Tags & trigger warnings: Emetophilia, Vomiting, Sickfic, Caretaking, Hurt/comfort

Summary: In which after a night of drinking with Zhongli, Childe is left feeling miserable.

Posted on Ao3: August 10th 2021

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"Is what he's saying true?" Childe asked as he leaned over to whisper in Zhongli's ear.

They sat in their usual spot in the center of Liyue harbor, directly across from Wamin Restaurant sharing drinks and dinner as they listened to one of Liyue's many storytellers.

The particular tale that the storyteller spoke of involved Rex Lapis, in this case how he sealed Osial beneath the ocean depths using enormous pillars of stone.

Zhongli chuckled as he took a sip of his wine. "Admittedly it is to a degree. Rex Lapis could not have defeated Osial on his own."

Childe gave a soft snort. "Somehow I don't believe you." He takes a sip of his wine as Zhongli merely smiles at his words.

They'd been drinking for a while at this point so Childe was more than a little tipsy, that familiar warm hum filling him as the alcohol settled in his veins.

Admittedly Liyue's wine while strong was incredibly different from the heavy liquors Childe often drank back home. Which meant that Childe could drink a lot more of it, although definitely not as much as Zhongli.

Honestly, if it weren't for the slight pink blush on Zhongli's cheeks Childe would be convinced that the alcohol had no effect on him at all.

Admittedly the more competitive side of Childe was a bit upset at that fact.

"If I was an Adepti what do you think I'd be?" Childe asked with a soft hum. He took another sip of his wine.

Zhongli frowned for a moment, giving a soft hum. "May I ask the reasoning behind such a question?"

Childe shrugged before giving him a grin. "I got curious while watching you drink."

Zhongli closed his eyes for a moment thinking. "A fox perhaps, a dragon would be suitable as well."

"Are you just saying dragon so that we match, " Childe chuckled with a teasing smile, although he knew Zhongli did not say something like that so lightly.

Zhongli shakes his head, opening his eyes as he gives Childe a small smile. "You have the ferocity, strength, and ambition to match. However, you are also incredibly cunning and prone to creating mischief. It is a truly difficult choice."

Childe reached out grabbing one of Zhongli's hands and lacing their fingers together. "Ever the smooth talker I see," Childe said with a warm smile. "For now I don't mind staying human."

Childe looked back at the storyteller with a scowl.

"Rex Lapis tore one of Osial's many heads from his body, casting it aside, " the storyteller said.

Childe looked back at Zhongli with a soft snort. "Is that part exaggerated too?"

Zhongli glanced away, seemingly slightly embarrassed. "It was an attempt to keep Osial from decimating the harbor with his beams of elemental energy."

Giving a small laugh Childe grinned. "It worked well then, " He said, taking a sip of his wine.

~~~

It is late into the night when Zhongli and Childe finish their food and drinks.

A calm silence had fallen on the almost empty streets of Liyue harbor, the majority of the people that often walked its streets having returned home and gone to bed for the night.

"Careful now, " Zhongli said, reaching out to steady Childe when he stumbled.

Childe gives a small drunken giggle. "I got it, I got it, " he told him cheerfully, his words slurring slightly.

Between the two of them, Zhongli was the more sober one, although admittedly even he felt a bit tipsy at the moment. A nice, comfortable warmth settling in his body from the alcohol he'd drank.

Childe was completely drunk, however, his body swaying and stumbling his usual careful way of moving having abandoned him.

Although Childe was beginning to think he may have overdone it a bit with the alcohol if the cold nausea settling alongside the warmth from the alcohol was anything to go by.

He yawned, stretching. He didn't know if it was from sitting down most of the night but his joints felt oddly stiff.

The cold crisp night air was helping him sober up slightly, a small smile on his face as he absentmindedly listened to Zhongli speak.

He scowled, adjusting his scarf slightly, feeling a little too warm despite the cold air.

"Thank you, " Childe muttered when Zhongli grabbed his arm when he stumbled again.

He gave a soft huff, that cold nausea was spreading churning in the pit of his stomach as it drove away the comfortable warmth that the wine had given him.

Childe stopped walking for a moment, his hand going to his stomach when it felt as though it practically flipped inside of him. Hiccuping softly, his gaze as an intense wave of nausea washed over him. Metallic-tasting saliva suddenly floods his mouth.

"Childe?" Zhongli said turning to look back at him when he realized Childe was no longer walking with him.

Childe was standing one or two feet behind him swaying in place, his face pale, his eyes closed and a hand placed on his stomach.

Childe opens his eyes halfway, swallowing rapidly. "Oh, " he whispered, his voice wavering and drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Then a moment later he lurched forward with a loud, wet retch sending a large watery wave of regurgitated wine and water splashing onto the ground at his and Zhongli's feet.

"S-shit, " Childe whispered, panting as drool dripped from his lips onto the mess on the ground.

Zhongli reached out, grabbing Childe's shoulders to steady him when Childe lurched forward again a loud, wet burp sending another large wave of watery vomit gurgling up his throat.

Childe overdoing it a bit on the alcohol was nothing new to him or Zhongli, that didn't make the situation any more pleasant. Especially not when he retched up another wave of vomit adding to the large puddle at their feet.

"It's alright, I'm right here Ajax, " Zhongli murmured as he gently rubbed circles on Childe's back. "Come here, " Zhongli told him gently as he carefully guided him to one of the nearby railways.

He could feel Childe trembling beneath his hands. And considering he'd already been unsteady on his feet before he started throwing up, Zhongli didn't want to take the risk of Childe collapsing.

Childe gave a soft groan, panting as he swallowed trying to clear his mouth of that disgustingly bitter aftertaste from his mouth. He lurched forward with a strangled retch that brought up nothing leaving him dry heaving over the ground.

"Okay...I-I might have...overdone it a bit, " Childe managed to mumble in between the hiccups leaving his mouth.

Zhongli nodded. "Perhaps, " he sighed as Childe gagged emptily over the ground, tears in his eyes.

He continued to rub Childe's back as Childe gagged and retched, bringing up nothing.

"Ugh, " Childe whispered as he shakily wiped his mouth with one hand. "I still feel sick." Childe sighed, rubbing at his churning stomach with one hand, it was strange, usually, he felt better after throwing up when he'd drank too much.

He had no clue why he still felt nauseous but he doesn't like it.

"Shall we go home then? You may need to sleep it off, " Zhongli suggested.

Childe nodded slowly, exhaustion settling in his body.

"Hey, Zhongli?" Childe asked after a moment, as Zhongli led him home by hand.

He'd been rather quiet as they walked both because he still didn't feel well and because he couldn't help but be embarrassed by the whole ordeal.

"Yes? Do you feel sick again?" Zhongli asked him as they stopped walking for a moment.

"Well yeah...but, can you ramble like you always do? I need something to help distract me, " Childe asked softly, grimacing when an intense wave of nausea washed over him.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment swallowing the excess saliva in his mouth, trying not to gag as he took slow deep breaths. Childe cracked one eye open when Zhongli chuckled softly.

"I do not ramble but sure, if it will help ease your pain I shall tell you a few stories, " he said giving Childe a small smile.

Childe says nothing as he merely closes his eyes and puts all his attention into listening to Zhongli's soothing voice as they continue to walk.

~~~

The walk back to Zhongli's apartment is a little slower than usual as Childe does his best to ignore his violently churning stomach.

He doesn't bother hiding his sigh of relief as he practically tosses himself onto the sofa in the living room, exhaustion weighing down his limbs.

Childe tugs at his scarf slightly attempting to take it off since he felt uncomfortably warm but gives up when his fingers repeatedly fumble with the clasp attaching it to his uniform. Instead, his hand goes to his stomach as he rubs it in an attempt to ease some of the nausea there and gives a soft hiss when he feels it churning beneath his hand.

"Do you need anything? Some water perhaps?" Zhongli asked him gently as he looked at Childe, noting that his face was more than a little pale.

Childe opens one eye slightly to look at him, before silently shaking his head and closing his eye once more, trying to focus on breathing around the dizzying nausea currently assaulting him.

He is exhausted in every sense of the word, and the fact that he feels like he's going to start gagging with each breath he takes doesn't help things.

Zhongli nodded as he continued to stare at Childe for a moment or two. Childe was often very talkative, always teasing or just engaging in small talk so to see him so subdued and quiet is admittedly a bit eerie and concerning to Zhongli at least.

Zhongli sighed. "Alright then, I shall go take a shower. I will be back momentarily."

Childe gives a small nod but doesn't say anything, one hand still carefully rubbing at his stomach.

Zhongli leaves the door unlocked as he takes his shower, surprisingly though when he finishes up and walks back into the living room Childe is no longer on the sofa.

With a scowl on his face, Zhongli checks the bedroom giving a soft sigh when he sees Childe curled up on the bed, still fully dressed, his eyes closed, and his arms wrapped around his stomach.

Remembering how much he'd struggled to remove his scarf Zhongli reaches out carefully removing Childe's shoes before setting them aside.

"Ajax, would you like help getting ready for bed?" Zhongli asked him as he gently carded his fingers through Childe's hair.

Childe gives a soft groan as he opens his eyes, swallowing rapidly to try and clear the near river of drool building up in his mouth. His stomach is in knots as it churns violently and the uncomfortable warmth he's currently feeling only makes him feel worse.

Maybe changing into something more comfortable would make him feel a bit better but he honestly doesn't have the strength to do that right now. A small part of him can't help but wonder how just a few glasses of wine made him feel like this but he's too miserable right now to care.

Childe moves carefully propping himself up on shaky limbs as he sits up. He closes his eyes for a moment taking slow deep breaths when the movement makes his stomach slosh sickeningly. "I still feel sick," he whispered, shaking his head.

Zhongli frowned, his concern growing. "Perhaps you will feel better if you get whatever is bothering you up," he suggested after a moment.

Childe looked absolutely miserable, his skin pale, his body trembling, the tense expression on his face all of it made Zhongli feel strangely helpless at the moment and he didn't like it one bit.

Childe ran a hand over his face with a soft sigh. "Fine, I'm willing to try anything at this point," he huffed, this whole entire situation was starting to irritate him.

Zhongli helps Childe to his feet before guiding him to the bathroom by hand. Taking a deep breath Childe kneels in front of the toilet, sticking his tongue out as he allows the excess drool building up in his mouth to drip into the water as he pants and waits for his stomach to give in.

Zhongli watches him with a frown and concern in his eyes, his hand gently rubbing Childe's back. It was incredibly rare for Childe to get this sick from alcohol alone and Zhongli couldn't help but wonder if something else was wrong.

Realizing that, that wasn't working, Childe brought two of his fingers to his mouth, opening it wide as he carefully reached to the back of his throat. He uses the two fingers to carefully stroke the back of his throat, holding his fingers there as he begins gagging at the intrusion, his throat clenching around his fingers as if trying to push them out.

"Ajax?" Zhongli said, concerned when Childe began making small choked gasping noises as if he couldn't breathe around his hand in his mouth.

Childe removed his hand from his mouth, coughing and gasping as he shook his head, drool coating his hand. "It's not working," he mumbled, clearly frustrated.

Zhongli bit his lip as Childe placed his fingers in his mouth once more. "Please be careful, Ajax," Zhongli told him gently, concerned that Childe may actually end up hurting himself, considering how violent his gagging was getting.

Childe removes his fingers from his mouth groaning, tears in his eyes. "Why won't it work," he practically whimpered.

Childe groaned, closing his eyes as he rested his head in his hands, he swallowed thickly, clearing some of the excess drool building up in his mouth.

Childe felt awful, his stomach was in knots, he was absolutely exhausted, it was uncomfortably warm, and he just wanted to throw up and make all this stop but he couldn't even have that apparently.

He feels Zhongli's hand still in the process of rubbing his back and Childe whimpered softly at the loss of comforting contact.

"Ajax, look at me for a moment," Zhongli told him softly as he laid a hand on Childe's shoulder.

"Huh?" Childe groaned, raising his head from his hands to look at Zhongli.

When he does Zhongli reaches out cupping Childe's face with his hands before leaning forward a bit to press Childe's forehead to his own. Childe gives a soft sigh, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment, it feels nice, soothing even plus Zhongli's skin feels slightly colder than his.

"You have a fever," Zhongli said softly, drawing back a bit with a scowl. It helped ease his worry ever so slightly now that he had something that could explain Childe's current condition.

"Oh," Childe whispers, looking slightly dazed and Zhongli sighed.

"Come with me, you may feel better if you lay down in bed," Zhongli suggested, getting to his feet, fatigue beginning to nag at him as well.

Childe shakes his head, however. "I don't wanna move right now. I'll come to bed soon," he sighed as he looked up at Zhongli.

Zhongli merely stared at Childe for a moment, biting his lip. While he could just pick Childe up and bring him to bed he was very sure that Childe wouldn't appreciate that one bit.

Noticing his hesitation Childe gave him a small but tired smile. "Go," he insisted softly. "You have to be tired too. I'll come to bed soon, I just need a few minutes alone."

After a few moments Zhongli eventually nodded, he gave Childe one final glance before he left the room.

~~~

It is an hour or two later when Zhongli wakes up.

"Ajax," he said softly, reaching over to the other side of the bed. Unsurprisingly he finds it empty, the blankets and pillow still cold.

Sighing he slowly climbs out of the bed and makes his way into the bathroom, he pauses in the doorway when he sees Childe slumped over the toilet, his head resting on his arms.

He seemed to be sleeping although it was anything but peaceful, his expression tense as he groaned and whimpered softly in his sleep as low tense sounding gurgles came from his stomach.

Zhongli reaches out, grabbing Childe's shoulder and giving him a gentle shake. "Ajax? Can you hear me?" He called softly.

Childe groaned, his eyes fluttering open as he slowly raised his head to look at Zhongli. "Huh..."

"Come with me, let's get you in bed Ajax," he told Childe gently.

For a moment or two Childe just stared at him seemingly dazed, then he slowly nodded, taking the hand Zhongli offered him, allowing Zhongli to carefully pull him to his feet.

"There we are, careful now," Zhongli murmured, steadying Childe when he swayed in place.

Childe is worryingly quiet and Zhongli doesn't know if it's from the fever, nausea, or the exhaustion he's no doubt feeling.

Once back in the bedroom Childe seemingly has enough awareness to go to his side of the bed, blinking slowly as he begins to climb on it. Although he pauses his glassy eyes on Zhongli as Zhongli goes to the bathroom returning with the small trash can in there.

Placing the trashcan down on his side of the bed, Zhongli looked at Childe once more. "Come here Ajax," Zhongli said after he'd climbed in bed on his side. He held his arms out beckoning to Childe with one hand.

A small warm smile forms on his face as Childe crawls into his lap without hesitation resting his back against Zhongli's chest with a soft sigh, his body instantly relaxing in Zhongli's grip.

Although he tenses up, a grimace on his face when his stomach gives a low growl.

"Here," Zhongli said, his hand slipping underneath Childe's shirt to lay a gentle hand on his stomach, a soft hiss leaving his mouth when he felt it churning violently, practically writhing beneath his hand. It was no surprise that Childe seemed so miserable. "Please tell me if I am hurting you," he murmured as he carefully began rubbing circles on Childe's stomach hoping to provide even some comfort if possible.

Surprisingly Childe shakes his head slightly, finally speaking, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Feels nice," he mumbled, shifting slightly to rest his head on Zhongli's shoulder, his face buried in his neck.

His body slowly relaxed as Zhongli rubbed his stomach.

"Ajax?" Zhongli said, his hand stilling for a moment when Childe suddenly tensed up, a loud gurgling noise coming from his stomach.

Childe shakes his head, his eyes closed. "I'm fine, please keep going, " he mumbled softly.

He swallowed hard as when a particularly nasty wave of nausea hit him, so intense it left him feeling slightly dizzy.

Zhongli glances down at Childe when he tensed up again. Almost unconsciously.

Childe takes a deep shuddering breath, resisting the urge to groan when another intense wave of nausea rolls over him. Metallic-tasting saliva rapidly filled his mouth no matter how much he tried to swallow it back.

Zhongli looks at Childe when his body goes unnaturally still, his entire form tensing up in Zhongli's grip.

A second later Zhongli feels Childe's stomach violently heave beneath his fingers, and Childe lurches forward his hand quickly clamping over his mouth as his shoulders shake with a barely suppressed retch.

"Okay, alright, alright, " Zhongli said as he grabbed Childe's shoulders. He guided Childe to lean over the edge of the bed where he'd placed the trash can.

Childe's hand immediately falls away from his mouth as his stomach heaves again, a gurgling wet burp leaves his mouth along with a large wave of watery vomit.

Zhongli places one hand on Childe's back, his other resting on Childe's stomach, holding him in place so that he wouldn't fall off of the bed as his body lurched forward with a violent sounding retch, his stomach practically convulsing beneath Zhongli's hand. "There you are, get it up Ajax, " Zhongli murmured softly, rubbing Childe's back as he brought up another large wave of watery vomit.

Childe brings up one final enormous wave of watery vomit before he coughs, gasping as he shakily wiped at his mouth, severing the threads of drool hanging from his lips.

"How do you feel?" Zhongli asked softly as he slowly guided Childe to lean against him once more.

Childe nodded slightly. "A little bit better, still feel like shit though, " he mumbles, blinking slowly. He doesn't bother wiping away the tears running down his face.

"In the morning I will retrieve Qiqi or Dr. Baizhu from the pharmacy for you, " Zhongli told him, unable to help the small amount of relief he felt.

Childe gives a soft hum, nodding slightly, his eyes closed.

"Ajax?" Zhongli asked, looking down at him when Childe grabbed one of his hands and guided it to his stomach.

"Can...you keep rubbing my stomach...at least until I go to sleep? It helps a lot, " Childe asked, almost hesitantly sounding slightly embarrassed.

A warm smile crawls across Zhongli's face. "Of course, I am happy to help."

Childe says nothing else, his eyes closing as he practically snuggles into Zhongli's grip. As Zhongli continued rubbing his stomach, Childe's body relaxed, until eventually, he fell into a peaceful sleep.