This was different from their wedding night, hasty and awkward and driven more by duty than desire. Different even from last night’s shower intimacy, emotional and raw, and about comfort more than passion. This was sothing new entirely. This was them, finally, with ti and privacy and no obligations except to each other.
Shuyin’s fingers found the hem of his sleep shirt and slipped beneath it, her palms flat against his bare skin. The touch was electric, sending shivers through him despite the warmth of the room. Lu Yuze returned the favor, his hands sliding under her nightshirt to trace patterns on her lower back, her sides, feeling her shiver in response.
"Lu Yuze," she breathed against his mouth, and there was a question in it, permission-seeking and permission-granting all at once.
"Shuyin," he answered, and kissed her deeper, harder, with all the pent-up want he’d been containing since the first ti he’d seen her transform into sothing otherworldly and realized he wanted her anyway, wanted her regardless of magic or thrones or impossible destinies.
They were so absorbed in each other that neither heard the soft creak of floorboards in the hallway. Neither noticed the way shadows shifted outside their door as soone passed by.
It wasn’t until a loud clatter echoed from sowhere downstairs, dishes or pots, sothing tallic hitting the floor, that they both froze, reality crashing back in.
They pulled apart slightly, both breathing hard, faces flushed, hair disheveled. For a mont they just stared at each other, caught between desire and responsibility, wanting to continue but aware that the mont’s spell had been broken.
"The children," Shuyin said again, but this ti it sounded more like resignation than objection.
"The children," Lu Yuze agreed reluctantly. His hands gentled on her waist, no longer urgent but still unwilling to let go completely. "We should probably check on them. Make sure that the crash wasn’t anything serious."
"Probably," Shuyin echoed, but she didn’t move imdiately.
Neither did he.
They sat there for another few heartbeats, foreheads pressed together, breathing each other’s air, neither quite ready to end this rare mont of intimacy. Finally, Shuyin sighed and began to extract herself from his lap, her movents careful and deliberate.
Lu Yuze let her go, though his hands lingered on her hips until the last possible mont. She stood and looked down at him, her expression soft in a way it so rarely was, open, unguarded, almost vulnerable.
"Tonight," she said quietly. "When the children are asleep. When we’ve dealt with whatever chaos the day brings. Tonight, we continue this."
It wasn’t a question. It was a promise.
Lu Yuze’s answering smile was slow and predatory and full of anticipation. "Tonight," he agreed. "I’ll hold you to that."
She leaned down and kissed him once more, quick and sweet and full of unspoken promises, then straightened and moved toward the bathroom to make herself presentable.
Lu Yuze stayed on the bed for a mont longer, letting his breathing return to normal, letting the heat in his blood cool to sothing manageable. Then he stood as well, adjusting his clothes, running his hands through his mussed hair.
A few minutes later, they made their way down the hallway and toward the kitchen, moving through the mansion’s quiet corridors with comfortable familiarity.
The mansion’s kitchen was warm and bright, morning sunlight streaming through the tall windows and casting golden squares across the tiled floor. The large space was designed for efficiency, professional-grade appliances, expansive countertops, and a long kitchen island with cushioned stools lined up along one side. It was the kind of kitchen ant to feed dozens of people during elaborate dinner parties, but this morning it felt almost cozy despite its size.
Yuyan stood at the stove, her twelve-year-old fra tall enough now that she didn’t need any assistance reaching the burners. Her movents were surprisingly practiced as she scrambled eggs in a large pan, the spatula moving with the confident rhythm of soone who’d been cooking for herself, and others, for far longer than she should have needed to. She’d politely but firmly declined the household staff’s offers of assistance when they’d first arrived in the kitchen. After the third attempt to help, the cook had simply shrugged and retreated to supervise from a respectful distance near the pantry, recognizing when a child needed to feel useful and capable.
Chen Xiao sat on one of the cushioned stools at the kitchen island, his small legs dangling above the footrest, not quite long enough to reach it comfortably. His stuffed rabbit sat propped against the counter beside him like a silent companion. A small glass of orange juice stood within easy reach, and he was thodically working his way through a piece of toast, taking careful, deliberate bites and chewing thoroughly before swallowing. His concentration was absolute, his expression serious in the way of children who’d learned early that als weren’t guaranteed and shouldn’t be wasted.
He didn’t chatter or ask questions the way so five-year-olds might. Just ate quietly, occasionally glancing up at Yuyan to make sure she was still there, still safe, still within reach. The signs of his past were subtle but present, the way he kept his rabbit close, the careful way he ate, the quiet watchfulness that suggested he was always monitoring his environnt for potential danger.
The broken plate that Lu Yuze and Shuyin had heard about earlier lay swept into a neat pile near the sink, the shards already being carefully disposed of by a young kitchen assistant. The girl’s face was still slightly flushed with embarrassnt, but Yuyan had handled the situation with remarkable maturity, calmly assuring her that accidents happened and no one was upset.
By the ti Lu Yuze and Shuyin appeared in the kitchen doorway, the scene had settled into a kind of peaceful dosticity that felt almost surreal given everything else happening in their lives.
Shuyin paused in the doorway, leaning against the fra for a mont, just watching...
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