How To Hide The Tyrant's Child In The Apocalypse

AT THE SAME TIME

LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:

The warmth of the medicine was subtle at first, curling in my chest like an ember, then spreading slowly through my limbs. My muscles, stiff and aching for what felt like eternity, began to loosen. The pounding in my head dulled. The haze behind my eyes faded just enough for me to finally look at her. She was still here. Mei Shen. She stood at the edge of my bed, eyes darting to the door like she already regretted coming. Her arms were folded across her chest tightly, as if she were bracing herself for something terrible, a fight, perhaps, or a plea she couldn't bear to hear. I hated seeing her like this. Not just because I missed her. Not because she'd vanished and taken my soul with her. But because she looked like she didn't know if she belonged anymore, as I tried to sit up, she instantly wanted to help me to my light embarrassment.

"I'm not made of glass." I murmured, voice rasped but steadier. "You can stop looking at me like I'm going to fall apart if you breathe too hard."

She blinked, caught off guard. 

"You've been dying for weeks."She said.

"Maybe." I said, and I reached toward her. 

Slowly. Carefully. My fingers brushed against hers, a light, tentative contact. She flinched. Not like she feared me, but like the touch meant too much.

"Don't." She whispered.

But I couldn't help it. I let my hand trail down, fingers grazing the back of her hand. Just to make sure she was real. That I wasn't hallucinating her again, like so many nights before.

"You came back." I breathed, almost to myself. "You're real."

She didn't respond. I tilted my head, searching her expression. 

"Do you hate me that much, Mei Shen? That you can't even let me touch you?"I asked.

Her eyes glistened. But her voice was steady. 

"I don't hate you."She muttered.

"Then why…" My voice cracked. "Why does it feel like you're further away now than when you left?"

There was silence. And then the god's voice chimed in, far too amused for the gravity of the moment.

"You are pitiful, you know that? One touch and you're already unraveling like some tragic poetry piece."God smirked.

I didn't care. Because she was right here, and I had my hand against hers, and I wasn't letting go this time, not until she said it with her own lips that she didn't want me. That this wasn't real. That we were a mistake. She didn't move when I cupped her hand more firmly, just stood frozen like she was caught between decisions she couldn't name. Her warmth, even in silence, pulled something feral and aching out of me.

"You came back." I whispered again, my thumb brushing lightly over her knuckles. "But you keep looking like you will vanish any second. Like a dream that'll shatter if I blink too hard."

She lowered her gaze. 

"I didn't mean to-"He tried tp explain it.

"You don't have to mean it." I cut in gently. "You just have to stay."

My hand reached up, slowly, always giving her space to cup her cheek. She didn't pull away. Her breath trembled.

"You have no idea what these months were like without you." I said, my voice raw. "The palace… my mother… even the gods… nothing mattered. Everything did not matter to me."

Still no protest. Only the soft, sad blink of her lashes. I leaned in, forehead resting lightly against hers. 

"I looked for you in every shadow. Every dream. Every scent of jasmine on the wind." My throat tightened. "Every time I thought I heard your voice, I would turn, even knowing it was impossible."

Her breath hitched, chest brushing against mine. So close. Still trembling.

"Mei Shen." I whispered, barely able to speak past the lump in my throat. "Tell me what I have to do to make you stay. I do whatever you wish. If you want space, I will wait outside your door every night until you open it. Just don't disappear again."

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

"I would give you the whole empire if it meant I get to see your smile again." I said, softer now, my voice a vow. "But all I really want… is you. Just you."

My arms moved around her slowly, pulling her into my chest. Her body was tense at first, stiff like she still didn't trust this. Me. But then… her hands clutched at my robes. She didn't speak, didn't push me away. She just held on. Like she needed me too and for the first time in months, I let myself breathe.

She didn't speak. Her fingers just remained there, curled lightly in the folds of my robes as her forehead brushed my shoulder. She hadn't come to stay, every part of her body still screamed of flight, but she hadn't run yet either. A small victory. And then, of course, the voice I did not ask for made its smug return.

"She came to drop off medicine, you clingy emperor. Not a marriage proposal."Zeyrith said.

I didn't even flinch. 

"I wasn't talking to you."I said.

"You were talking to her like a man drowning talks to a boat. You might as well offer her your crown again while you're at it."He said again.

I ignored him, burying my face a little into her hair. She smelled like wind and herbs and something else I couldn't name it. 

"Is that really all this is, Mei?" I murmured. "Just medicine, and then you disappear again?"

She stiffened. A pause.

"You looked pale." She said quietly. "The doctor said-"

"I don't care what the doctor said." I cut in, lifting my head to look at her. "You rode all the way here. You snuck into my chambers in the dead of night. You risked being seen."

Her lips parted as if to argue, but nothing came out. Her throat moved in a swallow.

"Ooh, got her there." The god hummed. "Now confess you've counted the days since she left. Bonus points if you say it dramatically."

"Eighty nine." I said aloud, ignoring the god's delighted laughter. "Eighty nine days since I last saw your face. Don't think I haven't counted."

Her eyes widened. Her breath caught, and for a moment she looked like she might cry again. But then she pulled back slightly.

"Lian Wei, you're getting better now. The medicine-"She started again.

"It helped." I admitted. "But not as much as seeing you did."

"You sap." The god muttered, clearly entertained.

I held her wrist again gently, this time softer than before, like I was asking for something fragile.

"Will you stay until morning?" I asked. "You don't even have to talk. Just… let me fall asleep knowing you're here."

Another pause. A breath. She didn't answer. But she didn't pull away either.

"Damn. I didn't think that would work." The god whispered.

I didn't either. But for tonight, I could pretend this meant something more. Even if she'd only come for the medicine… she'd still come. And that was enough. For now.