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Chen Yi blinks away the spots in his vision, viciously tamping down the urge to just lie down and take a nap. How long has it been since he last slept? Not in the last 48 hours, that's for sure.
But he can't, at least not yet. It's an important mission that they cannot afford to mess up - Chen Yi needs to personally see the entire operation through, even if that means he'll lose some sleep for a while. A rival gang has stolen some important shipments from them, and they need to steal them back and make sure the goods are safe before Yiyun Meng can teach them a lesson. Ai Di had insisted that he stay up with him at first, but caved after Chen Yi - rather rationally - explained that he'd rather have one sleep deprived member instead of two, and he'll need Ai Di to be clear headed enough to help him run the operation.
And Chen Yi does actually need Ai Di to be clear headed for this, because beyond the biting exhaustion that has sunk deep in his bones, Chen Yi's pretty sure he’s having a bad fever, too. He hasn't really eaten much, not able to keep anything down thanks to the nausea, and the fever reducers he took only work for so long. He's been avoiding Ai Di as much as he can, not wanting the other to catch onto his condition and compromise the entire operation.
It's why he finds himself in a small alley, a short distance away from their stakeout location, arm braced against the wall of a building as he throws up into the gutter. The fever burns hot under his skin; but it's 5 more hours before the stakeout ends and his men can make their move, so Chen Yi is determined to push through until everything is over.
But all that goes to hell when Chen Yi roughly wipes a hand over his mouth and turns around - only to find a switchblade pressed to his throat.
“What a coincidence,” a voice purrs, “to find the leader of Yiyun Meng here alone like this. Care to explain why you're skulking around in our territory, Boss Chen?”
Oh, fuck.
They rough him up a little before dragging him back to their headquarters and tying him to a chair, shirtless; unoriginal for sure, but not as if Chen Yi put up much of a fight, disoriented as he was. He wonders if it'll be funny or embarrassing if he throws up on his captors. Ai Di would think it's funny, that's for sure.
“Now,” the man with the switchblade says - Chen Yi identifies him as one of the rival gang's main fighters, now that he's able to see his face, “any reason why we found you this close to our territory in the middle of the night, scurrying around like some rat?” He flicks the switchblade open and close as he speaks, letting the metal catch the light.
They're not going to kill him - murdering a rival gang leader is as good as declaring a full on gang war, and Chen Yi knows that they don't have the strength to take on Yiyun Meng. But this man in particular - Yang Yi, his brain supplies - is well known to enjoy torturing his victims. It's nothing he can't handle, but still, Chen Yi braces himself for a long night.
“I had some food around your area. It was so bad I immediately got food poisoning and threw up.” Chen Yi lets the corner of his mouth tick up in a smirk. He just wishes his head wasn't swimming so violently. “Your stomachs must be pretty strong if you're eating that kind of shit every day.”
The punch to his face is swift and wholly expected. Chen Yi's head snaps back, and he turns to spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor, still smirking. He's already endangered the entire plan just by getting caught, so he's got to do everything in his power to keep them distracted, keep them thinking they have the upper hand, so they won't get suspicious and send people to look for more intruders in their territory. Just a few more hours. Ai Di will go ahead with the plan regardless; he's glad that he had the foresight to hand the reins for this operation over to Ai Di right before he was captured. “My men will come looking for me eventually. Do you really think it's a good idea to keep me here for so long?”
“Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Until then, I'll have some fun with you.”
Hours later, Ai Di slams open the door to the room he's held in, guns aloft. The rest of Chen Yi's men file in behind him - it seems that the mission had gone successfully, since he doesn't spot many injuries among them.
When Chen Yi meets Ai Di's eyes, he sees the way his boyfriend's eyes widen slightly and grimaces. He knows how he must look, Yang Yi having employed some interesting techniques with his switchblade in the hours prior, not in the interest of obtaining any information but mainly for his own sadistic pleasure. Chen Yi's learned some things he could use himself while watching Yang Yi carve patterns into his skin, actually. A myriad of bruises and a range of shallow to semi-deep cuts are scattered all over his torso; in a way, Chen Yi's glad for the numbing haze the fever has him in, because he's still not feeling the pain of his injuries as deeply as he thinks he should. He's lost a considerable amount of blood, but he's pretty sure the damage just looks far worse than it actually is.
Yang Yi steps behind him, bringing his switchblade - now dripping with blood - up to Chen Yi's throat. Ai Di's expression turns stormy. He lifts his gun and aims it at Yang Yi. “Move away from the boss if you know what's good for you.” Ai Di snarls, voice harsh.
“And let you shoot me in the face? I don't think so.” Yang Yi laughs, low and cruel. “I think I'll bring your boss away with me, and you'll let me walk away if you want him to live.”
Ai Di's face pinches, grip on his gun tightening. Chen Yi knows he’ll agree to Yang Yi's demands, because he knows Ai Di and he'll never risk Chen Yi's life, even if he's a damn good shot.
But Chen Yi's also grown tired of Yang Yi, so - he lifts hands which he's freed behind his back from minutes ago over his head and grabs Yang Yi's wrist, and dislocates it with a quick twist of his hands. Yang Yi yells in pain, dropping the knife as he stumbles backwards, where Ai Di immediately puts him out of his misery with a bullet to the throat.
It's quiet in the seconds that follow.
“Hey.” Ai Di eventually says, roughly shoving the gun into the waistband of his pants. “Why the fuck didn't you tell me you were sick?”
“Hey yourself.” Chen Yi answers. “...How did you find out?”
“You were suddenly avoiding me for most of the day, and don't think I didn't notice you weren't eating last night.”
“Sorry - I just didn't want to get in the way.” Chen Yi says as Ai Di pulls his arm over his shoulder and helps him into a standing position, ignoring the blonde’s hiss of “motherfucker, you're burning up!”
“So you decided to get yourself kidnapped instead.” Ai Di retorts. Chen Yi doesn't have any good response to that, especially when the room tilts dangerously about him when Ai Di pulls him upright, and he's mainly occupied with making sure he doesn't topple over while standing in place. His men are still in the room with him and he refuses to pass out in front of all of them, not when they've already had to rescue him since he stupidly let himself get caught by the enemy. At least the force of Ai Di’s glare keeps their eyes on his face, instead of on the fresh wounds scattered like landmarks on a map all over his bare torso.
They give Chen Yi a quick rundown of the events that happened during the operation once they were back in headquarters. Barring Chen Yi's capture, it was a successful mission, overall - they secured the goods that were stolen from them and destroyed the rest of the shipment belonging to the rival gang, as a clear message not to mess with Yiyun Meng again. And with Yang Yi's death, the gang wouldn't have the guts or the strength to retaliate any time soon.
Chen Yi dismisses them quickly, feeling himself swaying as he leans against Ai Di, keeping himself upright only by sheer force of will.
Some of the men approach Ai Di before they leave, asking if he needs help with Chen Yi, but he only draws Chen Yi's arm tighter around his shoulders and answers in a clipped voice, “No need. Go. I'll take him to his room.”
No one asks Ai Di if he needs a lift before they leave - to most of them, Ai Di lives with Chen Yi. It's not at all a secret that Chen Yi is sleeping with his right hand man, although it's only Chen Yi's most trusted men who know just how far they would go for each other. Chen Dong Yang leaving and taking Ming Lei with him should have clued the rest of the men in to the fact that Chen Yi was not their first boss who was involved with their right hand man like this, anyway.
Chen Yi doesn't remember how they made it back to his bedroom, too worn out by exhaustion, blood loss and illness to properly keep track of the proceedings. He trusts Ai Di to manage for the both of them.
Which is why when they’re finally inside his bedroom, door closed behind them, Chen Yi just - drops.
They're thankfully close enough to the bed that they land in an awkward sprawl on top of it, Ai Di not really able to do anything against 75kg of dead weight suddenly falling on him, only managing to control their fall so that Chen Yi lands on top of him instead of the other way around.
“Fuck,” Ai Di swears, tapping urgently at Chen Yi's face. “Chen Yi! What's wr- Are you okay?”
“Nngh… Dizzy.” He rubs his nose weakly against Ai Di's neck. Vaguely, Chen Yi understands that he's at his limit - he feels hot and cold all over, fatigue and fever weighing heavy on him and making his thoughts foggy. Is he lying on top of Ai Di, or is Ai Di on top of him? It's getting increasingly hard to think.
“Shit, fuck, hold on, I'm gonna -” Ai Di wriggles out from under Chen Yi's weight. Chen Yi makes a displeased grunt, making an uncoordinated grab at him, wanting him to stay, not happy about losing the warmth of Ai Di's body, but is barely able to get his arm up more than a couple of inches. Ai Di catches it, and places it fairly gently back against his chest. “I just need to get a doctor. Don't move.” He warns. As if Chen Yi was capable of getting up from the bed, or doing anything remotely involving movement right now.
“And don't fall asleep!” Ai Di yells from the bedroom door, panic clear in his voice even as his footsteps pound frantically down the corridor.
Chen Yi really tries to obey, he really does - because when does Chen Yi ever not want to give Ai Di everything he asks for? - but he's so tired and in so much pain, and the pull of sleep beckons to him like a siren call.
He's helpless to resist. The darkness claims him before he even realises it, eyelids pulling down along with his consciousness.
The first time he wakes, it's slow and difficult. He hears chatter around him: wounds… Infected… Fever will get worse.
Then as awareness returns a little more, he dimly registers a hand on his arm, and for a moment he's back in the room with Yang Yi, tied to a chair and forced to watch as he twists a switchblade into his skin. Immediately he thrashes, and hears a cry of surprise and the sound of things clattering to the ground, before a voice shouts, “Chen Yi!”
It's Ai Di. He'd recognise his voice anywhere. “You're fine. You're safe.” Ai Di's voice says. “Dr. Lan is here, he's just checking on you.”
Chen Yi doesn't remember who Dr. Lan is, vaguely registers the name as some contact that the gang has. But Ai Di is here. If Ai Di is here, he can let go.
Chen Yi gives in to the tiredness that creeps swiftly over his mind, and lets the darkness sweep him down again.
The second time he wakes, it's to a repetitive shhhng shhhng shhhng sound, high-pitched and closeby. It takes him a while before he recognises the familiar, comforting sound of a knife being sharpened. Chen Yi shifts, then groans, pain flaring all along his body, reminding him of the wounds he's received. He can feel a multitude of bandages covering almost his entire upper body, and can only imagine that it looks a lot worse underneath.
“You're awake?” The knife sharpening sound has stopped; Chen Yi blinks his eyes open to see Ai Di setting a sharpening stone and hunting knife down on the bedside table. The warm pillow under him shifts with the movement, which is when Chen Yi realises he's lying with his head in Ai Di's lap, in his bed.
Chen Yi tries to swallow and feels his throat dry when he answers. “Kind of wish I wasn't.” He croaks, grimacing again when he tries to move his arm and sends another flare of pain through his body. His head still hurts, though, and he's feeling a little floaty, so whatever pain medicine they have him on must be wearing off.
Ai Di breathes a laugh, carefully helping Chen Yi to sit up before handing him a glass of water. “Then don't fucking get yourself sick, kidnapped and tortured next time, idiot.”
Chen Yi leans back against Ai Di when he's done drinking; his body is bracketed between both of Ai Di's legs, a position he rarely finds himself in. He still feels concerningly dizzy, and tired, but he finds the energy to turn his head enough to kiss Ai Di on the cheek, murmuring a soft “thanks”.
“Don't thank me yet, I'm gonna fucking kick your ass once you're well enough to take it.” Ai Di gripes, but his eyes are soft. When Chen Yi only sighs, and nuzzles into his neck, Ai Di's tone becomes slightly more worried. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Still tired. Head hurts.” And his body feels like one giant bruise. And he's cold. Fuck, why was it so cold? Now that he's aware of it, he starts to shiver, and Chen Yi tries to press himself further into Ai Di's body, seeking the other's warmth. He sorely wishes he could be back asleep. Being awake was a miserable feeling.
Ai Di's hand presses against Chen Yi's forehead, and smooths his hair gently back before bringing it up to his own. He clicks his tongue between his teeth. “Yeah, you still have a fever. Dr. Lan said it'll stick around a while.”
“I don't see why you trust this Dr. Lan so much. Is he handsome?” Chen Yi mutters petulantly. He knows it's irrational once the words leave his mouth, but he's unable to ignore the flare of irritation in his chest anyway.
“It's because he saved your life, stupid, what he looks like doesn't have anything to do with it. But, it does help that he's pretty good looking.” At Chen Yi's affronted look, Ai Di snorts and flicks him on the nose. “Do you see Dr. Lan in the room with us? You've already claimed me as your own, don't think you're getting rid of me that easily, Boss Yi.”
“You're mine. If that Dr. Lan even looks at you funny, I'll have him removed.” And Chen Yi absolutely means removed, in the most literal sense.
Ai Di rolls his eyes. “Yes, alright, I love you too. Do you want to go back to sleep now?”
Chen Yi hadn't realised he was already yawning. The fever is making him sluggish and sleepy, coherent thoughts starting to slip away from his grasp. He nods in response to Ai Di's question, tightens his grip around his boyfriend's waist, and makes a pathetic attempt to try and pull the blankets up around them. Fuck, but it was cold.
He feels Ai Di carefully easing the both of them down into a horizontal position before he helps Chen Yi with his failed task of bringing the blankets up. Warmer now, and with Ai Di securely in his hold, Chen Yi lets his eyes close the rest of the way, brain already going fuzzy from the pull of sleep.
The last thing he hears is Ai Di fondly saying, “don't squeeze me so hard, I'm gonna have to get up and get food for us at some point….”
Several hours later, Ai Di is startled awake by a quiet moan.
He'd fallen asleep with Chen Yi wrapped tightly around him - several hours have passed since then, but Ai Di quickly locates the source of the noise that had woken him. His boyfriend is still asleep, but he's sweating profusely and small whimpers escape his mouth. When Ai Di touches his cheek, the skin under his palm is blazingly hot. A spike of panic goes through him momentarily, before he recalls Dr. Lan’s words from when he was patching up Chen Yi.
“Most of his wounds are shallow, but some of them are already infected. The fever will likely get worse before it gets better.” The doctor had warned. Thankfully, he had also instructed Ai Di on what to do when it does inevitably get worse, so Ai Di scrambles to prepare a bowl of water and a rag with minimal swearing.
Chen Yi's expression is pained, bedsheets twisted tight in his clenched fists as he suffers through whatever nightmare he's currently having. When Ai Di kneels beside the bed to set the bowl down, he catches the soft, strained utterances that Chen Yi is making.
“Not… Don't - I'm sorry. I was wrong… I'm sorry.” Chen Yi sounds utterly heartbroken, young and sad like a child. Ai Di frowns, as he wets the rag and wrings it out. What the fuck kind of nonsense was Chen Yi apologising for? And to who? There's nothing that happened recently that Chen Yi had to apologise for, in his memory. It's a stupid thought, but Ai Di wishes that he could enter Chen Yi's dream to beat up whoever the fuck was antagonising him in it.
If it was the boss he's dreaming about…
“Don't leave… I'm sorry. Di, please. Don't g- go.” Chen Yi gasps, a sob wracking his frame, and - the wet rag falls from limp fingers back into the bowl with a loud splash. Ai Di freezes, tears springing to his eyes when the realisation hits. Does Chen Yi still have nightmares about the time he left for prison? It's been months since then, but - he's never heard Chen Yi sound this broken before. It was one thing to hear from the brothers just how off the rails Chen Yi had nearly gone while he was in prison, it was another thing to hear Chen Yi beg for him to stay while he was dreaming about Ai Di leaving. Had Chen Yi suffered this much after he was gone?
Another whimper falls from Chen Yi's lips, and suddenly Ai Di is throwing himself forward, even before he realises he's moved, to cradle his boyfriend's face and pepper insistent, desperate kisses all over it. “I'm not leaving,” Ai Di says fiercely, roughly scrubbing tears away with his sleeve as he presses kisses to Chen Yi's jaw, his cheekbones, his hairline. “I'm here now. I'm never leaving you. Never again. Do you hear me, Chen Yi? Never again.”
He repeats this mantra over and over, until Chen Yi's panicked breathing evens out and his expression relaxes into something more peaceful. Only then does Ai Di sit back, and shakily retrieves the wet rag from the bowl to run it carefully over Chen Yi's wrists, neck, and face, then wringing it out once more before leaving the damp cloth across his forehead. Ai Di's eyes never once leave Chen Yi's face - he doesn't think he can take his eyes off that beloved face ever again.
Still feeling a little numb, he absently tugs the cloth back into place when Chen Yi turns in his sleep, brows twisting in discomfort, feeling the disconcerting heat of his skin when his fingers brush against Chen Yi's temple.
It'll get worse before it gets better, huh?
Ai Di folds his arms on the side of the bed and rests his head in them. “Well, I'm not going anywhere,” he says, to no one in particular.
Never again.
Ai Di doesn't let anyone but himself into Chen Yi's room over the next few days - as much as they trust their brothers, Chen Yi hates letting anyone (with the exception of Ai Di) see him vulnerable. It's a sentiment that Ai Di shares.
Chen Yi's fever gets far worse than Dr. Lan expected - for the first three days, the infection of his wounds sinks its claws deep into Chen Yi and refuses to let go. Ai Di wakes up several times to Chen Yi confused and delirious, thrashing against the sheets like he's being held down against his will; other times, Chen Yi appears more coherent, but looks at Ai Di with glassy eyes like he doesn't quite know who's in the room with him. Sometimes his skin felt so hot that Ai Di wonders if he should have called an ambulance, or at least Dr. Lan, instead of trying to bring the fever down by himself with cool cloths and ice packs.
He gets Chen Yi to eat whenever he can, even though he usually didn't have much of an appetite, feeding him crackers and soup and medicine when Chen Yi was lucid enough to swallow them. Then also pushes Chen Yi's hair back when he - occasionally - throws them back up. The one time Ai Di hadn't grabbed a bin in time, the mess had gotten all over the sheets instead, and that had been fun - it took him four tries just to change the bedsheets when Chen Yi was practically a dead weight on top of them, having passed back out again almost immediately after throwing up.
It isn't his first time having to care for Chen Yi when he's ill, both used to taking care of each other since young. But they weren't lovers before. Now Ai Di cares for him in a way that's far more intimate, far more intense, bordering on religious devotion; it's physically impossible for him to leave Chen Yi's side, not when his heart, soul and body already belonged to him.
And, whenever Chen Yi was caught in nightmares that had him fearfully crying out Ai Di's name, Ai Di was always there, to soothe and to promise, over and over, that he was still there, and always will be.
But finally, thankfully, the infection clears, and Chen Yi's fever breaks on the fourth day.
Chen Yi wakes to weak sunlight coming through the window, feeling… surprisingly normal, if a little lethargic. But it beats the disorienting feeling of hot, cold, dizzy, hot from the last several days, most of which was just a fuzzy memory to him. A slightly damp cloth slips off his face when he turns his head, but he barely registers it when he catches sight of the person next to him.
Ai Di is curled up on the edge of the bed, facing him, a line of heat between Chen Yi and the rest of the room. He's sleeping peacefully, the sunlight making his blonde hair look soft and shiny, and Chen Yi's content to just stare at his boyfriend's face and watch him sleep for a while.
There are dark circles under Ai Di’s eyes. Chen Yi frowns when he notices this, reaching a hand up to gently rub his thumb against the dark smudges. There's no doubt about who's been caring for him while he's been out of commission - but Chen Yi feels guilty about being the one who'd exhausted his boyfriend like this, even though he knows he'd have done exactly the same, without question, if their positions were reversed.
His gentle touch causes Ai Di to stir, however, and he blinks awake, bleary gaze already moving towards Chen Yi before he's even fully aware. As if by habit, Ai Di, still half asleep, reaches out to adjust the cloth that had half-fallen off Chen Yi's forehead, a full five seconds before he realises that Chen Yi's eyes are open and looking directly at him.
“Motherfuc-!” Is the startled yelp Ai Di lets out before he falls backwards off the bed, landing on the floor with a loud thump.
Chen Yi presses his lips together to suppress a laugh as Ai Di sits back up, his blonde hair sticking up in every direction. “Hi,” he says, a rush of affection making him grin when Ai Di shoots him a disgruntled glare. He just feels fond. Always fond. Ai Di could be in the middle of carving someone's intestines out from their abdomen, and Chen Yi would still be looking at him with the same amount of fondness he's unable to contain for the other boy, these days. “What are you doing on the floor?”
“Smartass.” Ai Di grumbles as he climbs back onto the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” Chen Yi answers honestly. He rolls his neck, feeling the kinks in it, but mostly relieved that the action isn't accompanied by the heavy, dizzy feeling that had been plaguing him before. “A lot better, actually.”
“Thank fuck, you were pretty out of it for a while. Nearly thought I had to send you to the hospital at a few points.” Ai Di flops directly on top of Chen Yi's chest, ignoring the soft “oof” it elicits from Chen Yi.
“Watch it, I'm still injured, you know.”
“You don't get to whine about it, you did this to yourself.” Ai Di pokes roughly at one of his wounds, and Chen Yi winces, swatting his hand away.
“I didn't do it, Yang Yi did.”
Ai Di's face darkens immediately. “That's what that bastard's name was?”
“Mm.”
“Good to know. At least now I'll be able to find the right grave to piss on.”
While he's thrilled - and rather turned on - by Ai Di's protectiveness over him, Chen Yi doesn't miss the way his boyfriend's words are slightly slurred from exhaustion, or his slow, heavy blinks which only made the panda rings around his eyes even more pronounced.
Chen Yi wraps his arms around Ai Di and nudges his nose into Ai Di's hair. “Mm, where's that sweet, worried Ai Di from before? I miss him, he took such good care of me.” He feels more than hears Ai Di's disgusted huff, and laughs softly. “I even dreamt about you saying that you'll never leave me. It was so cute.”
He wasn't expecting Ai Di to pull back quickly, lifting his head to stare at Chen Yi in poorly disguised shock. “You - uh - you dreamt that?” He asks, stuttering slightly, and Chen Yi's too surprised by his uncharacteristic response to wonder why Ai Di's ears were turning a fierce red.
“I did,” Chen Yi answers slowly, eyes tracking the blush that is spreading from Ai Di's ears and cheeks down to his neck. “You alright, baobei?”
“I'm fine!” Ai Di squeaks, far too instantly, gaze flickering just about everywhere and avoiding Chen Yi's. Then he glances once, briefly, towards him, and upon making eye contact he immediately drops back down to slam his face back into Chen Yi's chest. The resulting ripple of pain was more than worth it, because Chen Yi has never seen his boyfriend shy, which he now realises is criminal because it's the cutest fucking thing he's ever witnessed. He hugs Ai Di close and places a kiss on the top of his head, keeping his delight to himself as he waits for Ai Di to compose himself and hopefully explain his frankly adorable reaction.
A few moments pass in silence, before Ai Di mumbles a quiet, muffled, “It's true, anyway.”
“Come again?”
Ai Di turns his head so he's facing Chen Yi, expression resembling a cat that had gotten caught in the rain. “I said it's true, alright?” Ai Di snaps, and the tips of his ears are starting to turn pink again. “I'm never leaving you. I just - I feel like I should - I just thought - you're stupid if you think otherwise, okay? Just remember that.” His tone is entirely disgruntled, but Chen Yi knows that verbal affection doesn't come easy to Ai Di - to neither of them, really, so it must have been important for him to have said it out loud. Even if Chen Yi doesn't understand the reason.
Unable to contain his delight any longer, Chen Yi grins widely, dimples fully emerging, hugging Ai Di to himself even more tightly and turning them both over so they're lying side by side on the bed, Ai Di hugged into Chen Yi's chest. Chen Yi doesn't need to know the reason; just hearing those words from Ai Di settles a time-worn itch in his chest, a knot of insecurity formed from the day Ai Di left him for prison that never truly went away.
“You're so cute.” He says happily, peppering soft kisses all over Ai Di's forehead.
“Who are you calling cute? I'll fucking punch your face, let's see if you'll say I'm cute then.”
“You can punch my mouth with your mouth if you'll let me do the same.” Chen Yi answers smoothly, and before Ai Di can form a retort, does exactly that, kissing Ai Di on the mouth. Ai Di's lips part almost immediately, willing and eager, and Chen Yi kisses him enthusiastically until they're both out of breath.
It's only when they're both lying back down on the bed after the impromptu make-out session that Ai Di processes the earlier statement. “You said punch my mouth with your mou- ugh, smartass,” Ai Di grumbles, before smothering a huge yawn with the back of his hand.
Chen Yi laughs and kisses him again. “Whatever you say, baobei. Sleep now.” He says, patting Ai Di lightly on the waist.
It's a clear tell of how tired Ai Di is when the blonde doesn't even pretend to protest, just releases another yawn and curls himself further into Chen Yi's front. Chen Yi's feeling too awake to join him, having slept far too much the last four days, but he's more than happy to hold Ai Di while he rests, and he never gets tired of watching Ai Di's face when he's peacefully asleep.
Ai Di's completely silent, and Chen Yi thinks he's fallen asleep until - “Don't think we won't be talking about how you hiding your sickness from me was what got you into this whole mess in the first place,” Ai Di mumbles sleepily.
“I know.” Chen Yi answers, genuinely regretful. He's sorry to have worried Ai Di so much from this recent incident. He kisses Ai Di's hair. “We'll talk later, I promise. Sleep first.”
Sleep claims Ai Di quickly after that, from the way his breathing deepens and his body almost immediately goes limp and pliant in Chen Yi's embrace. Chen Yi buries his nose into Ai Di's hair and inhales deeply; something about Ai Di's scent is always calming to him, comforting and secure. For now, he's recovering well from his injuries, Ai Di safe and warm in his arms, and there's no pressing Yiyun Meng matters he has to attend to, as far as he knows.
Maybe one more nap wouldn't hurt.