Tags and trigger warnings: emetophilia, vomiting, Food poisoning, Caretaking, mild hurt/comfort, slight mentions of scat only implied not descriptive though, wet & messy

Summary: In which Diluc comes down with food poisoning and spends the night feeling tired and miserable.

Posted to Ao3: July 11th 2021

____________________________________________________________________________

It started with a slight stomach ache and a strange heaviness in the pit of his gut. At first, Diluc believed he'd just eaten too much, despite the slight queasiness that started nagging at him soon after.

The stomach ache hadn't been too bad either, nothing more than a slight annoyance that had irked him. He desperately wished that was all it had been.

At the moment he was laying in his and Kaeya's bed at the winery, Kaeya had fallen asleep hours ago and yet Diluc couldn't.

It wasn't for lack of trying either, each time it seemed as if he was finally drifting often to sleep a sharp pain would stab at his stomach dragging him back to wakefulness.

This, combined with the exhaustion, left him in an almost dreamlike haze.

Just below that was something else, the other reason he couldn't sleep the almost dizzying waves of nausea crashing over him that left Diluc feeling light-headed, weak and shaky.

His hand goes to his stomach and he winces as it churns beneath his fingers, a loud gurgling echoing out as his dinner practically writhe the mass of food sitting in his stomach like a rock simply refusing to digest.

He groans softly as he glances over at Kaeya, his face flushed slightly as he desperately hoped that Kaeya hadn't been woken up by that.

He gives a shaky sigh of relief when he sees Kaeya still asleep beside him.

Diluc closes his eyes, swallowing rapidly as he tries to get rid of the saliva that's suddenly filling his mouth. A particularly nasty cramp has him giving a soft hiss, his hand clenching at his stomach.

The skin there was tight and bloated beneath his trembling fingers, and Diluc gives a soft groan when another sickly sounding growl from his stomach has slimy, bitter-tasting bile burning at the back of his throat.

His eyes widened slightly as he swallowed hard, the disgusting aftertaste left at the back of his throat only served to increase his nausea.

Diluc closes his eyes, small hushed pants leaving his mouth as he puts all his focus into attempting to breathe around the nausea making his stomach churn like a whirlpool. He could practically feel the mass of food sloshing against the walls of his stomach and his breathing turned shaky as he swallowed thickly.

He manages to swallow back the bile threatening to creep up his throat, his face tensing in pain as another cramp stabs at his stomach making him groan.

He's so dizzy and nauseous that all he can do is rub at his bloated gurgling stomach and hope that it will pass.

Maybe dinner just wasn't sitting well?

Diluc didn't think he was sick, his stomach was killing him, yes but he didn't actually have a fever. He was just sweating and shaky from the effort of fighting against the nausea threatening to take over.

Along with the nausea, exhaustion, and pain, something else lingered. Fear.

Diluc had never done well when it came to vomiting, he could deal with the pain that it typically brought just fine. But, the loss of control and feeling of utter helplessness was something he actively despised.

He would do just about anything to avoid feeling like that ever again in his life.

Diluc swallows again, clearing some of the excess saliva from his mouth, but it just feels as though it only adds to the sensation of fullness in his stomach.

Diluc whimpers, his eyes opening slightly as he stops rubbing his stomach for a moment when his fingers brush across a particularly sensitive spot.

His stomach hitches slightly beneath his fingers, a small amount of bile splashes into his mouth, bitter and sour, and Diluc swallows almost frantically.

He shudders slightly, panting softly when he manages to swallow back the small wave of bile, a slight amount of relief flowing through him despite the bitter slimy taste coating his mouth.

Diluc closes his eyes, his hand carefully rubbing at his stomach once more.

With disaster averted his fear fades slightly a bit despite the fact that he can still feel his stomach violently churning beneath his hand. Although the ever-present nausea still keeps the fear alive.

He swallows again trying to clear the saliva from his mouth, at this point Diluc wouldn't be surprised if he was drooling slightly and he is.

He's on the very edge of drifting off to sleep. His eyes closed, despite the hushed panting breaths he takes.

Diluc hears a strange noise, a low sickly sounding gurgling noise, and he really hopes that noise hadn't come from his stomach because that hadn't sounded very good.

Diluc scowls, opening his eyes slightly as he hears the noise again, he feels strange. There's more salvia flooding his mouth, although it brings an odd almost metallic taste with it.

A slight chill runs across Diluc's skin, leaving a small prickling sensation in its wake.

Then he feels it, a slight stinging burn from the bile bubbling up his throat.

A wave of fear and panic washes over Diluc in an instant, he turns slightly intending to wake Kaeya up, to tell him that something was wrong.

"Kae-" Diluc is cut off by a sudden gurgling retch, that brings with it a thick, lumpy wave of orange and brown vomit.

Gasping he rolls over on his right side, away from Kaeya, his hands coming up to cover his mouth as if he's desperately trying to reduce the mess. He retches again, his aching stomach practically convulsing, as it forces up another thick wave.

It coats his hands, spraying through his fingers as it splatters heavily on the bedsheets and blankets. Diluc has just enough time to note that the thick almost oatmeal like sludge feels hot and slimy on his hands before he hiccups then burps, the sound loud and wet as his stomach heaves again

Diluc presses his lips together, trying his damnedest to hold everything back. The bitter-tasting bile and the sour salty remnants of his dinner flooded his mouth, his cheeks bulging out from the effort of trying to contain everything.

He tries to swallow, a futile attempt to force his stomach's contents back inside of it. His mind is screaming at him, as he practically hyperventilates.

No, just no, Diluc needed to make this stop now . There was no other option.

He attempts to swallow again, but his stomach heaves, a loud ominous growl splitting the air as it forces even more of its contents up.

Diluc gives a small, weak, desperate moan and a second later he feels Kaeya shift in bed beside him.

"Diluc?" Kaeya said, his voice still heavy with sleep.

And Diluc's face flushes red with shame and embarrassment. This was the other situation he wanted to avoid.

He can't really say anything, especially not when his bloated stomach heaves again, forcing his mouth open and adding to the thick lumpy slurry already soaking into the blankets.

"Huh...wait," Kaeya muttered.

Diluc hears a soft click as Kaeya turns on the bedroom light on the nightstand. But he's too busy retching up another thick wave of vomit to say anything.

And Archons it is getting everywhere, the sheets, the blankets, and on Diluc's skin. It's hot, almost searing, slimy, and sticky.

"Oh Diluc, okay, okay, " Kaeya whispered once he saw the state Diluc was in.

He quickly left the bed coming around to where Diluc was, his eye roving over the mess before settling on Diluc who was gasping and coughing tears in his eyes.

Kaeya didn't know if it was from the exertion or the fear and panic he was experiencing.

Kaeya reached out, brushing aside Diluc's bangs and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Hey, what happened? Are you alright?" He asked gently.

Considering that Diluc looked like he was one or two steps away from a panic attack, Kaeya knew that he clearly wasn't alright but he also needed to know what was wrong before he could actually help.

Diluc shakily lowered his hands from his mouth as he took a deep shaky breath. "Kaeya, " he groaned. "I don't feel good."

He closes his eyes, taking another deep breath, when a cramp stabs at his still churning stomach bringing a wave of nausea with it.

"I can see that, but is your stomach hurting? Are you sick?" Kaeya asked, to which Diluc only nodded slightly a low groan leaving his mouth.

"Right, you need rest. But before that a bath, and I need to clean up, " Kaeya muttered.

He reaches out and carefully grabs Diluc's arm, helping him sit up. Despite Kaeya being careful, the motion still causes Diluc's stomach to flip and he frantically swallows back the bile trying to creep up his throat.

Diluc cringed when he noticed that some of the mess had gotten in his hair, which isn't surprising because he unties his hair when he goes to bed but that doesn't make it any less disgusting.

Shame and embarrassment feels etched into his skin, so much so that as Kaeya carefully helps him to his feet and out of bed he can't look him in the eye. Especially not when he sees the extent of his vomiting episode, not only is it all over his side of the bed it's also splattered on the floor slightly as it drips from the edge of the bed.

Diluc groans, a wave of fear mingling with the nausea as his body lurches forward with a barely suppressed retch. And Kaeya gives a low hiss, as he brushes his hair back trying to keep it from getting any more vomit in it.

As he chokes up a wave of bile and saliva onto the floor Diluc's mind is still panicking but Kaeya's touch helps a lot, grounding him almost and letting him know that he wasn't alone.

"Do you think you're done?" Kaeya asked once Diluc had stopped dry heaving.

Diluc says nothing, merely nodding. Afraid that opening his mouth would set off his still sensitive gag reflex.

Kaeya is careful as he helps Diluc to the bathroom, he sets Diluc down for a moment on the hardwood floor as he turns the water on for the tub.

The next thing Diluc knew Kaeya was carefully tugging dirty night clothes off of him, then Diluc felt almost weightless as Kaeya picked him up, cradling him in his arms.

The motion made Diluc dizzy, the ceiling swaying before his eyes and he groaned, burying his face into Kaeya's chest as a soft queasy sounding hiccup left his mouth, his nausea making itself known.

"There, there Diluc, it'll be okay," Kaeya reassured him as he carefully lowered him into the water. "I put the trash can right there in case you feel sick again."

The warm water feels amazing on his clammy skin, and Diluc cannot help but give a soft sigh, his hand carefully rubbing at his still aching stomach.

"I'll be back in a moment, Diluc okay? I just need to clean up," Kaeya told him softly.

Diluc just slowly nodded exhaustion weighing on him heavily, he can't help but let out a soft whimper when another cramp twists at his stomach.

When Kaeya leaves the bathroom Diluc just sits there for a moment, his head resting on the edge as he tries to get his bearings.

As a wave of nausea rolls over him, he groans, grabbing the small wooden trash can as a wet gag has a trickle of murky pale bile falling from his lips.

Diluc has come to terms with the fact that he just needs to throw up and get everything out of his system, which doesn't stop the fear from nagging at him however. It comes back full force, especially now that Kaeya isn't in the room with him.

His stomach gives a gurgling noise, although this time it's a bit lower than where it had previously been and Diluc's eyes widened in horror.

Almost frantically he uses what little energy he does have to clumsily climb out of the tub and stagger to the nearby toilet.

Food poisoning, Diluc most likely had food poisoning or the stomach flu either one would explain his absolutely humiliating condition at the moment.

Diluc sighs as he cleans himself up and climbs back into the tub, still rubbing his stomach. It's still churning beneath his hand despite its attempts to practically turn itself inside out.

When Kaeya returns to the bathroom he finds Diluc slightly slumped over the edge of the tub, retching emptily into the trash can.

"Oh sweetheart, it's alright, I'm right here, " Kaeya whispered as he set the change of clothes he'd brought for Diluc aside.

He kneels beside the tub and reaches out, wiping away the tears rolling down Diluc's face.

"I-I think...I have food poisoning...my stomach is killing me, " Diluc whimpered.

If Diluc had been feeling well Kaeya might've chuckled and given Diluc an 'I told you so.' Instead, he merely gives him a sympathetic smile and a kiss on the forehead.

Then he begins helping Diluc wash his hair, handling the long, fluffy red strands with a delicate hand. Diluc is completely silent the entire time, exhaustion crashing down on him, that combined with Kaeya's gentle touch and the warm water has him bordering on the edge of sleep.

He must've dozed off for a moment or two, because when he opens his eyes he was dressed in clean clothes and Kaeya was in the process of drying his hair.

Diluc closes his eyes leaning into Kaeya's familiar touch. It relaxes him a bit, soothing his frayed nerves. He winces when a dull ache streaks across his stomach, bringing a slight queasiness with it.

Besides, even if Diluc did start retching again he's pretty sure that despite his symptoms remaining his stomach has pretty much wrung itself out.

He says nothing as Kaeya finishes drying his hair and picks him up once more. Instead, he chooses to practically nuzzle his face into Kaeya's neck, his eyes closing.

Kaeya carries him back to their now clean bedroom, a small smile crawling across his face as Diluc buries his face in his neck.

As he's carefully tucking Diluc into bed Diluc's eyes open slightly. "Sorry for making you clean everything, " he said softly as he glanced away, Kaeya could see the shame and embarrassment in his eyes as his cheeks flush pink.

Kaeya shakes his head, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside Diluc he allows his fingers to gently run through Diluc hair. "It's not your fault, you're sick, " Kaeya told him. Leaning down, he gives Diluc a kiss on the forehead.

"Try to get some rest Diluc, I'll be right here, " he reassured him.

Diluc just nodded slightly, his eyes already closed as he finally begins drifting off to sleep.