Tags and trigger warnings: emetophilia, sickfic, hurt/comfort, vomiting

Summary: While completing an experiment in Dragonspine Albedo falls sick, leaving it up to Aether to care for him.

Posted to Ao3: May 23th 2021

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Surprisingly Albedo is no stranger to illness, despite his unique biological circumstances. Whether it be from one of his experiments or because Klee, like most children her age, tended to put their hands on everything without regard for cleanliness.

So when Albedo wakes up in his temporary camp in Dragonspine more tired than he was when he went to bed, with his joints aching as well as his stomach he just lays there for a few moments staring up at the stone roof.

Rolling over onto his side he carefully sits up sigh leaving his lips as the world sways for a moment. There is a haze in his mind making it incredibly hard to form a coherent thought, he slowly got to his feet glaring down at the ground when the motion made him stumble slightly and his stomach flip.

Despite moving as slowly as possible his body still felt heavy, and an almost creaking ache spread through his knees as he walked across his lab, his blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.

He stopped in front of one of the multitiered wooden shelves, reaching up while standing on his tiptoes until he was able to grasp the small tin box he was looking for. It was a box of mint tea to help calm the churning and aching in his stomach as well as soothe his fried nerves so that he could focus.

Thankfully there was enough for one cup of tea, if Albedo wanted more he'd have to leave the camp to pick some. Normally this would've been a simple task considering mint grew just about everywhere in Dragonspine, but at the moment, to Albedo this task seemed as gargantuan as trying to scale the very mountain itself.

As he sipped on the tea he could feel the haze in his mind disperse slightly, although it wasn't still up to its usual speed. His stomach still ached but at least he couldn't feel it churning inside him anymore. But for now, it was good enough, at least he could get dressed without worrying about either passing out or throwing up, which was a win in his book.

Some part of Albedo, the more clinical and logical part of him, knew that he should probably take some medicine and just go back to sleep. But the more emotional and stubborn side of him, felt like he needed to finish this experiment. That one day of lost progress meant that he was falling behind, and falling behind meant failure which was something he couldn't allow to happen.

And so even with his head pounding and the world seemingly swaying beneath his feet, he swallowed back the bile burning in the back of his throat, quickly took some medicine, and got to work.

~~~

Albedo stopped for a moment steadying himself on his workbench as he stumbled and for a moment the world began a smear of colors around him that haze in his mind coming back in full force. He swallowed hard, feeling his stomach slosh as it tried to climb up his throat.

With a sigh, Albedo turned off the flame beneath the test tubes and closed the notebook in front of him. Walking over he picked up his sword from beside his bed, he doubted that he would need it but going anywhere in Dragonspine without it was just foolish.

He was going out to get more mint so that he could make more mint tea, and once he was focused enough he'd be able to complete his experiment then take a much-needed rest.

Albedo winced as he stepped outside, it was late morning nearly afternoon, and with clear skies, the sun was out in full force. Its usual light felt way too bright almost piercing to his eyes.

The sheer cold of Dragonspine's climate hit him almost immediately, it was an awful piercing chill that seemed to start from within his body and work its way out. Clutching his chest for a moment Albedo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to breathe around the pain in his chest that seemed to be weighing down his lungs.

Taking a deep shuddering breath Albedo began walking, the sheer cold was reeking absolute hell on his already weakened body. He needed to gather the mint and return to camp quickly.

Albedo managed to find some rather quickly, thankfully because he felt absolutely awful. His entire body felt heavy and hot, stopping for a moment he leaned against one of the trees. Reaching up, he attempted to remove his jacket but stopped because somewhere within his mind, even with the haze clouding it he knew that it was a bad idea.

Pushing off from the tree he stumbled forward, stopping again when the world began to swirl into a smear of colors, bringing with it a wave of nausea and dizziness. He fell to his hands and knees retching, the mint tea he'd drank and medicine he'd taken earlier coming up as black spots filled his vision.

For a moment he just sat there hollow burps and hiccups leaving his mouth in between the dry heaving and gagging, his stomach still trying to turn itself inside out.

Albedo could feel his arms trembling beneath him from the strength of holding himself up, as the black spots in his vision grew. He felt himself fall into the snow-covered ground. He had just enough time to think that the cold snow pressing against his feverish skin felt amazing before his consciousness faded.

~~~

One thing Aether couldn't get used to whenever he came to Dragonspine to visit Albedo was the sheer cold. Its violent chill seemed to cloak him invading every part of his body, and that said something considering he'd traveled to places much colder than Dragonspine during his travels with Lumine.

Although considering all the history behind Dragonspine, he wouldn't be surprised if the cold was some malevolent force created by the corrupted dragon heart in the center of the mountain. Rather than a naturally cold climate.

He'd used a teleporter waypoint to transport himself to the teleporter waypoint located close to Albedo's camp. Aether was forever grateful that these things existed, he had no clue how they worked but whenever he touched one it would transport him almost exactly where he wanted to go, or at least somewhere around the area.

Adjusting his scarf he made his way across the broken broken bridge, practically leaping across it as he always did. He makes his way down the snow and frost-covered pathway, having become familiar with the route long ago.

He stopped by to visit Albedo up here frequently, occasionally they'd spend the night together. There were rare times where both of them would have free time and meet up in Mondstadt for a date or to just spend time together.

Aether stopped walking as he came upon a familiar overlook that sat on the right side of the pathway. Previously a Ruin Grader had sat there, although it had been defeated for a while now, being one of the first Ruin Graders Aether had defeated during his initial trip to Dragonspine.

This time however what caught his attention was something glinting in the sunlight. Scowling he slowly walked over, as he got closer though he noticed a figure lying face down, partially covered by the snow.

It wasn't rare for experienced adventures to come up here. Occasionally inexperienced ones would try exploring Dragonspine despite the adventurers guild forbidding it. Those cases typically didn't end well.

Aether's worry and panic turned into pure blood-chilling fear as he got closer to the figure.

"Albedo?" he whispered, dropping down beside the other boy.

He reached out but froze for a moment as though he was afraid to touch him. With a trembling hand, he placed two fingers to Albedo's neck, an almost euphoric wave of relief washing over him when he felt the slow but steady thump of a pulse beneath his fingertips.

Aether bit his lip, carefully brushing some of the snow off of Albedo before picking him up and placing him in his lap. Albedo's skin was warm and incredibly pale, his face pinched in pain a light red flush on his cheeks as his breath came out in weak shuddering pants.

"Albedo? Hey, wake up, " Aether said, a panicked edge in his voice as he tapped Albedo's cheek. However, he remained limp practically dead to the world around him.

Was he sick? Did he get injured somehow? Aether didn't see any blood, although when he glanced around he did notice that Albedo had been laying beside a half-frozen puddle of something that looked like vomit.

Albedo didn't respond when Aether shook him either. A heavy feeling of dread weighed down his shoulders, no matter how long it had been since he'd arrived in Teyvat the memory of losing Lumine was still fresh in his mind.

Biting his lip Aether glanced back over his shoulder, Albedo's camp in Dragonspine wasn't that far from here. First thing first he needed to get Albedo warmed up and hopefully conscious. If Albedo's body was still this warm despite the fact that he'd been exposed to the sheer cold this long, then he more than likely had a fever.

Aether stood up, shifting Albedo so that he had one arm slung around Aether's neck, while he had an arm around Albedo's waist holding him to his side. Thankfully he and Albedo were about the same height so it definitely made things easier.

Once he reached the entrance of Albedo's lab, the other boy began to move slightly shifting against Aether's side as he groaned.

Aether gave a sigh of relief, some of the dread that had been clinging to him like a second skin vanishing. "Thank the Archons," he whispered. This was good, hopefully, Albedo was lucid enough to tell him what had happened.

Aether sat him down in the chair close to one of the lanterns on his workbench. Albedo groaned again, slumping forward slightly as his eyes slowly opened halfway.

"Albedo?" Aether said as he leaned forward a bit to look into Albedo's face. From this angle, Aether could see that he was still pale, and the feverish blush still on his cheeks."Hey, I'm right here. It's Aether, can you hear me?"

Albedo's glassy eyes slowly met his before he gave Aether a small stilted nod.

Aether chuckled softly as more relief seemed to wash away the dread. Albedo was awake and lucid enough to understand him at least, this was good.

"Did you take any medicine yet?" Aether asked, leaning back a bit so that he was standing normally.

While Albedo did typically take care of himself when sick or allowed Aether to, Albedo's biggest problem was that it was hard to get him to stop working and rest even when sick. Short of literally tethering him to the bed that is.

"Yes," Albedo said, his voice coming out raspy and tired. He slowly rubbed a hand over his face as he stared at the ground with narrow eyes.

His throat felt sore and raw, his head was pounding and every small noise, even Aether's normally soothing voice, seemed to grate on his ears aggravating his already fired nerves.

"What were you doing out there," Aether asked, gently grabbing Albedo's shoulder to steady him when he swayed slightly.

Albedo frowned, a look of confusion covering his face as he slowly blinked up at Aether. "Out where?" Albedo grimaced his hand going to his stomach as a streak of pain ran across it.

"I found you passed out, outside. On that little cliff where the Ruin Grader used to be, close to your lab," Aether told him. He sighed, crossing his arms, "You must've had a good reason to leave the lab in your condition."

A quick glance around the lab told Aether that Albedo had already started working this morning, as usual, the liquid in the test tubes and the materials laid out on the workbench. But the fact that Albedo had his sword with him meant that he'd left for some reason, the boy never traveled in Dragonspine without it.

Albedo's frown deepened, as he tried to break through the haze in his mind. What Aether was telling him sounded correct, and he did remember stopping in the middle of his experiment for something. "Mint," he eventually muttered, one hand still rubbing his stomach.

"Mint?" Aether echoed eyes wide. "You left the lab, in your condition, to get mint?" He said slowly. He could feel his worry and fear turning into anger, what if he'd been a few minutes late when he came up here to visit Albedo? How long would he have been out there laying in the snow before he froze to death?

"Why did you go looking for mint? You could've waited until I came up to visit you, you know I always have some on me," Aether told him, his tone growing harsh.

Albedo flinched, and Aether's gaze instantly softened.

"I needed it to make tea, I'm sorry, " Albedo told him softly. He made a move to stand up but stopped when the world tilted sideways, his vision blurring as his stomach sloshed becoming unsettled by both his movement and the way the room was spinning.

"It's fine. Do you think you can make it to the teleporter waypoint?" Aether asked, placing a hand on Albedo's shoulder to both steady him and stop him from trying to stand up again.

Albedo closed his eyes for a moment, swallowing hard. Despite the fact that he couldn't see the world swaying before his eyes, he could almost feel it. He felt his stomach practically flip inside of him, and bile burned the back of his throat.

Aether's eyes widened when Albedo lurched forward in his grip, with a harsh strangled sounding retch. Bile and saliva streamed from his mouth, splattering both of their clothes.

Shaking off his shock Aether hissed softly as he brushed Albedo's hair out of his face. Even through his gloves, Aether could tell Albedo had a fever, his fingers brushing across Albedo's forehead as he tucked the ash-blonde strands behind his ears.

"I guess that's a no," Aether muttered trying to keep his tone light. "Let me guess you took medicine earlier but that came up while you were outside?"

Albedo gave a small nod, a gurgling burp had him bringing up more bile. It was hot, feeling as though it was searing his already aching throat as the bitter and sour taste coated his tongue only making his nausea worse. Tears filled his eyes from the exertion.

Eventually, though his vomiting tapered off into dry heaving and he just sat there trying to get his bearings. His arms wrapped around his stomach, his body jolting slightly as hiccups left his mouth.

He desperately wanted to remove his coat, it made him feel as though his body was burning but at the same time, the thought of moving right now made him feel nauseous.

Aether sighed. "Okay, I'll make you some mint tea and then we can try the medicine again. If that stays down then I'll make you some broth," he told him.

Albedo gave a soft hum. "The teapot is on the shelf," he whispered.

Aether nodded, stepping away from Albedo, once he was sure that he wouldn't fall out of the chair or try to stand up again he walked over to the shelf in question.

Albedo slowly blinked his eyes roving around his lab for a moment, before they landed on his closed notebook sitting on his workbench. That was right, he still had to finish his experiment.

Carefully shrugging out of his jacket Albedo shakily got up. When Aether had finally grabbed the teapot he turned back around to see Albedo standing in front of his workbench, his jacket discarded in the chair he'd been sitting in moments before.

"Albedo, no," Aether reprimanded him as he walked over to Albedo. Setting the teapot aside he grabbed his shoulder intent on guiding Albedo to the bed.

But Albedo didn't budge as he glanced at Aether, complete awareness in his glassy eyes. "I will rest momentarily, I need to complete this first," Albedo assured him, it was something he typically said whenever he was sick. As though that would appease Aether's concerns.

"No. Because you say that and then I have to literally pick you up and bring you to bed when you nearly collapse," Aether pointed out as he attempted to pull Albedo away.

Normally he would've just picked him up, considering that between the two of them Aether was the stronger one, but Albedo still looked nauseous and Aether really didn't want to be responsible for setting his stomach off again.

So he tried a more diplomatic approach. "Besides we were supposed to spend the day together, remember?"

"That's right," Albedo muttered. Of course he remembered, it was the main reason Aether had traveled up Dragonspine today in the first place. "What would you like to do?" He asked with a slight smile, closing his notebook once more. He knew when he'd lost a battle.

Aether grinned, it was a look that never failed to give Albedo a sense of pride and happiness. He always found it so incredible how such a small gesture made him feel as though everything was right with the world. "Well, first we should probably change clothes. Then I'll make you some mint tea and we can eat some soup before going to sleep," Aether told him.

At his words, Albedo glanced down at his and Aether's clothes only just now seeing the slight splattering of bile on them. "Oh...I see," Albedo slowly muttered. He grimaced as he looked back at Aether. "I apologize about that."

"It's fine, they can always be washed after all. Besides we're about the same size so I can just wear one of your spare outfits. You should also probably dry your hair too," Aether said, giving Albedo's hand a gentle squeeze.

Albedo allowed Aether to guide him to the bed. Once he'd sat down, Aether stopped for a moment leaning down a bit to press their foreheads together, his thumb brushing over the star-shaped birthmark on Albedo's throat causing a slight shiver to run up Albedo's spine. Aether gave a soft hum as he drew back with a scowl and worry in his eyes. "Yeah, your fever's still pretty high. Did you get sick because of an experiment or because of something else?"

As Aether spoke he grabbed a change of clothes for them both, handing Albedo his before going over to start preparing the tea.

As Albedo changed he watched Aether, it was something he always did. Simply admiring the small gestures and habits he had, the way Aether would tuck loose strands of his hair behind his ear, the way he hummed softly to himself as he worked. All of those actions were something Albedo found incredibly fascinating, no matter how many times he'd witness them.

"I believe I caught something a few days ago from Klee when I returned to Mondstadt. It would not be the first time, and despite educating her on how to properly wash her hands I doubt it will be the last," Albedo told him as he climbed into bed.

It was a medium-sized cot, nothing particularly special although it did allow room for both Aether and himself to share it.

"Here you are," Aether said as he carefully handed Albedo the cup of tea. He'd taken off his gloves laying them on the workbench.

Aether bit his lip as he watched Albedo for a moment. The other boy hesitantly brought the cup to his lips pausing for a moment, his eyes closing briefly when his stomach hitched slightly, still unsettled from earlier.

"If you can't drink it, it's okay. Don't force yourself," Aether told him gently, his eyes still full of worry.

Both of them knew that if Albedo had trouble keeping this down, then things were definitely not okay. In fact, it meant that Aether would have to take him back to Mondstadt immediately, even if he had to carry him to the nearest teleporter.

Albedo took a careful sip and when his body didn't instantly reject it, both he and Aether gave a sigh of relief.

"Good. That's good," Aether muttered to himself with a smile. He handed Albedo the medicine and a cloth to dry his hair since it was still damp from the time he spent in the snow, then Aether changed his clothes and began fixing soup for them both.

"Did you leave Paimon in Mondstadt?" Albedo asked as he watched Aether. The little fairy girl was almost always by Aether's side.

Aether shook his head. "No, I left her with Xiangling in Liyue like I usually do when we spend time together. Xiangling always lets her try new dishes."

Albedo nodded as he finished drying his hair, tossing the towel off to the side. Eventually, Aether was done with the soup, carefully handing the wooden bowl to Albedo.

"You spoil me quite a bit," Albedo said with a small smile.

Aether chuckled as he sat down on the bed beside him. "Why, because you're actually eating every day now like you're supposed to?"

"Who not to blame if you?" Albedo said as he took a bite of his soup. It was as delicious as always which was no surprise, Aether was a great cook. Albedo knew how to cook as well but it was more so that he could teach and take care of Klee.

Aether simply grinned at him and they lapsed into their comfortable silence as they ate.

Once they were done Aether took their bowls, setting them aside to wash in the morning before joining Albedo in bed once more. Allowing Albedo to pull him close, practically cuddling him.

Aether frowned his fingers brushing over the star on Albedo's throat, both of them were tired despite it only being sunset. Although Albedo more so if the way he was fighting to stay awake was anything to go by. Aether continued gently running his fingers over the star on Albedo's throat, knowing that it was a sensitive spot.

The very first time Aether had touched it Albedo had practically moaned, it was coincidentally also the first time Aether had seen him embarrassed or flustered since it happened in public. Other times, if Albedo wasn't feeling well and Aether touched the spot it created more of a soothing effect for him.

"It's alright, I'm right here. And I'll still be here when you wake up in the morning," Aether gently reassured him.

Albedo had yet to admit it to him, but Aether knew, just by the look on his face whenever he spoke of his master, that waking up and finding that he'd been left alone or abandoned was one of Albedo's biggest fears. And ever since he'd lost Lumine it was Aether's as well.

When Albedo's eyes finally slid closed Aether gave him a kiss on his forehead before drawing back a bit, snuggling into Albedo's arms.

~~~

Albedo wakes up in the middle of the night, his stomach aching and his body feels way too hot. He carefully shifts out of Aether's arms but that doesn't do much.

His body is heavy and aching as he forces himself to move to crawl out of bed. His stomach is churning violently, a loud gurgling noise coming from it as waves of nausea crash over him. Albedo turned a half stumbled, half staggered, his way to the entrance of his lab, he made it about halfway before practically falling to his knees as the world seemed to pitch and shift beneath him. As his mouth starts rapidly filling with saliva he clamps a hand over his mouth and attempts to get to his feet once more.

His legs shake beneath him and his attempt fails, the sudden shift in movement only making his nausea worse.

Aether jolts awake as a loud guttural retching noise enters his ears. For a moment or two, he lays there slightly dazed and confused before realizing Albedo is no longer in bed beside him.

He frantically gets up his eyes scanning the lab before finding Albedo. Aether rushes over to him placing a hand on his back as Albedo retches again adding to the growing puddle of vomit in front of them.

"Okay, shit, okay just get it up it's alright," Aether said softly.

Albedo shook his head, gagging emptily over the mess before a loud belch brings up more of his stomach contents. Aether can't do anything but rub his back and brush his hair out of his face while comforting him the best he can.

"Why didn't you wake me up if you weren't feeling well," Aether asked once Albedo had stopped throwing up. The other boy is just coughing and hiccuping now as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I already ruined our day together, I didn't want to burden you," he whispered after a moment.

And Aether sighed, taking Albedo's face in his hands. "Listen, you are not and have never been a burden to me or caused me any trouble. Especially not when you're sick you can't help that alright? If anything, trying to hide it like this only makes me worry worse."

Albedo slowly nodded, glancing away.

"Good, I'll grab our swords, and then we'll take the nearest teleporter back to Mondstadt so that I can take you home. It'll be a lot easier to take care of you there than up here in Dragonspine," Aether told him, pressing a kiss to Albedo's forehead.

He helped him to his feet before grabbing Albedo's jacket and their weapons. Once they were ready, they set off. Aether could only hope that Albedo's condition would begin to improve once they'd gotten back to Mondstadt.