[He'd protest, though it would be more performative than feeling affronted at the insinuation-- Rinne didn't know a lot of people taller than him, so it's actually a pretty big deal when they are-- but the way he falls quiet has Rinne falling quiet too. After all, he already had an inkling about the truth, but he had kind of hoped that perhaps Hua Cheng would prove him wrong.
Figures he wouldn't. The thing Rinne dislikes most, is when his gut feeling is proven right, but he can't do anything about it.
He's lucky he isn't part-wolf anymore, or else he wouldn't have been able to mask his feelings about it. The ears had been too expressive, and one look at it and all of Rinne's masking is seen through. Here, he just huffs, reaching up to... smooth his hand over Hua Cheng's hair, in an attempt to comfort him. His grin is wide, in an attempt to keep cheerful, so that Hua Cheng doesn't feel down.]
That so? Guess he must've found a ticket outta here. Think he found a hole that drops him back home like a reverse Wonderland?
[ unfortunately for rinne, it's a tactic that's not especially likely to work on hua cheng... mostly because he doesn't actually feel down about feng xin being gone. so while he allows rinne to pet his hair, his brows draw together skeptically at the grin rinne affixes to his expression. ]
I don't know what that means. [ please rinne he's from like 400 ce what does he know about wonderland! ] You were close with him, no?
[ hua cheng pinches rinne's side lightly, not enough to hurt. he sees far too much of this in xie lian to allow rinne to get away with it too. ]
You don't have to pretend to be fine with it. It honors him to let yourself grieve his absence.
[ just because hua cheng doesn't, doesn't mean rinne isn't allowed to feel some kind of way. ]
[ rinne's huffing and puffing and messing up hua cheng's hair does little to convince him that he isn't right about what rinne's feeling.
after a second, hua cheng rolls them over so it's rinne on his back in the grass and hua cheng covering rinne's body with his own. rather than try to turn it sexy, though, hua cheng just lets himseslf become dead weight, using his bulk to pin rinne in place. ]
After all the years I've existed, do you think I haven't seen someone try to pretend they're fine before?
[He goes along with it, getting squashed under a hot guy wasn't the worst thing even if said hot guy was very much married and in love, and it wasn't like he was going to be running away from him.
Even if, technically, the question makes him want to.]
What does it look like? [ hua cheng grins back. ] Right now it looks like this: 10 cm shorter than me, red hair, laughs like 'kyahaha~'
[ godspeed to rinne trying to squirm out from under hua cheng to make his escape. the thing about hua cheng is that he's just as stubborn as rinne is, most especially when he's decided that he cares about someone—him being this obnoxious when rinne wants him to leave well enough alone is, in fact, a sign of how much regard hua cheng has for rinne.
but he also is not really the type to try to force someone to change their mind, especially because rinne strikes him as the type to only dig his heels in further when he's cornered. so instead of trying for reassurance, hua cheng just drops his head and blows an obnoxious raspberry against rinne's neck. ]
[ the fact that rinne is laughing as he sputters, rather than shouting in actual offense, tells hua cheng that he doesn't need to let up particularly soon. he does eventually allow himself to be pushed away, though, and submits to the retribution of rinne messing up his hair, making it fall down in front of his face in dark curtains. ]
Gross? [ he's faking offense, so overblown rinne should be able to tell even without seeing his face. ] You should consider yourself lucky I didn't treat you as the children of my time and stick my tongue in your ear.
[ between the mess of his hair and the way rinne has tucked the hanging strands of it behind hu cheng's pointed ears, he probably looks real goofy, but he's not mad at it. if anyone can get away with this kind of thing, it's rinne. ]
You of all people should appreciate the sanctity of an asshole.
[ hua cheng points this out pragmatically. rinne has like half the resort falling over him, he's sure that he could have his pick of suitors if he were serious about getting married. ]
Maybe it should be one of your criteria for choosing a partner.
[He says easily, shaking his head as he thinks about it. This time, he isn't able to meet his eyes, looking to the side as he goes quiet for a moment.
He had hoped he wouldn't be here for any longer than a month. Then a second one passed, a third, fourth, fifth-- a month he's forgotten, faces he stopped seeing... He tried to keep from talking about home when he could, and was succeeding at first when it was just Leo and him. The desire to hide stories started crumbling slowly with Hiyori, who did not have the same qualms as him about keeping his life back home separate from here. Rather, he never even tried to hide it, not unless Rinne tells him to.
And honestly, he gets homesick a lot. He was jealous of Hua Cheng, after all, who had his husband here.]
Maybe if he was here, I'd have gotten hitched as soon as I got the chance. Well, not like I'd have to anyway. He'd be happy bein' allowed to eat as much as he wants here.
[Marrying him had been Rinne's solution to making him happy, to provide him as much meals as he wants, and take care of him for the rest of his life.]
[ it is rare that rinne gives insights like this, glimpses into his thoughts and feelings, his life before the resort. he's more guarded than nearly anyone else hua cheng knows, he just hides it better, disguising it with a boisterous personality and loud laughter.
but because hua cheng is much the same, he recognizes it in rinne, and therefore recognizes what it means to be entrusted with even this much information about rinne's desires—his real desires, something he wants even outside the context of the resort and the obnoxious persona he's cultivated here. ]
I feel that I can't in good conscience wish him here for you, [ he says after a minute, thoughtful. ] But if he were here—I think you would be a good husband to him.
[He laughs, and there's sincerity there, an honest belief in his own words even as he closes his eyes. Ah, fuck, even just talking about this makes him feel emotional. Losing people here has been taking a toll on him more than he thought. Disappearing had bothered him more than he realized.
It was easy to say this to Hua Cheng. He had a feeling the guy understood this part of him, when they were similar in this respect.]
There's no one else who knows him better than I do. Ain't it the same for you?
[ hua cheng does understand. who else in the world knows xie lian better than he does? who else could hope to be a better husband that hua cheng, who has loved him so fiercely for so long? ]
Do you know of the mortal concept, the "honeymoon"?
Kinda. That's the thing you do after marriage, right?
[He gets the idea of it, found it to tickle a part of him that liked knowing what made the city smarter than the life he had back home. Marriages should be celebrated with love, and a honeymoon sounded like a perfect afterparty for that.]
We don't have that where I'm from, but I think it sounds like a good idea.
[ much for the same reasons rinne does: what better way to celebrate the loving union of two people than by going on a trip for just the two of them? ]
I was going to ask if you've thought of what you would do for yours.
Edited (gorl my formatting) 2024-07-18 02:46 (UTC)
That's understandable. [ hua cheng sighs dramatically. ] I imagine my role as the manager of Ghost City's gambling hall will be much less appealing after this experience, too.
[ no, honestly, he'll probably love it. just the fact of being back in ghost city with xie lian would make anything else all right, casino or no casino. ]
[ that makes hua cheng laugh aloud. how childish, to say that your dream honeymoon is to go on a food tour with someone and then immediately say you want to neither gamble nor go on the food tour... hua cheng has to admire how thick rinne's face is. ]
All right, then you can go on a food trip to your own kitchen with him.
[ he makes a quiet noise, thoughtful. ]
I wish he didn't have to be here. He hates this place, and it hurts me deeply to see him suffer and have no way to protect him. But—if he's to be here, I'm glad we're here together.
[He can understand hating the place, to an extent, Rinne does hate it too. He hates it for taking them here, making them bend to its whims, with false sweetness that was only thinly veiled threats. Having sex was just the sweet sugar for the poison, to make it easier to swallow. It annoys him how little he can influence any change.
But that was all on Rinne, for choosing to taunt and poke at the holes he can find. As far as he knew, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were the perfect image of a happy couple, even if Rinne knows better than to think that's all there is to it. Surely, they had their own problems.]
It isn't that something happened to him, it's just... he loathes this place so deeply. Every time I leave his side it feels like a betrayal. [ hua cheng sighs, then brings a hand up to rest against his forehead, closing his visible eye as if against the glare. ] Gege and I are both jealous lovers. It makes it difficult to accept the idea that anyone else touches him.
[ would that hua cheng could just burn this godsforsaken place to the ground and take xie lian back where he deserves to be, wrapped in silks and spoiled beyond belief in hua cheng's quarters in paradise city. ]
[He looks genuinely surprised at that, mostly because, well...]
How'd ya both decide to go and play the game, then? No offense, but the impression I got was ya seemed way too calm about it. 'Course, I didn't have anyone to compare ya with than myself that time.
[That time, implying this time he might have different thoughts. Well, not that surprising, given the time he spent with Hiyori, who was adamant about avoiding the game as much as possible while having a lover.]
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Figures he wouldn't. The thing Rinne dislikes most, is when his gut feeling is proven right, but he can't do anything about it.
He's lucky he isn't part-wolf anymore, or else he wouldn't have been able to mask his feelings about it. The ears had been too expressive, and one look at it and all of Rinne's masking is seen through. Here, he just huffs, reaching up to... smooth his hand over Hua Cheng's hair, in an attempt to comfort him. His grin is wide, in an attempt to keep cheerful, so that Hua Cheng doesn't feel down.]
That so? Guess he must've found a ticket outta here. Think he found a hole that drops him back home like a reverse Wonderland?
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I don't know what that means. [ please rinne he's from like 400 ce what does he know about wonderland! ] You were close with him, no?
[ hua cheng pinches rinne's side lightly, not enough to hurt. he sees far too much of this in xie lian to allow rinne to get away with it too. ]
You don't have to pretend to be fine with it. It honors him to let yourself grieve his absence.
[ just because hua cheng doesn't, doesn't mean rinne isn't allowed to feel some kind of way. ]
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[He whines loudly, and this time, he ruffles his impeccably nice hair until it's a mess, huffing.]
Ya think ya got me figured out, Sanrara?
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[ rinne's huffing and puffing and messing up hua cheng's hair does little to convince him that he isn't right about what rinne's feeling.
after a second, hua cheng rolls them over so it's rinne on his back in the grass and hua cheng covering rinne's body with his own. rather than try to turn it sexy, though, hua cheng just lets himseslf become dead weight, using his bulk to pin rinne in place. ]
After all the years I've existed, do you think I haven't seen someone try to pretend they're fine before?
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Even if, technically, the question makes him want to.]
Oh? What does it look like?
[As predicted, he deflects, grinning up at him.]
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[ godspeed to rinne trying to squirm out from under hua cheng to make his escape. the thing about hua cheng is that he's just as stubborn as rinne is, most especially when he's decided that he cares about someone—him being this obnoxious when rinne wants him to leave well enough alone is, in fact, a sign of how much regard hua cheng has for rinne.
but he also is not really the type to try to force someone to change their mind, especially because rinne strikes him as the type to only dig his heels in further when he's cornered. so instead of trying for reassurance, hua cheng just drops his head and blows an obnoxious raspberry against rinne's neck. ]
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What the hell, Sanrara!? Gross!
[He's retaliating by messing his long locks instead. Hope he's ready to be Sadako instead.]
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Gross? [ he's faking offense, so overblown rinne should be able to tell even without seeing his face. ] You should consider yourself lucky I didn't treat you as the children of my time and stick my tongue in your ear.
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[He laughs, a hearty, breathy one, even as he reaches up to part his hair away from his face to see it, tucking the strands behind Hua Cheng's ear.]
Most kids I know stick their fingers up yer ass instead.
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[ between the mess of his hair and the way rinne has tucked the hanging strands of it behind hu cheng's pointed ears, he probably looks real goofy, but he's not mad at it. if anyone can get away with this kind of thing, it's rinne. ]
You of all people should appreciate the sanctity of an asshole.
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[He points out, as though that really was a problem.]
Well, not like I know if my bride would want it either.
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[ hua cheng points this out pragmatically. rinne has like half the resort falling over him, he's sure that he could have his pick of suitors if he were serious about getting married. ]
Maybe it should be one of your criteria for choosing a partner.
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[He says easily, shaking his head as he thinks about it. This time, he isn't able to meet his eyes, looking to the side as he goes quiet for a moment.
He had hoped he wouldn't be here for any longer than a month. Then a second one passed, a third, fourth, fifth-- a month he's forgotten, faces he stopped seeing... He tried to keep from talking about home when he could, and was succeeding at first when it was just Leo and him. The desire to hide stories started crumbling slowly with Hiyori, who did not have the same qualms as him about keeping his life back home separate from here. Rather, he never even tried to hide it, not unless Rinne tells him to.
And honestly, he gets homesick a lot. He was jealous of Hua Cheng, after all, who had his husband here.]
Maybe if he was here, I'd have gotten hitched as soon as I got the chance. Well, not like I'd have to anyway. He'd be happy bein' allowed to eat as much as he wants here.
[Marrying him had been Rinne's solution to making him happy, to provide him as much meals as he wants, and take care of him for the rest of his life.]
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but because hua cheng is much the same, he recognizes it in rinne, and therefore recognizes what it means to be entrusted with even this much information about rinne's desires—his real desires, something he wants even outside the context of the resort and the obnoxious persona he's cultivated here. ]
I feel that I can't in good conscience wish him here for you, [ he says after a minute, thoughtful. ] But if he were here—I think you would be a good husband to him.
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[He laughs, and there's sincerity there, an honest belief in his own words even as he closes his eyes. Ah, fuck, even just talking about this makes him feel emotional. Losing people here has been taking a toll on him more than he thought. Disappearing had bothered him more than he realized.
It was easy to say this to Hua Cheng. He had a feeling the guy understood this part of him, when they were similar in this respect.]
There's no one else who knows him better than I do. Ain't it the same for you?
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[ hua cheng does understand. who else in the world knows xie lian better than he does? who else could hope to be a better husband that hua cheng, who has loved him so fiercely for so long? ]
Do you know of the mortal concept, the "honeymoon"?
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[He gets the idea of it, found it to tickle a part of him that liked knowing what made the city smarter than the life he had back home. Marriages should be celebrated with love, and a honeymoon sounded like a perfect afterparty for that.]
What about it?
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[ much for the same reasons rinne does: what better way to celebrate the loving union of two people than by going on a trip for just the two of them? ]
I was going to ask if you've thought of what you would do for yours.
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[He says without hesitation, because well-- yeah. That's definitely it.]
And goin' to every casino I can get into. Ain't that the best~?
... Well, at least, that was my original plan. Being here made it less appealing.
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[ no, honestly, he'll probably love it. just the fact of being back in ghost city with xie lian would make anything else all right, casino or no casino. ]
But you can still go on your food trip.
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[What a childish answer, and he knows it does, but he's stubborn like that.]
And I want it from the best chef I know. Uuugh, it annoys me everytime I think it, but yer so lucky ya got Habibi with ya.
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All right, then you can go on a food trip to your own kitchen with him.
[ he makes a quiet noise, thoughtful. ]
I wish he didn't have to be here. He hates this place, and it hurts me deeply to see him suffer and have no way to protect him. But—if he's to be here, I'm glad we're here together.
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[He can understand hating the place, to an extent, Rinne does hate it too. He hates it for taking them here, making them bend to its whims, with false sweetness that was only thinly veiled threats. Having sex was just the sweet sugar for the poison, to make it easier to swallow. It annoys him how little he can influence any change.
But that was all on Rinne, for choosing to taunt and poke at the holes he can find. As far as he knew, Hua Cheng and Xie Lian were the perfect image of a happy couple, even if Rinne knows better than to think that's all there is to it. Surely, they had their own problems.]
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It isn't that something happened to him, it's just... he loathes this place so deeply. Every time I leave his side it feels like a betrayal. [ hua cheng sighs, then brings a hand up to rest against his forehead, closing his visible eye as if against the glare. ] Gege and I are both jealous lovers. It makes it difficult to accept the idea that anyone else touches him.
[ would that hua cheng could just burn this godsforsaken place to the ground and take xie lian back where he deserves to be, wrapped in silks and spoiled beyond belief in hua cheng's quarters in paradise city. ]
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[He looks genuinely surprised at that, mostly because, well...]
How'd ya both decide to go and play the game, then? No offense, but the impression I got was ya seemed way too calm about it. 'Course, I didn't have anyone to compare ya with than myself that time.
[That time, implying this time he might have different thoughts. Well, not that surprising, given the time he spent with Hiyori, who was adamant about avoiding the game as much as possible while having a lover.]
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