Chapter 5 Settling In
The lovers finally got out of bed with obvious reluctance after having breakfast together, sharing lingering, affectionate smiles and tender caresses while they dressed and each put on their packs.
They then exited the room and walked down the stairs, leaving the inn and heading to the stables to retrieve Ping after confirming with the stable lad that he'd had his breakfast.
Shang patted the horse's big head gently in greeting while Shan Yu got him ready and loaded their packs, the animal snorting happily and stamping his big left hoof in response to the attention.
Shan Yu couldn't blame the creature. His mate's loving touch was wonderful, even if you were only a horse.
The big Hun swung up onto Ping's back once more, reaching down for Shang's hand to pull him up and settle him in front again.
Shan Yu slipped his arms around his husband's waist securely, smiling and pressing his lips to his dark silk hair when Shang leaned back into his place against his chest and they resumed their journey toward home.
"When we reach my village, after we get settled in our home, I want you to meet my family, Shang. They will love you."
"You really think so?"
"Yes. I do. You are kind and beautiful. And being with you makes me very happy."
"Being with you makes me very happy, too, Shan Yu. I love you so much."
"I love you, too, Shang. More then anything."
"Mmmm.." Shang hummed contentedly, a happy smile curving his lips before he asked his lover curiously, "How big is your family, Shan Yu?"
"Not very big. At least by the standards of my people. Mother and father live in our childhood home. And my two adopted younger brothers share a house with my adopted little sister. She's not married yet, but she did not want to be under our parent's roof anymore. They are overprotective. My brothers are, too, though not to the same extent. She chose the lesser of two evils in the situation."
"I see."
"Yes. But it should not be much longer before she chooses a husband. She's always wanted children. I am sure you will get along great."
"I hope so. And your brothers? Do you think they will like me?"
"I do. Once they get to know you, they will see what a wonderful, caring person you are. It is why I fell for you so quickly. Loving you is easy, sweet heart."
Shang blushed rose pink at the big Hun's complimentary words, but his expression was happy as he settled himself more firmly back against his husband's muscular body. "Thank you, Shan Yu. I like taking care of you. It makes me very happy. I hope that I will be doing it for many years to come in our life together."
"I am sure you will, Shang. And I will take care of you, too. I enjoy pleasing you, providing for you. I can think of no one more deserving of such care. You are beautiful, Shang, inside and out."
Shang blinked, flushing deeper now, the color in his cheeks going from rose pink to rose red. "Honestly, Shan Yu. If you keep complimenting me like this my face will likely burn off."
"Well, we can not have that happen. I suppose that you will just have to get used to me telling you how sweet, kind, caring, beautiful and perfect you are. Though you must promise me that you will never stop blushing entirely. It is a very enchanting look on you, my love. It only makes you more beautiful in my eyes."
A few days later, near dusk, Shang and Shan Yu arrived at their home in the Hun's village. As they were tired from their long journey, they went inside silently, leaving their things by the door.
Shan Yu led Ping by the reins around the back of the house to his small barn, leading him into a free stall and giving him fresh food and water, removing his saddle and bridle before checking on his own two horses.
His brothers and sister had been caring for them well in his absence, he thought as he greeted his girls with affectionate touches and carrots before telling the three goodnight.
When he reentered the house he discovered his pretty lover had found their bedroom and quickly located clean sheets, changing them and squishing the pillows to make it ready for them to sleep.
Shan Yu laughed in his low voice at the image of Shang squashing their pillows to make them plump and comfy. He came up behind his husband and slipped his arms around his waist, pressing a brief, warm kiss to the nape of his alluring neck.
"Thank you, sweet heart. Ping is settled in fine, and my mares are alright, too. You can meet them tomorrow. I will get a fire started in the fireplace in the sitting room to warm the house, then we can sleep. I do not know about you, but I have had enough cold and snow for a good long while."
"Yes. I will be glad to never see it again. You have other horses?"
"Yes. Satin Sheets and Briar Rose. They are both sweet, gentle horses. My sister chose their names, but I do not mind them. Ping is your horse, my love. I want you to have him."
"You mean it?" Shang gasped, his tired eyes brightening as he smiled happily at the thought of it.
"Yes."
"Oh, thank you! I have never had my own horse before! The one that I rode to war was my father's."
"Of course, Shang," he replied, kissing his soft neck again lightly before releasing him reluctantly to see to the fire. "I will return shortly."
Once their bed was ready and the fire lit, soon making the house toasty warm, they lay down in each other's arms, snuggling close and drifting off into peaceful slumber.
They woke the next morning late, content to stay in their bed awhile together, before Shan Yu finally rose and dressed. He then bent down and pressed a kiss to Shang's unturned lips where he still lay in their bed with a clearly happy, blissful expression on his face.
"Mmm, I love you, Shan Yu.." he murmured softly before stretching his body and then getting up to begin dressing as well.
"I love you, too, Shang. Always. I need to go and tend to the horses. Will you go into the kitchen and make us some breakfast, sweet heart?"
"Of course. And then can we go out together to see the horses? I want to meet the girls!"
"Yes, Shang. Then you can meet our girls," Shan Yu replied with a smile, clearly pleased by his enthusiasm.
Shang finished dressing for the day before locating the kitchen, his long hair, pulled back in a ponytail, a freshly brushed curtain of dark silk falling over his shoulders as he searched for the things he needed to cook their breakfast.
His eyes were bright and happy, and he actually began to hum softly as he found a frying pan and began to prepare eggs and bacon that he'd located in the ice box while shredding up some potatoes from the pantry and adding those into the mixture of scrambled eggs and finely chopped bacon.
He then set that pan aside to cook in a little while before using two glasses and several oranges, also from the pantry, to make freshly squeezed orange juice for them, setting the cups in the ice box to get cold.
Shang had just turned back toward the stove when a low voice came from behind him, causing him to turn quickly to stare upward into the face of a tall, dark haired man with light, sandy brown eyes.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my brother's house? Where is Shan Yu?"
"He- He is seeing to the horses while I make us breakfast," he replied a bit nervously, deciding to tell the truth and trust in Shan Yu's word on this matter. "My name is Shang. …I am your brother's husband."
"Is that so?"
Shang nodded in reply, his lower belly tightening a little with anxiousness as he waited for the other man's reaction.
The other man's face transformed into a large grin of obvious pleasure and he immediately stepped forward to pull a shocked faced Shang into his long and thin arms for a tight hug.
"This is wonderful! I thought he'd never settle down! At least this good thing came from his going away to China for foolish reasons of others!"
Shang squeaked softly, unsure how to respond to his exuberance, his posture visibly stiff in the other man's arms.
"Oh!" Shan Yu's brother pulled back, releasing him as he looked down into Shang's nervous face. "I am sorry, little brother. I did not mean to frighten you. Are you alright?"
"Yes. I- I am not used to.. affection. Only from Shan Yu, and I am still getting used to him. My family did not touch me. It- It is just how they are. Proper, rarely showing emotion. I- I think that is part of what drew me to Shan Yu. He is so open, so… giving with his emotional and physical affection. It makes me uncomfortable, and yet very happy at the same time. I am not sure that makes any sense at all."
"It makes perfect sense. I will tell you what. I will hold the others back so that you can get settled in here today before any visits."
"You will?"
"Yes. If you agree to come to my house for dinner tonight with my brother to tell us how you two met."
"Oh! I- I should talk to Shan Yu about it first, but I would like that very much!"
When Shan Yu entered their home Shang was just setting breakfast on the table, so he went to wash up in the sink after dealing with the horses. He watched with a smile on his face as his Chinaman retrieved two tall glasses of cold, frosty orange juice from the ice box and set them on the table beside each plate.
Shang waited to take his chosen seat until Shan Yu had sat down across from him.
"Thank you, Shang. Everything looks wonderful."
"Thank you," Shang replied with a pleased little smile as they both began to eat. "How are the horses?"
"Just fine, sweet heart. We can see them after breakfast and let them out to pasture to play."
"That sounds wonderful, Shan Yu. Um.."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Your brother was here while you were outside. He wants us to come to his house for dinner tonight."
"I see. Was he kind to you? Do you wish to go, Shang? If you do not, then we will not. Not yet, anyway."
"Yes, he was very nice. I want to go. If you do not mind?"
"I do not, my love. We shall go."
By then they had finished breakfast, so once Shang set the dishes in the sink to soak Shan Yu took him by the hand and led him out the back door with a smile which Shang returned, obviously excited.
There was a small barn not far from the house with a larger fenced in pasture beside it, as well as a good sized, clean pond that would be nice for swimming in when it got a bit warmer in the summer, Shang was sure.
They entered the barn then, the smell of clean hay and fresh horse feed filling his nose with it's familiarity, reminding him of his family's much larger barns.
"Oh! I have always loved that smell. Ever since I was young and used to hide in the horse barns from my father. He never did care for me much. My family breeds horses. Or, at least, the servants breed the horses for them. But they taught me all about it when I started spending most of my free time with them as I got older."
Shang blinked at the strange way that Shan Yu was staring at him, the Hun's big thumb lightly caressing the back of his hand where their fingers were still linked together.
"What is it, Shan Yu?"
"You truly are a hidden gem, sweet Shang. My gem."
Shang blushed light pink across his cheeks, but he nodded with a shy smile. "Yes. I am yours."
"And I am yours. If horse breeding is something you would like to do, then of course you may. But we shall likely have to purchase another mare. I do not know how Satin Sheets and Briar Rose will react to Ping, but it is doubtful they will allow themselves to be mounted by him. They are a couple, you see."
"You mean.. Your mares are together? Like, together together?"
"Yes."
"And they do.. couple things?"
"Yes, Shang," Shan Yu replied, amusement clear in his voice and expression. "They do couple things. Like us, though not just like it, as they are animals."
Shan Yu and Shang emptied their traveling packs and put things where they belonged in their home before spending the rest of the day with the horses.
They even had a picnic lunch with them out in the pasture on a blanket, sharing carrots and apples with the animals, and kisses with each other. They ate their ham and mayonnaise sandwiches, slices of sharp cheddar cheese and chilled cucumber soup using plain, but beautiful white porcelain dishes.
By the time they had to take the horses back into the barn and go inside to get ready to go to dinner Satin Sheets and Briar Rose seemed to have accepted Ping as a part of their world now.
They were even being friendly, though whether that would translate into anything else was yet to be seen.