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Chapter Text

It’s the pained scream that makes Jingyi’s blood run cold. One moment he and Sizhui are sparring in Jin Ling’s backyard, the next moment Jin Ling’s Uncle, Jiang Cheng, is forcefully herding them all into the car and speeding towards the hospital.

He had landed a good hit on Sizhui, getting around his guard when his friend shrieked and clutched his side before collapsing to his knees. Jingyi had instantly dropped his Nerf sword and rushed across the grass to drop to his knees at Sizhui’s side. His hands felt numb as he clutched onto his trembling shoulders and frantically called Sizhui’s name. Sizhui wasn’t responding to him… he was crying too hard with pained gasping breaths.

The sound of rushed footsteps and a harsh “What the hell-?!?!” tore his attention away from Sizhui to see Jin Ling and Zizhen running across the grass towards the crumpled pair.

“Jin Ling!! Jin Ling go get your Uncle! Sizhui… Sizhui’s hurt real bad!! I-!!”

Immediately Jin Ling turned on his heel and ran back into the house calling for his Uncle while Zizhen continued towards his friends with a face full of concern. Fairy started to bark to accompany the frantic yells of her master, adding to the noisy chaos.

Jingyi turned his attention back to the friend in his arms who was bent double in pain, his breath still coming in harsh gasps. He vaguely felt Zizhen’s calming hand on his own shoulder as he felt tears prick up at the corners of his eyes.

“Sizhui!! Sizhui I’m so, so, so sorry!! I didn't mean-”

His apologetic ramblings were cut short at the sound of Jiang Cheng loudly exclaiming “What the HELL is going on out here??” as he rushed over to the boys with Jin Ling, and a barking Fairy in tow. He took one glance at the state his brother’s son was in then quickly snapped at Jin Ling to put Fairy away and grab his car keys. Jiang Cheng knelt by the pained teen and placed his hand gently on the crown of his head to get his attention.

“Sizhui, I’m taking you to the hospital. I’m going to pick you up and take you to the car, ok?”

A jerky nod from Sizhui was all he received as acknowledgement before Jiang Cheng gently pushed Jingyi to the side and scooped the injured teen in his arms. Tears threatened to spill from Jingyi’s eyes in response to the pained yelp that tore itself from Shizhui’s lips as he was picked up. Swiftly striding towards the waiting car, Jiang Cheng shouted over his shoulder as he walked,

“Jingyi, Zizhen, get your asses in the car, you’re going to have to hold him.”

The strict shout struck like lightning on the two shocked teens, moving them into action. Jingyi wiped his face on his sleeve before he ran with Zizhen to clamber into the back of Jiang Cheng's Prius. He turned in his seat to see Jiang Cheng hunched over and placing Sizhui into his seat as gently as he could. Sizhui’s eyes were tightly shut in pain, tears streaming down his pale cheeks.

“Buckle him in carefully, and hold onto him.” Jiang Cheng said before briskly shutting the car door and racing to the driver’s seat.

Jin Ling was already in the shotgun seat, typing directions to the hospital into his phone to help navigate his Uncle there. Jingyi scooted over into the middle seat, while Zizhen reached to shut the car door. They quickly buckled their own seatbelts, then Jingyi leaned over Sizhui to buckle his, leaving plenty of slack. Sizhui’s arms remained clenched around his midsection, as the turn of the car out of the driveway slid him over against Jingyi’s side. Jingyi gently wrapped his arm around Sizhui’s shoulders, holding him securely as he continued to fight back his own tears. Sizhui’s sobs shook his own body as he continued to gasp and cry against Jingyi’s shirt. The sound of Jin Ling reading driving directions to his uncle and Zizhen’s soft reassurances to them both filtered in between those pained breaths.

=====================================================================

A burst appendix.

That was the cause of Sizhui’s pained sobs, tense face, and shaking body.

Jingyi had hit him so hard he burst his appendix.

He buried his face in his hands, a black hole of shame and remorse opening up inside his chest as he sat with Jin Ling and Zizhen in the waiting room while Jiang Cheng finished filling out the necessary paperwork for Sizhui’s emergency surgery.

Jingyi knew about the appendix, and how that useless organ did nothing except decide when it wanted to give out. People could die from a burst appendix! He could have killed his…. His best friend. Not a sarcastic word had come from Jin Ling, who had been sitting beside him fiddling on his phone while they waited. Ouyang Zizhen was similarly quiet on his other side, leaning quietly against his friend in attempt to comfort.

That’s how he knew it was really bad.

No jokes. No bullying. Just anxious silence.

That’s why the fear and panic continued to grow like a cold frost in his chest as he tried to hold back tears and fidgeting hands.

“Sizhui… oh my god Sizhui... I’m so sorry. I’m a fucking awful friend.”

The next thought hit him suddenly like a brick to the head. His shaking hands shot out and grabbed Zizhen’s hand in panic, startling both his friends from their somber silence as he whispered out in harsh despair.

“Oh my god… oh my god his dads are gonna hate me...”

The three stared at each other for a beat before whipping their heads back to Jiang Cheng. He had his phone up to his ear as he met three pairs of wide eyes with his solemn glare before turning his back on the trio.

Jingyi continued to stare at the older man’s back as he felt Jin Ling sit back against the chair with a sigh:

“Yeah… you’re so fucking dead…”

Chapter Text

What Sizhui hears first is the beeping of machines. He feels like he is floating in a warm, comfy cloud, relieved to not feel the stabbing agony that consumed his body before.
Rather, his blurry eyes struggle to focus in the bright room around him as his head lolls to the side of his pillow. He blinks two, three times before the world is brought into focus and he turns his head and is surprised to see the tear-stained face of one of his best friends so close to his. Jingyi is leaning over his hospital bed, hands clutched in the blanket as his mouth flaps in an attempt to form words but instead doing an excellent impression of a dying fish. Shizui’s mind is playing catch up as to why his friend looks so distraught... but based on the room around him it’s easy to see he's in a hospital.

“Jingyi...what… what happened??” Shizui croaks.
He vaguely remembers getting to the hospital in a flurry of action before a mask was placed over his face, and then soft white nothing... a similar calm to cuddling one of dad’s bunnies. He’s always had memory issues, his baba insists he’s been like that since he was small.

“Am I…. ok?” he asks softly, tears springing to his eyes unbiddenly as he tries to take stock of his body. Jingyi’s eyes widen in alarm and his hands relinquish their grip on the blanket to grasp at Sizhui’s.

“YES!!! Well, you’re ok now... no thanks to me being fucking stupid.”

“Wha-”

Sizui’s confused response is cut off by Jingyi’s increasing volume of panicked rambling.

“ Shizhui I was SO scared when I landed a hit on you, WE WERE SPARRING, but then I somehow hit you so hard and then you were SCREAMING AND YOUR UNCLE JINAG CHENG IS SO SCARY, AND I WAS SO SCARED AND YOU LOOKED SO PALE AND I THOUGHT I HAD KILLED YOU WITH A FUCKING NERF SWORD AND-”

Suizhui eyes widen as Jingyi sucks in a harsh breath and ducks his head, starting to cry. Sizhui’s hands still clasped within Jingyi’s own shaking hands as he rambles on. Sizhui tries to cut in,

“Jingyi-”

“AND JIN LING WASN’T INSULTING ME AT ALL SO I KNOW IT WAS SERIOUS AND ZIZHEN LOOKED LIKE HE WAS GOING TO CRY AND OH MY GOD YOUR UNCLE GET’S REALLY FUCKING INTENSE AND SCARY-”

Sizuhi feels like a leaf caught in a storm trying to muster up the words from his muddled mind to calm his friend but Jingyi is again interrupted by his own sob for breath as tears roll down his face. Sizhui reaches up with a shaking hand to touch his friend’s face to get him to look at him again.

“Jingyi… please. Really I’m-”

Jingyi suddenly lets go of his hand with a quiet expletive, wiping his arm across his face as he retreats and hunches in on himself.

“Fuck… I’m making it all about me when you’re the one in the hospital bed and probably in pain. fuck I’m such a shitty friend.” Jingyi presses the heels of his hands against his eyes and he sniffles.

Sizhui stares at his normally exuberant friend, feeling more awake than ever and reaches with his still clumsy hands to gently pat at his friends arms.

“Jingyi… I’m still pretty groggy but really, I feel ok now and you’re here and that makes me really happy. Please stop beating yourself up... you’re here to be with me now that I’m awake. I’ll be ok.“

Jingyi lets Sizhui pull his hands away from his eyes and pulls one arm free to swipe at his eyes as he sniffs and clears his throat.

“Yeah… yeah, you’re awake and you’re alive and I… and I’m...”

Jingyi’s rough voice trails off speaking as looks up at Sizhui, staring deep into Sizhui’s eyes with his own damp ones with a look that makes Sizhui feel butterflies are taking flight under his skin.

Then suddenly Jingyi is drifting closer to Sizhui. He feels a warm caress of breath on his face then...

They’re kissing.

Jingyi is… kissing him.

Jingyi is KISSING HIM???

Then as quick as those lips are pressed against his own chapped ones, their warm presence is gone. Sizhui’s mouth is parted in surprise as he and Jingyi stare at each other, their faces inches apart. Sizhui’s ears are ringing, his face feels so, so warm, and his pulse begins to race like a rabbit doing binkies in a field. Anxiousness begins to creep into Jingyi’s gaze as he begins to retreat from their shared breath. Before he can get too far Sizhui grabs at his hands for stability and uses his small reserve of strength to surge forward and kiss away Jingyi’s doubt. That soft warmth is back and he feels it rush from his lips to the tips of his toes. Their eyes fall closed as Jingyi leans back into the kiss, deepening it and entwining his hands with Sizhuis when-

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

The two fly apart at the sudden sound of machine beeping, with Sizhui groaning in pain at the sudden movement and almost toppling off the hospital bed entirely.

“SHIT!! SIZHUI!!”

Jingyi catches his friend in the cradle of his arms and gently helps him lay back against his pillows.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, ohmygod are you hurt?? Shit! Did I hurt you again??” he yelps frantically above Sizhui.

Sizhui breathes through the momentary twinge of pain then looks up to Jingyi’s face that is inches from his own and full of naked concern. His cheeks are flushed a ruddy pink, and Sizhui has a feeling his face matches with that same flush… if not worse. The machine continues to beep loudly in the background but fades away in contrast to his pounding heart rushing through his head and the sensation of Jingyi’s warm hands ghosting over his sore body with the gentlest of touches.

He’s so warm...

Suddenly the door slams open, and Jin Ling and Zizhen burst into the room with vending machine snacks in hand. Jin Ling skidds to the end of the bed with Zizhen close behind on heels.

“WHAT'S HAPPENING?! WHAT’S GOING ON?! IS SHIZUI DYING?!?” Jin Ling shouts as he skidds to a stop and his eyes widen as he takes in the sight of his friend’s flushed faces.

Sizhui croaks out a cracked “UhM!!” as Jingyi flies back from his crouched position over Sizhui back into his chair, almost tipping it over, as he screams at Jin Ling “IT’S NOTHING!!!!”.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Zizhen blinks rapidly as his cheeks begin to flush as well, staring between his friends with his mouth open in shock. Jin Lings starts pointing wildy between the two as his shrill voice joins the chorus of screams of embarrassment and shock.

“OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD.”
“WHY HASN'T IT STOPPED BEEPING????”
“WHAT WERE YOU DOING TO SIZHUI?!?!?”
“WHY ARE YOUR FACES RED??”
“WHY IS YOUR FACE RED?????”
“OHMYGOD”
“WHERE YOU GUYS KISSING???”
“OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOD”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP JIN LING!!”
“YOU GUYS TURN IT OFF!!! THE NURSE IS GONNA COME IN!!!”
“NO! FUCK YOU!”
“SIZHUI ARE YOU OK???”
“JINGYI!!!”
“TURN IT OFF TURN IF OFF TURN IT-”

The door flies open once more.

“What the HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE??”

Jiang Cheng thunders in, followed by a harried looking nurse, and the tall figures of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji who look at their son with varying levels of concern and alarm.

Jiang Cheng’s question brings a beat of silence before a three part harmony yell of teenage voices chime back in with the continued beeping of the machine alarm.