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Jean reached out, index finger brushing against the fibers of the white blanket. Her face was lazily pressed against the side of the pillow, right eye half closed. The dandelion knight gave an exhale, comforter weighing heavily on her body. From behind her she heard the creak of the bedroom door. Light from the hallway flooded the darkness of the room, showcasing the librarian’s shadow on the wall.
“Darling?”
“Hm?” Her fingertip brushed against a loose thread before allowing her hand to drop against the sheets.
“How’s your headache feeling?” Lisa asked, voice soft. The blonde heard the sound of footsteps and the weight on the bed shifted as Lisa sat on the edge. Jean’s eyes squeezed shut.
“Better.” She croaked after a moment too long. “A bit, I suppose.” She whispered, the aching in her skull impossible to ignore. It sat right behind her eyes.
“That’s good.” Lisa whispered. Jean tensed as Lisa’s hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, thumb brushing back and forth. When Jean doesn’t move or respond Lisa decides to first, standing up as she circled her bed to the other side. Jean’s eyes were still shut as Lisa pulled the comforter back, tucking herself into bed besides Jean. An electro scarred hand reached up to cup the knight’s cheek. Jean whimpered, head turning into the pillow.
“Jean, sweetheart?”
“Hm?”
“Can we talk about it please?”
That caused Jean’s eyes to crack open, sadly peering across at her girlfriend. She meekly shrugged in surrender.
The witch or purple rose sighed, green eyes tired. “This is the second time you’ve exhausted yourself. First when you collapsed in front of the traveler and now this. You can’t keep on without changing something .”
-
It started a few hours ago in the Grandmaster’s office. The Knights of Favonius headquarters had grown quiet long ago. The ticking of the grandfather clock in Jean’s office was what accompanied the creaking sound of oak wood as the heavy door opened to reveal Lisa standing in the doorway.
Several feet away sat Jean, elbow resting on the desk as her left hand pressed against her forehead, bangs brushing against her skin. Her right hand held a fountain pen, hovering above the document on the tabletop. She didn’t even look up at the sound of her lover entering the room, exhausted eyes blinking down at the Mondstadt Trade report in front of her.
“Jean, it’s nearly one in the morning.” Lisa spoke. Jean jolted, blue eyes looking up at the librarian as she was startled. A gloved hand clutched the pen harder, movements sluggish.
“Is it?” Jean spoke, words heavy in her throat. “I ah—“ another blink, down at the paper then back to Lisa. “I have to sign these. I’ll be heading home in twenty minutes.” A beat of quiet and her blue eyes squinted, head turning. “Why are you here?”
“I’m checking on you.” The brunette sighed, heels clicking against the floorboards as she crossed the room. Jean couldn’t fight it as Lisa rounded the desk to stand behind her. “You’re not looking too well, love. Are you feeling alright?” Gloved fingertips undid the clasp of Jean’s capelet, pulling the fabric away. Lisa’s hands found the knight’s shoulders, starting to lightly massage.
Jean exhaled, shoulders relaxing. “Lis’, you didn't—. .you didn’t have to stay for me, you know that.”
“Hush.” Lisa argued, leaning over to press a kiss against Jean’s cheek. “I was reading some new books that got delivered from Fontaine, I kept busy.” She bent over, arms wrapping around Jean’s shoulders from behind. Her chin rested on the blonde’s shoulder. “Let’s go home?”
“But I. .” Jean’s dizzy words trailed off as Lisa plucked the pen out of her hand, dropping it onto the desk.
“Tomorrow.” Lisa insisted. Jean’s eyes squeezed shut, that infamous headache making itself known. She surrendered, giving a small nod.
“Tomorrow.” Jean echoed and she swore she could tell Lisa was smiling behind her. When Jean’s head turned Lisa was quick to lean in, brushing the knight’s messy bangs away to kiss her forehead. When Lisa pulled back she seemed to hesitate, hand pressed against Jean’s forehead. “You’re warm. Truly, are you alright dear?”
“Mm. .just tired.” Her body language bowed, Jean hugging herself lightly. Her eyes drooped, dark circles present. Her cheeks were flushed—and not from Lisa’s affection. She seemed worn down, words and actions drawn out and spacey. It felt off.
Concern formed a knit in the pit of Minci’s stomach. However, she tried to brush it off to instead focus on getting Jean home and in bed, perhaps a full night’s rest would help. “Alright.” She whispered, although she didn’t fully believe Jean.
She took a step back towards the door and thankfully Jean followed. However, she didn’t get very far. When the knight stood her blood seemed to rush to her too fast, head briefly spinning as small particles of black spotted her vision. Blindly a hand reached out, brushing against her desk in an attempt to steady herself, but it was too late. Her knees buckled, a startling thump heard as Jean fainted, falling onto the floor. Papers fluttered off the desk onto the floorboards.
“Jean—-“ Lisa gasped, knelt beside her on the floor in an instant. Panic grew in her green eyes, hands reaching out for her. A small shake to her shoulder, uncertain if it was wise to move the knight much more. “Jean.” She tried again, voice swelling with emotion. Tired blue eyes fluttered open, a look of confusion and worry written on her freckled face. Lisa’s eyebrows knit, frown clear. Although she seemed relieved with the fact Jean was conscious, she couldn’t just dismiss her concern. “Oh, love. .”
“Did I—-I fell?” The Acting Grandmaster blinked, head tilting to look over at her desk. “I just felt a little lighthearted—headed. Lightheaded.” Jean whispered, mostly to herself as she began to sit up.
“Easy, please.” Lisa quietly pleaded, a hand resting on Jean’s back to guide her. Jean raised herself into an upright seating position, breathing softly through her mouth as she listened to the steady sound of her heartbeat in her ears. The librarian helped her to her feet a minute later despite Jean’s protests that she was fine (she proceeded to grasp onto Lisa the moment her legs swayed). The journey back to Lisa’s apartment was a quiet one, crickets chirping in the confines of the bushes and trees that lined Mondstadt’s cobblestone streets. Jean didn’t question Lisa’s choice to guide her there opposed to Jean’s own apartment. She had a hunch Lisa wanted to keep an eye on her regardless. She’d leaned on Lisa for most of the journey, a fact the stubbornly independent Dandelion Knight wasn’t thrilled about. Lisa didn’t seem to mind though, arm firmly wrapped around Jean all the way until she lead Jean to her bedroom.
”Sit.” Lisa stated, much more so a demand than a suggestion. Jean exhaled through her nose, exhausted body dropping to sit on the edge of the plush bed. There was a shuffling sound, the shifting of hangers from the inside of Lisa’s walk in closet before the woman emerged a moment later. Her heels were gown, her large purple hat vanished as she began to dress down for the night. In her arms were a pair of pajamas, a simple oversized white shirt and shorts. Silently the mage placed the garments on the comforter besides Jean. She sat on the opposite side, reaching out to start on the buttons of Jean’s button up shirt. Freckled cheeks dusted pink, Jean’s lips pursing.
“Lisa, I can undress myself. Please.” She sighed softly, a sense of embarrassment flooding her body at the vulnerable act.
“I’m aware, dove.” Lisa responded automatically, but that didn’t stop her from unbuttoning the entire garment. She pushed the shirt off Jean’s shoulders, leaving the woman in a simple gray bra.
“Lisa-“
“Jean, you look like you’ll collapse if you stand. You nearly fell in the street again, just let me help you.” Lisa requested, meeting the woman’s gaze. Even Lisa seemed exhausted, attempting to connect with Jean’s reason. Jean nodded solemnly, reaching behind herself to blindly unclasp her bra. The reveal of bare skin was nothing new to the women, the knight’s relationship with the witch approaching nearly seven months at this point. Jean was redressed in the following moments, uniform folded on the bedside as she dawned the borrowed pajamas.
“Better?” Lisa asked, brunette curls falling off her shoulder as her head tilted.
“Just a touch.” Jean had confessed, reaching up slowly to rub at her eyes.
“Alright, lay down. I’m going to change and then I’ll get you some water.” Minci explained, eyes lingering on Jean before she decided to stand and return to her closet. The blonde obeyed, pulling back the comforter before nestling herself against the sheets. A blurry moment later the bed would shift, Lisa laying at her side after she’d placed a glass of water on the bedside table. The woman gave a heavy sigh, reaching out for the dandelion. “How are you feeling?”
“Mm. .head hurts.” Jean murmured, struggling to keep her eyes focused on Lisa. She tugged the blanket tighter around her, leaning into Lisa’s palm.
“Get some rest, darling. We can talk about everything in the morning.” Lisa offered. In Jean’s tired mind she recalled being pulled into Lisa’s arms before sleep would finally claim her.
That led the pair back to the current moment, with Lisa once again laying by Jean’s side in the early morning hours. “I know.” Jean huffed, voice riddled with a sense of tiredness. It was in response to Lisa’s last claim, how Jean needed to change her work habits before she tumbled towards disaster. “It’s just difficult, you know since Varka left—“
“Jean I know.” She interrupted, the statement being something she’d heard a thousand times before. “I know what the position of Acting Grandmaster entails, it isn’t just that. It’s the small things, you will take on any work that isn’t your responsibility.”
“I—“
“You’re incredibly selfless, it’s one of the reasons I adore you so much.” Lisa gave a soft laugh, trying to lighten the atmosphere. It at least got Jean to crack a smile. “However, my love, you can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep accepting work another captain doesn’t want to complete, staying at the headquarters until dawn sometimes.”
Jean groaned, rolling onto her back. “I suppose.” She whispered, a sense of guilt flickering in her chest. “I am just trying to do what’s best for Mondstadt.”
“You can’t protect Mondstadt to the best of your ability if you can’t even take care of yourself.” Lisa tried, propping herself up on her elbow. There was a beat of quiet as Minci debated her next words. “I wrote to Kaeya while you were asleep. You need a few days off through the end of the week.”
“What?” The knight’s head swiveled, eyes going wide. There was a sense of fear at the lack of control, Jean had to confess. “I don’t know if that’s necessary. Perhaps I can just rest for a few more hours, I’ll be alright.”
“No.” Lisa stated, a blunt response that even silenced Jean. “You’re going to stay here so I can make sure you get the point.” She reached out, grabbing Jean’s callused hand. She nuzzled up to Jean, nose brushing the crook of her neck. “I mean it Jean, you’re not going to the headquarters today.” Jean had no space in her heart to argue with the other. She knew the rest of the knights would agree—they all had last time this had happened. Kaeya, Amber, and the rest of Favonius had banded together to help with her work. Jean was quiet with this revelation, so Lisa continued to speak. “I think some changes will be nice, with perhaps you coming home at eight when the headquarters technically closes instead of midnight.”
“Mm. .what about nine?”
“Eight-thirty.” Lisa compromised. “That’s when I finish cleaning up the library, so that’s when you’ll be coming home with me. You understand, Gunnhildr?” As the sentence progressed it became more playful, a charming laugh falling from Lisa’s lips. It drew a small laugh from Jean as well, snickering as she looked down at her.
“Yes, I can try eight-thirty for you. Promise.
“For me?”
“For you.” She gave a curt nod, pressing a kiss to Lisa’s lips.