Work Text:
It’s perhaps not Shen Yuan’s proudest moment, the way he dismisses himself from a meeting upon receiving a single text from Shang Qinghua.
bing @ hospital??
Shen Yuan had only given himself six seconds to process the words before a “Shit!” had echoed across the packed conference room. This was followed by the scaring of every coworker in his vicinity as he’d kicked his chair back so hard it slammed against the wall, followed by him letting out a long stream of “Fuck, I didn’t mean to curse— Shit, sorry for— Fuck,” as he threw a wad of probably-very-important documents into his work bag, followed by him running out of the room without so much as a goodbye.
On his way to the exit, his glasses had fallen off and he’d accidentely snapped them in half under his feet, giving the entirety of his office one last “Fuck!” before disappearing out the doors.
Getting into a cab and rolling down the window in hopes that the frigid air outside would numb his brain didn’t help. Frantically unlocking his cell phone to try and squeeze more information out of Shang Qinghua regarding why his boyfriend was in the hospital to begin with definitely didn’t help.
how do you know binghe is at the hos
hospsd
hospital
uh because i saw him being taken by the ambulance?
WHAT.
WHAT HAPPENED
calm down
something in him exploded idk.
why are u calling me
in a meeting cant pick up
stop calling me
Bro
BRO
it was his appendix or smth they said it happens
just needs a little surgery before pain gets worse
your bf took it like a champ
he said it hurts more when u dont let him spoon you
?
Shen Yuan had pretty much blacked out the rest of the ride. His only saving grace had come in the form of the cab driver reassuring Shen Yuan that Luo Binghe’s procedure was a common one, and that his own wife had gotten it done and been out of the hospital in a day. Shen Yuan tries not to dwell on the fact that the only reason the cab driver had given him this pep talk is likely because he looked a good five seconds away from puking all over the dashboard.
Now, Shen Yuan stands in front of the hospital’s receptionist, out of breath and with unflattering windblown hair. “I’m here to see Binghe.”
The receptionist isn’t fazed by his appearance. He taps languidly on the keyboard in front of him. Shen Yuan feels like it’s minutes ticking by instead of seconds. “How do you know the patient? Are you related to him?”
Shen Yuan shakes his head. “No, we’re not related—”
“Since the patient has just gotten out of surgery, only family members can visit.”
“—by blood.”
What a save!
Binghe, you’re dating a smart man!
“So you’re his husband, then?”
What.
Shen Yuan feels like someone’s just punched him in the stomach. He can physically feel his brain shutting down. His palms begin to sweat.
That isn’t what I said at all!!!
He hopes the receptionist will take it back. He hopes he’ll say something like, “Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed that. Here’s your not-husband’s room number.” But he doesn’t. The receptionist just stares at him in wait, as if the words that had just left his mouth hadn’t electrocuted Shen Yuan on the spot and fried his brain. Shen Yuan’s heart is also doing something weird now, too. He’s pretty sure the rate at which it’s beating isn’t healthy.
Ignoring the sudden butterflies in his stomach, Shen Yuan gets to thinking. There are certainly other non-blood ways that he could be related to Luo Binghe, but there’s nothing wrong with being assumed to be his husband, right? Besides, boyfriends are, what, two steps away from that? This lie should be a piece of cake.
He clears his throat. “Yes, I’m his… uh...”
Pull yourself together! It’s a word!!!
In the end, said word lodges itself in his throat and he can only continue with a choked, “…Which room is he in?”
The receptionist gives him a long stare. “608.”
Shen Yuan murmurs a quick thanks before booking it down the halls. His mind is on overdrive all the way to the elevator, all the way up the elevator, and all the way to Luo Binghe’s room. His palms are still a little sweaty.
Finally, he reaches Room 608.
Shen Yuan’s internal conflict at being referred to as Luo Binghe’s husband ends when he catches sight of his boyfriend. Luo Binghe, donned in a light blue gown, is laying back against a mountain of pillows. His face is puffy, his lips are dry, and he keeps tapping against the railing of the bed with a pitiful expression on his face.
At the sight, Shen Yuan’s heart lurches in his chest. He walks up to Luo Binghe and watches as his boyfriend musters up enough energy to turn his head, his eyes blowing wide open when he sees who’s there.
“Binghe,” Shen Yuan sighs. “You scared me.”
“A-Yuan,” Luo Binghe murmurs, except it’s really muffled and kind of incoherent. Shen Yuan figures it’s all the anaesthesia floating around in his system, but then he notices that his mouth is also stuffed with something that’s making it hard for him to speak.
Shen Yuan narrows his eyes.
What the?
Is that cotton?
Shen Yuan presses his thumb against Luo Binghe’s bottom lip and pulls it down with a frown. He’s no doctor, but he’s pretty sure appendices aren’t in the mouth, so why there’s gauze in Luo Binghe’s is beyond him.
“A-Yuan,” Luo Binghe murmurs again, snapping Shen Yuan from his thoughts. “Yo mmf heh.”
Shen Yuan has no idea what he just said. He settles for pressing the back of his hand to Luo Binghe’s forehead to check his temperature, and then to his chest to feel his heartbeat. He’s sure none of this is necessary, and he honestly doesn’t even know what to look for, but it helps calm his nerves regardless. “Do you feel okay?”
Luo Binghe takes Shen Yuan’s hand in his. He doesn’t try answering, which may be for the best, anyway. Shen Yuan just lets him hold his hand and ignores the fact that his small fingers are currently being crushed to dust in Luo Binghe’s big ones.
He gives his sedated boyfriend a small smile and pats the top of his head twice. “I’m glad you’re doing okay. I bet you’ve been so well-behaved.”
“Mmm,” Luo Binghe hums, and proceeds to numb Shen Yuan’s hand with an ever tighter grip.
Overall, it’s a very sweet moment. Shen Yuan can feel the tension release from his shoulders, and a strange happiness courses through him.
That is, until the door opens and a nurse walks in.
“You’re Shen Yuan?”
The nurse says his name like it’s the cause of every bad event that’s happened in her life, like it’s the most disgusting thing she’s ever had to vocalize with her own mouth. Shen Yuan suddenly feels like his drugged-out boyfriend may have caused more trouble than he initially thought. “I am,” he says, voice cracking.
The nurse walks further into the room, until she’s standing in the sunlight streaming from the windows and Shen Yuan can see the dark bags under her eyes.
Please don’t be because of Binghe please don’t—
“He’s been calling out for you ever since he woke up.”
You’re kidding me!!!!!!
The nurse keeps speaking. Shen Yuan isn’t sure what she’s saying. Instead, the world slows to a stop and the noises around him fade into a quiet murmur as he accepts the fact that any Shen Yuan to come through the hospital doors in the future will be side-eyed by every member in the building.
“—kept hitting the call button on the remote.”
It takes every ounce of strength Shen Yuan has not to bolt from the room. “Oh, sorry about that,” he apologizes, trying not to visibly flinch in front of her. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t do it again. Uh, now that you’re here though, I was wondering why he had gauze in his mouth? I thought the surgery was for his appendix.”
“It was.” The nurse glances at the monitor beside the bed and writes something down. “With all his moaning, he accidentally bit his tongue and it started to bleed.”
“Binghe,” Shen Yuan sighs, turning to flick his forehead lightly. Binghe mumbles something around the wads of cotton in his mouth. “Does he really need this much if he just bit his tongue?”
The nurse stares coldly at him. “He’s been calling out for you ever since he woke up,” she repeats.
“Ah.”
Shen Yuan gets it.
Not wanting to get in the nurse’s way more than he apparently already has, Shen Yuan stands off to the side to let her go through all her tasks. The entire time, Luo Binghe will not stop staring at him with the goofiest, lovestruck smile on his face. It vaguely reminds Shen Yuan of the way newlyweds look at each other.
At the thought, Shen Yuan has to turn his head and look elsewhere before he self-destructs.
When the nurse finishes, she gives Shen Yuan a quick rundown of everything, from how the surgery went to post-procedure instructions. Then she makes to leave, but something catches her eyes and stops her in her tracks.
Shen Yuan follows the nurse’s line of sight. She’s staring at a ring on his finger, adorned with a small stone of jade. Luo Binghe had given it to him when they’d first gotten together, a perfect compliment to the small pendant always around his neck.
“It’s too small for me, and green is a good color on you,” he’d said. Shen Yuan had later found a receipt for the ring in Luo Binghe’s coat pocket, but he really didn’t think of it as anything more than a sweet little gift (right? right??).
Shen Yuan starts to worry. Maybe this nurse is wondering if he’s even allowed to be here. Shen Yuan really does not have the face to declare their (fake!) marriage out loud, so now, he sees this little gift as an opportunity. If playing it up as some kind of wedding ring is what it’s going to take for Shen Yuan to not be asked any questions, then that’s what he’s going to do.
With a clearing of his throat, Shen Yuan stretches his hand out more, until the jade stone reflects in the sunlight. He tries to be as nonchalant as possible.
The nurse cocks a brow. “They informed me at the front of your relationship.”
Fuck!
Now it just looks like he was trying to flex a materialistic lifestyle made possible by the riches of his corporate tycoon husband!
Thankfully, the nurse leaves right after that, and Shen Yuan, who had seconds ago been contemplating relocation, takes his place beside Luo Binghe again. He grabs one of the gauze pads on the edge of falling out of his mouth. “I’m going to take these out now. Since I’m here, you don’t need to yell anymore, okay?”
Luo Binghe nods and sits patiently as Shen Yuan throws away all the gauze. When his mouth is finally free, he stretches his jaw out. Then he lets out a small sigh, and with a puppy-like smile, bellows, “A-Yuan, so handso—”
These nurses had the right idea.
Shen Yuan shoves more gauze into Luo Binghe’s mouth.
With Luo Binghe’s mouth semi-plugged again, Shen Yuan can focus on caring for him without fear of a sneak attack. He fluffs Luo Binghe’s pillows, stops him from trying to get off the bed (twice), and closes up the back of his hospital gown when his bare ass starts to spill out from it. Compared to the frenzy of this morning, Shen Yuan happily thinks that the rest of the day is sure to be smooth sailing.
He’s wrong.
Right as Shen Yuan is getting ready to brush back Luo Binghe’s hair, a doctor enters the room. She makes note of a few things before turning to the both of them with a smile.
“Just came in here to check whether you had any questions for me,” the doctor says. “Are you his brother?”
Shen Yuan watches as Luo Binghe’s brows furrow, an offended expression painting his droopy face. Before he can blow their entire cover by blurting their actual relationship, Shen Yuan shakes his head and says, “No, we’re married.”
Luo Binghe’s jaw drops. Shen Yuan clamps it back shut with one hand and smiles sweetly at the doctor.
“Oh, my mistake. I should’ve been able to tell by that beautiful ring,” she laughs. As she lowers her head to jot something down on her clipboard, Shen Yuan engages in a battle of gripping Luo Binghe’s jaw in his hand to try and hold his head straight, while the other tries desperately to turn and look at said ring.
Luo Binghe wins in the end, and when the doctor leaves, the room is plunged into silence. Shen Yuan sneaks a glance at the man beside him. He looks like he’s contemplating his entire existence. Then a sparkle appears in his eyes that can only mean danger.
“Binghe—”
“Husband?”
Shen Yuan feels a headache coming on. “Binghe, please—”
“A-Yuan and I are married?”
“Binghe, please—!”
“Husband?”
Shen Yuan feels like he’s going to pass out if he hears that word one more time. It’s doing very, very strange things to his heart. Unfortunately, Luo Binghe will not stop staring at the ring on Shen Yuan’s finger like it’s speaking to him.
My God.
I’ve broken Binghe.
Shen Yuan is getting a little lightheaded. He’s not sure how much more of this he can take. “Binghe, I need you to listen to me. You gave me this ring when we got together, okay? This isn’t a wedding ring, we’re not actually—”
“Oh hey, there you two are.”
Shen Yuan wants to bash his own head into the wall.
Hard.
Shang Qinghua strolls into the room like he owns the place and closes the door behind him. “I would’ve been here earlier, but I went down the wrong hallway,” he says right as Shen Yuan turns to scowl at him. “Did you just get here?”
Shen Yuan’s temple pulses. “I’ve been here for a while.”
“Oh, cool. You can thank me for that, since I reached out to you so quickly,” Shang Qinghua remarks. “Your boyfriend there was begging me not to because he didn’t want to worry you.”
Shen Yuan sighs and turns to Luo Binghe with a disapproving look. “Thanks.” For calling me and for distracting him from the ring.
He’s not sure how long the latter will hold up for.
Shang Qinghua shrugs. “It’s no problem. I’m glad he looks okay. Seeing a guy as big as him suddenly double over in pain in the middle of an office hallway is not something you forget. But once the paramedics came and explained everything, I wasn’t too worried. I wasn’t even planning on coming down here.”
Shen Yuan eyes Shang Qinghua warily. “Then why did you?”
“You booked it out of the office so quickly that I was afraid you’d die on the way here. Also, Mobei Jun wanted me to check on him,” Shang Qinghua says. “Speaking of, maybe I just don’t know enough people who’ve landed in hospitals, but since when did it become a rule that only family could visit?”
Kill Bill sirens sound in Shen Yuan’s head.
He does not like where this is going.
Shang Qinghua plops down onto a chair with a sigh. “I just ended up saying I was his cousin.”
“Mm,” Shen Yuan hums, partly because that’s all he can think to say with a brain so suddenly full of static, mostly because he hopes his curt response will clue Shang Qinghua in on the fact that he does not want this conversation to continue.
It doesn’t.
“And…” Shang Qinghua raises a brow. “What did you say you were?”
“Well,” Shen Yuan says, subtly trying to pull his hand back from a heavily sedated Luo Binghe who not-so-subtly keeps murmuring ‘Married?’ over and over with every squeeze of his fingers, “about that—”
“Bro.” The scandalized gasp that bounces off the walls makes Shen Yuan feel like a criminal. “You had to lie about your familial relationship with the dude, and the first thing that came to mind was to say you’re his husband?”
“Actually,” Shen Yuan corrects, “I didn’t say I was his husband .”
At his side, Luo Binghe breathes out a soft, “Husband.”
“Binghe, stop talking. The gauze will fall out.”
“Is this a loophole? Did you say you were his spouse?”
“All I said,” Shen Yuan cuts off, “was that Binghe and I’s relationship wasn’t by blood. The receptionist assumed from that what he wanted.”
“Dude.” Shang Qinghua raises a brow. “What else would he have assumed?”
Shen Yuan hesitates, and when he speaks next, it takes some effort to get the words out. “I could be Binghe’s brother-in-law.”
Shang Qinghua stares at Shen Yuan with a dead look in his eyes. “Okay, and let me try and guess why he assumed you were his husband instead,” Shang Qinghua says. “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’m picturing you running up to him, your face doing that weird thing it does whenever Binghe comes down with a cold, and you’re wearing a jade ring that looks exactly like the pendant around his neck. You may or may not have been tearing up.”
“What the fuck,” Shen Yuan says out loud.
“Am I right?”
“…”
Shen Yuan’s silence may as well be an admission of guilt.
Shang Qinghua nods. “I figured.”
“Listen, I— One second, Binghe,” Shen Yuan says when Luo Binghe tugs at his sleeve. He’s too set on proving Shang Qinghua wrong to notice the pout that tugs at his boyfriend’s lips from the lack of attention, the fact that half the gauze in his mouth has fallen onto his lap, and the mischief brewing in his eyes.
It’s not until Shen Yuan is ten seconds into giving his best friend a piece of his mind that a small “Ow” at his side snaps him out of it.
Shen Yuan turns. “Binghe, is something wrong?”
Luo Binghe nods. He tries morphing his expression into something pitiful, but with how puffy his face is from the anaesthesia, paired with how long it takes for him to process anything Shen Yuan says through his muddled brain, he ends up looking constipated instead. “A-Yuan,” he whines. “It hurts.”
Shen Yuan’s heart drops. “What hurts?” He’s three seconds away from diving over Luo Binghe’s body for the remote that calls the nurses in. “Point to where it hurts.”
Luo Binghe grabs Shen Yuan’s hand, and after inspecting each finger individually with a hum, places it on his chest. “Here. A-Yuan wasn’t with me when I woke up.”
Shen Yuan’s face burns bright red.
Fuck!!!!!
What a little devil!
How is he even being this bold right after surgery?! Did they not pump him full with enough sedatives?!
A normal Luo Binghe is shameless enough as is. Compound that with the lack of giving a shit brought on by being sedated and you have a man set on landing Shen Yuan in an early grave.
“A-Yuan. Take responsibility.”
Behind him, Shang Qinghua snickers.
“Binghe.” Shen Yuan puts his hands on Luo Binghe’s shoulders and looks him dead in the eyes. “You need to understand that I got here as fast as I could.”
Luo Binghe sniffs and turns his head. He sticks his nose in the air. “Not fast enough.”
What a cheeky little brat!
“Binghe, I—” Shen Yuan is about to scold him, is about to tell him about the heart attack he nearly suffered on the way here because someone didn’t bother to make sure he was informed. Then he quickly decides that this isn’t the best time to have that conversation. He bites his tongue and takes a breath instead. “I’m sorry. How do you want me to take responsibility?”
Luo Binghe doesn’t say anything. If the blank look on his face is any indication, he must not have thought he’d make it this far.
“I know what he wants,” Shang Qinghua pipes up, just like nobody asked him to. “The guy is a little loopy. A little insecure. He just wants reassurance that you weren’t out downing cocktails while he was getting dug into.”
Shen Yuan splutters. “I was in a meeting. He knows that.”
Shang Qinghua gives a questioning hum. “Does he?”
“We work at the same place!”
Shang Qinghua pauses for a second, then decides not to acknowledge what Shen Yuan just said. “Listen, I know there’s a reason, and I’m sure the sober part of him knows, too, but right now you need to be a little more sympathetic.” Shang Qinghua waves his hand around. “Just do some couple thing with him and he’ll let it go.”
Couple thing?
There are a lot of couple things that Shen Yuan can think of.
He wants to do none of them in front of Shang Qinghua.
“No.”
“You’re acting like I’m asking you to strip off your clothes.”
“ You’re acting like you’ve ever given me sound advice in your life.” But then Shen Yuan follows the words of his best friend anyway, turning to softly pat the top of Luo Binghe’s head three times. “There.”
Shang Qinghua shakes his head. “That doesn’t count. You did that to him before you even got together.”
Did he? No wonder everyone was so confused when they (read as: Luo Binghe, very loudly) announced the start of their relationship.
“Bro, don’t you want him to feel better?”
Shen Yuan purses his lips. “Of course I do.”
“Then do it.”
“Do what?”
“Kiss him.”
Shen Yuan goes silent. Beside him, Luo Binghe’s eyes widen comically, jaw dropping so suddenly that the remaining gauze in his mouth falls out and onto the floor. Shen Yuan is quick to grab another two pieces of the flimsy cotton at Luo Binghe’s bedside and shove them into his cheeks. “How would I kiss him?” Shen Yuan asks, keeping his voice calm, cool, steady. “His mouth is full of blood and drool.”
“Okay,” Shang Qinghua says. “Then kiss him on the forehead.”
Fuck you!
Shen Yuan clears his throat and peeks at Luo Binghe from the corner of his eyes, and well, fuck, he’s staring at him with those wide eyes again, and his jaw is almost on the floor, again , and the gauze is slowly falling out of his mouth, again .
This is really too cruel , Shen Yuan thinks, a faint, growing pounding in his head. A high-on-anaesthetics Luo Binghe can barely remember his own name, is seconds away from drooling all over his shirt, and is about to get the PDA he’s been begging for since they got together in the middle of a hospital recovery room.
Shen Yuan places one hand on Luo Binghe’s cheek and uses the other to push his hair back from his forehead. Luo Binghe looks up at him in wonder, and Shen Yuan is, to say the least, mortified at how weak-hearted he feels towards a droopy-eyed Binghe who, at the moment, probably can’t even tell up from down.
They’ve kissed! Multiple times! Seen each other naked! Multiple times!
This is ridiculous!!!!!
“Turn around,” Shen Yuan finally tells Shang Qinghua. “Don’t look.”
“You’re making this a lot weirder than it actually is,” Shang Qinghua says, but turns anyway.
Shen Yuan looks down at Luo Binghe. He swipes a thumb across his forehead and leans in. His lips make contact.
Shen Yuan is oblivious to the squeak that escapes Luo Binghe’s mouth, to the sheer inner turmoil the other is going through at this very second. He’s oblivious to it because he closes his eyes and instead focuses on the tingling, warm sensation spreading through his lips.
This isn’t the first time Shen Yuan has kissed Luo Binghe’s forehead. He does it quite often, actually, whenever Luo Binghe climbs on top of him to snuggle against his chest. Every time he does, though, his body has the same embarrassing reaction. Shen Yuan’s not sure if it will ever go away.
When Shen Yuan finally pulls back, he cracks an eye open hesitantly. Luo Binghe is still staring at him in wonder, except now his lips are curved into a gentle smile. The sight makes Shen Yuan smile back instantly, and a small laugh even bubbles from his chest.
His boyfriend is really too cute.
Shen Yuan gives Luo Binghe one more pat on the head. “I’m sorry for not coming earlier, but I’m here now, okay?”
Luo Binghe nods, the strands of hair framing his face bouncing as he does. Shen Yuan brushes them behind his ear before they can get in his eyes.
Behind them, Shang Qinghua clears his throat. “Wow, I haven’t third-wheeled this hard in a long time. I think that’s my cue to leave.”
“You just got here,” Shen Yuan says.
You’re a true bro, he thinks
Shang Qinghua shrugs. He places a plastic flower he got from who knows where on the counter before opening the door to the room and stepping out. “I’ll let Mobei Jun and everyone else know that he’s doing okay. If you need to stay home with him for a few days, let me know.”
Shang Qinghua leaves, and with that, leaves the two idiots in love alone.
Without any friends or staff to distract him anymore, Shen Yuan looks around the room for something to do, but finds his gaze continuously drawn to Luo Binghe. In the end, he grabs a hair tie and moves to stand at the side of the bed. “Let me put your hair up, it’s a mess.”
Luo Binghe blinks slowly at Shen Yuan, then turns his head so that the back of it is facing him. Shen Yuan runs his fingers through Luo Binghe’s hair to untangle any knots. He goes slowly, a wave of calm washing over him as he focuses on the moment, on the only sounds in the room being his and Luo Binghe’s breathing. Then he gathers his hair up in his hands and ties a small ponytail.
Luo Binghe makes a small displeased noise when Shen Yuan stops carding his fingers through his hair. Shen Yuan’s heart does another really weird thing, this time one he can feel in his throat. Then he quickly looks around the room to make sure no one’s there, and leans in to kiss the tip of Luo Binghe’s nose. When he moves to pull back, Luo Binghe grabs the front of his shirt and doesn’t let him.
Shen Yuan clicks his tongue. “You’re so needy. Are you playing games with me?”
Luo Binghe doesn’t answer, instead pushing his body up off the bed as best as he can. His target is obviously the nice set of lips in front of him, but Shen Yuan pushes him back down before he can reach them. “Binghe, you can kiss me once you’ve brushed your teeth.” The resulting grumble from his boyfriend’s mouth is expected. “Here, hold my hand instead.”
That’s a mistake.
Even sedated, Luo Binghe has it in him to eye-fuck his hand. Really, he’s impressed.
Shen Yuan can only take so much of it at once, though. As the minutes pass and Luo Binghe looks nowhere close to finishing his routine of tracing patterns on his palm and fingers, Shen Yuan’s face gradually heats up. He clears his throat. “Binghe, are you hungry?”
“No.”
Damn.
Shen Yuan’s fingers twitch in Luo Binghe’s grasp. “Let me get you something to eat. It’ll be good for you.”
“Mm…” Luo Binghe tightens his hold on Shen Yuan’s hands.
Shen Yuan sighs. “I’ll feed you.”
Luo Binghe instantly lets go.
Shen Yuan can’t help but snort out a laugh at that. “Ridiculous,” he mutters, and gives Luo Binghe a good flick on the head. “I’m dating a ten year old.”
“You’re married to one,” a Luo Binghe still out of touch with reality decides to correct, which hits Shen Yuan with the unfortunate realization that the sedatives have worn off just enough to let him start speaking in full sentences again. Shen Yuan is really, really glad that he’s already on his way to the room’s phone so that Luo Binghe can’t see his soul escaping from his body.
When the food arrives, Shen Yuan spoon-feeds his boyfriend as promised, and Luo Binghe won’t stop using every opportunity he can to press his lips against Shen Yuan’s fingers. At one point, he even nibbles on his thumb, which catches Shen Yuan off guard and makes him drop the spoon. The slurred, slow-mo laugh that Luo Binghe gives in that second has Shen Yuan smiling brighter than he has all day.
The hours pass peacefully. Shen Yuan rants to Luo Binghe about his meeting from earlier, rants about how he’s probably going to have to apologize to their entire department, and then rants about their department. All the while, Luo Binghe listens with a content look on his face, and does his best to hum at the appropriate times.
Shen Yuan notices Luo Binghe’s eyes getting heavier, though, and so he gets up from the bed and pulls the blanket up. “You should sleep.”
He’s, of course, ignored.
“A-Yuan,” Luo Binghe murmurs, lifting a hand to caress Shen Yuan’s cheek. Judging by the way he accidentally jams his thumb into Shen Yuan’s nostril trying to do it, it’s obvious he’s still riding the effects of the anaesthesia. But even still, the vibrance of his obsidian-black eyes and the tone of his voice in this moment is clearer than it has been all day. “My husband.”
Shen Yuan’s breath catches in his throat. A warmth jolts from his fingers to the tips of his toes. He pointedly ignores how natural the word sounds spilling from Luo Binghe’s lips, and how easily it wraps itself like a hug around Shen Yuan. “Binghe, listen—”
“Husband.”
“Binghe.”
“Husband.”
“Stop calling me that,” Shen Yuan scolds, halfheartedly swatting Luo Binghe’s chest.
Luo Binghe throws him a lazy smile, eyes half-lidded as he hums out another, “Husband.”
“You’re insufferable,” Shen Yuan mutters, feeling a searing heat crawl across his cheeks and neck. He buries his face into Luo Binghe’s neck before the other can make some snarky comment about it, and grabs the loose ties of his hospital gown as a distraction. “Binghe, this is about to fall off with all your moving around. Next time, I should tell them to knock you out with a hammer.”
“Mm.”
Shen Yuan re-ties the back of his gown, but finds he doesn’t have the confidence to pull back yet. He fiddles with the strings and makes another three solid knots, and as he does, he presses his face further against Luo Binghe’s neck.
Softly, under his breath, he murmurs, “Husband.”
He finds that he loves the way it feels on his tongue.
Given how impossible Luo Binghe is about these things, Shen Yuan is sure that upon feeling that word kissed into his skin, Luo Binghe would have to be restrained from jumping off the bed and declaring it to the entire hospital.
Instead, Shen Yuan feels an arm circle his waist and pull him up onto the bed, bringing their bodies closer together. He peeks up and finds a soft smile on Luo Binghe’s face.
“Binghe, go to sleep.”
“Mm.” Luo Binghe looks like he has no intention of doing so, content to keep staring at the man in his arms instead. Still, he slurs out, “If husband says so.”
Shen Yuan doesn’t correct Luo Binghe. He stays quiet, his eyes tracing the features of the man in front of him, from the curve of his lips to the arch of his brows. The feeling of Luo Binghe’s arms around his waist gets more prominent by the second, and the dreaded word that’s cursed Shen Yuan since stepping foot in the hospital echoes through his mind, tingles on his lips.
Then, as if in a trance, Shen Yuan murmurs, “I wouldn’t mind marrying you.”
Not one bit, he thinks, the realization washing over him in muted waves. It’s calm, serene, as if it’s only natural for it to happen. It’s not some big, explosive realization, but instead a peaceful acceptance.
Marrying Luo Binghe…
He can do it. He wants to.
In front of him, Luo Binghe smiles. “Go to sleep, A-Yuan.”
Shen Yuan blinks from his thoughts. “Binghe, you’ve got some nerve. Wasn’t I the one trying to get you to sleep? Why are you acting like it’s me who’s not behaving?”
Still, he lets himself be pulled in even closer, until his and Luo Binghe’s chests are pressed together and his head is pillowed on his arm. Shen Yuan doesn’t realize until now how tired he is, because it only takes the press of a warm hand on the small of his back to gently lull him to sleep.
~~~
When Shen Yuan next wakes, it’s to Luo Binghe’s way-too-innocent grin.
“A-Yuan is going to marry me?” Luo Binghe asks, deliberately slurring his words.
Shen Yuan’s brow twitches. “Binghe, I know the anaesthesia has worn off.”
“Wouldn’t mind marrying me, even?”
Shen Yuan’s body temperature skyrockets several degrees.
How does he remember all of this?! Aren’t sedatives supposed to screw with your memory?!
“Binghe! Stop talking, or else I’ll…” Shen Yuan trails off when he realizes that his words are coming out muffled, and that his lips are smushed against warm skin. He frowns. “Why is your…”
Bare chest pressed into my face, Shen Yuan finishes in his head, because he’s sure his voice will crack if he tries to say it. This is really threatening his 487-day streak of pretending that he doesn’t want to climb Luo Binghe like a tree.
“Mm. I don’t think my gown was tied correctly.”
Shen Yuan gawks.
Motherfucker! He was the one who tied it for him!
And he knows he put in four knots! Four!
Shen Yuan pushes away from Luo Binghe’s body. For the sake of his sanity, he ignores the nipple his fingers just brushed against. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not long,” Luo Binghe says, which he knows is code for, “Long enough.”
Shen Yuan groans internally. “You should’ve woken me up,” he grumbles. “Since you’re feeling so much better now, they might let us go.”
“En, you’re so smart,” Luo Binghe says, except his focus isn’t on Shen Yuan anymore. It’s now on the ring around his finger, which presses lightly into the skin of his chest.
Shen Yuan stays still in wait, but Luo Binghe’s heavy gaze on his ring won’t leave, and it has him shifting nervously where he lays. Eventually, he pulls his hand back and sits up. “I’m going to go see when you can get discharged.”
Luo Binghe pouts. He reaches up to cup Shen Yuan’s cheek in his hands “A-Yuan, I’ve been so good. Can I have a kiss before you go?”
Who’s been good!
Luo Binghe, you nearly killed me! Multiple times!
“I said not until you brush your teeth.”
The pout on Luo Binghe’s lips only deepens, and Shen Yuan’s heart is really too weak for that. He averts his gaze before the infamous puppy dog eyes can be used on him, then figures Luo Binghe will only let him go if he gets a crumb of what he wants.
It’s solely for this reason and this reason alone that Shen Yuan turns his head and places a kiss in the palm of Luo Binghe’s hand. He let his lips linger there for a few seconds, maybe would’ve let them linger there for longer, but then he feels that same palm move to cup the back of his neck and pull him down.
Their faces now a breath apart, Shen Yuan sees himself reflected in the eyes he was desperately trying to take cover from.
“You don’t need to pull me in so close,” Shen Yuan grunts.
“You don’t have your glasses. What if you can’t see me?” Luo Binghe activates his special talent of making his eyes water on command. “A-Yuan, I’m just trying to help you…”
Shen Yuan purses his lips. Curse those fake crocodile tears, and curse the way he kind of likes them. “Fine, fine. Do whatever you want.”
Luo Binghe breaks into a grin. Then he puts his hands on Shen Yuan’s thighs and maneuvers him so that he’s straddling his lap, which makes it less likely that Shen Yuan will run away. Shen Yuan understands the intention, because he says with a hint of amusement, “I won’t leave.”
“En, I know. But what if someone comes to steal you away while I’m bedridden…”
Shen Yuan scoffs. “Who would steal me away? I’m the one who has to watch out.”
“I’d never leave you,” Luo Binghe says quickly, dissolving the joking atmosphere with sudden seriousness. It almost makes Shen Yuan laugh. “Wherever you are, I’ll stay.”
Shen Yuan flicks Luo Binghe’s forehead. “Silly. There’s no need to stay where I am.” Just as Luo Binghe’s lips begin to tug into a small frown, Shen Yuan continues, “Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
Luo Binghe looks at him in a daze. His arms tighten around Shen Yuan’s waist.
“A-Yuan?”
“Mhm.”
“A-Yuan.”
“Hm?”
“A-Yuan.”
Shen Yuan clicks his tongue. “Binghe.”
Luo Binghe laughs. “I like saying your name.”
Shen Yuan turns his head with an embarrassed grumble. “Yeah, well.”
“You can say my name too, as many times as you want,” Luo Binghe says, and then in a murmur, “A-Yuan can call me whatever he wants.”
To say there’s butterflies in his stomach is putting it lightly. Right now, Shen Yuan feels like there’s a whole flock of birds. His fingers twitch against Luo Binghe’s shoulder, his mouth pops open, and he doesn’t fight it when their faces get closer and closer, when their gazes dart to the others’ lips.
Then Shen Yuan shifts just a little in Luo Binghe’s lap, and Luo Binghe lets out a small groan. Shen Yuan stops with a confused tilt of his head.
Then he experimentally shifts a little more, feels the excitement brewing underneath Luo Binghe’s gown, and a darkened expression crosses his face.
“Binghe…”
Luo Binghe sniffs. “This is a very normal reaction, especially right after waking up.”
“But in the hospital ?!” Shen Yuan hisses, pulling himself away. “Let me go.”
Luo Binghe tightens his hold. “You said you wouldn’t leave!”
“I need to leave before it— before it gets worse!” Shen Yuan says, and the frantic scrambling he’s doing in Luo Binghe’s lap is likely not helping the situation at all.
Much to Luo Binghe’s displeasure, Shen Yuan eventually manages to wrestle himself off. “I’ll go ask if we can go home now,” he says, and the word home does wonders to calm Luo Binghe, probably because he realizes he can get away with a lot more in the privacy of their apartment.
Thankfully, they’re given the okay to be discharged. Shen Yuan hands Luo Binghe a bag of clothes the nurses held onto. He hovers to make sure Luo Binghe doesn’t fall flat on his face if a wave of dizziness hits him, but his boyfriend seems to have cleared the anaesthesia completely. Then, Luo Binghe pulls out the last item, a jade pendant buried at the bottom of the bag, and fastens it around his neck.
It’s a perfect match to his ring. It always has been.
But now, it feels different.
The sight of it, for some strange reason, puts Shen Yuan in a daze.
Some unknown desire wells up in Shen Yuan at that instant. It’s the same feeling he experienced earlier that night. His lips pop open and his throat bobs around a word threatening to escape.
A-Yuan can call me whatever he wants, Luo Binghe had told him.
Shen Yuan, in the lightest of voices, murmurs, “…Husband?”
Luo Binghe freezes where he stands. Then he slowly turns his head until their lock gazes. “A-Yuan, what did you say?”
“Uh…”
Damn his self control! Shen Yuan doesn’t have a face thick enough for this!
Luo Binghe definitely heard. Shen Yuan knows that Luo Binghe definitely heard. But the next words out of his boyfriend’s mouth aren’t some demand that he repeat himself, or some loud declaration of joy. Instead, a soft smile curves at his lips and he says, “Are you hungry? We should get some food.”
A wave of relief washes over Shen Yuan. He nods, and makes sure his voice is even when he speaks next. “Let’s go.”
He takes Luo Binghe’s hand and helps him off the bed slowly. As he walks them out of the hospital, he feels Luo Binghe thumb at the jade ring he’d given him.
Shen Yuan thinks, with a pleased little smile, that it fits quite nicely around his finger.