Kunlun Mountain Part 4 - The Return

Chapter 71 - Walking on Eggshells

The Wedding was over and the clean up had taken almost two weeks of every ones attention, but now that they had the Mountain back to normal, married life had begun and for Bai Qian the changes for her were immediate whereas Mo Yuan took it all in his stride.

Much of her personal items from the Den had already been moved over to Kunlun Mountain but still, as much as Kunlun would always be her home, she rarely found time to be by herself.  They shared everything, and of course she understood that marriage meant sharing, but wanting a little space or a place of her very own where she could relax without Mo Yuan following her everywhere and watching her every move, she soon began to feel cloistered.

No matter what she did or where she went, Mo Yuan was hovering close and she was beginning to lose patience with him and being pregnant didn't help.  

The one time that she raised a privacy barrier just to be able to read her plays in peace, he had stood outside the chamber demanding that she lower it and not wanting to cause a scene in front of the Disciples or her son, she had done so.  But the way he had marched in and demanded to know why she was locking him out, had almost ended in their first martial argument.  But, instead of telling him outright, she had merely apologized for upsetting him.

She knew he cared about her and the babies and was merely concerned for her safety, especially having come out of the biggest war she had ever fought and being pregnant only increased his fear for their safely.  But she was becoming resentful and it needed to be dealt with.

"Look, it's not that I don't to be with you, it's just that I have no place of my very own." she tried to reason with him, when he took her need for solitude as rejection of his care for her well being.

"You have your study and your meditation cave to go to when you need to be alone but what do I have here?  Everything is shared, all I want is a little space Mo Yuan, try to understand." she pleaded with him.

"But they are also yours to use Qian Qian.  No place here is out of bounds to you, if you want to use any of the chambers, you only have to enter." he said not getting it at all because to him, she was the one being unreasonable, especially when he had gone out of his way to ensure her every comfort even adding large plush rugs and cushions to almost every room on the mountain so she could rest comfortably no matter where she was.  Even the outdoor benches had soft padding added to them just for her.

"But that's the problem!" she shouted at him having lost her temper at the almost Shifu-ish way he was talking to her.

"Qian Qian calm down!" he said sternly while quickly pulling her into his arms to embrace her. 

But he soon realized it was the wrong thing to do.  Slapping his hands away, she completely lost it.

"Why won't you listen to me.  I want my own space!  I want to be able to read my damn books without you hovering over me every second of every day.  I want to be alone!" she screamed at him before bursting into tears.

Forcing her body forward, his arms wrapped around her tightly.  Her hormones were all over the place, and he had ensured she was receiving the right care via a healthy diet and plenty of rest to combat it, but of late, her moods had begun swinging like a pendulum, and like her, he was becoming frustrated, but unlike her, he was dealing with it as best as he could.

Stroking her hair as she wept against his chest, he soothed her with soft words and gentle hands until her body stilled the shaking and her breathing calmed down.

"Qian Qian, I understand, I do." he crooned softly against her hair.  "But being pregnant and alone without any assistance is not wise.  I need to make sure you are safe at all times." he tried to explain but the tightening of her body only increased his hold on her.