When they reached home Yichen dropped the tree in the yard. Mochou wanted to check the tree and cut away a piece of it to start carving but Yichen pulled him away.
"Yichen?"
"..."
Yichen remained silent. He pulled Mochou into the little hut without pause. He didn't let go of his hand or stop until they reached the bed.
"Lay down." Yichen demanded in a low voice.
It was the first thing he said to Mochou since the forest. Mochou was a little surprised by how cold his voice sounded. Not wanting to anger Yichen more, Mochou obediently lay down on the bed. Yichen let go of Mochou's hand and went over to his medical kit to grab his acupuncture needles.
"What are you doing?" Mochou asked.
"I'm going to use my needles to make sure your arm and our Little Grape are safe." Yichen said.
"Do you think there is a problem with the baby? But I'm not in any pain or..."
"You were chopping down a tree. You, a pregnant GER, was chopping down a tree." Yichen muttered. He was so upset he couldn't bear to even look Mochou in the eyes when he spoke. Mochou immediately stopped talking and lay back down.
"I really upset him." Mochou thought whilereflectibg on his actions.
Yichen slowly undid Mochou's clothes to have better access to his body. Normally he would be attracted to Mochou's body, but at this moment he looked at him with a furrowed brow.
"Yichen, I..."
"Lay still." Yichen interrupted.
Mochou stopped moving. Yichen didn't shout but it was obvious he was angry. Even so Mochou had something he wanted to say.
"I'm sorry."
Yichen's hand flinched when he heard Mochou apologize. Mochou also paused and waited for him to say something but he only moved to insert the needles in silence. Not getting told to be quiet Mochou decided to keep talking.
"I'm having a hard time not doing anything. I'm sorry. I'll do better. I promise to do better. Yichen, forgive me." Mochou said.
Yichen placed his hand on Mochou's soft cheek. He didn't say a word for a long time. Mochou was worried but the longer Yichen looked at him the softer his eyes became.
"Yichen, I love you. I'll be more careful. I'll listen to everything you say." Mochou nervously added when a long time passed without him saying a word.
Mochou didn't know what else to say. He desperately hoped Yichen would forgive him. He was even ready to beg for forgiveness.
"Mochou, why are you so different?" Yichen suddenly asked.
Mochou was shocked by his question. He knew he was different from the other GERs. The reason he was different was simple. He wasn't from this world. But he never expected Yichen to ask him about it with such sad eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'll try to be like all the other GERs." Mochou whispered.
"I'm not asking you to be like all the other GERs. What I want to know is why you are so different. Not so you can change, but so I can understand you better." Yichen clarified for Mochou.
"Should I... should I tell him the truth?" Mochou mused as he looked at Yichen. Mochou hadn't decided yet if now was the best time to talk about is rebirth when Yichen started to talk again.
"I spoke with Doctor Yen today. He told me a little about your past. How he used to help treat your injuries after you were beaten by your parents. You never talk about you're past."
Yichen lightly swept some stray hairs away from Mochou's face.
"And to be honest the past isn't what's important to me." Yichen added.
Mochou was once again left speechless by Yichen's words. Just as he was as about to drum up the courage to tell him about his past Yichen said it wasn't important. Confused on what he should do Mochou quietly waited to hear what Yichen would say next.
"Mochou what do I need to say so you'll treat yourself better?" He asked.
"You've already said enough. I'll be more careful." Mochou promised.
Yichen looked at Mochou. He tried to smile but he was still shaken by what had happened earlier.
"Starting tomorrow I want you to stay at my parent's place while I work with the doctor." Yichen said.
Mochou wanted to say no. However, when he looked at Yichen's stiff expression he decided to stay quiet.
"I should do what he says until he calms down." He thought.
Yichen didn't say anything else while he removed all the needles he had placed on Mochou. The mood seemed to be getting worse the more time passed. When he was done he helped fix Mochou's clothes and reached for the quilt.
"I'm not tired." Mochou said before Yichen tucked him in.
"You should rest."
"I'll sit in bed if you want. But I'm not tired. I don't need the quilt." Mochou insisted. Yichen, lowered the quilt and stood up to put away his needles.
"Have you eaten?" Yichen asked.
"Not yet. I'll cook something."
"Stay in bed. I'll cook." Yichen said.
Mochou felt uncomfortable with their current situation. Yichen had always been positive and supportive. Now he was cold and distant.
"What do I do? How am I supposed to fix this?" Mochou wondered.
He had never been in this type of situation before. All his previous boyfriends would just leave and never turn back when they got annoyed with him. As for his friends, they could exchange a few punches to release the pent up stress and everything would be fine again.
Neither were an option for his current situation. Afraid he might do the wrong thing Mochou quietly sat in bed and watched Yichen start a fire and clumsily made rice porridge with eggs.
...
Mochou tried to patiently wait for Yichen to calm down. Unable to endure the silence anymore, Mochou quietly asked him about his morning.
"Did your talk with the doctor go well?"
"Yes."
"When will you start working with him?"
"Tomorrow."
"Did you talk to Jie Hong?" Mochou continued to ask.
"Yes."
"What did he say about the house?"
"Three days."
"That soon? We haven't prepared anything for the workers yet. I should..."
"I'll talk to my mom about getting her help."
Mochou wasn't pleased with asking Yichen's mother for help but he also knew now wasn't the time to complain. Not knowing what to say the conversation died again.
More time passed in silence before Yichen carried a bowl of porridge over to him.
"Be careful, it's hot." Yichen warned.
"Thank you." Mochou said as he took the bowl. To show he was taking Yichen's warning serious Mochou blew on the porridge before taking a bite. Yichen seemed satisfied and moved to the table to eat his own portion.
The porridge was a little overcooked and more watery than Mochou would have liked. It also had ginger and a few other herbs Mochou didn't recognize added to the mix giving it a strange taste. Despite the odd flavour Mochou ate it all.
The entire time they ate was filled with silence. Mochou carefully chose safe topics to bring up. He tried to talk about the food or about Yichen's day but all he got was a few grunts in response. At some point Mochou gave up on being careful. He got out of bed and walked over to Yichen.
"You need to rest." Yichen exclaimed anxiously.
"Do you hate me now? Do you regret marrying me?" Mochou shouted.
"Of course not. I love you."
"If you love me then please talk to me. I know I screwed up and did something stupid. I'm sorry and I promise I won't do it again so can we please go back to the the way it was yesterday." Mochou pleaded with tears in his eyes.
Yichen stood up unsure of what he should do. He wanted to hug Mochou but found himself hesitating. He hesitated because he remembered how Mochou reacted to him in the forest.
"I'll talk to you. I won't ignore or be curt with you anymore." Yichen said as he stood across from Mochou.
"Are you going to talk to me because you forgive me or because I told you to?" Mochou asked not quite happy with the result.
"Mochou there is nothing to forgive."
"You are obviously angry with me."
"I'm not angry I'm..." Yichen couldn't find the right words to describe what he was feeling. The reason he was acting impatient and curt wasn't because he was angry. It was more complicated than that.
With Yichrn going silent again Mochou started to worry. Afraid he would shut him out again Mochou stepped forward and grabbed Yichen's cheeks. Yichen was surprised and stepped back but Mochou didn't let him go. He pulled his face down to look him in the eyes.
"Talk to me."
"I don't know if I can control myself right now. I don't want to say or do something to hurt or scare you like I did in the forest earlier. It's better if I keep my distance until I've calmed down." Yichen said. Mochou was happy he finally answered him with more than a few words.
"Yichen forget about that. I wasn't afraid of you. My body reacted that way because of the past. It has nothing to do with you. I know you would never hurt me. I'm not afraid of you hurting me. I'm afraid you'll hate me and regret marrying me." Mochou said.
"Marrying you is the best decision I have ever made. I will never hate you or regret it." Yichen stated loud and clear.
"Then I have nothing to be afraid of."
Feeling like things were becoming better between them Mochou lowered his hands and moved to hug Yichen's waist tight. At first Yichen was tense and unmoving but after a few seconds he slowly placed his hands around Mochou and softly hugged him back.
The two of them hugged for a long time. Yichen was silent again but this time Mochou didn't mind because he could hear Yichen's gentle heartbeat as he pressed his ear against his chest.
"Mochou, you really scared me today." Yichen said after a long time past.
"I'm sorry."
"You need to be more careful. Not just for you but also for our Little Grape."
"Okay."
"I'm serious Mochou. You can't go into the forest alone and I never want to see you wielding an ax again."
"I understand." Mochou said.
Yichen gave Mochou a tight squeeze before finally letting him go. Mochou nervously looked up at Yichen and saw him gently smiling back. Relieved he sat down at the table.
"I'll wash the dishes. After I finish we can talk some more." Yichen said.
"Okay."
Mochou quietly waited at the table while Yichen went outside. He noticed the horse he carved and began poking it.
"I really screwed up. I've been acting like nothing is different but it is. My life doesn't belong to me anymore. It belongs to Yichen and the Little Grape, too." Mochou said as he reflected on his recent behaviour.
"I'm glad you understand." Yichen said from the doorway.
"Didn't you go outside to wash the dishes?"
"I forgot to take some soap nuts." Yichen said as he went to the shelf and took a few out of the jar. Mochou was embarrassed but he was also glad to see Yichen walking around with a smile on his face again.
...