in their blinding brightness
Truly sporadic tidbits from Ling and Lan Fanās life after the events of darlingĀ (in which time travel happens, lots ofĀ āitās about the Yearningā, and immortality is once again a subject of great contention) that not a Single Soul asked for except Me AKA some fluff for your tears, which Iām not sorry for
Their first kiss happens pretty naturally and nicely. Ling comes back from his first outing without Lan Fan and heās over the moon about this place on the corner with options for food from the past and the future (time travels pretty commonplace now) and he got to eat potstickers that were sold back when they were kids
He gives Lan Fan a whole box of tĆ”ng Ēu and when he holds it out beaming with food on his face she realizes hes eaten like half of it (its all over his face) and bursts out laughing like. The first full-bellied laugh shes had since they reunited
And before she knows it Lingās gotten much closer to her and the box of tĆ”ng Ēu is on the table behind her and hes holding her face in his hands, all awkwardness gone, and his eyes tell her that in his long new uncertain life there is one thing he knows better than his own heartbeat
āCan I kiss you?ā āYesā
Sheād never been one to refuse him.
In retrospect she shouldāve asked him to wipe his face first bc now both their faces are sticky with tĆ”ng Ēu OOP-
Ling is very physically affectionate
Iām talking grabbing her hands and playing with her fingers, tucking his head into her neck any chance he gets, showering kisses, laying his head on her stomach or lap, arm always in contact with some part of her body when theyre out
He finds that shes Very ticklish on her collarbone so naturally he LOVES to nip her there the most
Turnabouts fair play when she impulsively runs her mouth over the curve of his ear and he literally jumps so hard he almost falls off their couch and she cries laughing
Every night theyll pass out curled up (u bet ur ass they alternate being big/little spoon) but every damn morning you see Lan Fan in a fetal position while Lingās starfished over or under her
Years of living pretty much on her own made Lan Fan a Really Good Cook and her scallion pancakes are to DIE FOR and Ling can never get enough
They visit the palace again at some point (its turned into like a Forbidden City-esque tourist attraction) and Are Those fucking assholes that point out how inaccurate the information is to the poor tour guide hologram like fight me on this
Ling cries laughing when he realizes Meiās descendants had donated āauthentic historical documentsā about his reign that were really just āno uā notes he passed back and forth with Mei at important meetings written overly lyrical and pedantic to avoid detection
Most of the buildings are too weak now but when they finally ditch their guide Lan Fan manages to find the alcove in the Emperorās quarters where she used to perch and guard Ling and for a moment theyre brought back in time without a machine, back to long nights of tired eyes and heavy shoulders, stretching out qi to meet each otherās, reminding themselves of what theyre working for
They almost get busted for trespassing because youre not actually allowed that deep in the buildings but even state of the art security systems dont manage to catch them: the Emperor and his shadow
Shes cycled through jobs over time but when Ling stays Lan Fanās working at a dojo teaching self-defense and martial arts; she changes to part time when shes helping Ling adjust again but shes racked up so much in the thousands and thousands of years and their friends n family made sure to leave so much for them through the generations that even with inflation moneys never going to be an issue
Neither of them can go back to this one real fancy restaurant like iām talking spinning 360 view on top of one of the tallest fucking buildings in the capital with individual scenery selections for each booth type deal that he took Lan Fan to because he got into it with a kid sitting behind them and accidentally on purpose started a food fight that ended up w all the children there absolutely CHUCKING their roast lamb across the room
Parents: horrified, Waiters: distressed, Gremlins: absolutely hogwild = Ling and Lan Fan try to be forcibly removed but wow ok you two look so goddamn intimidating suddenly in your fancy fucking fits oh hold up are youre wearing LIMITED EDITION BRANDS are politely asked to leave after their meal, of course
They pay for all the damage plus extra tips and enough food to feed everyone in the restaurant before they go but Lan Fans still red in the face and refuses to let Lingās hands cop any kind of feel in the car
āWe shouldve just stayed in oh my godā āYouve been stressed lately I wanted to do something for you!!!ā āSo you started a fight with a child for me??ā āOk aside from the fact that the lil shit was asking for it, you JOINED INā āThat was an accident I was aiming for youā āāAccidentā my whole ass I heard you snort when the green bean hit his earā
She drives them to a bar and chugs a whole bottle of bĆ”i jĒu while Lingās like. Trying to get her to leave bc theyre covered in food but is also simultaneously wheedling the bartender for some ramen bc hes STILL HUNGRY and everyone in the bar is 924985798% done like oh my fuckiNG GOD GO HOME
They dont really legally get married since technically theyre supposed to be long dead and they dont care that much about making it Official. Instead they do it the old-fashioned way; they bring some food and put on nice clothes and visit Fu
Ling takes a knee in front of it all serious and formally apologizes for breaching master-bodyguard etiquette/boundaries. And for not asking for permission before deciding to spend the rest of his life with Lan Fan
And especially, he apologizes for the time it took, the years she protected him and followed him and waited for him, the pain he caused her before Al brought the time machine and after, the sacrifices shes never really stopped making. Because she was expected to, and by no one more than Fu, but she is his pride and his heart and Fu wouldve fought things worse than Bradley for her. Even if that turned out to be their prince. And Ling may well be worse, because he is still too greedy and he knows it. So he says one last apology because, even if Fu likely thinks now that hes too much of a selfish bastard for his granddaughter, Ling never wants to be apart from her again.
Lan Fan knows at this point he isnt speaking only to Fu and knows that Ling knows this was the only way she would ever have heard out his apologies but. She feels the tears on her face for him, her beautiful boy, and for herself. When the wind washes over them it smells like persimmons; they think that might be Fus answer.
sorry not sorry for any Extra Tears there i definitely have More Of Theseā¢ but i already have to put the translations under a read more so
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