Work Text:
After Ming Jing is killed in the attack on the train station, the official funeral for the head of the Ming Corporation takes nearly two weeks to arrange. It is complicated by the fact that Ming Lou has to navigate an investigation into how she died, and construct a cover-up about his and Ah Cheng's movements that night. At the same time, there are lingering Japanese suspicions about her political sympathies to allay, a new representative of Japanese military intelligence to handle, and Shanghai's economy demanding endless reassurance about the fate of the Ming Corporation's holdings.
In the end, it takes Ming Lou losing his temper entirely at the senior members of the new government, threatening to resign if her body isn't released. The best lies are mostly the truth, so he lets himself experience a few moments of honest rage and grief in front of them, thundering about the delays, pleading to be able to send his sister off respectfully. Ah Cheng is pulling at his arm the entire time, apologising to the officials in the room, begging Ming Lou to calm down. When the new government finally agrees, Ming Lou lets Ah Cheng pull him out of the conference room and into a bathroom. Ming Lou leans over a sink, splashing water on his face while Ah Cheng holds his shoulders.
It doesn't matter what happened in there, he tells himself. It worked.
The funeral itself is a sombre, respectful farce. The Japanese pretend to appreciate the cooperation she never gave them. Businessmen praise her financial acumen, when they have only ever despised having to make deals with a woman. Shanghai's elite -- some of whom are Communists, some of whom are KMT, but most of whom are loyal only to power and money -- drink champagne and eat canapés, accompanied by mournful cello and watched closely by bristling Japanese guards. Ming Lou, for once, ignores them all.
When they get home from the funeral, he retreats gratefully to his study. He sits down heavily and puts his head in his hands. Ah Cheng hands him his pills and then sits down next to him, slowly, as if everything hurts -- which it probably does.
Ah Cheng tips his head back and closes his eyes. Ming Lou swallows the pills and tips his own head back.
Ah Xiang comes in with tea. Her eyes are red and swollen again. She gently sets the tea down in front of them and leaves, closing the door softly behind her.
Ming Lou reaches over and brushes his fingers against Ah Cheng's. Ah Cheng tangles his own fingers in with his.
"Hotel or apartment?" Ming Lou asks quietly.
They have never needed to use a lot of words with one another. "Apartment," Ah Cheng says, and his voice is a bit hoarse. "Less complicated."
"Fuyou Road or Guangdong Road?" They have at least a dozen apartments, safe houses and meeting places throughout Shanghai, but only two are places where a high-ranked government advisor like Ming Lou might choose to live -- owned by the Ming family, in respectable neighbourhoods close to the financial district.
"Guangdong Road," Ah Cheng says, eyes still closed. "Higher up. Better lines of sight. Easier to secure. Multiple exit points."
Ming Lou sits up a little and turns to face him. "Ah Cheng, are you sure?" he says gently, and brushes his fingers against Ah Cheng's temple. "An apartment with no housekeeping will only add to our workload."
"I don't care if I have to do all of the cooking and cleaning myself." Ah Cheng leans slowly over until his forehead is resting on Ming Lou's shoulder. "I'm sick of worrying about who might walk in."
Ming Lou brings his arms up around him and leans back with him until they are lying down on the sofa, Ah Cheng's head resting on his chest. Ming Lou lets his fingers trail through Ah Cheng's, short, soft hair, losing himself in the feel of it. After a while, he feels the wetness of Ah Cheng's tears seeping through his shirt.
He suspects Ah Cheng feels his own tears, wherever they are falling. The truth is, they are not going to stay in this house because without Ming Jing and Ming Tai, the Ming family has lost both its head and its heart. The house will no longer ring with Ming Tai's bedlam or Ming Jing's devoted fretting and scolding. What is now left of the Ming family are the two brothers who are going to put country before family. They are going to abandon the Ming family home and businesses, and retreat to a more defensible position.
Ming Jing was always determined that the Ming family would survive the war, like it had survived everything else. She stayed in Shanghai to defend the family's interests while sending her brothers overseas, trying to keep them all as far from the war as possible. Ming Lou understands now that unlike soldiers, who go to war, and civilians, who are affected by war, he and Ah Cheng are the war. They have woven the war into their days, their lives, their identities. They have invited the war to take up residence inside them. They carry the war with them, no matter where they go.
Despite Ming Jing's best efforts and sacrifices, Ming Lou brought the war into the Ming family. He is responsible for what it has wreaked here.
The way their lives are, they don't often stop, or even slow down to take a breath. The afternoon after the funeral, they just lie there, breathing together, hearts hurting, in the still and unnatural quiet of their former home.