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Ever since he'd moved in with his husband, Xie Lian had never felt more satisfied.

Growing up as an unwanted omega in Xian Le's court, and later having all his instincts dulled during his banishment, Xie Lian was surprised when he found a nesting quarter right beside the main bedchamber in the home of his alpha husband.

He looked at it a bit painfully; it was essentially a round mattress surrounded by a white silk canopy, separated from their bedroom by twinkling bead curtains.

It did look very cosy, and Xie Lian mourned not being able to use it as intended.

"Is the nest not to Gege's liking?" Asked Hua Cheng, noticing Xie Lian staring at the room, brow furrowed.

Snapping out of it, Xie Lian replied. "Oh no, San Lang. It's perfect! It is just that… I don't nest." He trailed off, staring at the room again, when Hua Cheng held his waist and stepped closer.

"Does Gege want it gone? If it brings more displeasure than comfort, I want nothing to do with it." He leaned in and kissed Xie Lian's shoulder.

Xie Lian turned his head to face his husband. "No! San Lang, it could still be used, just not for me, due to that…" He pleaded, looking pitifully at Hua Cheng.

"It's Gege's nonetheless."

—

They spent their days together on their shared bed, surrounded by sheer red fabric and sprawling pillows on the floor. Xie Lian was used to sleeping with very little support for his neck; a pillow lifted his head too much, so he usually ditched it in favour of Hua Cheng's arm.

When they were not sleeping or tumbling both pillows and sheets off the bed, Xie Lian dragged his husband out to dig up some scrap, walk through the grassy fields of Mount Taican, or frolic in the river. If they weren't in the mood to be outside, Xie Lian spoiled himself on the new Paradise Manor, where he would drown in books read sweetly by Hua Cheng's voice or indulge in whatever weapons were still left in the armoury by sparring with his equally vicious husband.

He was fed when he was hungry, and he slept underneath warm covers whenever he was tired. He was cuddled and loved unendingly.

He looked at the same nesting room. Lying alone on the bed, rubbing his head in the robe thoroughly scented by his missing husband, he could finally get a good look at it the way he was meant to. Looking from this perspective, he noticed both canopies split, looking at each other, so if in use, they could move in and out to the main bedroom if they wanted.

Even if inexperienced with omegahood, he remembered the lectures given to him by his mother, sleeping in her nest as a little pup as his father slipped further away from his son. His mother would tell him how it was the safest place in the world, a sacred place for omegas and pups that no stranger could get inside.

The nest was built just like the ones in Xian Le, but this one was much smaller. They were usually in even bigger rooms too, since the pups only grew out of them once they presented. The side room containing the nest was not nearly as big as his mother's was in the palace; besides the nest itself, it was devoid of any other furniture.

Did Hua Cheng not want children?

Xie Lian scared himself at the thought, not for the idea itself but for the fact that he was thinking it. What if Hua Cheng didn't want pups? Why would that affect their relationship? Xie Lian didn't have heats, and for the look of it, Hua Cheng had only had one rut. Xie Lian knew the Manor was tailored specifically for him, and being well known in Xian Le that the king had fathered an only omega son, Hua Cheng had built a nest in their quarters.

Why did he suddenly feel so sad, looking at that empty side room, destined to be more storage space instead of the happy family home it was meant to be?

A weird feeling consumed him from the inside. He pulled the robe closer to his nose and turned away from the nest.

—

Xie Lian started acting weird too.

During the hot summer months, they usually rushed their tasks in the morning to not suffer from the heat in the evening, but now Xie Lian had been sleeping in til mid morning, instead of rising with the sun on the window.

Hua Cheng, who had been staring at the sun slowly lighting up each part of Xie Lian's face, regretfully shook his beloved. The smooth skin over his long lashes creased in disturbance. He hummed sleepily.

"Gege." Hua Cheng nosed his face into the skin of his husband's brows, soothing another crease there, too. "Gege."

Xie Lian hummed again. "Gege wanted to check the berries this season; the birds could've eaten them all."

Xie Lian mumbled incoherently, hushing Hua Cheng's voice.

"If Gege says so, San Lang won't argue." He closed their bodies together, Hua Cheng's broad shoulders shielding any of the sun's golden rays from disturbing Xie Lian's face anymore. His hands smoothed along the tangles of his hair, dragging his fingers slowly, so he would never pull on a strand.

The birds chirped outside, and the trees swayed with the small breeze. Xie Lian's chest suddenly started rumbling, a light trembling sound that quickly came as steady as his breathing. Hua Cheng was alerted by this, but he turned his head to kiss Xie Lian's head, nuzzling it instinctively. The same sound started coming from his own chest, deeper and slower. Hua Cheng smiled and returned to snuggling his face in Xie Lian's face and neck, the purring of their chests taking over all the sounds he could hear.

Xie Lian woke up a few hours later, his throat slightly dry. He tried to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes when he heard Hua Cheng.

"Good morning, Gege." Hua Cheng smiled, almost reaching the pointy tips of his ears.

"Good morning, San Lang. What time is it?" He saw the grin on his husband's face, and only then did he notice the sun was high enough that it wasn't shining through the window.

"San Lang should've woken me!" He cried. Hua Cheng was laughing to himself, seeing the betrayed look on Xie Lian's face. "I tried, but Gege said he wanted the birds to eat the berries, so they won't eat the worms we could use to fish later."

"San Lang! I did not say that!" Xie Lian lightly punched his husband's chest, hiding his face on the slightly open red robes in front of him.

Hua Cheng's sandalwood and cinnamon scent permeated more intensely closer to his skin, and Xie Lian rubbed his face against his husband's chest.

Hua Cheng opened his mouth to tease his beloved more, but he accidentally caught a whiff of a strange milky scent on Xie Lian.

He poked Xie Lian's shoulders to ask, but his husband was already back asleep. Hua Cheng craned his neck to smell Xie Lian's hair better, to check if he had been right.

His suspicions had started when Xie Lian woke up in the middle of the night to scent all their robes and organise the closet once again, and the increased cuddling, which was nice, but still a bit off-putting. He wrapped his arms more protectively around his beloved and kept smelling the new addictive scent.

—

It was starting to be obvious, but Hua Cheng only brought it up after Xie Lian started experiencing really intense morning sickness.

He held all of his husband's hair while he threw up bile into a bucket, after spilling all of his breakfast and what had been left of dinner.

Xie Lian looked sickly pale, grabbing onto Hua Cheng as he wiped the corners of Xie Lian's lips clean and kissed his sweaty brow.

"Gege, we should consult a physician." Hua Cheng pleaded, seeing Xie Lian's eyes wander through the bedroom, eerily quiet.

Xie Lian wasn't naive nor stupid; he had suspected the same thing, but his mind denied him any joy he felt. Besides, his scent, presenting as soft flowers and vanilla, meant he barely considered himself an omega. How could he conceive?

Xie Lian looked bleary-eyed at his husband.

"San Lang, do you think…?" He could feel a deep sadness within himself, and all he wanted to do was cry and scream for things to stay the same.

Hua Cheng wiped the wetness beneath his eyes and kissed his cheek. "Whatever it is, this one will make sure everything will be alright."

For the first time, while Hua Cheng cleaned the bucket of puke, Xie Lian raided Hua Cheng's closet and hamper, and opened the snowy canopy sheets to lie on his cold, unused nest.

When Hua Cheng returned, he tried to enter it, opening a slit in the white sheets, and Xie Lian slowly rested his foot on his shoulder, kicking him back extremely gently. Hua Cheng took the hint and lay on the ground next to the nest.

Not hearing any footsteps going away, Xie Lian turned his head to the nest's opening.

"What's San Lang doing?" He asked calmly, a bit of his hair falling to the front as he looked at his husband.

"Taking guard so Gege can rest." Hua Cheng said very seriously.

Xie Lian laughed, giggling, clamping his hands over his belly in laughter until suddenly, he started sobbing.

Hua Cheng stood up, alarmed, looking over at Xie Lian. He wanted to cradle him in his arms, but he trembled in place, not wanting to intrude on Xie Lian's boundaries.

This did nothing but aggravate Xie Lian's cries, making him retreat more into the nest to cuddle the pile of haphazard clothes.

Xie Lian cried more in shame than from his unknown original motive, burrowing his face in the soggy collar of Hua Cheng's inner robe.

Hua Cheng scratched at the silk. "Does Gege need something?"

Xie Lian sniffed, not wanting his muddled voice to embarrass him even further, but he felt relieved Hua Cheng hadn't left.

He thought for a second; he was very hungry, but he couldn't eat. Hua Cheng had even tried to give him water, but it had only brought forth more bile.

He wasn't particularly cold, nor hot.

His nest just felt inexplicably empty.

"…Could San Lang get this one some pillows?"

"Of course, does Gege want some in particular?

Xie Lian paused for a second, but his mouth already had a list at the tip of its tongue.

"The ones where we sleep with, and the red ones from the library. I also want the blanket we use in the gardens, and the duvet we sleep with in the cottage. If San Lang doesn't mind."

Hua Cheng answered immediately. "I'll be right back, Gege."

"San Lang!" Xie Lian called out.

"Yes, Gege?" He turned back.

"Could you.. Could you.. scent… them?" He buried his head in his hands, muffling the words.

"Okay, I'll be right back." He turned to leave, a small smile on his face.

Gone for the first time without a goodbye kiss, Xie Lian's tears showed themselves again.

He wept inside the white walls of the nest; his mind was in shambles, trying to take in the full environment, the renovations it had to make. An itch rose from within his skin to pry the whole thing open, to destroy it all and build it anew. His breaths came ragged, and his nails scratched at his skin. His stomach rumbled.

When Hua Cheng came back, pillows and blankets in tow, he found Xie Lian tucked inside their bed, sleeping. He slowly lowered everything he'd gathered on the ground and joined his husband, licking the dry tear tracks under his eyes clean.

—

The physician they called was a well-known doctor in the mortal realm. Although their case was all but mortal, Hua Cheng had not sensed any disturbances in Xie Lian's qi, aside from a subtle energy shift.

Xie Lian's symptoms were all in tune with a usual mortal omega's pregnancy.

The doctor was a young omega from a village nearby who was taken to study medicine and cultivate at a prestigious sect. The girl then gained notoriety by donating her services to poor families. She also offered to assist midwives during births.

She closed her bag on the small kitchen table inside the cottage.

"Congratulations, Dianxia should be about three weeks along. The first trimester is very turbulent, but I can recommend some teas that help with indigestion and nausea."

Xie Lian looked at her very gently, as if nothing she said had completely derailed his sense of identity.

Hua Cheng just stood to the side, petting Xie Lian's shoulder and trying to release a calming scent.

They bade the doctor goodbye, and Xie Lian sat back on the table, staring blankly at his cottage.

He couldn't nest; he'd never had a heat. He had no family nor a pack to help him raise the pup. His husband hadn't spoken a word against it, but he never said anything in favour. He held his small stomach and tucked his knees into his chest; suddenly, he wanted to cry again.

Hua Cheng knelt to his level, put his head on top of Xie Lian's, petting his sides, trying to console him.

Days passed with Xie Lian tossing and turning in his sleep, unwilling to eat anything for hours, and without moving much throughout the day.

Sometimes he'd stay in bed, sometimes he'd climb into the messy, undone nest; it started smelling more of his own sweat and musk than his husband's pleasant smell, and when he was particularly nauseous, he lay outside in the grass, next to the peonies in the garden.

He lay on Hua Cheng's thighs one night, the soft moonlight reflecting on Xie Lian's white jade skin, the outline of his body glowing, contrasting with the dark hair splitting in all directions.

Hua Cheng brushed the strands, a pearl comb in his hand, his nails massaging his scalp so gently it almost lulled his racing mind to rest.

"If Gege closes his eyes and breathes deeply, this husband could take his pain away."

He feels Hua Cheng tug on tiny strands of his hair, slowly brushing them while humming a calm, familiar melody. 

"San Lang is just brushing my hair." Xie Lian says, smiling faintly at his husband's ministrations.  "But it's helping Gege, isn't it? I'm plucking away his worries by the root"

Xie Lian giggles. "I don't think that's how it works, San Lang!"

Thinking about it, it was, in fact, working; Hua Cheng's hands on his scalp, massaging and pulling lightly. With the weight of the comb in his hair, slowly, His Highness began falling asleep on the Ghost King's lap, who kept brushing, petting and kissing Xie Lian's hair all night, never stopping until he woke up.

The early morning sun rays were shaded by Hua Cheng's figure looming above him, but as the birds started chirping their summer songs, Xie Lian awoke with them. Hua Cheng smoothed the frown in his brow with a swift finger.

"Good Morning, Gege." He said, adoringly looking at the way Xie Lian's eyes stirred, still clinging a bit to sleep.

He raised his arms to cradle his beloved's face, and Hua Cheng bowed to kiss him.

—

When he decided to tackle the nesting problem again, his belly had already started to show. Autumn was upon them, and worrying about the non-existent possibility of Xie Lian getting a cold, they moved to Paradise Manor so Hua Cheng could feel more rested.

He wasn't too far along, just past the 4-month mark, but he couldn't tighten his robes anymore.

Hua Cheng had taken it upon himself to douse his beloved omega with dozens of clothes specifically tailored for his body in various styles. He went ahead and also purchased bigger ones.

Xie Lian's symptoms had improved; he didn't feel nauseated anymore. In exchange, he now craved inexplicable foods he couldn't get.

He dreamed about a concoction of flavours, neither salty nor sweet, maybe both.

When he awoke, tears welled up in his eyes, and he gestured for Hua Cheng to maybe try to cook it when he felt his side of the bed empty. He turned the other way and saw his husband pacing through the bedroom.

"San Lang?" Hua Cheng's pheromones permeated the room completely, the sandalwood hushed by the sharp smell of black pepper. "San Lang, what's wrong?"

Hua Cheng turned to him, eye dark and his jaw trembling. "Gege doesn't need to worry; this one thought he heard a mouse. Does Gege need anything?"

Having forgotten the dish, Xie Lian rose and gestured for his husband to come closer. "San Lang could help me nest, if he wants to." Hua Cheng looked at him, his eye dispelling the anxiousness in his gaze.

"Of course, Gege, I would love such honour."

Xie Lian rose, tightening the belt of his inner robe, and pulled Hua Cheng to gather some robes and pillows throughout the manor. They entered the nesting room, twinkling red and black beads singing in the cold night, and opened the canopy fully.

Xie Lian scented all pillows thoroughly, and gave them to Hua Cheng for him to do the same. After passing inspection, all pillows were organised in the nest, thrown this way or that, and Xie Lian's nerves spiked trying to arrange them.

Feeling the omega's scent bitter, Hua Cheng started taking over the pillow placement.

"Gege should want to have some support for his back and stomach, and some blankets could be folded for that, then he should want the robes close by, so we'll wrap them around a few pillows next to his sleeping place." Hua Cheng suggested, but Xie Lian took the advice and made something he felt was most correct.

At last, he sat inside the nest and closed it, trying to understand how he felt about it. Everything was fine, but now there were too many things inside he wanted to give space to, so he threw the bigger pillow out and opened the white sheets slightly, raising a hand to beckon Hua Cheng in.

Lying side to side, their growing pup in the middle, Xie Lian finally felt Hua Cheng fully relax, and cradled in between his alpha's arms, he finally fell asleep.

—

Red maple leaves fell from the trees that surrounded their cottage on Mount Taican as the wind shook them softly to the ground. Inside, Xie Lian covered himself in layers of blankets scented by his husband, gently patting his ever-growing bump.

He started mumbling to their baby recently, when Hua Cheng was away doing certain chores or when he felt the sudden urge to talk.

Suddenly, he heard something beat the side of the bed so harshly it shook. Xie Lian turned over to find the little silver scimitar looking at him, its red iris looking pitifully at Xie Lian.

"What are you doing here, E-Ming? I thought you were helping San Lang sweep outside." Xie Lian cooed, picking up the crying sword that trembled in his arms.

"Did you sneak out here to see me?" Xie Lian tucked E-Ming into the covers, covering both of them in the hard blankets.

The scimitar's eye crinkled in agreement.

"Shh, let's hide you from San Lang!" Xie Lian whispered, trying to calm the vibrating sword down.

He lay his head back into the pillows, pulling his head underneath the blankets, leaving only his black hair visible. He cuddled E-Ming closer, feeling it slow down and quiet, and returning to mumbling stories.

A few minutes later, Hua Cheng returned, frowning deeply as he searched for his missing scimitar, trying very hard to disguise his furious scent. His instincts led him to where they always led, to the bed Xie Lian slept softly on, and raising an eyebrow, he decided to sneak a look inside the mass of sheets and pillows.

Inside, his husband cuddled closely with a purring silver sword, eye closed in bliss like a toddler put to sleep. Anger still rose in Hua Cheng's chest, but he breathed it out to appreciate the sight for one more moment. Sadly, Xie Lian's eyes fluttered open.

"San Lang?" Before he was fully awake, E-Ming had started shaking again, eye furrowing in its master's direction.

Having figured his husband and sword were about to fight again, he tried to lift himself from the bed.

"Agh...!"

What made everyone stop in their tracks was a kick sounding from inside Xie Lian.

Both immortal and ghost husbands looked at each other; E-Ming started shaking violently against both. Hua Cheng threw himself onto the bed to hold Xie Lian and take advantage of the opportunity to kick the happy scimitar off the bed.

"San Lang!"

—

The bun in Xie Lian's oven was growing way too big for Xie Lian's liking.

The women in the village always surrounded him when he would walk through the market, and they all agreed that, by how far along he was, the shape of his belly could give away the gender of the baby, but Xie Lian was carrying both wide and pointy! They discussed upon themselves until one woman, holding a baby boy in one arm, spoke.

"Dianxia could be having twins! My poor sister had been huge during her pregnancy, and ended up having two little girls!"

The rest of the crowd agreed excitingly. Xie Lian paled; Hua Cheng, who had been holding his husband by the arm all this time, tightened his grip in fear of Xie Lian falling.

Xie Lian walked along the market with a child or two chasing him by the tail. "Dianxia smells really good, and he buys a lot of candy!" Said the children following him around like ducklings. Once they arrived at the steep mountain path that led them to their cottage, the children had already gone back with their mothers and the candy Xie Lian gave them.

Xie Lian could still climb the height of three Mount Taican's before getting tired, even while pregnant, but Hua Cheng would never allow it when he could just carry Xie Lian uphill.

So while being bridal-carried by his husband, Xie Lian was extremely aware of the size of his belly and started thinking about the woman's comment earlier.

"Is Gege scared of having twins?" Hua Cheng asked when the silence in the air became palpable.

Xie Lian sighed. "Are two children not too much? San Lang, I still can't process having one."

The sound of Hua Cheng's boots crunching the fallen leaves echoed through the quiet path.

There was something unspoken between Xie Lian's breaths that he dared not question. Something Hua Cheng had wanted to ask for a long time, but neither wanted to face the answer they most feared.

As always, as if he were reading Xie Lian's mind, Hua Cheng finally asked.

"Does Gege want to have this baby?"

It seemed as if all the life that mumbled through the trees disappeared, and the wind stopped its breezy chill to let Xie Lian answer.

Xie Lian trembled, grasping tightly to the red robes that held him, and rapid breaths swallowed the words he wanted to say. Hua Cheng pulled him closer, trying to scent away the rotten fruit smell that had permeated his beloved. "It's fine, Gege, this one can find a way to stop it, and Gege will never worry about it—"

"I knew San Lang always hated it!" Xie Lian screamed mid-sobs, furiously thrashing in Hua Cheng's hold on him. "Let me go, San Lang!"

Hua Cheng gently lowered Xie Lian to the ground, but held tight onto his wrists, holding them in place.

"San Lang hates children! Maybe it would be tolerable having one, but two is just too much! There will be no time for me to have a break, and San Lang will just leave!" Xie Lian cried and screamed to the forest; the leaves still clung to the branches, falling with every echo of his cries.

"San Lang will leave me to attend his business, and I can't come along!"

Hua Cheng stared, horrified, at his crying husband, sitting still in shock at what the other was saying. Once the stun wore off, he pulled Xie Lian into a hug, patting his back and shushing him.

"San Lang would never- San Lang could never do that. San Lang will carry Gege in one arm and the two babies on the other anywhere they'd like." Xie Lian's cries toned down to sniffles, and his breaths slowed, giving in to Hua Cheng's rhythm.

"San Lang won't let me hold them...?"

"San Lang will carry all on one arm."

Xie Lian, seemingly appeased, had no complaints.

Hua Cheng wiped the tears out of Xie Lian's face, once his scent had turned from rotten to damp.

"How could Gege think those things?" He decided to ask first.

Xie Lian couldn't bear to look back at him, so he focused on the three wooden butterfly charms that riddled his husband's belt, which he carved when he felt especially bored on his bedridden days.

"It's true San Lang doesn't like children, right? You get annoyed at the village kids when they pester for attention or snacks, and you always kick out E-Ming when it wants to join us on the bed. Now, if instead of E-Ming, it's also two children? What will happen if they do nothing but cry? What if they're sick and now instead of taking care of one, I need to tend to two? San Lang, I never had a heat in the first place; how could an omega like me take care of this?"

Hua Cheng nuzzled his nose into Xie Lian's collarbone, holding him tightly in a silent apology.

"This one was so worried about Gege's health and wishes I couldn't think about anything. Gege, indeed, I don't like when something meddles with our time together, but having children of our own could never be something of annoyance. This one could never leave you by yourself to take care of it alone. If they do nothing but cry, I'll make sure to calm them down so you'll never have to hear it; if they're sick, I'll restore their health in less than a day. Although it's Gege who carries the babies now, I never wanted to make it feel like it was something you would have to carry by yourself.

Xie Lian swallowed the remaining sobs that had yet to escape, and he curled up to his husband again, letting him carry him all the way to the cottage.

When Hua Cheng moved to open the door, Xie Lian had already fallen asleep, and he curled behind his husband, smelling the returned milky vanilla scent.

—

Snow piled up high on the mountain, and the chill permeated the earth so badly that even Ghost City felt cold.

During these high winter months, Xie Lian lay heavily pregnant on their nest, especially sensitive to everything around them.

Outgrowing his pregnancy glow, Xie Lian cursed for the first time the estimated two babies inside of him, as their nonstop kicking had made him unable to eat again.

Every day was either completely slept through or, sadly, spent taking care of his swelling joints and back pain.

Today was one of the latter.

The damp snowfall was making his body ache and move very slowly, like a rusted door hinge.

Hua Cheng had been massaging oils on his feet and legs for the better part of an hour, but it seemed there was no stopping point for the pain.

"San Lang.. I'm so tired." He whined.

Hua Cheng looked at him through hair strands as he kissed around Xie Lian's ankles. "Does A-Lian need a nap?" He asked sweetly, lips resting upwards on Xie Lian's legs, passing his knees and settling on his thighs.

"The babies won't let me.." Xie Lian said pitifully.

"San Lang will get to calming them down; A-Lian doesn't need to worry about anything.." As he rose, sliding back Xie Lian's inner robe and leading his mouth dangerously close to his opening, a particularly strong kick hit right over his pelvis and half of his belly rolled upright until it stopped by his ribs.

Both stared silently at each other until Xie Lian kicked his husband out of the nest with the leg he was holding.

"Gege!" Hua Cheng yelled from outside the white curtain, and Xie Lian tried as hard as he could to curl in on himself in shame.

"Gege, please, this one will behave!" He urged pathetically, clawing at the canopy to be let in.

Xie Lian still couldn't spare to show his face, but hearing his husband plead outside of the nest was making him sad.

"San Lang can't get in the nest until the baby says so! It was them that kicked you off first!"

"Gege.." Hua Cheng gave up and sat outside the nest like a dog left out in the rain.

Xie Lian felt tears coming again, but felt too embarrassed to call Hua Cheng in again.

Not only did he feel very mean, but his body hurt even more now that it wasn't being given attention, and he was also hungry.

After only three beats of silence, Hua Cheng tried again.

"How does Gege know when the baby will let me in again?" he pleaded.

"I'll know when I know! I'm the baby's mother; of course I can tell when I know!" He could barely hide the sniffles being torn out of his throat.

"How can Gege tell?" Hua Cheng asked again.

"When the baby gets sad, and cries, and wants San Lang to come back!" As he finished, an incriminating sob left his mouth.

Neither knew whether to laugh or cry.

"Is the baby sad, crying, and wanting San Lang back?"

"YES!" Xie Lian opened the nest, hair in disarray and his face wet and flushed from the crying.

Hua Cheng happily cuddled up behind Xie Lian, apologising profusely to his beloved and both babies.

—

When spring was barely peeking through the last winter clouds, rain picking up where snow had melted, and grass fields bloomed with more and more flowers, Xie Lian held two bundles of blankets, finally quiet after crying loudly through the night.

Hua Cheng, noticing his husband's poor demeanour, took the two newborns in his arms and settled them inside the nest, now bare to let the pups sleep soundly.

Keeping his scimitar on watch for both his spouse and children, he returned his attention to the half-carved-out horse in his hand.

Xie Lian held out his hand to Hua Cheng's arm, squeezing it lightly. Hua Cheng took it and placed a small kiss upon his palm.

"Goodnight, Gege. I'll take care of everything."

Rising to tuck Xie Lian's arms beneath a wool blanket, he kissed his forehead as the man finally fell asleep.