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Does Zhongli truly deserve to rest?
He has been taking care of what is now Liyue for centuries without stopping, fighting everything that is or can become a threat and guiding them outside of battles to ensure they have the weapons and everything needed to survive. Everything without really stopping to tend to himself.
Not that he has done everything alone, of course, without the help of everyone he cherishes so much it would have been impossible and loosing them had played part in that tiredness that little by little consumed him and made him realise that afternoon that he had done enough, too.
Seeing Xiao hurt makes him reconsider that resolution.
“Xiao… Xiao what happened?”
There’s blood. The left side of his face is bathed with it, probably because of an injury in his head, but there’s also blood in his right arm, the one he’s using to hold onto his polearm to support his weight, the nasty cut along his forearm being the responsible.
That’s not even the worst.
“Rex Lapis…”
Xiao’s legs give away in that moment, the polearm falling to the ground with a dull clank that has Zhongli scrambling to react and catch him without jostling the most concerning injury, his arm wrapping around his waist to lift him in his arms, like he remembers doing when he first rescued him from that God and the poor thing could barely hold himself up.
“It’s alright, I got you now,” he whispers, returning to his bed to settle him on his best, uncaring about the blood and mess he will leave there. “You don’t need to fight it anymore.”
He makes a quiet sound of acknowledgement, though, it’s hard to tell if it really is a real response or if it was the last piece of consciousness that clung to him. It doesn’t matter, of course, with all the care possible he reaches for a small knife he uses to cut the torn clothes on his upper body and have complete access to the injuries.
Xiao is always hurting.
Karmic debt is like the desert where a storm can calm down and give this false sense of security by vanishing but never really going away. The pain it causes to Xiao is always present, the medicine he gives to him working until it no longer does and they need to look for another recipe that is much stronger.
The way he always fights is just another layer. Most creatures are enemies that don’t really present a real threat to someone who is so experienced, but there are a few who can cause real damage and his heart aches at thinking what he encountered now, what could do this.
Zhongli’s main concern is stopping the bleeding, clean the excess of that vital liquid to make sure the injuries aren’t life threatening and he doesn’t need to take him to Cloud Retainer and the rest. The small relief he feels when finding at least that isn’t that serious short lived when he looks once more at his left arm.
It’s broken, completely out of place.
His shoulder is dislocated, something with enough force pulled or hit his shoulder so it was pushed completely out of place and had even managed to fracture his forearm, the purplish and swollen area leaves that clear.
“I need to put it back in place,” he whispers, resting his hand on his head. “It will hurt, but it will only last for a moment.”
There’s no confirmation that he heard him, he hasn’t said anything else since he passed out outside of a couple of pained noises, in fact, but Zhongli knows what kind of reaction this will cause and it’s more than enough to have his heart falling even more.
In his entire life he has treated countless wounds, on himself and on others, but it has always been particularly hard when it comes to Xiao. He has such a young appearance he can only remember him as the caged creature he was who had no other purpose in life and, later on, the one who swore he would follow him until the end of time.
He doesn’t deserve to always be in pain.
Zhongli takes a moment to close his eyes and take a deep breath before channeling his energy into his hands. He may not be one who dedicates himself to healing, but he is capable of offering a bit of comfort and that’s the only thing Xiao deserves in this moment.
For someone who has lived through countless wars, he could handle all of this better, but it’s hard.
He feels it deep inside his soul when Xiao cries out the moment he touches the injured shoulder. He doesn’t look fully awake, but the way his blurry eyes open to look for the danger makes his heart ache, the energy he knows so well of his geo not being enough to keep him calm.
“You are safe,” he repeats. “It will help with the pain, I promise.”
It’s possible he still doesn’t understand, his less injured hand is holding his arm, the weak pressure he’s using to hold it remaining until he finally seems to understand and he lets it fall back on the bed. Zhongli waits, letting his breathing return to normal before reaching for it against nd pulling.
The noise it makes when the bone snaps back into place is nauseating, the sensation the kind that will stay with him for a long time, the sharp cry of pain that leaves Xiao’s lips making him feel as if he’s the one who has been physically injured.
“I know, but it will be better now,” he whispers, keeping his hands on the area, the hot skin making him frown. “It will pass now.”
Xiao’s breathing is still horribly agitated when he moves to start bandaging the area, body jerking again when he sets the bone on his forearm straight, needing even more time to let him recover enough he can work on bandaging that area again. Xiao’s pained cry comes back again when he pulls the cuts closed and again when he spreads the ointment over the injuries, but the effect of the medicine starts working after a moment, letting him settle back down on the bed with a trembling sigh.
Zhongli feels as if he can breathe again when he pulls the covers up to keep him warm, the thick bandages keeping his arm pressed against his body.
“Rex Lapis…”
His whisper makes him look down at his face again, finding those pained and still blurry eyes looking at him, the spark of recognition that had been absent finally returning.
“It’s alright, Xiao,” he says softly, incapable of keeping himself from reaching to thread his fingers through his hair. “You need to rest.”
“It was… a creature from the abyss,” he whispers without pulling away from his touch. “I was dumb, gave it the opening it was looking for.”
“You’re not dumb,” he says with a frown. “You defeated it, mistakes aren’t connected to one’s intelligence.”
“But I—”
“I have been injured as well,” he cuts him off. “During a battle and even outside of one.”
“It’s not… it’s not the same,” he says, though, the strength he uses isn’t the same. “I should have looked for Cloud Retainer, coming here risked you.”
Zhongli never really put a rule that kept them from appearing in his residence at the harbour, Xiao already moved around and the rest of Adepti possessed a human form that kept people from suspecting, but they, on their own, decided to reserve this kind of situation to when he’s not in a place that could expose him.
Xiao doesn’t normally look for him when injured, in fact, he doesn’t look for anyone, he deals with things on his own because he’s used to that, but there are times where he does look for Cloud Retainer or any other Adepti that could help him, with that rare occasion where he was found by Qiqi and she then took him to Baizhui so he could help him.
The times he does look for Zhongli, however, something seems to reach into his chest.
“You did right in coming here,” he says. “You were in no condition to travel further, your condition would have worsened.”
Xiao takes another deep breath, eyes closing as he lets his body further sink into the bed. “I will recover quickly.”
“Not that you need to,” he says with a shake of his head. “I’ll ask for a couple of days off to be here.”
“Rex Lapis, you can’t, I can’t disrupt your normality and—”
“I want to,” he interrupts. “It wasn’t a minor injury, not even for you.”
Xiao tilts his head to the side, bringing the arm he can move up to pull at the covers, eyes fixing on the bandages keeping his arm close. Those golden eyes seem to shine with doubt, with pain and a collection of emotions that make Zhongli feel as if someone has reached to squeeze his heart.
It’s almost as if he can’t believe it.
“I…”
“I will prepare almond tofu to go with the medicine and tea you need,” he says, standing up from his chair. “I know it’s not easy for you, but rest will ensure recovery goes well.”
Xiao sighs again, an expression of discomfort crossing his face when the movement jostles all the injuries he has. Zhongli takes that moment to give his head one last caress before starting to gather everything he used and start moving towards the bed.
“Rex Lapis.”
Xiao’s voice, however, stops him, making look back. “Yes?”
“Thank you,” he says, eyes looking at him and staying for a couple of seconds before looking away again. “For everything you did and.. For everything you will do.”
And he can’t help the smile, that genuine happiness that fills his chest at knowing that’s his way of saying he gives up and won’t try to escape through the window when he has the chance or starts feeling better.
“No need,” he hums. “I’ll be at the kitchen, just call if you need anything.”
Maybe going back would keep this from happening, maybe Xiao wouldn’t need to suffer all of this if he returned and Liyue went back to relying on thing for most of the things he need to do.
Maybe.
But for now, this can help Xiao more and as long as he knows he’s never leaving him alone, then it’s all fine.