A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay with this final chapter. I'd actually had most of this written by the time I'd uploaded the second chapter, but... something about it always felt off to me. So I spent the longest time going over it again and again, rewriting and editing scenes and I think I finally have something I'm pretty happy with. And if I look at this anymore, my eyes will explode.
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Xianglin finds remnants of the Order of the Black Knights who've evaded capture, like she has, along with, surprisingly, Cornelia li Britannia. They all land in Area 11 on the day of the execution. Just a handful of them, with a few ragged guns? The strategist in her is laughing at their odds. She closes her eyes and breathes out unsteadily. Better to die here than to sit idly by.
At least she would die trying to save Xing-ke.
Time passes too quickly, and Xianglin finds herself peeking through window blinds, watching as the Emperor's entourage rolls down the street. Immediately her eyes search through those white straitjackets and metal confinements. She scans the faces: Kozuki Kallen stands out with that red hair, and so does that Sumeragi princess, the Tianzi's friend. Eventually, she finds the two she's been looking for. Xing-ke's face is thin and pale. And even from here, she can tell that the Empress is crying.
Then, the miracle. The masked symbol for justice, Zero, flying between the Knightmares, a sword glinting through the air. The sword, piercing evil through the abdomen, the Emperor, tumbling down in a streak of blood.
She hefts her gun as Cornelia cries, "Lelouch the demon has died! Release the hostages!"
Xianglin runs to where the prisoners are confined as fast as she can, and when Xing-ke exclaims in surprise, she can barely hear him. She frees the Empress first (as he would want it) then works at his constraints after. Once he's free, she takes a brief moment to take in his face, drink in his presence and the real, absolute fact that he's here, in front of her, and he's safe. The impulse to forget rank and throw her arms around him is overwhelming. She almost does it.
But she doesn't. Because a white-haired red-eyed Tianzi rushes forward, sobbing and shaking, and Xing-ke brushes past Xianglin to envelop the young leader in his arms. His voice is ragged and completely relieved as he breathes: "Empress. I'm so glad you're alright."
Xianglin stands apart, stiff, tense, ugly thoughts seeping into every core, wrapping around the complete joy she felt just a few moments ago and dragging it down to the depths of jealousy and hatred and she swears she's seeing red, red like the Empress' eyes, the Empress, this naïve girl who doesn't know anything, doesn't understand –
"Thank you for saving us." Xianglin startles, shaking halfway free from her reverie as she stares at the source of that voice. "Thank you," Tianzi repeats. Then the Empress smiles, shy, tremulous and completely genuine.
Xianglin looks at the Empress' earnest face and her stomach unclenches. No, no matter how hard she may try, she will never be able to truly hate this girl. So, today, on this day of victory, and triumph, she breathes out and releases her bitterness to the beautiful, open blue sky.
"No, Empress," she replies, bowing her head. "I'm just glad you're alright."
xxxx
Twenty-six years old -
Xianglin examines her reflection closely. A flower in her brown hair and a tight-fitting dress showing just a little too much leg. But why not? It's a joyous occasion, after all. A wedding. Ohgi and Viletta's, and the three of them Commander, Aide and Empress, are in the United States of Japan for the express purpose of attending.
The Empress is preparing for the wedding with Sumeragi Kaguya, leaving Xianglin alone in the extremely grandiose hotel suite.
Knock. She goes to open the hotel door. Xing-ke's there and she can't deny that he makes a strikingly handsome figure, drawn up to his full height, formal wear flattering his figure, his jian still at his hip even in this time of peace.
"You look lovely," he says, and because she really can't afford to dwell on that compliment for long, she changes the topic to something much safer and suggests they start going. He holds an arm out, a perfect gentleman, when -
Xing-ke doubles over, coughing and hacking violently. When he straightens, there's a dribble of blood in the corner of his mouth, and she rushes to his side, eyes fearful.
"Lord Xing-ke?"
He doesn't straighten up, waving a hand impatiently against her concern, like he has countless of times before. Instead, he remains doubled over on the floor, unconscious. Immediately, she calls a car to drive them to the hospital.
By the time Xing-ke's settled on a crisp white bed, he's already starting to regain consciousness. As soon as she notices his eyes start to flicker open, she startles out of the chair by his side and is quick to explain. "The doctor has confined you to bed rest. He says… he says you should've been here months earlier."
He smiles weakly. "I trust you to send my apologies to Ohgi and Viletta... and to the Empress also... "
She nods quickly, desperate to agree, to somehow make this hopeless situation better. "…Are you sure you don't need me to stay here? I don't need to go."
"No, you need to be there. Besides," he smiles again, though the red trickling from the corner of his mouth ruins the image. "I need you at the Empress' side."
Her eyes slide shut. She's lost count of how many times this has happened, where he's said something with only the best intentions and even without any logical reason, it hurts. These little things slide off her easier now, just little pinpricks that don't even reach her heart.
Eventually, eyes still closed, she nods. "Of course, Commander."
xxxx
At the wedding reception, the Empress spends most of her time by Sumeragi Kaguya's side, and Xianglin hangs back, nurturing a deep red wine to chase away the memories of Xing-ke's blood splattered across her floor. Tianzi was obviously distressed at the news, but one gentle reminder from Xianglin to be brave for Xingke's sake kept the tears at bay, and now the young Empress socialized easily with the rest of the old comrades at the reception.
"Miss Xianglin?" A bright, feminine voice. Vaguely familiar. It snaps the woman out of her stupor and surprisingly, Xianglin finds herself face-to-face with the Supreme Councilwoman of the UFN.
"What is it, Lady Kaguya?" she asks. She can't fathom what this charismatic young woman wants with her. Thankfully, the wilful Sumeragi princess seems to understand that Xianglin is in no mood for petty talk, and gets straight to the point.
"Are you in love with Li Xing-ke?"
That's it. There. Laid out in front of her, so clearly she can't ignore it, the one thing Xianglin can't resolve. She's been caught off-guard so badly that for several seconds, all she can do is stare, mouth open. The young remaining head of the Kyoto House gives a tiny sigh at her reaction. "I see. "
Xianglin's ashamed to say it takes her a full minute to regain her composure. But when it does, her coolest expression glides back in and her voice is as impersonal as she can make it when she says, "You'd have to be a fool not to notice he can only think about the Empress."
The last of the Six Houses of Kyoto flicks an ornate fan over the bottom half of her face. "…That's not an answer."
Xianglin breathes out, slowly. "I understand you are asking this on behalf of the Empress. But I assure you, there is no reason to be worried." She hesitates, severely uncomfortable but nevertheless determined to clear up any misunderstanding that could spell disaster for the Empress' emotional wellbeing. "I gave up on him years ago."
Over the fan, Kaguya's eyes are deep green wells of understanding far beyond her years. "But you see, Miss Xianglin… I don't think you have."
With one last look, she flutters away.
After another minute of shocked silence, Xianglin downs the rest of her wine in one gulp and orders another glass. For the rest of the evening, she tries to convince herself that Kaguya's words are false.
She doesn't succeed.
xxxx
After, Xianglin visits the hospital and speaks to the doctor about Xingke's condition. "Two months, at most," the doctor says, and, weakly, offers: "The whole country will feel the loss of Lord Xing-ke."
She feels no sense of comfort from those words. She'd had years to resign herself to his death, but those years were filled with war, with more immediate dangers that pushed this problem from her mind. More pressing matters in the present that pushed everything of the 'future' to the side.
Now the future is the present, and there's no pushing the matter for later. No other responsibilities that took higher priority than this. She has to face Xing-ke's death head on.
Has to face the fact that in a few short months, he'll be gone forever. Xing-ke. Her Commander, her comrade, her friend, her love.
She looks down and notices, for the first time, that her hands are trembling.
xxxx
They return home. Not to Luo Yang, not to the Forbidden City where the Empress resides. But home, Beijing, so Xing-ke's placed in the best, most advanced hospital in the country.
Not that it matters. But if this is the absolute end, Xing-ke might as well die in complete luxury.
Xianglin pores over reports in her usual chair by Xing-ke's bedside, with Xing-ke sitting up on his bed, reading similar documents. The first time she spent the afternoon in the hospital with him, he had sighed, understanding but firm, and told her that she should leave, that she had better ways to spend her time and he'd feel better if she was at the army, being strong for the men in this difficult time.
She'd ignored him.
This had gone on for the better part of two weeks and everyday Xing-ke insisted, at first softly, then angrily, that he didn't need her here and every day, she – the same Zhou Xianglin considered to be the perfect subordinate who never failed to follow her superior's commands – refused. Eventually, they had gotten into an argument so fierce, the doctor had to intervene.
The next day, when she came back and sat back down on the chair without a single word, he finally just sighed and told her to hand over the second half of the reports. She'd smiled, and for the first time in weeks, said "Yes sir," and obeyed.
xxxx
Today, there's an unusual amount of the sound of shuffling feet in the usually quiet hospital hall. Xianglin lifts her head from her reading to glance at the direction of the door. As if on cue, it opens.
"Good afternoon," greets an all-too familiar voice.
Xianglin finds herself staring at no one other than the Tianzi, and Xianglin has to wonder at how much the Empress has grown in the span of the last months they'd seen each other. Tianzi no longer holds herself like an uncertain child, head always turning to her shoulder where the Eunuch Generals used to hover. Instead, she stood taller, a little more experienced but eyes still young, still bright.
Xianglin immediately leaps off her seat and sinks into a low bow. "Empress."
Xing-ke makes to copy her, but Xianglin sends him one look and he settles back down onto the bed.
"May I have a moment alone with Xing-ke?" Tianzi asks.
"Of course, Empress," Xianglin replies. She bows one more time before closing the door behind her. But the moment she's closed the door and turned around, she's blinded by flashes of what must be a hundred different cameras, all going off at the same time.
There's a disgusting amount of reporters crowding around the door she'd just closed, shoving microphones in her face. the sheer number of them, all pressing in closer to her and to the Xing-ke's room, is enough to make her feel overwhelmed. The questions bombard her from all directions, but they all run in the same vein. Lady Xianglin! Just one, two questions! What of the rumours that you and Lord Xing-ke are together? Tell us, tell us, exactly what kind of relationship do you have with him?
That clears her head. She immediately orders them all to leave and when they continue to swarm around her, draws her sword. That, in combination with her fiercest military face, causes most of the media hounds to disperse.
She takes one backward glance at the door to Xing-ke's room where he is alone with the Empress, probably saying their goodbyes. With his worsening condition, and the Empress' busy schedule, she knows the two of them are expecting these words to be their last to each other.
Just as she decides to give them their privacy and makes to leave, she spots a snooty reporter woman trying to sneak back in at the end of the hallway. Xianglin proceeds to intimidate her into leaving, but another one appears from the opposite end of the hallway. She gives one heavy sigh and decides to stay a little longer, just to keep away the last few rats who foolishly try to sneak in and interrupt Xing-ke and Tianzi's last moments together.
When the sound of muffled crying filters through the door, Xianglin feels incredibly like she's intruding. She doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to be witness to this even if it's just outside the door where she can't hear. She glances down the empty hallway. It's been calm for a while now. There wouldn't be any more people trying to sneak in. Probably. She could leave now and if more appear, she could always say she tried her best and no one would blame her. Right?
But she stays anyway, laughs at herself and wonders if she's some sort of masochist.
She doesn't know how long it takes, but eventually Tianzi comes out of the room with pink eyes and wet cheeks. The Empress hesitates for a moment, surprise apparent on her tearstained face. She takes a tentative look around the decidedly empty hallway and when she turns back to face Xianglin, Xing-ke's military aide already has a white handkerchief offered to her.
Tianzi takes it with a quiet "Thank you" and Xianglin knows she's not just thanking her for the handkerchief.
Eventually the Empress breaks the silence again. "Miss Xianglin… to be honest, I was a little jealous."
Xianglin's eyes widen, though she's learned more about being shocked from her encounter with Kaguya and manages to keep her mouth closed. The Empress continues, oblivious. "I remember meeting you and thinking that you matched Xing-ke so well. You're so smart, and capable, and mature... and the two of you seemed so close and I..." Tianzi fades off a little here and the two of them stand in silence, the Empress twisting the handkerchief nervously in her hands until finally, she looks up again. "Thank you, Miss Xianglin," she says again, that earnest look back on her face. "You'll...stay with him until the end, won't you?"
The situation is more than ironic, but she nods anyway.
xxxx
Twenty-seven years old-
Xianglin closes the door behind her and rests her jacket on her chair, just as she has every day for the last three months. Xing-ke's held on a little longer than the doctors had estimated, and why wouldn't he? He's done amazing things with just the force of his will before.
"How is your condition today, Lord Xing-ke?"
"I feel surprisingly well," he says, and it might just be the truth. Just as he should be on his deathbed, his cheeks have a little more colour in them and his eyes don't seem so sunken in his face. She leaves briefly to convince the doctor that an excursion outside is necessary. She knows that perhaps a few months ago he would have refused with something about rest, but now, at the very end, all the man does is fidget with his glasses before conceding with, "If Lord Xing-ke feels up to it, then…"
She tells Xing-ke right away, nearly drags him out of the door and refuses to tell him their destination because she wants to see the look on his face when they reach it. And the look on his face is indeed worth it.
The old teahouse is quite a bit more polished now – still small, still quaint, but a lot less rickety. The sign hangs straight. No leaks springing out from mouldy corners, no cracked glass in the windows and booths that don't have holes in the cushions. A familiar face mans the counter. His clothes are less patched, his beard is neatly trimmed, and his cheeks have filled out some with evidence of more regular meals. He's obviously a little preoccupied and does not really pay attention to their faces. "A table for two, then?" He points down the newer sections of the shop that she doesn't recognize. They wait patiently, not seating themselves, and the old man finally looks up to see what's wrong.
The look of surprise on his face nearly makes her smile. "Lord Xing-ke! Lady Xianglin! The heroes of our country!" His bulging eyes are almost comical, but the shock wears off and soon the old man is beaming brightly at them. "Please, please, over here!"
He leads them not where he originally pointed, but to a familiar old booth beside the window. As she sits down in the improved but familiar seats, an intense wave of nostalgia hits her.
"If I remember correctly," the old man says, still beaming, "Jasmine for Lord Xing-ke and oolong for Lady Xianglin, yes?"
She nods. He scurries to get their orders and the two of them are left alone in their old booth.
"This brings back memories," Xing-ke says, eyes scanning the shop. He turns back to her, obviously feeling nostalgic as well. "Don't you think so, Xianglin?"
"I agree, Lord Xing-ke," she replies, and she turns to him just in time to catch the familiar hint of disapproval in his eyes. A large and outspoken corner of her mind asks her what she's being so stubborn about, and finally, because this place is special, she relents.
She eases up on her rigid posture and lets herself relax onto the booth's cushions. "It's been a long time since then, hasn't it, Xing-ke?" With that, and the lack of titles or formality, she breaks down that last barrier she's put up between them.
He smiles.
Their orders arrive. The appearance of the shop might have changed, but thankfully one thing has not – the tea is as delicious as it was it when she sat here seven years ago, listening to Xing-ke's first whispers of rebellion. As the afternoon stretches on, they talk about a lot of things, first haltingly, then arguing and interrupting each other like they're both young and eighteen again and she thinks that while it may have been a long time, there are a lot of things that haven't changed at all.
Despite her best efforts, the day passes by all too quickly, and before she knows it, the sun's already brushing the horizon. The late orange sunlight casts over his face in such a way that highlights his protruding cheekbones. A memory flashes in her mind of the same face, but younger and healthier, in this exact same environment. Such a small thing to notice, and yet that's all it takes. One moment, she's nearly happy again, and the next, reality douses her in ice water and leaves lead in her stomach.
"Xianglin…" says Xing-ke. "Are you alright?"
The automatic 'Yes, Commander', is at the tip of her tongue. And it's tempting, to just continue on as she always has, burying everything she wants to say under an ice-cold front. But she's sitting here, so much time has passed, and this place is special. So what comes out is: "Do you remember the last time we were here, all those years ago?""
He looks at her with a question in his eyes. "Xianglin?"
She tries to latch onto the spurt of courage that caused her outburst moments ago. "Do you?"
His face stays confused only for a moment before it clicks. His eyes suddenly fill with understanding. "I remember."
Swallowing hard, she turns her gaze down to her hands, avoiding his eyes. "Even before then… Did you know?" She doesn't have to complete it, doesn't have to say how I felt when the words are already hovering in the air between them.
Xing-ke's eyes slide shut. "I did."
"And do you know now?"
One soft sigh. "I do."
Xianglin lets one small, bitter smile curve her lips. "That's what I thought." She inhales, slowly. "Nothing's changed, Xing-ke. I... haven't changed."
He starts to say something but she doesn't let him, and keeps going, words that she's hidden for too long overflowing uncontrollably out. "… After I figured out that you must've known... I remember thinking how everything would have been so much easier if you'd said something. If you'd just put me out of my misery. And I... I never said anything because I thought it'd be easier to let you do it. So I waited. Waited for you to tell me to give up, and move on, so I finally could." Her voice cracks, hitches in her throat. "But you didn't. And I haven't. I haven't moved on. I've been stuck, Xing-ke, for years and years. And it hurt. Sometimes it hurt so much I wanted to leave, to just transfer to the farthest corner of the Federation and try and try to forget you again."
Deep breath. Don't falter now. "But I don't regret it, Xing-ke. Even if it hurt… all those years I spent with you…" Look up. Even if he's going to make the same face as before, just look up. She does. She meets his eyes, and rather than shrink away, that familiar colour gives her courage. "I don't regret them."
Silence settles in between the two of them and it isn't long before the enormity of what she's just said finally hits her. Xianglin blinks rapidly, mortified. "My deepest apologies," she starts to say, polite veneer sliding back in. "I've overstepped my boundar–"
"No," he immediately replies. "There's nothing to apologize for."
The remnants of the late, orange sun trickle through the tiny window to bathe their faces in warmth. She thinks about breaking the silence by noting the lateness and already has a sentence ready about them needing to return to the hospital when she feels a familiar, callused touch at her wrist.
Startling, her face jerks to the front to see his just inches away. He's so close she can feel his thin breath ghost over her face. A shiver of anticipation goes down her spine, and instinctively, her eyes slide shut.
The kiss is light and chaste, but the pressure of his lips against hers is as steady and warm. Both of his hands gently cup her face and, almost unconsciously, one of her hands finds its way to the back of his neck, steadying him.
She knows it's not a kiss borne out of love. But it's enough.
They separate, and when she opens her eyes, she's greeted with a faint smile.
"Thank you again, Xianglin. For everything," he murmurs softly and she nods because she understands everything he's left out, even if he hasn't said it out loud. Can feel his apology in how he takes her hand, and can feel his goodbye in how he lets go of it.
xxxx
When he's back on crisp, sterile sheets, she lets formalities drop for a final time and leans over to brush her lips briefly against the papery skin of his cheek. "Good night, Xing-ke," she murmurs, before pulling back to better see his face. When she sees him smile, she touches one hand gently against his cheek and lets it linger there a second longer before she finally pulls away.
xxxx
The moment she gets back to her cold apartment, she sinks down to the ground, back to the door. Curls up, knees pressed against her body, and before she can help herself, she starts to cry. Cries with years of emotions she'd crushed and hid under a composed, stone face. Cries with every feeling she's choked down. Cries with the knowledge that Kaguya was right, that no matter how hard she tried to deny it, one part of her had still hoped. One part of her hadn't given up, had still clung to that dream where he told her he felt the same and immediately, she'd feel gratified that her feelings weren't wasted. That these years she'd been so hopelessly, so pathetically in love weren't in vain.
Xianglin lifts a hand to her lips, recalls a kiss that for now is more bitter than sweet, and thinks that even though it's supposed to be closure, right now all it feels like is hurt.
xxxx
The next day, Xing-ke's worse, much worse. He's far too weak to talk, to even sit up. Just lies in his bed, feverish, face strained even in sleep. She doesn't leave his side. A few times, his eyes open, but he doesn't even seem to see her, trapped in some waking dream. She sits completely still, save for the one occasional movement of her placing a cool hand against his heated skin.
They say it won't be long now.
xxxx
Xianglin refuses to go home, doesn't pay any mind that visiting hours are long past. The doctor sees she can't be persuaded and with a sigh, gets a nurse to bring her an extra blanket and pillow and she takes to sleeping in the plush chair right there just three feet away from Xing-ke's hospital bed.
She wakes up slightly disoriented, sunlight dazzling her half-lidded eyes and an ache in her neck from sleeping on something not meant for sleeping. But when she catches sight of Xing-ke, her sluggishness immediately vanishes, and she's at his side, hand on his forehead, taking his temperature. His fever's gone, but he's deathly pale.
Eventually, his eyes open. "Xiang…lin?" His face is inches from hers, and she still has trouble making out what he's saying.
She takes his cold hands in her own warm ones. "I'm here."
He smiles, but it's a weak effort that fades quickly. When his breathing has slowed and evened out like he's fallen asleep again, she frees one hand so she can lean over and brush the hair out of his face. She thought she'd put everything to rest that night in the teahouse. But no, there was one thing, and only one thing she'd forgotten to say.
"I love you, Xing-ke," she whispers softly. There. They're out, those three words that have been weighing at her since she was nineteen years old. There's no reaction, no answer; Xing-ke's face is still and peaceful, chest rising and falling in slow, even breaths. But no, none of that matters.
"I love you," she repeats. "I hope you know that."
Silence. Then, subtly, so subtly she might've missed it, his hand shifts in hers. She startles, nearly letting go. Waits, breathing quickened, and then…
His eyes open again, and even if it looks like it takes all his strength to do so, he whispers, "I do."
She squeezes her eyes shut, nodding. A tear escapes out of the corner of her closed lids, but she doesn't pay it any mind. Just focuses on keeping her hands wrapped around his.
xxxx
She doesn't know how long she's been there, unmoving, when the machine he's hooked to starts beeping rapidly. Panicking, she calls for the doctor, calls Xing-ke's name over and over, but he's not answering –
In under a minute, Xing-ke's heart has stopped beating.
xxxx
The funeral is a huge, televised event, so that the whole world may mourn Li Xing-ke, General Commander of the Order of the Black Knights, the leader of the infamous coup d'état that freed their country from oppressive hands. A great Commander, who will go down in their history and be known as the hero of the nation.
She doesn't cry. Neither does the Empress. Tianzi eulogizes Xing-ke with a straight back and dry eyes and Xianglin feels proud for her in Xing-ke's stead.
He'd been gifted twice, intelligence and heroism matching those of the Demon Emperor Lelouch and his Knight of Zero, respectively.
He just hadn't been blessed with time.
xxxx
Old comrades, members of the UFN and the Black Knights come and express their condolences, offer their comfort. It surprises her how many of them remember her. She had never invested in making friendships with the members of the Black Knights even when she had an official position there, preferring the company of her countrymen and Xing-ke. And so she's surprised and touched at how many of them express their concern and worry for her.
She tells them all she's doing fine. She's had time to prepare. She'd known this would happen. She'd made peace with it years ago. That was what she told them.
And surprisingly, the words aren't complete lies.
Of course, that doesn't mean she's not mourning. She is. But she mourns Xing-ke in the privacy of her own home. Mourns Xing-ke, the man, not the Commander. The gentle young man filled with dreams and the passion and determination with which he pursued them. A man whose greatest strength was his fierce, unwavering loyalty to his men, his allies and his nation.
She wants to remember Xing-ke like that. Not as the man who, even unintentionally, caused her the most pain she ever felt in her life. But as the brave, brilliant man she first fell in love with all those years ago. And the same brilliant man, she thinks a bit wistfully, who she couldn't fall out of love with, either.
xxxx
Twenty-eight years old-
A year after Xing-ke's death, her parents arrange for her to meet someone. A young, talented officer from Shanghai. She dreads the meeting, doesn't want to show up at all, wants to say it's still too soon and she needs more time.
But she shows up anyway. As they start dinner, he sees how intensely uncomfortable she is and smiles kindly. "Even if this is something arranged, it doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves."
Somehow, his words strike a chord within her and she gives a tiny smile back. All the reasons she was ready to spout (I'm sorry, I'm not interested, there's someone I can't forget) evaporate as the night continues. She actually finds she's enjoying herself.
When he asks if they could meet again, despite herself, she agrees.
xxxx
Twenty-nine years old-
The first time he tells her he loves her, she panics and runs.
She'd been in love with one man so long, in love with one man who never loved her back that she found she didn't know how to be in a relationship where she could just receive love unconditionally, without expecting it to turn back and hurt her.
But he doesn't let her run. He catches up to her, tells her it doesn't matter how long, that he would wait until she's ready. That even if she's in love with a dead man, he doesn't mind.
Seeing the earnest look on his face, she steps forward and wraps her arms around him. He sinks into her embrace, laughing in a relieved sort of way. She laughs a little too.
He's an honest and pure man, and he makes her happy.
xxxx
She's getting married.
There's a big splash when the Empress of the United States of China and the Supreme Councilwoman of the UFN show up, unexpectedly, during the reception. The Empress, grown into a lovely young woman now, greets them with traditional wedding congratulations. Xianglin accepts them graciously.
But it's the latter whose congratulations surprise her most. When Sumeragi Kaguya steps up, she places a hand on Xianglin's arm and says, with that same mischievous tone, "I was getting a little worried there. But I'm glad you proved me wrong. Congratulations."
xxxx
Thirty years old -
For the first time in a long time, she feels completely content. She knows how lucky she is; a good marriage, not just one of convenience, but one where her husband truly loves her. It's more than she ever hoped.
Half a year after the wedding, she's expecting. She's caught between terror and calm, watching with increasing fascination at how her belly swells and how she can devour enough food for 3 starving men and ask for more.
Her baby is due in the spring. The doctors say it's a boy.
When her husband places his ear against her belly and laughs as he hears the baby kick, she leans over, kisses him, and knows she truly loves him back.
xxxx
Her tradition is three years old now. Every year, on this particular day, Xianglin makes her way to a certain teahouse in the city. At the counter, the old man sees her swollen belly and offers his enthusiastic congratulations, but then his face turns half-stern as he scolds her for not coming by more often. She nods, but truth be told, she can never really bring herself to come back.
Except on this day, of course.
She sits in a booth by a tiny circular window and orders a cup of jasmine. The nostalgia of this place, combined with the pregnancy hormones make her cry just a little.
But when sunlight spills in through the glass to settle on her face, she raises a hand to her lips, remembers a kiss as warm as the sun's rays, and smiles.
End.
A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with me through this looong experiment of mine. I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it, and as always, feedback is always welcome and very much appreciated. Thank you again!