just from sucking him off and a little dry humping. Holy shit. Childe nearly swooned on the spot, immediately tempted to throw caution to the wind and put his hypersensitive cock back into the metaphorical fray, but the situation also struck him as so odd that he couldn't help but stop and consider it further. That wasn't like Dottore at all; not even for his younger, more excitable iterations. Even with maximum investment, Dottore had always been able to far outlast Childe with half the effort. Coming untouched, even in this kind of intense scenario, seemed grossly out of character for him.

That was when Childe's awestruck gaze drifted back over to the New One - and to the identical far-off look he harbored in his own eyes. And if that wasn't telling enough, the hand in his lap was soon brought up to Childe's outer thigh. He didn't look up as he unceremoniously wiped his hand on Childe's pants, smearing fresh semen across the fabric as he went. If Childe had been less distracted, he would have given him a piece of his mind for that. But given the circumstances, he was currently too mesmerized to even consider commenting on it.

"Did you-" Childe blurted out, his voice cracking in the middle. "What… what the hell was that?"

The New One still didn't look up at him. He finally released the hold he had on the Loud One's hair and instead ran it through his own locks in an attempt to recollect himself. He was clearly feigning disinterest, but Childe could see it for what it really was; sheepishness.

"What was what?" The New One asked dully.

" That ," Childe repeated, knowing it should be obvious. "Did you- Did you both come at the same time?"

Saying it out loud was nearly enough to make his cock twitch back to life. Not that his erection had waned much anyway. Childe was not so easily spent, and with this fresh development, his desire and curiosity were far from sated.

The New One finally shot a disparaging look in his direction, raising an eyebrow. "Shall I break out the stopwatch next time so you can pinpoint it down to the millisecond?"

"Holy shit. You did , didn't you?" Childe laughed breathlessly, sitting up a little straighter in excitement. He started to consider the implications of it all, thinking back to both of the Segments’ feverish investment. Childe had been so enraptured himself, he hadn't really considered the fact that Dottore was not typically so easily fazed. Something had been different this time around. Something that had to do with the two of them experiencing it simultaneously. "That- that's too big of a coincidence. You don't come that easily. Was it… was it just being here, or- Is it better when it's two of you at once somehow? Can you… I don’t know, feel something more?"

“Hmph. Perhaps,” the New One grunted dismissively. He looked annoyed, but Childe wagered that the only reason he was even engaging in the conversation was due to the subtle gleam of intrigue just behind his eyes. He was a scholar, after all; if there was something new to be discovered, he would seek it out just for the sake of the discovery. But perhaps because Childe had hit the nail on the head just a bit too quickly, he merely gave a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders. “But don’t get any whimsical ideas in your head. It’s most likely a simple matter of… mental stimulation. The mind is a powerful organ, and very easily influenced. If one has reason to believe that the body will be feeling a certain sensation, then it will often react accordingly regardless of whether or not stimuli was received. And I’d say watching a mirror image of oneself experiencing pleasure is… quite the influence.”

Childe scrunched up his face, completely unconvinced by the rigid explanation. Dottore sure could find a lot of words to describe something as simple as getting off on watching himself come. Childe wasn’t buying it, anyway. It happened way too fast, and too close together.

“If that’s what happened, then which one of you came first?” Childe challenged with a mischievous smirk. “Did you follow his lead, or…”

He trailed off pointedly, and the New One let out a huff of indignance. “Childe, is there really any point to this inane conversation? What does it matter? Honestly, I do all this for your sake, and the second you finish you harass me with pointl-”

“He came first. Because you called him a whore.”

Both their eyes immediately followed the hoarse voice to its source; the younger Segment was still slumped against Childe’s thigh with a listless countenance. Suddenly though, there was a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips.

Before Childe could decide whether to simply laugh or take this revelation and use it to his advantage, the New One scowled as his hand shot back out to grab another fistful of the Loud One’s hair. He yanked him closer, leaning in to hiss in his ear.

“How convenient for you to rediscover your voice now,” the New One spat. “Next time, I'll let you really choke on it. You have a lot of gall talking like that when you still have no control over your position.”

The Loud One was still too dazed to really take any of his words to heart, and even seemed ready to deliver another smart-assed observation, but being jerked around stirred up another coughing fit.

“Geez. Take it easy,” Childe urged, flicking the New One lightly against the temple. His other hand reached out to pet the top of the Loud One's head soothingly as he coughed. “What did I say about fighting around my dick? It’s just weird. Give it a rest.”

The New One shot a glare at Childe, then looked back at the Loud One as his breathing finally began to even out. Childe caught a suspicious look flashing across his features. His expression softened, then twisted into something a bit more upbeat - perhaps “playful” was too generous a word for it, but it wasn’t quite the malicious grin that Childe would have expected, either. And before he could possibly anticipate it, the New One reached out to seize the younger Segment by the chin. Bringing their heads together, the New One leaned forward while holding his counterpart firmly in place and flicked out his tongue to lap at the string of come that had landed on his temple. Childe let out a sharp exhale of surprise as the New One continued to leisurely lick clean the upper half of the Loud One's face. The Loud One's eyes had immediately widened at the contact, and then narrowed as he let out a weak, disgusted groan. He strained a bit at his binds, but had clearly run out of the energy to retaliate in full force. Maybe that was part of the reason the New One did it; spiting himself yet again, demeaning himself if only to humiliate his incapacitated doppelgänger ever further. Though as his eyelids fluttered at Childe salaciously, it was clear what his other motive had been. He swallowed down his ill-gotten prize audibly - too audibly to have possibly been done with any intention other than to make Childe shiver with arousal.

"You really want me to 'give it a rest?' Already?" The New One laughed lightly, licking his lips. "You can't be thinking of resting already. We've just barely gotten started."

He kept his eyes locked on Childe as he went back in for more, this time taking care of a few spots sticking to the curve of the Loud One's jawline. The Loud One looked up at him then too, a little exasperated but still not entirely turned off. With both their lusty eyes turned on him, and their faces so close-

"Can you-" Childe blurted out suddenly, stopping himself midway as the weight of what he'd just been about to say hit him. All at once, he became acutely aware of the flush creeping up his neck. But the image that had intrusively popped into his head was too intoxicating to bear burying.

The New One stopped mid-lick at Childe's sudden outburst, his tongue slipping back into his mouth as he frowned at his sheepish demeanor. Despite sounding like he knew he'd regret asking, after a few beats of silence, he asked, "What?"

"Can- Can you…" Childe trailed off for a moment, clearing his throat awkwardly. He didn't embarrass easily - or at all, in most cases - but even he had a bit of trouble getting the words out. "Can you… kiss each other… in front of me?"

Both of the Segments’ faces immediately dropped into the exact same weary, disapproving leer. Simultaneously. If the mood had been a little lighter, the display would have been hilarious. But Childe's cheeks were burning so hot he couldn't bring himself to laugh.

"Really?" The New One barked in disbelief. "That's what you want from us? What in the hell could that possibly do for you?"

"I- I don't know," Childe admitted, gulping as the image flashed through his head again. "But I have a feeling it's… gonna be something."

"Freak," the Loud One suddenly croaked, pursing his lips in distaste.

"Wh- Seriously? This is where you two draw the line?" Childe stammered incredulously. He set his jaw as he prepared to defend himself. "Come on! Just- Just once, at least. Please? I thought you were both here to show me a good time."

The New One merely rolled his eyes, heaving a heavy sigh. Without another word, he turned back to the Loud One, descending on the last remaining spurts of come slowly oozing down past the corner of his mouth. He wrenched the young Segment’s head towards him, forcing him to break his accusatory glare on Childe, and began licking up the rest of the mess. The Loud One noticeably stiffened, opening his mouth to protest, but when the action only allowed the New One's tongue to slightly breach his flushed, swollen lips, he quickly closed them again. The New One retreated only far enough to shoot him an irritated look, as if silently urging him to just get the act over with. He swooped back in, lapping at the same spot he had licked before despite the area now being clean. He let his tongue linger there, sticking out of his mouth, teasing at the door to the Loud One’s mouth impatiently. 

The Loud One's eyes flickered back over to Childe anxiously. But upon being met with the Eleventh's wide-eyed, enraptured stare, he begrudgingly relented. He let his lips part ever-so-slightly. It was all the New One needed to probe in deeper.

Urging the younger Segment's mouth open with his tongue, their lips soon slid into place. It began as an awkward, open-eyed gesture of obligation, the New One's mouth abrasively clashing with the Loud One's stiff, stationary one. It was so inelegant, Childe could see the way the Loud One's tongue was pressed stubbornly against the inside of his mouth, unyielding to the entitled intruder probing against it. Then, almost imperceptibly at first, Childe saw it twitch. Then again. Then, it was slowly coaxed out of its inert state.

As the Loud One started to relax, his eyelids eventually drifted closed. The New One soon followed suit, and Childe could even see his lips curve upwards with a self-satisfied smirk. He drove in deeper, sealing the gap between their mouths and barring Childe from clearly viewing the inner machinations of their exchange. The only souvenir he was offered was a hoarse whimper that escaped the Loud One's throat just before he was taken in earnest.

As it turned out, Dottore was, in fact, probably a little narcissistic. What had started as a ludicrously formal act of duty was quickly evolving into a passionate exchange that Childe almost didn't want to disturb. Eventually, he realized that he had sucked in a breath that he’d yet to let back out. He released it then, loudly and urgently - as most horny idiots who have forgotten how to breathe might do - but even that could not dissuade the two Segments from their union.

Childe managed to fleetingly break his gaze away from their faces, but only to glance down at his own lap with building anticipation. It hadn't gone down. Perhaps just a bit right after the fact, but the evidence of his excitement was now standing up as straight and as yearnful as it had been before. Sucking his lower lip between his teeth, Childe tentatively reached out to wrap his hand around it, trying not to hiss as his fingers brushed against sensitive skin. But after a few ginger strokes, the intensity of the sensation waned. The Segments either hadn't noticed or didn't care that he'd begun touching himself.

Childe settled into this position, setting a leisurely pace as he watched them.

It seemed like Dottore had been right after all.

They'd just barely gotten started.

Childe awoke to a ray of sunlight just barely peeking through the curtains on the far side of the room. The swath of light had grown too bright to continue sleeping through; he finally brought a hand up to his face, shielding his eyes as he begrudgingly looked over to the window. It was surprisingly clear out despite the blizzard that had swept through the city the day before, and even with the obfuscation of the curtain, Childe could plainly see the sun hanging a fair bit over the horizon. It was a beautiful day; no doubt a product of Her Majesty's benevolence, a curbing of her righteous, icy wrath in observance of a rare period of solemn vigil. A vigil that was probably just a few hours away from being rescinded, judging from the position of the sun. Childe immediately felt a bit disheartened that he had managed to sleep through the whole thing, though he supposed that was exactly what a period of rest ought to have been for. He wouldn't have had the time to make it back home before shipping out again anyway, and it wasn't as if there would have been anything better to do in the city with everyone observing their fallen Harbinger's passing. Catching up on the sleep he had missed during the night was as good a holiday as any.

Childe wasn't surprised by the cold, empty space on the bed beside him, despite having fallen asleep with a head tucked into his chest and his fingers laced into soft locks of powder blue hair. The Loud One had, ironically, slipped out of the room at some point without a sound. Same as he always did.

The younger Segments were like that, for some reason. The older ones held on loosely, but tended to linger even after all their activities were said and done. The ones closer to his age held on tighter. But never longer. They always slipped out when Childe wasn't looking, never calling attention to their retreat. Almost as if they feared taking up too much space.

Maybe he was just overthinking it. But the somber train of thought and frigid morning air was sobering enough to definitively bring Childe back down to earth, after too long spent in the clouds of blind, hedonistic desire. He wasn't even sure how long he'd gone for last night. Long enough for both Segments to eventually throw him off of them in exasperation, practically begging for at least a few sparse moments to recuperate. By that point, of course, Childe's exhaustion had finally caught up with him, and they'd all simply drifted off together. And now, things appeared deceptively normal. 

Childe turned his head to his other side, away from the glaring absence of space in front of him. Unsurprisingly, and contradictory to his younger counterpart, the New One was still laid out next to Childe, facing away from him and evidently still asleep on his side.

Childe made a closed-mouth grimace at his back, pondering his next move as he continued to process the implications of everything that had occurred from the moment of the funeral's conclusion to now. After a while, he merely rolled onto his side, scooching closer to the sleeping figure.

Childe sidled up behind him quietly, pressing his chest to Dottore's back and slipping a hand over the curve of his waist. He buried his face into the mane of hair splayed out in front of him as he blindly reached out in front of his bedmate. He eventually found one of his hands, and gingerly laced his fingers in between Dottore's slack ones.

Soon, Dottore stirred. His fingers twitched, then gently curled inwards around Childe's hand. It was probably out of instinct; he didn't seem to be fully awake yet. Childe maneuvered his free hand around to gather up Dottore's unkempt hair into a single, manageable lock, then softly draped it over his shoulder, taking care not to get it in his face. 

With the nape of his neck now exposed, Childe nestled his nose into the delicate little baby hairs sticking up every which way. He breathed deep there, content to just take in his scent. The Segments smelled a little different from their creator; a little cleaner, in an almost eerie, clinical sort of way. In most circumstances, Childe could scarcely pick up any scent from them whatsoever, no matter how close he got. But when they were like this - new to the day, the remnants of sweat and sex clinging to their skin, the natural pheromones of what made them feeding off of Childe's own scent and forming a collective, intimate aroma that settled around them like a comforting blanket - Childe could always find solace in those familiar, masculine overtones that he knew so well.

They were all Dottore, at the end of the day. Childe saw no significant difference between having this one in his arms and another. He enjoyed Dottore's company - all of it, for better or for worse. He did not yearn for the Prime Segment like a long-lost lover, despite how long it had been since he'd been with him. He was still right here, in a sense. And ultimately, that was all that Childe needed.

But he and Dottore were men that were not unfamiliar with the concept of donning masks; literal, figurative, or whatever else the case may be. And Childe also knew that regardless of what he thought of the Segments, Prime simply saw them as just that - yet more masks to don whenever it was appropriate to do so. The Segments served as his proxies. They brought him places he couldn't go on his own, made him allies where another face would have only found enemies, and had cemented him a seat as the second most influential man in all of Teyvat.

But to don so many masks at once was a dangerous game. It was too easy to lose track of these many facades, and to mix up the order of how they should be worn. And Childe still couldn't help but wonder if he had lost sight of the most important mask he ought to have been wearing.

Childe cared deeply for Dottore. More so than any of their colleagues, certainly. And aside from his younger siblings, he even felt that they shared a deeper understanding than that which Childe shared with most of his own family. But if Dottore was getting too wrapped up in his own affairs, that understanding could end up dissolving. Their loyalty was meant to benefit the Tsaritsa’s goals first and foremost.

And Childe really didn't want to be the one to have to tear all of Dottore’s masks away by force.

At the very least, he felt an obligation to try urging him to shed them of his own volition.

But Childe said nothing of this to the Segment he held in his arms now. At this point, the New One was probably the one he had grown most familiar with. So Childe knew very well that this mask was too firmly affixed to move gently. Trying to get any more out of him would be a waste of breath. If Childe hoped to make any sort of progress, he would have to start somewhere easier.

But for now, he was content to push such thoughts out of his mind. He let out a gentle exhale against the back of Dottore's neck, pressing a soft kiss to his skin and pulling him in a bit tighter. Dottore didn't react to the gesture, but he was awake now. Childe could tell from the subtle quickening of his breathing, and from the way he could feel the little hairs on the back of Dottore’s neck stand up to meet his lips at the sensation of his breath against them. But for whatever reason, he also seemed content to remain silent. Maybe he took Childe’s silence as evidence that his attempt to misdirect the Eleventh had been successful.

Or maybe he knew better than that. Maybe he was just planning his next move as well.

He was still holding onto Childe's hand, though. Loosely. But unmistakably present.

They would remain that way until the cathedral bells in the distance marked the end of their time off. 

After that, it was back to business as usual.