Work Text:
Jean heard Diluc shift, about to get up in the morning to head out to the winery, but she caught the collar of his shirt before he could get to his feet, raising an eyebrow. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To the winery to work?” He cast a confused glance, “Or do you need something?”
“I’m fine,” she reassured- the last thing she needed was him doting on her again after doing it throughout the morning with her own illness- “I didn’t take off from work for morning sickness, Diluc. I decided to because you’re sick.”
“Sick?” Diluc looked baffled, either in complete denial or feigning ignorance. “I feel-“ he paused, not speaking for a moment before finally sneezing into his arm. He seemed to be fighting himself to not sneeze. “I feel fine,” he finished, as if that would convince her at all.
“Barbatos knows,” she began with a sigh as she pulled him back down, “if our baby ends up as stubborn as you, I don’t know how I’m going to live past thirty.”
“It’s the beginning of allergy season,” he reasoned, gesturing to the window. It was early February, and while it was very true that many people were experiencing allergies, it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was genuinely sick.
“Diluc,” she chided, turning his face so he’d look at her. “We’ve known each other for our entire lives. You won’t convince me you’re feeling well, no matter what you do.”
The redhead scoffed, and she knew he was only being so willful because he knew she was correct. “A cold. I can oversee things at the winery with a cold, Jean.”
“If I can’t go to work when I’m sick-“ She stopped talking to pull his face close to hers, a smile gracing her lips as she finished, “-then you are not leaving.”
“Is that the card you’re playing?” he grumbled, turning his entire body away. “Albedo said you’re more susceptible to illness at the moment. I shouldn’t be staying around you. I’m not getting you sick when you already have to deal with not feeling well daily.”
“You,” she emphasized by trying to turn him back towards her, “are being dramatic.”
“I am not . Being concerned about your well-being isn’t dramatic.”
“You’re doting.”
“Now you’re being dramatic.”
Jean chuckled softly at his response, wrapping her arms around him from behind. “I’m just teasing. I know you mean well, but I’m fine, and being pregnant isn’t any reason to warrant avoiding each other. It’s just a cold.”
“And if it’s just a cold,” he relented and turned back to face her, his nose red and still clearly stuffed, “then I should be able to go to work.”
“It’ll be harder to recover from if you overexert yourself, my love,” she reminded, moving his hair out of his face. With a tiny grunt, she finally sat up, adjusting the comforter to pull it over him. “Let me take care of you.”
“You take care of Mondstadt daily. You should be taking a break on your day off,” he retorted, pulling the blanket up closer to his face and looking the other way.
“And the best way to spend my day off would be caring for my husband who so frequently takes care of me,” she responded calmly as she got to her feet. Extending her arm, his falcon landed on it, perching on the forearm.
“You’re a good bird, yes,” Jean praised, fluffing his feathers before heading over to their vanity. She wrote a note on a notepad with one hand before she tore it out and folded it.
“To Bubu Pharmacy,” she told the bird as she slid the note into the tip of his beak. It wasn’t the first time they’d sent him there- they’d visited before with Diluc’s falcon accompanying them and had sent him on his own when neither could afford to leave Mondstadt- but if it weren’t for her husband’s illness, she would have loved to keep him company on the journey there. It was both faster and safer for him to head there on his own rather than for her to weigh him down.
“Medicine?” Diluc turned his head slightly and snorted. “There’s still some in the cabinet.”
“Not for a regular cold. We ran out last time I was ill,” the dandelion knight corrected, and all she heard was a tiny mumble in response.
After a few minutes, she returned with a glass of water and a bowl of soup, setting them down on his nightstand and gently trying to pull him up from his pillow. It seemed plausible that he was trying to sleep from the angle he was laying at, but she knew he was just being bitter.
“Are you hungry?” he deflected, refusing to do more than just eye her as she leaned down to kiss his temple.
“Far from it. If anything, I still feel nauseous,” she responded lightly, moving his bangs out of his face. It didn’t bother her all too much- besides, she was much too focused on him to be concerned about herself. He’d spent everyday rubbing her back at the earliest of hours in the morning for no reason but to comfort her, and although she always knew he was sweet enough to stay awake with her when she needed him, she would do anything to repay the favor. Especially making sure he was doing well when he was ill.
“Do you need medicine?”
“I’ve just taken it,” she returned, and after a moment of staring to check if she really did seem to be telling the truth, he finally sat up. She gently lifted the bowl of soup to give to him, examining his physical state. Aside from his nose being slightly red and the fact that he seemed tired, he did an impressive job at masking his poor health. Of course, between it being dark, her being distracted by constant nausea, and the fact that they were already awake before dawn, it didn’t occur to her that he wasn’t feeling well until she heard him coughing and sneezing. She only wished he wasn’t so persistent in leaving. He needed to be well-rested, after all.
“Thank you,” he murmured after swallowing some of the water she’d given him, clearing a bit of the mucus from his throat. “You should rest too, Jean. You’ve been up all morning.”
“I doubt I’ll get much rest,” she chuckled, gently rubbing her ever-so-slightly swollen stomach with her thumb. “But if you’d like, I can lay next to you.”
“I… would like that,” Diluc answered hesitantly. It was evident to her that his lack of eagerness wasn’t because he didn’t want her to, but because he didn’t necessarily want to admit how much her suggestion pleased him. Laughing, she moved over to her side of their bed and sat down next to him, glad to see him eating what she’d made. At least it meant he was getting something healthy in his system.
“I did as much as I could with the ingredients we had. I know it isn’t particularly-“
He set the finished bowl aside, stretching out onto the mattress again as she spoke until he faced her, interrupting, “Don’t criticize your own cooking. I appreciate that you put effort into it, not how much complexity it has.”
It was rather rich hearing Diluc Ragnvindr care more for the effort than complexity of something, but when it came to his wife, it was of no surprise that he refused to let her say anything negative about herself or her abilities.
Jean flushed slightly. She wished it was more complex to match his high standards, but considering she was a fairly simple person who had somehow met his standards, she knew he wouldn’t care either way. Perhaps because he would throw all his expectations out the window just for her, just because he loved her, and still remained fully genuine at the same time. “It’s still too simple, but thank you, Diluc.”
The winery tycoon only sighed at her modesty, reaching his hand out to cup the back of her head. “And if our child is as modest as you, I won’t live past thirty,” he mumbled, though his voice was filled with affection.
Jean laughed. “Stubborn and modest. They’ll be perfect.” She gently placed her hand on his wrist, smiling as his hand shifted down to hers and she felt his wedding ring. Every once in a while, everything felt so surreal. Here they were, happy and content, when several years ago it felt so impossible.
“So long as they look like you , they’ll be perfect,” the redhead corrected, coughing into his arm.
“Are you implying any child of ours can be anything less than perfect? Even if they have red hair?” she challenged, squeezing his hand as he grumbled in response.
“No.”
“Then as I said, they’ll be perfect,” she repeated, closing her eyes as she sank her head into the pillow. Even if she didn’t feel great, and she knew fully well she wouldn’t get back to sleep, she was too exhausted to do much else.
“I know,” he muttered, and she could feel his arm wrap around her to hold her closer. “They’ll be perfect.”
After a few minutes, it was clear from the lightness of his breathing that he’d fallen asleep, but she didn’t want to move from where she was snuggled against his chest. Instead, she opened her eyes and twirled some of his hair around her fingers, smiling at the peaceful look on his face.
Yes , she thought to herself, picturing the days where they’d get to head out to Windrise with Klee and their child running ahead of them, excitedly chasing after the crystalflies that gathered around the massive tree. They’ll be perfect.