[chance doesn't mean he has to put up with her - but while it may have led her to him, it didn't force him to let her stay. if he really was averse to her company, she hopes he would tell her to go.
since he hasn't...
she doesn't quite smile back - it's not really the sort of day for smiles - but she moves to join him, casting a glance toward the book he's closed before looking up at his face.]
[ for as polite as he can be - no, chang geng would let her down easy. but he doesn't mind her company right now.
when she looks, it's not something that you would expect to find in his hands, but... it looks like a fantasy book, of some kind. a romance novel, maybe, if the cover is anything to go by. his eyes crease a little in lieu of a true smile, when she looks back up at him. ]
Time with you is well spent either way, I've found. [ sincere, as he looks down at the book.
he brushes his thumb across the spine, absent, before leaning to place it down on the nearby table to their little corner. ] I found Miss Marie here, before, looking at a book like this one. I thought I would take a look at the genre that caught her eye.
she doesn't smile, exactly, but her expression does become a little softer. she follows his gaze back down to the book when he looks down at it, then watches him put it on the table.
fantasy, romance... that does sound like something the marie she knew would read.]
[ something seems a little far away, for a moment, as he thinks about the answer to that. thinks about marie, trapped in her own body, and what it reminds him of - of who it reminds him of, in some ways, from what he knows. thinks about marie at the end, of itsuki asking if it was her, or if it was wicked, and the way it felt like he was asking if there was really any difference at all.
and the girl that'd dropped the book like hot coals, as if she didn't want to be caught with it. whose hair he'd braided during a game of truth or dare. ]
... I enjoy reading, in general, but I'll admit that this wouldn't normally be my first choice. Something to give a chance, though. [ his eyes close for a moment, head tipping back again ] A romantic tale is worth hearing sometimes. But that might just be my sentimental opinion.
[romance... hm. tales are just that - tales. she's been miserable in her own marriage, and seen her mother miserable in hers - though that's not something chang geng will have seen yet.
her gaze falls on the book, and she looks a little pensive.
it's nice to think that there are happy endings out there. (she hopes her mother will find a much happier ending with a man she met after having divorced her father, but she doesn't expect to find a happier ending, herself.)
but maybe the tales are so popular because they're so rare in real life. everyone likes to read about what they can't have, don't they?]
...it would be nice if things ended the way they do in tales. "Happily ever after."
[ a twitch of a smile, albeit a small one, and chang geng hums a low, amused noise. but it's more humorless than anything else and his eyes are still closed. ]
Being swept off your feet and into a whirlwind romance, something to chase away the struggles and strife of the life you'd lived before meeting.
[ even without them sharing memories, even without talking about it, he can tell the sort of opinion that she has on the idea of happily ever after, at least to a point. and he agrees, in some ways.
but... ]
I can understand the appeal of the escapism, I suppose. [ especially for a girl trapped in her life, the way marie was. ] ... but escapism wasn't a luxury I could afford, and in some ways it still isn't, really.
[escapism isn't something that can be afforded is more relatable to her, honestly.
not just because of the danger she's been dealing with, but also because... well. it's nice, in a way, to think of being whisked away by someone who can take her away from all of her problems - but that just feels like running from them. she'd much rather face her problems head on and deal with them until they're not problems anymore.
but she knows that's not always possible.
for marie, maybe reading books with a happily ever after was the closest she could get. she doesn't know. and she's gone, now - so maybe she'll never know.
she sighs.]
...I'm not sure it's something any of us can afford, right now. But it would be nice if it was.
[ he looks at the book quietly, head lolled just a little to do so. but then he looks to jiuqing, a sort of understanding visible in his face, even though she hasn't said anything more than that.
there are things waiting for them, back home. there are things, here, that are waiting in the dark - in the color around them.
great liang waits for him, in the far distance from this place. his brother's inept rule, the looming threat of the westerners, the constant threat of the plains people - and the threat in his blood, the curse from the barbarians. nevermind the threat of murder, here.
he's the kind of person to find a solution to his problems. but the solutions here... they feel so far away. they really can't afford that sort of happiness, can they? ]
Love is hard work and something well-earned, when real, because you have built it up with the person - or, persons, I suppose in some cases - that you've come to love. It lasts for as long as you want it to.
And I think that's the nice part, when we can afford it.
she blinks, surprised, and looks over at him again - taking in the understanding in his expression. it's probably not something he's said simply for his own benefit. ...he's more sentimental than she expected, but maybe she shouldn't be so surprised; hadn't he just said that he had his own sentimental opinions before?
she smiles faintly, once the surprise wears off, and then looks down.]
I think perhaps, if there were more people who thought the way you do, there would be more love stories in the world that come true.
[ that makes him laugh a little, and he briefly brushes his arm against hers. it's still touch week, here, so a moment of contact. ]
I said I was guilty of being sentimental. [ in a way, anyways. but he sees the surprise, is why he says that, and then chang geng considers what she says. ]
... I traveled as much of Great Liang as I could, rather than staying in the capital where everyone wanted me to be kept with a smile on my face, their lost prince, all so I could learn about others and how to better help them. Cruelty exists - this place is ample example for that, and I have experienced it myself long before now - but I have met people who love with their whole hearts.
But so many others expect love to be easy from those stories. It's just that... life never is, for those that truly live it.
[it's nice to imagine that - seeing the world, seeing people who love fiercely, with their entire being.
she's started to see glimpses of it, here. people who can be trusted, who can be relied upon, who care for others and are cared about in return. it's perhaps a little too early to tell if those impressions are correct, and she can't help but be cautious as she proceeds, but -
she would like to believe in it. in them. in him, too.
her arm brushes briefly against his, in a return of the gesture. she feels comfortable here, talking with him, despite the topic. he has a way of setting her at ease.]
It's important to see things as they truly are, and not just as some sort of ideal. Cruelty exists, and it's common, but... it makes the people who can still love despite that all the more precious.
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no subject
since he hasn't...
she doesn't quite smile back - it's not really the sort of day for smiles - but she moves to join him, casting a glance toward the book he's closed before looking up at his face.]
...we don't have to talk, if you'd prefer not to.
[companionable silence is fine too.]
no subject
when she looks, it's not something that you would expect to find in his hands, but... it looks like a fantasy book, of some kind. a romance novel, maybe, if the cover is anything to go by. his eyes crease a little in lieu of a true smile, when she looks back up at him. ]
Time with you is well spent either way, I've found. [ sincere, as he looks down at the book.
he brushes his thumb across the spine, absent, before leaning to place it down on the nearby table to their little corner. ] I found Miss Marie here, before, looking at a book like this one. I thought I would take a look at the genre that caught her eye.
no subject
she doesn't smile, exactly, but her expression does become a little softer. she follows his gaze back down to the book when he looks down at it, then watches him put it on the table.
fantasy, romance... that does sound like something the marie she knew would read.]
...was it at all to your liking?
no subject
and the girl that'd dropped the book like hot coals, as if she didn't want to be caught with it. whose hair he'd braided during a game of truth or dare. ]
... I enjoy reading, in general, but I'll admit that this wouldn't normally be my first choice. Something to give a chance, though. [ his eyes close for a moment, head tipping back again ] A romantic tale is worth hearing sometimes. But that might just be my sentimental opinion.
no subject
[romance... hm. tales are just that - tales. she's been miserable in her own marriage, and seen her mother miserable in hers - though that's not something chang geng will have seen yet.
her gaze falls on the book, and she looks a little pensive.
it's nice to think that there are happy endings out there. (she hopes her mother will find a much happier ending with a man she met after having divorced her father, but she doesn't expect to find a happier ending, herself.)
but maybe the tales are so popular because they're so rare in real life. everyone likes to read about what they can't have, don't they?]
...it would be nice if things ended the way they do in tales. "Happily ever after."
no subject
Being swept off your feet and into a whirlwind romance, something to chase away the struggles and strife of the life you'd lived before meeting.
[ even without them sharing memories, even without talking about it, he can tell the sort of opinion that she has on the idea of happily ever after, at least to a point. and he agrees, in some ways.
but... ]
I can understand the appeal of the escapism, I suppose. [ especially for a girl trapped in her life, the way marie was. ] ... but escapism wasn't a luxury I could afford, and in some ways it still isn't, really.
no subject
not just because of the danger she's been dealing with, but also because... well. it's nice, in a way, to think of being whisked away by someone who can take her away from all of her problems - but that just feels like running from them. she'd much rather face her problems head on and deal with them until they're not problems anymore.
but she knows that's not always possible.
for marie, maybe reading books with a happily ever after was the closest she could get. she doesn't know. and she's gone, now - so maybe she'll never know.
she sighs.]
...I'm not sure it's something any of us can afford, right now. But it would be nice if it was.
no subject
there are things waiting for them, back home. there are things, here, that are waiting in the dark - in the color around them.
great liang waits for him, in the far distance from this place. his brother's inept rule, the looming threat of the westerners, the constant threat of the plains people - and the threat in his blood, the curse from the barbarians. nevermind the threat of murder, here.
he's the kind of person to find a solution to his problems. but the solutions here... they feel so far away. they really can't afford that sort of happiness, can they? ]
Love is hard work and something well-earned, when real, because you have built it up with the person - or, persons, I suppose in some cases - that you've come to love. It lasts for as long as you want it to.
And I think that's the nice part, when we can afford it.
no subject
she blinks, surprised, and looks over at him again - taking in the understanding in his expression. it's probably not something he's said simply for his own benefit. ...he's more sentimental than she expected, but maybe she shouldn't be so surprised; hadn't he just said that he had his own sentimental opinions before?
she smiles faintly, once the surprise wears off, and then looks down.]
I think perhaps, if there were more people who thought the way you do, there would be more love stories in the world that come true.
no subject
I said I was guilty of being sentimental. [ in a way, anyways. but he sees the surprise, is why he says that, and then chang geng considers what she says. ]
... I traveled as much of Great Liang as I could, rather than staying in the capital where everyone wanted me to be kept with a smile on my face, their lost prince, all so I could learn about others and how to better help them. Cruelty exists - this place is ample example for that, and I have experienced it myself long before now - but I have met people who love with their whole hearts.
But so many others expect love to be easy from those stories. It's just that... life never is, for those that truly live it.
no subject
she's started to see glimpses of it, here. people who can be trusted, who can be relied upon, who care for others and are cared about in return. it's perhaps a little too early to tell if those impressions are correct, and she can't help but be cautious as she proceeds, but -
she would like to believe in it. in them. in him, too.
her arm brushes briefly against his, in a return of the gesture. she feels comfortable here, talking with him, despite the topic. he has a way of setting her at ease.]
It's important to see things as they truly are, and not just as some sort of ideal. Cruelty exists, and it's common, but... it makes the people who can still love despite that all the more precious.