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A Gift of Love	By : Nekedo Category: +S to Z > Shaman King Views: 12621 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 52
- 53
- 54
My friend asked why I call my pairing “RenMei” and not “PinRen”. Well, number one, I don’t think PinRen sounds as good as “RenMei” which, as I’ve said, means “alliance” in Japanese. Number two, some believe that the name that comes first indicates who is more dominate in a relationship. The day Ren submits to Pin-Mei is the day Rong submits to HoroHoro.
Spoilers for the end of the anime. I’m going to pose a rather interesting/controversial theory/idea in this chapter, possibly two, about the “hero” of the story and Ren’s past. This is all coming from a Ren fangirl. Brace yourselves.
China has no drinking age. It only recently (2006) enacted a law for an age to buy alcohol, (18) but nothing for drinking has been mentioned. (Even the age law is being challenged by seniors who send their grandchildren out to buy alcohol when they are unable to leave the house, so it is not enforced.)
I hope you all “get” the sound effect that HoroHoro makes in this chapter, because I don’t really know how to explain it without giving it away. O.o Put it this way, if you don’t figure it out, look it up on Urban Dictionary (dot) com and look at the second entry.
I think it should also be noted that from now on Pin-Mei’s hair is down; HoroHoro’s hair is also, since Rong still has his headband.
A Gift of Love – Chapter Fifty-Three: More Than Words
They continued watching the video, and nothing more was said in jest about Ren. They had obviously learned their lesson.
A few hours passed, and they soon came to the near end of the fights. Team the Ren, along with Ryu and Faust were battling the last of Hao’s minions. Pin-Mei was leaning closer and closer to the screen, obviously on the edge of her seat. As Ren went to pull her back, he looked at himself and remembered what was coming up next.
“Give me the remote, runt.”
“Why?”
“We’re skipping over this part.”
“Why?”
“BECAUSE I—,”
He was stopped by a small shriek. Slowly he turned around to see Pin-Mei covering her mouth, tears in her eyes. The video showed Ren laying deathly still on the ground in a pool of his blood.
“That’s why, you idiot.” He grabbed the remote and began to fast-forward it, but she stopped him.
“It’s okay, I’m fine, I was just surprised that’s all.” He looked at her, but continued to speed up the scene. “It’s just them fighting anyway. Boring.” “What did you say?!” HoroHoro cried. “You heard me. You did absolutely nothing this whole fight. That’s the reason I ended up in that embarrassing situation.” “STOP!” Pin-Mei grabbed the remote and pressed play as Lyzerg came on the screen. She stared at it. “He’s so adorable,” she sighed. She felt Ren glaring at her. “Adorable isn’t the same as cute or handsome,” she said quickly. She smiled. “He’s like ‘Oh I want to add him to my doll collection’ cute.” His eyes narrowed at her. “And what am I?” She blushed. “You’re…um…I…I want…to…um…” Rong sensed her uneasiness. “Yo! Down in front! Be quiet!” Pin-Mei looked back at her in thanks and she nodded. As Yoh dealt the last blow to Hao, and he split and disappeared, the DVD was shut off. “And that’s how Yoh saved the world from certain doom,” Manta said, eyeing Ren maliciously. Ren could only glare back at him. He hadn’t killed Hao, his hated rival had. He knew it made him look weak in the eyes of the girl sitting next to him. The whole thing made him sick. “No…No, that’s wrong…” Everyone looked the small girl still sitting in front of the television set. She was shaking her head slowly. “It’s wrong…” Looking slightly pained, Ren knew what he had to say. “You saw it; Yoh killed Hao, not me. He saved humanity…not me…” “I said it’s wrong!” She stood up and planted her feet firmly on the ground. “If it wasn’t for Ren, we’d all be dead!” They stared at her wide-eyed. Ren tried to read her harsh expression as she glared at her fiancée’s rival. “Yoh, you needed to win against Ren in order to advance to the next phase of the Shaman Fights, correct?” Yoh seemed slightly surprised. “Well yeah…If I didn’t win, I would’ve been out.” “Yes, but you tied, and both of you advanced. But consider this, what if you hadn’t won? Would you have ever met Hao, do you think? The chances of you going to the Patch Village would have been pretty slim if you weren’t a contestant, right?” “I guess…” Her arm snapped up and she pointed at the headphones boy threateningly. “Face it, Yoh. Ren could have easily crushed you if neither of you spoke. But you chose to be dirty and played with his emotions so you could make him get angry. It distracted him, and his fighting became sloppy. If you hadn’t done that, he would have snapped you in half. You can’t even compare to him. If he had done that, you would have lost and never been able to fight Hao. You never would have beaten him!” HoroHoro scratched his head. “I don’t get it.” Pin-Mei looked annoyed. “If Ren had beaten Yoh, not tied him, BEAT HIM, then Yoh would not have moved on to face Hao, and Hao may have taken over by now. Ren and his anger are the reason the world was saved!” Ren ran over to her and covered her mouth and put her arm down. “Did you guys give her the New Year’s wine or something? She’s not usually like this.” He knew they hadn’t. He was only trying to cover for her, worrying that someone, namely Anna, would challenge her and a war of words would begin. Instead, stifled laughter was heard, then it was unrestrained. He looked up to see Rong and HoroHoro rolling on the floor, tears of laughter in their eyes. “Oh God!” Rong cried. “She’s been infected! The pride has taken over! She’s becoming a Tao right before our eyes! HoHo what are we going to do?!” “How are we going to survive if she becomes a pompous, pig-headed jerk like Ren? Rong we’ve got to save her before it’s too late!” her partner howled. But they both remained on the floor, rolling around until their ribs ached. Yoh started laughing also, and Manta joined in. Ren loosened his grip on her and stared at them, then at her. Pink had christened her cheeks once again. This was the second time tonight that she had defended him, going up against the rest of the group. Was this the real Pin-Mei? The one that had been inside all along, that was now able to be free with Suo’s chains dissolved? “Come on, while these idiots are busy.” He pulled her over to the table, took a small box from the bag, and shoved it at her. She blinked at stared down at it. It pink with gold ribbons. “Thank you for the box. It’s really pretty.” “What do you take me for? I wouldn’t just give you a box,” he grumbled. “Open the damn thing.” She did and took out a large, claw-like hair clip with a pin through its center. A string of pearls dripped from the pin and the clip itself was adorned with rubies. Small wings in the form of crystals graced the sides of it, making it look as though the clip would fly away if she did not hold onto it tightly enough. Her eyes sparkled with the reflections of the jewels. “It’s beautiful…” Quickly, she twisted her hair and put it in the clasp. The pin gave her difficulty, and after watching her struggle with a smirk on his face, Ren slipped it into place for her. “Heh. Of course you can’t even put the pin in. The rest will fall apart without it.” Rong came up behind her and inspected the gift. “It looks fine, Milady.” She smiled at Ren. “And don’t mind him. You should know by now that he’s doing that because he’s happy to see you.” The recipient smiled. “Thank you, Ren.” “Yeah.” He turned away from her before an evitable streak of red crossed his cheeks. Rong smirked. “Anyway, it looks like the servants brought in desert while we were watching the TV. Let’s eat before it goes bad.” Pin-Mei turned plopped down in front of a plate of Nian Gao and took one as everyone else sat around the table; Rong at her right, Ren at her left. She took a bite, and her eyes lit up. “Kyaaa! It’s so good! It’s so sweet! It’s so…so…” She stopped. Her bangs were covering her eyes. The people on either side of her gave her differing glances. Rong seemed to almost be expecting this, while Ren seemed utterly confused. A few airy gasps came from Pin-Mei’s throat as the cake slipped from her hands and onto the floor. Ren looked alarmed and touched her shoulder. “Are you choking?” She hurriedly shook her head as she brought up her right index finger and bit down on its curve. He watched as a flood of tears began cascading down her cheeks. She let out a few high-pitched whimpers before Rong grabbed her and held Pin-Mei against her chest. The girl howled as Rong desperately tried to stifle her cries. “Is she having a seizure?” The caretaker glared at him. “NO SHE’S-,” She stopped, collected herself, and looked at the crying girl in her arms. “No, she’s not.” She looked at Ren. “The New Year’s Festival was her favorite holiday, but now I fear it will only cause her pain from here on.” Ren narrowed his eyes quizzically. “Why?” “Last year, someone was there who shouldn’t have been. This year, someone who is supposed to be here isn’t.” “What?” “Ren, think about Pin-Mei. Who’s missing?” He frowned slightly as he looked around the table. Who’s supposed to be here? Someone came last year when no one was expecting them…Now Pin-Mei is expecting them, and they aren’t here…Who?...Wait…” “Zhang…” he whispered. Rong nodded. “Last year was the year that Lord Zhang left his room during the New Year’s celebration and began treating Pin-Mei more like a daughter than he ever had. This year, against his will, he is unable to be here.” She looked at the sobbing Pin-Mei. “She’s in pain. Even if Lord Zhang never treated her like a daughter a year before this, she still misses him…She misses that warmth she received from him. The warmth you receive from a parent and the warmth you receive from a lover are different. Sometimes, love fades, but a parent’s love is unconditional.” She locked eyes with Ren again. “But I feel that yours is also. Show me.” Her arms loosened around the girl and Ren could only stare for a few moments. This wasn’t the same as when he had comforted her in her room. This kind of hurt was permanent. A hurt that would always be with her. He didn’t know if going about it the same way would work. Show me. It was a challenge. When he looked at it that way, there was no chance that he’d back down. He grabbed her and held her against his chest, allowing her to cry into his shoulder. He put his right hand on the back of her head and his other around her waist. Blood dripped from her finger, and he took it from her and replaced it with his mouth. He suddenly realized that everyone was watching, so he then picked her up and carried her out of the room. Rong and HoroHoro stared after them. “Bow chicka WOW WOW!” Rong slapped him. “Shut up, HoroHoro. He knows not to do that. Unlike you, he has the ability to be a gentleman when he wants to.” The boy fake-cried into his arm. “You don’t love me at all do you?” She sighed, stood up, and then left the room. “WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT??!!” “Stop making things up,” she mumbled to herself. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Ren sat on a stone bench outside with a still sobbing Pin-Mei in his lap. He resumed the position that he had held at the table and allowed her tears to fall on his shoulder. For a moment, he just looked over her shoulder at the ground, trying to collect his thoughts and remember how to comfort her. “I’m sorry that I didn’t think of it,” he said softly. “Suo told me what New Year’s meant to you, but I forgot. I’m sorry. That’s all I can do right now; apologize. I can’t bring him back. I wish I could, for your sake, but I can’t. But I think if you can be happy about anything right now, it should be because Zhang and Hua can be together right now. We were only apart for a month. They were for over fourteen years. Once they find each other in the afterlife, they’ll be together forever, and I promise you, they’ll be happy. “Zhang wouldn’t want you to be sad right now. And I don’t want you to be either. I would have been nicer if I knew you were having a tough time.” He had hardly noticed her decrease in volume. He looked down to see she had again taken to biting her finger, her chest still heaving occasionally. Sighing, he removed it and replaced it with his own. “Sooner or later, you would have bitten through it,” he said. She turned away from the digit. “I don’t want to bite you.” “What? Am I not good enough?” “No…I just don’t want to hurt you…” “HA! As if you could,” he said giving her a cocky smile. He bent his finger and stuck it in her mouth. She swatted him away. “Bleh! You’re choking me! You’re trying to kill me!” “No, if I was going to kill you, I’d just poison you remember? So much easier. Plus, I don’t have to actually watch you die. I just slip it into your food and down you go.” He snickered as she trembled. “Calm down, you know I wouldn’t do that.” She nodded. Suddenly, a box flew and hit her in the head. After a whimper, she picked it up and looked behind her to see Rong giving her a salute. Ren blinked as she handed the box to him. “Um…This was…is…your birthday present. I forgot it when we came the first time because Rong hid it. But here.” “Thanks.” He untied the ribbon and opened the simple white box. Removing the tissue paper, he lifted up a black and gold oriental shirt with a dragon seemingly wrapping itself around the back. It was made out of fine silk, nothing cheap about it. He smiled at her. “Thanks. I like it.” Pin-Mei beamed. “Hehe.” Before she knew it, he had taken off his shirt and was now putting his new one on. When he was done, he lifted his hands slightly, signaling for her to come to him. As she began to make her way over, a smaller box hit the back of her head and she grabbed it as it bounced into the air. She opened it, looked inside, then slammed it shut, a blush streaking across her face, and put it in her shirt. He narrowed his eyes. “What’s that?” “N-Nothing…” She looked at the ground. “I…I’m going to go to bed.” He went to walk her inside. “I’ll see you in there, then. I’m going to stay up a little longer and then--,” “No, Ren. I’m not going to be in your bed when you get there. Not tonight…I want to…be alone right now.” Her eyes watered as she looked away from him. He stared at her. It was their first night together in a month and she wasn’t going to even sleep in the same bed with him? Had his teasing gone too far? Had it hurt her that he hadn’t noticed her pain? All the same, he nodded slowly, knowing that he could do nothing to change her mind without being selfish. “Okay…” He leaned in to kiss her, but she went into the house and shut the door. With wide and slightly hurt eyes, he watched her until she disappeared. A few minutes later, he followed, but went into the weight room instead. As he stood under the shower head, water dripping from his face as he turned the knob off, he tried to figure out just what had gone wrong. What’s going on? Something’s not right… “Trouble in Paradise, huh?” He tensed. “Here, catch.” A towel flew over the top of the shower wall and he caught it. After wrapping it around himself, he opened the shower door to see Rong leaning against the wall. “What do you want?” he said in an annoyed voice. She walked over to him. “For the next few minutes, you get no titles to your name. We’re going to talk as equals.” He walked past her. “I have no equals.” “What about Her? Why doesn’t She have to call you Lord Ren?” He stopped, his fist clenched. “Because I love her, and you don’t make loved ones call you by such titles.” “Well, then. I’m going to be a step below that.” She handed him his clothes. “Now get dressed.” He grumbled and walked back into the stall. “Put your head against the back wall. Not even Pin-Mei sees me like this, so you sure as hell won’t.” “Yes, yes.” When he emerged, she led him out of the room and outside to the beach. They stood on the sand silently for a few minutes before Rong spoke. “Have you ever seen a ballet?” He gave her a look that told her she was crazy. “What? No, of course not. I don’t have time for such trash.” She chuckled. “When Pin-Mei was really young, there was a small ballet performance of Swan Lake that her school went to. I was told to accompany her in case there were problems with other students. We had just come back from your house, so she was caught in a slight depression. I was expecting her to fall asleep if I was lucky. I never thought something like that would interest her.” She turned to him. “Do you know the story of Swan Lake?” He was slightly irritated. What did this have to do with the current situation? “No, I don’t know the goddamn story.” She ignored him. “It’s about a prince, Siegfried, who must choose a woman to marry by his birthday banquet. Upset that he can’t marry for love instead, he runs off into the woods to go hunting. He is about to shoot down a swan, but notices that it moves more like a woman instead of a bird. The swan was a princess named Odette who had been placed under the curse of a warlock after she was kidnapped years ago. A woman by night, a swan by day. “They fall in love, and he decides that she will be the one he marries. The curse on her would break upon hearing a vow of everlasting love, so everything seemed fine. She could be normal, and they would live happily ever after. “But the warlock prevented Odette from attending the party, sending his daughter Odile in her place, who looked almost identical to her. Siegfried accidentally made his vow to Odile, only realizing his fault when Odette appears.” Ren looked at her expectantly. “The end?” Rong smirked. She made him interested – in a ballet! Such a wonderful story to tell afterwards… “Luckily, the version the Chinese adopted has a happy ending, but it is not the same in all countries. Here, the love of Siegfried and Odette defeats the warlock. Odette’s human form is restored, and they live happily ever after. In every other version, Odette is either locked in her swan body or dies. I’m just glad that they showed allowed the children a happy ending. It’s cruel to show a four year-old that true love doesn’t always triumph.” “Why are you telling me this again?” She nodded to herself. “In the ballet, there is a special dance for two people, a pas de deux. They move with each other in perfect harmony, as if they share one mind, one heart, one body. Siegfried and Odette danced a pas de deux in the performance that Pin-Mei and I saw. Pin-Mei couldn’t take their eyes off of them. She was absolutely mesmerized. At one point, she looked back at me and said…” “Hey Rong, do people move like that when they really like each other?” “What do you mean?” “Before, they were dancing alone, but now they’re dancing together, and they look really happy. Is that because they’re in love?” “I guess you could say that…” “I want a prince.” “What?” “Ne, ne, Rong, do you think Ren’s a prince?” “No. He’s not royalty, even if he thinks he is.” “Don’t you just have to be rich and live in a big house?” “No…There’s more to it than that…You have to be kind, brave, noble, selfless...” “But I bet Ren can be all of that. He can be the prince and I’ll be the swan, and we can dance together! It’ll be so much fun!” “It was all she could talk about for weeks. ‘Ne, Rong can we go see Ren again? I wanna dance with him!’ ‘Ne, Rong, will you practice dancing with me?’ ‘Ne, Rong, how do you become a swan?’ On and on…I have to admit, I was about ready to scream. But the thing is, as naïve as she was, she understood what a pas de deux such as that meant. Two people in love, moving together in perfect harmony, expressing that love without words.” Ren stared across the water, the fleeting image of Pin-Mei in a feathered tutu in his mind. Rong stood in front of him. “If you couldn’t simply say ‘I love you’ to Pin-Mei, how would you let her know how strong your feelings are?” When he said nothing, she turned and started towards the house. “Let’s head back. We can finish this inside.” Strangely obedient, he followed. Maybe because he was so deep in thought. As they neared the hallway leading to his room, Rong stopped, her back still turned to him. “I know something you’ve been keeping from Pin-Mei.” He stopped and looked up at her. “What did you say?” She looked at him from over her shoulder. “You’re not a virgin, are you?” He involuntarily tensed. “What makes you think that?” She swiveled and walked up to him, putting her face mere inches from his and looking him in the eye. “It’s in your eyes. Almost all the innocence is gone from them.” She took a few steps back. “Your eyes and Pin-Mei’s eyes are different. Hers sparkle because of the innocence she possesses. Since you have barely any left, your eyes are dull in color, yet sharp enough to pierce hearts.” “What makes you think you can read me?” “I can read almost anyone. You took longer than most, but it was possible. I was raised to protect Pin-Mei, and that meant reading people. If there are two men about to attack, I have to figure out which one will attack first, or how they will swing or throw their weapon just by looking at them.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m right aren’t I? Three years ago, you were like Zhang.” He clenched his fist. “Shut up.” “You were in pain because of what your father did to you--,” “Shut up!” “And that was your only way out--,” “SHUT UP!” “So even when you told Pin-Mei how important it was to wait, you were only being a hypocrite. The truth is that you’re afraid that if she finds out, she’ll think less of you or stop loving you altogether--,” “I SAID TO SHUT THE FUCK UP!!” He grabbed her by the throat and threw her against the wall. As she hit it, she slumped down slightly, taking in the pain on her back. “What the hell is going on?” The two of them looked behind Ren to see HoroHoro standing there with a worried look on his face. His eyes darted to Rong, then to Ren, then back to Rong. He squinted and saw the beginnings of finger-shaped bruises on her neck, causing him to run over to her, his eyes slightly panicked. “What happened?” He pulled her from the wall and touched her shoulders. “Wait…” He turned to glare at Ren. “Did you touch her?” He moved to go after him when Rong pulled on his wrist. “It’s okay, Horo. I deserved it.” “Damn right you did.” “HEY!” He tried to move towards him again, but he was still held back. “Let go, Rong. He has to learn that you don’t put your hands on girls like that.” “I’m fine. Really. You just go.” “But what if he--,” “He won’t, I promise.” “Still, I don’t--,” “Just.Go.” “Fine…But first I’m going to…” He began to run at his friend, fist in the air. “HOROKEU!” Rong cried grabbing him by the wrist to pull him back. With one tug, she spun him around and raised her hand near his face. He flinched, as if expecting a slap, but instead she placed it on his cheek. “I’m going to be fine, so go, okay? He and I still have some things we need to talk about. I’ll be there soon, promise.” He looked at the floor. “Fine.” He spun to glare at Ren. “But he has to apologize first.” Ren smirked at him. “I have no reason to. She was out of line, and I was simply putting her back in her place.” The Ainu returned the gesture. “Then I’ll be sure to treat Pin-Mei the same way.” Yellow eyes shot open with burning rage. “Don’t you even dare!” He laughed. “If the roles were reversed, you’d be beating me up right now. Even if she said something that offended a whole country you wouldn’t want anyone touching her.” His eyes were hard again. “Now you know how I feel.” Ren stared at the ground for a moment, placing Pin-Mei in Rong’s place. “Yeah…Sorry…” “Hmph.” HoroHoro turned back to the woman behind him. “Don’t take too long, okay?” He walked away from her, allowing his hand to brush against hers, but nothing more. As he passed his friend, he stopped for a moment beside him. “Don’t touch her again.” Then continued on to his room. After he was out of sight, Rong and Ren stared at each other. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I went too far.” He only nodded. A couple beats went by before he gestured his head to the dark space behind him where the footsteps had faded. “What was that?” She looked past him in the direction the boy had left. “Even I need to be taken care of sometimes…” Her gaze returned to her lord. “But that’s not the point.” “So hurry up and get to it.” “Alright, fine. I will.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “How much do you think Pin-Mei has been affected by all of this?” He thought for a moment. He hadn’t considered that before. “Why?” “In the long run, it may make both your lives a little harder.” “How so?” She started walking towards him. “The last time you two were together, you were cursed, and tried to rape her. She told you she forgave you, but don’t you think that image of you being boorish enough to do something like that stays in her mind?” He shifted. “Well…” “And she told me that Suo did make her have a nightmare where you followed through with the act. Four times. It was so real to her that she could almost feel the pain. Don’t you think something like that is going to have an effect on her? On the both of you?” He shrugged. “She’s just not going to want it for a while. So what?” She smirked. “Noble, but in this case, not quite enough.” Ren narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you talking about?” “Picture this: It’s your wedding night. After a wonderful, heartfelt ceremony, the two of you are getting ready for what should be a very special night. But when you go to remove her robes, she screams and starts crying. What would you do?” He was silent as he looked down, his eyes invisible to her. “I wouldn’t go on. Of course not. What do you take me for? I’d wait until she was ready.” “What if that’s never?” He stared at her. “What?” “What if that never happens? What if she never recovers and you can never be that intimate with her?” He was quiet again as he looked away from her. “You wouldn’t be able to have children with her. And without an heir, your family would end.” To her surprise, Ren started laughing. “I don’t know where she got the idea that I care one bit about restoring my family, but I don’t. I was raised to have that be the only thing I think about, my only goal, but I couldn’t care less about it. I only wanted children because she did. It doesn’t matter to me. None of this sex shit does.” Rong had been staring at him, her eyes wide in astonishment. Then, she smiled. “Thanks. That’s all I needed to know.” She walked past him, patting his shoulder. “Good night, Lord Ren.” When she was a few steps behind him, she stopped. “You know, I’ve heard that it feels better when you love the person.” “What?” “Nothing. Good night.” And after a small chuckle she added, “Sleep well.” She walked down the hall in the direction her advocate had and stopped in front of his door and rapped on it thrice. “I told you that you don’t have to knock.” She opened it slowly, as if to make sure he was decent. “Force of habit.” HoroHoro was sitting on his bed, but got up as she closed the door behind her and leaned on it, staring at the ground. “You okay?” She nodded slightly, but he saw few tears fall from her eyes. He walked over to her and allowed her to lean against him. She sobbed into his chest and her hands finally grasped the back of his shirt. “What’s wrong?” “I’m happy for them, I really am. But at the same time, to have to be in that room, the one so close to theirs tonight…I can’t do it…Even if I shouldn’t be able to, I don’t want to listen…” He prudently put his arms around her and leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Then just stay here.” OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
As Rong’s footsteps faded, Ren took a deep breath and rather reluctantly walked down the hall. He wasn’t looking forward to yet another night of sleeping by himself, especially when Pin-Mei was finally back home. “If you couldn’t simply say ‘I love you’ to Pin-Mei, how would you let her know how strong your feelings are?” I don’t know…Why wouldn’t I be able to say it in the first place? He opened the door to the dark and dreary room. As he closed the door, he reached for the light switch on the wall to his left. But before he could flip it on, a hand quickly covered his and brought it down, preventing any light from shining in the room except for the moon which shone through the large windows opposite him. “Keep the lights off,” a whisper came to his ear. “We don’t need them.” His eyes widened. “Pin-Mei? I…I thought you wanted to sleep in your room tonight.” There was a giggle. “I never said that. I said I wouldn’t be in your bed when you came in, and I’m not. I’m standing here in front of you.” She giggled again and stroked his cheek as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Before he could react, she walked over to the windows and basked in the moonlight. His eyes widened as he saw the black silk nightgown she was wearing under a red sheer robe. She turned to him, smiled, and beckoned him over. “Come here, Ren.” After staring at her for a few moments, he made his way over to her. She pulled him down and held him in a deep kiss. When she let go of him and he regained his posture, she took his right hand in both of hers and caressed it. This was so unlike her to be this forward…what was going on? “Pin-Mei…why are you dressed like that?” “Shh…It’s my turn to talk right now.” She placed her index finger on his lips, then let go of him and turned away. “Since we came back here, I bet we’ve both been thinking that this means that things are back to normal, they’re the way they should be, right?” “I guess…” She looked over her shoulder at him. “But there’s something wrong…Something’s missing…Something…You did it last time…Now, it’s my turn.” Ren watched as she faced him and reached into her nightgown, pulling out the small box from before. She knelt down in front of him and opened it. Inside was a gold engagement band. All he could do was stare at it. This was so unexpected, especially from her. She smiled at him. “You know I love you. I did even before last month. I loved you when you insulted my cooking, when you dunked me underwater, when you stuffed snow down my back, and when…you weren’t yourself… “I could barely breathe after I left here. I can’t even remember breathing at all when you weren’t. You’re like air to me - I can’t live without you. “Our engagement was broken, but that means nothing to me. I still love you and I don’t care if they understand or not. I need to be with you. Tonight just made it more clear to me that you’re all I have, and I want you to have all of me. I want to be yours until the world is gone. I want to sleep next to you and wake up next to you.” Tears dripped off her cheeks. “I want to have your children. I want to die at the exact second that you do so I don’t have to be without you - ever. “From the moment I met you, you’ve been changing my life. For the better. You’ve made me so happy…and I want to do the same for you…because I love seeing you smile. I feel like it gives me a purpose. “So, Ren, please, will you--,” He knelt down in front of her and captured her in a passionate kiss, sending the box to the floor. As he ended it, he looked deep into her eyes, not daring to blink. “Yes.” When she just kept staring at him, he smirked and put the ring on himself, tossing the box behind him. She was as still as stone as he kissed her again. “It’s nice,” he said. “You know I like gold more than silver.” “I knew you’d only take the best.” He chuckled at her. As he looked up from his hand, her eyes stood out to him. They had that different stare that he had seen somewhere before, but couldn’t remember when. They were glossy, almost dream-filled. She crawled the two feet over to him and laid against his chest. It was unusual for her. She knew that he didn’t like being touched, so she usually waited until he gave her some sort of signal that it was okay. There was a muffled sound and he looked down at her. “What?” Pin-Mei looked up at him with those listless eyes again. “Ren…Will you…sleep with me tonight?” He studied her, then smiled. “Yeah, it’s getting late anyway.” He stood, bringing her up with him, and walked over to his dresser to take off his shirt. She just stood there looking at the floor, not moving. As he hung his new shirt up, he made his way over to her and touched her robe. “When did you get this? I don’t remember Rong packing it.” She didn’t look at him. “She bought it while you were sleeping.” “Oh, I see. Well, we’re going to bed, so you don’t need it right now.” When she didn’t move, he slipped the sheer material off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, and then pulled the pin from the barrette he had given her, catching it as it fell from her hair.
When she didn't move, he slipped the sheer material off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, and then pulled the pin from the barrette he had given her, catching it as it fell from her hair. Still, she didn't respond. Ren finally picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He carried her to the bed and set her down. Slightly annoyed, he snapped his fingers in front of her face a couple times. She seemed to jolt back into reality and looked up at the galled expression on his face. Ashamed, she looked at the mattress.
"Sorry…I was just lost in thought…that's all…"
He instantly softened as he remembered Zhang and wrapped his arms around her. "It's fine, space out all you want. You have my permission." He was slightly surprised when she gently pushed him away.
"I'm fine. Let's just go to bed."
Not knowing what else he could do, he went to the other side of the bed and got in, laying on his back. As they got under the covers, she scooted over and put her head on his chest.
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm going to be pissed if you're lying."
"I'm not…" Her left hand crept onto his chest.
He eyed her. "Fine." He wrapped his arm around her. "Good night."
"Good night…"
As he closed his eyes, Pin-Mei took her finger and began tracing the outline of his pecs, eventually trailing down to his abs. He stirred and breathed deeply, but said nothing, allowing her to continue. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. Ren's tongari stood on end as the hand dipped lower. He grabbed her wrist.
"What the hell are you doing?" he cried.
Her gaze didn't waver as pink covered her cheeks. "I'm doing what I want to, now that I have the chance. You can't tell me that you don't want this."
A blush streaked across his face. "Pin-Mei…" She was looking at him earnestly. They held each other's gaze as he seemed to be deep in thought, conflicted with himself. "You don't have to-,"
"I know. But I want to."
"But what about…that dream?"
"That man wasn't you. It was someone Suo sent to hurt me. I know that you would never do that to me…"
He shook his head and looked away from her. "No…I can't…"
"Ren." Pin-Mei put her hand on his cheek and turned his face back to her. She took his right hand and placed it on her chest. She could hear his acute intake of breath as his hand fought against the rest of him. "I love you, and I want to show you that. I thought about it, like you said to. It has to be with you, Ren, or not at all."
He stared at her, then leaned in to kiss her passionately. His mouth trailed up to her ear.
"Are you sure?" he whispered.
"More than I've ever been in my life," she whispered back.
He kissed her again as he rolled on top of her, his mouth still near her ear.
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
They hugged for a really long time.
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A Gift of Love