Work Text:
Headaches weren’t really anything new to Feng Xin. Using a bow as his primary weapon was hard on his neck and shoulders, and being alert all the time as His Higness’ bodyguard built up tension in his body. So, occasional headaches came with the job. They didn’t appear often enough to be concerning, and there were herbs that Feng Xin carried with him that helped.
However, this time it was different.
The morning was quite normal for him. Feng Xin got dressed, had breakfast, and bickered with Mu Qing about nothing important. Then, he followed Xie Lian around during his morning lessons without any problems. He even stretched a little, while Xie Lian was doing his calligraphy work. It was the first peaceful day, after the stressful week before. Some high ranking diplomats had visited from another kingdom, so the guards had to be very alert with a lot of new people in the palace. Feng Xin too had been on high alert the whole time, but luckily nothing happened.
After lunch, they separated as Xie Lian had lessons with Guoshi and didn’t need Feng Xin to guard him during it. The place was secure and Guoshi could handle possible intruders. And of course, Xie Lian himself was more than capable defending himself if necessary.
Mu Qing disappeared to take care of his own errands too, after giving Feng Xin an odd look. Feng Xin had questioned him about it, but the other boy had just told him to mind his own business. As if he hadn’t been the one to look at Feng Xin funny, which gave the impression that it was somehow Feng Xin’s business.
No matter, Feng Xin thought, and left.
Usually, Feng Xin used this time to train on his own or with other guards. But today, the moment he stepped out of the shade of the main building, he found himself feeling off. The sun light was way too bright and there was something moving in his vision. Not a real object or person, more like a blob of light. Blinking hard, Feng Xin tried to clear his vision. And after a while, it did disappear. The light was still too bright and annoying him, but Feng Xin thought it was just because he’d been inside most of the day so far, where it was dimmer.
But as Feng Xin took his bow and started to shoot arrows at the targets set on the other side of the practise grounds, his head started feeling heavier. As the time went on, it started to hurt. The pain concentrated on the right side of his head, pulsing faintly enough to ignore at first.
Unfortunately, it only got worse, and fast.
“What the hell…?” Feng Xin muttered to himself. His headaches had never felt like this before. His vision was going weird again, and the next arrow he shot missed the middle of the target.
“Fuck!” Feng Xin cursed loudly, but he immediately had to hold his head as it hurt more. Once the pain subsided a little, he tried again. The next two shots missed the target completely, as his vision turned blurry and it became harder to concentrate.
Admitting defeat, Feng Xin put the practise bow away and stumbled towards his room. There was still time until he had to go back to Xie Lian’s side. He hoped that taking his usual headache medicine and some rest would help.
By the time Feng Xin reached his room, the pain had become unbearable. He had to keep his eyes closed and hold his head in his hands. Pressing his palms against the sides of his head relieved the pain only a little bit. Everything was too bright. The world around him had started to spin, and Feng Xin felt his stomach roll. Nausea was the last thing he needed with how shitty he already felt.
As soon as the door behind him closed, Feng Xin dropped to the floor on his knees. Momentarily, the pain in his knees distracted him from his head.
“Ugh…”
Curling on his right side on the floor, Feng Xin willed the pain to go away, but to no avail. He put his head between his arms and pulled his knees up. It got to the point he couldn’t register anything else around him. All he could focus on was the pain, now feeling like his head was being cracked open. Despite laying down with eyes closed, he felt dizzy.
The floor started to shake a bit suddenly, making Feng Xin groan in pain. The pressure of having his aching side against the cool floor had brought minor relief, but now that there was an earthquake, it hurt even more.
“What are you doing down there?” A voice suddenly said some where above him. Oh, it wasn’t an earthquake, just footsteps.
Feng Xin really wanted to tell Mu Qing to shut up, but all that left his mouth was a pained whimper.
“Feng Xin?” Mu Qing asked, voice suddenly softer. Feng Xin felt a hand touch his shoulder.
“What happened? Is it your head? Don’t move it, dumbass.” Mu Qing’s hand moved to touch his forehead. “Did you hit it?”
“No… I don’t think so…It just-” Feng Xin took a deep breath. Even speaking hurt and it was a bit difficult to come up with the right words.
“Come on, let’s get you off the floor and into bed. We’ll figure out the rest then.”
With Mu Qing’s help, Feng Xin managed to get up. As soon as he was upright, the dizziness, nausea and pain doubled, but Mu Qing held him up with a hand around hia waist. Slowly, they made it to Feng Xin’s bed. He was set to sit on the edge, so he could kick his boots off with little help from Mu Qing. Then, Mu Qing removed the yellow ribbon holding Feng Xin’s hair up. It made him feel a bit better and eased the tension on his scalp. Finally, after taking off his outer robes, Feng Xin got to lay down. The pain was still awful, but a little more bearable now.
Despite having his eyes closed, Feng Xin could tell that it suddenly became darker in the room. A sound of curtains closing was heard again, and the room felt even darker. Mu Qing must’ve closed the curtains by the window and the ones around the bed.
“I’ll be right back, stay put,” Mu Qing whispered, before leaving the room. Feng Xin didn’t bother trying to answer.
Time passed in a weird way to Feng Xin. It felt like Mu Qing was taking forever, and then when he finally came back, it was like no time had passed at all.
“The healers suspected that it’s just a bad headache from overworking yourself. Said that you just needed to sleep it off,” Mu Qing told him, keeping his voice soft. “I think this seems like something else, but they wouldn’t believe me. I had to tell them that His Highness would need you better soon, so they’d give me something that would actually help.”
Shit, right. His Highness should be done with his lessons soon, I need to accompany him to dinner! Feng Xin thought, and tried to get up without a warning.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Mu Qing asked, pushing him back down. Feng Xin went easily, feeling far too weak to put up a fight.
“Need to… Accompany His Highness…”
“Of course that’s what you’re worried about,” Mu Qing scoffed. “For your information, I already told him what happened. He said to make sure you stay in bed. Someone else is taking your place.”
“What-!?” Feng Xin felt panic rising in his chest. His heartbeat felt painfully loud in his ears. He was being replaced? Over a headache? He tried to push himself up again, only to be stopped by Mu Qing once more.
“Temporarily, you idiot. Until you’re better, and then you can go back to following him around like a dog.”
“Oh…” Feng Xin sighed in relief. Now that he thought about it, that made a lot more sense. His cheeks felt hot from embarrassment.
“Just, stay down. Shouldn’t be too difficult of a task?”
Feng Xin huffed, but obeyed. He could hear Mu Qing walk around the room for a bit, before appearing at his side again.
“Drink this. And try to relax your neck and shoulders.” A tilted cup was placed on his lips and Feng Xin could smell something bitter. Despite the nausea, he accepted it by taking a small sip first. When it didn’t immediately make him throw up, he drank the rest.
Once he was done, the cup was taken away. A moment later, something damp and cold was placed on Feng Xin’s forehead and over his eyes. It surprised him at first, but it brought him relief almost immediately. His brain managed to identify it as a dampl towel.Feng Xin did his best to try and relax his body, but it wasn’t as easy as he had hoped.
“Better?” Mu Qing asked him after a moment.
“Yeah…”
“Try to get some rest.”
Thankfully, Feng Xin was asleep in no time.
Mu Qing stared at sleeping Feng Xin. His chest was moving normally, up and down, for a sleeping person. He couldn’t see if Feng Xin was still frowning due to pain, under the towel. But it seemed like the cold and the medicine had helped at least a little bit, since Feng Xin was able to fall asleep. Still, it’d probably be for the best to wake him up after a few hours, just to be sure it wasn’t anything more serious. And that Feng Xin really hadn’t hit his head and had just forgotten about it. Head injuries needed to be taken seriously.
It had been quite the fright, to see Feng Xin curled up on the floor. Even though Mu Qing had managed to appear normal, his heart had pounded in his chest as he helped the other to the bed. Mu Qing had never seen Feng Xin in so much pain, and so vulnerable.
Mu Qing sat on the edge of the bed, keeping an eye on Feng Xin. Every now and then, he’d redip the towel in cold water and placed it back on the other boy’s forehead. When he got bored, he quickly fetched a sewing project from his room and worked on that. Once a few hours had passed, he took the towel away and gently tried to wake Feng Xin up.
“... Huh..?” Feng Xin mumbled, still half asleep as Mu Qing shook his shoulder carefully while calling his name.
“Just making sure you’re still alive,” Mu Qing said. “How do you feel?”
Feng Xin was quiet for a moment, slowly blinking.
“... Still hurts.”
Mu Qing frowned. The medicine should’ve worked by now, if it was just a normal headache.
“I feel nauseous,” Feng Xin said, struggling to push himself up into a sitting position. Mu Qing jumped up from the bed, and hurried to grab the bucket he’d brought. He placed it on Feng Xin’s lap, right before he emptied his stomach. Mu Qing then gathered Feng Xin’s loose hair and held it back.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for Feng Xin’s stomach to settle. Mu Qing gave him a cup of water t orinse his mouth with.
“Try to drink a little bit too,” Mu Qing reprimanded him, when Feng Xin tried to put the cup on the table next to the bed. “Little sips. Don’t choke while I’ll go clean this up.”
When Mu Qing got back, Feng Xin was lying on his side, facing towards him. The cup was on the table, and when he peeked in, it was nearly empty. Nodding with satisfaction, he placed the bucket on the floor next to the bed and sat on the edge again.
“Better?”
“Nausea? Gone, for now. Headache? Still there,” Feng Xin answered, sounding miserable. His eyes were closed again.
“Think you can sleep some more?”
“I can try…”
Mu Qing put the cold towel back and then went to look out the window. The day was almost over already, and he realised that they had both missed dinner. He doubted that Feng Xin was up to eating anything, but it would probably do him good, if he was able to stomach some tea or light broth.
“Feng Xin?” Mu Qing whispered once he returned back to the other boy’s side.
“What?” Feng Xin asked, voice rough but he was still awake.
“I’ll go stop by the kitchen, I’ll be back soon. Maybe some tea would help, without upsetting your stomach.”
“Okay…”
Feng Xin tried his best to fall asleep, but the pain wouldn’t let him. He wondered if having slept before also prevented him from sleeping now. Even though he didn’t feel rested at all from his previous nap. If anything, he felt even more tired and unwell than before.
But it was nice, to have Mu Qing take care of him like this. Making sure the room was dark, getting Feng Xin medicine and a cold towel. Helping when he was throwing up. And now getting him tea from the kitchen.
Feng Xin couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken care of him like this. Maybe, when he was a small child? Feng Xin didn’t remember much from before he started training as a bodyguard, like what his family had been like. Did he have siblings or what his father worked as? What was his mother like?
Feng Xin was still awake, when Mu Qing returned. He had a tray with a bowl and a cup in his hands, which he put on the nightstand, before checking on Feng Xin.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
“No…”
Mu Qing frowned, and Feng Xin found it quite cute.
“Let’s try some tea. If you can keep it down, then some light broth I brought.”
With some help from Mu Qing, Feng Xin managed to sit up. It made him dizzy and his head pound harder, but after a moment of staying still, he felt better. Mu Qing offered him the cup, and even though Feng Xin held it with both hands, he didn’t let go of it either. Taking a small sip, Feng Xin tested it. At least he didn’t feel nauseous right away. A few sips later, the cup was lowered, and both of them waited to see, if Feng Xin would feel nauseous again. When he didn’t, Mu Qing put the cup back on the tray and took the bowl.
“Slowly still,” he reminded Feng Xin.
This time, Feng Xin manged to take only a few sips before he had to put the bowl down.
“Don’t want to risk it,” he mumbled. Mu Qing agreed.
Mu Qing helped Feng Xin get comfortable again, before taking the tray back to the kitchen. Once he got back, he sat on the bed next to Feng Xin, leaning back against the headboard, and continued to wrok on the sewing project.
“Mu Qing.”
“Mhm?”
“Could you talk? I still can’t sleep.”
Mu Qing thought about it for a moment. People rarely asked him to talk to them.
“What about?”
“Do you know any stories?” Feng Xin asked. “or anything works, really. I’m just so sick of trying to sleep, when it’s clearly not happening.”
“Are you sure? How about your headache?”
Feng Xin was quiet for a moment.
“Your voice is fine. Soft, and nice to listen to,” Feng Xin admitted.
“Well, if you’re sure.” Mu Qing was relieved it was too dark in the room for Feng Xin to see his red face.
Mu Qing started by telling Feng Xin about his mother. About her sewing and embroidery, her cooking and stories she used to tell Mu Qing when he was a child. Then, he told Feng Xin one of those stories from the beginning.
By the time Mu Qing was done with the story, and the sewing, Feng Xin was finally asleep. Smiling softly, Mu Qing ran his hand through Feng Xin’s hair. It was softer than he had thought, before today.
“I hope you feel better soon, A-Xin” Mu Qing whispered softly, before giving Feng Xin’s cheek a quick peck. He pulled back quickly, and placed his hand on his cheek, and he felt how it burned.
Instead of going to his own room for the night, Mu Qing decided to stay with Feng Xin. There was still a good chance that he wouldn’t be able to sleep through the night, or he might feel sick again. Mu Qing left long enough to bring the finished project to his room and change his clothes, before slipping back into Feng Xin’s room. There was plenty of room on the bed, so Mu Qing slipped under the covers next to Feng Xin.
It was a wise decision on Mu Qing’s part to stay. The night turned out to be quite eventful.
Feng Xin woke up multiple times throughout the night. Sometimes, his head hurt so badly that he was nearly in tears. Other times, he felt nauseous and threw up multiple times. Mu Qing changed cold towels and massaged his head, held his hair and rubbed his back, and helped him drink water or medicine. When Feng Xin managed to get a few hours of sleep, so did Mu Qing. However not much, as he was almost too worried to sleep.
Feng Xin woke up slowly, and immediately braced for the pain. But to his pleasant surprise, it didn’t happen. His head felt lighter and he wasn’t dizzy when he opened his eyes. It took some times fore his eyes to adjust, and Feng Xin didn’t feel fully well yet, but it seemed like the worst was finally over. He even felt hungry and the thought of food didn’t make him nauseous.
Feng Xin rolled over, and saw Mu Qing sleeping soundly next to him. His hair was a mess, sleeping robes slightly askew and the blanket wasn’t fully covering him.
But to Feng Xin, he looked really pretty. Warmth filled his chest. He was immensely grateful that Mu Qing had stayed the whole night to nurse him back to health. And he would tell him that too, once the sun was a little higher.
Smiling widely, Feng Xin pulled the blanket over Mu Qing, and then pressed a light kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you, Qing’er.”