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That morning was like any other. Xiao would awake to the smell of Aether cooking breakfast and the sound of the coffee machine running. Xiao got out of bed and began to get ready for work that day.
His job wasn't anything special. It was your usual 9 to 5 office job with the occasional overtime in the mix. Part of him hates the job, but he's willing to work his butt off, because when he comes home he gets to see Aether.
His sweetheart. The love of his life. He makes it all bearable. He makes everything worth it.
"Good morning, Xiao," Aether greeted him when he walked into the kitchen with a kiss on his cheek.
"G'morning." Xiao reciprocates, planting a kiss on his husband's forehead. The blond hummed happily, content with the display of affection.
"Food is almost ready, help me pour the coffee?"
"Okay."
The two enjoy their breakfast in comfortable silence. Usually the morning would be rowdy since they had to prepare Qiqi and Paimon for kindergarten as well, but today was a Saturday. They let the kids sleep in longer on the weekends.
After breakfast, Xiao grabbed his suitcase from the coffee table in the living room and took the car keys.
"Baby, wait," Aether stopped him before he could put on his shoes.
"I have my lunch right here, don't worry—"
"—No, your tie. It's crooked. Let me fix it," His delicate hands pressed onto the fabric of his purple tie as he adjusted the knot and pulled it up all the way.
"Mmh, thanks," Xiao loosened his tie a little. It felt stuffy pulled up all the way like that. His action earned him a playful pout from Aether.
He leaned closer and kissed him. "I'll be going now. Love you."
Aether smiled into the kiss. "I love you too. Take care."
After his husband left, he noticed he felt a little off that day. Maybe it was just the unforgiving heat of summer getting to him, he thought. He couldn't possibly be getting sick.
It started with a cough.
Aether was in the middle of cleaning the house that day, and suddenly his throat felt dry. He chalked it off to dehydration, and went to drink some water.
The blond continued on with house chores, even with the occasional cough bothering him.
"Dad, are you okay?" Qiqi looked up from the picture book she was reading with Paimon.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured his daughter. She didn't seem convinced, but returned her attention to her younger sister anyway.
Next came the headache.
Once again, Aether pushed through the throbbing pain. He was far too preoccupied cooking dinner before Xiao got home.
He took some painkillers for the pain. It helped a little.
Finally, he caught a fever.
Xiao took the next two days off to look after him, even if it meant his boss had to cut his wage that month. He couldn't care less, not when Aether was sick. Besides, someone had to look after the kids too.
"You know you don't have to," Aether said to him while he felt his forehead.
"If it was me you'd do the same," Xiao responded, wringing water from a cloth into a bucket. "So let me look after you."
The blond managed a weak smile. "You're the sweetest."
Xiao placed the cloth on his forehead and brushed his hair away from his face. "If you need anything just call for me."
A nod. Then, Aether closed his eyes and slept.
The last thing he hears before drifting off into slumber was Xiao warning their two daughters not to enter the room to let their dad rest.
Aether wakes up again when his husband gently shook him. There's a tray of bread and milk on the table next to the bed. The clock showed that it was already lunch time. It was quiet, save for it's ticking.
"Feeling any better?" Xiao takes the towel on his forehead and draped it over a chair near him.
The blond shook his head. He doesn't feel any different from this morning.
"You should eat something," He helped his husband sit up from the bed. He carefully passed him the cup of milk.
"...Do I have to?"
A pout. But the other doesn't relent despite how adorable he thinks he looks. "It's for your own good."
Aether decided to listen. The milk is easy for him to stomach. Once he got to the bread, however, he took a while to finish. His husband took this time to replace the towel he placed on his forehead before, then went to check on their daughters.
After he finished eating, he took some medicine and went back to sleep.
The second time Xiao woke him was maybe an hour or two later. Aether's eyes could barely open to look at the time. The temptation to just ignore his husband and go back to sleep was heavy on his eyelids.
His sweetheart is strong though, so when he refused to get up he just scooped him up from his bed.
When they get to the bathroom, Xiao helped Aether get out of his sticky sweat soaked clothes and had him sit down in the bathtub. He then adjusted the water temperature so that it wasn't too hot or cold. He took off his own clothes and turned the showerhead on.
He sat behind him in the tub and helped him wash his back and hair. Aether felt himself relax. He nearly fell asleep again because it felt so soothing but fought the instinct to.
Usually, his spouse was shy about bathing together, but there were times when he wasn't. This was one of those times.
Aether mostly managed to wash everywhere else by himself while Xiao also bathed. Afterwards, Xiao helped him get dressed and dried his hair. He did all of it so easily like it was routine for them.
It was probably because Xiao used to always help Aether bathe the girls when they were younger.
Aether sat in a chair by their bed while Xiao changed the bedsheets. It was also soaked with sweat, so it would probably be uncomfortable to sleep on. He carried Aether back to bed as soon as he was done and planted a kiss in his golden hair.
"Get well soon, my light."
The blond drifted to sleep again.
"Papa, papa! Can I go see dad now?" The third time he woke up, the first thing he heard was Paimon's voice outside his door.
"No, you have to wait until dad gets better," Xiao replied.
"But I miss dad," Aether could see the pout on her face even if he wasn't able to see her face.
Xiao sighed softly. "And I don't want you to get sick."
"Paimon, let's go have a tea party," Qiqi's soft voice suddenly spoke. "Papa's right, you could get sick."
It's quiet for a while, before Paimon finally conceded. "Okay..fine. But once dad gets better, papa better let me see him first!"
"Okay, okay. Go play now, you two."
Aether was too focused on the conversation that he didn't realize that his fever had gone down. It wasn't completely gone, but he felt less horrible, at least.
The door opened, and Xiao entered the room. He shut the door behind him gently so that he wouldn't make any loud noise that could disturb Aether.
Aether used his elbow to hoist himself up into a sitting position.
"Hey, you feeling any better?" Xiao sat down by the bed and held his hand, squeezing it gently.
"Mhm, a little," Aether smiled at him. "Is it time for dinner yet?"
"You're hungry?"
"No, just want to eat so you wouldn't have to wake me up again later."
"I can cook some soup now." Xiao suggested.
"That would be nice. Thank you Xiao."
"Anything for you," his spouse gave him a subtle smile.
Aether got better the next day under Xiao's care, but his husband stayed at home anyway.
"You just recovered. Don't push yourself too hard yet," Xiao told him. He helped him with breakfast and sent the kids to school.
As soon as he returned, Xiao helped him around the house.
Aether wondered what he did in his past life to deserve such a wonderful husband.
He's resting comfortably with his head on his lap while Xiao runs his hand through his long hair. He looked at him like he was the moon. His golden eyes sparkled with adoration and awe.
"Xiao?"
"Hmm?" Xiao tilted his head.
"I adore you." Aether reached out to cup his face.
"I adore you too."