Star-Crossed [ G. Impact ]

fourteen | XIV

ミ☆

zhongli was right in implying that the hangover the next morning would be bad, but he certainly didn't warn her about the impending headache she would experience upon waking up. it felt like mount hulao and mount aozang had sandwiched her head between their rocky masses the entire time she remained asleep.

she almost cried out with happiness when he appeared at the foot of her bed, offering a glass of water and a small baggie with medicine provided from bubu pharmacy like he was some sort of angel sent from celestia.

her throat felt drier than the deserts of sumeru but was soon quenched when the glass of water disappeared into the cavern behind her lips. zhongli watched the ordeal with wide eyes.

"i love you so much..." she gasped upon swallowing the medicine capsules, looking frazzled after having just chugged an entire glass in under ten seconds.

"i love you too?" his reply sounded more like a question than anything.

the rest of the morning consisted of zhongli accompanying her to the bathroom as she heaved the empty contents of her stomach. he took out his hair band and tied (y/n)'s back to keep any unfortunate substances from getting caught in her mess of (h/c) hair.

she never noticed how long his hair really was until it cascaded down the length of his back. it was certainly a sight she would behold as a mental image.

the girl never appreciated him more than when he rubbed circles into her back as she slouched over the toilet, as an unlucky victim to too much liquor the night before.

once she settled down enough to sit comfortably at the dining table, zhongli had already taken the liberty of rifling through her cabinets in search of dishware. he seemed to know the place better than she did at that point.

her (e/c) irises wandered the room as a temperature distraction. his coat was hung on the rack at the top of the stairs while his shoes sat at the bottom. she tilted her head amusingly when she noticed how big his shoes were in comparison to her heels.

zhongli set down a plate filled with cut fruit in front of her, placing the envelope from yesterday alongside it. as he prepared fresh tea, she read the contents while snacking on sweet berries.

its contents were short. as ganyu had said the previous night, it was indeed an invitation to the jade chamber signed by ningguang herself. she handed it to zhongli to let him skim over the document while she continued to savor the refreshing fruit juices that coated her taste buds.

"are you well enough to go today or shall i request your visitation for some other time?" he asked, using his fingers to comb through his long locks of hair. it was apparent he wasn't used to wearing it down.

"i should be fine. if it means getting to see my sweet ganyu again, the only thing that could stop me is death."

"well, in that case, you'd better get ready soon. noon is approaching quite quickly."

after leaning over the back of the chair to stretch her body at maximum capacity, she waved a dismissive hand in the air. "you worry too much, i'll be way early."

‑ˋˏ◈ˎˊ‑

she was not, in fact, early.

after zhongli had left to take care of matters at the parlor, she intended on sitting on the couch to finish her tea and ended up dozing off again.

by the time she made it to the heights of the chamber, she had worked her way up to a sprint. when she reached the gates to the palace she was in shambles.