Chapter 359 - Well deserved rest

Chapter 359: Chapter 359 - Well deserved rest

The high of holding his son slowly began to fade, and the exhaustion Muchen had been fighting for hours finally caught up with him.

His eyelids grew heavy. The morphine was still dulling the edges of his pain, but it did nothing for the deep, bone-level weariness that had settled into every part of him. His body had been through too much—the contractions, the surgery, the emotional whiplash of believing his child was dying, only to watch him float around the room as though nothing had happened.

Muchen yawned.

It was small at first, quickly smothered against his shoulder, but Yunfeng noticed immediately.

"You should get some sleep."

Muchen blinked slowly and yawned again, wider this time, his eyes watering at the corners. "I’m fine."

Yunfeng gave him a flat look.

Muchen yawned a third time.

Yunfeng sighed, but there was no real exasperation in it. He glanced down at the sphere cradled carefully between them, then back at Muchen’s drooping eyes and the faint grey pallor still clinging to his skin despite Yuki’s healing.

"Let’s get you to bed."

Muchen’s arms immediately tightened around the sphere.

"What about him?"

"Our precious baby comes with us, of course."

Qiu Yue cleared his throat.

They both turned.

The doctor stood near the operating table with his arms crossed, his glasses still crooked from earlier and dried blood staining one sleeve. He looked about as tired as Muchen felt, though he was doing a much better job of hiding it.

"Actually," Qiu Yue said, "I’d recommend keeping the baby here for now."

Muchen’s expression immediately darkened.

"Why?"

"Because I still don’t know what that membrane is made of, how stable it is, or whether it will react to a new environment." Qiu Yue adjusted his glasses with his wrist. "If something goes wrong while you’re asleep, you won’t notice until morning. Here, I can monitor him overnight. I’ll check his vitals, test the liquid composition, and make sure nothing changes."

Muchen looked down at his son.

The baby had drifted closer to the membrane again, one tiny hand pressed flat against the surface nearest him. His blue eyes were open and calm.

Muchen didn’t want to let go.

"One night," Qiu Yue said. "That’s all. If everything is stable by morning, you can take him wherever you want."

Muchen exhaled slowly.

Yunfeng placed a hand on his back.

"He’ll be safe here," he said quietly. "Qiu Yue won’t let anything happen to him."

Muchen looked up at him, searching his face for the same reluctance he felt. Yunfeng’s expression was steady, even if his eyes lingered on the sphere with obvious reluctance.

Finally, Muchen nodded.

He leaned down and pressed his forehead gently against the membrane. The baby’s palm followed the movement from the other side, pressing back.

"Be good," Muchen whispered. "We’ll be back before you know it."

The baby kicked once.

Reluctantly, Muchen handed him over.

Yunfeng took the sphere carefully, cradling it in both palms as though it were made of glass. He carried it to the small observation table Qiu Yue had cleared and set it down with more gentleness than Muchen had ever seen him use for anything.

The baby immediately turned toward Yunfeng’s retreating hands.

Yunfeng’s throat tightened.

He forced himself to step back.

Then he returned to Muchen and, without a word, bent down and slid one arm beneath his knees and the other behind his back.

"Yunfeng, I can walk—"

"You can barely keep your eyes open."

"That doesn’t mean—"

Yunfeng lifted him.

Muchen made a small, indignant sound and grabbed Yunfeng’s shoulder for balance. His legs dangled uselessly. He was still wearing the loose surgical gown and nothing else, and the fabric rode awkwardly up his thighs.

Too tired to argue properly, Muchen let his head fall against Yunfeng’s chest.

Yunfeng carried him out of the operating room and down the corridor toward their quarters. The compound was quiet at this hour, the lanterns dimmed along the walls. The only sounds were the soft rhythm of Yunfeng’s footsteps and Muchen’s slow breathing against his collarbone.

Neither of them spoke.

The door to their room opened easily. Yunfeng nudged it shut behind them and crossed to the bed, lowering Muchen onto the mattress with painstaking care.

Muchen sank into the pillows and let out a long breath.

Yunfeng pulled the blanket over him, then sat on the edge of the bed and simply looked at him.

Muchen’s skin was still pale, his lips slightly chapped from the strain of earlier. His hair was a mess, with strands plastered across his forehead. The surgical gown hung loosely around his shoulders, slipping off one side and exposing the hollow of his throat.

Yunfeng’s gaze drifted lower.

Muchen’s stomach was flat again.

Almost without thinking, Yunfeng reached out. His palm settled against Muchen’s abdomen, warm through the thin fabric. It felt strange to find it empty after months of watching the subtle curve grow, feeling the tiny kicks beneath his palm and listening to Muchen complain about his clothes no longer fitting properly.

Now there was nothing beneath his hand except the smooth plane of Muchen’s stomach and the quiet rise and fall of his breathing.

A grin slowly spread across Yunfeng’s face.

He looked up.

"You’re so flat now."

Muchen’s eyes opened to narrow slits.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Compliment." Yunfeng’s grin widened. "It’s like you were never pregnant at all."

Muchen snorted softly and let his head fall to the side, a tired smile curving his lips.

Yunfeng’s expression softened.

"You must be exhausted," he murmured. His thumb traced slow circles against Muchen’s stomach. "Sleep."

Muchen’s hand rose and closed around Yunfeng’s wrist.

Then he pulled.

Yunfeng had been sitting comfortably on the edge of the bed, and the sudden tug caught him off guard. He barely managed to catch himself with one hand against the mattress before Muchen’s fingers curled into the collar of his robe and dragged him the rest of the way down.

Their lips met.

A surprised sound escaped Yunfeng before he relaxed into the kiss.

It started softly, Muchen’s lips parting slightly as Yunfeng tilted his head and kissed him back. It had been so long. Weeks of tension and worry, of Muchen’s body growing heavier and Yunfeng’s nerves fraying every time something felt wrong. Weeks of brief kisses that never went any further because Muchen was uncomfortable and Yunfeng had been too worried about hurting him.

Now, for the first time in months, that fear wasn’t hanging over them.

Muchen kissed him harder.

Yunfeng’s hand slipped from Muchen’s stomach to his waist, gripping the loose fabric of the gown. His other hand braced against the pillow beside Muchen’s head as Muchen’s fingers tangled into his hair and tugged.

A low groan escaped Yunfeng.

The kiss deepened.

Muchen tasted faintly of salt and something sweet. His tongue brushed Yunfeng’s, and Yunfeng responded instinctively, leaning closer until their chests touched. Muchen arched slightly beneath him, and the friction sent a sharp rush of heat down Yunfeng’s spine.

His body responded immediately.

Judging by the way Muchen shifted beneath him, he wasn’t the only one affected.

They finally broke apart, both breathing harder than before.

Yunfeng dropped his forehead against Muchen’s shoulder and let out a breathless laugh.

"This is a problem."

Muchen’s voice was rough. "It’s not a problem. It’s been months."

His eyes were brighter now, some of the exhaustion temporarily pushed aside by want. His lips were red and slightly swollen, and one hand remained tangled in Yunfeng’s hair.

"It’s been so long," Muchen murmured. "And I want it."

Yunfeng’s resolve wavered.

He wanted it too. God, he wanted it. His body was already responding, heat pooling low in his belly, desire returning with an intensity he hadn’t allowed himself to feel throughout Muchen’s pregnancy.

But Muchen was exhausted.

Even now, his eyelids were beginning to droop again, and the fingers tangled in Yunfeng’s hair had already loosened.

Yunfeng leaned down and whispered against his cheek.

"Sleep. You must be exhausted."

Muchen looked up at him.

Really looked at him.

Yunfeng’s white hair was disheveled, still carrying the faint burnt smell left behind by Void Break. Dried blood remained crusted beneath his nose, a thin streak he had missed when he’d wiped his face earlier. His eyes were red-rimmed from exhaustion, and his hands trembled slightly whenever he thought Muchen wasn’t paying attention.

He was just as wrecked as Muchen was.

Muchen exhaled slowly.

"...Yeah," he muttered. "Let’s sleep."

He grabbed the front of Yunfeng’s robe and pulled.

Yunfeng, caught off balance for the second time that night, toppled sideways onto the mattress. Muchen immediately rolled toward him, wrapped both arms around Yunfeng’s waist and buried his face against his chest.

Yunfeng’s arms came around him automatically, holding him close.

Muchen’s breathing began to even out within seconds.

The warmth of Yunfeng’s body pressed against him, familiar and comforting after everything that had happened. Muchen shifted closer until there was barely any space left between them, one leg loosely tangled with Yunfeng’s beneath the blanket.

Yunfeng remained awake a little longer.

His hand rested against Muchen’s back, moving slowly up and down while he listened to his breathing deepen. Only hours ago, he had been standing outside an operating room convinced that he might lose both Muchen and their child.

Now Muchen was asleep in his arms.

Their son was alive.

For tonight, that was enough.

Yunfeng pressed a quiet kiss against Muchen’s hair, closed his eyes and finally allowed himself to sleep.