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Of all the days Childe had to get sick, it was just his luck for it to happen when Lumine was scheduled to come stay the weekend at his place. The couple had been together for a couple of months, and this was going to be the first time she stayed over at his place for more than one night and also for more than just the morning after they had spent some time together in bed. It was a big step up in their relationship, one he was completely ready for, or so he had thought until he woke up coughing that morning.
He had gone to the grocery store the night before to make sure he had all of the ingredients for foods that he wanted to make for his beloved and to show off his cooking skills, and he had begun to feel under the weather after coming home. Childe spent the rest of the night to make sure it was spotless and didn’t deserve to be in “Bachelor Pad Weekly.”
Unfortunately for Childe, it became very clear when he woke up that he was not going to be much of anything. Summoning the courage within him, he text Lumine to let her know.
Ajax: Hey, I just woke up. Remember me telling you that I felt a bit under the weather last night after grabbing groceries for this weekend?”
Lumi: Oh no… don’t tell me that you’re still feeling bad?? :(
While Childe was typing his next message, Lumine responded once more.
Lumi: I hope you’re not just trying to get me to change my mind about coming over. ;o;
Ajax: No, I wouldn’t dream of it! I’ve been looking forward to this step forward in our relationship for forever it seems like! I just don’t want you getting sick.
Lumi: Well, a couple of germs isn’t gonna stop me from seeing you! >:( I’m gonna love them outta you!
Childe wasn;t sure what that meant, but it made him chuckle. Ah, he really loved her.
Lumi: I’ll be over in a bit, and the only time you better be not resting in bed is when you unlock the door for me!!
It didn’t take long for Childe to fall back asleep after Lumine had last messaged him, his phone lying on his chest. Thanks to the fever coursing through his body, he had the oddest dream he’d had in a while. In it, he was a teenager again, exploring the wilds outside or Morepesok with a wooden sword. He was chasing someone through the woods, though he couldn’t remember who. Suddenly the ground opened up underneath him and swallowed him whole. He was falling, and right before he hit the ground, he jerked in his sleep, waking up with a start as the doorbell rang.
“Ugh, not that dream again.” He rolled over, about to fall asleep again when the doorbell rang for a second time. “Ah, shit! Lumine!”
Childe jumped up much faster than he probably should have, staggering to his front door. He didn’t have time to change into anything, not wanting to keep Lumine waiting, so he answered the door in just his boxers, his hair sticking up all over the place even more than usual, a light sheen of sweat on his body.
Lumine had had her hand up to press the doorbell a third time when Childe threw the door open a bit too enthusiastically, startling the poor girl. She jumped back, jumping into the wall opposite his door. “Shit, Childe, you scared me!”
Moving closer, she grimaced, though her eyes did roam up and down his body, making the ginger smirk. “Oof, you look worse than I thought you would, though the eye candy is nice.”
Before Lumine could stop him, Childe grabbed her and pulled her into his tight embrace, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck and breathing in the scent of her body wash and shampoo. “I missed you, lyubimaya,” Childe mumbled, squeezing his lover lightly.
Ever the patient one, Lumine just sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to tidy it up a bit before she wrapped her arms around him as well. “I hope you know that you’re gross and sweaty, (((AND))) that I’m pretty sure the neighbors don’t want to see you in just your boxers. I certainly don’t want them to. That’s my personal view.”
Her words made him chuckle, and he reluctantly let go a few seconds later. “Fair enough. Let’s get inside then.” His cheeks were rosy, but it wasn’t from embarrassment or from her words.
Lumine seemed to notice that fact once she got her lover back inside his apartment. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she felt of Childe’s forehead with the back of her hand. He was burning up, leaning into her touch. “Archons, Childe!” You’re on fire. Go cool off in the shower and wash the sweat off. I’m going to make you some tea and go get the bags out of my car.”
Thankfully he did as she said after planting a kiss on her cheek, leaving her alone in his living room. While he was taking a quick shower, Lumine made two trips to her car and back, bringing a few grocery bags and her weekend bag inside. She had stopped at a store along the way and picked up some ingredients for soup as well as some cold medicine.
The kettle was on the stove and heating up when Lumine realized that Childe was taking a bit longer than she thought it should have taken him to just wash the sweat off. She knocked on the bathroom door, and when she didn’t hear a response, she knocked louder. Still no response.
“Ajax? I’m coming in there. I’ve already seen you naked, so there’s nothing to hide anyway.”
Lumine gently opened the door and heard that the shower was still running. Maybe he just didn’t hear me… “Ajax?”
Poking her head into the room, she saw that he’d slightly slumped against the wall, looking at her with a pitiful expression, “I’m dizzy…”
The blonde shook her head and opened the door the rest of the way, coming into the bathroom. She reached into the shower and turned it off. “I swear. You’re so pitiful. Come on, let’s get you dried off.” She left him leaning against the shower wall while she grabbed one of the large, fluffy towels Childe owned.
Once he was dried off (mostly thanks to Lumine’s efforts), Lumine led him back into his bedroom and made him lie back down. He was clingy, trying to pull her down with him. “Stay with meeeee~”
She pressed a kiss to his forehead and pushed his arms off of her. “Later. I have a kettle on the stove, and I don’t think you want it to whistle forever. I’ll be right back, though. I also got you some medicine and cough drops.”
Right when she gently closed his bedroom door, the kettle began whistling, signaling that the water was ready to begin steeping the tea.Lumine grabbed two mugs from one of the kitchen cupboards and tossed in a couple tea bags in each one, also adding a spoonful of honey and a few drops of lemon juice. Normally she would have used loose leaf tea, but she had left the supplies for that back at her own apartment, so she had just grabbed what the little store had instead, a box of generic black tea.
After setting the timer for the length that she wanted to steep it, Lumine pulled out the rest of the items she had bought at the store, setting them down on the counter. Most of it consisted of the ingredients for chicken noodle soup, the tea supplies, some cold medicine, tissues, and cough drops. The ingredients that needed to be refrigerated were put away for later, knowing that she had a patient who needed medicine and some cuddle time.
Once the tea was ready, Lumine took the mugs and made for Childe’s room. Backing through the door so that she didn’t spill the mugs of tea, she turned around to see him sleeping peacefully though it looked like he had been thrashing in his sleep because the blankets were twisted around him and he was lying diagonally on the bed.
“Ajax?” Lumine’s voice was soft as she set the mugs down on his night stand, making a soft clinking noise. “I brought tea. It has honey and lemon in it, so it should help your throat feel a bit better.
Her lover stirred from his slumber, coughing as he opened his eyes, immediately reaching out to pull her down onto the bed with him, snuggling closer to her. “Mmm,” was all he said, coughing once more.
Lumine turned in his arms to face him, pulling him close to let his head rest on her chest, stroking his hair as he relaxed. “It’s kind of hard to drink tea lying down, you know.” Her tone was soft, amused.
Childe sighed softly and moved his face away from resting on her chest, looking up at her. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t mean anything about the tea, and she knew that.
Laughing softly, Lumine shook her head and kept running her hands through his damp hair. “Don’t be. You can’t help getting sick. Besides, who’s to say that I don’t enjoy playing nurse? There will be other weekends when you aren’t sick and maybe even some when I’m the one that needs to be taken care of.
He was quiet as he buried his head back against her bosom. After a moment, there was a sniffle, and he squeezed her tightly. “You still want to be with me?” His words were soft, unsure.
Lumine made him look at her, pulling his face up close enough to give him a kiss on the lips despite the fact that that pretty much guaranteed she was going to get sick as well. “Of course. A little cold isn’t going to scare me away. I love you, Ajax.”
His eyes widened, and he leaned forward to kiss her again, cocking his head to deepen it, only pulling away when he felt a cough rising through his lungs. “Love you too, lyubimaya.”