Smoke
That which led to downfall, resent, fear and misery.
Background- Set sometime before the two Opium Wars and the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. China had just entered its 'Century of Humiliation'.
Major Angst. Human names.
Pairing: (Pirate!)England x China.
Rated T for drug use, suggested male x male rape and violence.
Disclaimer: APH belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.
A special thanks to my awesome editor, Rowan, for putting up with my bombarding her with fanfics all the time.
And she still happily edits them for me.
Without her, this piece would be so totally un-readable!
Thank you so very much, Rowan! Love you!~
Onto the story!
Chapter 1- Downfall
Smoke. Lingering. Suffocating.
It was a shade of white and red. Dark, dangerous colour of red mixed with light, murky layers of white. White that commonly conveys innocence. Yet the only message it gave right now was a sense of threatening suspense.
Wang Yao shifted on his bed, hand tightly gripping onto his pipe. He coughed lightly into his pillowcase, his vision blurred. He squirmed away from the faint smell of iron that started to slip into his lungs as he realized what had just been coughed out.
Blood.
Dark red blood on his red silk pillowcase and bed sheets.
Forever stained.
Eerily, he felt calm. He had just woken up from a dream, in which he was taking a stroll in his favourite garden, admiring the scene of early spring blossoms and taking in the pleasant scent of tree peony as he walked. How serene.
He enjoyed this. So much that he did not consider the fact that none of it was real. Everything was so vivid to him, as if he'd actually taken a step out of his bedroom to experience fresh air again.
Yet in the remaining consciousness he possessed, he knew that he hadn't. He even understood what a struggle it would be had he tried getting out of bed.
There was an increase of smoke in the filthy air as he inhaled from his pipe and let out his breath. He had another taste of the wonderful, arduously irresistible, god-forbid addictive substance, marvelling at the warmth it gave him.
And the peacefulness.
Something he'd been searching for all those years. Those four thousand long years.
Peace.
Was this the feeling that got him tangled in this match with the black powder that had come to seem lovely to him? Perhaps so, perhaps not. He had no clue. He didn't need to know. All he wanted was to lose himself again in the pungent smoke and fantasies, a world created- tailored- for him, to block out the despairingly cruel reality.
He heard that his Emperor had made desperate attempts to defend his land and people. But he could not gather his strength to partake in any of those acts. He knew that if he was suffering like this himself, his people couldn't have been much better.
But there wasn't anything else he could do, was there?
A few knocks on the door interrupted his rare contemplation. Yes, getting his thoughts together was not an easy task in his state. The door flung open. Yao elbowed himself up with great difficulty as he eyed the intruder.
Of course it was him.
The unmistakable blond hair, the green eyes, and those thick eyebrows.
Arthur Kirkland.
Yao lay back down, a soft sigh escaping his lips. He inhaled profusely from his pipe; his breathing slowed. He braced himself for what was to come next.
He glanced at the approaching shadow and the garments being discarded on the way. The wood of his bed creaked as Arthur leaned against the bed frame.
"I see you're pleasuring yourself with what I've given you?"
Yao tilted his chin up and looked away.
"Don't put it that way. I bought them."
"For all I care," Arthur scoffed, "You're still arrogant as ever."
Yao remained silent.
"I noticed more cannons along the coast. You ordered them to be set up, didn't you, Yao, to keep my men out?"
"Am I supposed to welcome them when all they try to do is kill us?"
"Bloody fool," Arthur kept his voice low, "You never learn."
"And I won't."
"Oh, I'll make you."
He hummed devilishly as he bent down to hover over the defenceless Yao. With Arthur's knees on both sides of his thigh, Yao shivered. Tears found their away into his eyes. He wasn't sure if this was one of the infamous effects of the drug, or a shameful feeling of self-pity. The pipe fell out of his hand as he loosened his grip.
Arthur reached out and softly caressed Yao's cheeks. His other hand fondled and tangled with his long black hair, occasionally bringing it to his lips for gentle kisses.
Arthur admired the beauty of the man before him. His pale face, those expressive and deep dark eyes, and the grimace that came with his every touch only attributed to the building heat inside him. He desired the man more than anything else. Those seductive pink lips, those slender fingers, and the smooth skin.
His fingers travelled down Yao's delicate neck, tapping his collar of his crimson top. Yao wasn't putting up a fight. He had tried before but had stood no chance. A sudden sharp rip sounded in the misty air; strings of red flied across Yao's gaze. His top was being torn mercilessly by Arthur, and in that split second, he saw his own reflection in those malicious green orbs. And lust.
Proceeding swiftly, Arthur was now facing him from directly above, licking his lips as he leaned down to taste those of the Chinese's. Yao heard his heartbeat drumming in his ears. The room was becoming sultrier and foggier than before as both men's senses were being stirred. He arched up with a groan as Arthur rubbed himself against him. Arthur pressed down his shoulders against any signs of struggling.
He broke abruptly away from the kiss, bringing his attention to Yao's earlobe. He tasted it with a sweep of his tongue before whispering in a husky voice.
"You know, I'd like to think I'm special to you*, Yao," Arthur reached down to his collarbone, madly leaving his mark on the silky flesh.
"W-what do you m-mean?"
Tracing the stinging red spots with his long fingers, Arthur suggested, "Somehow, I don't think these are enough…" Yao looked at him questioningly, his fist clenched to stop himself from shaking.
"Say, give me more of you?"
Yao's brows furrowed, but before he could reply, Arthur captured his lips once again, this time more harshly than before. He bit Yao's lower lip, insisting entrance. The smaller man complied, his knee kicking Arthur's stomach unconsciously. Arthur only saw this as a protest. And he allowed none. Anger slowly overcoming him, he picked up the red fabric he had torn off just now, and held up Yao's wrists. Yao shrieked and moved frantically at the sudden force; and it had only ignited more possessiveness in Arthur. He aggressively pinned Yao's wrists above his head and tied them up to the bedpost as tightly as he could.
"Uh-Aah… let go of me!"
Arthur knew that would leave a mark; and that it would last for days. Yet he found this thought sadistically pleasant; arousing, even. He wanted more from the man; more than he did; more than anyone else had and ever will. Images of Yao whimpering, moaning, and screaming started to fill his lustful mind. His pants only tightened at the thought of being the one who would make them happen. He snatched the pipe next to them and forced it into Yao's mouth, ordering him to take in more of it, before having a taste himself.
"Trust me, you'll need it.*"
The room was becoming exceedingly hot to them as they shared the drug and the ecstasy it brought about. Arthur touched sensual hot kisses and sucked the silken flesh anywhere he could reach on Yao, making the smaller man moan wildly in response. His arms being pulled back by the restrictions only made him arch towards Arthur's needy torso even more. Arthur eyed the frail body before him, a cruel smile tracing his lips.
Yao saw the lechery look on Arthur's face as he finally tugged at his pants. He shut his eyes.
Ready for the pain. The peril. The sin.
It was all in red.
* "I'd like to think I'm special to you, Yao." -Britain was to become the 'most favoured nation' when trading with China, as stated in the Treaty of Nanking.
* In 1483, it was first documented in China that opium "enhances sex". During that period of time in the opium brothels in China, men would smoke a few pipes of opium before the act to "prolong the pleasure".
Sources:
h t t p ./books?id=A8XvoWmsSdYC&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq= opium+and+sex&source=bl&ots=FkKZsFvY73&sig=65X9Ni8dwY6gjF3uMEP_-ix0OWg&hl=zh-TW&ei=8s2ETP6GB4TqvQP30qDQDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=opium%20and%20sex&f=false
h t t p .org/wiki/Opium#Recreational_use_in_China
A/N:
Thank you very much for reading! Hope you enjoyed it~
I apologise for making Nini all angsty and Arthur a big bully. *sobs* Was trying -and failed- to make the story and their characters as historically accurate as possible. Dx
I love them both! :D
Please kindly leave a review and let me know what you think! :)
Until the next chapter!
Much lurrrrve,
OmangoOlemonadeO