Kaze hikunayo~

Venti paused mid-walk, and Sir Ragnvindr stopped as well, looking at him in confusion.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "What's wrong-"

"Heh- T'SHh-iew!" Venti sneezed, his whole body moving with the motion, wings flaring out, and blinking bewilderedly after. Sir Ragnvindr, upon seeing his expression, laughed.

"I suppose you've never sneezed before, huh?" He said, and Venti shook his head no. "You at least know what a sneeze is, right."

"I'm not dumb, Sir Ragnvindr." Venti said, rubbing the back of his hand against his nose. Now that he knew what the irritating sensation was, or rather, what it meant, it was somehow harder to ignore than it'd been before. "Hih-..... I just.....wasn't...expecting it- hIH- H'ESHH-iew!"

"You're not getting sick, are you?" Sir Ragnvindr asked.

"I'm not even sure gods can get sick....." Venti mumbled, "It's just....itchy. Hih'EShiew!"

Unseen by both of them, a nearby cat stretched and wandered off.

-

"Morax!" Venti yelled, landing on the grass in front of the aforementioned god.

"Barbatos. What are you doing here?" Zhongli asked, "I don't recall any you saying you were going to come over."

"Well that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" Venti said, pulling a bottle of wine out of... somewhere. In that godly outfit of his, Zhongli truly could not tell how he had managed to hide the bottle. "C'mon, this wine is really good."

"I'm not up for it tonight, Barbatos." Zhongli sighed, turning and starting to walk away, purposefully ignoring the younger god's protests. He could sense Venti start following him, but did nothing to stop it. Maybe if he just ignored him for long enough he'd go away....

He paused as he noticed some rustling in a nearby bush. Continuing to ignore Venti's questions, he knelt down, pushing back the branches-

And finding a young kitten.

"Watcha got there?" Venti asked, floating a little in order to curiously peer over Zhongli's shoulder. Zhongli sighed, scooping the kitten up into his arms.

"It's a cat." Zhongli said, adjusting his hold as the kitten squirmed. "A baby one, a kitten. ...I'll have to find someone for it to stay with..."

"Why? Dontcha want to keep it yourself?" Venti asked, before sniffling a little.

"I doubt I'd be the best at taking care of it.....I'm sure there'll be someone in the town to-"

"Hih- H'NGkT-shiew!" Venti stifled a sneeze into his hands, but it still managed to startle both Zhongli and the kitten, the cat hissing at him a little. "...Ah, sorry, I didn't......heh- H'ESSH-iew! didn't mean to startle you...."

"Are you.....okay?" Zhongli asked, looking Venti up and down. The younger god didn't look sick, but looks could be deceiving.

"I'm fine- hEh...... Just....just suddenly got itchy is all- h'Tt-shiew!" Venti said, turning his head to the side as he sneezed again. "S-sorry...H'ISHH-iew!"

"...Maybe you should go home." Zhongli suggested, watching as Venti struggled through another two sneezes.

"Fine, but...hEH-.....you, you will have a drink with me later- hIH-H'ESH-iew!"

-

"Vennessa~!" Venti called, entering Vennessa's office with his usual amount of fanfare. 

"Ah- Venti, what is it today?" Vennessa asked, sighing a little as Venti energetically jumped up and sat on her desk. "You do remember that I have chairs you could sit in?"

"Oh, but those aren't nearly as comfortable." Venti smirked, before noting something moving on Vennessa's lap. "What's that?"

"This little guy?" Vennessa held up a small grey cat. "He snuck in through my window earlier, his owner lost him a few days ago. She's coming to pick him up in about an hour."

She set the cat down on the table, where it immediately went to Venti's side, rubbing up against him as it purred. Venti giggled as he pet it's head.

"He seems to like you." Vennessa said, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess he....does...." Venti paused, bringing a hand to his face to rub at his nose. It didn't do much to help though, as his only warning was a short intake of breath before- "Hih'NGkT-shiew!"

The cat startled at the sudden noise, jumping back onto Vennessa's lap. She ran a soothing hand over it's back, but didn't take her eyes off of Venti, who turned slightly away from her as his breath continued to hitch.

"Heh- H'ESSH-iew! I'm, I'm sorry I don't know what- h'Tt-shiew!!" Venti sneezed again, a few tears starting to form in the edges of his eyes. Vennessa sighed, standing up and setting the cat on the chair. Gently, she took hold of Venti's shoulder, leading him out of the building and back out into the fresh air. Venti sniffled, his nose a little red from how much he'd been rubbing it.

"I didn't know gods could have allergies." Vennessa commented, and Venti glanced at her, a look of confusion on his face.

"....Huh?" He asked, "What do you mean- I don't have allergies."

"Explain to me why you took to sneezing just a few seconds ago then." Vennessa said. Venti just shrugged in response.

"I don't know, it just happens sometimes. My face gets all itchy and then I just. Sneeze." He said, "But like, that doesn't mean I'm allergic."

"I'm pretty sure that it does." Vennessa said, "You're allergic to cats."

"I am not." Venti huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm a god- we don't get allergies."

"Would you like to test that theory?" Vennessa asked, "I've still got some cat hair on me, you know."

As she said this, she picked some cat hairs off of her shirt, holding them in her hand. Venti huffed, crossing his arms as he looked away from her-

Which ended up being his mistake, as Vennessa reached out and easily brushed the cat hairs under Venti's already irritated nose. Venti quickly pushed her hand away, head tilting back-

"Heh- H'NgKt-shiew! H'tT-shiew!" The sneezes were forceful enough to snap Venti forwards, his wings appearing and flaring out. "Hh- hEH- H'ESSH-iew!"

"Believe me now?" Vennessa asked, feeling just the slightest bit bad for sending Venti back into an allergic fit. Venti slowly straightened back up, sniffling again as he rubbed his nose.

"...Okay. I'm allergic to cats, then." Venti muttered, sounding a bit congested. "That....explains a lot."

"Have you seriously gone this long without realizing you were allergic?"

"I didn't think I could be- I just never put it together-"

"I'm teasing you." Vennessa said, laughing at Venti's flustered expression. "At least you know now though, you can avoid the source."

"...That might be a problem." Venti admitted, "Y'see, cats tend to really like me-"

"If that's the case, you should go home and rest, rather than continue to sulk around in here." Diluc said, crossing his arms.

"I went to Windrise earlier and rested for a bit." Venti said, sitting up and subtly rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.

"That's not what I- wait. Do you even have a house?" Diluc asked. Venti gave a tired laugh in response.

"Why do you ask? Are you offering for me to live with you?" He asked, a smirk on his face. Diluc sighed.

"I'll take that as a no, you don't have a house then." He said, "And absolutely not. If you think even for a minute I'd let you freeload at Dawn Winery, then you must be well past drunk."

"Can't let people say I didn't try." Venti said, coughing a little before sighing, rubbing his nose again as he sniffled. Diluc narrowed his eyes, looking the bard up and down again, taking in his... unusually messy and unkempt appearance, suspicious. 

"...Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, and Venti gave that tired laugh again-

And then suddenly the bard paused, stiffening as he quickly pressed the back of his hand against his nose. Diluc raised an eyebrow in silent question, but Venti was no longer paying attention to him.

The bard abruptly stood up, muttering a quiet curse and stumbling a little. Quickly, ignoring Diluc's protests, he rushed around the counter, ducking down behind the bar to sit on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Diluc asked, and quickly got his answer as Venti's breath audibly hitched, his head tilting back-

"Heh- H'NGKt-shiew! HihH- H'NTCH-iew!" Venti stifled the two sneezes into his hands, the force of them making his body curl up tighter-

And a pair of feathered wings unfurled from his back, flaring out.

Thankfully, the wings didn't go high enough to be seen over the countertop. However, they did end up knocking over various bottles and glasses, sending the crashing to the floor, leaving shards of glass and puddles of spilled wine on the floor, and drawing the attention of quite a few of the patrons in the bar. Diluc quietly waved their attention away.

"I do hope you plan on cleaning this....." He started, only to trail off as he watched how the god tiredly shuddered as he drew his wings back into himself, and let them fade away. The whole process looked.... draining, to say the least. Diluc offered his hand as he helped Venti stand back up. Even through his glove, he could feel the heat coming off of Venti, and now Diluc was officially worried.

"I apologize for the mess I've made..." Venti said, staring down at the glass and wine on the floor. "Get me a mop, I'll help clean it up."

Diluc found he didn't really care about the mess on the floor.

"You're sick." He said, and Venti didn't even try to deny it.

"...Yes, I suppose I am coming down with something or other." The bard said, still not making eye contact with Diluc. "I'm sorry for being such a bother."

"Oh, stop with the rhyming." Diluc said, and he tightened his hold on Venti's hand, stepping out from behind the bar, dragging the bard along behind him. "I'm taking you to Jean."

There was, surprisingly, no resistance to this notion. As Diluc walked out into the cool night air of Mondstadt, he could feel Venti shiver beside him, but he chose not to comment on it, continuing to walk in the direction of the Knights of Favoinus headquarters. He didn't really like going in there, but for tonight it was necessary.

They'd just about made it halfway there when Venti suddenly stopped, tugging on Diluc's hand, attempting to free himself. Diluc looked at him questioningly, only to see a, now recognizable, look of mild panic on the bard's face, his free hand once again pressed against his nose.

"Really? Again?" Diluc asked, and Venti nodded frantically, not responding verbally, probably holding his breath in an attempt to keep himself from sneezing. Diluc looked around, there weren't many people out and about at this hour, but there were some people standing around, and so he quickly dragged Venti into the first alleyway he saw. He let go of the bard's hand just in time, as Venti was snapped forwards by a sneeze, his wings appearing and flaring out (causing Diluc to jump away to avoid being hit) as the god fell into a small fit of sneezes.

"Hih- H'ISHH-iew! H'Tt-shiew! Heh...hIH- H'ETSh-iew!"

"Bless you." Diluc said, as Venti sniffled miserably, wiping his nose on the back of his sleeve.

"You can't bless me, I'm a god, I'm already blessed." Venti said, laughing a little, which only caused him to start coughing. Diluc rolled his eyes as he gently patted the space in between Venti's wings in the hopes of it helping a little.

"You done?" Diluc asked, once Venti had stopped coughing. "Okay. Lets hurry up and get you to Jean."

"Wait." Venti said, his voice cracking a little from how hoarse it'd become. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Wait. We...kinda have a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"I...don't have enough energy to hide my wings." Venti said, quietly. "I've been doing this all day and I-"

"You don't need to explain it." Diluc said, sighing as he shrugged off his coat, before placing it over Venti's shoulders, effectively hiding the snow white wings from sight. "There. That should do until we get to Jean."

Venti reached up to pull the coat tighter around himself, looking almost swamped in it, considering how much shorter than Diluc he was. He clearly appreciated the warmth it brought to him though.

-

"Diluc, Venti!" Jean exclaimed, standing up from her desk as the two of them finally entered her office. "What are the both of you doing here so late at night?"

"Our little bard here need a..... secretive but warm place to stay the night." Diluc said, closing the door to the office behind him as he walked in.

"Why? What's wrong?" Jean asked, and almost as if on cue-

"Hih'NGKT-shiew!" Venti stifled a sneeze, his wings flaring out, knocking Diluc's coat off of him. Jean startled a little, but quickly recovered.

"Oh." She said, "I see."

"....'M sorry to bother you." Venti said, sniffling, gratefully accepting the tissues Jean proceeded to hand him in response. "I'd usually just stay in Windrise, but Mr. Diluc here decided I'd be better off with you."

"And you will be better off." Diluc said, "Seriously. You'll get better faster if you stay someplace warm."

"The tavern is warm." Venti protested, for the first time that night. "You could've just let me stay in the tavern."

"Absolutely not. Even sick, you probably would've drunken over half of my supplies." Diluc said, "Speaking of which. I still have a mess to clean up, so Jean, I trust I can leave the rest of this to you?"

"Of course." Jean confirmed, "I only had just a bit of paperwork left to do anyways, I've got time. You can go now."

Diluc gave her a nod, and turned to leave, picking up his coat from where it had fallen to the floor as he did so. He paused before opening the door, thinking for a moment, before laying his coat down on a nearby chair, in case Venti needed to use it again, before finally leaving the room. Once he'd left, Jean pulled off one of her gloves, placing the back of her hand against Venti's cheek before he could pull away.

"Hmm. You've got a fever." She said, "I've got some medicine in my desk but.... does medicine even work on you?"

"...It's only healing magic that doesn't work." Venti muttered, "Medicine is fine."

Jean quickly got the medicine out of her desk, setting up the right dosage, before handing it over to Venti. He took it quickly, grimacing in response to the flavor. Jean lightly put her hands on Venti's shoulders, just barely brushing up against his wings as she gently guided him out of the room, Venti picking up Diluc's coat and holding it tight against his chest as they left. Jean led him up the stairs towards one of the makeshift bedrooms, specifically made for people who had to spend the night at the headquarters. Luckily, Jean seemed to be the only one working late tonight, as they encountered no other guards as they walked through the halls.

"J-Jean...." Venti started, breath suddenly hitching, his wings tensing- "You....you might wanna duck...hIH- H'ESHH-iew!"

Jean took his advice, letting go of his shoulders and ducking down just in time to avoid receiving a wing to the face.

"Snf....Sorry..." Venti muttered, tired, as Jean stood back up, leading him the rest of the way to the bedroom.

"It's not your fault." She said, kindly. "You can't exactly control it."

Venti didn't respond, too tired to speak again after the amount of elemental energy he'd used up during the day. He slowly climbed into the bed, curling up around Diluc's coat, holding it like one would hold a stuffed animal or a baby blanket. Jean gave a soft laugh as she pulled the covers over top of him.

"Am I to presume Sir Diluc won't be getting that coat back anytime soon?" She asked, a note of light humor in her voice. The response she received was a light hum, which she took for a yes. She supposed she'd have to find some means of getting Diluc another, identical, coat then...

Jean turned to leave the room.

Diluc startled a little at his sudden appearance, but quickly pulled himself back together.

"...What?" Diluc asked, "Do you need something?"

"You're sick." Venti said, and the tone of voice he used made Diluc wince, feeling like he'd just been caught doing something bad. "You should go home and rest, y'know."

"I'm fine." Diluc insisted, turning away so that he wouldn't have to keep seeing Venti's disappointed expression. "Besides, there's work to be done here."

There was some rustling behind him, and then a thump, and Diluc cautiously looked over his shoulder- barely keeping himself from jumping in surprise to see that Venti was now standing right beside him. He must've jumped over the counter.

"What are you doing- hEY!" Diluc yelped, voice cracking a little as Venti effortlessly picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder to carry him. There were some cheers from the other patrons in the bar, somehow, they'd attracted an audience without Diluc noticing. He struggled, squirming and kicking a little as he tried to free himself from the bard's grip, only to find himself unable to. Venti must've been using some of his godly strength.

Ignoring Diluc's struggling, Venti walked out of Angel's Share, waving to the other patrons as he left.

Did. Did he plan to carry Diluc the whole way back to Dawn Winery?

Apparently not, as Venti paused for a moment, looked around to make sure there wasn't any witnesses-

And teleported the two of them to the statue closest to the winery.

"Apologies, I only have enough power to teleport to statues nowadays." Venti said, starting to walk towards the winery. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way."

"I can walk by myself." Diluc said, sniffling. "Put me down."

"Nu-uh. No way. I'm genuinely certain that, should I let you go, you shall attempt to go back to work, and that is something I simply cannot allow."

"Aren't you supposed to support me in having the freedom to do what I want?" Diluc asked.

"Not if said 'freedom' is detrimental to your health." Venti said, "You do have limits, y'know?"

Diluc, in fact, did know his limits. And sure, he had been feeling a bit light headed earlier, but that didn't mean he was just going to let Venti carry him all the way to Dawn Winery.

Especially since-

"Ven....Venti, put me..hih.....put me down- hEH-" Diluc squirmed as his breath hitched, the faint tickle he'd been feeling all day suddenly growing a lot more intense. "Hih- Hi'ESCHI-uu! Heh- H'TSSCH-iew!"

"Please at the very least try not to dirty my cloak." Venti said, his stride not hesitating at all as he continued to walk, seemingly, for the most part, unbothered. 

Now, what Diluc did next was, admittedly, very petty and childish. But, to be fair, he'd had a long day, so maybe a little bit of pettiness was understandable.

He rubbed his nose on Venti's cloak.

Venti gasped in offense, but Diluc barely payed attention to it, as he suddenly realized exactly why the tickle in his nose had suddenly grown worse.

Venti was covered in pollen.

"HehH-Hi'TSSCH! H'ESSCHI-uu! Hih-" Diluc struggled more in an attempt to distance himself from the allergen, but unless Venti put him down... "Hi'ETTCH-iew!"

"Geez...Are you okay? Those sounded rough." Venti asked, oblivious to the fact that he was the reason for Diluc's increased suffering.

"It's.....hIH....the, the pollen- hEH- H'ESSCHI-iew!" Diluc struggled to say in between hitching breaths.

"The pollen? I don't- oh!" Venti said, the realization striking him. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

He finally, finally, put Diluc down, not that Diluc actually was in a proper state to appreciate it. He continued to muffle sneeze after sneeze in his hands, the force of some of them snapping him in half. Venti winced as another sneeze sounded like it tore at Diluc's throat.

"Sorry." Venti said, again. "I... I forgot about your allergies."

"It's....okay." Diluc said, sniffling wetly, the congestion in his voice now significantly worse than before. "I....hih...I try not to make it- H'TSCH-uu!..... make it obvious."

"Still though. I should've remembered." Venti said, and upon seeing that the redhead's sneeze fit was starting to die down, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "Here, take this."

Diluc, still using his hands to cover his nose and mouth, eyed the piece of cloth dubiously.

"I promise it's pollen free this time." Venti said, and Diluc, not seeing any trace of lying or mischief on Venti's face, finally took the handkerchief, using it to both wipe and blow his nose. While he did so, Venti took the time to carefully use his anemo to blow any pollen residue off of himself.

"Dawn Winery is still about ten minutes away." He said, once he was sure he was pollen free. "Are you sure you can walk that far?"

"I'll be fine." Diluc sniffed, pocketing the handkerchief, already planning to wash it and give it back later. "You don't need to come along."

"Hmm. I better make sure you actually go home, instead of wandering off to fight or something." Venti said, smiling a little. "Just to be sure."

"...Whatever."

-

Night fell over Dawn Winery, and Diluc's body ached in protest as he slowly, and silently, walked down the stairs towards the front door, his claymore strapped to his back. He felt congested, and his head was pounding with a headache that had developed shortly after Venti had dropped him off, and had not gone away despite the small nap he'd taken. But still, despite this, he still had his duties as the "Darknight Hero". Unlike running the bar, which another member of the staff could take over, there wasn't exactly someone who could fill in for his vigilante duties. Which meant that, despite the fact he'd rather just go back to bed, he had to go out and patrol Mondstadt.

"Ahem. Where do you think you're going?"

Diluc froze mid-step, turning his head to find-

Venti, sitting on the window sill, his bow leaning against the wall beside him.

"Were you really planning on going out again while in this condition?" He asked, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "I expected that you'd know better."

"There isn't exactly someone else who can take over this job." Diluc whispered, both out of a desire to not accidentally wake any of the staff that was sleeping in the winery, but also because he'd discovered earlier that his voice was nearly shot.

"I'm sorry? Who do you think I am?" Venti said, sounding offended, picking up his bow and giving it a little twirl. "I've already done the nighttime patrol for you. There was nothing but one or two petty thieves, which I dealt with rather quickly."

"...You did that for me?"

"Mhm. It was kinda fun actually. Gives me something to do, since I don't really sleep anyways..." Venti said, sentence trailing off as he seemed to remember... something. "Anyways, speaking of sleep, you should be getting back to bed."

He jumped down from the window sill, placing his bow to lean against the wall again, walking over to where Diluc stood. Carefully, Venti took the claymore off of Diluc's back, and Diluc couldn't resist his body slumping with relief at the loss of the weight.

He must've been more tired than he thought he was, because he didn't protest as Venti held his hand and led him back up the stairs and into his bedroom. Diluc stumbled a little as he took off his boots, not even bothering with the rest of his clothes as he climbed into the bed. He could deal with the consequences of not changing into pyjama's when he woke up in the morning.

His nose suddenly twitched, and he curled up a little, stifling a sneeze.

"Hih- H'NGXt-uu!" He sighed tiredly after wards, closing his eyes, and Venti laughed as he placed some blankets down on top of him.

"Bless you." He said, and suddenly Diluc felt a lot more comfortable, and relaxed than before.

He felt suspiciously comfortable and relaxed, actually.

Summoning up a bit more energy, he opened one eye to glance at Venti.

"Did you just actually bless me?" He muttered, "Like. In the whole 'godly gift' kinda way?"

"...Maybe. Yes." Venti gave a sheepish chuckle that clearly said that it hadn't been intentional. "Don't worry. You'll just feel more relaxed and free for a day or two. It'll wear off."

"That's really not necessary... hIH-" Zhongli hurriedly turned away so that he wasn't facing Childe. "H'ESSHhu!"

Childe used the momentary distraction to breeze past Zhongli and into the house, closing the door behind him. He set the basket down on the kitchen table and starting to take stuff out of it, setting them down in a neat little row. Zhongli sniffled, rubbing his nose as he gave Childe a slight glare for entering his house without permission. Childe only gave a little laugh when he noticed.

"Do you not trust me?" He asked, "I take care of my siblings all the time, it's not like this will be any different."

Zhongli had to concede that Childe did have a point on that, and so resolved himself to having to put up with whatever the Harbinger had in mind. Warily, he eyed the objects on the table, but they all seemed to be things one would typically bring when planning to take care of someone. Ingredients for soup, a batch of medicine from Bubu Pharmacy, a few boxes of tissues, all expected things. Well, that is, except for-

"What's the shampoo for?" Zhongli asked, picking up the small bottle and reading it over, trying to see if it was somehow related to some unknown herbal remedy.

"Oh, that's for when I wash your hair." Childe said, casually, as though it was normal. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the expression on Zhongli's face. "....What's that look for? The combination of the steam and the hair washing is really good at relieving congestion and headaches, trust me."

"You. Are going to wash my hair." Zhongli said, almost in disbelief.

"Well I mean, we'll have to brush the tangles out first but, yes, that's the plan." Childe said, starting to walk over to Zhongli's bathroom. "C'mon."

"Now?"

"Unless you'd rather wait about two hours for soup first."

-

Turned out, Childe had been 100% right on all accounts.

Zhongli let out a soft sigh as he relaxed into the water, the warmth of the bath soothing the dull ache in his body that he hadn't even known was there until it was gone. Childe gently filled a cup with the warm water, and used it to wet Zhongli's hair, cupping his hand around the bangs so that the water wouldn't drip down into Zhongli's face. He put a bit of shampoo in his hands, and started to softly massage it onto Zhongli's head, occasionally combing down to the edges of his hair as well, and Zhongli nearly melted into the sensation.

The combination of the steam and the massaging from Childe really was starting to lighten some of the pressure in Zhongli's sinuses, but this, of course, had side effects.

Zhongli sniffled as his nose started running, rubbing at his nose with his hand, only to find it didn't help at all, his hand being covered in water just added to the dampness on his face. He tried to ignore it, to just focus on the sensation of Childe's hands in his hair-

His breath suddenly hitched, and Childe quickly removed his hands from Zhongli's hair so that he wouldn't accidentally pull on it as Zhongli pitched forwards to catch two sneezes into his hands.

"Heh...hIH- H'ASCH-uu! HehH-H'ESSHu!" Zhongli groaned a little, and Childe winced sympathetically, the sneezes had sounded a lot more... desperate and forceful than usual. Zhongli sniffled wetly, starting to bring his hands down, before freezing and putting them back where they'd been. Childe gave a soft laugh.

"Need a tissue?" He asked, and Zhongli gave a hesitant nod. There weren't actually any tissues in the bathroom, so Childe simply pulled a soft hand towel out of one of the nearby cabinets, handing it to Zhongli, and politely looking away as Zhongli cleaned himself up. He winced as he heard him sniffle again, before starting to cough. "...You good? I still need to wash the shampoo out of your hair y'know."

"S-sorry, just...heh......just a second- H'ESCH-uu!" Zhongli blew his nose into the hand towel, before he carefully set it on the side of the tub, slowly, in case another sneeze snuck up on him. "...Okay."

Childe filled the cup up with water again, starting the slow process of getting the shampoo out of Zhongli's hair. He ran his fingers through Zhongli's hair as he did so, and Zhongli found himself starting to relax again.

The rinsing process ended far too soon, Childe's hands pulling away from Zhongli's hair.

"Do you want to get out now, or just soak for a few minutes?" Childe asked, standing up. "Either way, once you're done, I'll brush and braid your hair for you, then you can take a nap, alright?"

Zhongli gave a hum of consent, and Childe left the room.

-

Sitting on his bed, Zhongli came to the conclusion that having Childe braid his hair was almost just as nice as having him wash it.

"...You're quite good at this." Zhongli said, softly, not really trusting his voice to speak loudly.

"My sister likes having her hair braided, so I've got lots of practice." Childe said, taking the elastic he'd had around his wrist and using it to tie off the braid. "There. Now your hair won't come loose and get all messy while you nap."

"...Thank you." Zhongli said, as Childe stood up, letting Zhongli slowly move to huddle under the blankets. "Is there something you want in return-"