Yichen quietly placed Mochou on the bed. Sometime along the way back Mochou had fallen asleep and Yichen didn't want to wake him.
"Mochou's distrust runs a lot deeper than I imagined. I need to be more careful in the future." Yichen mused as he swept back some lose hair from Mochou's forehead. When he did Mochou's brow furrowed. The pale look and frown told Yichen that Mochou must be suffering even in his dreams.
"I can't change the past but I can make the future better. The first thing I should do to help him is figure out what we are going to do about our house. This hut is far from secure and with the walls around the yard so short they are useless for privacy and security."
Yichen grabbed some paper, brush and some his ink stone from the shelf and began making a plan for their new home.
"Mochou is still insecure about having babies but we can't ignore the possibility. With that in mind I think we should have four bedrooms. The brightest one will be ours, and I remember Mochou mentioning having two. One for the summer and the other for winter... Should we make it five rooms instead? No, four is plenty. It's unlikely a GER will ever give birth to more than one child. It's hard to imagine Mochou getting pregnant twice let alone three times. Two extra room will be more than we need." He concluded. He wouldn't push Mochou to get pregnant but he would be remiss if he didn't plan ahead for the possibility.
After deciding on the number of rooms Yichen thought about the extra places he and Mochou would need to make their house a home.
"Mochou seems serious about hunting and making his own bow. I don't know how good he is with woodworking yet but if it's something he enjoys he should have a proper place to do it." Yichen thought as he designed an extra little house for Mochou.
This smaller house or better yet hut would have a separate entrance in the direction of the forest and one leading into the yard so it would be easier for Mochou to go in and out with whatever he needed while hunting. He also wanted to include a place where Mochou could put any animals he might catch like rabbits or even the bigger roe deer.
"Maybe it would be better to connect the hut with the old yard and make it the point between the two? That way we can house any animals further away from the main house. Their smell can be off-putting and sometimes even noxious in the hot summer months." Yichen thought as he considered the situation.
"If we do it this way then our current home, this hut, could also be used by him to store anything he doesn't use regularly. Although we still have to raise the walls it's not safe right now. We'll raise the walls and move the gate to face the forest instead of it's current placement." Satisfied with his reasoning Yichen added it to his sketch.
"For myself... Mochou told me I should have a medicine room set up where I can mix or dry herbs and attend to any patients. Personally I don't think we need it but I can't refuse Mochou's kindness. I'll add it over here away from the main house so if I did have people visit Mochou won't be bothered by them." Yichen said while carelessly adding it to the corner of the yard.
While Mochou slept Yichen did his best to plan out and think about the future.
...
Mochou woke up feeling terrible. As he slept he was plagued by nightmares of the past and Zi Ruo's betrayal. The only upside was that at the end of his dream he swore he could hear Zi Ruo's screams as his best friend Quian Duo wished him well.
"I hope you also find someone who will love you and keep you safe in that hell." Mochou whispered as he rubbed away the tears from his eyes.
"Mochou, are you awake?" Yichen asked from next to him. He had noticed the moment Mochou woke up in tears by hadn't heard him whisper.
"Yichen, can you lay down with me for a few minutes?" Mochou tentatively asked. He really wanted to feel Yichen's warmth. Hearing Mochou's soft voice that sounded a little nasally because he had just woken up Yichen couldn't refuse.
He slipped under the quilt and pulled Mochou into his warm embrace without question. He wasn't feeling exhausted so Yichen decided to use this time to talk about the plans he made for their new house.
Mochou quietly listened to him talk. The soft but deep tone of Yichen's voice as he spoke helped Mochou forget about his nightmare and focus on their future together.
After listening to Yichen talk for awhile Mochou finally felt relaxed enough respond. He adjusted himself so he could look at Yichen as they chatted about the house they would soon build.
"Your medicine hut should have two rooms. One for preparing the herbs and medicine and the other one for seeing the patients. Three might even be better in case you have a patient that needs to lay down on a bed or stay overnight." Mochou suggested after listening to him talk for so long.
"We can do two, but not three. I don't plan to let anyone stay overnight. Preparing something extra like that would be money wasted." Yichen said.
"You're willing to build me a hut with rooms and animal pens but not something decent for yourself?"
Mochou couldn't help but smile at how much Yichen put his needs above his own. Yichen didn't hesitate to smile back. He was unashamed of his decision.
"Yichen, I can do my woodworking anywhere including under the tree in the yard. I don't need anywhere big or fancy to do my work. However being a doctor requires a place to see patients and make medicine. It should look professional so when people come by they feel like they can trust you. Even if it costs a little more it's worth the effort. It's also going to earn us more money in the future." Mochou said.
Yichen knew Mochou was right but he really had no interest in becoming an important doctor in the village. The reason was simple.
"If I have a lot of patients I won't have any time to spend with my bae." He thought as he gently caressed Mochou's cheek.
"We can add a third room, but Mochou my priority is you. I won't be letting people spend the night unless I have no other choice. You are my priority not them." Yichen said after giving in to Mochou's request.
"Pfft! What kind of doctor are you? You should want to help people. Don't only think of me." Mochou lectured but he really didn't mean it. He was actually touched by Yichen's words. So touched he wiggled his way up to Yichen's tempting lips and gave him a kiss.
Yichen grinned happily and returned the kiss with another, deeper kiss. One that left them both hot.
When it ended Yichen could feel his lower half rise to attention.
In a moment of clarity Yichen realized how dangerous things had gotten.
"Not good, I want him so bad." He thought as he tried to stop himself from tightening his hold on Mochou's waist.
With no other option he pushed Mochou off his chest and got out of bed before he fell to temptation.
Mochou lay alone in bed confused and unable to process what had happened.
"Yichen?" He called out but before he could get an answer Yichen darted out of the little hut.
"Did I do something wrong?" Mochou wondered as he slumped down on the bed. He couldn't help but feel disappointed that their kiss ended a just that, a kiss.
...
When Yichen returned from the bathroom he found Mochou sitting at the table looking at his drawing instead of laying in bed. Relieved he wouldn't have to lay down again Yichen happily walked over and sat down.
"What do you think?" Yichen asked. While they lay in bed earlier he spoke about the house, but now Mochou was looking at his drawing.
"This is...?" Mochou couldn't help but wonder when Yichen pointed to the paper he had been looking at.
"It's the layout for our new home." Yichen proudly said.
"Mochou rubbed his eyes and looked down at the paper again. No matter how long he looked at it he couldn't picture it as anything more than some random lines and blotches on the paper. It was so bad Mochou even suspected it was one of those ink blot tests that psychologists used in the past.
When he looked back up at Yichen and saw the proud grin on his face he began to wonder if maybe the reason he couldn't tell what it was, might be because Yichen didn't draw anything but wrote it instead.
"Sorry, I never learned how to read." Mochou said.
Yichen's smile shattered and his head fell down in despair.
"Yichen?! What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Mochou asked in a panic.
"I didn't write anything. That's a picture." He mumbled while fiddling with the corner of the paper.
"A picture?!" Mochou nearly shouted from shock.
He looked back down at the ink drawing and no matter how hard he stared he couldn't see the apparent house Yichen had drawn.
"Sorry Yichen, I love you but... this is really bad." Mochou finally said.
He really wished he could lie and tell Yichen it was good. However there was no way he could even begin to figure out what Yichen had actually drawn.
Yichen's lips pressed hard together in a cute little pout. His family and uncle had always told him he was bad at drawing but he always wanted to believe it was just their way of teasing him. But now even his lovely spouse Mochou was saying it.
"Is it really that bad?" Yichen muttered.
"I'm sorry. But you know you have so many other amazing talents. Like with medicine. I hate taking medicine but the kind you make isn't that bitter. And you are really fast at building a fire, and you're strong and kind and... and... well my point is that everyone has a weakness. Drawing just happens to be yours." Mochou said.
The way he nervously spoke and the panicked look on his face made Yichen feel better.
"Hahaha! Mochou thank you for the praise. You are amazing, too." Yichen said.
Mochou was glad to see him smiling again. Relieved he took a deep breath and smiled back.
"Mochou my drawing is bad but maybe you can make something better? We'll need it to show my dad this afternoon." Yichen slyly suggested.
"I barely remember my lessons back in grade school when we practiced calligraphy with an ink brush." Mochou nervously thought as he grabbed the brush and a fresh piece of paper.
Yichen smiled and seemed excited to see just how 'good' Mochou's attempt might be.
"Let's start by drawing the current yard over here." Mochou said as he dipped the brush in the ink and quickly drew the yard. He had decided to draw the image like a blueprint so it would be easier to understand.
Within a seconds minutes he had completed the drawing for their current yard. Next was the new house.
Yichen watched with amazement as Mochou's brush glided across the page. Not once did it waver or leave large blotches of ink. The way he wrote reminded him of his father's writing only Mochou seemed to move in a more direct manner. Whereas his father often added little flourishes and liked to move with elegance.
"He's so good!" Yichen thought. His desire to mock Mochou's drawing vanished and he now wished he could watch Mochou all day.
"Yichen is this what you wanted?" Mochou asked when he was done. He couldn't look at the example Yichen had drawn but he remembered the description from when they talked about the house in bed.
Snapping out of his reverie Yichen looked at the drawing Mochou had drawn and he couldn't see anything out of place or wrong with it.
"It's perfect. Can you draw me next? Yichen asked with sparkling eyes.
"Hahaha! Yichen it's just a few lines. Anyo... cough* it's not that impressive." Mochou corrected.
"Believe me Mochou, you are an amazing artist." Yichen declared.
Mochou started to feel subconscious from all the praise. So he decided to divert Yichen's attention to the house's design.
"I think the flow of the yard is great but I was hoping maybe we could leave the center of the house empty so it's an O shape instead of a square." Mochou suggested.
"What would we do with that space?"
"We can have a small herb garden or tree. Somewhere to sit and relax. It will also brighten the house with natural light." Mochou said as he pointed to the currently square home.
"I see. It would definitely be a nice private space to relax in." Yichen admitted.
Yichen grabbed another paper for Mochou to redraw the picture but Mochou wasn't ready for it yet.
"Earlier you mentioned having four bedrooms. Don't you think that's too many?" He pointed out.
"It's definitely not too many. You mentioned wanting summer and winter rooms plus we need an extra one in case someone spends the night. For the last one we can use it for storage." Yichen said. He didn't want to bring up babies just yet.
Mochou didn't notice and they continued to chat about the house. There was just one part Mochou was struggling with; the bathroom.
"Yichen, I understand the bathroom needs to be far away because of the smell, but won't it be difficult to use it in the winter?" Mochou said.
"I'll make sure to clear away all the snow so it's easy to go to. We can also get chamber pots to keep under the bed so you won't have to go outside in the cold too often." Yichen suggested.
"Ugh... I don't like using chamber pots. Can we maybe just at an open walkway from here to here? It doesn't have to be sealed it could even just be a roof. Just something to ward off the snow and rain." Mochou suggested.
Thinking of the cost Yichen should have refused. But it was something Mochou wanted, so he intended to find a way to give it to him.
"We can do that." Yichen said.
"Great. Also about the well. Right now we have one here in this yard but we'll need another for the new house. Hopefully over here just outside the kitchen. Actually, is it difficult to build wells, if I'd like another well over here between the toilet and your clinic." Mochou continued.
"Wells are really expensive. The land next to us does have predug wells but the locations might not match what you want. I'll need to check." Yichen said.
"I see. If we can't then it's fine. We can always get more large pots to store water in around the house and clinic." Mochou said.
Yichen was a little surprised by how easily he dismissed the idea.
"Are you sure?" Yichen asked.
"Of course. We can't spend all our money on one house. Besides we can always add things like extra wells or walkways later when we save up some more money. This will be our forever home after all. We have all our lives to make it perfect." Mochou said.
Yichen was touched by his words. His hand reached out to caress a Mochou's cute face. Before he leaned in for a kiss. Nothing heavy or hot. Just a soft caring kiss filled with love.
...