Chapter Text
Aether was slowly dragged back into consciousness by a persistent white light and a shifting presence under his head. He groaned and blinked once, twice, before prying his eyes open and staring straight at the displeased face of the teacher. “Ah!” He leaped upright and bumped into something behind him. Turning his head, he saw Chongyun’s light blue hair. The boy was still slumped against him, eyes flickering lightly and breaths steady and even.
Dread roiled in his gut as he turned around again and was met with Xingqiu. He was wide awake and blinked at him with large, innocent eyes. Aether stared back at him for a few seconds, eyes narrowing, before being startled by the teacher clearing his throat. “Aether, would you care to explain why you three are still in the classroom… twenty minutes after the end of class?” Aether glanced around the empty room nervously. Then at the clock. Then back to the teacher. “Uh…” his voice caught in his throat and he started to panic. He couldn’t get detention today; he’d promised Thoma that he’d help with his club.
Xingqiu’s voice was clear. “Sorry, I asked Aether and Chongyun to stay later and help me with my notes.” He gestured with his hands and Aether was startled to notice Xingqiu’s classic manilla folder open on the desk. Was that… there before? Paper after paper of neat notes were arranged on the table. The teacher stared disbelievingly at Chongyun, who was still sleeping soundly, and at Aether, who blinked bleary eyes at him, his golden hair sticking up in a halo around his head.
“You are aware that no one is supposed to be in the classroom after the session ends, right?” Xingqiu nodded obligingly and gathered his things, shoving it into his backpack. “We’re terribly sorry, sir. I’ll be sure to keep better track of time.” The teacher grunted and walked out the door, shooting Aether a pointed look as he did. Aether sighed, utterly embarrassed, as he buried his face in his hands. “I’m so sorry, Xingqiu…”
The person in question paused and looked at him quizzically. “Why are you sorry?” Aether sputtered. “Well… because I got you in trouble with the teacher?”
“Aw, that’s so sweet of you, my liege. But you don’t need to worry. Even if he was mad at me, it would be worth it for you.”
Aether paused, feeling heat creep up his neck. He cleared his throat. “That’s… really nice of you, Xingqiu. I’d do the same for you.”
Xingqiu smiled, but it lacked his customary warmth. “I know you would, Aether.”
Aether was distracted from Xingqiu by Chongyun shifting at his side. “Hey, Chongyun?” He poked at the boy, but his eyes were still firmly shut. “Let him sleep, Aether. The long nights and painful fits have dulled the light in his eyes and left him unable to remain conscious for long stretches.”
Aether side-eyed Xingqiu. “That was a very poetic way of saying his condition is getting worse, Xingqiu. Why didn’t he tell me?”
Xingqiu heaved an overly dramatic sigh and patted Aether’s shoulder fondly. “My liege, you may be kind, but you lack even the barest situational awareness.” The teasing tone in his voice was back, and Aether couldn’t help but feel comforted by it. “Well… how are we going to get him out of the classroom if we can’t wake him?”
“Allow me to try, my dear.” Xingqiu crossed the desk and placed his hands on Chongyun’s shoulders. He gave a firm tug, to no avail. Chongyun merely grumbled in his sleep and clung tighter to Aether. Xingqiu scooted to the side and pulled on Chongyun’s linked hands. No response. The boy frowned and swiftly hit his wrist, causing the hand to spasm and open. Using the leverage, Xingqiu pried his hands off and pulled the boy’s lax body off of Aether. Aether groaned, feeling the soreness in his shoulder and neck.
Chongyun, who had stayed asleep even through the slap, collapsed to the side, with Xingqiu barely catching him in time to keep his head from hitting the floor. He strained for a second before finding a balance and hefting the other up into his arms. “Aether, I’m sorry to bother you, but would you mind carrying him to the infirmary? I’ve got my next class, and then clubs, and I’m already late…” He threw Aether large pleading eyes.
“Alright, alright. Hand him over here, please?” Xingqiu obligingly hefted Chongyun and shifted his weight into Aether’s arms. Aether lifted him with relative ease, and Chongyun’s head lolled to rest comfortably in the crook of his neck. Xingqiu hovered near, ready to support Chongyun if Aether couldn’t hold him. He eyed Aether’s arms as he held Chongyun. Aether cocked his head in confusion. “Is… everything alright?” Maybe his posture was wrong. It had been a while since he’d lifted anything.
“My liege, I have to say, your form is immaculate. I must insist you join us in martial arts next time.”
Aether smiled warmly. “Alright, I definitely will!”
Xingqiu turned away abruptly and spoke in a muffled voice. “Right… Right. Well, we’ll gladly welcome you, darling.” Aether grinned and walked out after him. “Bye, Xingqiu! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Xingqiu, now seemingly recovered, smiled back and swiftly pecked Aether on the cheek. “Thanks for taking care of Yunyun, Aether.” His smile took on more of a sad quality. He turned and walked down the hall, showing very little hurry for someone who was late to his class. Aether watched him go, confused at the sudden shift in attitude.
Lumine stared at the wall as Venti droned on beside her. For someone who reportedly skipped class a lot, he sure did enjoy staying whenever she was around. And Aether too, her mind unhelpfully supplied. She shuddered. She tried not to think about any of Aether’s relationships too closely. Well, other than keeping them away from him, that is.
Her conversation with Raiden echoed in the back of her mind. Maybe… if she teamed up with one of Aether’s suitors… Aether wouldn’t be happy if he found out, but it wasn’t like he held any feelings for them anyways. Besides, it was for his own good. Aether was too kind, too emotionally vulnerable to ever chase them away on his own, even if he wanted to. Lumine needed to be the one to protect him. As always.
The question was, who would she team up with? She cast a critical eye towards Venti. His teal green braids swayed as he monologued, uncaring of the dirty glares shot his way by students and teachers alike. Personally, Lumine thought it was a wonder that he was held in such high esteem by the student council, Jean particularly, who seemed to have a soft spot for the effervescent boy.
Her partner needed to be someone with influence. He needed to be ruthless and cunning. He needed to be so in love with Aether that he’d do anything to protect him. He needed to be close enough to Aether that his sudden friendship with Lumine would seem natural. She hummed to herself, sorting through the list. Who would fit the list…
Venti shot Lumine a glance as she mumbled on about something or another. Weird, usually she wasn’t so distracted, especially in class. At the very least, she’d be focused on getting Venti to quiet down so she could work. Not that that was very effective anyways, he giggled to himself. He probably should let her think… but then again, he needed attention, and didn’t have the means to find Aether. Venti bopped Lumine on the head and cackled when she looked at him with death in her eyes. Riling up Aether’s siblings was always fun.
Aether groaned in relief as he finally finished climbing the stairs and the bright yellow door of the infirmary loomed in sight. Chongyun wasn’t particularly heavy, but hefting around a hundred pounds of dead weight up two flights of stairs wasn’t anyone’s idea of fun. Speaking of, Chongyun was feeling fairly light, especially given his height. Aether made a mental note to bring more snacks for him.
Compared to the flights of stairs, the last stretch of hallway was a breeze. Before he knew it, Aether was standing in front of the door. He adjusted Chongyun so that he was holding him with one hand only, and reached for the doorknob-
Only to be smacked right in the face by the door slamming open. His grip tightened on Chongyun’s waist as both of them were sent reeling backwards by the impact. His nose stung, and his body had taken the brunt of the boy’s weight, but he immediately sat up and checked Chongyun for injuries. Unsurprisingly, he was fine. The fall hadn’t been that severe; even Aether was only hurt where he had been hit. What was surprising was that Chongyun was still sleeping soundly. Impressive, Aether had to admit. But if he was that tired, why did he still come to school? Just to be safe, he should probably visit Chongyun more often and help him fall asleep.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Are you alright?” A smooth voice drew his attention and he looked up (and up, and up) to see someone he’d never met before. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. The stranger appeared male, with pale blue hair that was slicked back and bangs that were carefully arranged around his head. He wore a kind of mask over his upper face. It covered his eyes and forehead, and the center covered his nose. Aether’s eyes were drawn to the blue fabric around his neck, reminiscent of a scarf.
The stranger clearing his throat snapped Aether out of staring at him. Aether coughed, not remembering what he had asked. “I- I’m sorry, what did you say?”
The stranger chuckled lowly. “I asked if you were okay, Aether.”
“O-oh, right! Yes, I’m fine. I was just taking my friend to the infirmary. He-” Aether turned to gesture to Chongyun before panicking. “Ah, where did-”
“Is this your friend?” Aether saw the unknown man holding Chongyun carefully. He stood for a second, not knowing how to react.
“Uh, yes, he is. I’m sorry, would you mind… putting him down?” Aether held his arms out expectantly, waiting for the stranger to deposit Chongyun into his arms. Technically, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Aether was just uncomfortable with other people touching his friends so casually, especially when they didn’t know each other.
The stranger didn’t move. Aether shifted from foot to foot but refused to compromise. He thought about just grabbing Chongyun directly, but that might accidentally jostle him. Besides, the stranger hadn’t hurt him yet, so…
As he was contemplating, he missed the stranger chuckling at his concentrated face. “How about this, then. I’ll carry him into the infirmary for you. You must be tired after carrying him for a while, anyways.” He eyed Aether’s arms, causing him to scowl.
“I’m perfectly capable of handling him on my own, thanks!” Abandoning caution, he reached over to grab Chongyun, but the stranger didn’t budge, and Aether was forced to stop to keep from hurting Chongyun. He frowned. The stranger continued to smile. Chongyun groaned and Aether nervously flitted around him, checking him all over.
“… Fine, let’s go.” Aether ran ahead and held the door open for the stranger, noting how he needed to hunch a bit to get through the frame. Was he a student at the school? The man placed Chongyun down on the bed, and then stood, adjusting his mask. “Well, I need to get going. My acquaintances are expecting me.” He stooped and patted Aether on the head, messing up the braid. “I’ll see you later, Aether.”
Aether frowned as he watched the man leave, fluffing his scarf as he walked. Something about him seemed off.
Chongyun peeled his eyes open slowly, wincing at his headache. Lately his sleep had been more and more painful, and he’d been dragged into consciousness by sharp, stabbing pains throughout his body. It had gotten so bad that he’d tried to keep himself awake with iced tea and homework. That idea had quickly been vetoed when he’d slept through his midterms. He grimaced at the thought of his failing grades.
But, speaking of pain… He tested out his limbs and his arm throbbed in protest. Thank goodness. Typically the pain was much stronger. Strangely, it didn’t seem to be too bad this time, but he should still be careful getting up.
Chongyun pried his eyes open and blinked a few times. He was staring at the fluorescent white ceiling and a faint buzzing echoed throughout the room. Where was he? He planted his hand on the bed and tried to push himself up. His arm failed halfway and he was left lying awkwardly on the bed.
A shuffling sound near him prompted him to turn his head slightly. Golden hair met his line of sight as a very worried Aether stood up and hurried over. “Chongyun! Are you alright?”
“Aether…” His voice cracked halfway through and he winced. How long had he been asleep? He cleared his throat and tried again. “Where are we? What happened?”
Aether walked back into his line of sight with a glass of water and two pills. “You’re in the infirmary. You fell asleep during class and Xingqiu asked me to carry you here.” He handed the glass to Chongyun. “Here, drink this, and take these pain meds.”
Chongyun held the glass for a second, enjoying the cold against his skin. He felt almost feverishly hot, and he raised his palm to his forehead and checked his temperature. Aether’s hand replaced his almost instantly, and he flinched at the contact. “You don’t seem to have a fever, but I think you should still try not to move for a while. Xingqiu said he’d be right over after his class…”
Chongyun tried not to linger on the feeling of Aether’s hand against his skin. “How long has it been? Since I fell asleep, I mean?” Aether’s brow furrowed as he considered.
“Maybe… an hour?”
“An hour?!” He tried to struggle up, but was stopped by Aether. “I missed class, and you did too…”
Aether smiled at him. “I already told the teachers, don’t worry.”
Chongyun’s face flushed from their proximity. Aether hopped up to sit on the bed with him. “I’m… well, I’m sorry for bothering you, Aether.” Aether clicked his tongue in disapproval. “The only thing you should be sorry for is not telling me it’s getting worse.”
Aether looked at him with worried eyes, and he found himself needing to look away. He felt bad about hiding his condition from Aether, but it was important that his friend didn’t know. Aether was… Aether was too kind. Chongyun didn’t want to make anyone worry, especially since there wasn’t much they could do about it. Xingqiu had promised not to tell, but since Aether knew… Chongyun was going to kill him. He made to sit up again, but Aether kept him firmly in bed.
At that moment, Xingqiu pranced into the room, smiling brightly as if he hadn’t done the one thing that Chongyun had begged him not to do. Aether smiled back at him. “Hi, Xingqiu! I’m glad you’re here.”
The blue-haired boy threw himself onto the bed, jostling the two already on it. He grinned at Chongyun but it faded when he met his eyes. He pasted a smile back on when he turned to Aether. “Well, since my poor Yunyun was sick, of course I needed to take care of him! Now, don’t you have your club to go to?”
Aether shifted nervously, not getting off of the bed. “Are you guys sure you’ll be fine alone?” Xingqiu nodded happily, and Chongyun gave a small sound of affirmation. “Alright then… take care, you two! I’ll see you later!” Aether reached over to hug Xingqiu, then Chongyun, and grabbed his things, before walking out the door.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Chongyun whirled around to face Xingqiu, despite the pain that flared in his head. “Xingqiu, what the hell?” He wanted to scream, but paused when he saw his friend. Xingqiu was bent over, still perched on the side of the bed. Worry set into him. He hadn’t ever seen Xingqiu like this before.
“Xingqiu. What’s wrong?” The boy in question didn’t respond. “Xingqiu?” He managed to hoist himself up and crawled over to where the other sat. Xingqiu spoke through sobs. “Yunyun, I’m sorry, I just… I just worried for you, and I know… I know how much he means to you. I thought… I’m sorry.” His anger faded at the admission from his friend. He knew how hard it was for Xingqiu as well.
“It’s alright, Xingqiu.” He wrapped his arms around his friend as he cried. “Yun, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it, I’m sorry. He was concerned, and I panicked and I didn’t want you to wake up alone again and-” Chongyun shushed him gently. “Xingqiu, I know. I know. It’s fine.”
Xingqiu sniffed and wrapped his arms around him. The front of his shirt quickly grew damp and stuck to his chest. He didn’t move. He hugged Xingqiu tighter and the boy shifted closer. As he sat, gently holding his friend, and feeling his breaths slowly even out, he could almost pretend he didn’t feel the pain in his body.