perfectmatch | week three

Yingying and Nico are taken to a county fair. It's at night so the lights are as dazzling as ever. The crowds are a good size and the lines aren't too long either.

Highlights

There are deep fried oreos, as well as deep fried everything else.
Has Yingying ever had cotton candy? 🥺
Ferris wheel time!

[ Yingying has in fact never had cotton candy... until now. It's one of those big, fluffy ones that gets shaped like a flower by the stand attendant, and it's that perfect, sugary looking pink. It's for both of them to share!! ]

It's like a cloud... [ She almost doesn't want to tug any pieces off of it, so as to protect the integrity of the treat. But she offers it to Nico nonetheless, holding it between them carefully. ] You can eat some of this, right?

Oh, yes! I have no problem with human food.

[ Unless there’s garlic… we don’t talk about it. ]

You should get the first bite.

[ Carefully, she plucks a little wisp of pink cloud out of the cotton candy... and promptly tries to eat it, looking shocked when it suddenly melts away. ]

It's like air.... what a strange sweet. Kids must really be fond of this.

[ It's colorful, cute, and whimsical. She can imagine people running around with it at festivals, like they are here at the fair. ]

Do you have a sweet tooth then, Nico? Or does your preference for garlic mean you like more savory things?

[ He twirls a bit around his finger before popping it into his mouth. Sure is just pure sugar. ]

I am quite fond of most human foods. Chocolate is another favorite of mine.

[ And it has the bonus of not kicking his ass when he eats it. ]

Do you have a preference for sweets, mademoiselle?

I do like them, [ A nod! They're just going to polish this thing off aren't they like real adults-- ] Some of the ones in this era seem quite a bit sweeter than I'm used to — and I'm not so familiar with the popular kinds, like "oreos" and "chocolate."

[ She takes another tuft of cotton candy, savoring it. ]

My favorite sweet is a street food — tanghulu. Fruit covered in a hard, sugary glaze. You carry it around on a stick, kind of like this!

[ Lifting the cone of cotton candy for emphasis!! ]

[ Cute... ]

You really are not familiar with chocolate? We should find some! I wonder if these stalls have something similar to you tanghulu as well.

I'm not sure if they still have it in this day and age...

[ ...She actually has no idea if tanghulu still exists?! It's been a hundred years. But maybe they'll find a pleasant surprise! ]

I had a little bit of chocolate, when I tried a "fried oreo." Are there a lot of different kinds?

Perhaps they have something similar? An evolution of the snack!

[ There’s going to be something similar at this fair I’ve decided. ]

Oh, yes! Absolutely. There are many, many different kinds of chocolate! I am not sure where to begin… are you fond of strawberries?

[ This is related, promise. ]

Mm, I like them. They should be in season here in the competition, right...?

[ It's the spring/summer.... ish. She's already looking around for another stall, somewhere that might sell fruit or candied nuts. ]

Don't tell me there's something like a fried strawberry.

I…

[ A beat, he really has to consider that. ]

You know, I think humans will deep fry anything, so it is possible! No, what I am referring to are strawberries dipped in chocolate. It is a nice balance of flavors so the sweetness is not so overwhelming.

Dipped in chocolate...

[ She's trying to imagine it in her mind, with her limited knowledge.... strawberry covered in oreo cookie somehow... ]

I like those kinds of desserts, [ This is why she likes tanghulu too, after all, ] The kind that have a bit of freshness in them from fruit or nuts. We had a lot of different kinds in my hometown, so it feels a bit nostalgic. Not that I don't like all the fried things too...

[ And look at that!! There seems to be some stand giving out an amalgamation of all kinds of dipped fruits... frozen bananas... chocolate covered almonds... they've got everything here, help. And, very importantly-- ]

So they do have it, [ She points to some long wooden sticks with skewered fruit on them, each coated in a shiny, mirror like glaze. ] Tanghulu!

Oh!! Chocolate covered strawberries, too.

[ They're covered in regular milk chocolate, not oreo cookie. Though that probably exists somewhere, let's be real. ]

Shall we get one of each? I can try your favorite treat and you can try one of mine!

[ She hums in agreement — mercifully, there's not a huge line or anything like that, so it's easy for them to get what they want quickly. They'll even get a nice box to hold both of the treats!! ]

Sharing traditions and favorites like this... it's one of the things I like most. [ It might just be eating a treat that Nico likes, and it might just be showing him a small snippet of her hometown, but it's moments like these that keep memories alive, she thinks, in a poetic and sentimental type of way. It's things like this that stand the test of time. ] You must have a lot from your travels.

[ He's in exile, after all... there must be all kinds of things he's experienced in the wider world. ]

[ Once they get their treats, they can walk for a bit. Nico keeps the box tucked under his arm while they look for someplace to sit. ]

Ah, I admit I love sharing things like this as well. It is one of the ways I like to keep those I care about close to my heart.

[ They’re of the same mind in that regard, at least.

Their wanderings take them to a little pavilion area, covered in string lights, where they can pretty easily find a place to sit. He’ll even pull her chair out for her. ]

I have collected quite a few in my time, it is true. I do not travel terribly far any more these days.

[ Oh, what a gentleman!! Somewhere beyond the veil, Yingying's moms approve. She sits down gracefully, glad for a reprieve from walking... so much moving around for these dates, she's not used to it. ]

From where you live now, you mean.

[ Her head tilts. ]

What is your home like these days? If it's okay for me to ask. [ He did say he was exiled, but people can make a home anywhere, if they're with the right people. She learned that right from birth. ] It's not very often I meet men like you —

[ He has a sunny disposition that most lose after a few years of hardship; it's almost boyish, in a way. ]

So I have to admit I've been very curious.

I live far beyond the fringes of what one might call polite society.

[ He gives a little chuckle, sliding into the seat across from her and opening their box of treats on the table between them. ]

There is a small colony of humans who have been fighting against the oppression of my people for generations. I have called that place home for a very long time now.

[ She plucks the chocolate strawberry from the box, holding it between two fingers while he explains. Despite the general fun loving and flirtatious face she seems to show everyone all the time, here, she seems to easily conjure the degree of suffering those humans must be under in the world Nico describes. Her smile fades, not pitying — just understanding. ]

It must have been difficult when you first got there.

[ How could the humans trust him? If he's been there for a long time, she imagines there were years, perhaps generations themselves, of Nico integrating himself there. People so seldom forget their resent so quickly; they cling to it with all they have left, when it burns hot enough. ]

They trusted me about as far as they could throw me.

[ Yingying has such keen insight into these things, and he easily confirms what she's thinking. ]

It has been a long and difficult road, and even now it is not always smooth. I hope when this is over, they can find it in their hearts to still accept me.

[ Like she's offering a wise fortune: ]

They say one thought is enough to make someone a saint or a demon. Thought over and over again, for generations... I can imagine it's not so easy for them to change their minds completely.

[ That's understandable. And Nico seems to have a good attitude about it, not feeling ostracized or put out by the continuing wariness. But she continues, taking a bite of her treat when she's done. ]

You'll keep moving forward beside them regardless... so I would believe that one day, those feelings might fully be lifted by time.

[ Maybe not today, tomorrow, or a hundred years from now. But time is fair to everything, even hate. ]

I... thank you, Yingying. I appreciate the sentiment. It is not that, it...

[ He's not who they think he is, and the closer to the end of these four weeks they come, the closer he comes to needing to make that truth known. ]

How is the strawberry?

[ Smooth. ]

[ Yes, very smooth. Totally unnoticeable. ]

Mm, [ She wipes an errant shard of chocolate from the corner of her lip with her thumb, smiling. ] It's good. Tart, but sweet, too.

[ Not like anything she's ever had before. Briefly, she contemplates grilling him more about what he just trailed off about, spinning the remainder of her treat between her fingers by the stem. ]

Don't tell me you have another huge, big secret you're hiding from me, sweetheart.

[ It's a joke, one he'll easily be able to evade if he chooses to. But, it also gives him a lighthearted opening, if he can be coaxed into it. ]

[ She does give him an out, and he appreciates that, but he won’t take it. He’s been able to tell for some time now that she’s not quite as she appears. There’s no blood in her veins, no heartbeat that he can sense. ]

I am simply… not who they think me to be. It is something I would like to remedy with my wish, should we win this game. Either way, I think the truth will come out before our time here is done.

I do think you might know a thing or two about hiding one’s true self.

[ The truth will come out eventually... well, then, she need not press it out of him now. Plus, he artfully shifts the focus back onto her, anyhow. ]

What do you mean by that?

[ She asks, feigning innocence — by this time, there's already quite a few people among the contestants who know the truth. It's not a problem having a few more... but she can't deny it's been fun to play at keeping it vague. ]

Starting to suspect me of being some wicked spirit, are you...

Wicked? Never. If you are a fairy, you are the exceptionally helpful kind.

[ Yingying has always been one of the first to coax others to explore their feelings, to give input, and to check in. She's very good at making others feel at ease. ]

But there is no blood in your veins, mademoiselle.

week three | dates

yingying and nico

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