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It was a painfully long day for Xiaoyan. Endless meetings with nations spouting the same nonsense that she’s heard for millennia now.
So much had changed, yet it still felt all too familiar. The same arguments, the same suffering, the same kind of wars. History really did repeat itself, didn’t it?
Some days she wished the world would go quiet, other days she wished she could burn everything down and start from scratch.
Global warming might do that before she gets the chance to do it herself, though.
But instead of retreating into the mountains or lighting a match, she had opted to rest in one of her gardens. Breathing in the sweet air and appreciating a place in the world that she had complete control over.
Well…Almost.
Suddenly, a hand gently grasps Xiaoyan’s shoulder, she snaps her head behind her to see an all too familiar face.
“Aiya!!! Don’t scare me like that! How did you even get in here?!”
Rani chuckled gently, her eyes glittering with warmth and amusement.
“The gate was open. So I simply let myself in.”
Xiaoyan’s eyes narrowed, displeased with her alone time being interrupted.
“I do hope you know that you’re trespassing.”
Xiaoyan brushes Rani’s hand off her shoulder, Rani just grins at the action.
“You don’t mind.”
Rani moves to sit beside Xiaoyan, who gives her a disapproving glare.
“I do mind.”
“Not enough to kick me out!”
Rani replies, leaning back on the small stone bench without a care in the world. Xiaoyan sighs deeply, rubbing a hand over her eyes.
“Why are you here?..”
Xiaoyan’s voice is tired, she doesn’t have the energy to argue or bicker right now.
“It’s been awhile since my last visit, I thought that you wouldn’t mind seeing a familiar face and a bit of cheering up. My presence tends to lighten people’s moods after all.”
Xiaoyan scoffs, straightening up her posture.
“You’re ridiculous.”
Rani hums in acknowledgement.
“You’re too rigid.”
Xiaoyan’s eyebrows furrow
“How can I not be?? When everything is so…”
“Terrible?”
Rani predicts Xiaoyan’s next word, she raises an eyebrow in interest.
“...Messy.”
Xiaoyan finishes her sentence. Her shoulder’s slump, any effort to seem poised now lost to the weight of the world.
Rani laughs, gently wrapping her arm around Xiaoyan, her hand gently threading into the hairs on the side of Xiaoyan’s head as she pulls the other girl closer.
“That’s one way to put it, Yanyan!”
Rani’s tone has an amused lilt to it, one that makes Xiaoyan’s jaw clench in frustration.
“Do you think this is all just a game?! You never take things seriously!”
Xiaoyan raises her voice, trying to push the other woman off of her, Rani doesn’t budge.
“I do take things seriously. But what I don’t do is mull over the things I can’t fix or control. Sometimes, all you can do is laugh at it all..”
Rani turns her head to look at Xiaoyan fully, her hand gently reaching over to caress the disgruntled woman’s cheek.
“I want to be able to laugh with you. Even if the world is terrible, even if the world is changing, even if we don’t know what will happen next. Because you’ll be here with me… and we’ll get through it all, like all the times we did before…”
Rani leans in, resting her forehead against Xiaoyan’s. Rani’s hand now reached down to Xiaoyan’s hand, gently lacing their fingers together as the two took a moment to just…breathe.
The tension in Xiaoyan’s body melts away. She sighs deeply before leaning back slightly, their fingers still intertwined.
“I absolutely loathe you, do you know that?”
Xiaoyan grins wryly, Rani gasps in mock-hurt.
“Aw…I thought after all that you would like me at least a little…”
Rani’s fake pout doesn’t last long before that warm smile returns to her face.
“Do you loathe me enough to not take me back to your place so we can have tea?”
Xiaoyan huffs, straightening her back in preparation of standing up.
“You don’t like the way I make tea.”
Rani’s smile widens.
“But will you still make me some??”
Rani bats her eyelashes. Xiaoyan sighs deeply.
“...let’s go.”
Xiaoyan resigns to her fate and stands up. Rani happily follows behind her.
The two walk back to Xiaoyan’s home hand in hand. There may be no certainties in the world, but for now, they know they have one another.
And that’s more than enough.