China x Reader: Chopstick Troubles

Wang Yao

-x-

The crease of your brow deepened as you watched the man sitting across from you. He was laughing at you, and it was all the more irritating because a small part of you liked it. You liked the way his amber eyes sparkled with mirth, you delighted in the soft dimple of his cheek, and you positively adored the rich quality which his laughter held. You were undoubtedly and irreversibly head over heels for the oriental man, and yet he had the gall to sit there and not only watch you suffer, but gain considerable entertainment from it.
“Are you quite done, Yao?”
“I-I’m Sorry aru, but you’re too cute!” At this your lip protruded in a sour pout which seemed only to encourage your friend. He squealed in delight at your display, and all at once you found yourself half pulled off your chair and gathered up into his arms like a rag doll.
“This is not cute, it’s infuriating! How on earth do you manage to eat anything without proper cutlery?”
You felt the trembling of his arms, which were quite comfortably wrapped around you, before you heard him chuckling once more. You gave a dramatic sigh, and worsened your pout before craning your neck back to look up at him with eyes of betrayal.
“It’s honestly not that difficult aru.” Though his voice still held tones of amusement, you didn’t miss the underlying guilt which laced his words. “Here, I’ll teach you.”
Tugging you fully off the chair, you stumbled forward only to be tugged backwards again and sent sprawling into the lap of your assailant.  Sitting you across his lap, with your back resting against his chest, Yao reached around you and assisted in correctly positioning your fingers on the carved chopsticks which served as the source of your torment. Ignoring the slight increase in your heart rate, you tried once again to mimic the hinge-like movement as previously demonstrated to you. Once again you failed miserably, sending one chopstick tumbling from your grasp while the other lay grasped between your fingertips looking just as useless as you felt.
“This is impractical.”
“I promise you’ll get it soon aru!”
“Why do you insist upon eating your food with pointy bits of wood?”
“For the same reason you eat your food with pointy bits of metal aru, it’s just the way your culture raised you.” Abandoning your remaining chopstick to the table, you cuddled comfortably back into your companion’s chest and lay your head on his shoulder.
“Yeah, but I use a mini trident and a dagger, you have to admit that’s cool.” Yao chuckled again at your words, and this time you smiled as the sound tickled your ears pleasantly.
“By that logic I use mini spears, why is that any less cool aru?”
“Because mini spears are just sticks, and ridiculously impractical sticks at that.”
You closed your eyes with a dramatic sigh, silently lamenting the fact that your food was going to go cold if you didn’t master the impractical Asian cutlery soon. You could use a knife and fork, that option had never been closed to you, but after seeing Yao use chopsticks so effortlessly, you’d decided to do the same… in a significantly less effortless and not at all successful way.
Of course your pride wouldn’t let you back down from a challenge.
Damn pride.

Yao knew better than to offer you the easy way out, having already been down that route once before and finding himself denied most vehemently. In his eyes, however, your stubborn nature only made you that much more endearing. Reaching around your figure, Yao grasped your discarded chopsticks elegantly between his fingers and plucked a spring roll from your plate. You stared at the piece of food which was now hovering in front of your nose with the most delightful smell, and then blinked a couple of times before the realisation hit you. Yao was trying to feed you.
Instantly scowling at the offending morsel, you tried to twist in your friend’s grasp only to find his free arm had wrapped itself comfortably around your waist and was now locking you in place. The most you could do was arch your neck to glare up at your companion who looked rather content at the current situation.
“Yao, I am not a child.”
“I know that, aru.”
“Then why, pray tell, are you trying to feed me?”
“You don’t want me to, aru?” If he wasn’t wearing such an innocent expression, you would have sworn that the Asian man had lowered his tone deliberately, just for the sake of watching your reaction as his seductive accent rolled over you in waves. You turned your head away, fighting the blush which threatened your features.
“Aw, you’re blushing, aru!” At his delighted squeal you grimaced, having clearly failed to hide your embarrassment.
“I just don’t want you treating me like a- mph!”
Your protests were cut short as the sweet roll was forced into your mouth. You couldn’t help but moan as the Chinese cuisine melted on your tongue, drowning your complaints in its soft flavour.
Yao felt a little smug at seeing your irritation give way to pleasure with only one taste of his cooking. Hearing your sound of delight, he chuckled, and this instantly snapped you out of your daze.
Glaring daggers at him out the corner of your eye, you chewed and swallowed your food as quickly as you dared. With your mouth now unoccupied - a fact that a small part of you regretted, no longer being able to ignore the absolutely heavenly scent which stemmed from your plate - you forced the grip around your waist to loosen and allow you to scramble from his lap and stand before him, arms crossed defensively.
“As I was saying before a certain somebody interrupted me: I do not want you treating me like a kid!”
“Aiyaa, that’s a shame. I was hoping all this food wouldn’t have to go to waste, aru…”
Hold on. Back up. No way.
“Who said anything about the food going to waste we are most certainly not wasting this god-given gift of sustenance.”
“But __________, you’re refusing to use western cutlery, and chopsticks clearly aren’t your strong point, so I really don’t see any other option, aru.”

It was impossible for Yao to resist teasing you, especially when your expressions were so very charming. He disregarded your horror at the realisation of your own pride - secretly stealing glances at your conflicted expression as an internal war raged on it your mind. The way your nose crinkled up when you were thinking deeply about something always had been one of his favourite aspects of your character, and sometimes he found himself tempted to provoke you purely for the sake of being able to glimpse your puzzlement.
“Fine.” Your voice held a miserable quality, and when he studied your face it wasn’t hard to tell that you were sulking. Yao felt the urge to tease you.
“What do you mean by ‘fine’, aru?”
“I concede defeat.”
“Hm?” He tilted his head to one side, plastering the most innocent expression he could manage onto his face. This only frustrated you further.
“I give up okay! Your cooking is delicious!”
“I’m afraid I still don’t quite understand what you’re asking for, aru. Tell me clearly.”
“Oh my god, are you actually going to make me say it?”
Yao smiled.
“You are. Great. Wonderful.” You inhaled deeply, hoping that you’d manage to breathe in some form of confidence. Unsurprisingly, nothing changed and despite the fact that standing while Yao was still seated allowed to you be more than a head taller than him, you still felt surprisingly small. A furious red blush crept across your features as you wrestled your pride to the ground.
“_{Feed me.}”
“I’m sorry, aru. I didn’t quite catch that.”
The way your beautiful eyes were staring up at him and searching for some form of sympathy made no difference to Yao, nor did the fact that you looked utterly mortified. If anything it made him want to be cruel.
Plucking a second morsel from your plate, the Asia man allowed just enough time for the sweet smell of the honeyed chicken to catch your attention before popping it into his own mouth. Your horrified whine almost caused him to choke. Just when he thought you couldn’t get any more adorable, you managed to surprise him.
“Please Yao. Don’t do this to me!”
It was almost as if you wanted him to cuddle you to death. He shook his head, desperately resisting the urge to squeal at your endearing behaviour. You groaned in response to this, your shoulders sagging in defeat.
“Feed me, okay!? I want you to feed me!”
Almost instantly, the chopsticks pushed something between your lips and your tongue was met with a delightful tang. Upon biting down, the food burst with flavour and you gave a hum of delight. You were so preoccupied with having finally received your delicious reward that you didn’t notice Yao squeezing his eyes shut as he bit down on his fist, deterring himself from kidnapping you there and then.
At the feeling of two smaller hands trying to maneuver his own, the Asian man cracked one eye open and watched with amusement as you tried to feed yourself using his hand.
“Do you really think that will work, aru?”
There was a moment of silence in which you glared at him for being uncooperative.
“It’s better than nothing.”
Removing his hand from yours, Yao chose another sweet roll from the plate. Your face lit up in approval, but just as you went to bite down the fragrant delicacy was whisked away and your teeth met with air. Yao stood on the other side of the table now, an air of challenge about him. You straightened your shoulders and narrowed your eyes.
If there was one thing that people should not do, it was come between you and your food.
“That’s it. There was a line, and you’ve just crossed it.”

It was ridiculous how effortlessly he could evade you, stepping around the small room as if this were some elaborate dance. Every spin would carry the food past your nose, but never once did his fingers fumble. Normarily you would have been in awe of the grace displayed by the man before you, then again normarily he wouldn’t be tormenting you with food.
“Yao seriously, I’m so hungry!” As if on cue, your stomach rumbled to back-up your point. Eyes widened imploringly, you splayed both hands in a “what did I just say?” gesture.
“What’s the magic word, aru?”
“Please!” You didn’t hesitate this time, and it had the reaction you’d anticipated. Not expecting you to give in so easily, your friend was momentarily stunned and you took that chance to barrel into his chest and lock your arms around his, trapping the hand which held your prize. You crowed in delight as he yelped in shock, but by the time he’d realised what had happened the sweet roll had long since been stolen from his chopsticks. Unfortunately, you’d had a little more momentum than expected, and no sooner had you twisted to take the food from his grasp, the two of you were sent staggering into the table.
Thankfully Yao was able to steady the both of you, but your food wasn’t so lucky. Your hip thumped into the table edge, and you could only watched in horror as both your plate and his plummeted towards the wooden flooring.
“Um… Oopsie?”
Yao sighed, your guilty expression was yet another thing he’d have to add to his ever-growing list of things he adored about you.
“You’re so clumsy, aru.” He watched as his breath lightly brushed aside a few stray hairs which had fallen into your face. At the same time, you seemed to register his proximity, and the fact that you stood backed up against the table while the hand Yao had used to steady you was still resting on your waist. Your tongue darted out to wet your suddenly chapped lips, and Yao realised he couldn’t remove his hand from where it lay comfortably on the subtle curve of your waist. No, not couldn’t - wouldn’t.
Your breathing had picked up, and the tips of your ears were turning a brilliant shade of crimson, yet your eyes hadn’t left his for the longest time. Yao felt oddly calm. This felt too natural for him to become flustered, having you in his arms was just right.
“Ya-Yao?”
Your stammering inquiry brought him back to his senses just in time, and now the Chinese man could do nothing but blush. Quickly, he forced himself to pull away, ruffling your hair in a brotherly manner as he gave a light-hearted laugh and reprimanded himself because your relationship with him was nothing more than platonic.
Friendship could be just as much a blessing as it was a curse.
For years Yao had told himself that being by your side was enough, and for years he’d struggled with containing his feelings. It had been fine up to a point, unnoticeable even. You had always been open to a little flirting, claiming that it was a fun pastime, but in the end it had only made things harder for Yao because your innocent banter made you all the more tempting.
Stammering excuses which he hoped sounded believable, he made to kneel and pick up the broken fragments of plate from the floor; a firm hand on his chest prevented from doing so. Amber eyes trailed up a feminine arm and eventually led him to meet the pretty orbs which glared at him with unmatched ferocity.
“How many times do I have to tell you Yao?” The naïve sparkle which your eyes usually held was gone, replaced by a much darker, yet alluring glimmer. “Stop treating me like a child.”
Yao gaped like a goldfish, his mind and heart at war. On one hand he wasn’t sure where this was going or if he should even let himself think about such things, but on the other…
Your fingers walked their way up his chest and around the back of his neck. Your other hand was draped around his waist and Yao realised that your lips were barely a hairs breadth from his.
“You’re so mean Yao.”
That pout was one he was familiar with. That was the pout you showed him every time he teased you, that was the pout you would use to get something you wanted. It had never been more effective.
“Why can’t you treat me like a woman for a change?”
“You’re making it very hard for me to do otherwise, aru.” His voice had cracked and he knew it, but that was irrelevant right now.
At this response you gave a low laugh, and tilted your lips away from where they had been practically touching Yao’s. He groaned, and you laughed again.
You pressed you lips gently against his collarbone, and the hands which had previously hung limply at the Chinese man’s sides clutched at your hips. He whined as your nose ran up the curve of his neck and across the line of his jaw as you whispered his own words back to him.
“I’m afraid I still don’t quite understand what you’re asking for. Tell me clearly.”
Tell you he did, though not with words.
His kisses, like the man himself, were mature and tender, but also strong. There was no denying him as his lips worked lovingly with yours; when your tongue darted out to tease him, his teeth would lightly nip at the lithe muscle in playful warning. Hair became entangled around fingers, fingers became lost in the silky stands, and the two of you became lost in each other.
The food lay on the floor, long forgotten.