Melt the Years Away [England/China/Hong Kong] | Do Not Forget Me

Melt the Years Away [England/China/Hong Kong] Jun 15, 2016 22:23:04 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2016 22:23:04 GMT -5

When Arthur told him that Yao would be coming over for dinner, Leon was at first very hesitant, worried even for the potential reason behind Yao’s presence. But the longer he thought about it, the more he felt content with the whole thing. He hadn’t seen Yao for many, many years. And although he had very good reason for leaving and staying with Arthur and the others, he still couldn’t completely erase his thoughts for him, how he was doing, what he was up to… Of course, with China currently threatening to take over if he didn’t surrender wasn’t exactly the most encouraging thing to hear, that Yao's only thoughts of Hong Kong appeared to circulate around how to best conquer him. Still, Leon tried to think of the positive reasons for having him here. Arthur certainly wasn’t going to listen to any protests from him. He’d already tried that at the very beginning, going over all the reasons why this was a bad idea.

But Arthur would only tell him that it was already decided, which only led Leon to frown and push in his earbuds, making his way over into his room, turning up the music so that he wouldn’t have to hear more about it. However, as the days went on, Leon’s mood improved and he even seemed to take to the idea. He had walked in on Arthur while he was doing business in the study and had, more or less, announced that he would be in charge of cooking that day. And had left before Arthur could say anything against it.

And the day before Yao was supposed to come over for dinner, Leon did a big shopping with Arthur at the supermarket and grocer’s in one of the squares. He picked out all the fresh produce, seafood, meats, and tofu while Arthur bought all the supermarket items, such as the flour, cream, eggs, tea, and seasonings. Divide and conquer. The day was surprisingly fun, ending with Leon and Arthur drinking tea and eating biscuits at one of the square’s cafés and watching the tourists flood the area.

After they got home, Leon allowed Arthur to help him with prep work, just not the actual cooking. A lot of cutting vegetables, the mixing of the different doughs, and preparing the meats and seafood. Leon had also helped Arthur bring out one of the lower sitting tables that Arthur had in storage for some odd reason. When Leon had asked him about it, Arthur didn’t really give him a clear answer as to why it was there.

The next day was pretty relaxing, with Leon blasting his music in the kitchen while he started on his pork buns… and Arthur frequently barging in to tell him to turn it down. Leon would turn it down, and after it happened again, he decided to put in his earbuds. Eventually, Leon got Arthur in the kitchen, having him help form the pork buns… which ended with a few half mangled buns, but Leon allowed them with the slightest twitch of his lips, hinting at a smile. As it got closer to evening, closer to the time that Yao said he’d be there, Leon was working in the kitchen, getting all the foods together. Tonight was going to be a hot pot night, or 打邊爐, daa bin lou, where everyone got to be a little more interactive. Leon would never admit that it was his intention to have Arthur and Yao more involved in the meal, but it was probably very obvious. On the side, were his favorite pork buns and Hong Kong style milk tea. Leon also had dessert ready, as Hong Kong had a penchant for sweets.

He was still in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the soup that would be the centerpiece for tonight, he looked over at Arthur, doubt starting to cloud over his heart despite all the preparations they did. ”Do you think he’ll actually be here?” He hadn’t meant it to sound slightly bitter, but he did wonder if Yao could get away from his allies for that length of time without being noticed. Wouldn’t that cast some suspicion over him…? Would he get into trouble? Not that Leon was worried or anything... Of course not. But, maybe just a little.

TAG: @albion , China - Wang Yao
CREDIT: LAIKA OF GS

Melt the Years Away [England/China/Hong Kong] Jul 4, 2016 19:00:15 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2016 19:00:15 GMT -5

Arthur had been the one to concoct the entire idea and had, more or less, presented it to Yao on one of the nights that they happened to be in the same room together… right here, no less… after an intense conversation and other such activities... It just happened, as with many other events that seemed to unfold between them. And Arthur wasn’t going to go back on his word. If Yao made the decision to come here, to see Leon, to see him… then he wasn’t going to keep him away. As long as he behaved well enough. When he had presented the news to Leon, he expected him becoming upset. The boy didn’t have to say much, just the way he frowned at Arthur, pushed in his earbuds to drown out any possible statements was response enough. Which is why he was pleasantly surprised to hear Leon announce later in the week that he would be making the dinner. Arthur didn’t normally protest with that declaration these days, not when Leon was still teaching him how to make food more to his tastes. And Leon had far more of a hope of making something that fit Yao’s meticulous preference.

Arthur was the one who proposed the shopping and he tried to make it somewhat more of an outing than simply gathering ingredients. He even suggested that they have tea together at one of the outdoor cafes, which Leon seemed to take to. Arthur’s heart swelled a little at that, and he was in an elevated mood by the time they made it home and started on all the preparation with the food. He was actually quite proud of Leon for his thoughtfulness, from the way he pulled out the low table to the preparation of a meal that he thought Yao would like. Leon really did seem like he wanted to please him.

He helped him with the table as well as removing the other dining table that was in the way, putting that temporarily into storage instead. After a time, Arthur went to finish some work in his study, of course occasionally raising his voice for Leon to turn the loud music emanating from the kitchen down. He didn’t do it too often, however. It was nice to have someone else there, making noise and simply living in the same space as him. Even so, Arthur couldn’t stay away for long, and soon he was attempting to form Leon’s favorite food, the pork buns. Arthur knew that his were very poorly made compared to Leon’s, but the boy didn’t give him a hard time about it, instead allowing his buns to join Leon’s perfect ones to be baked.

It probably showed in Arthur’s expression that he was very content at the moment, enjoying his time while Leon continued to work on the soup. Arthur checked the buns quickly, making sure that they didn’t get too dark. He did glance briefly at Leon, wiping his slightly floured hands over the dish towel tied at his waist. ”He'll be here... He really wanted to see you last time,” he responded, trying to look a little surer in his words than he felt. Despite his voiced confidence, he wondered the exact same, intermittently throughout the day. Even though Leon likely wouldn’t show it, Arthur had a feeling that he would be far more disappointed than he was letting on if all the preparation was for nothing.

Arthur started arranging all the components to the hot pot, something that Leon had explained to him earlier. Mostly the vegetables, sauces, seafood, and various meats. The house did smell quite good, with the soup on the cooker, the pork buns in the oven, and the dessert being finished. Arthur was also putting on a couple different pots of tea, various flavors that they all seemed keen on. It was getting very close to the arranged time and Arthur resolved to send Yao a message if it got a little too late. Even if he decided not to come, he would still try to make a night of it with just the two of them. That’s what most evenings had turned into these days.