She took that as permission to open her eyes. When she looked at him, he had a beautiful smile on his face that made her heart melt.
"Was I pretending to be asleep?" she laughed.
"Yes. We just started over. And we are not going to talk about anything that brings us down. It will all wait until we get home," he admonished.
She grinned up at him widely.
"Thank you," she whispered. "But we still have a few hours left to sleep." She blinked at the clock innocently. "Will you join me?" she asked coyly.
He looked at her suspiciously. "I am not tired. I'll be fine."
She pouted. "I think I will be lonely without you. I want to curl up into your arms so that I can feel whole again."
He was oddly enticed. And then he realized what she was doing. "Are you trying to seduce me into healthy sleeping habits?" he asked.
"Is it working?" she responded innocently.
He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe this is working on me." He slid under the covers beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's working on me," he told her again.
She giggled softly and snuggled in. One night of sleep was better than none.
- - - - -
When Qian Meng woke up again, they were in the same position as they had fallen asleep in. She had been woken up by Mo Qingchen moving beside her, moving to get out of bed. She reached for him, not wanting to let go, and made a whining noise when her fingers slipped from him.
"Where are you going?" she asked groggily, not even opening her eyes.
"Bathroom," he grunted sleepily. "I'll be right back."
She yawned and rolled onto her back, rubbing her eyes. She felt super groggy, which she attributed to the nightmare she had earlier. Her muscles even felt stiff, and she couldn't help but groan a little as she lifted her arms above her head and stretched.
Suddenly, she was aware of her own full bladder. She decided to get up and relieve herself as well. She walked into the bathroom just as Mo Qingchen was exiting the toilet area. She smiled as she walked in after him.
She was blessed with a husband who actually put the toilet seat back down.
She went to wash her hands at one sink while Mo Qingchen brushed his teeth. They looked at each other in the mirror and Qian Meng couldn't help but smile at the sleepy look in his eyes. It was rare that she got to see him right after he woke up. It was cute.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him as she went about preparing her own toothbrush.
He leaned forward to spit the toothpaste out into the sink. "Much better. Hungry, though," he answered before beginning to rinse his mouth out.
"We could eat something!" she offered.
Mo Qingchen laughed as he straightened back up and put his toothbrush back in its place. "I've had my fill of outside food. I just want to eat food cooked at home now."
Qian Meng blushed a little. She was the one who dragged him along all the time because he liked the food. But also because he meant food cooked by Xiong Hua. They had transitioned from business partners to friends and then to lovers. They were falling in love with each other and that changed things.
"What are you thinking about so hard in the morning?"
She jumped when she felt Mo Qingchen's arms encircle her waist from behind. She hadn't even noticed him move over behind her. She had been so deep in thought, she was just standing there and staring at her toothbrush.
"Nothing," she answered quickly before shoving her toothbrush into her mouth and beginning to brush vigorously.
"I'll go make some coffee and your iced tea." He turned his head to place a gentle kiss on her neck.
She nodded and watched him leave the bathroom through the mirror.
This was a strange place Mo Qingchen and she was in. They had skipped so many stages of a natural relationship and she wasn't even sure what she should feel their relationship was. He was her husband, but if they had begun conventionally, they wouldn't be married at this point. They would be… dating.
She laughed. The thought of dating Mo Qingchen seemed weird. She couldn't imagine referring to him as her boyfriend. They just weren't meant to start that way.
Still, a part of her wondered if the way their relationship had begun was healthy.
She went back into the bedroom and over to Mo Qingchen's suitcase and stole one of his t-shirts to put on. With that, she went to find Mo Qingchen.
The aroma of coffee was rich in the air as she entered the dining area. Mo Qingchen was dripping the coffee when she walked in.
"I could have made some coffee for you, you know."
He looked up. "I never said you couldn't," he responded. "Are you thinking about something strange again?" he asked.
One of the things she liked about Mo Qingchen was that he was a no-bullshit kind of person. He was straight to the point most of the time. Cut to the chase about everything.
"Nope. I am plotting something," she said casually.
"Okay. Does it involve killing me?" he joked.
She squinted at him. "Not yet. But I won't make any promises." She tilted her head cheekily.
Qian Meng sat down and put on some music as she checked her emails. Her phone had a strong sound system, so the music permeated through the air. The first song started and she was caught by surprise when suddenly, as the words to the song began, Mo Qingchen began mumbling along.
He began muttering under his breath so lowly that Qian Meng couldn't hear him. She looked over at him, at the back of his head, totally surprised that he knew all the words to the song.