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Strike one was that Shiyuan didn’t show up for breakfast. If he had just been late, then that would have been a whole different story
Strike two was that he didn’t show up for morning drills.
And strike three? Well, strike three was Shiyuan not answering the door when he knocked. Not even a single shuffle or sound. It made him bite his lip with concern and break a rule he swore he never would. Gently, he opened the door.
The room was dark, only the light from the hallway illuminated the room, and that was even mentioning how it felt like walking into a freezer.
He had been in Shiyuan’s room before, and more importantly, he had been invited to his room. Sometimes to talk over reports, others to share books, and his favorite being to share affection with each other, typically under the all-encompassing heat of the kotatsu. But never when he was at his weakest, like now.
After shedding his shoes at the door, he walked forward till he was at the end of the screen panel, hesitating one last time. He didn’t want to overstep— they had only been dating for a month or two at this point— that concern had swiftly gone out the window when a soft whimpering sound met his ears. And so, he continued forward.
Curled underneath an innumerable amount of blankets, his once silk tail, now shaggy, coiled around him. Lay Shiyuan, his long, elegant ears fixed flat against the side of his head. His skin was unnaturally pale, highlighted by a red tint.
Like a love-struck idiot, he immediately went and sat at the edge of the other man’s bed, softly brushing his bangs to the side, only to feel the sweat-stricken forehead burn beneath his fingertips.
Despite the coolness of his touch, tremors still wracked their way through the thiren’s body, vision spinning like he was on a never-ending carousel. Which, in all respects, perfectly encapsulated how the man felt.
It made sense in a cruel sort of way that Shiyuan would hide away like this. Too polite to ask for help or ‘inconvenience’ others. And too stubborn to admit he needed it. It was a vicious cycle, one Wise often found himself acquainted with.
“Wise…?” Shiyuan muttered, his voice cracking like his dry lips. Then, his eyes widened, a realization dawning on him. “Wait… What time is it?”
Before he could move, the thirens eyes found the clock, and the regret— the guilt— was obvious on the man’s face. In the blink of an eye, he had thrown off the blanket, once again pushing his own needs to the side.
“Sorry, I—“ A cough, a wet one at that, one that made Wise wince. “I’ll be up in just a moment, and you can continue… Whatever it was you were doing before this, sorry, I—“
The proxy stopped him before he could get up too fast and make his dizziness worse. Slowly pushing him back to bed with a soft hush. “It’s fine, you can rest.”
Shiyuan blinked up at him slowly. “…Huh?” He moves his glasses up to rub at his eyes, before staring at the proxy again as if it’d make it make any more sense. Wise smiled even more fondly at him, making him feel like he was being wrapped in a cloud of warmth.
“It’s fine,” he smiled, tilting his head to the side. “You can rest, you know, there’s no rush, yeah?”
The words felt like that self-imposed weight had been temporarily lifted off his shoulders. “But Shifu–”
“Shifu knows, she’s just worried.” And with those simple words, Shiyuan melted back into his blanket, not even fighting off the hand that began scratching behind his ears and fell into a peaceful sleep.