Wolf King And His Fox Consort [BL]

Chu Yun woke up alone. Xiao Zai's side of the bed still held faint traces of warmth. It hadn't been long since he got up.

He turned around in the bed and blinked up against the weak morning light filtering in through the window paper panes. He got dressed in a daze, grabbing his discarded outer robe from the floor and tying the waist sash awkwardly, fingers still clumsy with sleep.

He stumbled outside, in search of Xiao Zai. He was sure he'd be outside. Xiao Zai wouldn't feel comfortable wandering the halls of his parents' estate.

It didn't take long for Xiao Zai's smooth, deep voice, to reach his ears.

But it were his words, and not his familiar voice, that made Chu Yun stop in his tracks.

"I will have only him, no harem, when I am King, only Chu Yun will stand by my side. Our child will inherit the Zui throne, this I swear."

He didn't say it as some grand declaration, but that was what it felt like to Chu Yun. The unwavering conviction of his voice made Chu Yun's heart stutter. 

Xiao Zai meant every word. 

What was Chu Yun going to do? He was so happy, he almost couldn't believe he'd been miserable just hours before.

Happiness made him flush with shame. What an unseemly feeling, what an unsightly thing.

He didn't want to show himself looking so overcome.

Chu Yun's father spoke before he had the chance to fully compose himself.

"His Highness says that now, but one can't upend so many traditions at once. I won't claim to be knowledgeable about Zui's internal dynamics, but there's no way the nobles and the ministers won't see such a dramatic change as an attack on the established values." 

Chu Yun knew his father was right. Traditions endured even when their original meaning was lost to time. What to say of traditions whose meaning was very much still relevant?

Even so, Xiao Zai had stood up for him and Chu Yun would do the same.

"If he is a good King, the people will not care if he has a harem, or a single spouse," he said, stepping out from behind decorative shrubs. "Most of them will never seem him or me -- they won't care."

His father lifted his eyes towards him, Chu Yun met his gaze unwavering. He was in this situation already, and the only way out was through.

"You better than anyone know that the people, and the court officials, and the ministers, and the nobles are not the same thing."

Chu Yun knew, but he also knew that he could bend them to their will. A weak King could easily be turned into a pawn, but Xiao Zai wouldn't be weak, not with Chu Yun at his side.

"I know too that minds can be changed," he said, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Zai. "If not voluntarily then through persuasion."

His father looked at the two of them for a while, inspecting them together as if examining an intricate puzzle box.

Finally, he let out an overwhelmed sigh, and nodded. For the first time, Chu Yun noticed his father was no longer a young man. He had always seen him as the picture of the model scholar, carefully put together. But while he wasn't looking his father had gotten older.

"I pray to the Heavens that the two of you succeed because the alternatives will be bathed in blood."

---

Chu Yun and Xiao Zai left together, leaving his father alone with his thoughts. 

They walked back to the bedroom in silence, the sun stretching its lazy rays over the sky and blinding them with its glare.

It was morning now, but Chu Yun felt like going back to bed.

He felt wildly anxious, as if his tongue was made of iron and there were ants biting the tips of his fingers. Xiao Zai's words kept swimming around in his mind, making him feel dizzy.

Xiao Zai too seemed uncertain of how to proceed.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Chu Yun placed his hands on Xiao Zai's chest and walked him backwards all the way to the bed. His knees hit the mattress and he fell backwards, gazing up at Chu Yun with a startled look.

"Did you mean it?" Chu Yun asked, climbing over Xiao Zai's lap.

"Yes," Xiao Zai gasped, his pupils blown wide. He slid his hands across Chu Yun's thighs, digging in. "There is only you for me."

Chu Yun's eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings over his eyes. 

He wanted to return Xiao Zai's honesty, but the words burned on his tongue.

"For me...for me also."

That was all he could say before an overwhelming heat consumed him. He pinned Xiao Zai's wrists to the bed and kissed him. Pouring into the kiss all the things he couldn't say, everything that was trapped inside him like a caged bird.

Xiao Zai kissed him with equal desperation. He got out of Chu Yun's grasp and reversed their positions, climbing over him with blatant hunger.

Chu Yun's shaking hands started tearing at Xiao Zai's robes, undoing his waist sash clumsily, shivering with desire. He wanted to fuck so badly he thought he'd go mad with anticipation.

Xiao Zai broke their kiss with a gasp. "Wait, won't your parents come looking for us?"

The reminder of his parents' nearby presence wasn't a welcome one, but Chu Yun was too eager now to stop. The locked door would be deterrent enough, besides they wouldn't come themselves, they would send out a servant.

Chu Yun was too busy rationalising all this, already anticipation the particular brand of vicious tenderness that coloured their lovemaking, that he didn't even notice the knock at the door.

Xiao Zai's hands grew still on his waist. "What is it? We're occupied," he snapped, voice rough.

It was Hua Nanyi who answered him.. "His Majesty the King of Xin is here, and he wants to see his nephew."