XXVIII

You woke up to heavy breathing. Your eyes fluttered open to see a steady stream of sunlight through the inn window, indicating it was well into the morning, but the only thing you could focus on was that pained sound.

Looking over from Aether's bed, you saw him in yours with his hand clenched in the sheets, laying on his stomach, breathing too heavily for it to be normal. You noticed Ariel still sleeping on the window sill and Paimon snoring next to you. You slip from bed to stand by Aether's side, gently placing a hand on his back.

But Aether flinches, hard, and you quickly retract your hand, hearing him mumble "don't touch, don't touch." You kneel down by his bedside, keeping your hands on your lap and whisper to him. "Aether? What's wrong kid? What hurts?"

Aether tries to speak again but it only comes out as a pained grunt. It was like a lightbulb went off in your head and you remembered what he had told you on your journey to Liyue, "Is it your back? Is it hurting more than normal?"

Aether nods his head slightly and your brain halts for a moment before you stand and dress as fast as possible, throwing on some presentable clothes to go out in. Bubu Pharmacy is close by, they might have something to help with the pain. You rush to grab some money, before kicking Ariel's foot as it hangs from the window sill.

The angel wakes up with a scowl and a muttered "ow" and glares at you. "What was the point of that?"

"Aether's in pain, I'm going to Bubu Pharmacy to get some medication. Stay with him please, make sure he gets some water and food or something. Just take care of him while I'm out." You rush out, panic creeping into your tone as Aether groans in the background.

Ariel sits up immediately at your words. "Okay, I got it."

You nod and go back to Aether's side, gently brushing some hair from his face to coax him into opening his eyes. He does, the teary golden irises making your heart clench. "I'm going to get you some medication, I'll be back soon. If you need anything, ask the air and Ariel will get it for you, okay?"

Aether nods and that was your sign to rush out the door, mora pouch clenched tightly in your fist. You walk swiftly down the streets of Liyue, worrying going through your mind. Aether had already told you that his phantom pains felt like his wings were being ripped out and cauterized on the average. You couldn't even imagine how terrible a bad day must be.

So caught up in your intense worry, you accidentally run into a certain Fatui redhead walking down the street in the late hours of the morning. The shoulder checking causes you to trip and you would've fell straight on your face if an arm around your bicep stops you. You turn to apologize only to see Childe's confused look.

He smiles to cover the confusion. "Woah! What's the rush, comrade?"

"Ha." You breathe out. "Sorry about that, but I've got places to be. I'll talk to you some other time." You continue power walking down the street not looking back as you hear feet rushing to catch up to you.

Childe appears at your side, easily keeping up with you. "Why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?"

Sighing, realizing he wasn't going to stop, you answer. "I need to buy some pain medication."

Childe's eyebrows furrow. "For Aether? Is he hurt?"

"Yes for Aether. He's not... feeling well."

Childe notices your pause but doesn't comment on it, following you up the steps to Bubu Pharmacy. The stairs only serve to annoy you, but you finally make it to the counter, surprisingly enough, seeing the green haired snake fiend, Baizhu. You walk you to the counter, slightly out of breath, with Childe behind you. Baizhu was reading something, you didn't care to look at the title, uncaring of the mess that was you standing in front of him.

"Hi." You said abruptly. His eyes flickered up and a strange smile appeared on his lips. "I need medicine."

"Well, I would hope that's what you need. This is a pharmacy after all." Baizhu's smile widened slightly and something about it made you uneasy despite its friendliness.

"Do you have medication for phantom limb pain? Like nerve blocking injections or something? Painkillers at the least?" You couldn't hold back some of the uneasiness in your tone. Your foot tapped the more antsy you got.

Baizhu's eyes glittered, and he says, "Let me see what I have." You watch as Baizhu leaves to go to some kind of backroom, wringing your hands.

"Why do you need medication for phantom limb pain?" Childe questions. There's something in his eyes that you couldn't identify.

"I just do. It's not really important right now."

"Well last I recall; Aether hasn't lost any limbs. Did you two have a wild night?"

You send Childe a glare. "No, and It's not really my thing to tell."

Childe raises his hands in a gesture of surrender, his lips quirking slightly. "Alright, alright. I won't push."

"Thanks." Your face softens slightly. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude. I really don't mean to be, I'm just..." you flap your hands in a gesture of anxiousness. "Ya know?"

"I think so."

It's at that moment when Baizhu returns with a bag of needles and some kind of medication in his hands. "Here's what you need."

You let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. How much is it?"

"Well, there's something you should know." Baizhu says as he places the needles and medicine on the counter. "I have to administer the first shot to show you how, so you'll have to bring me to the patient."

You wave your hand. "Fine, yeah, sure. How much is it?"

"Two million."

Your heart drops to your stomach, eyes widening, and your hands freeze from their wringing. "Two... two million?" You take a deep breath to try and steady your voice. "I don't have two million. Is there any way I could negotiate?"

Baizhu tilts his head. "This medication is not easy to make, and I don't have much of it. It is expensive for a reason. The price is non-negotiable."

"I'll have to take out a loan or something. I don't have time to do that. Fuck." You murmur, trying to get your bearings. The only thing going through your mind was 'Aether's in intense pain, and I can't get the medication for it.' "I'll just need to get basic painkillers. Will that even do any-"

"I'll pay for it." Your subconscious muttering stops and you look at Childe in shock as he reaches for his own wallet. "Don't worry about it. It's not a dent on me."

Too overcome with gratefulness, shock, relief, and worry, you don't even have it in you to politely decline the help. "Thank you, so much."

Childe just nods at you with a little smile and soon enough the three of you are power walking back to the inn.

You all make it back to the inn and you fumble with the key before bursting the door open. You see Ariel sitting by Aether's bedside, looking down at him worriedly as Aether moans in pain, still laying on his stomach, his hands shaking. Paimon is floating nearby, nervously biting her nails and whimpering.

Ariel catches sight of you and the others as you slam the door open. "Who's the green headed guy? Why's Childe here?"

You mouth 'doctor' and gesture slightly for Ariel to get out of the way. Ariel does so and you and Baizhu move to Aether's side while Childe goes to stand by Paimon. Baizhu kneels down and looks to you, a more serious look on his face now that he's in doctor mode instead of snarky clerk mode.

"Where's his pain?" Baizhu asks.

"His back. It's really bad today." As if on que Aether groans.

"Today?"

You sigh. "He says he's been having these pains for a while, but I guess today was a really bad flare up or something."

Baizhu hums. "Well, it's common with phantom pains. It can be rather random. Some days are better than others, anything, even something as simple as touch could set it off, sometimes it lasts for only a week after surgery and sometimes it lasts the rest of the victim's life."

"Got it, got it. Can you show me how to do the injection now, please? I can get the explanation later." Your hands clench with nerves but Baizhu just nods.

He shows you the motions of the injection. How much to do, how to do it, where to do it, and he finally injections Aether with the medication. You watch with bated breath as Baizhu sets the bag of needles and medication on the night table.

"I'll need to stay for a little to see if the injection works and make sure he's not having any bad reactions."

"Okay."

You stayed by Aether's bedside as Baizhu looked him over for the next thirty minutes. The medication seemed to kick in, Aether's hand unclenching and his body shakes slowed down. His breathing steadied and his eyes stopped squeezing shut, resting a little more peacefully.

Baizhu left soon after, making sure you understood the instructions on how to administer the injection, and you sat on Aether's bedside, gently running your fingers through his loose hair.

"You think the medication is doing its job?" You hear Childe murmur as to not disturb Aether's finally restful sleep.

"Hopefully." You respond. "I don't want to see him like this again." Your eyes focus again and you turn to Childe. "I'll pay you back. For the medication I mean."

Childe waves you off. "Don't. I don't need it."

"You spent two million mora!"

"For Aether's health. It was necessary." Childe affirms.

"Thanks again." You smile at Childe and he smiles back. "You don't have to stay around, you know? I think Aether's gonna be sleeping for a while longer."

Childe shuckles and returns your smile. "Sounds like you're kicking me out."

"I just might be."

"So cold, comrade." Childe smiles wider when you laugh lightly. "I do have some paperwork to do, so I'll take you up on that offer to be kicked out."

You raise your eyebrow with a smirk. "I don't think being kicked out is a choice."

"Well, I'm choosing it anyway." Before you could respond, Childe slips out the door with a cheerful goodbye.

-

Aether sleeps for the rest of the day. You stay by his side, making sure there's no visual bad reactions from the injection and rubbing his back in hopes that it helps even just a little bit. He wakes as the sun begins to set, eyes opening groggily with a soft groan.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." You whisper as Aether gathers himself, his eyes losing their glaze of sleep the more he wakes.

"You stayed? The whole day?" He sits up, confused, rubbing his forehead as if he was trying to rub away a headache.

"The whole day." You confirm, dropping your hand from where it cupped his head.

"Why?"

"Because you were in pain." You whispered sadly. "And I wanted to see you get better."

Aether gives a small smile, his face riddled with exhaustion even though he slept so much. He leans forward, resting his head on your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist in a weak hug. "Thank you, for taking care of me."

You hold him closer to you, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Always kid."

Aether sighs. "As weird as this might sound, I'm glad this happened today."

Before Aether can continue you say, "You're right. That does sound weird."

Aether chuckles weakly, bumping his head against your shoulder. "Shut up. I just meant that it's better this happened today than tomorrow. I have a meeting with Ningguang tomorrow and I have a feeling if I skipped it, she'd have someone kill me."

"The thought is still weird, but now understandable." You let Aether separate from you and you cup his cheeks. "But are you feeling better? The injection works?"

"Yeah, actually." Aether's grin turns brighter. "My back hasn't felt this painless in a while."

"That's good, kid." You drop your hands and stand from where I'm sitting on the bed. "Want some water?"

Aether nods and you leave to go get him a glass.

A/n - I'M BAAAAAACK! Exam season has past, life is relaxing, all is good. Thank you to everyone who wished me well, I hope all of your exams went amazingly. Thank you all for reading, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the coming ones, I'm excited to see what y'all have to say. Have a nice day, evening, three in the morning, etc.