Milion dollar man

Chapter 10

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.