Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I woke up feeling the best that I ever had. The lingering sensation of being mentally and physically tired was gone and in its place, it felt like Wang Chao hit me with a bolt of lightning. I was charged and ready to go.  And I had a whole bunch of plans for the day.

It took me a few seconds to realize that the heavy weight on my waist was not my own arm, and I was much, much warmer than I normally was.  Opening my eyes, I found myself staring into the beautiful grey eyes of Liu Wei.  "Morning," I croaked, my voice coming off more of a hoarse whisper than anything else. Confused, I tried to clear my throat and try again. "Morning," I repeated, but still my voice was weak like I had been screaming or something.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," whispered the man in front of me as he brushed a gentle kiss on my lips.  His eyes studied my face as if looking for something and I watched as his forehead wrinkled with his thoughts.

"Was I drooling?" I asked, somewhat self-consciously, bringing my hand up to my mouth to try and wipe away any evidence.

"No," he said, the worry on his face smoothing out, revealing a relieved smile that lit up his entire face. "You are perfect," he continued as his hand gently stroked my hair and cheek.

Happy that I hadn't done anything weird in my sleep, my eyes widened when I saw Liu Wie's hand on my face, and yet the arm on my waist still remained fixed in its original position. If anything, the second hand was gently stroking my stomach, its fingers creating lazy circles on my bare flesh.

Turning my head away from the man in front of me, I looked over my shoulder to see Wang Chao smiling down at me. "Good morning, little girl," he said, his own voice deep and husky from sleep. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? I have never felt better. I don't know why, but I feel like I could run a marathon and I hate the very idea of doing anything faster than a quick walk," I said, my voice cutting in and out with pain.  Wincing, I started to rub my throat, hoping that would relieve some of the rawness to it.

"Why does my throat hurt so much?" I wondered out loud, looking between the men on either side of me. The two of them shared a look before turning their attention back to me.

"We pleasured you so much last night that you were screaming until you passed out," grumbled a voice on the other side of Liu Wei. Confused, and completely ignoring what he actually said, I leaned over Liu Wei to see his younger brother on his back, his arm over his eyes, and completely topless.

Convincing myself that it was rude to stare at the 8-pack in front of me, offered up like a buffet, I raked my mind for something to say. "Funny," I said with a slight smirk. "I might be new to the whole thing, but if that actually happened, I would expect more than just my throat to be sore."

"You sure about that, Sweetness?" the man groaned as he rolled over to his side and looked at me. He studied my face just like his brother did. A darkness seemed to fill his light grey eyes, something that was not there before.

"Yeah, I was just telling Wang Chao that it feels like I got charged last night and am now at 100%." Liu Yu Zeng studied me one more time before nodding his head.

"I'll go get you something to drink, your voice sounds like crap," he said as he rolled out of bed.

"Grab me something too," growled a voice on the other side of Wang Chao. Rolling over to that side, I saw Chen Zi Han still partially asleep on his stomach, his intricate back tattoos seemingly coming alive in the morning sun.

"Get it yourself," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng before he closed the door behind him, enclosing the four of us back in our own little world.

"Chen Zi Han! You're here too," I said, unable to hide the excitement in my voice. I had never had the ability to wake up in the same room as all four guys, and to be able to be was even better than I had dreamed.

"Of course, Princess," he said smiling as he turned his face to look at me. His arms were crossed under his pillow and he looked… happy. "Do you really think I could leave you with the other three? The princes would have no idea how to look after our princess."

His very words made me grin. "And my knight does?" I asked, a teasing tone in my voice as I felt Liu Wei give me a kiss on the back of my neck.

"Of course," Chen Zi Han scoffed at the very idea that he couldn't take care of me.  I only hummed in agreement as Liu Wei continued his assault on my senses.

Wang Chao didn't say anything, simply watched me with an intensity that I had never experienced from him before.  He opened his mouth like he was about to speak, but before he could get the first word out, Liu Yu Zeng came back in the room, caring a mug of steaming something.

"Honey water with a squeeze of lemon," he said as he waited for me to extract myself from Wang Chao and Liu Wei's grip.

"Did you put an ice cube in it?" asked Chen Zi Han, still on his stomach, his eyes closed.

"Of course, I put a single ice cube in it. I am not a moron," growled Liu Yu Zeng as I managed to sit up, my back against the wall behind the bed. Confused, I reached out and took hold of the mug, noticing that it was, in fact, the perfect temperature.

I looked around the room and noticed things that I hadn't seen last night. Like, while I could have sworn that I had fallen asleep on a bed, in a beautiful, magazine-worthy, bedroom done up in all greys and neutral tones. But now, there didn't seem to be any furniture in the room, only two king-sized mattresses pushed together on the ground to make up one massive bed that was big enough to fit the five of us.

I turned to look at Wang Chao, my forehead wrinkling in confusion. "Did I miss something last night?"

Wang Chao frowned as he looked at me before his expression cleared up. "No," he said, answering my question. "We got in a disagreement over who would be able to sleep with you so we figured this was a much better compromise."

I nodded my head, more than a little happy that things worked out this way. "Maybe that's why I am feeling so good," I admitted as I looked at all four men, their eyes trained on me. "Because we were all together."

The men just continued to look at me as if I had grown a second head. "Guys, seriously, is everything okay? You keep looking at me weirdly. Did I snore last night or something?" Completely freaking out over the fact that I might have snored or had done something equally embarrassing during the night, I missed the look that passed between the four men.

"You didn't snore," said Liu Wei taking the now empty mug from my hands. "But none of us believe that you actually know how to make yogurt or bread, let alone butter. So, we thought that you were just prolonging your time with us to avoid all that."

My eyes widened. I had completely forgotten that I wanted to get all that stuff done after I realized that I was in bed with all the guys, and yogurt took up to 12 to do from start to finish. Letting out a squeak, I crawled across the bed and towards the door. "What time is it?" I asked, looking between the men.

"No idea," said Liu Yu Zeng rolling his eyes. "I'm going for daytime," he continued pointing to the sun outside. Crap, I forgot about the stupid EMP thing.

"Anyone knows how to hook up solar panels?" I asked, hoping that at least one of them did.

"No," admitted Wang Chao, "But if they come with instructions, I am sure that the four of us can figure them out."

I quickly took out all of the solar panels that I had stored, still in their boxes, and looked over at my men. With a huge smile on my face, I skipped out of the room. "Have fun!" I hollered as I took out a scrunchie and put my hair up in a messy bun. Still in the same pajamas last night, red fleece bottoms and a black cotton T-shirt, I went into the kitchen and pulled out my frilly 1950s American apron.

I would fully admit that it looked a bit weird, the black and white polka dot apron with two red pockets, red frills on the edges, a red belt on the waist, and black and white polka dot bows on each pocket, but I truly loved this thing.  It always made me feel cute and productive all at the same time for some reason.

The generator was up and running since yesterday when we first got here, but I didn't like the idea of it running for so long. Even though I technically made Wang Chao set it up outside on the balcony so we didn't have gas burning in an enclosed space, if I could get the solar panels working, it would provide us with a longer-term, more stable solution. 

Pulling out a gallon of fresh milk from my space, I started to heat it up slowly on the stove. Another jar full of milk went into the stand mixer to start being churned into butter and I was left free to get started on my bread. Pulling out my phone, I turned on some music and got lost in my own world as I shifted flour and kept my eye on the milks.