In the early morning, Leon woke gently. He opened his eyes to find Rossweise already gone from his side.
Her thin-strapped nightgown from the night before lay on the bed, still warm, suggesting she had only recently risen.
Leon slowly sat up, swung his legs off the bed, and walked to the bathroom, rubbing his messy hair.
Upon entering, he saw Rossweise brushing her teeth at the sink. She was wearing the pink couple's pajamas. The zipper on her chest was not fully pulled up, revealing a hint of her ample bosom.
The section of the pajamas designed to accommodate a tail had been removed by her. Her silver tail extended directly from the back of the pajamas, revealing a small area of tender skin at the base.
Further down, the graceful curves of her waist and hips were like undulating peaks; even the loose pajamas could not conceal Rossweise's figure.
With one hand on her hip and the other holding the toothbrush, she brushed her teeth with a lazy rhythm. Toothpaste foam overflowed from the corner of her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, looking quite cute.
Seeing Leon arrive, Rossweise glanced at him and said nothing, simply shifting silently to make room for him at the sink.
Leon leaned in, picked up the toothbrush his daughters had brought over when they helped him move his things yesterday, squeezed on some toothpaste, and began to brush.
Brushing… brushing…
His rhythm was much faster than Rossweise's, and he had more toothpaste foam.
The couple stared at their own reflections in the mirror. The couple's pajamas, one blue and one pink, standing side by side brushing their teeth, indeed gave off a strong vibe of a cohabiting pair.
However, this was only a surface-level compatibility. This ill-fated couple was incapable of staging any heartwarming scenes on a morning like this.
Seeing Leon brushing so quickly, Rossweise frowned slightly. Naturally, she was not willing to fall behind. The queen moved her hand from her hip and sped up her brushing.
Leon paused his movements. Was this mother dragon's strange competitive spirit flaring up again? Even over brushing teeth?
Leon rolled his eyes speechlessly. How childish! —
Then he also started to speed up.
Brushing… brushing… brushing…
"Ah!~"
Suddenly, Rossweise let out a low groan, raising her hand to cover her mouth. She took the toothbrush out and saw a faint red mark on it.
She had brushed too hard and made her gums bleed.
Leon looked over, then smirked triumphantly. It seemed he had won this toothbrushing competition. He withdrew his gaze and continued brushing his teeth at a leisurely pace.
Rossweise glared at him with resentment, initiating their first exchange of the day. "Is your toothpaste the Dragon Power flavor?"
Leon was taken aback. "No, why do you ask?"
"If not, then why are you brushing so vigorously?"
"… "
She had lost at toothbrushing and was now trying to save face.
Could Leon indulge her?
He looked at Rossweise and leaned in as he spoke. "Want to know what flavor my toothpaste is? Let me show you."
Rossweise quickly raised her hand to push against his chest. "That's disgusting, Cosmodeous. Don't make me curse at you on the first day of cohabitation."
"Why didn't you say it was disgusting last night then?"
"Shut up."
"Hey, how come it's only okay for you to say it, but not me?"
"I'm pregnant!" Rossweise argued.
Well, Leon had already anticipated that in their future cohabitation, Rossweise would wield the phrase "I'm pregnant" as a tool for acting domineering and unreasonable —
Even though she wasn't exactly the most reasonable mother dragon to begin with, her pregnancy would undoubtedly make her even more unbridled towards Leon.
But Leon didn't have much choice. After all, on the night they confirmed the second pregnancy, he had promised Rossweise to endure her mood swings and peculiar temper.
Of course, Leon would keep this promise not solely for Rossweise's sake, but for the third baby in her belly.
If Leon's concern were divided into 100 parts, the third baby would account for 51, while the mother dragon would only hold 49.
Not even half. How could you say Leon cared more about Miss Melkvey than the third baby? Right?
Hmm.
No, 49 is too high.
How about 48?
Yes, 48, can't afford more.
.
.
.
After finishing her ablutions, Rossweise left the bathroom wearing her dragon wing slippers.
Leon also quickly tidied up and headed out. When he left, Rossweise was already sitting at the vanity, beginning to groom herself.
Her silver hair cascaded down to her waist. She held a small leather pouch in her mouth. First, she quickly tied up her long hair, then she began to braid a small strand on the left side of her temple while looking into the mirror.
Leon remembered that braid was something he had secretly made for Rossweise to tease her when she was unconscious under the Blood Charm's effect.
He never expected it would become Rossweise's signature style over time.
Standing behind Rossweise, Leon had his hands tucked in his pajama pockets, leaning slightly against the wall, silently watching her groom her hair.
If he had known she liked the hairstyle he made for her so much, Leon would have given her twin ponytails from the start. But then, twin ponytails might not carry the dignity befitting a queen.
Lost in his thoughts, Leon heard Rossweise's voice. "What are you planning to do today?"
Rossweise remained seated at the vanity, her back straight, her silver tail cascading down. She raised her arm and continued grooming her hair.
"I'm going to play with Noah and Muen in the backyard in the morning. In the afternoon, I'll see if Muen wants to study. If she does, we'll study for a while; if not, I'll give her half a day off to spend time with Noah."
The sisters only had Saturdays and Sundays to spend together each week. While studying was important, maintaining their relationship was equally vital.
Besides, Muen was only a little over a year old and was at an age where she loved to play. Leon didn't want to put too much academic pressure on her.
"Mm."
Rossweise, still with her back to Leon, gave a faint response before adding, "I'll arrange for pest control at the Silver Dragon Temple today, probably before three in the afternoon. Make sure the children don't come back before then."
"OK."
"Also, remember to set aside time tomorrow; we're going to Sky City," Rossweise turned around.
Leon blinked. "What are we going to Sky City for?"
"To buy some things we might need during pregnancy," Rossweise said. "We can't let Anna and the others go buy them, or they'll figure out I'm pregnant now."
"No problem."
After arranging their plans for the next two days, the couple went their separate ways—one to the bathroom and the other staying in the bedroom.
Even though they had been candid with each other many times and knew each other inside out, they still maintained some boundaries in their daily lives.
There was never a precedent for a queen and her captive to change clothes facing each other. Of course, there was also no precedent for giving birth, kissing, or cohabiting.
But these were different matters. Giving birth, kissing, and cohabiting were unavoidable, but changing clothes face to face could be avoided.
This peculiar couple always tried to draw clear lines between them. However, perhaps they didn't realize that the more they tried to do so, the more entangled they became.
After changing clothes, they walked out of the room one after the other. They bid farewell at the doorway with a simple nod exchanged between them.
And thus, the first night of cohabitation came to an end. It felt… not bad? At least it didn't feel as tense or explosive as they had imagined.
However, with the personalities of this couple, who knew how things might turn out in the future.