A’bbni sighed. “That will make me tired.”
“I don’t care, you’re in pain,” Lai replied, pulling back to give him a pointed look. “You can sleep until the end of time if it makes you feel better.”
“I will be all right. I promise.” A’bbni smiled and gave Lai’s hand a squeeze. Lai winced, and A’bbni looked down to see that Lai was wearing the pair of leather gloves he wore for rigging work, which he never wore when he was on land. He reached down and pulled one of the gloves gently off, then blanched when he saw Lai’s entire hand and fingers wrapped in bandages to the elbow. “Lai!”
Lai gave him a sheepish smile. “It’s fine.”
“That is not fucking fine!” The urge to grab his medical bag and examine Lai’s hands closer was only tempered by the fact that A’bbni was pretty sure he would collapse if he tried to walk across the room.
“Your brother said that exact same thing,” Lai said with a roll of his eyes.
“What happened to your hand?” A’bbni demanded, turning it back and forth, carefully moving the bandaged fingers to look at the mobility.
“Your Cousin had me thrown out of the tower,” Lai replied, fiddling with one of the finger wrappings with his other still-gloved hand.
A’bbni’s eyes went wide. “You… you mean, Traitor’s Ledge?”
“Yeah, that was what Shi’chen called it,” Lai replied, pulling off his other glove to reveal his other hand that was just as wrapped up.
“How… how are you alive?” A’bbni asked, taking Lai’s hands gently in his own and tracing his fingers carefully over them, feeling the rough skin under the bandages.
Lai shrugged his shoulders, letting A’bbni hold his hands. “A lot of luck and a big-ass knife.”
A’bbni gritted his teeth. He wanted to find whoever was responsible for Lai’s drop and rip them apart with his bare hands. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, bringing Lai’s hands up to place gentle kisses on the bandaged palms.
Lai smiled and brushed the back of his fingers over A’bbni’s cheek. “I’m fine, stop fussing over me.”
“I’m always going to fuss over you!” A’bbni protested, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“I know.” Lai suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips gently to A’bbni’s. The prince’s eyes closed, and he slid his hands up to lightly grip Lai’s shoulders. “I’m just glad you’re all right,” Lai said after pulling back. “Or… as all right as you can be, considering what happened.”
A’bbni reached up to hold Lai’s face with his hands. “I was afraid I had lost you both.”
“I’m sorry,” Lai said as A’bbni’s fingers brushed over the curve of his jaw. “A’bbni, I… I wanted to tell you before we left, and I’m sorry that I didn’t…” A’bbni tipped his head, waiting for him to continue. Lai hesitated for just a moment, then slowly leaned in so his lips brushed A’bbni’s ear. “I love you,” he whispered.
Tears flooded A’bbni’s eyes, and he leaned into Lai’s chest, hearing the rapid thump of the half-elf’s heart under his head, his ear flicking a bit against it. “I love you, too,” he said softly, closing his eyes, wishing he never had to move from that spot.
Lai leaned down and pressed his lips lightly to A’bbni’s. A’bbni kissed him firmly back, sitting up on his knees to wrap his arms around Lai’s neck to hold him close. When they finally pulled apart, A’bbni said softly, “Lai, if you ever don’t want to be with me, no matter why, will you please tell me?”
“You’re about to be Emperor, i’jaa,” Lai said. “You could order me to be by your side always, and I would have to do it.”
“No, you wouldn’t!” A’bbni protested. “And I would not do that to you. You are not a slave, or even my servant. I would not hold you back if your heart was elsewhere.”
Lai raised a brow at him, his green eyes catching the light from the nearby lamp. “I hope it’s not a bad omen that our relationship only just started, and you’re already thinking about it ending.” A’bbni blushed and started to protest, but Lai gently laid one bandaged finger against his lips. “I know you’re just overthinking, but I’ve made my choice. If I regret it one day, that’s on me, not on you. If you ever wish to send me away, do it, but I won’t leave without your word. I will do my damnedest not to ever hurt you or break your heart.”
A’bbni swallowed hard and held up his wrist. “Promise?”
“Promise,” Lai said, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the inside of A’bbni’s wrist.
Shi’chen suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking more than a little battered and bruised and like he had not slept much, but A’bbni had never been so glad to see him. “Good morning, i-sha,” he greeted his brother as he pulled back from Lai, and Shi’chen almost dove onto the bed to wrap his arms around him and hug him tight. It hurt, but A’bbni didn’t care, wrapping his arms around Shi’chen’s waist and burying his face in his twin’s neck.
“Do not ever fucking scare me like that again!” Shi’chen said, stroking his fingers through A’bbni’s hair, and A’bbni was surprised to feel tears fall onto his skin that were not his own. He pulled back to look into his brother’s eyes that were wet with tears of… anger, sorrow, joy, he couldn’t tell.
“I’m so sorry, i-sha,” he said softly, reaching up to brush a line of tears off Shi’chen’s cheek with his thumb.
“To be fair, it wasn’t his fault,” Lai chimed in.
“I know, it was that fucking bastard, Hi’jan.” Shi’chen shifted to sit on the bed so A’bbni could lean against him.
