YiDiao Stories And More Words

It's Hard Being A Uni Student

Kon Diao has been cooped up in his room and out of sight for far too long. It's his school's finals season, and he has been caught up in revision and rushing to complete his assignments on time.

After not seeing him for a week, Hia Yi is starting to miss Diao a little bit too much. He feels uneasy, and terribly wants to see Diao and make sure the younger is safe, doing alright, and eating well.

So he gives himself permission to visit his showroom after work one night. He'll pay a quick visit that'll put his mind to ease and leave before he can be tempted by Diao's puppy eyes willing him to stay the night.

When Hia Yi arrived, he was not greeted by Diao like usual. Instead, he was left to wander the many rooms of the house, hoping that Diao is not staying out late without informing him beforehand.

He makes it to Diao's bedroom at the corner of the house, and carefully knocks before twisting the doorknob.

Thankfully, he spots Diao in his bedroom, which is currently in a mess. Notes strewn all over the study table, and alongside the carpeted floor, Diao's macbook is still left open at the edge of the bed.

There, Diao had fallen asleep with an open book covering his face.

The taller man sighs in relief. He didn't even know that he had been holding his breath.

Yi carefully treads over to the king-sized bed, gently removing the book from Diao's face. He nearly jumps two steps back when Diao's open eyes meet his.

The big eyes blink twice, as though Kon Diao was trying to process if it was actually Hia Yi, or if the hours of studying had made him start to hallucinate.

"Hia Yi…?" Diao can hear the doubt in himself.

The older man doesn't respond, instead taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside Diao. Taking a closer look, he notices that Kon Diao's eyes were redder than usual, his eyebags seemed more sunken, probably due to the lack of sleep, and his soft brown hair was ruffled in a ness.

"Were you stressed?" Hia Yi's voice was so gentle that Diao feels his heart melt.

But being reminded of his endless pile of tasks and deadlines, Diao's lips formed a pout.

God, why did he look like he was about to cry? Hia Yi thinks. He's just the weakest against a crying Diao, as he has always been since they were children.

In that moment, Hia Yi slips, and his inner gentleness takes over. Yi doesn't know what has overcome him, but it's too late to back out now.

Dictated by his whim of wanting to take care of Diao, Hia Yi removes the laptop and any stray notes on the bed and shifts Diao so that his head is resting on the pillow.

He brings Diao's most prized plushie to his chest and gets under the covers with the other boy. Hia Yi knows Diao will fall asleep in no time, and he would be able to leave for his condo then. At least that's what Yi tells himself.

Kon Diao tries his hardest not to give in to the warm embrace already pulling him to dreamland. It was too easy to feel safe when wrapped in Hia Yi like this. Diao purses his lips.

"Hia, I still have work to do. I can't sleep now."

Hia Yi wordlessly tugs Diao closer to him, patting his soft hair.

"Sleep. Work can wait."

And Diao loses as always. He only had enough willpower to go against Hia Yi once. If Hia Yi insisted, there was no escape for him.

Diao feels all the tension in his body flying away, and he melts into Yi's bigger frame.

As expected, he's out within seconds, as though he didn't just protest against it.

A small smile spreads across Hia Yi's face. He stays a bit longer, before going to pick up the notes.

Hia Yi takes it upon himself to look through all of Diao's assignments and examination materials. He's decided he will stay around and help Diao with his schoolwork. Because it would be too irresponsible to leave Diao struggling to cope with his academic load alone.

It's only for today, since it's likely both of them won't be getting much sleep anyway. Diao wouldn't find out about how weak his Hia was. How Hia Yi still gets nightmares over something that happened more than a decade ago.

Hia Yi finds himself reassuring his dark thoughts over and over again, under the warm yellow light of Diao's study lamp.