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He couldn’t believe it, no way would he have imagined to see the day of his best friend’s wedding. His beloved, sweet Tchang. Tintin remembers the first time he met the skinny Chinese boy, he looked so much more different than the man stood in front of him.
Tchang had aged gracefully, like a succulent wine that had been made with care. His face, once round with youth, was now chiselled and more reminiscent of an ancient god. His jet black hair which Tintin wanted to card his hand through with meticulous care like Tchang was a porcelain statue that would break with a single breath. His eyes, Tintin thought he would get hypnotised by their beauty if he stared into them for too long. They reminded him of an inky night sky, so beautiful and untainted.
Untainted. Tchang wasn’t like him, that’s why this was happening in the first place.
That’s why Tintin was currently stood outside Tchang’s hotel room, his hand shakily curled inwards in order to knock on. Once he knocked, he immediately regretted it. Tchang’s bride-to-be was in the same hotel, getting ready with no speculation of what was going through Tintin’s mind. This was wrong, unholy, sinful, whatever higher power that was up there in the sky was looking down on him in shame.
Tintin turned on his heel ready to turn away and run back to the airport, back to Brussels and back to Marlinspike. The only difference is that Tchang wouldn’t be there.
Just as he was about to walk off, he heard the sound of a door opening and he dreaded turning around, in fear of falling in love with the man again. A gleeful voice called out to him, just like the sirens that would lure away unsuspecting sailors in those folklore tales that Captain Haddock would tell Tintin while intoxicated.
“Tintin, my friend!”
He couldn’t stay away, there wasn’t a chance he would be able to, even if he knew that it was truly wrong. Even the Captain had begged Tintin not to go, fearing for the lad, worried he’d get his heart stomped on again. He understood that the Captain was only doing his best to look out for the young man but Tintin could only do so much. Tintin swallowed back the bile crawling its way up his throat and turned around to face him. Tchang, the only man he would ever love.
Tintin could feel his heart rapidly beating, he could quite literally see his heart beating out of his chest because of the sight in front of him. Tchang was wearing a glorious red tang suit with gold accents that perfectly complimented his tan skin. The bright red silk of his shirt accentuated his firm chest which Tintin couldn’t stop staring at.
Every time he looked at Tchang he is reminded of the boy he saved from the river, saved from the mountains of Tibet, the boy that eventually became his best friend. He felt deep sorrow at what became of their relationship. He had hoped that their relationship would eventually blossom into something beautiful, like a lotus flower opening to reveal its delicate petals. Oh how wrong he had been. The ginger man was so infatuated with his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard his friend call out his name once more to get his attention.
“Tintin, are you feeling alright?” Tchang exclaimed with that same smile he had fallen in love with all those years ago.
Tintin looked up at the man before him, hesitating. “I..”
He stared into those obsidian eyes that were now filled with worry, the lines on Tchang’s face now exaggerated.
He couldn’t do it, what would she think?
By she , Tintin of course meant Tchang’s fiancé, soon to be wife, Catherine.
She was nice enough, Tintin thought. Tchang seemed to like her and that was enough for the ginger. He must say however that Tchang had immaculate taste when it came to women. Catherine had an upturned button nose with ocean blue eyes and ginger hair that was almost blonde. She wore circular glasses which looked almost too big for her round face and had a few freckles dotted here and there on her rosy cheeks. They got along and shared similar interests, however, she had been studying to be a surgeon at the same university that Tchang attends in London. Of course Tchang would choose to court someone on the same level of intellect as him, why wouldn’t he? Captain Haddock had once even said “If I didn’t know any better lad, I would think that Catherine lady is your long lost sister!”. He knows he didn’t mean it, but Tintin couldn’t help but ponder on that thought.
All in all, if she was who Tchang wanted to spend the rest of his days with, that was fine. Who cares?
Tintin did of course.
Tintin was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a gentle but firm hand touch his shoulder, the hand shaking a tad bit, the ginger man couldn’t figure out why. He was quickly dragged inside the hotel room and the door had slammed shut behind him. In half a second, he had noticed that Tchang was now pacing around the room and grabbing his head , grasping his hair and messing it up. Tintin noticed this and grabbed a comb and led Tchang to sit down on the plush vanity chair. Tintin slowly began combing through his hair, just like in his dreams. This action had clearly managed to calm him down however as Tchang let out a sigh of content and leaned his head back until it was flush with Tintin’s lower torso. After a few seconds the ravenette stood up and turned around, he looked at the ginger man and gave a small smile.
Tintin couldn’t help what happened next.
It was like his body was moving on its own, like he was a man possessed by a disturbing entity. He closed his eyes and kissed Tchang.
It was like an electric shock had been sent through him, it wasn’t rough or too chaste, it felt perfect, just right. Tchang grasped Tintin’s shoulders and let out a noise of satisfaction. They carried on like this, the ginger man could feel the passion emitting off of Tchang, like they were a couple that had been seperated for several years and had finally reunited. Before Tintin could go any further, all of a sudden, Tchang pushed Tintin away with such force that he stumbled back and nearly fell onto the soft carpet.
Tintin looked up at Tchang who was panting with a look of fear on his face. Oh dear lord, that was the face he dreaded to see. Tintin scrambled to grasp onto the ravenette’s arm, he noticed that he was shaking quite violently, mostly out of shock. Tchang’s eyes were wide with disbelief, horror, every negative emotion that he was able to express with his eyes.
Tintin quickly opened his mouth to explain his action, “Tchang listen, i’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me!”
Tchang was staring at him, tears now flowing down his flushed face. He didn’t say anything for a few moments, but to Tintin, it felt like hours.
Tchang finally opened his mouth, just to ask a simple, short question, “Why?”
Tintin didn’t expect that, “I’m not sure, Tchang please forgive me.”
Tchang looked up at Tintin with sadness written all over his face which was missing that usual, sweet smile.
“This is wrong.”
Tintin dreaded hearing that, he knew he had to get a reality check at some point, he just didn’t know that he would eventually hear it from his best friend.
“Tchang hold on-“
“My fiancé is in the same hotel, getting ready for our wedding ! Why would you do this? It’s wrong, so wrong! What would my parents say?”
“…Why not before?”
Those words struck Tintin like a bullet, only this time it felt so much worse. It hurt, Tintin wanted to pass out, to die, to melt on the spot. But he was curious, what did Tchang mean by that?
“Tchang, what do you mean?”
The ravenette paused for a moment before looking at Tintin. He walked towards the door and placed his hand on the handle and turned around to look at the ginger man.
“I’ve been healed Tintin, I found a woman to settle down and be happy with. Maybe it would’ve been different some years ago.”
Tchang turned back around to face the door and opened it. Without looking at Tintin he said,
“Maybe in another life.”
He left Tintin stood there in the hotel room, the ginger man’s eyes were wide in disbelief and sadness. He opened his mouth to call out after Tchang, but nothing came out. Nothing but quiet whimpers and then hard, painful sobs came out. Tintin clasped his hand over his mouth to quieten his needless sadness, but to no avail, his wails of dejection came out in waves. He couldn’t breathe.
Did this really just happen?
Tintin watched as Catherine walked down the aisle in a matching qipao dress. It looked marvellous on her and he couldn’t help but smile. Smile at the fact that Tchang’s eyes lit up as his bride approached him.
Captain Haddock stared as Tintin’s face morphed from happiness to grief in a matter of seconds. He put his hand over Tintin’s and grasped it in an attempt to comfort the poor lad. He gave Haddock a small smile before turning back around to stare at Tchang, how his face showed endless joy.
Tintin knew that deep down, the possibility of him and Tchang’s relationship furthering into romance was impossible. They were too different, their ideologies and feelings clashed too much. Even though that’s what his brain told him, his heart told him otherwise. He wanted to stand up and yell at the top of his lungs how much love, devotion and loyalty he had for the other man. However, he kept his mouth shut out of respect for Catherine, she wasn’t at fault for Tintin’s sinful feelings.
Just like Tchang said, maybe in another life.