Ow, ow, ow, ow. He holds up a hand in the (what he hopes anyway) universal gesture for please stop before you murder me. Or at least the first part.

Moving away from Anant in hopes of avoiding more such slaps, he clears his throat and manages to squeeze out some more rough words. "I'm-- fine. Don't need that." His eyes are a little watery from the initial choking, but his coughs are definitely less violent now. And if Anant leaves him alone, they should only get better.