|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 3:14 pm
[follows the one who knows the melody]
Things were mostly quiet, when Huanxi returned home with his zheng carefully cradled in his arms. He wasn't necessarily surprised by that--nor was he surprised to step into the living room and find Lianli, a tray of tea, and Taotao all waiting for him.
At least he hadn't been gone too long--at least, he didn't think so. It was hard to judge time, when he'd been so deep in thought and consideration, and had taken so much time to carefully examine his zheng in the hopes of determining how to fix it.
"Apologies," he said, "for leaving without explanation." Even as he said it, though, he smiled, warm and fond. Yes, this was home--the place where he belonged. His world was important. He would fix it. But Earth--and Lianli--had welcomed him, and he would not leave that behind, either.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 5:36 pm
Liánlí hadn’t noticed immediately that Huanxi had disappeared somewhere. After he’d given Taotao her dinner earlier, he’d gotten focused on editing a new video for his channel—the second half of a pair of new covers. In the first video, he’d done Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” perfectly as written, pronouns and everything left as she’d made them. In this video, though, he had committed the arguable sin of changing various gendered signifiers—but only to make the central lovers an M/M couple.
(Most of the song hadn’t needed any changing, really. Slight tweaks in a couple lines—“with his arms out like an angel through the car sun roof” here and “you can kiss a hundred girls in bars” there. He’d had the most trouble with the bridge, but Liánlí liked what he’d ultimately settled on: “When you think about me and you’re missing your boy / With your head in your hands, you’re nothing more than her toy.”
It wasn’t exactly the same? But Liánlí thought he’d done an okay job translating the original lyrics and intent from an F/F couple dealing with compulsory heterosexuality into an M/M couple dealing with the same.)
Still, when he’d decided to emerge from editing to look into heating up some People Dinner, Huanxi hadn’t been around. He’d seemed a bit out of sorts earlier today, too. Hadn’t entirely explained why, and Liánlí had felt torn between wanting to ask and wanting to let Huan-ge have space to just feel what he felt, even if maybe it wasn’t happy. Finding Huanxi gone had made Liánlí concerned, but he didn’t think that Huanxi had been in the odd sort of mood where he’d go patrolling by himself or something dangerous like that.
With so many recent visits to space, though, between going to Kaifeng’s Wonder with him on the regular and being invited to visit Muri’s home-world……maybe Huanxi had gone to his own world? If he had, then Liánlí thought it made sense that he’d gone alone. The Chaos on Helene might have posed a serious danger to anyone else who’d gone with him and Huan-ge was always diligent about trying to reduce the risk to others.
When he finally returned, the tea was still hot. Looking up from where he and Taotao were snuggling on the couch, Liánlí smiled softly. “I figured you wouldn’t have done anything too dangerous on your own,” he said fondly, his face shifting into perplexed blinking when he saw the broken zither in Huanxi’s arms. “Is that……your old zheng? The one Xingyi-ge liked to paint you playing?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 6:34 pm
Huanxi nodded. It was good that Lianli knew not to worry too much; he wasn't like many Senshi and Knights he'd known, reckless and constantly charging into things that were far beyond him.
"Still, I do not wish to cause you unnecessary worry," he said, and he moved over to the couch, taking a seat near Lianli and Taotao, who looked quite pleased to see him.
"It is," he said, and he carefully set it on his lap, letting Lianli see the extent of the damange. "When he died, I...." He exhaled. "You told me the story of the word you use for us. Zhiyin. I too know what it means, to never wish to play again because the one who understood your song in its truest form is gone." His eyes lingered on the crack, the cut strings--Lianli would understand, he was sure, without him having to say it.
But they drifted up to Lianli.
"But there is someone I would play for again," he said, "and I wished to ask....is there somewhere I might work to repair this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 9:59 pm
“I appreciate that, Huan-ge,” Lianli said while Taotao rolled and stretched so that she was all laid out between them, rubbing her little head against Huanxi’s thigh and leaving her tummy open for belly-rubs (which Lianli was quick to ensure that she got, it was the way of being a Dog Dad). “And for what it’s worth, I try to avoid unnecessarily worrying you, too.”
That sort of thing had been one of those little ideas about love that Huang Zhihao had always hated while railing against the notion of romantic love. The thought of changing your behavior for someone else’s sake, he’d decried as a form of censorship and something that nobody should ever have needed to deal with. Something that nobody deserved to have in their life. He liked to claim that he never wanted to like anybody enough to damage his integrity like that.
But now, listening to Huanxi explain what had happened, looking into Huanxi’s eyes as he said that he wanted to play for Lianli…… Warmth flushed through his chest, and pink flooded his cheeks as he briefly ducked his chin. To be treasured like that, to have the chance to love and be loved in return. Truly, this was the Best s**t.
“Yeah, of course we can find a place for that,” Lianli said, reaching over to gently tuck some hair behind one of Huanxi’s ears. “There are a couple of good places in town that will have the right kind of strings. Specialty music stores. And what sort of work do you think you’ll need to do to fix the body? We definitely have space around here.… The shed by the garden is actually pretty spacious. We might need to tidy up a little bit, there are gardening tools and all that? But if that’s the kind of space you might need, you’ll have me to help with handling that.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 10:11 pm
Taotao was so charmingly requesting pets, it was impossible to deny her, so Huanxi shifted his zheng so he could rest it on one arm and the arm of the couch, and thus reach over and bestow affection upon the Best Girl.
A soft smile and a nod were his only answer to Lianli; he knew. His zhiyin would never have let him worry on purpose. Neither of them would do something like that, impose pain with no reason on the other.
It was good, to love and to be loved. To know that safety and security existed in another person.
And to know that any projects one intended to undertake would be supported, fully and wholeheartedly.
"Will certainly need to repair the lacquer; will only know how deep the crack goes with more detailed examination, but hope that it is only in the finish and has not made it down to the wood itself. If it has, will have to determine how deep and acquire appropriate sealant to repair it. Need new strings, and to clean up the inlays, but those are easy enough. It will take time, and care, but...yes, the garden shed will do nicely, as a space."
It was getting into the season where they wouldn't need the tools stored there for some time, anyway; it would make a fine workspace for this particular project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 11:18 pm
Lianli nodded, listening carefully to all the necessary work as Huanxi laid it out. Everything he said made perfect sense. Even if it was a lot of work that would require great care, having the list of tasks they needed to complete made the task of repairing Huan-ge’s zheng feel so much more tangible, therefore surmountable.
“We can start on it all in the morning, then,” Lianli said with an adoring smile. “Examine the body. Research on what kind of lacquers, woods, and strings might best emulate what you had on Helene. Tidy up the shed so you have enough space to work.” He reached for the hand that was giving Taotao pets, settling his own hand beside Huanxi’s so that both of them were giving the Best Girl the affection that she desired, but the sides of their hands could still nudge up against each other. “And when your zheng is repaired, I’ll want to hear anything and everything that you want to play.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
