Wolf King And His Fox Consort [BL]

With the wedding procession, as well as with the traditional visit to Chu Yun's parents, they had to take the main roads into Xin, but now, travelling light and with a simple carriage, they could save some time by taking advantage of backroads whenever possible.

Travel towards Xin was gruelling all the same. The official roads were in very poor condition, littered with holes that made journeys even slower, and the backroads were little better than goat paths. Now that he was no longer bickering with Chu Yun about whose country was superior, Xiao Zai could easily admit the obvious:

"Zui infrastructure has really gone to shit," he lamented while sitting on the coachman's seat with Chu Yun while Hua Nanyi rode alongside them.

Chu Yun was reclining against the carriage in a lazy sprawl, his legs crossed at the knee, the wide brim of a bamboo hat pulled down over his eyes. He was wearing simple travel robes, and had forgone his usual rabbit fur cloak in favour of a simple sheep's wool one. 

"Think about all the ways you can improve it when you become King."

While Chu Yun's easy confidence in him was reassuring, part of Xiao Zai couldn't help worrying that they were underestimating the damage his father had done to the country's treasure. Xiao Zai didn't care much about the royal family's personal coffers, but he couldn't work miracles if everything was gone.

In any case, he had to become King first.

---

They stopped for the first time at dusk at an unassuming roadside inn. Hua Nanyi made some more medicine for Chu Yun and the three of them shared a simple but filling meal. When night fell, Xiao Zai was surprised to be dragged outside by Chu Yun.

"Where are we going?" he asked, as Chu Yun led him by the hand into the dense woods behind the inn's wooden structure.

"I overheard some people talking while we were having dinner," Chu Yun said, throwing a smirk over his shoulder.

The sight of it sent a shiver down Xiao Zai's spine. It made him feel like they were about to do something illicit and dangerous. 

Xiao Zai's life had been marked by a bleak breathlessness until he met Chu Yun. Wrought with fear as much as with boredom, nothing thrilling had ever happened to him until Chu Yun entered his life.

He had never felt the pleasant jolt of anticipation low in his stomach that came with doing something foolish, but exciting.

As they went deeper into the woods Xiao Zai became aware of the growing sound of rushing water. Chu Yun seemed to be following it, dragging Xiao Zai behind him until they broke through the treeline and into a clearing where the air was several degrees warmer.

Even before he saw the springs, Xiao Zai could feel the warm humidity of the bubbling waters. Several small pools, of varying sizes littered the ground. The earth teemed with life around the rough stony edges of the pools, where the moisture and warmth allowed grass and a few flowers to bloom all year long, despite the blanket of snow only a few paces away.

Chu Yun stopped at the edge of one of the pools and let his cloak and his robes drop to the ground, stripping down to nothing in the heady twilight of the clearing.

The silver glow of the moon cut the angles and planes of his body into sharp relief. Xiao Zai's eyes followed the trim line of his spine, the sharp dip of his waist, and the full curve of his ass.

Chu Yun wasn't putting on a show. He didn't need to do anything to captivate Xiao Zai, who followed after him like a moth drawn to a flame.

He stepped into the pool and looked back at Xiao Zai, one of his eyebrows quirked in amusement. "Aren't you going to join me?"

Xiao Zai did away with his clothing quickly, dropping them on top of Chu Yun's, and followed him into the pool. He caught him around the waist and pushed him against the stony edge of the pool, trapping him between his arms.

Chu Yun let himself be trapped easily, smiling at Xiao Zai as if he had him right where he wanted him. The next moment Xiao Zai felt something soft tickle the back of his leg underwater. He looked away from Chu Yun's eyes and saw his nine white tails streaming around the two of them in the water.

When he looked up, Chu Yun's large fox ears stood to attention on top of his silky hair, the fine fur trembling in the breeze.

He smiled when he saw how Xiao Zai's gaze took everything in, and looped his arm around his neck, pulling him down into a kiss. "I've shown you mine, now show me yours."

Xiao Zai didn't know what had prompted this, but he was happy to indulge Chu Yun. With a shiver he felt his tail unfurl around his legs, and the itchy feeling of his wolf ears stretching out like leaves towards the sun.

Chu Yun ran his fingers over them, making Xiao Zai tremble at the sensation.

"You look so good like this," he admitted, returning his arm to its original place around Xiao Zai's neck. "But I'm glad I'm the only one who gets to see it."

Xiao Zai was glad too. The sight of Chu Yun rolling around in their nuptial bed with all his tails coiling around him was permanently seared into his mind. Even though they hadn't done anything that night, it was still the most powerfully sensual sight Xiao Zai had ever seen, at the time, regardless of how much he'd tried to ignore it then.

"I'm glad I'm the only one who gets to see you like this too," Xiao Zai admitted, whispering the words into Chu Yun's ear.  "Maybe after the child is born we can shift into our full forms and run through the woods together," he added, before he lost his nerve.

It was hard to tell how Chu Yun would react to any mention of the child. Even now, almost two months into the pregnancy, he seemed to mostly ignore it.

So it was a pleasant surprise when he ran a hand through the back of Xiao Zai's hair and said, "Maybe when the brat is old enough we can bring them along too."