sweetestsurrender | { Red String of Fate Meme }

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{ Red String of Fate Meme }

RED STRING OF FATE MEME

It's a bit of Japanese folklore that true lovers are connected to each other via a red string that represents destiny. But what comes first, the love or the string?

What if they came at the same time?

This meme is one part love at first sight and one part soulmate meme. You'll find yourself connected to something by a red string tied around your pinkie that you just can't get off. Well, may as well see what- or who- is on the other end! When you do see who it is, no matter who it may be, you'll fill a sudden and intense rush of love for them - whatever love means to you. You'll want to kiss them, hold them, protect them, and be with them forever. Who cares if you've never met before or aren't even from the same world?

But every rose has its thorns.

Instead of a red string, you may have a blue string. Oh, you'll still adore whoever it is that you're connected to, but it will be all the bad things about love: obsession, codependence, jealousy. You'll never let this person out of your sight, and they'll love you back. No matter what.

HOW TO PLAY

Comment with your character. Put your preferences in the subject line, as well as if you want red strings, blue strings, or both.
Comment around to others.
Thread.
Sure, the string doesn't seem to have a limit (it's pretty long, after all), but if the two of you are apart by more than a meter, the string will hurt you in some comical way.
Oh. And the only way to untie the knot? Is by doing any sort of intimate act.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Don't be polite then?" There was a time for being polite and a time for kicking shins. Eating snails was a shin kicking time. But leaving them to Trowa was also a good use of them.

"Gimme a call once you're planet side, I'll make sure you don't get shit getting in here." He'd give the security guards a heads up and let them know that Wufei was on his way and they should just wave him through and direct him to where Duo was.

"The moment you are rude to Quatre, I'll follow your example," he replied smugly. "I'll call you soon," he promised.

And sure enough, late that night he gave Duo a call as he was crawling into a cab. It wasn't far to Howard's shipyard, and then he was approaching the main entrance, bag slung over his shoulder and thumb worrying over the string wrapped around his pinky finger. Whoever she was, she was here.

When he caught his first glance at Duo, warmth spilled through him, and he found himself smiling easily as he made his way through the facility, forgetting about the string entirely for the moment. "There you are," he called out.

Duo got the call and headed out at the time Wufei had specified to hang around by the gate. He was leaning against the wire mesh, lost in thought and doing his best to swallow down his nervousness.

His eyes were downcast so he didn't actually see what Wufei was allowed through into the shipyard, but he knew when he was called. Lifting his head, Duo remained where he was and smiled.

"You made it. Any trouble getting in?" He shouldn't have, there'd be trouble if there had been. Duo tilted his head toward the open gate before pushing away from the fence, arms crossed over his chest, and started walking. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to the lil lady."

Wufei shook his head as he came over, falling into step next to Duo. He couldn't explain it, but it already felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, just being here, on the hunt. And she must've been close, must've been for him to feel this way.

But Duo's demeanor wasn't lost on him, despite the rosy glasses currently perched on his metaphorical nose. "Is she giving you trouble? You don't seem as cheerful as usual, maybe I can help speed up repairs?" He'd agreed to come on as Duo's second, and he had no intentions of shirking his duties. He did, however, shake his hand out, letting the tiny string unfurl so it wouldn't be putting quite so much pressure on his finger, but he did it without looking and more importantly, without noticing that it was pointing straight at Duo, and very consistently.

"Huh? Oh, nah. She'd great. She's working fine, I've no problems there." Duo forced a little more cheer into his voice and more of a smile.

Until he caught sight of Wufei's hand.

And the string.

The smile slipped and he went a little pale and was quick to do his best to distract Wufei.

"Hey look, she's over there! Whatcha think? She'd mint, right?" Duo finally dropped his hands, his gloved hands, and used one to point just ahead to his ship. It wasn't brand new, it had been around the block a few times, but it was his baby. Large and sleek, the ship had clearly seen better days, but nothing some TLC wouldn't fix. And Duo Maxwell was eager to give her all the TLC she could handle. "The plans to go into salvage for myself. Take on those jobs that are harder for the others?

Wufei furrowed his brow, and was just about to look down when Duo promptly pointed his attention to the ship, and he fell for the ruse hook, line, and sinker. He hummed in appreciation, letting his gaze wander the hull. "She's beautiful. Are you going to paint her in Deathscythe's colors?" he asked as they approached, pulling away from Duo to go right up to the hull and slide his hands along it.

And then he saw the string, pointing straight back at Duo. He glanced over his shoulder, saw Duo, then looked over the man's shoulder, both brows lifted... and then turned his attention right back to the ship, unless Duo did something to out himself.

"I was thinking about it." Duo shoved his hands into his pockets and flashed a lopsided grin. He'd not moved from the spot where Wufei had left him. From here he could see his ship and he could see when Wufei noticed... He swallowed past a suddenly dry throat when Wufei just...turned away. A cold feeling turned his blood to ice, but he kept his tone cheerful as he carried on chatting through the ache inside.

"Think there's any chance of getting hold of that much black paint?" he asked with a low laugh. "Maybe a splash of red here... Can't go too far. We're not at war anymore so don't need to be stealthy any longer."

Wufei hummed in appreciation, sliding his hands over the hull a little more. "What, no more smuggling? Or is it just because your second is a Preventer on sabbatical?" he teased, and started heading around to the hatch.

And keeping an eye on that string. It didn't take much movement for him to realize that his soulmate had to be close. Very close.

Close enough that there was only one person it could reasonably be. He stopped just outside the hatch as the realization hit him like a drumbeat inside his mind. His hand went out, pressing to the side of the ship to steady himself as he took a long moment to wrap his head around it.

A man. Not just any man, Duo. Duo, who was wearing gloves. Who had invited him here, knowing... He took a deep breath, pushing down the pain that tried to twist in his chest. No. He knew himself, knew how he was perceived by others.

His voice was soft when he spoke, a little less steady than he would've liked. "I'm sorry."

"I thought going legit might be the way forward." Duo answered, though if the money was right and the job was interesting enough, he would be happy to do a little smuggling on the side.

He moved then, walking to the right and following Wufei at a slight distance, just giving him time to get acquainted with his ship. WHAT Duo didn't expect was for Wufei to lose his balance. Before he could give himself time to think, Duo was rushing forward... But came to a full stop just a step or two away when he heard the apology.

"Eh? What're you sorry for?" Duo gave a nervous sort of laugh. "I know she needs a little work still, but she'll get you where you need to go."

Wufei gave his head a little shake, letting out a long sigh and closing his eyes. "That you're stuck with me," he replied, lowering his hand and stepping away from the hull. He'd thought it would be a stranger, someone he could have a fresh start with, that he could... be less like himself for her, maybe.

But Duo knew him, had seen him at his best and his worst. He turned to face Duo with a sad smile. "How long have you known?" he asked, offering Duo his hand with the string pointing clearly and directly, now that he wasn't blinding himself with his own assumptions.

Duo felt sick.

When Wufei turned to him, that smile... He hated it. He'd not wanted to be looked at like that. Hadn't wanted apologise. Hadn't wanted...

He looked at the hand held out to him. At the string reaching for him. But he didn't pull his hands from his pockets. Not yet...

"... A while." He replied quietly and took a slow step forward. "I... I've known a while, Wufei. But it's me who is sorry. I know..." He sighed and looked away. "I know I'm not what you wanted. Not even the right gender. So I get it if you wanna ignore the whole thing. I won't say anything to anyone. I promise."

Wufei's hand didn't lower, just hung there, waiting for Duo. "It's true that you're not what I wanted, but not for the reasons you assume. I had hoped to start fresh with someone new, to be the sort of husband I should have been to Nataku, to not have to explain all the terrible mistakes I've made." He had made so many, and Duo had directly suffered because of them.

"If you'd like me to leave and never return I'll respect your wishes, but I came here with the intention of finding my soulmate and devoting myself to them completely. No matter who it ended up being." He'd never dreamed it would be Duo, had never dared to allow himself to imagine life with anything but the script he'd been handed as a child.

Duo winced as if he'd taken a direct hit. It sure felt like he did. Wufei was...just so Wufei in that moment. Honourable. Respectful. Willing to do the right thing.

Except Duo didn't want the right thing. And he was beginning to get a little bit angry now.

"That it?" he demanded and finally looked at Wufei. The pain made him want to lash out. The fact that Wufei was being so damn text book made him want to scream. "Just...do the right thing, be a good husband, devote yourself because that's what's expected of you? Do you even like me, Wufei? Do you even like guys? I'm not gonna settle for a guy who doesn't want me just because some piece of string says so! I want... I want more than that! "

Duo's return volley was particularly effective, and Wufei's hand dropped to his side like a stone. He swallowed hard as he listened, forced himself to maintain eye contact until Duo was done.

"How would I know?" he asked softly, his gaze drifting down to Duo's shoes. "I've never mattered." The word popped out before he could stop it, and he clenched his jaw for a few seconds, trying to get a handle on his emotions before he continued. "What I want has never been a consideration for anything before, so how would I know what I like? Even the food that I eat is prescribed," and he had been looking forward to coming, to spending time with Duo because it made him feel free. Like he had choices, like the rules could just go fuck themselves.

"What I do know is that I enjoy spending time with you. I could have just taken a job at an inspection point, waited for whoever it was to pass through but instead I called you. I asked to be here, with you, because I do like you, in some capacity," though he was still working out what that capacity was, just what those feelings actually were. He'd not given himself the space or the time or the quiet required to untangle that particular ball of emotion.

Wufei was saying all of the wrong things. But it was fine. It was. It wasn't his fault at all. He wasn't some telepath who could read his thoughts. He wasn't an empath who could feel what he was feeling. So how the hell would Wufei know that his words were killing Duo?

"In some capacity..." Duo couldn't help it, he laughed quietly and gave a slight shake of his head before he began walking.

"Then work it out, Fei. I ship out in the morning. You can stay here or I can call a taxi to take you to a hotel. But you need to work out what you want. And if I'm the one you want. Because I come with my own metric shit tonne of baggage you'd have to deal with. I don't get a fresh start either. You know...you know about me too."

This was a disaster. The whole thing was just a complete mess, and he knew it was his fault, but he didn't know what he'd done or how to fix it. He closed his eyes tightly as Duo walked away, and waited until he heard the other's steps recede into the ship before he sank to his knees.

Duo was right. He needed to figure it out, before he caused any more harm. So, he dropped into meditation, right then and there, with tears still wet on his cheeks. It wasn't a full meditation -- he kept a level of awareness of his surroundings, but he knew this was a safe place, between Howard's security and Duo's.

He stayed out there all night, navigating his emotions and thoughts and desires. It was right around sunrise that he finally roused, getting to his feet and stepping into the ship, taking his bag to what he assumed were the Second's bunk and stowing it there before going to the galley to make breakfast out of whatever Duo had handy.

Duo took himself to the cockpit and there he stayed. He removed the gloves, gloves he'd worn a lot during the war days, and looked down at his hand. The little red thread was looking a little worn these days. He'd had it for years, after all. Duo had known all along that Wufei was his... But Wufei hadn't had a single idea. Would never have even guessed. And Duo wasn't the type to force his feelings on someone else.

Idly he rubbed the thread with the fingers of his other hand and settled his head back, eyes closing. This was all a huge mess...

Eventually he fell asleep right in the pilots seat until morning when he heard someone walking around on his ship. The strange sound was what startled him awake and he didn't understand why... Then he remembered Wufei.

Gloves were put back in before he took himself out to see what was going on.

In the galley Wufei would find that the cupboards and fridge were actually well stocked. Duo was usually prepared. There was food as well as a couple boxes of military rations just in case the food ran out.

Wufei started with coffee, then sausage, eggs, even a little bowl of oatmeal with a few of the frozen berries from the freezer sprinkled on top and thawing nicely into the warm goop.

He glanced up when Duo emerged, and paused the coffee maker to pour a mug and set it down at the table for him. "I'd like to stay," he said softly. "And I apologize for hurting you. I can't pretend that I've sorted everything out in just one night, but likewise I cannot deny that--" he stopped himself, shook his head hard, and started over. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I want to be here with you, even though I am still figuring out exactly what it is that I feel. I know that it's strong. I know that it's centered on you. And perhaps most importantly I know that it started long before the stupid string showed up. So if you think you can tolerate finding my foot in my mouth more often than not, I would like very much to be your second."

Duo thanked Wufei for the coffee and slid himself into a chair at the small kitchen table. He blew across the top, cooling it down while he listened to what Wufei had to say to him.

He was quiet for a little while even after Wufei had finished talking, gathering his own thoughts... He supposed he had to meet Wufei halfway. While he didn't want to feel like he was forcing his feelings onto the other, there was no escaping it now that Wufei knew.

"... I've had this thread since I started my gundam training." He finally admitted and leaned back in his seat, head lifting at the same time. "I've always known it was you. Always. But I couldn't... We've been friends, I didn't think you'd be able to like me in the way I wanted. And when you called, it was a woman you wanted. That's one thing I can't give you."

Duo wrapped his gloved hands around his mug and sighed heavily. "But I'd like you to stay... if you're really willing."

Wufei plated up eggs and sausage, bringing them over, and the oatmeal, too, as he listened and turned Duo's words over in his mind. He needed to take his time, to make sure that he said what he meant and not what first popped into his mind.

So it wasn't until he settled in the seat across from Duo that he replied. "A woman is what I expected, not wanted," he replied softly. "I'm going to have to take some time, to sort out what my wants truly are, now that I'm free to have them," and wasn't throwing himself into 80 hour workweeks anymore. Working salvage was going to be a great deal more downtime than he was used to. "Willing implies that the staying part is a burden," he smirked a little, dragging his spoon through his oatmeal. "The only burden is trying to stop myself from saying things without thinking them through first. I don't want to hurt you, especially the way I did last night." He'd been punching below the belt and hadn't even realized it until about three hours ago.

There was a little flash of warmth, as his hand moved closer, to grab his own mug of coffee, and he let out a pleasant little sigh. That sensation, he could get used to.

"Don't sweat it." Duo replied with a shake of his head. "It was my fault. I guess... I was on edge. I knew what was gonna happen when you showed up and I was just braced for impact."

He picked up a fork and idly poked at the egg for a moment before he spoke again.

"... Was I wrong?" He asked softly. "Should I have told you before now? That I'm..." Wow, he couldn't even say the word. He'd spent so many years hiding it from everyone, even himself, that it was hard to break the habit. But when Wufei's hand came closer, that familiar feeling came to him, like it was trying to settle his turbulent thoughts. And for the most part it did.

"I think we managed to make a mess of it together. I wasn't... prepared for it," he shrugged, and smiled a little at the question, shaking his head. "I can't imagine I would've reacted well. I had convinced myself that I would never receive a string, so much so that I'm quite literally going through puberty now because I used medication to postpone it so I wouldn't have to face the possibility of being wrong about it," he wiggled his pinky, making the string wiggle a little, too. "I may seem very confident outwardly, but I am profoundly insecure about quite a few things. There was a short time during the war when I believed my string would point to Treize when it formed."

Oh, he knew... It was another reason that Duo had kept his trap shut.

Subconsciously he began to rub his fingers, lightly rubbing his thumb across the third and little finger like they itched.

"So it wouldn't have made a difference.... Okay. Okay." Duo took a deep breath then and sighed softly. "Then I guess the balls in your court, Wufei. I'm not exactly what you'd call a catch." He said with a small, self-depreciating smile.

It would have made a difference; it would've made things much worse for Duo, and made this part much harder for himself. He didn't say that, because they were both smart enough to do that math, and he dropped his gaze to his plate as he considered what Duo had said.

"I suppose that depends on what you think a good catch is," Wufei said softly. "You're by no means traditional, especially in the Chinese sense, but you are warm, and passionate, and strong. And more importantly," he pauses for dramatic effect, glances up to meet Duo's gaze. "We've seen some shit together." It's an attempt at a joke, to lighten the mood a little, though he meant every word of it, down into his bones. There were a lot of things about Duo that might be considered traditionally unappealing -- he worked in salvage, for fuck's sake -- but there was quite a bit to be said for understanding the sort of trauma they'd both been through. The loss. The brutal training to prepare them for war. The war itself, and all the things that brought. And the peace, too, was traumatic in its own way.

His cheeks flushed darkly as he found himself overwhelmed with the urge to kiss him, resisting it as much because of the table being in the way as because he didn't know if Duo would be even remotely receptive to that right now.

If only Wufei knew... the reason he had thrown himself into the salvage business... was because he was alone. He was on his own. He'd long since given up hope that his soulmate would find him and want him. And since he already knew who his was, no one else could really come close. The idea of settling down with someone else, anyone else, just never entered Duo's mind. So he'd thrown himself into a job that would keep him away from people for weeks or months at a time. A job that would include a fair amount of risk...

The joke does get a twitch of a smile from Duo. His lashes lowered and he huffed a soft laugh.

"I guess you're right there. But it's that 'non-traditional' part I'm worried about. I've no family. I've a questionable past... Not many can look past those things..."

{ Red String of Fate Meme }

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