Re: My Sweetest Downfall [3/3]
anonymous
March 2 2010, 07:53:27 UTC
They fall into an easy routine, after that. Every time the Security Council meets, Arthur brings Wen along. He waits for Xue’s signal, and then the two of them sneak away, finding an empty hotel room or a uninhabited couch somewhere to enjoy a few stolen minutes alone. He’s not allowed to go anywhere without Arthur’s permission, at first, but as the years roll by-they seem like days to immortals-his freedom grows closer and closer, and he travels, bringing her flowers and staying for tea.
- - -
Tonight, she is crying. They have met in London once again, and in Wen’s small room, cradled against him under his sheets, she sobs into his shoulder.
“My seat, Wen,” she says through her tears, her voice hitching on a sob, “they just took it away.”
He smoothes down her long, dark hair and gently kisses her brow. “It’s alright,” he says soothingly.
“No, it’s not!” she cries indignantly. “I’m supposed to be China!” Xue beats her hands against his bare chest in frustration.
He tilts his head quizzically. For all that he loves her, he’s never been quite assured that she is China. For his brother Yao remains fresh, and fond, in his memory. He decides silence is probably the best policy.
He reaches down, gently tracing his skilled fingers over the curve of her breasts, travelling down her stomach and finally between her thighs. She sighs, spreading her legs, and he embraces her, hard against the softness of her skin.
Wen is able to distract her for ten minutes, perhaps fifteen. She digs her fingers into his hair and kisses every inch of his face, while his hands continue to gently caress her body. Eventually, however, she pushes him away, gasping for breath.
“What am I supposed to do, now?” she asks him dismally. Suddenly horror clutches her, and she turns frantically to him, eyes wide. “What if they make me go back? What will I do, Wen? I can’t go back to Gege, I just can’t-!” She is sobbing again, tears running hot and fast down her face.
He can’t fathom her emotions, when all he wants is to go back. He cannot understand why anyone would choose to leave Yao, why Xue is so horrified by the prospect of returning. All he can do is catch her face gently in his hands and kiss her lips; she tastes like salt and plums.
- - -
It is their thirtieth anniversary. She has brought him new clothes, Chinese style-a long red tunic lined in black; loose, full pants; and a wrist cuff made of pure jade.
“It’s about time you started acting Chinese again,” she says with a laugh. If she only knew.
Wen follows their normal routine to the letter: the simple but tasty meal of shrimp and rice, the gentle conversation over drinks, the earnest and sensual foreplay on her living room couch.
“I love you,” she says, not for the first time, when he has scooped her up in his arms and taken her into the bedroom. “So, so much.”
“I know,” Wen replies. He has returned her sentiments often enough, but today the world “love” tastes like sawdust on his tongue and he cannot pass it through his lips. Instead, he takes her gently, lifting her skirts and thrusting into her with passion and longing unlike anything she’s ever felt from him before.
“Wen…” she sighs out his name, and on her lips it sounds like a deep, soothing caress.
“Xue,” he responds, gently brushing back her hair as she snuggles close against him. She falls asleep lying against him, her lips turned upwards in a smile. He leaves before she awakes the next morning, gathering up his gifts and shutting the door slowly behind him.
And when she sees, on television, Arthur handing Wen back to Yao with dignity and stiffness, she breaks. Tears stream down her face as she curses him, and his non-existent ancestors, and the elder brother they both share.
“You,” she snarls, looking at Yao’s face through the screen, “you take everything from me.”
Re: My Sweetest Downfall [author's notes]
anonymous
March 2 2010, 07:56:11 UTC
→ I chose Taiwan's name to be "Xue" and Hong Kong's to be "Wen." The "Yen" they mention in the beginning is Vietnam. → The first scene takes place in about the 1960's; after the Chinese Civil War and during Britain's control of Hong Kong. → The second scene refers to 1971, when China's seat on the Security Council reverted to the People's Republic. → The last scene takes place in 1997, when Hong Kong was given back to China after fifty years.
Re: My Sweetest Downfall [author's notes]
anonymous
March 2 2010, 18:36:24 UTC
I really liked the diachronic structure you chose! It's not what one thinks of first when reading the prompt, but it works well. A note: Chinese titles go after the names, so it would be "Yen Jiejie", not "Jiejie Yen".
- - -
Tonight, she is crying. They have met in London once again, and in Wen’s small room, cradled against him under his sheets, she sobs into his shoulder.
“My seat, Wen,” she says through her tears, her voice hitching on a sob, “they just took it away.”
He smoothes down her long, dark hair and gently kisses her brow. “It’s alright,” he says soothingly.
“No, it’s not!” she cries indignantly. “I’m supposed to be China!” Xue beats her hands against his bare chest in frustration.
He tilts his head quizzically. For all that he loves her, he’s never been quite assured that she is China. For his brother Yao remains fresh, and fond, in his memory. He decides silence is probably the best policy.
He reaches down, gently tracing his skilled fingers over the curve of her breasts, travelling down her stomach and finally between her thighs. She sighs, spreading her legs, and he embraces her, hard against the softness of her skin.
Wen is able to distract her for ten minutes, perhaps fifteen. She digs her fingers into his hair and kisses every inch of his face, while his hands continue to gently caress her body. Eventually, however, she pushes him away, gasping for breath.
“What am I supposed to do, now?” she asks him dismally. Suddenly horror clutches her, and she turns frantically to him, eyes wide. “What if they make me go back? What will I do, Wen? I can’t go back to Gege, I just can’t-!” She is sobbing again, tears running hot and fast down her face.
He can’t fathom her emotions, when all he wants is to go back. He cannot understand why anyone would choose to leave Yao, why Xue is so horrified by the prospect of returning. All he can do is catch her face gently in his hands and kiss her lips; she tastes like salt and plums.
- - -
It is their thirtieth anniversary. She has brought him new clothes, Chinese style-a long red tunic lined in black; loose, full pants; and a wrist cuff made of pure jade.
“It’s about time you started acting Chinese again,” she says with a laugh. If she only knew.
Wen follows their normal routine to the letter: the simple but tasty meal of shrimp and rice, the gentle conversation over drinks, the earnest and sensual foreplay on her living room couch.
“I love you,” she says, not for the first time, when he has scooped her up in his arms and taken her into the bedroom. “So, so much.”
“I know,” Wen replies. He has returned her sentiments often enough, but today the world “love” tastes like sawdust on his tongue and he cannot pass it through his lips. Instead, he takes her gently, lifting her skirts and thrusting into her with passion and longing unlike anything she’s ever felt from him before.
“Wen…” she sighs out his name, and on her lips it sounds like a deep, soothing caress.
“Xue,” he responds, gently brushing back her hair as she snuggles close against him. She falls asleep lying against him, her lips turned upwards in a smile. He leaves before she awakes the next morning, gathering up his gifts and shutting the door slowly behind him.
And when she sees, on television, Arthur handing Wen back to Yao with dignity and stiffness, she breaks. Tears stream down her face as she curses him, and his non-existent ancestors, and the elder brother they both share.
“You,” she snarls, looking at Yao’s face through the screen, “you take everything from me.”
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→ The first scene takes place in about the 1960's; after the Chinese Civil War and during Britain's control of Hong Kong.
→ The second scene refers to 1971, when China's seat on the Security Council reverted to the People's Republic.
→ The last scene takes place in 1997, when Hong Kong was given back to China after fifty years.
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THANK YOU THANK YOU
This was so beautifully written, I love this pairing so much oh my god thank youuuu <3
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