[Fic] carve our names into the sun (Word of Honor)
- Fandom: Word of Honor
- Pairing: Wen Kexing/Zhou Zishu
- Tags: Wenzhou Challenge 2021
- Word-Count: 924
- Status: Status
- First Published: 2021-11-20
- Disclaimer: I do not own 山河令 | Word of Honor and make no profit from this—it is solely a hobby for fun, with no financial compensation.
Summary:
The ring is placed on the shabby table by a small child barely able to reach the top. He carefully nudges the ring onto it, inch by inch, and the image is amusing enough to make Zhou Zishu smile slightly. The child giggles when the clearly homemade ring is squarely on the table and, well, it is pretty. It's made of strings braided together, a collection of different colors interwoven. It's not particularly well-made; probably the product of the child itself or someone they know. But it's pretty.
And maybe he wants to see Lao Wen's reaction when he receives it.
Notes:
Wenzhou Challenge 2021: Day 19 - Rings
Work Text:
It's nothing special, is the thing.
Zhou Zishu sees it at a roadside stall in a small village while he's loitering around, watching the villagers in silence. The sun rose a good hour ago, and he's just waiting for Lao Wen to return.
The ring is placed on the shabby table by a small child barely able to reach the top. He carefully nudges the ring onto it, inch by inch, and the image is amusing enough to make Zhou Zishu smile slightly. The child giggles when the clearly homemade ring is squarely on the table and, well, it is pretty. It's made of strings braided together, a collection of different colors interwoven. It's not particularly well-made; probably the product of the child itself or someone they know. But it's pretty.
And maybe he wants to see Lao Wen's reaction when he receives it.
Zishu waits for the child to turn around before he smiles at them and approaches. "It's a very pretty ring," he says. The child beams, proudly showing off a missing tooth. Zishu makes a humming noise and asks, "how much do you want for it?"
The child scrunches up their nose. Then they hold up three fingers. "You drive a hard bargain," Zishu says, but he pulls the money out of his sleeve. The child's eyes widen and they turn to the table, jumping up repeatedly and slapping it until their hand lands on the ring.
They present the ring to him grinning. Zishu hands over the money, the ring carelessly dropped onto his hand. Instantly, the child is sprinting away, the money held tightly to their chest. Zishu watches them go for a moment, then begins to study his new ring.
Up close, it doesn't look any different. The braided strings are tightly woven and shouldn't come loose easily. Zishu leans back against the wall as he silently resumes his waiting, twirling the ring around his little finger.
Lao Wen takes another hour before he finally returns, the sun having had time to change positions yet again. Zishu pretends he can't see him, stays still as he waits for the other man to reach him. "A'Xu!" Lao Wen calls, and Zishu can hear the smile in his voice.
He pulls the ring off his finger and curls his hand around it. "Yes," he raises an eyebrow at Lao Wen.
Lao Wen pouts, "I missed you~" he whines and drapes himself over Zishu's back. Zishu rolls his eyes and begins to walk. Lao Wen, as expected, doesn't let go.
As they're leaving the village, Zishu holds out his hand, fist closed. Only when Lao Wen makes a curious noise does he open his fist. "For you," Zishu says.
"A'Xu..." Lao Wen's voice is soft. His body is warm against Zishu's, a searing heat along his side. Sometimes, Zishu feels like he can drown in it.
Raising an eyebrow when Lao Wen doesn't take it, Zishu asks, "What? You don't want it?" He's not really sure what to do with it in that case. Maybe give it to Zhang Chengling?
But Lao Wen's hand grabs the ring, quick as a snake. "A'Xu!" Lao Wen cries, pulling the ring to his chest. Childishly, he says, "This is mine now, you can't steal it from me!"
"Oh, is that so?" Zishu drawls.
"It is," Lao Wen declares. The burst of joy Zishu feels is just as unexpected as always, a warmth spreading from his chest until it envelops him entirely. He sways with it, an instinctive attempt to get closer to his love.
It's almost cruel, he thinks, how easily Lao Wen does this to him.
But he doesn't dislike it.
Zishu turns to Lao Wen, curls his arm around the other's waist, and leans in. "Will you thank me for your lovely gift, Lao Wen?" he asks, pressing his head to Wen Kexing's shoulder and delighting in the shudder he can feel in the other's body. He wants to bask in this feeling, in this closeness. Wants to curl around it and pull it close, bury it in his chest where no-one else will ever be able to see it. Wants to drown in it, and smother in it, and surround himself so thoroughly that his entire being is just this.
"My A'Xu's gifts are the best," Lao Wen says, a slight hitch to his breath. Zishu smiles into his zhiji's shoulder. Wen Kexing turns his face to meet Zishu's, and Zishu smiles, staying still, waiting. And Lao Wen's eyes glitter in the sunlight, painted lips smiling softly.
The kiss is soft, barely a kiss at all. It is quick and fleeting, and it makes his stomach flutter madly. Zishu sighs into it, lets his body relax against Wen Kexing's, feels Lao Wen's hand curl gently over his neck. He breathes, and he lives, and he falls apart. It is an avalanche, a flood, the sunlight on a midday walk. It is a creature made of blood and bone, of mud and twigs, hollowing out his chest and making a home there.
They let go, and Zishu pulls back enough to walk steadily. The road ahead is long, and he doesn't know where he's going.
But Lao Wen is with him. Lao Wen, who's fitting the ring onto different fingers to figure out which one it fits best on. Lao Wen, who smiles so proudly when he pulls it on one and it stays put. Lao Wen, whose eyes are gentle every time they look at Zishu.
Wen Kexing, whom Zishu loves.
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