Chapter Text
Paimon was sick.
Aether sighed for the umpteenth time in the few hours he had been awake; Paimon had woken up with a fever that morning, her little stomach completely upset. That had been the first time he had seen his partner so weak and reluctant to eat, he had practically had to beg her for some breakfast; the medicine would make her sick if she took it on an empty stomach.
While the fairy slowly ate the soup, the only dish he had gotten her to accept, Aether began to think about what his plan would be.
Both Paimon and he had already had colds and days with discomfort, it was not unusual for them to decide to take the day off, without adventures, commissions or missions; they simply changed their camps for some quieter inn.
However, there were two problems.
First, Paimon's condition was the most serious since their journey began, with high fevers, weakness, and intense stomach pain; he should take her to a doctor, he doubted that his natural medicines would cure her completely, even if they could calm her discomfort.
And second, today he was going to meet with Arlecchino. Even with Fontaine's prophecy solved and the Gnosis in the Fatui's possession, three days ago Freminet had conveyed an invitation from The Knave to, according to the letter, drink tea and talk business.
Of course, seeing how suspicious the invitation was, he had to go without fail. But Paimon... He couldn't leave her alone or subject her to Arlecchino's presence when she was sick. What should he do?
—Paimon already took the medicine.
His companion's voice brought him out of his bubble, giving her a small smile that soon turned into caresses on the fairy's hair. Paimon would always remind him of Lumine when they were younger and just begun to travel the cosmos.
—Paimon, who do you want to spend the day with? I don't want you to go to the meeting with Arlecchino while you're sick.
—Eh?! But Paimon can't let you go alone either! She's one of The Eleven! —the concern on the fairy's face soon turned into pain, apparently raising her voice would not be an option in her state either.
Aether did not hesitate to surround his companion in his arms, sitting her on his lap to help her drink some water to calm her cough.
—Let's use the teleport to return to Liyue, I will ask Baizhu to prepare medicine for you and then you can spend the day playing with Qiqi; what do you think?
—Paimon isn't sure about staying with the talking snake, but spending the day with Qiqi sounds like fun.
—We have a plan then.
❛ ━━━━━━･❪ 🎕 ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜
Paimon was in good hands, he could rest easy for the rest of the day. Now came another problem: the meeting with The Knave. And no, he wasn't worried about the "business" she wanted to discuss, his problem was something else.
He was left without a translator!
What should he do now? He still didn't trust his understanding of the Teyvat’s language enough to attend such an important talk on his own. Even if he didn't know what Arlecchino wanted to talk about, whatever it was he needed to understand it correctly.
Normally, Paimon would spend the meeting whispering in his ear the meaning of any word or expression that confused him, the fairy and he had learned to synchronize enough so that no one could perceive their whispers and glances in the middle of conversations.
But, without Paimon....
—Oh, Traveler! How lucky I was to meet you by simple chance. Maybe it's destiny?
—Lyney, hello.
Aether couldn't help but smile as he heard the magician's voice, happily approaching him through the streets of Fontaine; with his hand he indicated him to sit next to him on the terrace of the Debord Bistro, since Paimon was not there he could allow himself to invite someone else to lunch.
That was what the magician did, choosing the chair closest to the traveler along with a wink that made the adventurer laugh; Lyney and his sweet flirtations always put him in a good mood, especially funny ones like that.
—Uh? Is little Paimon missing? Have you come to eat without her? Be careful, I see her capable of putting you on trial for treason hahaha.
—Trai-? Oh, trial, yes, she would. —he couldn't help but feel embarrassed, becoming obvious to his eyes how much he depended on Paimon and her teachings about the language of Teyvat; even a casual chat with a friend became confusing if he was on his own.— She’s sick.
Lyney's gaze was fixed on him, which might not be surprising but Aether was no fool and, most importantly, he had learned to see behind the facade that were his friend's expressions. He sighed, knowing that the fatui had noticed his difficulty speaking.
Difficulty that, if Paimon were by his side, not even Celestia would be able to perceive.
—Do you want me to ask or we can skip that part, eh, Traveler? —Lyney's laughter, even if it normally rubbed off on him, at that moment only made him want to throw himself into the Abyss, headlong to the twelfth floor.
—No need. —he responded, arms crossed on the table and staring at the other party, he needed Lyney to understand the importance of the conversation. Seeing the Fatui nodding was the signal he needed to speak.— I'm not from Teyvat, I come from another world and I'm still learning the language. Paimon always helps me, without her I need tam-, uhm, time to translate and think about the words.
Aether was not surprised to see his friend's surprised expression, nor was he surprised to see him immediately compose himself to analyze his words. He waited patiently for the magician's reaction, ready to answer any questions about the biggest secret about his journey.
Of course, he wouldn't say more than what Paimon already knows.
—So you are one of the Descendants that Father mentioned.
—Correct.
—That... Hm, actually explains practically all the mysteries about you. So Paimon acts as a live translator? Is that why she is so attached to you?
—...live? —the traveler painted an embarrassed expression, unable to understand the meaning of that word.
The magician didn't even try to contain his delight at the adventurer's blush; the situation could be confusing for him but the mental effort was worth it to see a new side of his beloved Traveler, knowing more about him made him happy and, above all, his heart felt drowned in joy when he saw that the blonde trusted him enough to reveal such precious information to him.
—It means that Paimon translates for you at the same time the conversation happens. —he explained; from the way the traveler spoke and got stuck, Lyney suspected that it was not a problem of directly translating the words, but of explaining the meaning of said words according to the context and adjacent words.
Ignoring the obvious detail that he was getting some letters mixed up, but he seemed to be able to figure that out on his own.
He wasn't sure and doubted that the Traveler would be able to explain it anyway, however he bet his hat that Paimon had already taught him every possible word and the only thing left was for the traveler to be able to understand complete sentences on his own.
—Oh! Yes, that's how it is!
Badum. Lyney covered his face, hiding his body's reaction to the traveler's smile; oh, how much Lyney would give to see that expression when he woke up every morning.
Aether's laughter brought him out of his thoughts, increasing the blush he could feel burning in his cheeks.
—Why are you laughing suddenly? —he protested, feeling his hands burn with the pure need to caress the beautiful smiling face in front of him.
—You were drooling looking at me.
—Eh?! Really?!
—Nope.