Like a Feather Tickling My Heart

30 All Down to Preference

The couple continued to stand on the platform and admire the city's night-view while enjoying each other's company. Only when it was late at night and the houses and stores down there had started to extinguish their lamps, did they finally leave the tower.

They went directly to the guesthouse where Zhu Hong had booked a room for them, not up for anything. By now, Zhen Zhu was tired. He had slept quite a lot the night before but this day had been spent running around with hardly a break. Even the one that they had taken to eat lunch had been filled to the brim with new information thanks to meeting the merpeople, not giving him the opportunity to actually relax. Now, he just wanted to fall into bed and sleep for a long, long time.

Zhu Hong was doing a bit better since he had been following Zhen Zhu at a slower pace and had also kept calm the whole time. Thus, to him, while the day had been a bit strenuous, it wasn't to the same degree as for Zhen Zhu. Still, he was also happy that they would finally get to lie down and just relax.

When they reached the room, Zhen Zhu tiredly opened the door and already untied his belt, throwing the robe off his shoulders as soon as his husband closed the door behind him.

Zhu Hong smiled and hurriedly lit a lamp before he picked up the robe and put it to the side. When he looked up, his little spouse had been petrified. He chuckled and hugged him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"There's ... there's a nest." Zhen Zhu suddenly felt like he was wide awake again. He had thought that they would come in here and just sleep on a bed as they usually would in the dragons' valley but there was actually a big nest in front of them. It even seemed to be a very comfortable one. At the very least, it was big and he could see some fluffy bits poking out between the twigs.

Even after looking at it for a while, Zhen Zhu still didn't understand and looked back to his husband. "Why is there one?" In the forest of the phoenixes, he could understand it. But here? This wasn't a city of the phoenixes. Why would somebody do him the favor of putting a nest here?

Zhu Hong chuckled. "It's a guesthouse that specializes in members of the bird tribes. There aren't just the phoenixes around after all so in a city like this, it is still profitable. In any case, I thought that after a long day exploring everything, you'd feel quite happy coming home to this."

Zhen Zhu nodded eagerly and jumped out of Zhu Hong's arms, took on his other form, and threw himself right into the nest. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, feeling that Zhu Hong really knew him too well. This was just perfect! This place was perfect, the nest was perfect, and his husband was especially perfect.

He looked up at him and cooed, wanting to let him know just how happy he was.

Zhu Hong felt like he was hit right in the heart when he heard that sound. Usually, he didn't spend much time with Zhen Zhu in this form. So it was still a special treat to see him like this outside of the mornings when he had inadvertently reverted to this form. And he had never seen him act cute in this way. Seeing it now ... well, he didn't even know what to say.

He smiled and also took off his own robe, hanging it to the side before he took on his other form as well and lay down next to Zhen Zhu, curling around him.

He couldn't help but wriggle around a little and realized that this nest was actually quite comfortable. It seemed a bit different from the one over in the forest of the phoenixes.

He wasn't sure what exactly it was but probably something in the way it was constructed or in the material that had been used. He should take a closer look at that tomorrow morning. After all, he still hadn't forgotten about his promise to himself that he would make one for Zhen Zhu. Since he had managed to make true on the one of visiting the city, he should think about this one next.