Vaien rolled his eyes. "None of your business."
She leaned down lower, then winked. "Heh, but I'm curious. You were in such great spirits just a bit ago, and Kalla's told me all about how infatuated you are with that weak man."
A low annoyance simmered in Vaien.
Kalla....that gossiping sister of his! She's less useful than a blind snoufle. Ah, well, Gihana had always been better at subtleties than he was, after all, that was why she made such a good tribe leader. If he was being honest Vaien could care less about inheriting the position of tribe leader, so when he left out of anger it was also partially out of the convenience of avoiding that role.
And if there was anyone Vaien would confide in, it was Gihana, who was near his equal. Vaien's expression shifted slightly before he lowered his tone to speak.
"We started things out as a sex deal. Now he won't think of it otherwise."
It was a feeling of distance between them that Vaien didn't like, even though they should feel much closer after being so intimate.
One moment he and Vaien would feel so close and it was so comfortable to be around him, bicker with him, and the next moment, Zhang Han would turn colder. It was a kind of stupid emotional distance Vaien didn't understand nor like to think about. Is it really that Zhang Han never liked him that much all along?
Gihana happily drank some more wine, nodding. A few sexual favors or casual relationships were the norm. Most of all, Vaien had always looked down on those weaker than himself, it was the way of things. That was why Gihana found it more strange that he actually took a fancy to someone when it started out as a sex deal.
"Well, isn't that the natural thing for him to do?" she replied. "You know how things are Vaien."
"No!" Vaien gnashed his teeth. Still not wanting Zhang Han to overhear, he hissed more quietly, "Not when I'm so clearly...treating him as much more than that. Just earlier I even tried to do that damned drinking ritual with him. Why won't he take the hint?!"
After a stunned pause, Gihana thought she was talking to a different person than the Vaien she used to know and burst out laughing, adding to the loud rabble surrounding the massive bonfire.
"Ahahaha...seriously! The great Vaien can't figure out something when raw strength isn't involved…?Man, I'm gonna get a kick out of this for a while…"
She wiped the tears of merriment from her eyes eventually with Vaien angrily waiting for her laughter to cede. But fuck, he figured she'd make fun of him for this anyway. Who wouldn't?
"So?" he prompted.
"So…?" she parroted, walking her fingers along the back of Vaien's seat.
Vaien unhappily continued, "What should I do?"
"Ah, I see! You actually want to woo him...?"
"No shit! Otherwise why would I be telling you any of this?"
Gihana nodded understandingly. "Well...first you have to know why he rejects you. Is it because he still doesn't believe that you consider him 'special'. Or is it just because doesn't like you? If so then too bad, you might as well-"
"That can't be it. That's not an option!" Vaien said in scorching denial. "We get along well...most of the time. And we have great sex compatibility. Don't bother mentioning sex as the issue either."
Gihana shrugged. "Sure. Then what else is it that's holding him back?" She snickered. "Is he only using you for the benefits, like protection?"
Vaien bristled. "No!" But to be honest, he wasn't sure about that.
He didn't want to believe that either, though. Even if that was mostly the case, Zhang Han would at least have to feel the tiniest bit of care for him, right?!
"Okay, fine," continued Gihana. "You see, Vaien, the difference between sex partners and life partners is that sex partners only care about a quick fix. Let's say that you heard one of your old flings was killed by a Toothy Swordfish, you wouldn't really care much, right? Maybe you'd give them some protection if they came to you, but it's all in a shallow sense. Sex partners don't try to understand the other person's personality nor care about them outside of that sexual relationship. That's you until now."
Vaien's eyebrow twitched, but he kept listening.
"Life partners actually care about the other person." Gihana smiled knowingly. "To put it simply, they are obsessed. They want to know more about them. They want to see them do certain things, feel certain things. They want to be part of their life outside of some fun in bed. If they knew that person was going to die, they'd want to save them even if it caused them to sacrifice something else important. If you say that Zhang Han is 'special', then that should be you now."
"I'm not asking for a lecture. I've already figured that out," Vaien interjected.
"Oh, but I think you did need it," countered Gihana, "because right now you only seem to be mad that Zhang Han won't accept your affections, and not thinking about why. For once, try to be observant. See what he likes and dislikes. You have to figure out what he wants, and fulfil his wishes! This is the best advice I can give you without knowing the situation well."
After an exasperated sigh, Vaien gave her a brief thanks before she walked off to chat up someone else. He glanced at Zhang Han. Gihana did have a point.
What did Zhang Han desire? What did he truly think about him?
Survival and protection were already given to him. Vaien also gave Zhang Han food, which he seemed to like a lot. If Zhang Han only asked for it, he could give him the finest pelts and treasures. But Zhang Han and Vaien both cared little for those things.
There was no point showering Zhang Han with gifts if he didn't care about them.
Then what else could he do…? Was there really something Zhang Han didn't like about him?
But Vaien was almost sure that there were times Zhang Han seemed worried for him, and seemed to care. Maybe it was because he pressured him into sex at the start of everything?
But back then neither of them cared about each other, and Vaien would never be willing to help someone out for free. He just honestly said what he wanted -aka sex-, no lies or double meanings.
So besides that.
...in general, Zhang Han didn't talk much about himself. But for some reason Vaien felt like he was close to understanding something important. Something he'd been missing.
He rolled half to the side, not letting his face in deep thought be seen by Zhang Han.
For one, Zhang Han insisted on always being the top. Two, Zhang Han always tried to do everything he could to help out. Vaien knew that he didn't want to be taken care of like a woman. At this point Three, Zhang Han worked tirelessly to build weapons and items that were useful for combat and other things…
Vaien felt like he just struck genius!
Within his confusing brain addled with horny thoughts, he remembered that Zhang Han seemed to really like building stuff! Inventing things in order to help make up the gap in his power with other people.
It was about three day's travel away, but there was an ancient shipyard located in a shallow crater, surrounded by shrublands. A lot of the ships had been salvaged for metal scraps and other useful items at first sight. The laser guns they'd contained had already lost their energy stores, and Red Mane had a few in their treasure hold.
Besides that, the internal fixtures and parts of the ships remained for the most part. Perhaps there was something there that would be of interest to Zhang Han.
At some point later, once the problems at Red Mane had settled, he would bring him there!
Then Vaien realized...it could take months for those issues to resolve.
Fuck! Bringing him there wasn't an option right now. What else could he do?!
And so he was back to square one...
Vaien had consumed a lot of alcohol while thinking about all this too.
Although he was a heavyweight, eventually everyone would reach a tipping point. The lively dance and chatter around him began to meld together, his gaze turning a bit fuzzy, and before long he couldn't help but give a longing glance to Zhang Han.
He noticed that Zhang Han had been looking at him, too.