Love Song
A companion to yesterday's story, The Other Side. This one is about Zi and Jin, because Jin won't shut up ever they needed a little attention too. Warnings are essentially the same as the last story.
Ten
Her mouth hurt. For a second, all she could think about was the hurting. She put her hand to her lip and felt the blood.
"You leave her alone!"
"What are you gonna do about it, Jin?"
Zi looked up just in time to watch Jin punch her oldest brother in the face. She was a hand's width shorter, but it didn't seem to matter; he went down like a dropped rock. "Did you just--"
"I don't know," Jin said, and took her hand.
They ran until they couldn't run any longer, and collapsed, panting for breath, by the side of the pond. Jin took a handkerchief out and gave it to Zi so she could wash her mouth. The bleeding had stopped, but it was still sore, and Zi winced as she touched the raw edges of the cut.
"You shouldn't let him bully you," Jin said.
Zi shrugged her shoulders. "It's no big deal." She walked over to the pond and rinsed her hand in the pond, watching the darkening blood in the clear water. She wet the edge of the handkerchief and washed her torn lip. When she'd finished, she fished in her pockets; there were a few dried apricots left.
Jin was up on the bank, leaning against one of the plum trees. "I'll hit him again," she said. "If he does it."
Zi shook her head and held out an apricot. "You don't--"
"I don't want him to." Jin ignored the apricot and snatched her handkerchief back.
"Thanks," Zi said, as Jin walked away.
Fifteen
"We'll still be friends, won't we?" Zi asked. "After you get married?"
Jin rolled her eyes. "Of course we will." She straightened her hair, for what seemed to be the thousandth time. "Are you sure this looks all right?"
She looked so beautiful Zi wanted to cry, her smoke-dark eyes behind impossibly long lashes, her dark hair pinned and lacquered to an impossibly bright sheen. "You're perfect," Zi said, feeling awkward and gangly and unloveable.
"Mother's waited long enough for this, I'd better make a good show."
Zi swallowed. When she spoke, her words seemed incredibly loud, rude, impossible. "Do you want to be married?"
Jin whipped her head around. "What did you say? Quit whispering."
"Is this...are you happy you're getting married?"
Jin turned her head back. "Of course," she said, picking up her comb. "I don't have any choice, do I? Mother wants me married, and he's better than most around here. I should be grateful, shouldn't I? Youngest daughter, having a life outside the house, and a family of my--" She choked back the last words, and the bitterness in her voice surprised even Zi.
"I'm sorry," Zi said, "I shouldn't have--"
"No," Jin said, still not looking at her. "I'm glad you asked. If you--"
Zi put her arms around Jin. "We'll always be friends," she said. "Always. You'll always...."
"You," Jin said, turning around to put her arms around Zi. Zi could feel Jin's heart pounding, her breath against Zi's cheek. "Why do you always make me--"
Zi looked up. "Make you what?"
Jin kissed her. Not like a friend. Not like Zi'd always thought her husband would kiss her, someday. This was something else entirely, like Jin was going to drown and Zi was the only thing holding her afloat.
Zi kissed her back, and for a moment there was nothing on earth but the two of them.
And then a sound-- someone in the next room-- startled them both, and they were left, inches apart, staring at each other in shock.
"Jin," Qi snapped, from a distance. "They're ready!"
"Of course," Jin said.
Zi squeezed her hand. "Always," she whispered.
Jin squeezed her hand back. "All right."
Twenty
"I'm pregnant again," she announced, and Jin's face was more of a question than a reaction.
"Did you--"
"Yes," she said.
Jin's face softened, but not by much. "Congratulations."
Fai came toddling by, her chubby hands grasping a simple wooden puzzle Yan had brought home from the north. "Aunty Jin," she said. "Puzzle."
"Yes," Jin said, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the girl. "It certainly is."
"Do puzzle, Aunty."
Jin gave the girl her best are you serious face. Zi tried not to giggle.
"Puzzle!"
Jin sighed like a martyr and settled down on the floor, taking a few careful moments to adjust her skirt. "Fine," she said. "Puzzle."
The girl climbed into Jin's lap and attempted the puzzle with far more enthusiasm than skill. After a few moments, Jin's glare softened, and she reached out, guiding the girl's awkward fingers as she put the first piece in place. "There," she said. "Try the next one yourself."
"Puzzle!" Fai said happily. "Good puzzle."
"Yes," Jin agreed, smoothing Fai's dark hair affectionately. "Good puzzle."
Twenty-five
Of course, she'd grabbed Zi's favorite knife, a wedding present eight inches long and of the sharpest steel Yan could find locally. Jin couldn't make a statement without making a statement.
"You've done enough damage," she hissed at Yan. "I won't let you--"
"What'll you do, huh?" Yan challenged. "You think you'll get away with it?"
"Half the village thinks I'm crazy, Yan," she snapped. "The other half know you. What do you think? Oh," she said, wiggling the knife in Yan's direction, "I know. They'll probably make me live at my mother's for the rest of my life. Just like...oh, now."
Yan's eyes widened with just a hint of fear. "You're a bitch," he said, "and no one's gonna believe--"
"What do you think they'll believe? What if I tell them the gods told me to gut you like a fish, huh?"
Zi had no idea what to say. Part of her wanted Jin to do it; the other part wanted to grab her hand and beg her to stop. Fortunately for everyone, Fai had followed orders and came back in the house, dragging Qi by the hand behind her. "See?" she said. "Just like I told you--"
Qi sighed. "Jin--"
"Shut up, Mother. I've had it with him."
Han appeared at the other door, sticking his hand through the window and lifting the latch to let himself in. "Hey," he said. "Yan. Let's calm down, okay? I'm sure once you're both a little calmer, everything will--"
Han caught Yan behind the arms just as he lunged toward the women, and Qi deftly disarmed her daughter with a twist of the Jinn's wrist. She pulled her back, protesting, out of the house, as Han did the same with Yan.
"Thank you," Zi said to her daughter, when the fuss had died down.
"Will Jin still come to the house?" Fai asked.
"I'm sure she will," Zi said, taking the girl by the shoulders and pulling her close. "I'm not sure she will when your father's home, that's all."
Thirty
Fai and the other girls were giggling as they walked up the path. "And he's handsome, too," Zi heard Fai say as she headed into the house.
"Handsome," Jin snorted, as Fai walked into the back of the house. "Like that matters."
"She should have a handsome husband." The carrots were especially good this year; a rich yellow-orange, and satisfyingly thick to slice. "A good provider, and--"
"You'll not choose someone just to keep her fed," warned Jin.
"Jin," Zi said mildly. "She is my daughter."
Jin straightened up. "You're the one who kept telling her to call me Aunty. How did you think I'd feel?"
That was true enough, but Zi certainly wasn't about to admit it. "I'll choose her a fine husband."
Jin snorted. "Don't worry about what he looks like. Find one with half a brain. And don't forget I taught her to fight back."
Zi had to smile at that. "You did."
"I can hear you both, you know," Fai said.
"You're supposed to be polite and pretend not to," Zi reprimanded, sliding the carrot slices into the pan.
Jin snorted again. Zi took the carrot greens off the counter and thwapped Jin with them. Jin raised her eyebrows. "You wasting food? You really are upset."
"You!" Zi attacked, and they struggled for a moment, Jin holding Zi's wrists back as Jin waved the carrot greens threateningly.
"I'm going back out before you get any weirder," Fai announced, sounding disconcertingly like Jin.
"Tell the kids dinner will be ready in half an hour," Zi called over her shoulder. Jin took advantage of the distraction to kiss her.
Dinner was ready in forty-five minutes.
Thirty-two
"I should've stopped at five," Zi said wryly.
"Yes," the doctor said. "You should have, but it's a bit late for that now."
"All right," she said. There wasn't much she could do now, at any rate. She felt so tired. Maybe if she rested she'd be all right when the baby came.
Fai came in and sat next to her on the bed. "Mother--"
"You'll have to look after Jin," she said. "She won't take it well."
"I care about you," Fai said, and hugged her mother.
"I might be all right." It was a lie, and they both knew it, but it felt comforting.
"Did you love Father?"
"Of course," she said. But you deserved better, she thought. Jin was right about that.
"I wish it had just been us and Aunty Jin," Fai said.
"Don't wish for things to be different." She put her arms around Fai. "Be happy for the good things."
"I'll try," Fai said.
"You'll probably have to take your brothers and sisters in."
"I don't mind that," she said. "We have room, and they can help with the baby."
"You'll have two, if mine lives."
Fai reached over and hugged her back. "We'll be all right."
"I know you will," Zi said. "We raised you tough." She smiled. "I'll see you again. I know it. Jin, too. I'm not sure if she'll want to see me."
"She will," Fai promised. Eventually."
Zi laughed. "All right. Eventually."
Ten
Her mouth hurt. For a second, all she could think about was the hurting. She put her hand to her lip and felt the blood.
"You leave her alone!"
"What are you gonna do about it, Jin?"
Zi looked up just in time to watch Jin punch her oldest brother in the face. She was a hand's width shorter, but it didn't seem to matter; he went down like a dropped rock. "Did you just--"
"I don't know," Jin said, and took her hand.
They ran until they couldn't run any longer, and collapsed, panting for breath, by the side of the pond. Jin took a handkerchief out and gave it to Zi so she could wash her mouth. The bleeding had stopped, but it was still sore, and Zi winced as she touched the raw edges of the cut.
"You shouldn't let him bully you," Jin said.
Zi shrugged her shoulders. "It's no big deal." She walked over to the pond and rinsed her hand in the pond, watching the darkening blood in the clear water. She wet the edge of the handkerchief and washed her torn lip. When she'd finished, she fished in her pockets; there were a few dried apricots left.
Jin was up on the bank, leaning against one of the plum trees. "I'll hit him again," she said. "If he does it."
Zi shook her head and held out an apricot. "You don't--"
"I don't want him to." Jin ignored the apricot and snatched her handkerchief back.
"Thanks," Zi said, as Jin walked away.
Fifteen
"We'll still be friends, won't we?" Zi asked. "After you get married?"
Jin rolled her eyes. "Of course we will." She straightened her hair, for what seemed to be the thousandth time. "Are you sure this looks all right?"
She looked so beautiful Zi wanted to cry, her smoke-dark eyes behind impossibly long lashes, her dark hair pinned and lacquered to an impossibly bright sheen. "You're perfect," Zi said, feeling awkward and gangly and unloveable.
"Mother's waited long enough for this, I'd better make a good show."
Zi swallowed. When she spoke, her words seemed incredibly loud, rude, impossible. "Do you want to be married?"
Jin whipped her head around. "What did you say? Quit whispering."
"Is this...are you happy you're getting married?"
Jin turned her head back. "Of course," she said, picking up her comb. "I don't have any choice, do I? Mother wants me married, and he's better than most around here. I should be grateful, shouldn't I? Youngest daughter, having a life outside the house, and a family of my--" She choked back the last words, and the bitterness in her voice surprised even Zi.
"I'm sorry," Zi said, "I shouldn't have--"
"No," Jin said, still not looking at her. "I'm glad you asked. If you--"
Zi put her arms around Jin. "We'll always be friends," she said. "Always. You'll always...."
"You," Jin said, turning around to put her arms around Zi. Zi could feel Jin's heart pounding, her breath against Zi's cheek. "Why do you always make me--"
Zi looked up. "Make you what?"
Jin kissed her. Not like a friend. Not like Zi'd always thought her husband would kiss her, someday. This was something else entirely, like Jin was going to drown and Zi was the only thing holding her afloat.
Zi kissed her back, and for a moment there was nothing on earth but the two of them.
And then a sound-- someone in the next room-- startled them both, and they were left, inches apart, staring at each other in shock.
"Jin," Qi snapped, from a distance. "They're ready!"
"Of course," Jin said.
Zi squeezed her hand. "Always," she whispered.
Jin squeezed her hand back. "All right."
Twenty
"I'm pregnant again," she announced, and Jin's face was more of a question than a reaction.
"Did you--"
"Yes," she said.
Jin's face softened, but not by much. "Congratulations."
Fai came toddling by, her chubby hands grasping a simple wooden puzzle Yan had brought home from the north. "Aunty Jin," she said. "Puzzle."
"Yes," Jin said, raising a skeptical eyebrow at the girl. "It certainly is."
"Do puzzle, Aunty."
Jin gave the girl her best are you serious face. Zi tried not to giggle.
"Puzzle!"
Jin sighed like a martyr and settled down on the floor, taking a few careful moments to adjust her skirt. "Fine," she said. "Puzzle."
The girl climbed into Jin's lap and attempted the puzzle with far more enthusiasm than skill. After a few moments, Jin's glare softened, and she reached out, guiding the girl's awkward fingers as she put the first piece in place. "There," she said. "Try the next one yourself."
"Puzzle!" Fai said happily. "Good puzzle."
"Yes," Jin agreed, smoothing Fai's dark hair affectionately. "Good puzzle."
Twenty-five
Of course, she'd grabbed Zi's favorite knife, a wedding present eight inches long and of the sharpest steel Yan could find locally. Jin couldn't make a statement without making a statement.
"You've done enough damage," she hissed at Yan. "I won't let you--"
"What'll you do, huh?" Yan challenged. "You think you'll get away with it?"
"Half the village thinks I'm crazy, Yan," she snapped. "The other half know you. What do you think? Oh," she said, wiggling the knife in Yan's direction, "I know. They'll probably make me live at my mother's for the rest of my life. Just like...oh, now."
Yan's eyes widened with just a hint of fear. "You're a bitch," he said, "and no one's gonna believe--"
"What do you think they'll believe? What if I tell them the gods told me to gut you like a fish, huh?"
Zi had no idea what to say. Part of her wanted Jin to do it; the other part wanted to grab her hand and beg her to stop. Fortunately for everyone, Fai had followed orders and came back in the house, dragging Qi by the hand behind her. "See?" she said. "Just like I told you--"
Qi sighed. "Jin--"
"Shut up, Mother. I've had it with him."
Han appeared at the other door, sticking his hand through the window and lifting the latch to let himself in. "Hey," he said. "Yan. Let's calm down, okay? I'm sure once you're both a little calmer, everything will--"
Han caught Yan behind the arms just as he lunged toward the women, and Qi deftly disarmed her daughter with a twist of the Jinn's wrist. She pulled her back, protesting, out of the house, as Han did the same with Yan.
"Thank you," Zi said to her daughter, when the fuss had died down.
"Will Jin still come to the house?" Fai asked.
"I'm sure she will," Zi said, taking the girl by the shoulders and pulling her close. "I'm not sure she will when your father's home, that's all."
Thirty
Fai and the other girls were giggling as they walked up the path. "And he's handsome, too," Zi heard Fai say as she headed into the house.
"Handsome," Jin snorted, as Fai walked into the back of the house. "Like that matters."
"She should have a handsome husband." The carrots were especially good this year; a rich yellow-orange, and satisfyingly thick to slice. "A good provider, and--"
"You'll not choose someone just to keep her fed," warned Jin.
"Jin," Zi said mildly. "She is my daughter."
Jin straightened up. "You're the one who kept telling her to call me Aunty. How did you think I'd feel?"
That was true enough, but Zi certainly wasn't about to admit it. "I'll choose her a fine husband."
Jin snorted. "Don't worry about what he looks like. Find one with half a brain. And don't forget I taught her to fight back."
Zi had to smile at that. "You did."
"I can hear you both, you know," Fai said.
"You're supposed to be polite and pretend not to," Zi reprimanded, sliding the carrot slices into the pan.
Jin snorted again. Zi took the carrot greens off the counter and thwapped Jin with them. Jin raised her eyebrows. "You wasting food? You really are upset."
"You!" Zi attacked, and they struggled for a moment, Jin holding Zi's wrists back as Jin waved the carrot greens threateningly.
"I'm going back out before you get any weirder," Fai announced, sounding disconcertingly like Jin.
"Tell the kids dinner will be ready in half an hour," Zi called over her shoulder. Jin took advantage of the distraction to kiss her.
Dinner was ready in forty-five minutes.
Thirty-two
"I should've stopped at five," Zi said wryly.
"Yes," the doctor said. "You should have, but it's a bit late for that now."
"All right," she said. There wasn't much she could do now, at any rate. She felt so tired. Maybe if she rested she'd be all right when the baby came.
Fai came in and sat next to her on the bed. "Mother--"
"You'll have to look after Jin," she said. "She won't take it well."
"I care about you," Fai said, and hugged her mother.
"I might be all right." It was a lie, and they both knew it, but it felt comforting.
"Did you love Father?"
"Of course," she said. But you deserved better, she thought. Jin was right about that.
"I wish it had just been us and Aunty Jin," Fai said.
"Don't wish for things to be different." She put her arms around Fai. "Be happy for the good things."
"I'll try," Fai said.
"You'll probably have to take your brothers and sisters in."
"I don't mind that," she said. "We have room, and they can help with the baby."
"You'll have two, if mine lives."
Fai reached over and hugged her back. "We'll be all right."
"I know you will," Zi said. "We raised you tough." She smiled. "I'll see you again. I know it. Jin, too. I'm not sure if she'll want to see me."
"She will," Fai promised. Eventually."
Zi laughed. "All right. Eventually."