[Ever dramatic, it suits Angel perfectly, and that compliment takes him by surprise, lips splitting into a real grin. And maybe the sharp teeth and golden glint don't exactly match the vibe of the rest of his outfit, but it's sincere.]
My pretty poet. You're gonna make me burn up.
[He nods excitedly, linking a lower arm through one of Wen Ning's.]
[He flows and gives Angel's arm a little squeeze, then opens the door. Taking advantage of the enclosure's loose relationship with reality, they step out onto the fantastical ancient Chinese equivalent of a boardwalk. The lake, still and misty, is woven with walkways and little pagodas, lotus gardens and clusters of little boats. The town beyond is just as picturesque, with mountains faintly visible in the distance.
A full moon overhead lights up the lantern festival below. Little stalls for the pier full of sizzling fried stuff on sticks, pretty toys, and the kind of goofy souvenirs you'll find at any human special occasion. The stalls are, as promised, empty of the creepy simulacra the enclosure makes for people.
He watches for Angel's reaction, a little nervous. It's not exactly a sophisticated outing, but it's one that matters to him.]
[It's like nothing Angel's ever seen outside of movies and those dramas he and Wen Ning watch together. The real thing is a sight to behold, and Angel tries to take it all in with a real and unpracticed grin.]
Look at it. [He breathes in awe and his eyes linger on the mountains, a far cry from the natural landscape of New York.]
It's beautiful. [Giddy, Angel leans into Wen Ning, before being distracted by the stalls, half dragging him to explore and play with the souvenirs.]
[Well, that was as much as he could have hoped for. Wen Ning smiles and follows him, zeroing in on a lantern stall. Most of the fancy animal shaped ones are rabbits, for folkloric reasons, but zodiac animals are reliable.
By the time he's caught up, he's snagged a pink pig lantern almost as cute as a hell piglet. And a stick of candied berries that is frankly way too phallic not to make a joke about, but being Wen Ning he offers it innocently.]
Sugared hawthorne. Have you eaten in here before? Food and drinks are real until you leave, and then it's like you never had anything.
[He does not know what that means. But he has learned enough to catch on to that lick, and look as bashfully pleased as Angel could hope for.]
Good, let's find you snacks. It's lake country, so the crabs and fish are good? But.
[Wen Ning's starting to have a tell when he's trying to match Angel's outrageous innuendos, a twitch of resolution before he manages to get the words out. He rocks onto tiptoe and steals a lick from Angel's candy. He doesn't really manage to be very seductive about it. Points for effort?]
You have to share tanghulu. It's lucky.
[He absolutely made that up, and he is not a good liar.]
[That playful return is a surprise and Angel laughs fondly, giving that stridulating rattle he knows Wen Ning enjoys and lowering the candy so it's easier to share, sucking at the tip of it.]
Lucky, huh? Well I need all the luck I can get, get in on this.
[He'll never be Angel's equal. He still thinks he's improving. It's a little easier to be outrageous in a place that feels like a dream. He snatches a quick, slightly sticky kiss to the corner of Angel's mouth and has another lick.]
The berries are filled with red bean paste in the middle. Careful it doesn't surprise you.
[There, see, that's the kind of thing Wen Ning has learned to be able to think, even if he would usually fluster himself and then immediately bury. With just Angel, surrounded by reflected lanternlight and stalls manned by ghosts, he can juuuust manage amateur innuendo.
The tanghulu itself is not terrible exciting. The shell is just a thin crust of sugar with fruit underneath. But hopefully it won't be too much of a disappointment.]
[He giggles his approves and nips at him carefully, stealing another kiss and giving a far more gratuitous and loooong lick up the length of the treat.]
[He still can't believe he said that, but Angel laughed, so he's smiling through the embarrassment. He keeps holding of Angel's arm and steers him gently forward.]
[Wen Ning pulls them towards the food stalls, which do look a little odd unmanned, but not as creepy as they would with the empty, ghostly people the enclosure makes, in his opinion. He grabs two sticks of fishballs this time and bites into his own as he holds one out to Angel, shining with deep fried crispness.
He's actually eating, not taking the tiniest bites possible to check the taste. It's imaginary food. It's fine.]
There's roe in the middle, but... I don't know how to make a dirty joke about that. They're good, though!
[He takes a sip. It won't effect him, the same way real alcohol wouldn't. Though that's worth finding out. If he asked the enclosure for magic alcohol, like Astarion has, would that work, as long as he stayed in here? An experiment for another day. Anyway, the taste is homey.]
We'll bring it with us to see the dancers?
[Because he didn't just bring Angel for snacks and to look at pretty lights. That would have been nice, but... impersonal. He could do that for anyone.]
We gotta see 'bout gettin' this stuff in the bar. Reminds me a the stuff from prohibition. Feds tried bannin' alcohol. [He adds by way of explanation. He doesn't explain that he was probably too young to be enjoying that at the time.
His eyes light up and he nods eagerly, very much wanting to see the dancers.] Ya play your cards right and I might dance for ya later~
[That sharpens Wen Ning's smile, remembering Angel at the party.]
I'll play my best. But I bet you'll let me win.
[He loops an arm through one of Angel's, tugging gently in the direction of lion dancers, sword dancers, the pretty girls in floaty outfits that are probably the closest this scene has to Angel's usual experience of the art. It's a weird way to use the enclosure, but it's a performance they're going to see. You're not really supposed to interact. So the unreal people shouldn't be a problem.]
[It's a safe bet, and Angel's doesn't try to hide his cheeky grin. His attention is quickly stolen away by the variety of dancer, eyes wide and focused as he takes it all in. Exotic and beautiful, his own experience letting him appreciate the skill and discipline involved.]
[Happy as he'd be to keep offering Angel snacks and pretty views, this is what he hoped would really land, and he glows a little to find it's working.
There are railings all along the piers to keep anybody from tipping into the picturesque, mirror-still waters. Wen Ning hops up on one of those. It doesn't quite put him at Angel's height, but it's a slightly easier angle for winding an arm around his waist and leaning on his shoulder.]
He sits in slightly stunned silence for a second, then twists all at once to kiss Angel firm and fierce. "I love you, mooncake." Kiss. "Sunrise, treasure." Kiss. Slight danger of tipping over into the lake if he doesn't watch his center of balance. "My Anthony." (An-tou-ni.) Kiss.
There's a flustered laugh, and Angel's hand catches at the small of Wen Ning's back to be sure he doesn't fall, returning a scattering of kisses with a foreign flush on his cheeks.
The possessive warms the heart that doesn't beat. "Yours," he agrees without thinking. One more kiss, still tasting just a little of candied hawthorn, and a nuzzle through the soft fuzz on his cheek as he pulls away just a little. At a bit of a loss for words, give him a second.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
My pretty poet. You're gonna make me burn up.
[He nods excitedly, linking a lower arm through one of Wen Ning's.]
You know me so well.
no subject
A full moon overhead lights up the lantern festival below. Little stalls for the pier full of sizzling fried stuff on sticks, pretty toys, and the kind of goofy souvenirs you'll find at any human special occasion. The stalls are, as promised, empty of the creepy simulacra the enclosure makes for people.
He watches for Angel's reaction, a little nervous. It's not exactly a sophisticated outing, but it's one that matters to him.]
no subject
Look at it. [He breathes in awe and his eyes linger on the mountains, a far cry from the natural landscape of New York.]
It's beautiful. [Giddy, Angel leans into Wen Ning, before being distracted by the stalls, half dragging him to explore and play with the souvenirs.]
no subject
By the time he's caught up, he's snagged a pink pig lantern almost as cute as a hell piglet. And a stick of candied berries that is frankly way too phallic not to make a joke about, but being Wen Ning he offers it innocently.]
Sugared hawthorne. Have you eaten in here before? Food and drinks are real until you leave, and then it's like you never had anything.
no subject
He snickers, giving it a not at all innocent lick, eyes locked on Wen Ning.]
Dieter's dream.
no subject
Good, let's find you snacks. It's lake country, so the crabs and fish are good? But.
[Wen Ning's starting to have a tell when he's trying to match Angel's outrageous innuendos, a twitch of resolution before he manages to get the words out. He rocks onto tiptoe and steals a lick from Angel's candy. He doesn't really manage to be very seductive about it. Points for effort?]
You have to share tanghulu. It's lucky.
[He absolutely made that up, and he is not a good liar.]
no subject
Lucky, huh? Well I need all the luck I can get, get in on this.
no subject
The berries are filled with red bean paste in the middle. Careful it doesn't surprise you.
[There, see, that's the kind of thing Wen Ning has learned to be able to think, even if he would usually fluster himself and then immediately bury. With just Angel, surrounded by reflected lanternlight and stalls manned by ghosts, he can juuuust manage amateur innuendo.
The tanghulu itself is not terrible exciting. The shell is just a thin crust of sugar with fruit underneath. But hopefully it won't be too much of a disappointment.]
no subject
[He giggles his approves and nips at him carefully, stealing another kiss and giving a far more gratuitous and loooong lick up the length of the treat.]
Don' worry, I won't make a mess.
no subject
[He still can't believe he said that, but Angel laughed, so he's smiling through the embarrassment. He keeps holding of Angel's arm and steers him gently forward.]
Come on, fish balls come on a stick, too.
no subject
An ya know how I like gettin' my mouth on those~
[This is fun. Sweet, but not the boring kind of sweet he'd've rolled his eyes at in the past.]
no subject
He's actually eating, not taking the tiniest bites possible to check the taste. It's imaginary food. It's fine.]
There's roe in the middle, but... I don't know how to make a dirty joke about that. They're good, though!
no subject
[Angel asks, but he's already taking a bite and giving a surprised hum. Right, those!]
Not bad. You taste better though. [A wink and a pointed glance down turns it into passable dirty joke, and Angel grins, stealing kiss.]
no subject
[Settling in now, he grabs a clay jar from the next stall, cooled by lake water.]
Let's find out if you like baiju.
[He opens the jar. Whatever's in there is high proof and rough, pure liquor with bite.]
no subject
[That shit is good! Strong and sharp. They need to get this at the bar.]
Your people know what they're doin'.
no subject
[He takes a sip. It won't effect him, the same way real alcohol wouldn't. Though that's worth finding out. If he asked the enclosure for magic alcohol, like Astarion has, would that work, as long as he stayed in here? An experiment for another day. Anyway, the taste is homey.]
We'll bring it with us to see the dancers?
[Because he didn't just bring Angel for snacks and to look at pretty lights. That would have been nice, but... impersonal. He could do that for anyone.]
no subject
His eyes light up and he nods eagerly, very much wanting to see the dancers.] Ya play your cards right and I might dance for ya later~
no subject
I'll play my best. But I bet you'll let me win.
[He loops an arm through one of Angel's, tugging gently in the direction of lion dancers, sword dancers, the pretty girls in floaty outfits that are probably the closest this scene has to Angel's usual experience of the art. It's a weird way to use the enclosure, but it's a performance they're going to see. You're not really supposed to interact. So the unreal people shouldn't be a problem.]
no subject
[It's a safe bet, and Angel's doesn't try to hide his cheeky grin. His attention is quickly stolen away by the variety of dancer, eyes wide and focused as he takes it all in. Exotic and beautiful, his own experience letting him appreciate the skill and discipline involved.]
...shit, it's beautiful~
no subject
There are railings all along the piers to keep anybody from tipping into the picturesque, mirror-still waters. Wen Ning hops up on one of those. It doesn't quite put him at Angel's height, but it's a slightly easier angle for winding an arm around his waist and leaning on his shoulder.]
I thought you'd like it.
no subject
I love it. [A pause then, and a pink flush.] ...Love you, too.
no subject
no subject
"My pretty Ghost."
no subject