#treetem ssr u better come home or i will cry

[baeshijima]

like an everlasting frost, my love for you is eternal

PAIRING : artem wing / zuo ran x gn! reader

WORD COUNT : 800+

A.NOTE/s : this fic was created with 80% guizhong’s lullaby 10 hour extended ; 14% tender strength piano comp ; 5% genshin cn vas singing hikaru nara and 1% snezhnaya’s greatest love machine 

thank u for ur time

tagging : @eggmarr​ @kazuqha​ @lilikags​  

Perhaps you should have seen this coming. The signs were all there and, looking back on it now, it all makes sense; it was inevitable, even if you tried to convince yourself otherwise.

It was only a matter of time before a situation such as this would arise. You were a fool for thinking otherwise.

“Artem...” you trail off, watching your lover hobble hopelessly away from the bed. “You need to stay in bed.”

With as much resolve he can muster, Artem slowly turns his head to face you and steels his steadily dying voice. “I’m fine.”

You don’t believe it. Not even for a second. Even a newborn can tell he’s lying.

Sighing, you bring your hand to gently rub your nose bridge. “Artem.”

“Yes, my love?”

“You caught a cold, and yet you’re trying to move on your own.” Striding towards the man, you gently push him down onto your bed. Even with his attempts of insisting he’s okay, the coughs interrupting his sentences do little to help his case. “Take a rest, and let me take care of you for once.”

Well, how could he refuse you when you put it like that? 

And so with a sigh of defeat, Artem leans back onto the pillow as you pull the duvet up to his chin. With one last smile, you softly lay a kiss on his forehead before replacing the area with a small, damp towel and go to leave the room to prepare some much needed soup for him while he rests.

In the midst of your cooking (you do your best to remember and follow the techniques Artem has taught you in your previous cooking escapades), you check in on Artem’s resting form at regular intervals; both to replace his towel, and to make sure he’s actually allowing himself to sleep.

Luckily for you, he did listen and has been sound asleep for the past two and a half hours or so. With the soup done, you leave it to simmer on the lowest setting as you await for Artem to wake up naturally.

Looking outside, you really should have seen this coming. It’s flu season, after all. But this winter has been particularly cold and there’s even been reports of snowfall happening sometime soon. You hope that when it does happen, Artem will be better so he can enjoy it, too. After all, he did come all this way to spend the off-days with you. 

A sudden chill washes over you, the slowly dropping December temperature becoming more prominent when you realise you’re underdressed (in other words, you’re not wearing one of Artem’s warm turtlenecks). With a newfound resolution, you quietly make your way upstairs and into your bedroom in search of his turtlenecks.

Slow and cautious, you open the door without making a sound in fear of waking your boyfriend up, only planning to get his cosy clothing and leaving after you replace his towel. What you don’t expect to encounter, however, is the sight of Artem sitting upright while staring blankly at the wall ahead.

“Artem?” His head snaps up at the sound of your voice. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I feel much better now thanks to you, (Y/n). My head is a lot clearer, and my temperature has gone down.” He responds, a warm smile slipping onto his countenance. To further prove his statement, he pulls the blanket off of his lower half, turns his body so his legs hang over the side of the bed, and gets up before walking towards you.

A small, happy huff escapes your lips. “I see. Well, that makes me feel a lot better knowing I’ve done my job well!”

“You most definitely have,” Artem chuckles. His eyes follow your retreating form in confusion until they soften at the sight of you happily picking up one of his turtlenecks, and slipping it on top of your shirt.

Truthfully, Artem will never understand how you reciprocate his feelings, even after the past year of being together. Like a star, you were always within his sights, but never in his grasp. Constantly chasing after the fading image of your back, until you no longer continued on without him; until you turned and flashed him a welcoming smile upon finally catching up to you and holding you in his embrace, never to let go and to always cherish you.

In all honesty, he still feels as though you’re just beyond his reach but it’s moments like these that make him believe that he stands on equal footing with you — even if it’s just for a mere moment.

“Since you’re up and about, let’s go eat the soup I made.”

Artem perks up at the sound of your voice. “You made soup?”

“Yup! Some good ol’ vegetable soup will nurse you back to full health!” He chuckles at your excitement, letting you (carefully) drag him out the door, down the stairs, and into the kitchen where he fondly watches you reheat the soup again when sitting at the table.

Even though the day didn’t go as planned, Artem wouldn’t find any faults so long as he’s in your company; even if he’s the one who fell ill from when you asked him to dance in the rain with you last night.