hinoaki sheng. (heired) wrote in the_city, @ 2008-09-19 15:40:00 |
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Sheng absently turned the page of his book, but his attention was hardly on the pages anymore. It was a nice day outside, and nature seemed to enjoy overwhelming his senses. Instead, he finally shut the book and leaned back against the tree, his hair falling to the side in one of those rare moments where it wasn’t in his face. The book fell to the ground, forgotten almost instantly. He had all but shut his eyes when he felt a presence coming toward his direction, the footsteps light but audible. He’d heard them before, he thought, but the fleeting notion that it might have been her escaped his notice. Perhaps it was the fact that he was halfway nodding into a light sleep, or that he was hoping it wasn’t. Mai thought she was being exceptionally silent. It was a bad habit of hers to underestimate Sheng, one that often got her into trouble. She'd been crossing the grounds on her way to the library when she'd spotted her prince (in the privacy of her own mind, Mai had another bad habit of calling him hers) beginning to nod off against a tree. A sudden, rather devious, temptation suddenly overtook her, and Mai tucked the book she carried into the crook of one arm as she crept closer. Just as nearly-silent, she knelt down at his side and brushed her long dark hair back behind her ears. Mai tried to hold her breath as she slowly leaned forward, carefully watching Sheng's face for any warning that he was waking. It was rare that she saw him so relaxed; her most vivid memories of him any more were from their fights. Mai pushed the thoughts from her head as her lips lined up carefully against his ear. Quietly, tauntingly, her mouth brushed against him as Mai commanded, "Wake up, your highness." Taunting indeed, but if there was anything Sheng was determined to have control over, it was how he reacted to Mai. Not much else mattered to him, and he could be perceived in any way others wanted. But she could control him completely, if he let her, and that thought ate away at him in ways he couldn’t even begin to grasp. He knew she was close, right there even, but still her touch felt a if it was not anticipated. Why had he kept his eyes shut, luring her to come over and rouse him from his sleep? Because he wanted her to, which was a fact he wouldn’t likely admit to himself anytime soon. “I’m awake,” he replied, tone flat as his eyes opened. He looked over at the beautiful face beside him, knowing instantly that he shouldn’t have. “What do you want?” Mai's lips twisted in the petty annoyance of being put out of her game. She glared in stony silence for a moment. "Is that really any way to talk to a lady, Sheng?" Mai flipped her hair back over her shoulder and pursed her lips, looking airily away from him. "I really don't feel inclined to tell you anything until you start to live up to that high breeding you have." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. Perhaps outwardly Mai was offended, but it was outwardly only. Inside she simply didn't want to give the answer that she had no reason for coming to rouse him, except the childish pleasure of garnering his whole attention for a moment, even if the attention was biting and droll. “Maybe that’s why I don’t. To keep you way from me.” A tiny smirk nestled onto his lips then as he glanced to her. “It doesn’t seem to work very well. Wonder why that is…” The last comment was phrased more as a wonder, airy and patronizing in the same breath. A trap, really, to see if she’d take any sort of bait. It was as much a guess to him as it would’ve been when she first met him. Mai was many things, but predictable was not chief among them. Sheng watched her actions closely, or was it her body? He’d gotten good at hiding his staring, but he knew if she looked close enough at him she would notice what he was doing. It was difficult for him not to, and so the least he could do was to disguise it. The once over only last for a few moments, but they were a few dangerous moments, as they always were with her. She crossed her almost as if she was childish, but in reality she was nothing like that. The action didn’t suit her very well, and it negated her appeal for the time being. For the time being. “I treat other women quite well.” "Women?" Mai echoed, grandly disbelieving. "Really? Sheng, you of all people should know better than that by now." Her tone was scathing, her chin lifted with a nearly garish pride in front of one of the Imperial Children, but the protocols between them had never quite settled in. Between Mai's arrogance and Sheng's will to put her in her place, the niceties and etiquettes of the court were unimportant. "Don't you know?" she continued, leaning forward again. One of her arms crossed Sheng's body to grip the grass on his other side. "Compared to me, all these other 'women' are nothing but girls." Mai's eyes flashed with ego, daring him to disagree. Sheng actually laughed a bit, apparently enjoying his momentary victory. His laugh was low, deep, rich with amusement without of a drop of sincere happiness. It was satisfaction that the laugh echoed. “I said nothing of my relationship with them. You’re jumping the gun.” This time, the victory was hers. His smile faded a bit, eyes focused on her with some interest as she got even closer. A faint scent of vanilla was apparent now, her favorite, he recalled. It had so soon becomes his favorite scent of a woman, too, but not something he often found. Most women he met preferred some extravagant fragrances that could nearly choke you to death if you got too close. But with Mai, everything was subtle. It drove him crazy. Idly, almost without his own permission, his hand ventured up to trail a thumb over her jaw, down her neck even before drawing away. Really, her head was tilted in the most inviting of positions. It was her own fault for demanding contact, however brief. Mai's teeth caught at her bottom lip when his hand grazed over her skin. If Sheng were any other man (a blasphemous thought in and of itself), Mai would have glared further and demanded to know who gave him permission to touch her. But with Sheng she simply fought down the wave of goose bumps over her shoulders and arms and ignored a sudden, panging tug in her chest that urged her to crawl into his lap and stay there. Mai reminded herself that she was through, completely through with him. "I'm not jumping the gun," she murmured, defiant even with her eyes shut, trying to preserve the gentleness of his touch in her mind. "I'm reminding you that you will never find anyone like me." A mean smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth before Mai added, "Your Highness." “I see that as a blessing.” Sheng took up his book, mostly to distract himself from looking at her directly, opening it again and giving a half-assed attempt at scanning the words. They blurred a bit. His focus was off, and he wasn’t doing very good to redirect it, either. Books wouldn’t be enough for this particular ailment, he was afraid. Finally, he shut the book again, silently conceding to Mai that, yes, she commanded and received his full and unwavering attention with her proximity, but when he looks book up at her it was more out of irritation than thoughtfulness. She had no point in being here, and he knew that. No reason, no need. Possibly not even a want, except to stir him up. And if she really wanted to go there, he wasn’t about to stop her. “What do you want,” he repeated, nothing questioning about it. Through repetition, the question had now become a demand. Mai looked down at her hands, feigning indifference to his gaze. She shrugged with one shoulder and picked at her cuticles in silence for a moment, deliberate disobedience of Sheng's demand of a reason for her arrival. It was always mind games between them, little struggles for present power. Mai liked to think she won as often as she lost, but that may have been another shine of her arrogance. Once enough time had passed, she said carelessly, "Nothing, Sheng. I've never wanted anything from you, or did that little detail slip from your memory?" It was a borderline lie, but not one that Mai felt any guilt over telling. The only emotion to strike her pretty face was a little bit of bitterness at being caught without a reason to want to be in his company. “Not even wealth and power? I’m disappointed.” The comment was dry, but backed by a sort of venomous intent. Sheng has never been one to spare consideration for feelings, not even with Mai. Especially not with Mai. Even in his mind, she deserved much more than just cruel words, but he couldn’t resign himself to ever actually physically harm her. The bitter taste of disappointment filled his mouth, and he frowned a bit at his own thoughts. Should he really be so disappointed by not being able to hurt her? He’d let it last long enough by now, but her closeness was starting to irritate him, and he raised his hand again, much more menacing this time, and gave her a light shove away from him. He hoped that was the most he’d have to do to get her to back up. With an indignant noise of protest, Mai did fall away, landing on her backside rather painfully. Sheng had always been, would always be, stronger than she was, despite her best efforts to prove otherwise. Even worse was the fact that he had no qualms about using that strength difference. Never in a way to deliberately harm her, but enough to make her aware that he could. It damaged Mai's ego more than her body. "Tired of my presence, your highness?" she spat, stung from his shove. Only she had the strange ability to make his title into an insult. "All you had to do was say and I would gladly take my leave of you." “I never thought you’d need things spelled out for you. How scholarly.” Sheng still seemed very amused by the thought, before taking up his book and standing. He didn’t even offer her a hand, and was perfectly content to leave her there, glaring up at him for the rest of the day if she wanted to. He brushed his coat off a bit, pretending that would possibly be the reason for him to stay in front of her any longer than he really wanted to. It was becoming a difficult feat for him to convince himself that he didn’t want to stay there, no matter how grating her voice could become, or wicked her features started looking to him after a while. He still loved them. And hated them. |