Author's Note: This story is more of a ficlet. I was randomly thinking about love and remembered that my friend had told me this. To be honest, I never knew that my culture doesn't say it. But then again, when I read the reasoning online, it does seem true. I wrote this in an hour or so. So there is probably going to grammar and spelling issues. I apologize ahead of time. Hope you like!
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Title: Saying the Forbidden In An Unforbidden Way
Rating: K
Author: mylifeismine
Summary: [ONESHOT] "Did you know that in the Chinese culture, you don't say 'I love you'?" "Really?" "Yeah, but I love you." "…" "I said it in English, tehehe."
Genre: Romance/Humor
Oneshot : Saying the Forbidden In An Unforbidden Way
It was nearly midnight and all of the children had already left the ice. There was only the odd couple of people who were left, skating on the man-made ice in front of Toronto's City Hall.
Her laugh rang out in the cold winter air, bringing a smile to his face. He wasn't the kind of guy who smiled but when he was with her, he just couldn't stop smiling. His friends claimed that he was possessed (the good kind, if there's such thing) when she was around. He was the guy who was always grumpy and mysterious. The one who girls followed around in hopes to break his walls. He hung out with the popular people but was definitely not the chipper one.
She had bumped into him on her first day of school in the middle of the first semester. She was the one who was always chipper. She was the one who caught sight of his schedule which showed that they were going to the same class. Rather than sitting in the back, she had made him sit in the middle with her. He hated her in the beginning. She was too happy, too talkative. But things change, I suppose.
They skated in a clockwise direction along with the few others still on the ice. He was holding her mittened-hand as she kind of skidded on the ice. She had moved from California, where skating was not something that teenagers generally did.
She let out a yelp and his arm shot out to catch her.
"My knight in shining armor," she said, dramatically putting her left hand over her forehead.
He laughed and put her up-right. Her definition of skating, was a mix of jumping, walking, and sliding on the ice. Whereas he grew up with hockey and skates in Toronto's cold weather.
"You know what?" She chirped, turning her head to look at him. He loved her eyes. Every time, he complimented them, she would complain about being Chinese with non-existent eyes.
"What?" He said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"I want to be a figure skater."
"Why?" He asked, tugging her short jacket over exposed skin by her waist.
"Look at that girl. It looks so graceful." She pointed at a girl doing a lutz in the middle of the ice rink.
He pointed out, "You also have to do ballet. You hate ballet."
She let out a gasp, "I do not hate ballet."
He gave her an "are-you-kidding-me?" look.
"Okay, maybe I haven't exactly been very nice about it," she admitted, but perked up nearly instantly, "I'll just try ballet for a day or so, and see how it goes!"
"Always my little dreamer," he smiled, maneuvering her body so that her back was against his chest.
"Ah, I don't think this position is a good idea," she said hesitantly. As if on cue, she stumbled and the two of them fell on to the ice. Realizing that he was crushing his girlfriend with his weight, he flipped them over.
He looked into her beautiful brown eyes which were full of love and care for those around her.
"You know what?" She said, taking off her mittens.
"What?" He said as she played with his hair.
"Well, did you know that in the Chinese culture, you don't say 'I love you'?" She said, resting her chin on his chest.
"Really?"
"Yeah, like not in a man and woman kind of way," his girlfriend said, her small puffs of air tickling his neck.
He nodded, "I see." He reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear before resting his hands on her waist.
She gave him a warm smile, causing his lips to form a smile as her dainty hands traced the frame of his face.
"I love you," she said softly, watching his eyes for a reaction.
He raised an eyebrow, pulling her face gently down towards him.
"I said it in English, tehehe." She giggled.
He couldn't help but give her a big smile, nearly breaking his heart seeing her so happy.
"I love you too." As he whispered those four little, but big words, he pressed a kiss on to her lips just as snowflakes began to flutter down.
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He looked down at his daughter lovingly. She was fast asleep with her teddy bear in hand.
"Hey," a voice said. He looked at the door to see his wife leaning against the door frame with a smile on her face. "What story did you tell her?"
"Our story," he said, flashing a smile as he walked over to her to wrap his arms around her in a hug. "She wants to go skating tomorrow."
"I wonder why," she laughed as he rested his chin on the top of her head.
"It's snowing outside," she said softly.
He kissed her gently on the cheek, "Just like that day." She tugged him over to the balcony to see the snow fall.
As they leaned against the rail, he asked her, "So why is it that Chinese people don't like to say 'I love you'?"
She didn't say anything as she thought about the question. "Well, there's lots of reasons. The fear of the other not saying it back. To my culture, it's too touchy feely, kind of thing too."
He slipped a hand under her pajama top and whispered the three words before saying, "Is this too touchy feely?"
She gave him a playful slap on the arm and he burst into laughter.
"My race is more traditional, you know? So when you say those three little words, it comes out more as an 'I want to marry you.' We don't have that 'I'm seeing someone' phase. It's either we're getting married or we're friends. I guess that isn't really the case as much nowadays. We're turning more Western," she chuckled.
"Who told you all this stuff?" He asked, burying his face in the croak of her neck.
"Mummy. She said that Chinese people get married because they need to have children. And that they 'fall in love' because it's social suicide if they don't."
"Do you love me because you don't want to be shunned from society and turned down by me?" He asked her jokingly.
She turned to face him, "Nope. Wo ai ni."
And they sealed it with a kiss as snowflakes fluttered down.
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Ending Note: I did borrow information about this topic and the website is in my profile. For those who don't know: wo ai ni is "I Love You" in Mandarin. Thanks for reading!
Don't forget to review!
-Bridgette