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 Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:46 pm
  This is a private roleplay between Jianyu [kuromeez] and Yue Lao [Face Your Demons].
Setting:
The Qian summer home.
Yue and Jianyu take some time to adapt to everything.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 10:03 pm
It was evening. The sky overhead was a mottled orange and streaked with gold and tinges of lavender and violet, and casting rays of melted sunlight over the fields and homes of Lunaria. Just off of Main Street, down one of the lesser populated roads, and set against the backdrop of the wide, glittering blue ocean was the Qian summer home. A small building, not nearly as big as the main house, it was close enough to the water to hear the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. It was only two floors, the walls a plain white on the outside, the roof a dark brown. Inside it was just as simple; there was only one table (which Liwei had carved himself), that sat in the middle of the main room on the first floor. Soft, hand-woven cloths were spread beneath it, covering the wood floor. Inside the walls were a dark violet color, trimmed with black. It had not been used for quite some time; his family had used to occupy it during the warmer seasons, but since Liwei's business had picked up and the children had grown older it had become much harder to find the time to visit.
Now, standing in the front hallway, hands tucked neatly into his sleeves, Jianyu surveyed the little house with a mixture of pride and slight apprehension. It had been unbearably kind of his mother to let him and Yue have the opportunity to use this home for themselves after their marriage, should they choose, but the idea of actually moving in - just he and Yue - made his heart skitter unexpectedly.
He forced these unruly thoughts away, turning instead to face Yue. "What do you think?" he asked her with a warm smile, gesturing with a nod towards the house. "I'm afraid it's not much, and one day I will build you a better house, but for now..."
Jianyu let his voice trail off, giving a small sigh. Then he reached out a hand towards Yue. "Come," he said gently, giving a small laugh. "You look as though you need to sit down and collect all of the many thoughts that are at this moment rampaging through your mind."
He moved to sit cross-legged on the floor, leaning back against the nearest wall. "...how are you faring? Change your mind about marrying me yet?" Jianyu asked her, half teasing, but half serious as well. Everything seemed to be happening at once, and he did not want her to feel obligated to marry him.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 11:03 pm
Yue Lao had never been down to the Qian summer home. As the sun began to set, Yue admired the colours off the water, and across the roof of the summer home. It had been a crazy twist of fate that Ehuang had offered them the use of the summer home, just when she was thinking about how they'd have to find some new arrangement. Being married was not something Yue had ever really considered, not when she had just finally accepted that-- well, it didn't matter what she had accepted. Remembering made her feel ridiculous. The home was... wonderful. Even from the outside, Yue couldn't stop marvelling at the kindness of Ehuang's gift. She needed to find a way to thank her. In the meantime, Yue simply continued to be grateful, and try to simultaneously understand what had happened and try not to think about what still had yet to be accomplished. This was going to make training rather difficult.
As she approached the door, she ran her hands along its frame, and touched the white walls. So elegant. Yowai would appreciate this place. The landscape made her want to learn how to swim, too. Perhaps Jianyu would teach her, after they were married? She tended to panic whenever submurged in water, even if she could breathe fine. She wanted to enjoy a location like this, however. Inside it was quite lovely, as well. Yue tended to sleep in her cluttered loft; it was going to be strange sleeping on a level of the house where others could get to her at will. Speaking of which: someday, she would have to actually show Jianyu her "nest;" the place where she had spent many sleepless nights, hiding from the moon's light. It was shame which had made her hide, but she hadn't done that in a long time.
Yue Lao wondered, as she wandered into their new home, how many childhood memories were set in this place for Jianyu. To her, it was completely new, and that both helped her understand the intensity of the new situation while making her feel very lost.
If anything, the gift of home for the couple was what made Yue finally realize it was happening: she was going to marry Jianyu, and be welcomed into the Qian family. It made her smile mischieviously, thinking of this as their new home. And as Jianyu turned to her and asked her what she thought, suggesting it was not much, she shook her head. "It's an entire house, and to us, it will be home, won't it?" Yue Lao pursed her lips, her hands on her hips, looking around at everything with a soft and distant look on her face. It would be home. Suddenly, it occurred to her: "I can't even cook well," she apologized. "Maybe I can learn...? I only ever had to cook for myself before. Pretty utilitarian. But hey, if you want alcohol, I can make that?" Yue rubbed the back of her neck. At that moment, she was feeling like a pretty inadequate choice of spouse.
Yue accepted his offered hand and followed as he sat with his back against the wall. Yue, at first, mimicked his gesture, but with an exhausted and defeated sigh, slipped down off the wall and lay her head in his lap, her hands tracing along the floor. "I'm faring like I have no idea what I'm doing," Yue admitted.
Jianyu's second question made her smile. She forced herself to sit up so that she could lean against him, stroking his jaw with her fingertips. "As much as I change my mind all the time, I'm never going to in this particular case... Fierce Warrior, you are ... well..." Yue brushed her lips against his jaw lightly, tenderly. "You're the one I love. The only one," she finished.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 11:24 pm
Jianyu lifted his hand, allowing Yue to rest her head against his leg before lowering it again, fingers absently brushing through her soft, silky hair. It felt...surreal, almost, to be sitting here in what might become his new home - their new home. His and Yue's. They were getting married.
The reality of this statement finally hit home and Jianyu leaned back against the wall, his head tilted up, eyes tracing the lines of the ceiling. A low laugh escaped him and he closed his eyes briefly. "I am glad to see I am not the only one," he replied, then sighed, exhaling slowly. "To be honest, I am not even sure that I know what I am doing. I probably don't. But that doesn't mean I regret asking you to marry me," he added quickly, in case she mistook his words for something else. "That much...that much I stand by."
He felt gentle fingers against his face, dancing along his jawline as Yue sat up, her expression full of adoration. It was a look he had seen many times, though this time it was much, much deeper than just simple friendship.
"I'm glad to hear it," Jianyu said, eyes flickering at her kiss. It almost tickled, as light as a butterfly's wings, though it made his skin tingle. "I am sorry, however, that you have to deal with someone like myself. I am quite aware of how sudden this may all seem; and I know your mind must be frantic trying to put everything together and comprehend what has just happened."
He gave her a mildly amused look. "For all I know, you will wake up tomorrow morning and wonder what on earth you have gotten yourself into. I would not be surprised; everything seems to be happening all at once, after all."
His expression softened, and Jianyu lifted his hand to rest against her face, thumb brushing against her cheek gently. "But you...I love you and only you."
Her face was so near to his, their breaths mingling. He leaned forward, touching their lips together briefly before drawing back, his heartbeat quickening slightly. A crooked smile appeared. "Only you," he told her again. Another kiss, this one only a fraction longer than the first. Both of Jianyu's hands raised, taking Yue's face between them.
"Yue," he said, in a low voice and this time the kiss was much longer, the emotions he had been suppressing for so long pouring into it. One hand slipped around to grip the back of her neck, tilting her head upwards, tangling in the loose strands of magenta hair. She smelled of rosewater and the scent of the sea.
After several long moments Jianyu finally pulled back, his breath coming out ragged. He gathered Yue into his arms, wrapping his own around her waist and buried his face into her neck. To his surprise, he was shaking.
"Do not change your mind," he muttered, his lips against the skin of her shoulder as he spoke. Tension, anxiety, every negative emotion associated with his unspoken concerns seemed to be rising, and Jianyu felt nearly overwhelmed with everything cascading down onto him. But he had made this choice; made it purposefully and carefully, made with every ounce of his feelings for Yue firmly embedded into his mind, and it was the right one - even if Yue did not think so tomorrow when she woke up and remembered everything that had happened the day before.
Jianyu's arms tightened. "Please," he mumbled, his voice a low murmur, barely audible. "Do not change your mind."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:58 am
It felt nice, Jianyu's fingers brushing through her hair. She hadn't let anyone do that in a very long time. In fact, no one had really done that since she was a child. It was one of those tender gestures which, even if she did steal physical proximity now and again, could only come from someone who cared for her. Yue closed her eyes, while she lay with her head in his lap, to relish the feeling. One which she would have many times over, now.
After the fight with the Nobles, in the dark road where she thought Jianyu might die because of her inadequacies, she realized that she loved him. After all, sitting by his side all that time he was feverish and sick gave her a lot of time to think. If he died, she would mourn that loss until her own death. It was something that couldn't happen. At the time, she had felt like he was the balance keeping her from losing her sanity. Without Jianyu, Yue Lao would spike off into madness. Because even if they had parted briefly, even if they had stopped seeing one another after being best friends for so long, she still felt his presence everywhere. He was there, watching her, and she wanted to make him proud. She wanted to, if put in that situation again, prevent anyone from hurting him.
"I'm glad you don't regret it," Yue Lao said, grinning, "because I did give you an option to take it back, but you didn't take me up on it, and now you're stuck with me." Yue had no idea what look was in her eyes at that time. She had, indeed, looked at Jianyu this way many times before. Every other time, she was in denial, or trying to hide what she felt. Losing him as a friend had been more terrifying than never telling him that she loved him. And it turned out she ended up with both friendship and love.
Yue Lao's breathing was faster than she might have realized, and her heart was beating fast. They were alone in a room, in a house that was given to them because they were going to be married. She would wake up next to Jianyu and fall asleep with him again as long as she was able. Barring when they were separated for the war... which she didn't want to think about just then. "Yu, it makes sense. I fell for you because of the way you are, right? So I can't be surprised now, you're just being how you were all along. You're straight to the point," Yue laughed. She didn't say When you can figure out what that point is, but the thought occurred to her. It only made her smile wider. "Yeah, my mind's buzzing, but it pretty much always is, so it'll sort out eventually."
Jianyu made her snort. This conversation was like the banter she was so used to with him. It was easy, and natural, and it calmed her down. "To me, it's not that everything is happening all at once: it's that I wanted everything from you, and I knew it wasn't right, so I was patient. And it turned out to be a good idea." Then, sheepishly, she added, "Okay, it wasn't really that easy, I also beat up Kiran and got scolded by Yowai first."
She was about to say something else, but with his hand against her face, brushing her cheek, she felt her throat catch. She closed her eyes briefly, memorizing those words, the way his voice souned, before looking up at him again. She could feel his breath against her lips, and when he leaned in to kiss her, it was somehow still a surprise. If she closed her eyes again, she was pretty sure the world would fall away, and it would just be them, sitting on the moon. Her hands slipped over around his waist, pressing against his back and pulling herself closer to him. "Jianyu?" she replied, when he said her name, though the question mark was disbelief and wonderment. His kisses, each one, brought her relief, and then sorrow as they ended. Each time he kissed her, she kissed back in equal measure, savouring the feel of his lips against her own, the way he smelled to her, which was always as if she had left her favourite cloth out in the sun, and it was warm. She would wrap herself in that blanket all day. That was what he made her feel, when she breathed in his familiar scent.
When he pulled back, she protested quietly, until he pulled her in again and buried his face against her neck. Why was he shaking?.. Yue had never seen Jianyu like that, not really, not in this way. She was worried he wasn't feeling well, or he was regretting-- and then he spoke. And all her fears scattered like little fish. "Are you afraid? I'm scared, Yu. Because I haven't ever wanted anyone so badly. Before, I wasn't afraid, because I had no one to lose. I had no one who I would mourn. The thought of having to meet your new lover, and be kind to them, because I loved you... that thought terrified me."
Yue Lao paused, thinking. Her thoughts were scattered. She just wanted to kiss him, again and again. But she held on tightly, stroking one hand through his hair. And finally, she said: "Remember when we made wine? Or, more accurately, threw grapes at each other..?" She paused to see if he could remember, hoping that he did, sure that he did. "I managed to save some of the wine. We'll open it on our one-year anniversary, and drink it together, okay?"
Yue tried to tilt his face up, so that she could show him her expression. There was no doubt there. Just the same fierce determination, which made for a very fierce love.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:13 am
To be perfectly honest, that night where he had nearly died, woken up feverish and weak with Yue by his side, had probably been the night where he had first started to fall for Yue. He had not intended to; in fact, he had thought he would stay with Bataar for many years, but that had not worked out (it had worked out in other ways, however, better ways). Instead Jianyu had found himself alone once more, surrounded only by Yue and the dark, glistening night sky that time she had dragged him from his misery and thrust him back into the open air once more. It had taken him so long to move past the dark confines of his mind, the shadowy thoughts dusted in cobwebs, but now here he was, Yue in his arms, the two of them together.
"Surreal" did not even begin to describe how he felt at the current moment.
"Afraid?" Jianyu repeated, then let out a small laugh that was slightly shaky, tightening his grip around her waist. "I suppose that's true. I have not been in a situation quite like this before. With Bataar it was...different, I suppose, but with you..."
He trailed off, feeling her gentle fingers drift through his hair. Being afraid meant being weak, didn't it? He was not afraid of much; thunderstorms (sadly), and his family being harmed, but other than that he felt quite confident most of the time. Yet right now, his thoughts were convoluted, twisting and convulsing inside of his head.
"I remember," he told her quietly, feeling her fingers against his chin, moving his face up so that he could see the fierce expression. "I remember it very clearly."
And he did. The laughter, the sunlight, the way Yue's eyes had sparkled with mischief, her face streaked with purple. Strange how he could remember such details, when at the time he had not yet felt anything more than just a simple friendship with her.
And now...
"Promise me that, Stargazer," he said with a smile, and to his relief he had stopped shaking. He did not move away from her, however, if anything drawing her closer, as close as possible, their faces a mere inch apart. His head lowered, face pressed against her neck again, inhaling her scent. "Promise me," Jianyu murmured against Yue's bare skin, and kissed her throat, trailing small kisses up along her jawline until he hovered over her lips again, heartbeat quickening. He paused for a moment, hesitating, then gave in, claiming her mouth beneath his own in a passionate, emotion-driven kiss that was much more than the kisses he had given her before. He wanted to drown himself in Yue, lose himself into their shared feelings, forget the world around them.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:19 am
To Yue Lao, fear was also a weakness. She hated being afraid, and that made her angry, which in turn made her cloister herself away. She had already dealt with all of these things. Now, it was more of a hopeful apprehension which plagued her. She was sitting in a new home with a man she had cared for for a very long time. Loved, in fact. Yue took a moment to look around the room, again, to admire the table. Yue had always been more than happy to hit on and flirt with anyone she met, but it was all a game. She found herself strangely unsure as to how to proceed now that it meant something to her. It was a very unsettling notion.
The sound of Jianyu's laugh, even if it was a little shaky, brightened her spirits. "It's just easier when you know what you're getting into. I guess I'm hoping for the best," Yue grinned, her face warm. Ever since that first meeting with Jianyu, she had always been compelled into honesty. Only by him. With everyone else, she was a persona, an aspect of herself which was carefully maintained and conjured up as per the situation. She was defined by her habits, and she lived wildly to keep the balance. It was fun, for her.
Jianyu made her reveal her true self so easily. He didn't even have to say or do anything. When Jianyu was involved, she wanted to be true. Sort of. It still made her feel extremely exposed, but she felt that it was a good thing. After all, no one else could get into her mind or heart that way. That was how Jianyu had accomplished it seemingly with such ease. She had loved him as a friend for much of their time together, loved him as her best friend, considered him family. She never could have guessed that the memories she had then, and all their detail, would be worth so much now. It was hard for her to think back and figure out where the love she felt for him as a best friend had really changed, she could only see the point where it had transformed completely.
"I promise, Fierce Warrior," Yue said, softly. Her entire body was warm, and her thoughts were a dizzy mess of needing to be closer to Jianyu. Of needing to be pressed against him so that they were inseparable, of needing to be tangled up with him so that no one could untie them or unsort them. "I promise that one year from our marriage, we will drink that wine, and celebrate." Yue Lao shivered and sucked in a breath as he kissed her throat, her fingers digging in lightly as they moved to grasp at his shirt. The small kisses were teasing, until she finally felt his lips against her own and gave into the kiss with her whole body, leaning into him, shifting so that she was nearly sitting in his lap.
She wondered, briefly, what time it was, if the sun had sunk below the ocean and left the house bathed in cool night. She understood that no one would expect her to be anywhere, now, and she could stay with Jianyu as long as she wanted, as long as he would allow. "Is that wall comfortable...?" Yue asked, between kisses, trying not to lean too much pressure on him, as she could not see how it really was comfortable. Her skin was flushed, and her scales seemed to glow, influenced by her blush. Her eyes were slitted, as she tried to catch her breath. Before she was able, she leaned in and kissed him again, tugging at his lower lip gently, leaning into him. The dizzying feeling returned. How could she even begin to get close enough, to make up for all the lost time?
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:10 pm
Jianyu had also completely lost track of time, lost in the world he was sharing with Yue. It could still be day, it could have long since melted into night, but whatever the case, his thoughts were certainly not on the goings on outside.
She had shifted, her knees pressing against his hip where she had tried to get as close as possible without actually sitting on top of him. Dizzy with his feelings, Jianyu's cheeks were flushed, lashes fluttering as Yue spoke, and a small laugh escaped his throat.
"Comfortable enough," he replied, voice laced with amusement and a wicked smile on his face as he added "However, I can make this much more comfortable."
His arms, which were around Yue's waist, jerked suddenly, pulling her across his lap and then down to the floor, Jianyu following the movement so that his torso was resting gently above hers, legs beside Yue's so that he wouldn't completely crush her with his weight. One of his hands had pressed hers back against the ground, lacing his fingers through hers tightly.
"This is dangerous, you know," he told her, in a perfectly conversational voice. "You and I alone in this house together...newly engaged..."
Jianyu had lowered his head, lips against her throat again so that she could feel him smiling against her skin. This was not how it had been with Bataar, not at all - with Bataar Jianyu had felt unsure of how to be physically affectionate with him, even hesitant. He had always been the one to initiate kisses (though a few rare times Bataar had done it, mostly when he was feeling particularly full of himself). But right now, with Yue, it seemed as if he couldn't stop. He wanted to go on forever, keep her wrapped in his arms, drown them both in their mutual emotions. He kissed her again, spurred by her almost playful n** at his lower lip, long and lingering, growing increasingly more fervent, a near desperate passion as if to reassure himself that this wasn't some sort of hallucination. His head was spinning, heartbeat quick and rapid against his ribcage as Jianyu's fingers brushed against Yue's bare shoulder, closing around her upper arm. He lifted his eye to meet hers, attempting to steady his breathing as he stretched out, one arm beneath her head to cradle it, the other still holding her hand against the wood floor.
"...what are you thinking, Stargazer?" Jianyu asked her, somewhat abruptly, his expression shifting slightly to a more gentler one. "I want to know your thoughts."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:22 pm
What had always made Yue Lao happy about Jianyu was that he seemed outwardly one way, but he often surprised her. For example, when she had first met him, she thought he was serious; he was very direct. But she liked him that way. And soon, she had him smiling. Even now, his smile was treasured. Whenever she was able to make him smile, it was as if she had done something right.
Yue sucked in a surprised breath as Jianyu tugged her across his lap and onto the floor, resting lightly above her. Most of his weight was not against her, which was a good thing; Yue was not the biggest Lunarian, and she suspected that her captain was substantially heavier than she was, especially given she always dressed so lightly. Yue squeezed his hand in hers as he threaded their fingers together, pinned. A wicked smile crept across her face, and her chest was clearly rising and falling very fast. "Dangerous? I like the sound of that," Yue mused to herself, thinking on it. "Perhaps I should sleep on the doorstep, guard the house to keep you safe?" Yue suggested, grinning. "That way, I could protect my maidenly innocence," she reasserted, a teasing glint in her eyes. Her free hand slid up to run her fingertips down his neck.
If she could look up at him like this for hours, it wouldn't be enough. She wished that they could lie closer, even. Perhaps if they could lie on their sides?... Yue wondered about that, thought that would be a good way to be able to press in, without worrying about crushing each other. Although...If it meant dying with Jianyu as close as she could have him right now, she might not mind suffocation. Not that she could say that aloud; no matter how she thought about it, it wasn't exactly something suitable to tell her significant other.
His lips against her neck made her shiver again. "On second thought, I don't think I can bring myself to sleep apart from you," Yue ammended her earlier joke. This would be a good way for Yue to drown, smothered in kisses. And every time she was able, she would kiss back. Her free hand slid up to hold onto Jianyu tighter, and her calves moved to wrap around him as best she could without shifting how they were lying. Her skin felt warmer where his fingers brushed her bare shoulder. She blushed stronger again, as she thought of how it would feel if more of her skin was bare. If she didn't stop those thoughts in their tracks, they would only get more and more fervent. She realized, suddenly, she had been holding her breath. She relaxed as he stretched out, smiling softly at him, her eyes narrowed, trying to pretend she wasn't thinking all the things she was thinking.
And then he asked her what she was thinking, and she laughed in embarasment. "Being all over my heart's not enough, you've gotta get into my head too, Yu?" she asked, grinning. "I guess it's all yours, though. Mine and yours." She spoke softly. Being asked what she was thinking, and the softness in his expression, softened her own. It helped calm her heart a little.
"I am thinking that I would like more kisses," she began, playfully, "that every time you touch me it feels like a shock-- in a good way," she paused. Yue wondered how much she should tell him. Instead of revealing everything right away, she turned it around, "How about you, what are your thoughts?..."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 8:23 pm
Jianyu's head was spinning - in a good way, he supposed, but also in a bad way since he could feel Yue's fingers against his neck, delicate and warm. That, and the fact that their kisses had become substantially more fervent, to the point where neither one was breathing very evenly, and Jianyu's hair had fallen free of its tie, cascading over his shoulders and back, the beads brushing against his face.
"I rather enjoy being in your head," he told her, catching her lower lip and nipping playfully before settling into yet another kiss, which shifted down to her jaw. "In fact, knowing what you are thinking makes me feel quite proud of myself, and I think I would like to continue on in that manner.
"Oh, and don't you dare move away," he added, grabbing her around the waist and rolling easily so that she was lying on top of him, his hands lightly resting on her hips. It was difficult to think straight and Jianyu's eyes felt heavy, lashes lowering, but her words made him smile, calming some of the skittering of his heartbeat. "I knew I could count on you to be honest," he said with a laugh, but his expression softened, Jianyu reaching one hand up to tenderly brush aside some of the stray strands of magenta hair that were falling against her face.
"I'm thinking...that every time I touch you, it makes me want to drown myself in you," he said quietly his eye lifting to meet hers steadily. "That every time you touch me, my heart skips a beat and I want to know anything and everything about you."
There was a pause, Jianyu's face shadowed in the moonlight. "That I want to make up for lost time due to my own ignorance," he whispered, and rolled them back over, his arms around Yue, crushing his mouth to hers fervently and nearly desperately, pulling her as close as humanly possible. However, after several moments, he pulled away, panting, but his eyes were glittering with laughter and he stood abruptly, pulling Yue to her feet.
"Come on," he said, and tugged her towards the open front door and outside, the sky overhead an inky black and dotted with an eternity of stars.
"Come and see the world with me!" Jianyu yelled, and flung his arms around Yue's waist, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around, his laughter loud and echoing, reverberating inside of his chest.
This is where I'm supposed to be. Right here, in this moment, with Yue.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:07 pm
His hair, free of its tie, smelled wonderful. She couldn't place the exact scent, but every time he moved, she felt it wash over her. More and more inappropriate thoughts-- which would be appropriate one day, she thought, with a small shiver of anticipation-- kept parading into her mind unbidden. Her braid was still intact, though it wouldn't be for long. Yue Lao did not unbraid her hair for anyone, and never had, but Jianyu. He was the only one who had seen her like that. It made her features more feminine, and occasionally the slightly curled hair would lick around her face and make her look even more wild, as if surrounded by magenta fires. His, however, was silky and soft, and Yue wanted to tell him it smelled good, but she was so busy thinking of what it felt like to have any of her skin against any of his. "You're always in my thoughts," she retorted, as if it was a source of irritation. She had the widest smile possible, as she said it, though; there could be no doubt she was thinking of him fondly.
A startled sound escaped Yue as he nipped her lip, and kissed, down to her jaw. "If only you knew everything I was thinking," she replied, her voice teasing. She started to laugh again, the sound carefree and vividly happy. Yue seized the opportunity to admire Jianyu, before kissing his chest, and drawing the fingertips of one hand down from his neck to one side, where his hand rested on her hip. "Oh, I'm forbidden to move?" Yue asked, teasing.
"Of course you could count on me to be honest, I only ever say the complete and total truth," Yue asserted, fluttering her eyelashes and attempting a pout before grinning madly again. She lost her words once Jianyu told her what he was thinking. She couldn't move, because if she did, she would forget herself completely.
So Yue Lao remained still, her heartbeat as fast as it had ever been, and then some-- "We've got our whole lives to learn about each other, now, and.. could we? Drown in each other. I would like that. But I think you might spoil me..."
Yue gasped as he pressed his mouth to hers again, more fervently than before, it seemed. She kissed him back, with as much passion as he had shown her, losing what last inch of resolve she had-- so it was good, then, that he pulled away. The laughter in his eyes matched the drunken excitement in hers, and as he pulled her to her feet, she staggered slightly. The bloodrush nearly floored her.
She laughed as Jianyu pulled her towards the door, outside. It was beautiful. She stood in her bare feet on the cold ground, admiring the stars. They were so close. And there was the moon: keeping her company, this whole time. She had misunderstood the moon. It was not watching in order to judge. It was not stealing her secrets and locking them away. It was waiting for her, there. Waiting for her and her love, who lifted her up and spun her around. And Yue Lao shook with laughter, sending her joy sparking up into the night, so that the moon could share her happiness. Their happiness. For whatever one had felt, it was now magnified by the love of the other. "Where do you want to start first, my Fierce Warrior? The mountains, the plains, the jungles? I will kiss you anywhere," Yue replied, her earrings catching the soft light.
"Qian Jianyu, you are the brightest star I see tonight," Yue called up to the sky, and to her soon to be husband. She held on tightly, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then, relaxing a little, and growing suddenly tender, Yue leaned her head down and moved so her lips were brushing the edge of Jianyu's jaw. "Yu... I love you. I love you now, and I will love you even more when I am your wife. And even more when you're old, and cranky-- sorry, older and crankier," she corrected herself.
Outside their home, with the moon for company, Yue Lao dreamt of all that could be, would be, so long as she could return home to the one that she loved.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:33 pm
Outside the sky was a dusky dark, dark blue mixed with black and hints of velvety purple, the stars a stark, brightly beautiful contrast and the only light other than the distant lanterns that could be seen from the direction of Lunaria's Main Street. The scent of the sea spread out in front of them, the lush grass slid into fine sand twenty feet away, and there was the sound of the waves gently lapping the shore.
Jianyu hoisted Yue higher, his arms gripping her around the waist tightly to keep her from falling as they spun around, their laughter mixing and melting together, reverberating into the endless night. "Then kiss me everywhere," he called to her, and ducked his head, lips brushing her collarbone briefly before tossing his head back, face to the stars.
There was a snort of amusement, and Jianyu smirked up at Yue, feeling her legs move around his waist to steady herself. "We are quite ridiculous tonight, you realize this?" he told her, but his expression softened, feeling her mouth ghost over his jaw. It made his skin tingle, warm beneath her lips, and his heartbeat had slowed, calm and peaceful at the sound of her voice. It washed over him like a blanket, gentle and caring, and he slowly lowered her to the ground, lifting one of his hands to caress the side of her face.
"I can't wait to wake up to you every morning," he whispered softly, his fingers moving against her neck, brushing over her throat, flitting onto her collarbone before sliding over the smooth skin of her shoulder and back to delve into her hair. His hand worked for a few moments in the magenta strands, and then with a determined tug he pulled the fastenings loose, Yue's hair cascading down in shimmering waves. For a moment Jianyu stood there, just looking at her, and then a tender smile touched his face.
"And I can't wait until I am able to call myself your husband," he said, and kissed her, very gently. He pulled back after only a moment, resting his forehead against hers and moving both hands down to slip against her waist, tugging her towards him and linking his fingers together against the small of her back. A few beats passed; silence fell.
"Youngin," he whispered, then grinned, throwing Yue up into his arms again, spinning around so that the world turned into a blur around them. Dizzy and breathless, he staggered to a halt, laughing, his face and cheeks red, and tumbled to the grass below, pulling Yue with him. He lay on his back for a few moments, attempting to gather his breath, then turned his head to see Yue beside him.
Jianyu turned onto his side, drawing Yue into the circle of his arms, her back against his chest. It was growing late, nearer to midnight, and with the overwhelming events of the day finally drawing to a close, he had not realized how incredibly tired he was. Suppressing a yawn, he pushed his face into Yue's hair, inhaling her scent.
"Are you happy?" he asked her, feeling as though he should take her back to her home, but it was a beautiful night and he was winded from the excitement. A few more moments of relaxation would not hurt.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:57 pm
It was because of the way he held her that Yue Lao felt as though they could be invincible together. Her eyes sparkled at the double meaning of his reply, "I will, without a doubt, kiss you everywhere. It's going to take a long time, though," she cautioned. Everything was a blur of light. She had no idea what it might feel like to fly, except that if she could, she imagined it might be like this: the velvet sky alight, spinning, and a feeling of immense lightness as though if she wasn't held close she would drift into the sky like a lantern.
The smirk made Yue wrinkle her nose at him. "Speak for yourself," Yue said, "I've been trying to be ridiculous with you for ages. And actually, you were often more ridiculous than I was, come to think of it..." she trailed off, as if coming to some meaningful conclusion.
The ocean waves, close enough that she could hear them against the shore, and the grass rustling softly: she listened to these sounds, and Jianyu's heart, and his breathing, and the soft sound of his hair in the night breeze and felt some of the edge soften. She nuzzled into his hand, smiling gently, letting the night air cool her skin down. She sighed heavily. Every morning would be several mornings too few, if tonight was any indication of how much she wanted to be near him. "Soon, right?" she asked, a hint of pleading escaping into her voice. Her sincerity at wanting to be with him, wanting to wake up to him as she hadn't in a long time, in a context different from any other she had ever experienced.
She had closed her eyes again, admiring the sounds and the smells and the feelings, when she felt Jianyu reach behind her and undo her braid, freeing her hair. It rippled out around her, and she bit her own lip, as if holding something back. But it wasn't like that: she was feeling so much in that moment that she was incapable of expressing it. She felt like if she even tried, she would just become lost in the meaning. All she wanted to do was kiss him again, and again. Like she had been all night... but there had to be a cap on kisses, didn't there? Or she would gladly embrace sleep deprivation trying to figure out how long she could go just kissing him.
His hands against the small of her back only made her want to kiss him more, but she could feel that same passion which had nearly overwhelmed her earlier pressing in at the edges of her consciousness. It was held back only by sleep, and the tender sight of the night's soft glow illuminating Jianyu's features, the cloth across his face, the beads in his hair.
"You!" she laughed, as he spun her around until she couldn't even tell which way was up. She just knew to hold on, and then they were falling, and it really did feel like she would open her eyes to see they had fallen into the stars. She stretched out in the grass, keeping her eyes shut. If she didn't open them, morning couldn't come. She couldn't wake up. Not from a dream this good.
She nestled into his body, her back curving to fit his chest. She felt like sleep was threatening to take over, then, so she held on tightly, and made sure that he wasn't about to let go. "I am so happy that I don't even know what being happy means, any more. It's the kind of happy that I didn't know I could feel, because there had never been any reason to, before this and before you." Yue Lao smiled gently, and while he couldn't see it, her eyes brimmed with overwhelming affection. Love which had been cultivated in secret for so long, and was finally being allowed freedom.
"What about you, Fierce Warrior? Are you happy?" she asked him, her eyes growing very heavy. She made sure that she was as snug to him as possible, fitting her body against his so there would be no question of separation. Sleep was so close... she could reach it, if he would just keep holding on.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:15 pm
It was extraordinarily comfortable, lying there in the soft grass, the feel of Yue's warm, smaller body nestled against his own. Jianyu had one arm beneath her head, cushioning her, with his hand tucked beneath his own cheek. His other arm was wrapped securely around Yue's waist, every once in a while his thumb brushing absently against the bare skin above her pants. She fit there quite nicely, as if she had been meant to go there all along. Earlier his own thoughts had mirrored Yue's, delving deeper and deeper into something quite a bit more passionate, but they were both relaxed now, calm and secure beneath the open sky. It felt...liberating, almost, to lie out here - as if the world did not exist, as if the ongoing war between the Legionnaires and the Nobles was just a mere and distant memory.
"Soon." The delayed answer to Yue's earlier question was murmured into her hair as he lifted his hand, stroking back her bangs and tenderly kissing her forehead before settling back down. "Soon, my dearheart. Do not be so anxious. Soon enough I will be waking up every morning to find you in my arms, just like this."
And soon he would be able to call her his wife - Yue Lao, one of his closest and dearest friends of the past year, the woman with whom he had slowly and unknowingly fallen in love with. Yue Lao, who had been there to drag him out of the darkness following his split with Bataar, Yue who had slept by his bedside when he had been deathly ill, taken care of him and looked after him, Yue who had defended him that night even when she knew it might cost her her own life. How long had she loved him, Jianyu wondered, staring out across the sky to the stars above. How long had he made her suffer because of his ignorance and refusal to acknowledge what everyone else had seen? It was part of the reason why he had decided to propose straight out, rather than just confess his feelings. She had waited long enough; now he was finally able to return her feelings.
Jianyu felt strange and exhilarated, exhausted and unbelieving, surreal and amazing all simultaneously, and he had a feeling Yue's mind was filled with just as many convoluted thoughts. There would be a lot to plan, of course, but Jianyu did not want to wait too long to marry; neither one of them wished to spend months waiting, so it would be as soon as it could be arranged properly.
Yue's answer made him happy; as did the way she snuggled closer to him, and he tightened his hold, wanting to never let go. "I am more happy than you will ever know," was the whispered answer, breathed out quietly, so quietly it was barely audible. Jianyu's lashes flickered again. "Stay with me until the very end of time..."
His voice trailed off, eyes finally closing and with a small sigh escaping his lips, he drifted off into sleep.
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