meep....i'm really, really sorry for the long delay on updating....though,
i'm always apologizing for that, aren't i? *sighs * trust me, there's
nothing i'd love more than to update everyother day...hell, once a week if
i could manage it, but there's this little thing called life.
i was in the school play, "Picnic", and had practice everyday, so things got pushed aside. Then....it'd been so long, that i'd lost my momentum, and....they staggered and fell into decay...but...eh.....at least i'm back with an update! ^.^
kai: joy oh joy -.-
love you too -.-
rei-chan: mew! ^.^
..right.....eh.....ne wayz...first of all, a huge thankies to all those who reviewed, and a double thankies to those who added me to ur favs list! ^.^ wuv ya!
and, on a final note, i just wanna say, i have _parts _ of this fic planned out, but i'm really having alot of trouble on it. first of all, i just wanna say chinese foot binding is not something easily researched in-depth. i've got the basic info- i gave that all to u guyz, and i dug around a bit, and found out the general process, and now, i've still been poking around in books and on the web, but info is becoming very hard to find.
foot binding was stopped-and made illegal in china- during the Revolution, when China was turned from Imperialism to Communism. Footbinding was considered "backwards" and the influence from other nearby nations that considered footbinding "barbaric" was starting to take root. So, many women and girls who'd had their feet bound were literally forced to unbind their feet.
However, this is all i can find out! I want to find out the _process _ and the _effects _ of the unbinding, so i can unbind rei's feet! however, i'm having alot of trouble finding this out! so....i've hit a bit of a..road block.....*dies *
&&&&&&&&&&
chapter 10: discovery
Kai sighed heavily and set Rei down." You're legs should be fine by now. The flight wasn't that long." He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, turning from Rei and starting to walk down the moth-eaten, carpeted hall of the Russian airport. Back at the Chinese airport, Rei's infuriating older brother had insisted upon carrying Rei onto the plane and placing him in his seat, as if he couldn't do it on his own. Kai snorted. Rei had been sad for a while after Lee left, then exuberant, his quick, intelligent golden eyes darting from side to side, studying everyone and everything. He'd been a little scared during take off, but his curiosity soon overcame that, and he had his nose pressed against the small, round window, watching the clouds and land far below. Then, when the plan had landed, Rei had tried to stand, but it took him forever and it looked like he was in pain. When Kai asked, Rei had merely said his feet were numb from sitting so long.
Rei gazed about him in wonderment, aching to go off and explore, then he realized just how far ahead Kai was, and just how fast the long-legged Russian was walking. "Kai! Kai, wait, please!" He called out, pulling his coat closer about him and trying to go as fast as he could. He placed one foot forward, used to the feeling of his toes scrunching into his foot as his weight was placed upon it. But being familiar with the pain still wasn't enough to make him go faster. He needed normal feet for traction and power, instead of dainty, crippled feet, where every step was a struggle for balance.
"Rei-" Kai turned, looking over his shoulder just in time to see someone in the sparse, small hallway of the Russian airport accidentally jar Rei, and the Chinese boy's eyes widened as he fell to the cold, dirty floor. "Rei!" Kai rushed over, shoving the few people that were there out of his way. He dropped to his knees, wincing as they slammed into the tiles. He reached out and started to pull Rei up, but gasped and froze when the hem of the boy's skirt rode up, exposing one shrunken, heavily bound foot.
"Kai?" Rei looked up into Kai's astonished face, wondering what could shock him so. Then he looked over his shoulder, wincing when he saw his exposed foot. He pulled back from the taller boy, his husband. "Kai, I....I......" Rei winced and closed his eyes as the blue haired boy ignored him, his attention grabbed by his foot.
Kai crawled down to Rei's feet, yanking his skirt up to his knees. "What the-" He grabbed one foot, pulling off the dainty slipper and unwrapping the ten feet of binding cloth. "Oh my God......" His voice was breathless as he stared at the warped foot, which was, folded up like it was, smaller than his hand. With a trembling finger, he traced over the hump of the instep and the four little folded toe stumps. He raised Rei's leg up so he could see the bottom of the shrunken foot. The clipped toenail of the folded toes were visible, buried into the ball of the foot; the toes nearly touched Rei's heel.
Rei whimpered, tears slipping past his clenched lashes. "Kai....please....." he begged, though, what he was begging for, Kai to just pretend nothing was wrong, to stop examining his foot in public, or for him not to abandon him, he didn't know.
Rei's trembling voice snapped the morbid spell. Kai's head snapped up, but Rei's was lowered, tears running down his soft, tan cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Rei shrunk back at his cold tone, nearly hitting into a passing woman. "I had no choice- I was given no choice! It's Pa-Pa, he ordered it done, he ordered my silence....I never wanted this! I never wanted this!!" His voice rose several notches, his body shaking and tears streaming; he was near hysterical, his golden eyes peering desperately into Kai's.
Kai merely stared at him, numb with shock. For once in his life, he didn't know what to do. There was the initial shock of discovering Rei's mutilated feet, then his 'bride' starts screaming hysterically.........'Which isn't proper at all. Hiwataris govern their emotions at all times....' A voice in the back of his head snapped. Kai shook his head, wanting to be rid of his grandfather's voice, and raised his hand, programmed to slap Rei into obedience.
Rei saw the motion, and flinched, eyes closed tight, waiting for the blow. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see his husband, his Kai, starting to stand, and he desperately reached out, clinging to his pant leg. "Kai! Please, don't leave me! Please!"
"Control yourself!" Kai snapped automatically, then his cold eyes softened when Rei flinched, turning his head away and sobbing. His disgust for Rei's outburst melted when he remembered that Rei wasn't a Hiwatari. He had grown up in the mountains of China, with a 'loving' family, instead of a grim, rigid upbringing in the cold heart of Moscow. Two different places, two different values in life. Which was why he had chosen him; he was different. Rei's emotions, his happiness, his laughter, had attracted Kai to him. In China, he'd been a dream, a wonderful dream. But now...in Russia...reality was setting in.
Rei sobbed, fear making his head pound. Kai was going to leave him, stranded here, alone and penniless, in a place he didn't know, and a language he didn't speak. He whimpered and cried harder, nearly dry heaving. His tears stopped, his head popping up in surprise as he felt strong arms lifting him up again, pulling him against a deliciously warm chest. He looked up, blinking, and the few tears that clung to his long lashes fell. "K-Kai?"
Kai bit his lip, then nuzzled Rei's cheek. "I'm sorry...I forget, you don't know
Russia...you don't know my family." Though the words were meant to be comforting, his tone was gruff. Rei didn't reply; he just wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. In the awkward silence, Kai moved them away from the few onlookers, and towards the exit of the airport.
"Your feet. Tell me about them." He commanded in the brusque tone he always used while in Russia. Rei blinked, mewing a bit. Kai's voice woke him from a warm doze, and he reluctantly raised his head from it's comfortable spot on Kai's coat.
"Mmmm....my feet? Pa-pa ordered all the girls in the village to have their feet bound; they were to be sold in arranged marriages....he bound my feet as punishment for the time I ran away....when I met you....." Rei looked up at his new husband warily.
Kai gazed down at him with crimson eyes, that, while not gentle, were not frozen hard. "I've missed you; over the years, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of you."
"R-really?"
Kai nodded, then brought his lips against Rei's, kissing him gently and tasting the salty tinge from his tears. Rei melted in Kai's arms, eyes closing as one hand came up to cup his smooth, clean-shaven cheek. Kai kept the kiss soft and gentle, drowning in the sweetness that was Rei, until someone clearing their throat loudly made him look up, freezing momentarily, before glaring at his valet.
"If it pleases Mr. Hiwatari, his limo is waiting; his luggage, and that of his bride, has already been taken back to the house." Kai glared at the upstart servant, then dismissed him.
"Wow, they really do everything for you at these airports-" Rei was looking around again, his face red at having been caught kissing.
Kai snorted, almost smiling with amusement. "No, that's only because my family's loaded with money that we get the royal treatment." He said derisively, then felt his pocket, making sure he had Rei's weird, tiny shoe and bandages, before carrying him out to the car, his dress hiding his bound feet.
&&&&&&&&&&
ack....i really *hate * this chapter...but it's the best i could come up with; it fell _so _ flat....i tried re-writing it several times but this was the best i could do, and i'm severely disapointed in myself...
but, nyack, i digress....reviews, as always, are appreciated, even more so for this fic cuz i actually do bother to research it, and i shall continue the quest....soon as finals are over .
i was in the school play, "Picnic", and had practice everyday, so things got pushed aside. Then....it'd been so long, that i'd lost my momentum, and....they staggered and fell into decay...but...eh.....at least i'm back with an update! ^.^
kai: joy oh joy -.-
love you too -.-
rei-chan: mew! ^.^
..right.....eh.....ne wayz...first of all, a huge thankies to all those who reviewed, and a double thankies to those who added me to ur favs list! ^.^ wuv ya!
and, on a final note, i just wanna say, i have _parts _ of this fic planned out, but i'm really having alot of trouble on it. first of all, i just wanna say chinese foot binding is not something easily researched in-depth. i've got the basic info- i gave that all to u guyz, and i dug around a bit, and found out the general process, and now, i've still been poking around in books and on the web, but info is becoming very hard to find.
foot binding was stopped-and made illegal in china- during the Revolution, when China was turned from Imperialism to Communism. Footbinding was considered "backwards" and the influence from other nearby nations that considered footbinding "barbaric" was starting to take root. So, many women and girls who'd had their feet bound were literally forced to unbind their feet.
However, this is all i can find out! I want to find out the _process _ and the _effects _ of the unbinding, so i can unbind rei's feet! however, i'm having alot of trouble finding this out! so....i've hit a bit of a..road block.....*dies *
&&&&&&&&&&
chapter 10: discovery
Kai sighed heavily and set Rei down." You're legs should be fine by now. The flight wasn't that long." He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, turning from Rei and starting to walk down the moth-eaten, carpeted hall of the Russian airport. Back at the Chinese airport, Rei's infuriating older brother had insisted upon carrying Rei onto the plane and placing him in his seat, as if he couldn't do it on his own. Kai snorted. Rei had been sad for a while after Lee left, then exuberant, his quick, intelligent golden eyes darting from side to side, studying everyone and everything. He'd been a little scared during take off, but his curiosity soon overcame that, and he had his nose pressed against the small, round window, watching the clouds and land far below. Then, when the plan had landed, Rei had tried to stand, but it took him forever and it looked like he was in pain. When Kai asked, Rei had merely said his feet were numb from sitting so long.
Rei gazed about him in wonderment, aching to go off and explore, then he realized just how far ahead Kai was, and just how fast the long-legged Russian was walking. "Kai! Kai, wait, please!" He called out, pulling his coat closer about him and trying to go as fast as he could. He placed one foot forward, used to the feeling of his toes scrunching into his foot as his weight was placed upon it. But being familiar with the pain still wasn't enough to make him go faster. He needed normal feet for traction and power, instead of dainty, crippled feet, where every step was a struggle for balance.
"Rei-" Kai turned, looking over his shoulder just in time to see someone in the sparse, small hallway of the Russian airport accidentally jar Rei, and the Chinese boy's eyes widened as he fell to the cold, dirty floor. "Rei!" Kai rushed over, shoving the few people that were there out of his way. He dropped to his knees, wincing as they slammed into the tiles. He reached out and started to pull Rei up, but gasped and froze when the hem of the boy's skirt rode up, exposing one shrunken, heavily bound foot.
"Kai?" Rei looked up into Kai's astonished face, wondering what could shock him so. Then he looked over his shoulder, wincing when he saw his exposed foot. He pulled back from the taller boy, his husband. "Kai, I....I......" Rei winced and closed his eyes as the blue haired boy ignored him, his attention grabbed by his foot.
Kai crawled down to Rei's feet, yanking his skirt up to his knees. "What the-" He grabbed one foot, pulling off the dainty slipper and unwrapping the ten feet of binding cloth. "Oh my God......" His voice was breathless as he stared at the warped foot, which was, folded up like it was, smaller than his hand. With a trembling finger, he traced over the hump of the instep and the four little folded toe stumps. He raised Rei's leg up so he could see the bottom of the shrunken foot. The clipped toenail of the folded toes were visible, buried into the ball of the foot; the toes nearly touched Rei's heel.
Rei whimpered, tears slipping past his clenched lashes. "Kai....please....." he begged, though, what he was begging for, Kai to just pretend nothing was wrong, to stop examining his foot in public, or for him not to abandon him, he didn't know.
Rei's trembling voice snapped the morbid spell. Kai's head snapped up, but Rei's was lowered, tears running down his soft, tan cheeks. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Rei shrunk back at his cold tone, nearly hitting into a passing woman. "I had no choice- I was given no choice! It's Pa-Pa, he ordered it done, he ordered my silence....I never wanted this! I never wanted this!!" His voice rose several notches, his body shaking and tears streaming; he was near hysterical, his golden eyes peering desperately into Kai's.
Kai merely stared at him, numb with shock. For once in his life, he didn't know what to do. There was the initial shock of discovering Rei's mutilated feet, then his 'bride' starts screaming hysterically.........'Which isn't proper at all. Hiwataris govern their emotions at all times....' A voice in the back of his head snapped. Kai shook his head, wanting to be rid of his grandfather's voice, and raised his hand, programmed to slap Rei into obedience.
Rei saw the motion, and flinched, eyes closed tight, waiting for the blow. But it never came. He opened his eyes to see his husband, his Kai, starting to stand, and he desperately reached out, clinging to his pant leg. "Kai! Please, don't leave me! Please!"
"Control yourself!" Kai snapped automatically, then his cold eyes softened when Rei flinched, turning his head away and sobbing. His disgust for Rei's outburst melted when he remembered that Rei wasn't a Hiwatari. He had grown up in the mountains of China, with a 'loving' family, instead of a grim, rigid upbringing in the cold heart of Moscow. Two different places, two different values in life. Which was why he had chosen him; he was different. Rei's emotions, his happiness, his laughter, had attracted Kai to him. In China, he'd been a dream, a wonderful dream. But now...in Russia...reality was setting in.
Rei sobbed, fear making his head pound. Kai was going to leave him, stranded here, alone and penniless, in a place he didn't know, and a language he didn't speak. He whimpered and cried harder, nearly dry heaving. His tears stopped, his head popping up in surprise as he felt strong arms lifting him up again, pulling him against a deliciously warm chest. He looked up, blinking, and the few tears that clung to his long lashes fell. "K-Kai?"
Kai bit his lip, then nuzzled Rei's cheek. "I'm sorry...I forget, you don't know
Russia...you don't know my family." Though the words were meant to be comforting, his tone was gruff. Rei didn't reply; he just wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. In the awkward silence, Kai moved them away from the few onlookers, and towards the exit of the airport.
"Your feet. Tell me about them." He commanded in the brusque tone he always used while in Russia. Rei blinked, mewing a bit. Kai's voice woke him from a warm doze, and he reluctantly raised his head from it's comfortable spot on Kai's coat.
"Mmmm....my feet? Pa-pa ordered all the girls in the village to have their feet bound; they were to be sold in arranged marriages....he bound my feet as punishment for the time I ran away....when I met you....." Rei looked up at his new husband warily.
Kai gazed down at him with crimson eyes, that, while not gentle, were not frozen hard. "I've missed you; over the years, there wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of you."
"R-really?"
Kai nodded, then brought his lips against Rei's, kissing him gently and tasting the salty tinge from his tears. Rei melted in Kai's arms, eyes closing as one hand came up to cup his smooth, clean-shaven cheek. Kai kept the kiss soft and gentle, drowning in the sweetness that was Rei, until someone clearing their throat loudly made him look up, freezing momentarily, before glaring at his valet.
"If it pleases Mr. Hiwatari, his limo is waiting; his luggage, and that of his bride, has already been taken back to the house." Kai glared at the upstart servant, then dismissed him.
"Wow, they really do everything for you at these airports-" Rei was looking around again, his face red at having been caught kissing.
Kai snorted, almost smiling with amusement. "No, that's only because my family's loaded with money that we get the royal treatment." He said derisively, then felt his pocket, making sure he had Rei's weird, tiny shoe and bandages, before carrying him out to the car, his dress hiding his bound feet.
&&&&&&&&&&
ack....i really *hate * this chapter...but it's the best i could come up with; it fell _so _ flat....i tried re-writing it several times but this was the best i could do, and i'm severely disapointed in myself...
but, nyack, i digress....reviews, as always, are appreciated, even more so for this fic cuz i actually do bother to research it, and i shall continue the quest....soon as finals are over .