The relief Xiao Zai felt at finally being able to speak and move was indescribable.
Just being able to feel Chu Yun in his arms again was the world's biggest luxury. In the darkest moments, Xiao Zai feared he would never be able to speak again, and that this was going to be his life forever.
He didn't want to remember the misery of those days because it made fresh panic well up in his throat, even now.
He wanted to lock the memories away to never revisit them. As far as he was concerned, Chu Yun would never know the depth of his despair during the days he spent trapped inside his own body.
"Let's have a bath, I want to got for a swim," he said, sitting up on the bed.
Chu Yun got up from the bed before him, watching him attentively for any sign of distress. His hands twitching at his side with the repressed desire to reach out for Xiao Zai and help him up.
Xiao Zai took his first steps gingerly. His knees felt like they could buckle under him at any time, but for each step he took he felt himself getting steadier, his muscles remembering their natural purpose despite the days of disuse.
The royal baths were unchanged, since the last time he and Chu Yun had been there. Xiao Zai sunk into the warm waters with a relieved sigh. The servants had kept him clean during the days he spent confined to his bed, but Xiao Zai still longed to be truly cleansed and wash his body off the miasma of sickness.
Chu Yun stood on the first steps of the pool, dipping only his toes into the water and watching with a relieved smile as Xiao Zai swam laps around the length of the pool.
"Aren't you joining?" Xiao Zai asked, coming to a stop in the water.
"Must I?" he asked with a dramatic sigh. "I feel so awkward on land, it will only be worse in the water."
They hadn't been bathing together much since Chu Yun's belly had gotten bigger. Chu Yun complained that there wasn't room enough for the two of them in the wooden tub, and so they bathed alone, although they usually kept each other company anyway.
Xiao Zai had the impression that Chu Yun believed he would float in an undignified manner the moment he submerged himself in water. As if the baby provided his body with some extra buoyancy.
Chu Yun made sure to look dignified or imposing at all times. Even when he was being openly provocative, or pretending to be coquettish in front of others before Xiao Zai became king, he never did it in a way that made him look silly.
That he thought that he would somehow loose all control over his body in the water just because his belly had gotten bigger was a little charming -- although Xiao Zai would never tell him that.
"Come on," Xiao Zai said, beckoning him with his arm.
Chu Yun let out an annoyed grunt but complied, throwing his inner robe behind him onto the stone floor and stepping fully into the water.
Chu Yun pulled away from Xiao Zai's embrace and gave him a sad, tender, look. "Considering Zui's succession rules it would be better if the child was a boy."
Xiao Zai nodded, his smile slipping for a moment. "Of course, a boy would be great too." He hugged Chu Yun to his chest once again, and hid his face in the crook of his neck.
He had forgotten that their child wouldn't be allowed to be just a child -- they had to be an Heir.
That meant a boy -- an alpha went without saying.
Xiao Zai might be king, but the recent attack had proved how much danger he was still under -- him and his family.
For a moment he had allowed himself to exist in a world where he and Chu Yun lived only for each other, and the child that would soon be born. But the truth was that all of them had duties that went beyond their own wants.
He felt Chu Yun's fingers tighten around his shoulders, as if in an involuntary spasm. "What if...what if the child isn't an alpha?"
They had never discussed this before. Xiao Zai was convinced that both of them had tried to ignore the elephant in the room, for their own peace of mind. Chu Yun's pregnancy was unusual and dangerous as it was. Even if they found out how it had happened, Xiao Zai would never want to risk it again.
They could probably survive for a few years without a heir, but how long until the ministers started resenting Xiao Zai's lack of a harem? They would start talking about it as soon as the child was born, but even more so if they weren't a boy and an alpha.
"Maybe, maybe, not triplets, but twins would be good," Chu Yun said, bringing his other leg around Xiao Zai's waist and settling fully on his lap. "A boy and a girl."
Xiao Zai returned his tight hold one armed, and with his other hand he cupped the swell of Chu Yun's abdomen. "Yes, that would be nice."
They stayed in silence like that, drifting gently in the water wrapped tightly in each other. Two pieces that formed a full whole.
"There's something...I mean, I want to ask you something," Chu Yun started, sounding unusually unsure.
Xiao Zai pulled away from the wet skin of his neck to look into his eyes. "You can ask me anything."
Chu Yun held his gaze for a moment before his eyelashes shuttered over his eyes and he looked away. "Nevermind, I can tell you later."
He disentangled himself from Xiao Zai and swam towards the edge of the pool. "We should finish washing."
Xiao Zai had a pretty good idea he knew what Chu Yun was about to ask him, but he was happy to give him time.
He went to join him with a secret smile playing at his lips that Chu Yun pretended not to see.