Wolf King and his Fox Consort [BL]

Gu Wei left, and not long after Xiao Zai walked in. Carrying two bundles in his arms, and smiling radiantly.

Any fear Chu Yun might have harboured about Xiao Zai's reaction to learning the twins weren't alphas disappeared at the sight of that smile.

"They are very well behaved, nothing like you," Xiao Zai said, coming to sit at Chu Yun's side, delivering the boy into Chu Yun's arms while holding on to the girl.

"Give them a few years," Chu Yun said, shuffling back on the pillows that someone had placed behind his head while he was unconscious. He looked down at the little boy cradled in the crook of his arm and smiled.

"Hello." He tapped the tip of the boy's nose, who scrunched it in response. His small hands coming up in angry little fists to bat away at the disturbance to his sleep.

His little wolf ears twitched in annoyance under the blanket. Chu Yun was overwhelmed with the sudden urge to bite them.

He never had very strong opinions about babies, unlike some people who would lose their mind at the very sight of one. But just at that moment the little girl let out a long-suffering sigh in Xiao Zai's arms, sounding unusually like an adult -- and Chu Yun was sure that there had never been any babies as adorable as theirs.

"Did they eat?" he asked, already sorry he had missed it.

"Yes, but not much, they're tired now, but you can try feeding them later."

Chu Yun grimaced, unsure that would even be possible. His chest looked just as flat as it had always been.

He reached towards Xiao Zai, who understood what he wanted at once, and helped him hold their daughter in his other arm.

She was trying to sleep, like her brother, and like his, her brow too was pinched in annoyance. Chu Yun imagined both of them were finding the world very noisy and overwhelming.

He was determined to convince both of them it wasn't so bad. It had its charms.

Chu Yun watched both of them in silence for a while, cataloguing their various expressions through their fitful sleep.

"What will we name them?" he asked, softly rocking both of them in a back and forth motion in the cradle of his arms.

They hadn't thought of any names. The pregnancy felt like such an odd, delicate thing, that something as trivial as baby names seemed almost presumptuous to Chu Yun.

In the back of his head he had been aware of the very real possibility that either he, or the children wouldn't make it out of it alive. He had just preferred not to dwell on it.

Xiao Zai was looking at the three of them with a besotted look, his sharp eyes softened almost into crescents. "Do you have any ideas?"

Chu Yun's record with choosing names wasn't inspiring. Their illusive cat could attest to that.

"Maybe we can ask for suggestions."

Xiao Zai twisted his nose but didn't comment. Instead he shuffled across the floor and up into the mattress. Chu Yun leaned up into the cradled of his arms. The two of them looked down quietly at the sleeping children in Chu Yun's hold.

Xiao Zai kissed Chu Yun's temple. "Thank you," he said, almost in a whisper.

Chu Yun's heart squeezed tightly. He felt grateful too. For this moment. For his family. The one in this room, and beyond it.

"Gu Wei said you have to rest, so I was thinking we could stay here for a week," Xiao Zai said, carding through Chu Yun's sweaty hair with his fingers, making him sigh in pleasure. "Just until we're sure you're recovering well and can stand the carriage ride back to the palace."

That sounded like an excellent idea to Chu Yun -- Gu Wei's presence not withstanding. There was something about the Second Prince's estate that made him feel at ease.

Perhaps it was the memory of simpler times.

Back when their biggest hurdle was ensuring Xiao Zai became King.

Now that they had the throne, the problem became holding on to it. And more than that, justifying that seat before the people of Zui and the Heavens.

A thumb slid between Chu Yun's eyebrows and massaged the tension there. "Such big thoughts so soon after giving birth. Do you ever stop?"

Chu Yun bumped the top of his head against Xiao Zai's chin, and then lowered his head onto his shoulder, almost looking up at him. "Helps distract me from the pain."

Xiao Zai's gaze softened further. He leaned down to press an upside-down kiss onto Chu Yun's wet lips. "Think on the bright side, now that the babies are here, you can drink again."

If Chu Yun's fox ears had been out, those words would have made them perk up at once. "That's true. I can't wait to get drunk."

Wine didn't use to be a regular indulgence for him, but nothing like deprivation to make one appreciate what they'd once taken for granted.

He felt the rumble of Xiao Zai's laughter through his back. "I'll get you all the wine you want. We'll dry all the distilleries in Zui finding you only the finest quality spirits."

Chu Yun thought this over. He turned his face against Xiao Zai's neck, breathing in his scent deeply. "I want wolfberry wine."

Their eyes met. A flicker of heat lit up Xiao Zai's dark gaze. "That can also be arranged."

Chu Yun licked his lips. He found that he was thirsty for more things than wine.

It had been a while since they had indulged. Even longer since he had lost himself in the wilderness of rut-fuelled sex.

As soon as he recovered from the surgery, maybe they could...

Jut as Chu Yun was entertaining those thoughts the girl started fussing, first grumbling and then crying, her tiny face twisted in outrage.

Ok, so maybe they'd have to get used to some things first.