Flu season, yk?

It was not Bennett's fault he was incredibly susceptible to various illnesses, especially easily-catchable ones like the flu. He had twelve covid instances when Mondstadt had been plagued by the disease that had been accidentally invented by a Liyuean, Xiangling, while trying to create a new soup. There were also rumors it was the alchemist Albedo, who created it as a rat poison but accidentally ate it. Who knows.

But that didn't matter. The point was that Bennett gets sick easy as Parisian rats during the black plague.

His dads knew about this, of course. Their solution was to lock him into the house for two weeks while the storm of sickness raged outside. They knew that Bennett always got the worst strands of the flu, and always had near-coma or death experiences. It was reasonable how strict they were.

Bennett, thus, understood their reasoning, and accepted their imprisonment with grace. However, it didn't last long.

Day 1.

He grew bored. He soon realized he had no books, no weapons to practice with, and no pets to entertain him. He needed something to do.

Nervous that his boredom would lead to him accidentally lightning the house on fire, he pledged to do something safe to save his dads from stress. But crocheting is boring.

Day 2.

He was trying, but there was truly nothing that wouldn't cause possible damage to the house. He didn't know what to do. Every time Bennett looked at an empty easel and paint set-up in the corner of his room, he grew nervous that he'd accidentally cause a huge mess or explosion, and therefore make his dads mad.

He wanted to be a good prisoner.

Day 3.

He can't anymore. He had nearly burned his bedsheets with a candle earlier when he was testing it out to practice snuffing out candles with his fingers, and then he was very close to causing his dresser to fall over when he took off the legs to make a wooden puppet.

He decided that the only way to stay safe and also get entertainment was to leave the house secretly, and go somewhere where nobody goes.

Bennett opened up an Atlas, one of the only books in his room. Turning the pages, he examined the detailed drawings of all of Teyvat. He quickly flipped over the the well-worn Mondstadt section, which was dotted with marks from pens and pencils from his childhood adventures.

There: an area completely blank from all marks, where he'd never been, because he was told never to go. Nobody would be there, and Bennett knew he could handle himself, so he decided it was the perfect location. Grinning, he copied a low-quality version of the map onto a scrap paper, and started packing his bags.

He hoped to be back by morning, when his dads brought him breakfast. Just in case, though, he decided to put an apple he saved into his satchel, which he then filled with a spare change of clothes, a hatchet, a first-aid kit, and a few other miscellaneous adventuring devices.

He waited for an hour, when the sun started to set. Smiling to himself once again, Bennett cheerfully waved goodbye to his house as he leapt out his window, activating his glider, and turning towards on of Mondstadt's back gates.

He landed on the cobblestone paths without tripping too badly, and ran out the gates, casually greeting the guards as if he wasn't escaping his house.

Thus, he set out to Wolvendom.

—

Gripping onto the straps of his backpack, Bennett grinned.

Nobody is around to get sick, and Bennett therefore can't get sick, so his dads can't be unhappy. That's what he was thinking as he stepped foot into Wolvendom and instantly tripped over the air, tumbling down a hill with no way to stop himself.

He rolled and rolled until he finally came to a halt at the bottom of a pit. Landing with a clunk, he immediately followed his usual procedures to assure himself he broke no bones and sprained no joints. After confirming he was okay, he stood and looked around, rubbing his head.

"Bennett luck strikes again," he chuckled lightheartedly.

Suddenly, he felt woozy. Hit with this disorientating feeling in his head, he slowly sat down, blinking quickly and rubbing his temples. His forehead felt warm. There was no way he got sick, right? He only stopped to help that bird off the road- and when he had been walking over and brought that crying boy back to his dad- oh.

What are the chances the two people he meets have the flu?

Then he collapsed.

—

Day 4.

Bennett woke up with a sneeze, a mumble and a cough, before blinking his eyes open and taking in the sights around him.

He then promptly sat up and looked around with wide eyes. He was laying inside of a giant ass log, probably big enough to fit five adults comfortably. He was lying on a bed of moss, a thin leafy blanket draped over his shoulders. The bed was on a flat platform attached to the inside of the slanted log, so that it wasn't tilted.

It smelled like wet dog and mulch, plus dirt. He didn't mind much, though, because he had fallen so many times that the smell of dirt was embedded into his nostrils.

The bottom of the tree was slammed into the ground, with no way out. The top was high up, and there were no stairs or anything that could support his climb. But with it being the only way out, he had to try.

Slipping and sliding around, he tried to scramble up the ramp, but he failed miserably. When he finally gave up, he was covered in mud and bugs, his hair matted. Then he started to feel the ache: his muscles were weak from the flu, and his head started hurting aggressively.

Laying down on his back, Bennett closed his eyes and tried to deal with the pain while also thinking of a way to escape without setting the forest on fire (his dads would be pissed!).

Suddenly, he heard rustling above. Looking up at the top of the hollow log, he saw a figure crouching. Without a word, the human-like thing scrambled down towards Bennett. Bennett was quite scared. Why is this wacky monkey-dog crawling at him? Was he going to be eaten?

"Hello there!" Bennett called as the figure came to a stop before him. "Don't eat me please. I'm friendly."

"No eat. Eat only creature meat... and potato," the figure grumbled out. "You... okay?"

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine," Bennett sighed with relief. He was safe. "Do you know where I am?"

"My shelter," they said. "You slept in pit in wood, in rain. You... unhealth. I bring you to shelter."

"Thanks, then," Bennett smiled, instantly making a friend out of this mysterious guy. "My name's Bennett, by the way."

"Razor. I am wolf boy," the shadowed friend nodded.

"Oh, cool. Wait– I've heard about you. Do you know Lisa?" Bennett was surprised at the coincidence.

"Yes. Purple teacher," Razor replied.

"Cool! I'm Bennett, of the Adventurer's Guild. I think I must've passed out in the woods– I get sick easily, you see, but I was bored so I snuck out and tried to stay away from getting other people sick while still having something fun to do," Bennett explained.

"Fun? Hunting... fun. You hunt?" Razor tilted his head, the sun beams allowed into the log illuminating his gray hair.

"No, I don't think I could stand to hurt anima-" Bennett suddenly started coughing.

It was a painful wheezing cough, and it made Razor panic. He turned and scrambled around, trying to find something to help Bennett out, but only found a small bucket of rain water he'd found and started using to wash his hair with when he got too dirty.

The water was fresh from recent rain, so he decided it would work. He held the pail out to Bennett.

Bennett took it graciously, and started drinking to drown the cough. When it worked, he realized he had drained all of Razor's water.

"Oh, sorry," he stared into the bucket. "I can help you get more!"

"No, I get from lake, you unhealth," Razor insisted, when he was interrupted by Bennett's coughing.

He coughed even harder this time, until he could barely breath. Razor panicked again, but had no source of water or medicine or anything to help Bennett. The pyro boy coughed once more before passing out on Razor's bed.

—

Two hours later, Bennett woke up to water being splashed on his head. His eyes shot open to see Razor hovering over him, the rusty pail dripping fresh water over Bennett's forehead.

"Could not wake- bad sleep. Water wake," Razor explained.

"You woke me up from a nightmare?" Bennett asked.

Both of the boys paused. Bennett's voice was incredibly scratchy and hoarse, enough so that Razor cringed. Bennett coughed again and tried to sit up, but realized he was very dizzy, and rested his head slowly back down. Damn covid.

"Benny okay?" Razor questioned.

"It's worse than... before," Bennett's vision blurred, his voice barely able to sound. "I might need a minute."

Razor nodded determinedly, and scampered back up the tree with his bucket, probably to get even more water.

Bennett, meanwhile, was in a lot of pain. He was used to being very sick, so he wasn't rolling uncomfortably around on the bed in agony like your average joe, but he was definitely struggling to keep his eyes open. He couldn't breath through his nose, and his whole body ached. Not to mention the unbearable heat.

"Razor bring book for... fun," Razor hopped back into the log.

How long had he been gone? Bennett couldn't remember when he had left, or how long he'd been lying on the moss bed, staring at the glimpse of sun peeking through the canopy and hollow log.

"Lisa gave. Said help... boredom," Razor handed the book to Bennett.

Bennett wished he could tell Razor that being bored was the main problem of yesterday, and at the time, he was much more concerned with his own health than a book. His voice had completely caved in, however, and he couldn't bring himself to try and move.

"No read?" Razor tilted his head in a dog-like fashion. "Razor read, then."

He opened the first page. It was a classic Mondstadtian storybook, from what Bennett could see from the cover. After studying the cover further (he couldn't read because brain power lacks when sick ig), he realized it was the story Fundevogel; a classic story, and kind of fitting:

"There was once... a forester who went in..to the for-est to... hunt," Razor began, reading the story.

Razor's scratchy voice, surprisingly, was lulling him to sleep. The horribly pronounced words that were broken apart due to inexperience made Razor sound like a child. Because children represented innocence and peace, it kind of made him comfortable

"...and as h-he en-tered it... he heard a sound, of scree-ming as if a lit-le child were there," Razor spoke much better when the sentences were already worded out for him.

He followed the sound, and at last came to a high tree, and at the top of this a little child was sitting, for the mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the child, and a bird of prey had seen it in her arms, had flown down, snatched it away, and set it on a high tree. Bennett didn't hear the rest of the children's story, because he fell asleep to Razor's raspy words.

—

Day 5.

Bennett woke up the next day feeling a lot better. He was still overheating, though. Slowly, he pushed the moss blanket off of his lap, and then realized that it was stuck on something. With the light of the rising sun, he was able to make out a figure beside him.

Who was in his bed? Wait- this wasn't his bed. The memories came back rather quickly, once he realized where he was. Beside him was Razor, the boy he'd meet earlier that had nursed him back to health. He sat curled up right beside him.

"Hey, Razor," Bennett said quietly.

"Yes?" Razor turned over.

"Morning," Bennett smiled. "I'm feeling better."

"Good," came the boy's gruff voice.

"Thanks for helping me," Bennett added.

"Not problem," Razor shook his head, red eyes shining. "Now, you leave?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Bennett frowned. "I liked hanging out with you, though."

"Same," Razor huffed.

"Maybe I'll find a way to see you again," Bennett grinned.

"Razor would like that," Razor nodded. "But... I am wolf. Should not have human friend..."

"Oh," Bennett nodded in understanding. "Wait- didn't you say you were a wolf-boy earlier? The part that's boy- that can have human friends, right?"

Razor nodded after a bit of silence.

"Alright. You're my friend now," Bennett smiled wider. "See you at some point, okay?"

Bennett, after a few embarrassing attempts and eventually needing help from Razor, managed to exit the home of the wolf boy, and headed home without too many issues. He hoped to get home before his dads woke up. They usually got up about two hours after the early sunrise of summer, so he thinks he'll be safe leaving at sunrise.

Unfortunately, Bennett isn't very fortunate.

"Where were you?" one of his dads asked when he snuck in through his window.

"Uh... Why are you home? Why are you awake- wait, why are you in my quarantine room?!" Bennett was aghast. There was no reason for his plan to be foiled.

"There was water leaking out from under the door, we had to come check it out, but you were gone," another dad explained.

Oh. One of his boredom activities was playing with water balloons. Had one of them popped while he was away? Had an evil-doing bird flown in through the accidentally opened window and popped one of them?

"Well, uh," Bennett scratched the back of his head. "I was just outside. But not around anybody! And I only got sick for a bit, but I'm fine now. It wasn't that bad. I met a cool guy! He doesn't count as a person because he's a wolf too and he is probably immune to lots of diseases, so don't worry about me getting him sick!"

"We were worried about you getting sick," one of the dads sighed. "Stay in here for the rest of the week, okay? Don't leave."

"Got it," Bennett gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up.

The moment they left, Bennett got to planning. How was he going to see his new friend again? He had to find a way, because he had nobody else in Mondstadt who was willing to stick around him long enough to get close.

But he had a feeling about Razor. He felt that they'd have a stronger relationship than he had with most.

—

"What do you mean, I can't go?"

"Wolvendom is a very dangerous place," Katheryne explained. "Only experienced adventurers are allowed to do our routine check ups on the area."

"I learned through extensive research that every two weeks, an adventurer will check up on the boy living in the woods, to make sure he's okay," Bennett stressed. "One of my dads even said they used to have that job. I know it's real."

"Yes, it's a real task," Katheryne sighed. "But only for the experienced."

"But Miss Katheryne," Bennett pleaded. "I am experienced! And it's just checking up on him, it can't be that bad."

"Why are you so adamant about this?" Katheryne questioned suspiciously.

"Because I'm..." Bennett's shit at lying. "I love wolfhooks, so it's convenient."

Katheryne looked down her nose at him incredulously. Bennett stood confidently before her, not baking down.

"Fine," Katheryne sighed. "Only because the current adventurer handling the duty is absent on maternity leave. Prove you're capable, and you can keep it, okay? Understand I am simply attempting to keep you safe."

"Yes, yes," Bennett grinned. "Thank you!"

"Alright, no problem," Katheryne smiled gently. "Every other Friday, head to the woods and make sure he's alive and well. Don't interact, though. We've learned that he doesn't interact well with humans."

"No problem!" Bennett saluted.

—

That Friday, Bennett was off towards Wolvendom with binoculars and Mora Meat and his trusty sword. He was off to see Razor again, after he'd spent two days in his room locked up, and two more researching and attaining permission to accept this mission. Then he had to wait three long, boring days until Friday.

He'd thought about Razor's piercing red eyes and gruff voice a lot since their meeting. The images of the wolf boy in his mind had become a bit distorted and over-exaggerated, so he needed to refresh his memory by seeing Razor again. His brain worked like that.

So it was a warm welcome when he huffed, adjusted his backpack, straightened his posture, and began his hike into the heart of Wolvendom. It wasn't long until he found Razor. The boy was growing herbs in a little garden by his tree stump.

"Hey, Razor, guess who's back," Bennett greeted.

"Bennett," Razor looked up, knowing the voice beforehand.

"I came back as soon as I could," Bennett carefully sat on the grass. "I can come every other Friday."

"Then you can... help Razor with hunt," Razor's eyes smiled. "And read."

"Yeah, we can read some fairy tales, and I can bring you human food, because I felt that you should try it and offer some to your wolf friends," Bennett took out the Mora Meat.

"In return... I teach you hunt," Razor nodded. "And we... friends."

"Yeah, that's most important. We don't have to exchange anything other than company, if you want!" Bennett offered.

"Sounds like nice start," Razor smiled a bit.

So, the two boys hung out that day, until Razor had to leave for morning hunting.

They were laying in a field when it was time to go. The trees surrounded the small patch of grass, comforting them with shade, while still allowing the sight of the sun. Bennett found himself more relaxed than usual.

"Bennett... I must go," Razor interrupted their closeness in the clearing.

"Oh, okay," Bennett turned to face his friend. "Hey, next time, what if I bring a game to play?"

"Game?"

"It's like something you do for fun when you're bored," Bennett explained with hand gestures. "Not that I'm bored with you! I love sitting. But it would make our time more fun."

"Okay," Razor said after a second. "Bye, Benny."

Bennett's heart warmed at the nickname.

"Bye."

—

Weeks pass, and every other Friday, Bennett goes to visit Razor. First, he brings TCG cards, and they spend the better part of the day organizing decks and noting how pretty the cards were. Because they couldn't actually play that night, Bennett stuck out later and they started and finished a game by midnight.

Two weeks later, and Razor teaches Bennett how his wolf pack hunts. Bennett began to long his friend's company while he was back in Mondstadt, wishing desperately to see his closest friend again.

Two weeks after that, Bennett holds Razor's hand for the first time. It was a friendly gesture, but Razor seemed oddly comforted by it. He squeezed his hand back, and visibly relaxed. It made Bennett wonder when he had last touched another human.

They were close friends by the time a full year had passed. Bennett had kept Razor a secret the entire time: even hiding him from his only other friend, Fischl. Though, it's not like she ever asked where he was off to every Friday (he'd started sneaking out every Friday, avoiding the every-other rule. He blamed it on Razor teasingly: how could he not want to sneak out when Razor sat not too far away, lonely?).

Of course, when a year passed, it was flu season again. And his dads were unrelenting.

"You are not leaving the house. Not this Friday, even if you have that Adventurer's Guild duty," one of the dads ordered. "We cannot have you getting super sick again."

"I promise!" Bennett nodded enthusiastically. "I'll stay here for a week and sleep and read and stuff."

"No sneaking out," another dad insisted.

"Of course," Bennett nodded solemnly.

"It's crazy that we have to enforce such a rule on our obedient little boy," one of them muttered as they walked away.

"Teenagers all have a rebellious phase..." the voice cut off as Bennett's door slammed shut.

—

Day 1.

Bennett was already missing Razor. They'd grown incredibly close over the last year. They played mock-battles, TCG, they hunted, they told stories. Bennett even braved Lisa in the library to ask for a book. Thick as thieves, they were. Bennett left his family and friends for Razor Time, and Razor skipped out on wolf duties to hang out with Benny.

So every day they were apart, they missed each other with quite a passion: Bennett always felt like a part of him was missing when he was away from the curious, gruff, playful boy. Which was common for close friends, obviously. Bennett never questioned why he only felt this towards Razor, and not at all whenever he was away from Fischl.

Anyway, Bennett couldn't stand to be far away from Razor for an entire week. But his fathers wanted him to be safe, so he planted his feet and distracted himself by going through every book on his shelf (he was well-stocked this year, learning from experience).

—

Day 2.

Bennett was coughing. A lot, actually. But whenever he felt the urge, he'd stuff his sick, pale face in his blanket, muffling the sounds. He didn't want his dads to worry. He was sure it was only a fluke, because he hadn't talked to anyone for a whole day.

Ah. Except for his neighbor. The young girl next door had a window the same height as Bennett's, barely a meter apart. When they both had opened their windows to chat... yeah, that might've done it.

But now that he'd realized he had the flu, he started panicking. He couldn't worry his dads! He needed to survive, though. He knew that in a day he'd need careful attention and care, based on the previous severity of his sickness... but his dads would think he snuck out again if he admitted he was sick.

So, who else to help him but Razor? Good with herbs— the wolf boy had healed him quickly last time! Yeah, it worked. His dads would never know. It's not like they checked on him on the second day, either. So he should be safe.

After thoroughly convincing himself (some of his logic was flawed, but he believed it made sense, because the underlying fact that Razor would be there pushed all doubt from his mind in the beginning. He stretched some things so they were excuses as to why he'd leave. He wasn't just going for Razor. Nope), Bennett left through his window.

After reaching Wolvendom, he immediately set out for Razor's little log-house. Though... It was still rather early in the morning. Early enough that the night creatures were still out. Like the coyotes.

Bennett startled at the sudden growling behind him. Sure it was just a wolf, Bennett turned around to say hello, but paused at the facial features: the wolves of this forest were nothing like that one. This wolf was gray, white, and orange-brown; it had a rounder face; it was taller, not as muscular.

"Are you new to the pack?" Bennett questioned.

A few new growls interrupted him, and he turned around in a fast circle, coughing into his armpit as he did. He realized that there were a lot of these weird wolves. Five, surrounding him, all their teeth bared and ears perked.

"Uh." Bennett stopped moving.

The animals closed in on him slowly, walking with intention and without hesitation.

"RAZOR!" Bennett yelled into the woods.

He was hoping that his friend would hear him and call his wacky new wolf friends off of him.

"RAZOR, HELP!" Bennett shouted, entering a coughing fit soon after.

His sickness was catching up on him, and the creatures were nearing closer and closer. He would use his vision; but they were only animals. He didn't believe in hurting animals. Plus, he was too weak to do any real damage.

"Just my luck," Bennett muttered.

The wolves grew closer and closer, and soon they were each a foot away. The leader lunged.

Unlike movies, our protagonist isn't unrealistically lucky. He's very unfortunate. So no, there isn't a sudden savior who jumps into the fray and takes the hits, beating all the enemies and leaving the protagonist desperately in love (maybe another time). For now, Bennett was doomed.

The animals bit and scratched at him mercilessly, and he had to resort to his vision. Summoning the fire, he created a ring around him. It was thin, but very very hot, and definitely enough to momentarily halt the attack.

Bleeding and coughing, Bennett sprinted away towards his friend's residence. Razor could talk to the wolves, so he could probably get them to understand that he was a friend. Shooting occasional bursts of pyro behind him, Bennett made it all the way to the log without too much damage— but he was still being closely-chased.

"Razor!" Bennett called down into the house.

No answer came. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the log against the rising sun, Bennett realized that Razor happened to be out at the moment, probably hunting off in Stormbearer mountains.

"Oh, come on!" Bennett hopped on his feet and took off towards Razor's wolf's den, where the pack lived. It wasn't too far, but he wasn't in his best shape. "RAZOR!" He yelled as he ran, leaping over logs and rocks, nearly tripping. Every time he felt his foot snag, his heart leapt in fear, but he kept going.

What were the chances that the large hunting group had been in his exact location? Why was Razor hunting, when he never was, at this time of day? Why did he have to be sick? Ah, the archons must've cursed Bennett long ago.

But his attitude would prevail over such unluckiness. With infinite optimism, he forced himself to believe that Razor was only a minute away.

This time, he was lucky.

He found Razor laying atop a grassy hill, twirling a flower between his fingers in front of him, as if thinking deeply about something. It was where Bennett and Razor often hung out, making flower crowns, finding shapes in clouds, and messing with each other's hair.

Bennett's heart bounced in his chest, the hope he had been artificially fueling suddenly becoming real.

"Razor!" he shouted.

"Benny?" Razor turned quickly to face his friend.

"Call your friends off me!" Bennett said quickly, approaching his friend.

"Friends?" Razor tilted his head.

Then the pack of wolves came out of the tree line, and Razor stood, dropping the flower. He grew less concerned, and a lot more scary. Sprinting quickly, he ran past Bennett, holding his claymore up.

Bennett paused at the top of the hill, sitting to catch his ragged breaths. Why was Razor attacking the wolves? Was he more important to Razor than them? It made Bennett inexplicably happy— but then he dismissed the idea. That made no sense.

After Razor successfully scared the pack off with his electro powers and growling, he joined Bennett atop the hill, picking the flower up again.

"Coyotes," Razor explained. "Steal prey. Take land. Bad guys."

"Oooh," Bennett nodded, coughing.

"Benny... you okay?" Razor asked, placing a hand on Bennett's shoulder.

"Yeah, just sick," Bennett smiled. "Remember when we first met and I was super sick and fell asleep for a while?"

Razor nodded, looking concerned but far less confused.

"So, the same thing is happening again," Bennett continued. "And I didn't want to annoy my dads and make them think I snuck out again and then get banned from ever leaving the city— so I snuck out."

"I will care of you," Razor said.

"Thanks!" Bennett grinned, leaning to hug his friend.

After he finished a very warm hug, he leaned away, and Razor continued twirling the flower in his hands, looking at the petals.

"That's a cute flower," Bennett pointed at it.

"Clover," Razor said. "Like you."

"Huh?" Bennett observed the purple flower, taking it in. "I didn't think I was purple."

"No," Razor shook his head. "You... green. Green like clover leaf. Your name is green, you feel green. Eyes green."

"Oh, cool," Bennett smiled. "I like green."

"Clover means... luck," Razor held it up high.

"Yeah, four-leaves mean luck. That one's bloomed already, though, so the leaves are hard to see. Even if it had four leaves, I don't think it'd work on me," Bennett chuckled. "I'm way too unlucky."

Razor looked at Bennett, taking in his sickly appearance and random bleeding injuries.

"I take you to... house. You heal," Razor stood.

"Right," Bennett nodded and stood as well.

The wolf boy stood still for a minute, then turned to Bennett. Reaching across the gap between them, Razor put the tiny flower on top of Bennett's goggles, tucking it into the base of the glass so that it was very secure.

"Luck," Razor put it simply.

"I can feel the power flowing through me," Bennett smiled with a laugh.

As the two walked down the hill together, you might be able to see that the clover in question was actually a two-leaf clover. The clover of love and soulmates.

How fitting.

That night, Bennett and Razor slept peacefully together in the log-house. They'd spent most of the day together, walking slowly to Razor's place, treating wounds, and talking. Razor had gone off to hunt for a few hours and came back with a meal for the two of them.

It was warm and cozy in the log, mostly from Bennett's sickness, but also because of the meat roasting over Bennett's pyro vision, and their bodies huddled up close.

—

Day 3.

In the morning, Bennett felt awful. Just like last year, he had a horribly day of immobility, completely sickened to the bones. Razor remained worried the entire time, and made sure his friend had a ton of water.

"I don't need that much attention, go and hunt," Bennett coughed weakly.

"Razor want to help," Razor insisted. "I bring good... herb."

"Razor," Bennett reached to his friend gently. "I'll be okay."

"...ok," Razor muttered.

"Go and do your thing, I'll be here when you get back."

He was, indeed, there when Razor got back. But he certainly wasn't there there. His thoughts were hazy, and his brain wasn't working like it should have. Everything hurt. His eyes were blurry, and he kept drifting into unconsciousness. The sight worried Razor greatly.

"Benny?" Razor poked Bennett.

"Hi," Bennett croaked without opening his eyes.

"Okay?" Razor asked.

"Yeah, fine." Bennett's clothes were soaked with sweat.

"Lie," Razor huffed angrily. "Benny not okay. Herb not work."

"You did all you could, it's fine, I'll be good later," Bennett insisted.

Then he passed out, and Razor nearly slapped him to try and get him awake again. Then he realized that Bennett probably needed sleep.

Three hours passed, but Bennett only grew worse. Razor, not very equipped in the science field, decided that Bennett might be dead. His breathing was so shallow that he had no idea if it was even working, and he didn't know how pulses worked.

Razor had no idea what to do. He had continuously given the boy water and herbs, but he was still worsening. So he did what he was best at: he referred to an external source.

Pulling open one of his heaviest Mondstadt lore books (the ones Bennett brought him over the past year to add to his collection), Razor skipped the table of contents, trying to find any words that had to do with health.

He paused over one of the titles, and thought it sounded fitting to Bennett at the moment. Flipping to that page, Razor began reading. As the story progressed, he discovered that to wake someone who was dead, all he needed to do was kiss him.

Worth a shot.

Razor didn't really know what a kiss was, but knowing it worked magic, he leaned over and touched his lips to Bennett's, just like the prince did to the princess. After a second, he pulled away, studying Bennett closely.

A moment later, Bennett's eyes opened gently.

"It work?" Razor was very excited. "Benny lives!"

"I tend to have good luck when I'm passed out," Bennett responded deliriously. "But you're beyond good luck, Razor. You're like... luck's creator."

Strange. Bennett was acting kind of weird. Razor assumed correctly that it was just the sickness, but still, his words made Razor very warm and bubbly.

"Thank you," Razor accepted the complement, like he'd been taught.

Bennett fell asleep again, staring into Razor's vibrant eyes.

—

Day 4.

The next morning, Bennett was good as new. He woke up with Razor at sunrise, and they both untangled themselves (Delirious Bennett loved a good sleepy hug) from each other and stood up.

"Wow, your herbs are amazing," Bennett complimented with a smile, stretching his arms out.

"Not herb," Razor shook his head. "Story help."

"Story?" Bennett asked.

Razor scrambled to the side of his residence, grabbing the thick book from his tiny pile. Opening it to the same page, he showed Bennett where the princess had awoken because of a kiss.

"You did that?" Bennett blushed.

"And Benny woke!" Razor nodded happily. "Works good."

"Oh," Bennett rubbed the back of his head.

"Benny... not like?" Razor closed the book.

"No, no!" Bennett waved his hands around. "I was just surprised that you'd do... that for me, is all."

"Razor do many things for Benny," Razor said like a narrator.

"And Bennett will do many things for Razor," Bennett grinned, pushing the awkwardness away.

The two boys spent the rest of the day hanging out, talking, and searching around for four-leaf clovers, laughing most of the time.

Bennett was very happy that he had found his person. When he stepped and heard a crunch beneath his feet, moving to see what he stepped on, and found a stick next to a crushed four-leaf clover, he grinned. While it was trampled on, he still found it. Razor immediately came running at his call, and they laughed, splitting it in half to share. Razor took two leaves, Bennett took the rest.

Together, the two were lucky. Bennett was lucky to find Razor. He looked at the newly two-leafed clover, admiring its details. Now, even though it was artificial, it technically symbolized love. He smiled to himself, glad to know that he and Razor both had love clovers that would be luck when together.

He liked the symbolism of it, he guessed.

Tucking the clover away into his bag, he had to wave goodbye to Razor, promising to see him as soon as he could.