Chapter Text
To say he is tired would be an understatement of the century. His complaints on exhaustion during The Untamed filming now sound invalid in his own head when he is looking at them through the filter of almost four days with close to no sleep at all. And even his near-death (not really but it sure felt that way then) experience during the meeting in Thailand when he had to fly to Milan the moment it was over and spent more time on the planes those two days than he was sleeping, looks just like a warm up for what he is faced with now.
Which is an eleven-hour flight to Zurich followed up by a four-hour train ride to Verbier, and Xiao Zhan is just way too jiggered already to actually be frightened of the perspective. He probably should though. He will most likely black out somewhere in the middle of this trip and it will be Yibo’s problem to get the both of them to their destination.
Xiao Zhan would’ve felt bad about actually hoping for this to happen, because he is not too eager to move his own feet on his own right now, but he couldn’t care less, and if YiBo couldn’t find any snowy mountain for them to snowboard on any closer to China, Xiao Zhan is not going to feel guilty about spending the road to there unconscious.
YiBo will just have to carry him there. It is his turn now after all.
Also, he is late. He is half running half crawling his way to his gate, phone in hand, and he can only guess that the constant vibrations it gives is YiBo threatening him with bodily damage for being so unreliable.
It is not his fault though; his flight to Beijing got delayed and it is truly a miracle that he even got here on time to ― theoretically, if he hurries ― get to their plane to Zurich in the last possible moment. The perspective of spending the next eleven hours of his life inside the plane again makes him a bit nauseous, but he figures he will probably fall asleep the moment his body touches the seat, so it might be fine. With all the obnoxiousness YiBo’s slim body stores, the boy has shown himself to be extremely considerate around Xiao Zhan when he is dead on his feet.
Just in case though, Xiao Zhan picks up a few bags of different snacks in the Duty Free for the boy to munch on when he will get tired of sitting still near the unconscious Xiao Zhan. He is paying for them, when his phone vibrates again and he spares a quick glance at it.
I swear I will leave without you! it reads and a string of angry emojis follows.
When Xiao Zhan finally gets to the plane ― he is the last one, because, of course ― and makes his way to their seats in the business class, he expects to be met with an angry rant and a few hits, but clearly he should’ve already adjusted his expectations when it comes to YiBo, because it is not 2018 anymore and they are not on The Untamed set, and this, whatever it is, is just a bit more real now.
YiBo is chewing on his nails, eyes ― slightly reddened but dry― glued to his phone screen and his whole posture is like a compressed spring. He flinches and jerks his head up when he hears the door to the plane being closed behind Xiao Zhan’s back, and his adam apple bobs when he swallows when he sees him.
YiBo smiles with relief and despite how little energy is left in Xiao Zhan’s body, he feels his lips curl up in a smile too. YiBo raises his feet up, curling in a chair giving Xiao Zhan room to get to the seat near the window. He drops himself in it with a loud huff, closes his eyes and elbows YiBo lightly, because it is all he can manage now.
“I thought you didn’t like sitting near the isle,” Xiao Zhan mumbles and opens one eye to glance at YiBo. They haven’t seen each other for more than a month and he knows that he owes him ― and actually wants to give ― more than a one-eye side glance, but he simply doesn’t have the energy for more.
YiBo is looking . That way that Xiao Zhan noticed him looking during the meeting in Thailand, and later, when he finally had some free time after the fashion week in Milan, he decided to watch a few behind-the-scenes videos he had been ignoring before, as well as a couple of interviews they gave together. It was… revelating.
“Figured if you are as tired as you were the last time we took a plane together, you’d want to sleep through it,” YiBo answers, eyes roaming Xiao Zhan’s face. “You do look hella tired,” he adds.
“You meant I look like hell,” Xiao Zhan groans.
“Zhan-ge always looks handsome,” YiBo objects with a small one-sided smirk. “You okay?”
“No,” Xiao Zhan answers honestly. He is so exhausted he is not sure he is not actually dreaming it all. Maybe he just passed out on his way to the plane and is still lying there on the floor somewhere, and YiBo flew to Switzerland without him, and now he will hate him, and Xiao Zhan will also hate himself, and they will probably never see each other again, because their schedules are so packed, and Xiao Zhan just missed the only opportunity to spend a whole week with YiBo, away from everyone and everything, and he has been anticipating it so much, and he has missed YiBo so much it actually hurt a little and now―
“Zhan-ge! Ge, hey,” the familiar voice cuts in in the sleepy haze filling his mind and he feels someone shaking his shoulder lightly. He opens his eyes and is surprised to feel his eyelashes damp. YiBo’s face is hovering over him and Xiao Zhan is taken aback by the naked worry written across it. Xiao Zhan brings his hand up and rubs at his eyes. Did he just black out and cried in his sleep? God, he really does need some rest.
“I’m sorry, Bo-di,” he says softly and gives YiBo a weak smile. “I have barely slept the past few days.”
YiBo looks in his eyes intensely, as if he is checking that Xiao Zhan is really there and not passed out again with his eyes closed.
“Why didn’t you tell me this trip is such a pain for you,” he asks almost angrily and Xiao Zhan is not sure what this anger is directed at.
“You would’ve made me go anyway, YiBo,” Xiao Zhan tries for a joke, but in the state he is in it sounds like he means it seriously, and YiBo looks at him in disbelief.
“No,” he says dryly. “I wouldn’t have, gege. Do you really think―”
“It’s fine, Bo-di,” Xiaos Zhan interrupts him with a weak smile. “I would’ve done it anyway, YiBo.” YiBo looks at him skeptically, still frowning slightly, but apparently seeing that Xiao Zhan is not really drawing his last breath now, relaxes and sits back in his seat. “I didn’t do it just to please you, you know,” Xiao Zhan adds and yawns nearly dislocating his jaw. He rubs at his eyes again and turns to YiBo. The other is looking at him with a somewhat insecure expression and Xiao Zhan is not sure what to make of it.
He can’t help but smile though, and YiBo slowly smiles in return, and Xiao Zhan feels the most content he’s felt in the past month.
I really missed him, he thinks, and only in the last possible moment bites his cheek before saying this out loud.
“It’s good to see you, Bo-di,” he says instead, and feels happy when YiBo’s smile widens.
“Back at you, Zhan-ge,” YiBo answers. “You should probably sleep though,” he adds, and Xiao Zhan nods, sliding a bit lower in his seat.
“Seven days, YiBo,” he mumbles, closing his eyes and bumping his head at YiBo’s shoulder. It suddenly feels too heavy to lift and so he just leaves it there. The shoulder is hard and bony but right now he really couldn't care less.
“Yeah.”
“I’m sleeping through the first one,” Xiao Zhan says and lets out a half-content sigh ― it feels almost heavenly to be able to keep his eyes closed.
“Anything you want, ge…” comes a quiet answer.
“Bo-di…”
“Hm?”
“Bought snacks for you.” His tongue feels heavy and barely responsive, and he lets out a frustrated huff. “In m’bag,” he adds, reaching blindly to clap twice on YiBo’s thigh. “Eat ‘em.”
YiBo pats his hand briefly and says with a smile in his voice, “Gege is so attentive.”
“For you, didi,” Xiao Zhan mumbles and then whines, pouting his lips, “We’ll have just six days.”
“Whole six days, ge.” YiBo’s voice is warm and Xiao Zhan feels reassured by the confidence he hears in it.
He finds some strength to move his head a bit, searching for a more comfortable position and nuzzles YiBo’s hoodie. “Smells nice.”
“It’s a detergent.”
“Nah. Just six days, Bo-di… M’sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”
“You already did…” he thinks he hears through the heavy weight of the downing sleep and he wonders if he just imagined it.
He falls asleep as soon as the plane takes off.