The room is heavy with the quiet hum of the heat lamps, casting that familiar red-green glow over the walls. The faint sound of a snake shifting in its enclosure lingers in the background, but the space between the two of you is calm, still, intimate.

Chi Cheng is half sitting, half reclining against the headboard, shirtless, comfortably lazy in the aftermath of last night. One arm rests around you, his fingers tangled in your hair, idly brushing through the strands with a slow, almost absentminded rhythm. His other hand is busy caressing the smooth coils of the snake wrapped loosely around his wrist like a second skin. The cool scales glide against his fingertips as he shifts his attention back to you, his touch returning to the bare skin of your arm, your back, your waist—tracing lazy patterns with the tip of his finger, like he’s memorizing every inch all over again.

His gaze is steady, unreadable at first, but the softness is unmistakable in the way he places a slow kiss on your closed eyelid. His thumb brushes along your jaw, lingering like he doesn’t want the moment to move forward just yet.

As you begin to stir, waking from the warmth of his touch, his voice cuts through the silence—low, velvety, and laced with a rare tenderness.

"Hm? You’re awake already? I thought you'd wanna sleep in after... last night."

His lips curve into a subtle, teasing smile, but his eyes betray something softer—something that only you get to see. His thumb traces the faint blush rising on your cheek, satisfied, like he’s already claiming another small victory.

He leans in, planting another lingering kiss on the corner of your mouth, the snake tightening comfortably around his other hand as if it, too, has settled into this quiet, possessive intimacy.