Tags and Trigger warnings: emetophilia, sickfic, hurt/comfort, alternate universe-Modern/College setting

Summary: Xiao catches the flu from Childe and spends much of the day convinced that the universe is against him.

Posted to Ao3: May 15th 2021

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Xiao is pretty sure the universe hates him, he must've done something horrific in a past life to have this happen to him.

"He's so mean!" Venti whined sniffling as he nursed his fifth glass of wine.

Xiao sighed, when Venti said he wanted to go out for drinks with him, he should've known what to expect especially considering he'd known the other man for so long.

"Mr. Zhongli does not get angry without reason, what did you do?" Xiao asked, crossing his arms.

"He's a bully is what he is! Just because I told Ajax about how he used to be a long-haired delinquent with piercings back in high school means I'm the bad guy?" Venti huffed as he took another drink from his glass. "I mean I also showed him pictures-"

"There it is."

Venti rolled his eyes. "Okay, how can he not expect me to show him that. The man was going around calling himself Morax for Christ's sake, anyone would find it hilarious."

Xiao nodded as he rested his chin on his hand, using his hand to hide the small smile threatening to crawl across his face. "Weren't you calling yourself Barbatos back then, too?"

"Yeah, but I was a theater kid and it was my stage name, there's a difference. Zhongli was going around actually intimidating people somehow, " Venti practically spluttered. "Now he's pretending to be mister prim and proper like he didn't help me graffiti tag a dragon on the roof of our old high school."

Xiao nodded his smile growing a bit because he knew, that for all of Venti's whining and complaining he truly did cherish Zhongli as a friend.

Xiao took a drink from his own glass of wine as Venti muttered insults under his breath.

"The nerve of him lording his height over me, I'll show him, " Venti huffed. "You should've seen Zhongli's face when Ajax asked if he still had that lip piercing."

"Please don't, that is a fight you will lose, " Xiao said, taking another sip of his wine. He still vividly remembered one of the few times he'd seen Zhongli get angry at Venti, he'd picked Venti up and practically tossed him into a pool.

Venti pouted before practically throwing his arms around Xiao. Venti grinned at the noise Xiao made, it was very similar to the sound of a startled cat. "Xiao! You're supposed to be on my side, " he whined

Xiao's eyes darted around as his face turned red and he froze. While Xiao loved Venti with everything he had, showing any form of PDA was incredibly hard for him, in contrast, Venti practically clung to his side whenever they went out.

"I-I am, please let go, " Xiao said softly as he tried to get out of Venti's grip. He could feel other people in the bar staring at them and it only made the blush on Xiao's face grow.

With a smug grin, Venti tightened his grip slightly, he always found it really adorable when Xiao got flustered like this. Giving a dramatic sigh Venti finally released him. "Fine, fine, you sound like you're telling the truth."

"I am, " he muttered, clearing his throat.

"What did Ajax say again...that you were my common sense?" Venti asked his usual smile still present on his face.

A scowl crawled across Xiao's face at the mention of Childe. He and the man had never gotten along, he hadn't done anything horrific to earn Xiao's frustration, the man just rubbed him the wrong way and the opposite was true as well. "Even the most idiotic of people can have their moments I guess," Xiao grumbled downing the rest of his wine.

He heard Venti giggle beside him but ignored it as he checked the time on his phone. "It's late, we should get home."

Venti gave a dramatic sigh. "Please, just one more drink, " he pleaded.

Xiao smiled slightly. "No, if you want to keep drinking we have wine at home." As Xiao spoke he paid the bartender for their drinks.

"Why not? It's just one, " Venti huffed pouting as he downed what was left in his glass.

"Because, if I let you have one more drink here then that one turns into three and I'll have to literally carry you home." Xiao reminded him.

"Fine, " Venti sighed loudly as he climbed off the chair. Waving goodbye to the bartender, Venti followed Xiao outside.

The air outside was crisp and cold, causing any haze the alcohol had over Venti to clear in an instant.

"Ah, it's chilly tonight, " Venti muttered as he rubbed his hands together.

Xiao smiled slightly. "I told you to wear gloves, come here." Now that they were alone Xiao grabbed Venti's hand, lacing their fingers together.

Venti's eyes widened slightly at Xiao's sudden confidence then he gave him a warm smile. "Well look at you."

Xiao said nothing, the smile still on his face.

"Do you have work tomorrow?" Venti asked as they walked.

Their house wasn't too far away from the bar, in fact, it was the bar they frequently went to because it was so close.

"Yes, if that idiot is still out sick then I have to fill in for him," Xiao sighed. "But I already had a shift to do tomorrow anyway."

Venti gave a soft hum. "Right Ajax is still sick, isn't he? I'm off tomorrow so I was hoping we could spend the day together."

Xiao glanced at him. "Maybe tomorrow night, or the day after that. I'm off then."

Venti's aqua green eyes seemed to light up at Xiao's words. "Really? Let's go somewhere fun then."

"I'll let you choose," Xiao said as he briefly released Venti's hand to unlock their front door.

"Aw, you always let me choose, " Venti whined.

Xiao just smiled as he went inside the house, with Venti following not too far behind.

As he was hanging up his jacket Venti wrapped his arms around his neck in a hug.

"Hello there, " Xiao chuckled, his hands on Venti's waist.

Giving him a kiss, Venti gave a soft hum. "We should have one or two bottles of wine in the cabinet, " Venti said, giving him a grin. "Let's finish what we started at the bar."

Xiao is silent for a moment, as Venti nuzzled his neck. Then Xiao picked him up causing Venti to let out a high-pitched giggle as Xiao slung him over his shoulder.

~~~

Xiao wakes up early in the morning with a horrible headache and the soft sound of a piano being played. With a low groan, he carefully sat up in bed before reaching over and grabbing his phone on the nightstand. As he checked the time a soft hiss escaped his mouth as the light from his phone seemed to stab him in the eye.

For a moment he just sits on the edge of the bed blinking slowly, his head is killing him, his stomach is churning and his throat felt as dry as a desert which is honestly no surprise considering he drank just as much as Venti did. If it wasn't for the small signs such as getting more talkative when drunk, Xiao would be convinced that the man was nearly immune to alcohol.

"Oh, you're finally awake," Venti said with a grin as Xiao came into the living room. He was sitting in front of his piano, still in one of his oversized sleeping shirts. "It's rare to see you hungover," he chuckled as he watched Xiao go into the kitchen.

"That's what I get for trying to keep up with you," Xiao mumbled. He yawned as he dug through the cabinets for a moment, after he found what he was looking for, he fixed himself some coffee. As the coffee was being made Xiao grabbed a glass of water practically sighing with relief, his throat was still aching a bit but at least now he could talk without feeling like he'd swallowed glass.

Venti gave a soft giggled as he came into the kitchen. "Yeah, but you can usually do it nine times out of ten. Guess this was that unlucky one time. I put your breakfast in the microwave by the way."

"Thank you," Xiao muttered with a small smile. Between the two of the Venti was usually the one who did the cooking, despite Xiao telling him that he knew how Venti practically insisted on doing it when they had moved in together. Saying something to the effect of 'Xiao couldn't just subsist on almond tofu for every meal'.

"Did you eat already?" He asked as he grabbed his plate of food and cup of coffee.

Venti nodded, giving a soft hum as he followed Xiao to the living room. "Yeah, I ate breakfast a little while before you woke up. Also, Ganyu called earlier, but I figured you needed the sleep."

Xiao stopped in the middle of eating as he looked over at Venti. Despite being a light breakfast it was making his stomach ache just a bit not to mention the slight queasiness still nagging at him. "What is that idiot still sick?" He sighed.

Childe had been out sick these past few days, with Zhongli going to work then rushing home to take care of him while Xiao assisted him in the classroom.

"No, in fact, she said he's coming back today so you don't need to cover his shift today. Which means you might be able to come home early so that we can spend time together," Venti told him cheerfully.

Xiao sighed again, any thought of having to deal with Childe today seemed to make his headache worse. "Great, now I have to deal with him," Xiao muttered with a scowl.

Venti grinned. "Oh come, Ajax isn't that bad. He reminds me a lot of Zhongli when he was in high school you know, except a bit more likely to get into a random bar fight."

Xiao rolled his eyes as he took another drink of his coffee. "Considering how much you complain about how he used to be, I'm surprised you say that as if that's a good thing," he grumbled.

"Are you still mad about that time he picked you up like a feral animal?" Venti asked, trying his hardest not to laugh. While Xiao had basically demanded Venti forget about it, it was one of Venti's favorite memories.

"It was demeaning and embarrassing," Xiao huffed as he checked the time on his phone. Despite the fact that his head was still aching, and he still felt nauseous he had to leave for work soon.

Now laughing Venti followed Xiao as he grabbed what he needed for work. "I mean Zhongli used to tease me about my height by putting things on the highest shelf possible back when we lived together in college. Do you know how I made him stop? By climbing on the kitchen counter one of the times he did it, that made him stop really quick."

Xiao said nothing, he just smiled and nodded along. He was already a man of few words, and with his head throbbing like this it made it feel as though his brain was being turned to mush.

Venti stopped him at the front door, reaching up a bit to give Xiao a brief kiss. "Do you want me to drive you? It's not like I'm doing anything anyway."

Xiao shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment as he held back a grimace. "No, I can walk. It's not that far. Besides I'm still hungover and you drive like a maniac."

Out of the two of them, the university Xiao worked at was closer to their house. While the one Venti worked at was nearly halfway across town.

Rolling his eyes Venti smiled. "Whatever you say. I love you, have a good day at work," he called out waving to Xiao as he walked outside.

Xiao returned the wave with a grin before he began walking away. Venti watched him until he disappeared around the corner, and once he was gone he sighed closing the front door.

"Now to just keep myself busy until he gets back," he muttered returning to the living room.

~~~

While Xiao had known well in advance that Childe had returned to work, he did not expect him to be one of the first things he saw when he entered the University's main building. He stood in the lobby talking to Ganyu, while the woman snacked on the bag of chips in her hand.

Xiao didn't feel too good at the moment so his tolerance for any of Childe's usual bullshit was extremely low right now. Taking a deep breath he began walking, doing his best to not draw Childe's eye, the man was talking to Ganyu so it should've been rather easy.

But today was just not Xiao's day.

"Here," Childe said, practically thrusting a bag of something into Xiao's arms.

Glancing down with a scowl he saw that it was a bag of candy, chocolate to be specific. Sighing he looked back at Childe. "I don't eat-"

"It's dark chocolate. My parents sent me a bunch of snacks when they found out I was sick. But I don't really like the taste of dark chocolate so I figured you could have it," Childe explained, holding up the plastic grocery bag for Xiao to see.

Xiao wasn't really a fan of sweet things, typically preferring more bitter or salty food. He was silent for a moment as he stared at the chocolate, then looked back up at Childe. "This is poisoned or something isn't it?"

Ganyu smiled slightly as Childe practically whirled around to face her. "See! I told you, even when I try to do something nice I'm the bad guy somehow!"

Xiao rolled his eyes at Childe's dramatics, ignoring the man as he opened the bag of candy. Grabbing a piece he tossed it in his mouth, giving a small hum as the sweet yet slight bitter taste spread through his mouth. While Childe was whining to Ganyu, Xiao used this opportunity to walk away, his head was still hurting, it felt like someone was stabbing him in the eye, his stomach was still churning and he had a near mountain of paperwork to go over.

Once in the teacher's lounge he sighed removing his coat and draping it over the back of his chair before sitting down. He tossed the bag of candy on his desk as he sighed running a hand over his face.

Despite it being incredibly cold outside, Xiao was starting to regret wearing a long-sleeved shirt to work because it felt absolutely sweltering in the building.

He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring what was probably the only precious moments of quiet he'd have today before he opened his eyes, forced himself to ignore his headache, and got to work.

At some point, while he was going through the paperwork he glanced up to see Ganyu sitting at her desk giving him a small smile. While normally he would've heard her come into the room, whenever he was working on something it was as though the rest of the world faded into the background.

"What is it?" He muttered, not sparing her a second glance.

"Maybe you should try giving Ajax another chance. He's a little rough around the edges but he means well. In fact, he reminds me a lot of you sometimes," Ganyu said slowly, as though she were choosing her words carefully.

Xiao stopped for a moment as he glanced at her. "He's an idiot and a nuisance is what he is. Completely and utterly annoying. He has no respect for his elders," he huffed.

This was a talk he and Ganyu had, had quite a few times ever since Childe and Xiao had started the small feud they'd continued until now. He knew that she'd had the same talk with Childe as well, something more than likely to the effect of 'Xiao can come off as a bit cold until you get to know him well.' As Ganyu fidgeted nervously Xiao reached out, taking another piece of chocolate out of the bag on his desk.

When he swallowed it, however, he had to force back a wince as a sharp pain jolted through his stomach causing it to make a soft gurgling noise.

"I'm just saying I would be incredibly thankful if you two somehow managed to get along," she told him. Usually, whenever Xiao and Childe were in a room together someone be it her, Venti or Zhongli had to act almost as a mediator, both men were way too stubborn to back down whenever they got started. It was like a war of attrition between the two of them on who would give in first.

"Noted," he mumbled, turning his attention back to the paperwork in front of him. Now that his concentration had been broken he noticed a few things that seemed to hit him all at once. One despite it being quite a while since he'd woken up this morning his headache was still in full force, two his stomach was still aching practically sloshing inside of him, and three he was very, very nauseous.

Wondering why he still felt hungover Xiao rubbed a hand over his face, massaging his eyes for a moment. As his stomach made another soft gurgling noise he set the paper he'd been holding off to the side before standing up.

"Xiao?" Ganyu said, watching him.

"I'm going to go get something to drink," he muttered, not even waiting for her to say anything else before he left.

The moment he made his way out of the building and outside he gave a soft sigh of relief as the cool breeze flowed over him, cutting through the slight fog that had settled in his mind. It also felt amazing on his skin compared to the uncomfortable heat he'd been feeling inside.

He stopped walking for a moment running a hand through his hair as he closed his eyes taking a deep breath. His hand went to his stomach as it gurgled again sending another jolt of pain streaking across it.

As his nausea grew and saliva rapidly began to fill his mouth Xiao had just enough time to realize that he was not in fact still hungover, before he suddenly lurched forward, a loud guttural retch leaving his mouth along with a thick wave of vomit.

Panting he slowly blinked at the pool of vomit at his feet before squeezing his eyes shut and swallowing hard. He reached up with one shaky hand tucking his hair behind his ear as he lurched forward again with a loud gurgling belch adding to the growing pile of vomit at his feet.

His stomach is in the middle of trying to turn itself inside out when he hears footsteps approaching him and the sound of very familiar chuckling over the sounds of himself retching.

He doesn't even glance up as Childe stops next to him, practically sensing the smug grin he had on his face. "Oh wow, look at you. The flu sucks doesn't it?"

Xia musters up just enough strength to briefly glare at him before he's retching again.

Childe gives a soft hum. "You know...if I was a bad person I'd say that you sort of deserve this. And you one hundred percent do. But , if I was an even worse person I'd leave you here to suffer, which I won't."

He feels Childe's hand grip his shoulder and he flinches back finally looking up at the man, now that his stomach isn't actively trying to kill him. "You contaminated me, you bastard!" He snapped, a grimace spreading across his face as his throat ached.

Childe gives a small snort as he watches Xiao cough. When Xiao lurches forward gagging again he feels Childe reach out, tucking his hair back out of the line of fire.

"Yep, you have a fever too, " Childe muttered.

As his vomiting tapers off into dry heaves he hears Childe sigh, "Looks like you're done for now. Come on, I'll get you back to the teacher's lounge to rest until Venti gets here."

"Don't touch me, " Xiao hissed, practically slapping Childe's hand away.

For a moment Childe just looked at him then he was reaching out hooking his hands underneath Xiao's arms. When he picked him up though Xiao made a strange noise in protest

Pausing briefly Childe looked down at Xiao, looking like he was desperately struggling not to laugh. "D-did you just fucking growl at me?"

Xiao said nothing, focusing his glare forward at nothing in particular. He currently felt like he was dying and just did not have the strength to deal with Childe right now.

As Childe practically carried him back into the building, Xiao struggled slightly using what little strength he had at the moment to try and escape Childe's grip. He really, really, really did not want to risk someone seeing him like this.

With a loud, almost dramatic sigh Childe adjusted Xiao slightly in his arms. "Would you stop? I swear you're worse than my siblings when they get sick."

Xiao remains quiet, currently exhausted and too busy planning Childe's eventual murder to really pay attention.

When Childe finally drags Xiao to and inside the teacher's lounge Xiao's face is practically burning with shame and embarrassment.

Ganyu, who is in the middle of eating a salad, looks up when they enter only to freeze. "Oh no, are you two fighting again? Ajax why are you carrying him like that? Please stop bullying him."

With a smile Childe released Xiao, steadying him when he swayed a bit. "Because he was acting like a feral cat so I treated him like one. Also, he's sick."

Glaring at him, Xiao let out a soft huff. "He contaminated me."

Xiao scowled blinking black spots from his vision, he felt Childe grab his arm guiding him somewhere before making him sit down. "Just stay there a minute okay?"

Turning to Ganyu, Childe sighed "What's Venti's number again?"

He can feel Xiao glaring at him again from his place on the sofa. And when Ganyu tells him Venti's phone number he hears Xiao mutter the word 'traitor' under his breath.

Glancing over at him a grin on his face, Childe notices that Xiao's face is as pale as a sheet. A second later Xiao's eyes close, a soft sigh leaving his mouth as he passes out.

~~~

Venti is in the middle of eating some popcorn and watching tv when his phone rings. Frowning, he picks it up, a little surprised to see Childe's name on the screen. He briefly wonders if he and Xiao have finally got into a fistfight before he answers.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, um, Xiao is sick with the same thing I had. And he needs to go home," Childe informed him.

For a moment or two Vanti just slowly blinks, processing what Childe said then he sighed. "Alright, I'll come get him. Luckily I had today off so I'll be right there."

Hanging up the phone Venti gets up, setting the bowl of popcorn off to the side. If Childe was the one calling him to pick up Xiao it couldn't be good, in fact, it probably meant that Xiao was more than likely unconscious. And Venti couldn't help but worry, Xiao did not get sick often and when he did get sick on the rare occasion he tended to get a bit depressed because couldn't do the work he enjoyed.

Biting his lip and trying to clamp down on the anxiety growing in him Venti got dressed before practically rushing out to the car.

When he gets to the university he finds Xiao and Childe in the teacher's lounge. Xiao is passed out on one of the sofas like he expected while Childe sat nearby on the other sofa phone in hand.

He looked up when Venti entered but Venti ignored him for a moment as he practically rushed over to Xiao's side. When he reaches out to touch him a small hiss escapes his mouth, Xiao definitely has a fever and a high one at that.

Turning to Childe he sighed. "Thank you for calling me, I hope it didn't cause you any trouble." As he spoke he gently ran his fingers through Xiao's hair.

Childe shrugged a slight smile on his face. "It's no problem, I mean he did growl at me like some kind of animal but other than that he was manageable."

"Yeah, he does that sometimes when he gets angry. I better get him home," Venti chuckled, reaching down to pick Xiao up.

"Do you want me to help you carry him out to the car?" Childe asked moving to stand but Venti shakes his head, one of Xiao's arms slung around his neck.

Thankfully he and Xiao were about the same height so it definitely made things easier. Giving Childe a grin, Venti shook his head. "No, I got him, I'm stronger than I look." He didn't mention the fact that Xiao tended to be a lot more sensitive to touch when sick though, but only venti and Zhongli knew this.

Childe just shrugged as he watched Venti carry Xiao out of the room.

Once he was at the car, Venti sighed as he placed Xiao down in the passenger seat and buckled him in. He gave Xiao one more glance before he started the car and started driving them home.

While their house is not that far away from the university there is a lot of afternoon traffic at the moment. Venti is glaring at the cars in front of him when he hears Xiao whimper, and he instantly looks over at him.

Xiao's eyes are halfway open and he's slowly blinking, his face pinched in pain. Reaching out Venti carefully lays a hand on his shoulder making sure not to put too much pressure there. "Hey, you woke up," he said as cheerfully as possible.

Xiao says nothing but he does flinch slightly. Venti returns his attention to the road as the car in front of him moves up a bit. Although a moment later his attention snaps back to Xiao as he hears a sickly, growling noise come from his stomach, and Xiao suddenly retches.

"Oh...okay, okay," Venti said, more than a little surprised. He reaches out, carefully laying a hand on Xiao's back as he brings up a wave of bile and stringy saliva. "Just get it up, okay?"

Xiao squeezed his eyes shut bringing his hands up below his mouth as though he's trying to reduce the mess. There are tears in his eyes as he briefly glanced at Venti. "I'm...sorry," he choked out as he retched again, its an almost strangled sound that claws its way up his throat has Venti wincing.

Glancing back at the road briefly and silently cursing whoever mapped out this road he continues rubbing Xiao's back. "Hey, it's alright not like you can help anyway."

Xiao shakes his head slightly whimpering. "No...I mean we won't be able to go out together like you want to." The way he says it sounds almost like he's ashamed

For a moment Venti is silent, a scowl on his face, then he smiles slightly. "Awww, it's okay. I'm not upset, worried about you yeah, but not upset with you. Whatever time I spend with you makes me happy enough as it." When Xiao nodded at his words Venti chuckled. "When we get home, I'll put you in bed and we can watch a movie or something okay?"

Xiao just nods again sniffling, his eyes on the floor. But Venti just gives him a reassuring smile. "Good, just try to rest for now. We'll be home soon."