Work Text:
Mo Ran spends most of her evening cleaning the apartment.
Initially, her plan was to take care of only the bedroom because it honestly was in dire need of said clean-up. But Mo Ran’s been feeling off all day, a combination of the stress of the week catching up with her as well as her hormones going haywire because of her upcoming period. She’s restless with the need to calm her thoughts; for those thoughts to settle and let her relax into the night. It doesn't help that these moods are often accompanied by migraines. Usually, Chu Wanning is there to help her out. Mo Ran has never liked depending on others but marriage has mellowed her out. There have been days where Chu Wanning patiently spent dozens of minutes massaging Mo Ran’s temples, Mo Ran’s eyes and forehead covered by a wet towel. There have also been more blissful hours of using this restlessness productively by testing just how loud Mo Ran can let Chu Wanning be before their neighbors file a noise complaint. It’s a wide spectrum of choices. But with Chu Wanning being away for her stupid work dinner that means that Mo Ran has to resort to her solitary alternative: household chores.
When Mo Ran was younger and still realizing that sometimes there was no real cause for this odd feeling, she managed to find that the repetitive and familiar movements of cleaning and cooking helped. Mo Ran enjoys doing both, though Chu Wanning is adamant about sharing the workload. It had taken some maneuvering to finally settle into a routine that satisfied both of them but Mo Ran likes to think that they’ve got it down now.
And now, after Chu Wanning left with a kiss that definitely left a lipstick mark on Mo Ran’s mouth (she checked, feeling delighted as she rubbed a finger over the color on her lips) and a promise to be back soon, Mo Ran is left alone with her thoughts and a semi-messy apartment. She gathers her hair into a ponytail and changes into an old jersey from her high school basketball team. Then she steps into their bedroom.
While Chu Wanning was getting dressed earlier, they had pulled out different options, not because there was a need to find a certain fit but instead because it entertained Mo Ran. The clothes are still spread over the furniture of the room. There's some lying on the bed, still on their hangers, as well as some draped over the chair of Mo Ran’s vanity. One is even hanging from one of their wardrobe doors. All of the clothes are neatly pressed variations of suits, the slacks folded to settle on the midsection of the hanger, the jacket fitted over it. Among them, there are a couple of three piece suits, the vests in the matching shade. The compartments of the jewelry box Mo Ran keeps on her vanity are pulled open, the evening sun reflecting off the inlaid gems and polished silver.
Mo Ran first grabs the suit hanging from the door of their wardrobe, rising on her toes before bouncing back onto her soles. She notices that the drawer that is filled with ties isn’t closed all the way so she lightly checks it with her hip. Then she begins carefully hanging the hangers into their rightful places inside the wardrobe, sorting them by color. Most of them are gray or black but Mo Ran has used her charm to convince Chu Wanning to purchase some more vivid colors as well, such as crimson or emerald green. There’s a deep blue one as well, though she has yet to see Chu Wanning actually wear that one. When she asked, she had merely gotten the dry reply that she should wear it herself if she was so impatient. Both ignored that Mo Ran’s stature is both taller and more muscular than Chu Wanning’s and that those suits were custom tailored.
Next, she grabs the few clothes discarded on the floor and throws them into the hamper inside the bathroom. There are socks because her wife insists on sleeping with them to keep her feet warm only to subconsciously take them off as the night progressed, pressing her cold toes into Mo Ran’s much warmer calves. There is also their sleepwear which in Mo Ran’s case means whichever old tanktop and shorts were available. Mo Ran runs hot, even more so in bed, so she sleeps with as little clothing as possible. Before she started dating Chu Wanning, she would only wear her underwear to bed, foregoing any kind of shirt. Alas, marriage is a matter of compromise and her wife, then girlfriend, always got embarrassed too easily at Mo Ran’s lack of shame.
She quickly vacuums the bedroom, then moves onto the living room. There’s less work there but she takes her time, making sure to fluff the pillows on the couch and arrange the decor of the little coffee table. The bathrooms are quick work as well as the hallway which only requires her to vacuum and properly put the shoes away her wife kicked off carelessly.
Then it’s the office. When they first went looking for a bigger place, Mo Ran had insisted that there should be a window inside the office as well. As the main earner of the household, Chu Wanning worked long hours and oftentimes poured more hours into her work than were required. With a window, she’d at least have sunshine and fresh air from time to time. Mo Ran begins putting the papers that are scattered on the desk in order, then unearths whatever accumulated inside the bag her wife takes to work. There's quite a few candy wrappers as well as tissues and napkins with writing on them. She takes pictures of the writing, just in case it’s something important, and then dumps everything into the trash.
Finally, there's only the kitchen left. Considering that Mo Ran is going to cook a quick dinner for herself and something light for her wife should she still be hungry after her evening appointment, she left it for last. Mo Ran likes her surroundings to be clean but it’s an entirely different matter inside her kitchen. Her cousin (literally via adoption) slash little brother (figuratively) had once called her “a fastidious clean freak” when she caught Mo Ran scrubbing at her oven with a toothbrush. And fine, Mo Ran admits that this might have been a bit much but it’s her kitchen, so Xue Meng has to live with her rules. Plus she had cooked his favorite dish for him that evening.
For now, she only has to empty the dishwasher and wipe down all the counters as well as water the plants on the balcony. When she checks the time, she deems it late enough for dinner. As she begins to dice an onion, her phone chimes and with a quick look at the caller ID, she swipes to accept the call.
“One second,” she says and quickly washes her hands, then nudges her phone between her ear and shoulder, and returns to her task.
“Wow, you picked up so quickly,” is the first thing Ye Wangxi says.
“Hello to you, too,” Mo Ran replies dryly.
“Yeah, yeah, hi. Is Chu-laoshi not home or something?”
The silence that follows is telling enough.
“You’re so gone for her, it would be cute if I didn’t have to talk you through your feelings to get there,” Ye Wangxi says and yeah, that’s fair. She had been the one to handle Mo Ran in the heights of her then seemingly unrequited crush on Chu Wanning.
Mo Ran says as much and earns a throaty chuckle from her. Mo Ran beams at that.
Back when she first met Ye Wangxi, Mo Ran had liked her and her easygoing nature immediately. Ye Wangxi was tall and wore her hair short enough to pass off as a man at first glance. The sleeveless shirt she wore that night was loose enough to hide her curves and bound chest, but it did show off her well muscled arms and the black ring tattooed around one bicep. They bonded over their gym routines, Nangong Si and one of the Mei twins joining their conversation quickly enough, eager to compare their weightlifting limits. After that, Ye Wangxi had been like an older sister to her and one of Mo Ran’s closest friends.
“Talking about hopeless cases-”
“Rude.”
“-Qiutong messaged me that she wants in on the bet.”
“Wait, how did she find out?”
Ye Wangxi scoffs. “Fuck if I know.”
“Which twin is she betting on?” Mo Ran asks. As Xue Meng’s cousin, she is forbidden from joining the bet despite the fact that Xue Meng refuses to tell her which twin he’s dating. Chu Wanning had offered the option that he could also be dating neither, which only Ye Wangxi has bet on, but in Mo Ran's opinion that option takes the fun out of it.
“The older one.” Fair enough, given how promiscuous and averse to relationships the younger one is.
They talk a little more, Ye Wangxi then getting sidetracked by telling Mo Ran about her new practice schedule for her next national archery tournament.
“Oh,” Mo Ran says, adjusting the heat of stove, “Who’s going to spot Nangong Si in the gym then, if you’re so busy?”
“Mo Ran,” Ye Wangxi scolds, her embarrassment audible.
“Who else can match his strength, I guess he’ll miss his gym bro,” Mo Ran continues, quoting the term that Nangong Si had once used. Honestly, Ye Wangxi is one of the best people Mo Ran knows but the universe is always out to humble people, so even the most perfect people have fatal flaws. Hers being her taste in men, particularly her affection for her childhood friend.
“I will tell Chu-laoshi all the things you said to me the last time you got-”
“Okay,” Mo Ran interrupts, lengthening the vowels of the word. “You won, jie, I’ll be quiet.”
Their conversation lasts for another ten minutes, the two of them exchanging good-natured quips and trying to match their schedule to meet up for coffee. Mo Ran finally has to hang up with an excuse. She can feel the first stirrings of an upcoming headache which is exactly what she needed. She distracts herself by checking on her simmering soup. The rice inside the rice cooker is done as well and she finishes frying the vegetables for her dinner. She quickly sets the table for herself and settles down to eat. As much as Mo Ran enjoys food, she prefers cooking for others and seeing their reactions. Chu Wanning especially is always much more expressive during her meals, commenting on what she does or doesn’t like, her face sometimes lighting up in delight at a particularly well-made dish. Mo Ran had to begin looking into making desserts ever since she met her wife and her sweet tooth.
It doesn’t take a long time for her to finish eating her dinner and she quickly takes care of the dishes to begin cooking for Chu Wanning’s return. Despite having lived together for years, their tastes in food still differ greatly. The fried vegetables she had before are covered in copious amounts of chili flakes which Chu Wanning absolutely cannot handle even after years of exposure via Mo Ran and the Xue family, so Mo Ran decides to sautée straw mushrooms, Chu Wanning’s favorite, as a side dish. As she considers what else to make, she decides to take a look into their freezer and pulls a bag of baozi out. The writing on the zip lock bag is barely illegible anymore but Mo Ran can still make the character for “vegetable” out so she decides to cook them. She gets the bamboo steamer out and sets a timer.
While the buns steam, Mo Ran makes her way back to the bedroom and changes out of her sweatpants and jersey, only to then struggle for a moment when the hooks of her bra won't come undone. The shorts she slips into have seen much better days and Mo Ran may have outgrown them a little but they're still comfortable. She forgoes a shirt, stretching her back and arms before she takes her dirty clothes to the hamper inside the bathroom. It takes her a moment to find the box underneath the sink where they store all of their medicines but finally she manages it. She takes two painkillers out and swallows them dry and then rinses her mouth to get the bitter taste out of her mouth. Since she’s already here, Mo Ran considers whether she should do her skin care routine early but ultimately decides against it. Chu Wanning would jump on the chance to forgo it if Mo Ran wasn’t right next to her. She is brought out of her musings when she hears the sound the electronic lock of the front door emits when it’s unlocked. Then, a voice.
“Mo Ran?”
Some of Mo Ran’s excitement over her wife has settled from her explosive, almost puppy-like, displays into quieter but no less loving reactions. A few years ago, she would have run towards her wife and barreled into her, possibly risking knocking her off her feet. Now, she merely jogs into the hallway, stopping by the kitchen to turn off the stove as well as the timer, and catches Chu Wanning toeing off her heels, a little shaky on her legs from the imbalance of having removed one of her shoes already. Chu Wanning raises her eyes from her feet and splutters.
“Mo Ran!” She scolds and holds onto what Mo Ran claims is a foyer table but what Chu Wanning calls a repurposed IKEA stool. She finally gets the other shoe off and nudges the pair towards the wall. “Where is your shirt?”
“It’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” Mo Ran says, cheeky and flirtatious at once, moving closer to her wife. Chu Wanning opens her mouth to reply but Mo Ran uses that chance to grab Chu Wanning by the shoulder and swoop in to drop an innocent kiss on her mouth, the slightest pressure. It’s over in a moment and Mo Ran pulls back in time to see Chu Wanning’s furrowed brows in confusion. She clearly expected more.
Mo Ran will never get enough of how Chu Wanning opens up so easily to her touch, a tulip unfurling its petals at dusk for the first rays of the sun. For all that she insists on having been fine with a rather abstinent lifestyle, Chu Wanning still craves physical touch more than she lets on and Mo Ran is eager to satisfy her wife even if she’s too ashamed to voice her desires. She pulls Chu Wanning closer, her arm sliding around her waist, a sure familiarity as well as Mo Ran’s possessive streak in that move. Chu Wanning’s blazer feels a little rough on Mo Ran’s skin, the material rubbing against her breasts as she shifts, and for a moment Mo Ran thinks of sliding a leg between Chu Wanning’s thighs to feel how the matching pants would feel against her. She lifts her free hand to catch Chu Wanning’s chin in her fingers, a wolfish grin on her face.
“Did Wanning miss me?” she croons into what little space is left between their faces. “Were all these corporate men boring my Wanning?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Chu Wanning retorts, her phoenix eyes narrowed. There isn’t much bite in the utterance considering that Chu Wanning has begun relaxing in Mo Ran’s hold, her usual stiff posture softening so that she can lean more of her weight into Mo Ran who in turn adjusts her own stance to comfortably support her. Chu Wanning’s face remains caught between Mo Ran’s fingers and she stubbornly gazes up at Mo Ran through her lashes. It works wonders on Mo Ran.
“Wanning worked hard today,” she says, her voice pitched lower. “May this humble wife welcome you now?”
Chu Wanning, already covered in a light blush from Mo Ran’s lack of clothing, flushes harder upon hearing these words. The redness spreads from her ears and face down to her neck. It suits her, matches well with what remains of her lipstick, her finely drawn eyeliner and the barest hint of eyeshadow on her eyelids. Mo Ran leans forwards and drops a kiss on Chu Wanning’s red cheek, chuckling at the spluttering she gets in return. She lets go of her chin and slides her hand down to settle on her wife’s hip, the fingers of both of her hands only a few centimeters away from touching.
“When have you known how to be humble?” Chu Wanning mumbles and lets herself be pulled even closer. There’s hardly any space between them anymore. She raises her hands and rests them on Mo Ran’s shoulders, her fingers, thinner and more graceful than Mo Ran’s own, curling into the curve of the skin there. Mo Ran doesn’t bother suppressing her smile when she notices how Chu Wanning’s eyes dart to her lips for a moment.
Chu Wanning is very easy to read when you know what to look for and this - the lack of any rigidity in her posture, the lack of self-consciousness about her hands on Mo Ran, her scattered focus - is a sign that there isn’t much before Chu Wanning gives in.
Mo Ran leans in and presses butterfly kisses to Chu Wanning’s jawline, following the curve up to her earlobe.
“Mo Ran,” Chu Wanning warns but Mo Ran ignores her and instead pulls on that earlobe with teeth, tracing the indents with her tongue a moment later. Chu Wanning doesn’t have any earrings on that ear, so Mo Ran doesn’t have to be too careful.
One of Chu Wanning’s hands travels up her shoulder, coming to rest on Mo Ran’s nape, the fingers brushing through the beginnings of Mo Ran’s undercut. Chu Wanning seems to be running out of patience, a whine followed by Mo Ran’s name escaping her mouth.
“Hm?” Mo Ran looks at her with wide eyes, innocence feigned into her expression, as she slowly draws back.
Chu Wanning glares at her and before Mo Ran can react she’s pulled in, her mouth crushed against Chu Wanning’s. The noise Mo Ran lets out is a little embarrassing but it's quickly swallowed by Chu Wanning’s own mouth. Chu Wanning miscalculated the angle a little and clumsily tries to fix it but Mo Ran takes control of the kiss, guiding it into a less hurried pace. They have all night, there’s no need to hurry. So Mo Ran takes it slow, savors the taste of Chu Wanning on her tongue, her breathy little sounds and the way she tightens her grip when Mo Ran nips at her lower lip.
When they separate, Chu Wanning immediately shifts her expression back into the glare from before and Mo Ran feels laughter bubble out of her, presses wet kisses all over Chu Wanning’s face who half-heartedly tries to get her off herself. But she lingers, her arms curled over Mo Ran’s shoulders now, still on her tiptoes from the kiss.
“I made you food,” Mo Ran says. “And I cleaned some. And I missed you.”
“Mo Ran,” Chu Wanning says but there is so much fondness seeping into it that it doesn’t sound like a reprimand. Then quietly, “I missed you, too.”
Mo Ran’s groans, letting her forehead fall to Chu Wanning’s shoulder. Chu Wanning’s hand soon finds its way on Mo Ran’s head, gently carding her fingers through her hair.
“Wanning is truly unfair,” Mo Ran sighs.
“I just returned what you said, Mo Ran.”
Mo Ran shifts her head slightly but Chu Wanning’s motions luckily don’t stop. “I like you so much.”
“I would hope so, we’re married.”
“Stop making me laugh,” Mo Ran says and raises her head, a grin on her face. “Come on, go take a shower, I’ll set the table.”
Chu Wanning nods and steps away. Mo Ran does not miss how she glances down at Mo Ran’s chest once. The tan skin is covered with goosebumps and her nipples are hard from the rough material of Chu Wanning’s suit.
“You can look properly,” Mo Ran calls after her. “Marital rights, you know!”
“Put a shirt on, Mo Ran.”
Mo Ran does so, albeit unwillingly. Back inside the kitchen, she sets out the food she made, adding side dishes from their fridge as well as a bowl of rice from the rice cooker. She decides to brew a pot of tea as well. It will warm Chu Wanning up nicely and Mo Ran could go for a cup herself. She picks a strawberry orange mix and Mo Ran is surprised that the fragrance of the tea is strong enough to smell. It’s probably still not sweet enough for her wife, so Mo Ran places sugar and a spoon in front of Chu Wanning’s seat.
Her headache is getting worse but Mo Ran isn’t going to let it mess with her evening.
Chu Wanning returns ten minutes later, her hair wrapped in a towel, dressed in a pair of striped pajamas. She hasn’t bothered putting her slippers on and as she trails into the room, her feet leave wet marks on the floor. As always, her shower has left her flushed because Chu Wanning prefers her water to be hot enough to potentially peel off her skin. It had ruined all of Mo Ran’s daydreams of shower sex but they had easily compromised with baths.
“I can brush your hair later,” Mo Ran says, her eyes following her wife’s movements as she nurses her own cup of tea.
Chu Wanning sits down, picking up her chopsticks. “I can do it myself.”
“I know but I want to. You’ve had a long day and I want to be good to you.”
Chu Wanning opens her mouth as if she wants to reply but in the end she merely begins to eat. Mo Ran adjusts her arm so that she can place her chin on her open palm as she watches Chu Wanning. Mo Ran knows that she must resemble a lovestruck teenage girl but she doesn’t mind looking ridiculous for Chu Wanning. And even though Chu Wanning isn’t a fan of elbows on the table she doesn’t comment on it. Instead her next words surprise Mo Ran.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asks.
Mo Ran hadn’t bothered getting out an extra plate or cutlery for herself, so there’s only her cup of tea on her side of the table whereas Chu Wanning’s is filled with the dishes she prepared. Mo Ran shakes her head in answer which causes Chu Wanning to frown. She picks up another bun and blows on it before holding it out in front of Mo Ran who in turn blinks at her.
“I had dinner earlier, Wanning,” she says softly.
Chu Wanning raises an eyebrow at that, her hand remaining in its position, and Mo Ran sighs but gives in, obediently opening her mouth to take a bite out of the baozi. As she chews and swallows, Chu Wanning brings her chopsticks back to her mouth and finishes the rest of the bun. The meal continues in this manner with Chu Wanning pausing every now and then to share with Mo Ran. When there’s only some rice left, Mo Ran asks after Chu Wanning’s meeting with the potential investors.
Chu Wanning’s face sours.
Mo Ran pours her another cup of tea and adds two spoonfuls of sugar. “That bad?”
“It went well for all of ten seconds. Then they called Xue xuezhang my name and asked if I was his wife.”
Mo Ran winces. “Did they not research the person whose invention they wanted?”
“Apparently not.”
When Mo Ran met Chu Wanning, she was thirty-two and teaching classes in undergraduate and graduate programs at the same university Xue Meng was a student at. Xue Meng had waxed lyrical about his professor, his voice full of all the hero worship Mo Ran had been the recipient of as the older cousin who used to beat his bullies up. Mo Ran only came to realize later on that Xue Meng was an exception to the rule.
The truth was: Chu Wanning was well known on campus but few liked her.
Her students feared her challenging syllabi that required a vast amount of time and work. She was strict, requiring people to be punctual in her classes and with their work. Quite a few students had been lured in by her appearance before they quickly learned better. Mo Ran had heard stories of Chu Wanning's verbal lashings and the impressions it left on people. People found her hot until she opened her mouth.
If possible, she was even less popular among her colleagues. The genius professor who had secured her tenure at twenty-eight. On top of that, she was the only female professor in the engineering department. She was considered arrogant and bossy as she wasn’t afraid to take up space. Due to her work ethic, she was always buried in her work and thus rarely spent time on campus that wasn’t functional. What free time she had, she spent on working on personal projects that later turned into patents.
Mo Ran had found it attractive at the time, how standoffish and unapologetic and sure of herself Chu Wanning was. Of course, things are seldom as they seem and Mo Ran’s opinion of her only improved as time went on.
“This sucks, I’m sorry this happened.”
Chu Wanning shrugs. “Your uncle made sure to clarify everything and they did seem mortified by this mishap-”
“-you call this a mishap?-”
“-but Xue xuezhang and I both agreed that we should keep looking,” Chu Wanning finishes, ignoring Mo Ran’s interruption.
Mo Ran reaches over the table and slides her hand, palm up, towards Chu Wanning who looks at it for a moment before placing her own hand over it. Mo Ran brushes her thumb over the back of Chu Wanning’s hand which she lets happen.
“I’m sure things will work out. Uncle told me that he’s ‘just perusing your options’. He says your work is good.”
The corner of Chu Wanning’s mouth twitches and she shyly says, “Of course, it is. I came up with it.”
Mo Ran is slightly bemused by the oxymoron that the content of the statement and the manner in which it was said create but more than that she finds it endearing.
“Yes, Wanning is incredibly smart. And you looked incredibly hot,” Mo Ran adds and winks at her.
“Thank you but the latter isn’t going to sell my patent, Mo Ran.”
Mo Ran’s quite content to see Chu Wanning accepting the compliment, something she wouldn’t have done a few years ago.
“I’m sure something will work out, Wanning.”
Chu Wanning nods, a little absentminded already which means she’s done with the topic. Instead her focus has shifted onto their linked hands. She adjusts them so that the pads of their fingers and palms are pressed together, a solid pressure, before she intertwines their fingers. The action doesn’t take more than thirty seconds but Mo Ran is so enamored by it, joy overtaking her as a big, goofy smile spreads over her face, her dimples on display.
Chu Wanning notices. “What’s this smile for?”
Mo Ran shakes her head and instead stands up and presses a kiss to Chu Wanning’s temple, allowing herself to inhale her scent, her senses engulfed by Chu Wanning.
“Come,” she says and tugs Chu Wanning out of her seat.
“The dishes-”
“I’ll do them later. I want to spend time with my wife right now.”
Chu Wanning too has mellowed out during their marriage because she lets Mo Ran lead her out of the kitchen without any further protests. They stop by the bathroom for hair oil and a hairbrush and then settle into the living room, Mo Ran on the couch, Chu Wanning in front of her on the floor, untangling the towel from her raven hair.
“I really can do it myself,” Chu Wanning says half-heartedly. Her actions contradict her statement and Mo Ran laughs quietly as she begins combing through her wife’s hair with her fingers first.
“Wanning,” she says softly, “It’s just hair brushing. Am I not allowed to do this for my beloved?”
Chu Wanning doesn’t reply and Mo Ran spends the following minutes detangling her hair with the brush, mindful of not pulling too strongly at the tangles. When the towel on Chu Wanning’s shoulders threatens to slip, Mo Ran easily adjusts it. To Mo Ran’s surprise, Chu Wanning catches her hand in the motion and turns her head slightly. She seems conflicted for a moment but then her expression clears and she presses a tender kiss to Mo Ran’s hand.
Prior to Chu Wanning, Mo Ran hadn’t really dated. She had her fun, with her experiences raging from the very embarrassing time she tried to hook up with Rong Jiu only for both of them to realize they were raging homosexuals to her last year of college when she had a no strings attached thing with Song Quitong which did help with the stress of graduation. She’d had others whose faces she didn’t even remember anymore nevermind their names. Sure, sometimes she would look at her uncle and aunt and wonder if she would ever settle into that comfortable familiarity and love those two so obviously felt for each other. Secretly, she had accepted that commitment probably just wasn’t meant for her.
And then she met Chu Wanning, incredibly smart, beautiful and a decade older than herself. Chu Wanning was shy about everything. She blushed easily and was so very new to most things. And okay, some part of it was and still is Mo Ran being into that sexually. But the other, much bigger part is that Mo Ran was smitten by all that made up this incredible person.
And even now, two years into their marriage, Chu Wanning has yet to be as free with her affections as Mo Ran. Most of the time, Mo Ran is happy to initiate, to take the lead and to take care of Chu Wanning. But sometimes, Chu Wanning does things like this, like holding and kissing Mo Ran’s hand with no warning. And yes, most of the time Mo Ran also likes using the element of surprise but right now this action is what finally makes the restlessness in her brain settle into a quieter, almost ignorable hum.
“Mo Ran?” Chu Wanning asks after the silence has stretched for a little while.
“Sorry,” Mo Ran says, stumbling over the syllables, “Can I finish your hair later, I really wanna kiss you right now?” It sounds like a question which it isn’t but Mo Ran doesn’t have to worry.
Chu Wanning easily rises from her seated position and gently pushes Mo Ran back until her back hits the backrest of the couch. Then she settles into Mo Ran’s lap, a solid weight on Mo Ran’s thighs. She pushes Mo Ran’s hair away from her forehead and leans forward to brush her lips against her temple.
“Your headache has started again, hasn't it?” Chu Wanning asks, carding her fingers through Mo Ran’s scalp. It feels good, relieves some of the tension. Chu Wanning moves one of her hands to the back of Mo Ran’s head and removes her hair tie, letting Mo Ran’s hair fall gracelessly out of its high ponytail.
“How did you notice?” she asks.
“You kept blinking a lot. I guess the light’s too bright for you.”
Chu Wanning stretches over Mo Ran to retrieve the little remote for the lights and lowers the brightness.
It does help. But Mo Ran has other priorities right now.
“I still didn’t get to kiss you,” she pouts as Chu Wanning settles back into her lap.
“You kissed me plenty earlier,” Chu Wanning says. Her voice betrays her words, breathy and almost eager sounding. It makes it easy for Mo Ran to lean in and kiss her wife. Chu Wanning immediately buries her hands in Mo Ran’s hair and presses closer, seemingly offended by any distance between them. It doesn’t make the headache magically disappear and it doesn’t pull Mo Ran out of her restlessness either but it’s a damn good distraction. Especially when Mo Ran licks into Chu Wanning’s mouth and earns a soft, high-pitched gasp, followed by Chu Wanning moaning Mo Ran’s name.
Chu Wanning breaks away for a moment, muttering nonsense about how Mo Ran should rest or at least lie down, but Mo Ran easily kisses her quiet, lets herself enjoy the hot slide of her tongue against Chu Wanning’s.
When Chu Wanning whines, Mo Ran moves away from her mouth, presses gentle, barely there kisses to the shell of her ear, close to the mole where she’s sensitive.
“Wanning,” Mo Ran whispers and is stopped by Chu Wanning grabbing her by the neck and pressing their mouths together once more. It’s absurd but Mo Ran feels so giddy and high on adrenaline that she laughs which means that Chu Wanning ends up kissing her teeth. She pulls back, a frown on her face.
“Nooo,” Mo Ran says immediately and presses a kiss right between her eyebrows. “I’m just. Really happy. And I love you.”
Chu Wanning shakes her head but leans in to gently place a kiss on her cheek. Then lower, right where her shoulder and neck meet. Mo Ran’s breath hitches a little when Chu Wanning goes even lower, pulling the material of her shirt aside to kiss the inked haitang blossoms on Mo Ran’s collarbones. When Chu Wanning raises her gaze to meet Mo Ran’s own, there’s a smile on her lips.
“Hey,” Mo Ran says. “Isn’t tomorrow your day off?”
Chu Wanning nods as she begins gently massaging Mo Ran’s temples (of course she couldn’t be entirely distracted from this).
“Think I can ask jie to teach tomorrow’s cooking class without me?”
Chu Wanning groans at Mo Ran’s grin. “Mo Ran.”
“Baobei, she has a son who could-”
“Mo Ran. Let the poor kid have free time. Isn't he finishing up university?”
Mo Ran doesn’t even bother hiding her pout. “I just wanna spend time with you.”
Chu Wanning stops her motions and instead slides her hands down to cup Mo Ran’s face. Her wedding band feels cold against Mo Ran’s cheek.
“I’ll wait for you to finish,” she says, “And then we’ll go somewhere to eat.”
She finishes with another kiss to Mo Ran’s mouth and then lets go of her face. Mo Ran grins before grabbing Chu Wanning by her thighs. Her wife realizes a moment too late what Mo Ran is going to do which means that she can only yelp as Mo Ran gets up from the couch with her in her arms.
“The lights,” Mo Ran says.
Chu Wanning dutifully shuts them off when they leave the room and switches them on when Mo Ran reaches their bedroom.
“Make sure jie doesn’t see you,” Mo Ran replies, picking the conversation up where they left off. She is a little appeased by Chu Wanning’s suggestion. “Otherwise she will tell you to come in for a bite and then complain about how I never feed you.”
“I work out. And run?”
Mo Ran sighs as she settles Chu Wanning on the bed and climbs in next to her, immediately wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close, getting a faceful of hair in the process. Chu Wanning lets herself be manhandled and merely places her hands above Mo Ran’s.
“I told her that and she won’t believe me.”
Like this Mo Ran can now freely place a kiss on Chu Wanning’s mole behind her ear which she does. It earns her a hissed exclamation as well as Chu Wanning reflexively pinching the skin of her hand. Mo Ran kind of deserves it but it’s whatever.
“I think she wants to steal Wanning away from me,” Mo Ran muses without being serious.
“I thought you were the one who was into older women,” Chu Wanning replies dryly. “But don’t worry, divorces are expensive, so you're good.”
“And?”
Chu Wanning shifts slightly out of Mo Ran’s embrace but only so she can turn around and face her.
“Wanning, and?” Mo Ran repeats.
Chu Wanning shuffles closer.
“And what?”
“Baobei.”
“And I'm happy with Mo Ran as my wife,” Chu Wanning finally admits.
The restlessness in Mo Ran's mind finally calms down.