Post by Rachy on Feb 20, 2013 10:58:15 GMT 10
To: Mistrali
Happy Strangelove? I am so incredibly sorry that this is so late, but I hope you still find enjoyment in it! 
From: Rachy
Title: Final Wishes
Rating: PG
Prompt: #1:Kel/Shinko in the Yamani Isles
Word Count: 1097
Summary: AU. On her last night in the Yamani Isles, Shinko talks with Kel.
Notes: This is mainly AU in that Kel/Raoul get sent on the diplomatic mission to escort Shinko to Tortall.
'What is one final thing I should know about Tortall?' Shinko asks in Yamani, her fingers trailing in the whorls of the spokes of her fan. Her hands twist and flip, and Kel reaches out to catch the fan without thinking, and it thunks solidly in her palm. This is not the first, or the sixth, conversation they have had on Tortall, but it is likely to be their last. Their ship leaves in the morning, and too much of Cricket's time will be taken up by last minute preparations and mediating to make sure that everything is perfect for her arrival and introduction to Roald.
'You will like it there.' Kel says slowly, tracing her fingers across the fabric. She flips it through the air, and winces as Shinko leans out of her way to catch it.
“It does not matter if I like it. I know my duty, and I will make myself like it if I do not and no one shall be any the wiser. I will adapt, that is not my concern.” She sighs quickly, and tosses the fan back to Kel. It spins fast in complicated twists, and when it lands safely in Kel’s palm, she looks back at Shinko.
“I do not think I can tell you what you want to hear.” Her voice is quiet, and she tosses the fan back, a small smile crossing her lips when it flips successfully.
“I do not think I know what I want to hear.”Shinko replies, and snaps the fan closed, fixing it carefully to her obi.
“I have not seen enough of the Tortall you will experience. My knight-master abhors social gatherings,though he is close to Their Majesties and their Council, and he does not enjoy playing the games of Court. I can only think you will like it, because I know you. You will make anyone who does not like you begrudgingly do so, and then they will appreciate you for who you are. The Prince”
“I have had enough advice on the Prince, and all of it conflicting. Please, do not speak of him, for Iwill tire of his name by the end of the second day on the ship and from what I have been told, he does not deserve that.” Shinko smiles the sting in her words away, and Kel reaches out to take her hand.
“Come.” Kel says firmly, and smiles when Shinko smiles again.
“Where are we going? It is nearly” Shinko asks, amused.
“Nearly time for you to sleep, nearly time for you to leave. So it is time for us to have one more visit to the lake.” Kel says encouragingly, pulling Shinko to her feet.
“One last visit, do you mean?” Shinko asks, as Kel opens the door.
“One visit. I know Yuki wants to go with you to all of your favourite places in the palace tomorrow,but you will not walk all the way to the lake, and I think you should see the lake one last time at night.”
“Your excuses for distracting me are becoming flimsier, Keladry.” Shinko warns, her eyes laughing,and she links her arm with Kel’s as they walk through the halls. Shinko bows and excuses them to the guards at the door, and they walk through the gardens quickly.
“It is too hard to remember exactly what here looks like in my memory when I try,” Kel says softly. “I can remember where everything is, the lap of waves on the shore, the scent of the cherry blossoms in the breeze, but I cannot pull it all together in my head so it is exactly the same.”
“I sat with Lady Haname and we painted all of our favourite places.” Shinko replies, her voice just as soft, and they sit on the cold stone bench, looking out across the small lake.Lanterns hang in the trees surrounding the lake, and cherry blossoms are scattered across the ground. They sit in peaceful silence, and Kel wishes to preserve this memory.
“Thank you for giving me this.” Shinko says quietly, and Kel shakes her head.
“It was for me as much as it was for you. It will be some time before I return here, if ever I do.”
“You will come back,someday. Even if only in dreams. You will come back.”
“You will too.”
“I am more likely to return in dreams. I think Tortall must become my new home.”
“Just because you live there does not mean you must call it your home.”
“Your home is where your heart is, and most of my heart will be in Tortall. My husband, his family,Yuki, Haname, your parents, your family, you.” She places her hands on Kel’s cheeks, and raises her chin, looking into her eyes. “Thank you for this, Keladry.”
“It was my pleasure,Cricket.” Kel replies, and Shinko leans forward and kisses her. Kel freezes in surprise, and Shinko pulls back, alarm in her eyes.
“No,” Kel says quickly,her words jumbling. “I want...”
Her hands fumble,tentative and nervous, but one hand creeps to the back of Shinko’s neck and the other to her obi at her waist, her fingers tracing the edges of the bow, and she pulls Shinko closer.
“You do?” Shinko asks, and Kel sees her smile unfurl across her face. Shinko’s hands are still warm on her cheeks, and she rests their foreheads together. Kel kisses her cheek, glances a kiss on the side of her lips, testing, and then kisses her mouth. Shinko responds by deepening their kiss, her hand reaching around the back of Kel’s head and digging her fingers deep into her hair, less careful of disrupting the tight knot of her hair. Kel trails her fingers under the edge of her kimono,tracing whorls along the back of her neck, and Shinko tugs away, panting. From this close, Kel can breathe in the stronger scent of jasmine in her hair, and her smile, already rare, seems much prettier in the glow of lantern and moonlight.
“We should go back in. It must be getting late, and you’ll be getting cold.” Kel says quietly, and Shinko shakes her head.
“We still have time.” Shinko replies, and leans towards her, dragging her lips slowly in a line of small kisses, glancing across the line of Kel’s jaw.
“Oh.” Kel says quickly,catching her breath as Shinko moves across a tender spot. “Well, I guess, if you, uh –“
“Mmm.” Shinko replies. “I think I do.” She moves to the other side as Kel laughs in surprise, and Kel pulls away to kiss her again.
Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!