Aether wasn't the type of person to stay still and do nothing for too long. Half of Teyvat could back that statement up, because it was nothing but the pure truth.
Today though, it was a different story.
When usually he would be running around, helping people with commissions, hanging with various of his friends, he found himself wanting anything but that.
He wanted nothing more than to climb onto his soft, and comfortable bed, and sleep for as long as possible.
But it seemed like the universe was doing everything in its power to not grant him what he wished for.
He had a pounding, flashing headache, that almost knocked him to the ground a couple of times already, in the span of the whole day.
In the morning, it started as a simple, almost unnoticeable pain existing in the back of his head, as he carried on with his commissions.
It was tolerable, so he carried on.
In the early afternoon, it had already gotten worse.
He was supposed to help Amber clear out a camp of Fatui that had gotten too close to the city. And although they eventually got rid of them, he very much suffered while doing so.
His movements were getting sloppy as his vision was blocked by black dots from time to time, his back was aching terribly and legs starting to tremble after the overwhelming amount of struggle he put his body through.
Amber, as the pure soul that she is, noticed his obvious suffering and, after a ver much needed scolding about how he needed to take better care of himself, dragged him back to his house.
It was only after she cooked him the supposed best 'Calla Lily soup' he would ever taste, and safely tucked him into bed, that she decided to leave.
After that, he fell asleep in mere seconds, letting the warmth of his covers sooth his headache.
But needless to say, that moment of peace came soon to an end.
He was awaken by the sound of knocking on his door, that even being relatively soft, it still seemed to drill a hole in his poor head.
The headache somehow had managed to get even worse, now accompanied by an uncomfortable and sick feeling in the depth of his stomach.
When whoever was outside the door knocked again, he finally found the strength to get up.
As he made his way to the door, he lost count of how many times he held onto the furniture in order to not fall to the ground, as the pounding his head seemed to become worse every step he took.
But when he finally got to the door and opened it, the person standing outside was definitely not who he expected.
"...Zhongli?"
The archon was standing on the porch, looking as composed and stunning as always. And somehow just the sight of him manage to sooth his head a little bit.
"Good evening, Aether. Pleased to see you", his earthy voice was like honey to his ears, "Did i wake you?"
Aether waved him off, "No, i was barely asleep, don't worry-"
Before he could finish, his vision was blacked out, as he lost balance for a second.
He felt himself falling backwards, before a firm but gentle arm closed around his waist, setting him back up straight.
"Aether! What's wrong, a-are you sick?"
He suddenly felt his throat close up, feeling something coming up his throat.
Oh, shit.
The taller man seemed to notice that something was obviously wrong with him, his concerned frown only deepening.
"Aether, you-"
He pushed the man away, his hand flying to his mouth in a pathetic attempt to conceal whatever was crawling up his throat.
He ran to the bathroom, Zhongli's voice shouting his name barely registering in his brain. As soon as he reached the toilet, he let himself go, spilling and vomiting out all that was in his stomach.
He vaguely heard Zhongli trying to comfort him, as a careful hand went to his forehead, holding him up.
After he was finally done spilling his guts out, with the little strength that he had left he raised his head, managing to rest against Zhongli, as to not fall.
He took in the man scent. A light and calming smell of the typical flowers in Liyue, mixed with an earthy musk.
He swore that the man had some kind of healing abilities, as he felt more tired, but more at peace.
The pain becoming an afterthought as he felt a hand comb through his hair, and the unsettling feeling in his stomach dying out the more he took in the man's scent.
And with that, sleep took over him once again.
_*‐*_
Zhongli stared at Aether sleeping body.
Hand on his chin and eyebrows pinched as he contemplated on what to do.
It was obvious that the Aether was sick, very sick.
As soon as the traveler opened the door and Zhongli saw the freakishly pale skin, and bloodshot teary eyes, he knew something wasn't right.
And it wasn't.
Because now, he was stuck watching the blonde travel roll around the bod, obviously in deep distress and pain.
Now, Zhongli took pride in many things. Of course he was a very modest man, but he wasn't naive to how experienced and knowledgeable he was.
Unfortunately, tendin to human sickness wasn't a thing that fell under his repertoire of skills.
He remember vaguely, tacking care of hurt children with Guizhong during the war, but not grown men.
And as far as he could tell, they were two very different situations, that required different solutions.
But it's again, it's not like he could leave the blonde like this, with this apparently very strong fever. He knew that Aether was a grown man, and could take care of himself just fine, but nobody could really do much with a fever like this.
So he would try, and he hoped he wouldn't make the situation worse.
*_‐_*
A bucket full of cold water was at the feet of the bed. A wet rag in his hand, as pinched the bridge of his nose.
Zhongli had taken the great time of ten minutes just to convince Aether to take his shirt off, claiming he was too cold, but Zhongli knew that was just out of pure shyness.
Shyness that he didn't understand where it came from. The traveler had a gorgeous body, and Zhongli was very much appreciating the sight.
But, of course, he didn't just make Aether take off his shirt for his mere selfish desires. Cleaning the sweat off a feverish body, and cooling it down was a great method to sooth down the fever.
That was the only reason that he had the blonde do that.
The only reason.
There was a sever downside to the whole situation.
Aether didn't like being taken care of.
Zhongli honestly wasn't in the mood to understand how the traveler's mind worked, mind focused on doing the task he set himself to do.
But aetherwas making quite hard for him.
"Aether, will you please come out of the covers?"
"..."
"Don't make me snatch them off of you, please."
"... the rag is too cold."
"It's supposed to be cold, it's too cool down your fever."
After a few seconds, a messy blonde haired head peaked out the covers.
Zhongli almost melted at the sight of the traveler's feverish eyes, but he stayed focused.
"Come, the sooner you let me do it, the sooner you can go back under the covers."
Aether still gave him a slight glare, that didn't hold much weight since he had a pout on his lips resembling the one of a child.
Zhongli wrapped a arm around the blonde's shoulder, turning him slightly so that his back was towards him.
He placed the rag on Aether's back as gently as he could, but the other still jumped at the change of temperature.
But after he started slowly rubbing the rag on his back, the boy completely relaxed, letting out a quiet sigh.
As he carried on Zhongli tried his best not to focus on how Aether's muscle would flex under the touch of the rag.
"See, not so bad, is it?"
He gently placed his hand on the other's chin, making him tip back towards him.
He started lightly tapping his neck and shoulders, and when Aether rested his head against his shoulder, he stopped for a second.
He took a second to admire the face in front of him. The boy looked borderline angelic, a being scent from a place higher than Celestia.
The chiseled jawline, that slightly softened at the cheeks giving Aether a boyish, but still manly look. The full lips that seemed to always catch his eye, whenever Aether talked. The eyes that seemed to get even lighter and bright when the sunlight would hit them.
Everything about the traveler had Zhongli completely at his mercy.
There wasn't one thing that he didn't love about the boy. And that was rare.
And frightening.
He had promised to himself to never fall for the tricks of love once again.
Not after her...
He couldn't afford it, not again.
And yet, here he was.
But, now it was too late to resent it.
He was going to love him, not like he did her.
He was going to cherish him, not like he did with her.
He was going to protect him, like he couldn't with her.
This time, it would go right.
It wouldn't- no, it couldn't go wrong.
And if it did.
Celestia only knew, what Zhongli would being onto Teyvat.
He knew that the type of love he held for Aether wasn't a sacred one. It was something dark, something twisted, that even he himself couldn't full comprehend.
But he was fine with it.
As long as he had Aether, he didn't need any answers.
He did not need anyone else.
<*_*>
Can y'all guess who is the "her" he is talking about??
Anyways, see you next time loves 💕