Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 221: Chapter 221 - Scented pillow

”Because I can smell you all the way over in my room.”

Jai’s heart dropped.

His soul evaporated.

He let out a strangled scream, snatching the nearest pillow and chucking it with all the force his mortified body could summon.

”AHH! GET OUT!!” he shouted, voice cracking mid-scream.

The pillow thudded against Shao’s chest.

Shao caught it.

Quietly.

Expression unreadable.

Then, without another word, he turned and walked out, the pillow still in hand.

As the door clicked softly shut behind him, silence fell again.

Jai lay in his nest of shame, breathing hard, eyes wide. His entire face felt like it had been sunburned from the inside out. Blood roared in his ears.

Then—

”Huh... Did someone call me?” a groggy voice mumbled from below.

Jai flinched.

He peeked over the edge of the bed and saw Grandpa Kailun sitting up on the bottom bunk, rubbing at his eyes.

The old man blinked up at him. ”Was that yelling? Is the base under attack?”

Jai dropped his face into his hands with a loud groan. ”No, Grandpa... just my life attacking me...”

Kailun yawned and stretched his arms. ”Good. Then come down and have food.”

”Nooooo...” Jai moaned like a dying animal. ”I can’t. I’m too embarrassed to ever show my face again.”

The old man squinted up at him for a second, then scowled. ”I’m not going to climb up there and drag your dramatic ass down.”

Jai turned toward the wall and wrapped himself tighter in the blanket. ”You wouldn’t dare.”

He heard Kailun mutter, ”You wanna bet?”

The blanket was ripped away a second later.

”Hey!!” Jai squeaked, immediately folding his knees to his chest, arms crossed over his lap. ”Give it back!”

Kailun stood there with the thick quilt slung over his shoulder like a war trophy. ”Come down and eat, kid. Or I’ll have your ass whupped with my slipper. I ain’t afraid to throw hands with a brat, even a pretty one.”

Jai groaned again, voice muffled in his palms. ”Why are adults so cruel...”

Yuki, who had been pretending to sleep across the room on the other bed, couldn’t hold in her laughter any longer. She giggled behind her arm.

”Brother’s hiding something in his pants!” she sang teasingly.

”OH MY GOD,” Jai cried, turning purple. ”Someone just kill me already.”

He sat up slowly, hands still strategically placed over his groin. ”Where is my privacy, Grandpa?!”

Kailun rolled his eyes, but then he paused.

And squinted.

Then his grizzled brows lifted in realization.

”...Tsk,” he clicked his tongue, averting his eyes with a grunt. ”If you’ve got that kind of problem, go to the bathroom. There are girls here.”

He walked over to Yuki and—gently but firmly—cupped her eyes with his big calloused hands like a censoring monk.

Yuki burst into giggles again. ”Grandpa, I already saw everything!”

”Shut your innocent mouth,” Kailun grunted.

Jai buried his red face into his hands again. ”This is the worst day of my life...”

He couldn’t even tell what hurt more—his pride, his pants, or his heart.

But somewhere beneath all that shame, curled in the wreckage of his dignity, was something worse.

The echo of Shao’s voice.

Because I can smell you all the way over in my room.

And that meant—it wasn’t just in his head.

This thing between them... whatever it was...

It wasn’t just one-sided.

And that terrified Jai even more than being caught in a hard-on by his grandpa.

Because he had no idea what to do with it.

****

Outside the room, Shao stood motionless, his back pressed against the cold wall. The pillow was still clutched tightly in his hands, held like a relic he couldn’t let go of.

Jai’s scent lingered on it—warm, sweet, maddeningly potent.

It wasn’t just the fabric or detergent. It was him.

Something deeper. Richer. Something alive.

Shao’s heart pounded against his ribs like it was trying to escape. His fingers unconsciously dug into the seams of the pillow as if he were afraid it would vanish if he loosened his grip even a little.

His chest rose and fell rapidly.

That scent—his scent—clouded his mind like smoke, thick and heady. It wasn’t just arousing. It was consuming. Every inhale lit a match inside him. He felt... different. Unsteady. His throat was dry. His skin was hot. He could feel the sweat on his temples even in the cool hallway.

He didn’t know how to describe the feeling.

It wasn’t just lust. It was worse than lust.

It was something primal. Something dangerous.

A hunger.

An urge to grab, to touch, to bite, to—

Shao sucked in a sharp breath, trying to calm himself.

It only made it worse.

The inhale filled his lungs with that saccharine sweetness. He nearly staggered back, stars flashing behind his eyes.

A low, unfamiliar growl curled in his throat before he bit it down.

What the hell is happening to me?

His heart was racing so fast it felt painful. A low ache settled in his stomach, winding its way up his chest and curling around his spine like a sleeping beast being disturbed.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Jai—his flushed face, the curve of his lips, the breathy panic in his voice when he screamed for Shao to leave. The way he buried himself in the blanket like a panicked rabbit.

So vulnerable. So red. So alive.

Shao didn’t realize how tightly he was gripping the pillow until he heard fabric strain beneath his fingertips.

”Brother?”

The small, bright voice cut through his haze.

Shao blinked and looked down to find Lu Zhi standing in front of him, eyebrows raised.

The younger boy tilted his head curiously. ”Why are you just standing out here with a pillow?”

Shao blinked slowly, as if coming back from a deep place. He didn’t respond.

Lu Zhi, undeterred, reached for the pillow. ”Is it a new one? Looks kind of fluffy—”

But Shao gripped it tighter, twisting his body slightly away.

Lu Zhi paused, a little surprised. ”Umm... okay? Are you hiding some treasure in there?”

He laughed, obviously joking.

Shao surprised him again.

”Yes,” he murmured, voice hoarse.

Lu Zhi’s smile froze. ”Huh?”

Shao didn’t look at him. His eyes remained locked on the pillow.

”...It’s a treasure,” he said again, softer this time. ”One I can’t... lose.”

Lu Zhi stared at his brother in disbelief. The usual quiet, aloof Shao looked completely out of place—his cheeks tinged with a red flush, his lips slightly parted, his eyes clouded with something that made Lu Zhi’s back straighten slightly in caution.

”...Brother?”

But Shao didn’t reply. His thumb slowly, almost absentmindedly, rubbed over a fold in the pillow.