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Here she was again.
Standing in his chambers, wearing comfortable night clothes and looking down at the man lounging on his own bed. The last time she was in this situation, the night had ended rather awkwardly.
“Any reason why you summoned me tonight, Jinshi?” Maomao eventually asked after a stretch of silence.
He gave her an unimpressed look. “Do I need a specific reason?”
“I guess not. You are the Moon Prince, after all.” Maomao shrugged. “Or is it that you changed your mind since last time?”
“What?” Jinshi frowned for a few moments, then widened his eyes, his cheeks flushing red. “H-huh?! No! I just wanted to… ugh.”
He pressed his hand to his forehead and sighed, perhaps a bit more theatrically than necessary. Maomao couldn’t help but let out a quiet, amused chuckle. So he wasn’t thinking about that after all. Good.
“I just wanted to see you…” he eventually mumbled.
Oh. Maomao’s schooled her expression back to normal. True, he’s been so busy that we barely get to talk to each other.
“Have you been well?” Maomao asked.
“As well as I can be, with all the work assigned to me.” He sighed again and sat up, his robe parting slightly to expose the smooth skin of his chest. “The stack never seems to shrink.”
He looks tired.
“And are you sleeping properly?”
Maomao couldn’t even count the number of times she had forced Jinshi to nap at this point. She remembered a period of time when he was getting less than four hours of sleep a night, and it showed in the deep circles under his eyes. Luckily, now, they seem to have disappeared.
“Yes…” Jinshi grumbled in response, looking a bit pouty. Perhaps he wasn’t exactly seeking a medical checkup right now. Unfortunately, that seemed to be what Maomao defaulted to.
He’ll get wrinkles between his brows if he frowns like that too much. I guess I’ll have to get rid of it somehow.
She padded over to Jinshi and brushed the backs of her fingers against his cheek, the one with the scar. His expression immediately softened.
“Mm…”
That was easy.
Maomao continued to stroke his cheek, watching his long lashes flutter as he leaned into her touch. The sight of him so vulnerable and soft was most certainly a dangerous one. He looked even more beautiful than usual.
“I’ve missed you,” Jinshi mumbled into her palm, giving it a brush of a kiss.
Admittedly, Maomao felt the same. There was a type of comfort she found with him that she couldn’t find with anyone else.
I do hope he knows that.
“Brr…” The quiet moment was interrupted by a shiver from Maomao. Her robes were thin, and the season was slowly shifting to winter. Temperatures dropped unpleasantly low during the night. Damn it. I may be resistant to poisons, but my scrawny body is defenseless against this kind of weather.
“Cold?” Jinshi asked, looking up at her.
“A little,” she admitted. She let go of him to rub at her arms, which were now covered in goosebumps. She didn’t manage to chase off the chill.
A little smile curved Jinshi’s lips. It seemed that his earlier grumpiness had disappeared completely. “Well, I’m warm…”
He spread out his arms in invitation, his robe parting further.
Maomao considered this for a few moments. It was true—Jinshi was always warm. She recalled a moment not too long ago when laying on him had lulled her to sleep almost immediately. However, falling asleep here may end up in others forming alternative ideas about what happened between them…
Then again, I won’t be able to sleep at all if I’m cold for the whole night. Might as well take this opportunity.
“Alright,” Maomao said, and sat gingerly on the edge of Jinshi’s bed.
As soon as she was within reach, he gathered her up in his arms, tucking her underneath the covers and against his bare chest. He hummed with content, resting his cheek on top of her head and gently petting her hair. Maomao’s first thought was that he was being rather clingy, but…
This is kind of nice, actually. She relaxed in his loose grip, letting Jinshi’s warmth and scent envelop her completely, shielding her from the late autumn chill. She could hear his heartbeat, steady, yet speeding up slightly as she moved closer.
“Is this… comfortable…?” he asked quietly.
“Mhm.”
He leaned back a little so that he could gaze down at her, a soft smile on his lips. Not the teasing grin, or the sparkly smile that he used to charm others back when he posed as a eunuch. No, this one was wholly genuine. Strange that Maomao, of all people, was the one to put it there.
Jinshi moved closer, his nose bumping against hers. At first, Maomao thought she would feel his lips upon hers, but he shifted at the last moment to kiss her cheek instead.
Don’t tell me he’s getting shy now. He’s the one who wanted to cuddle like this…
She considered teasing him, but decided not to. It would be a little mean, especially since he was trying to be sweet. At least he wasn’t getting bitey with her again.
Jinshi left more light kisses on her temple and forehead, brushing her bangs out of the way with his slim, slightly calloused fingers.
“You’re not hugging me back,” he mumbled against her skin, sounding pouty again.
“Mrm,” Maomao grumbled sleepily. She draped her arm over his side, feeling his warmth bleed through the fabric of his clothes. “There.”
“Hm… drifting off already…?” He held her closer and watched as she struggled to keep her eyes open, her eyelids feeling heavy.
“Maybe…”
The last thing Maomao remembered was one final kiss on the top of her head.
***
When Maomao awoke early the next day, she found herself surrounded by a cocoon of warmth and soft fabric.
Huh…?
Her eyes blinked open, and she was met with the sight of Jinshi. She was nestled into the crook of his neck, her legs tangled with his. Right. She fell asleep in Jinshi’s room, in his bed, in his arms.
Shit. I have work. I need to get back…
She wriggled, attempting to free herself from Jinshi’s embrace. His arms tightened around her with a quiet huff.
“Hey,” she protested. “I have to go. I’ll get into trouble if I’m late.”
“Hngh.” He let out another, more annoyed huff and held her closer against his chest. He seemed to still be half asleep.
“Jinshi.”
“Hrm.”
“Hey.” She lightly poked his cheek. “You’re squeezing me.”
His eyes opened slowly, half-lidded from sleep. “Don’t go.”
“We both have work.”
He groaned, but finally loosened his grip on her. “You really had to remind me of work the moment I woke up…”
“Unfortunately, we have responsibilities.” Despite her protests, Maomao found it somewhat difficult to pull away from Jinshi’s warmth and get out of bed. She straightened her robes and thought again about what misunderstandings could arise once she left the room. More specifically, what Suiren may assume about the situation.
“Wait.” Jinshi’s hand gently closed around her wrist.
“Hm?” She turned around to look at him in his entirety. His hair and robes were messy, a rare sight from him.
“Was that a one-time occurrence?"
Maomao paused. It would be hard to meet at night again, and any rumors about them would only get worse if it happened more frequently. However, it wasn’t impossible.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she responded.
Jinshi’s expression brightened, and he let go of her wrist, satisfied with her answer.
Luckily for Maomao, she managed to leave, get ready for the day and get to work on time.
Though the sun was out, the weather was still chilly, and she found her thoughts drifting back to the previous night as she rubbed her reddened hands together.
She already missed his warmth.