The other day I was discussing AUs wherein the chosen POV characters speak different languages than one another with @starshinegoblin, and though I'm mentally dragging, it's been a rather persistent plot bunny and it's been too long since I've had JiuYuan thoughts worth anything, SO -
(As a whole, the AU is a bit vague. Is it a full language barrier or a lack of skill to understand, such as one being deaf and the other unable to speak sign language? Valid options both, I think, but for this particular idea I'm moving towards a weirder option.)
Canon-wise, Shen Jiu destroyed the Qiu family when he was fifteen, though in AUs I tend to make him suffer in there longer. In this case, he's pushing marriable age and Qiu Jianluo's possessiveness over his sister (and his hatred/abuse of Shen Jiu) are ramping up. I feel Shen Jiu tried to fight back One Time, and in response Qiu Jianluo actually got some understanding of how far Shen Jiu will go to destroy his abuser, so for further security over his household and over the servants (and the slaves in particular), he casts a spell that anyone within the house lose the ability to understand their fellows of the same social class. As the slaves very rarely leave the household, this is most effective on Shen Jiu, which was the whole point anyway.
Suddenly Shen Jiu can only understand spoken commands by those deemed superior to him, and his suffering intensifies. He is reduced to a beaten doll about to burst from simmering rage.
Shen Yuan comes in as some nobody NPC that is a fresh, new domestic slave in the Qiu household. He too is put under the same spell, so by the time he's paired with Shen Jiu to shadow and learn how to keep house, they are unable to speak to each other words they can comprehend.
Shen Yuan surprises Shen Jiu by his willingness to talk to him with hand gestures and badly drawn pictures. It's such an honest effort that Shen Jiu starts paying attention to this odd slave who has clearly never washed a floor before. The long days are filled with unexpected warmth and fun, dare he say it, even if he's mostly amused at Shen Yuan's general fail at common cleaning skills. Still, Shen Yuan learns, and he learns fast, and somewhere in the evenings, when all they have is candlelight between them and fumbling fingers drawing words in the air, a true connection is made.
For Shen Yuan, he knows how this story ends. Shen Jiu - his sharp, quick witted, so angry Shen Jiu - will kill every man in the house and set it on fire. If Shen Yuan can't find a way to free them, he's gonna be burnt to a crisp! But of course, this villain is far more human than he was expecting, more complex and heartbroken. Under that rage is a person, a real person, and the more Shen Yuan uncovers it, the more tender his heart feels.
For Shen Jiu, it's far more confusing. He's already made peace with the fact that his sexuality is Fucked. He wants only men, but hates men, fears men, is revolted by men. Somewhere between all the abuse and listening to Qiu Haitang plan their wedding, his sexuality just... died. This life wasn't a life meant to feel anything but pain and resignment. He'd be a slave even in his marriage, and while she would treat him better, he couldn't muster up more than a brotherly feeling to her.
Then there's this idiot, this passionate, funny, smiling idiot who looks at Shen Jiu like he's a living, breathing, feeling being, like he's not something stuck to Qiu Jianluo's boot. He's frustrating, puzzling, amusing, and adorably stupid. Sometimes, when their eyes meet, Shen Yuan smiles so wide and guileless like some fairytale prince come to life, and maybe they can't speak, but their quiet efforts say more than enough. Shen Jiu looks at him and finds himself suddenly wondering. What if life was more than pain and fire and blood? What if it was warmth and sweetness and something tangible? Something he could see and experience and... keep?
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