Work Text:
The sound of the rain lashing down against the windows of the van eases Wu Xie into a doze. He can still hear the thunder rumbling in the distance as they drive back to Wushanju but he doesn’t have the energy to think about what it means. Not yet, anyway. He’ll figure this out and find his uncle, that much he does know.
He shivers and rubs his hands over his arms, having shed his jacket to give to Xiaoge after his own clothes had been destroyed in the fight with the snake. It’s left him wearing only his shirt and t-shirt, neither of which are designed to keep him dry, and as a result he’s soaked through to his skin.
Pangzi has the heat in the van turned up as far as it will go. They’re all wet and cold, but even with the hot air blowing straight at him Wu Xie can still feel the chill deep in his bones.
He coughs, muffling it with his hand and shifting slightly in his seat in an attempt to get more comfortable. Even just sitting like this he can feel the tightness in his chest, which he knows is only going to get worse with time. At least for the moment it’s at the point where he can mostly ignore it.
There’s another distant rumble of thunder and he allows himself to drift.
***
“Tianzhen.” He’s vaguely aware of Pangzi talking to him, of his arm being shaken, but his eyes feel so heavy. As he slowly wakes up he realises that actually his whole body feels heavy. He tries to move his head but all that does is make the aching even worse. He’s so cold he’s not even sure he remembers what being warm feels like.
He feels a hand on his forehead, blessedly warm, and he can’t help the small moan of protest that leaves his lips when the hand withdraws.
“How have you got a fever?” Pangzi demands but that can’t be right. He has lung disease, not a fever. He tries to say as much but his throat feels like he’s swallowed shards of glass.
There’s another hand on his forehead now. Cooler, slightly smaller. Xiaoge.
“We should take him inside.”
He really doesn’t want to move. Everything hurts and if they would just let him sleep then he’s sure he’ll be fine.
The van door opens, blasting him with cool, damp air which makes him shiver. The seatbelt holding him in place snaps free and he feels himself being tugged out of his seat.
“Come on, Tianzhen, help me out here.”
He wants to help, but his limbs don’t seem to be working the way he wants them to. Idly he wonders if this is what the future holds for him. Eventually he’ll be so sick he won’t be able to walk. How can he leave Pangzi and Xiaoge to carry him around like this? Perhaps, if he’s lucky, he’ll die in a tomb before it gets that far. It’s what he wants even though Pangzi won’t understand, not at first. Xiaoge probably will.
His feet hit the concrete and his knees buckle. Before he can fall he finds himself braced on either side, his arms looped around two sets of shoulders as he’s carried inside. If his head hurt slightly less he might be embarrassed. He probably will be later. Right now, though, he just wants to sleep.
“Xiaoge,” he can feel Pangzi’s deep voice vibrating through him once they’re inside. “He needs a hot shower and some dry clothes. I’ll make some soup.”
“I’m fine.” His voice is weak and raspy but at least it’s working now.
Pangzi snorts and steps away, causing Xiaoge’s hold on him to tighten.
Before he can protest any further he finds himself steered in the direction of the bathroom. It’s not where he wants to go. Where he wants to go is bed, but his limbs are still refusing to cooperate.
“You’ll feel better after this,” Xiaoge promises and he has a way of making whatever he speaks sound like a fact. Wu Xie still can’t imagine ever feeling warm again.
The bathroom, at least, is slightly warmer than the rest of the house. He’s aware that his clothes feel heavy, that they’re clinging to him in ways that don’t feel comfortable and, okay, maybe he will feel a little better after a hot shower.
He starts to fumble with the buttons on his shirt, muttering a curse under his breath when his fingers don’t work the way he wants them to.
Then Xiaoge is there, far too close, and moving his hands away to deal with the buttons with his deft fingers. This isn’t the first time Xiaoge has undressed him, and it won’t be the last, but usually he’s in a better position to appreciate it.
A hand on the small of his back steers him towards the shower when his clothes are in a damp pile on the floor.
The water feels scalding when it hits him and he tries to curl away from it so he doesn’t get burned. But Xiaoge is standing behind him, stopping him from leaving.
“It’s okay, it’s not hot. Your body is just cold. Give it a moment.”
It feels like hundreds of white hot needles stabbing every inch of his skin, and if it weren’t for Xioage’s solid presence he’d have leapt away from the heat and headed to bed like he wanted to. Instead he groans and clenches his fists at his sides until the pain slowly recedes into a comfortable warmth. His throat still hurts, his head is still pounding and his body still aches right down to his bones but at least he doesn’t feel so cold now. In fact, he’s starting to wish the shower was a little hotter.
Apparently reading his mind Xiaoge reaches past him and turns up the temperature of the water a little. Then, much to Wu Xie’s disappointment, he leaves.
Wu Xie washes his hair and body slowly. Now that he’s used to the heat of the water he doesn’t want to get out. Logically he knows the hot water will run out eventually, and that he should probably leave some for Pangzi who got just as wet and cold as he did, but he can’t seem to bring himself to move.
The decision is taken out of his hands when Xiaoge reappears with a towel and reaches past him to turn off the water. Instantly Wu Xie shivers, the cool air biting into his skin and causing his already aching head to flare with a spike of pain. He lets out a soft moan and quickly finds himself bundled in soft warmth as Xiaoge towels him dry.
“There’s some clean pyjamas here,” Xiaoge says, gesturing to the neatly folded pile of clothes. “Do you need help?”
If he felt slightly better Wu Xie would absolutely play up his need for help just to enjoy Xiaoge’s hands on him. But, as it is, he feels terrible and just wants to be in some warm clothes and in bed.
“I can manage.”
Xiaoge, of course, stays. Wu Xie can feel the steady gaze on him as he dresses as quickly as he can which, given how tired and sluggish he feels, isn’t very quickly at all. He wobbles precariously as he slides one leg into the pyjamas and then the other but by some miracle he doesn’t fall.
Finally, washed and dressed, he feels more exhausted than he did in the van.
“I’m going to bed,” he murmurs to Xiaoge as he heads out of the bathroom towards the bedroom. A moment later he there’s a solid arm around his waist and he finds himself being steered towards the table instead.
“You need to eat something first.” Xiaoge’s voice is so close Wu Xie can feel his breath warm against his ear and it makes him shiver. He allows himself to be deposited neatly in front of the table where a bowl of steaming soup is already waiting for him.
Pangzi takes one look at him and snorts. “Is this what turning forty has done to you? You look like a gentle breeze would blow you over.”
It’s easier to pretend he doesn’t hear him. The soup smells good, and as he leans in to inhale the spicy scent the steam warms his face in a way that feels good.
He nearly falls face first into the bowl when Pangzi plops down next to him and elbows him in the ribs. “Soup generally tastes better if you put it in your mouth.”
He elbows Pangzi back but there’s no strength behind it.
“So weak,” Pangzi mutters under his breath. “You definitely need to eat the soup. I eat it regularly and you don’t see me coming down with a fever after being out in the rain.”
Wu Xie grunts and puts a spoonful of the soup in his mouth. It’s good. The heat from the temperature and the spices Pangzi has flavoured it with work together and warm him through. After a few mouthfuls the aching cold in his bones has faded, leaving him with a sore throat, a headache and feeling so exhausted he wants to just put his head down on the table right here and sleep.
“Finish your soup first,” Pangzi says, as though he has read Wu Xie’s mind.
He eats a few more spoonfuls before setting the spoon down in the bowl and closing his eyes. He’s so tired he could honestly just sleep here at the table and be happy. Instead he leans over to one side and rests himself against Pangzi’s warm body.
“Comfy.”
“Do I look like a pillow to you?” Pangzi retorts, but there’s no heat behind the words. Instead he feels Pangzi move slightly and then feels the soup spoon pressed against his lips.
“Finish this, then you can sleep in a proper bed.”
If he were a little more alert, and if he was with anyone other than Pangzi and Xiaoge, he would absolutely refuse to allow himself to be spoon fed like this. But he’s tired, and everything hurts, and he’s with the two people he cares about most. He doesn’t have the energy to care about appearances. He opens his mouth and lets Pangzi feed him.
When the soup is gone he feels himself being lifted, Pangzi on one side of him and Xiaoge on the other. Exactly the same way he’d been lifted out of the van earlier. He does his best to walk under his own power but he’s so exhausted the best he can do is to stop his feet from dragging along the floor.
He’s eased into bed carefully and lies back with a groan as Pangzi fusses with the covers and climbs in next to him.
“You might catch it,” he mumbles even though the warm body wrapped around his is the best thing he’s felt all day.
“My body isn’t as weak as yours,” Pangzi scoffs. “Now shut up and go to sleep.”
He’s just starting to drift when he feels Xiaoge slide into bed on the other side of him. Xiaoge doesn’t wrap himself around him the way Pangzi does, but he’s close enough that Wu Xie can feel their bodies touching. It grounds him, makes him feel safe.
He knows things are only to get worse from here. For all Pangzi jokes he’s right, even if he doesn’t know it. Wu Xie’s body is weak, and it’s only going to get weaker.
But for now he’s warm, protected and loved. He knows that together there’s no question they will be able to find his uncle before his time in this world is done.
He falls asleep with a smile on his face.