Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, they're KOEI's. I'm just borrowing them.
Pairing:Gan Ning x Ling Tong
A/N: Soooo, I'm mildly obsessed with this pairing, and have been for a while... Shame it's taken me this long to write anything. XD I was content with reading other authors' stuff before, but now my muses are harassing me. Damn them.
This is just a short, intro chapter really... I should be focusing on my TF fic just now. *coughs* I'll play it by ear. Enjoy! ^^
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Yin Yang
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Ling Tong sighed through his nose and focused on looking anywhere but at the pirate.
...Or ex-pirate, whatever.
They'd been sitting in the humid council tent for a good few hours, and he was desperate for the meeting to finish. It didn't help that he was seated so close to Gan Ning, who always sneaked glances at him when he thought he wasn't looking. How stupid did he think Tong was?
To make matters worse, neither he nor Gan Ning had any part in the upcoming battle, which meant they'd be drifting around the camp with nothing to do, and that always resulted in harassing each other out of sheer boredom.
He'd rather take a nap on the edge of a cliff than spend time with that murderer.
Speaking of whom, why did the blonde hoodlum have to fidget so much? Sure, these meetings were duller than ditch-water, but it was annoying. Every time he shifted in his seat, his ubiquitous bells would jingle, grating on Ling Tong's nerves.
Shaking his head slightly, Tong continued to stare listlessly at the other side of the tent.
-/-
For his part, Gan Ning was gazing slyly at the nunchaku-wielder from the corner of his eye. He could look at Ling Tong all day, quite happily.
The young man was tall, long-limbed and almost girlish in his looks. His long chestnut hair was tied back neatly, leaving the shorter sections falling about his face. Despite the fact that he was incredibly lazy and constantly flaunted nonchalance, he was somehow always graceful.
His face was angular with sharp features, and his eyes were almost permanently half-shut. Gan Ning knew better than to assume he was half-asleep though; he had found out the hard way that Ling Tong was always on edge, especially concerning the former pirate.
Even now, although it looked like he was daydreaming in boredom (which he often did during council meetings such as this), Gan Ning knew Tong was very much aware of his presence, and was probably thinking murderous thoughts about him behind that calm facade... Playing with the ends of his yellow scarf while he did so.
Ning sighed as well. He would probably never live down the fact that he had killed Tong's father in battle. These things happened! But try telling him that...
In any case, their feisty rivalry only piqued Gan Ning's interest in the other man. Every time Ling Tong glared, sneered at him, or even sent a sarcastic smile his way, Gan Ning found himself having to suppress a hot ache that came with many crude urges.
Every day was a challenge, but one he thoroughly enjoyed.
Oh yeah... One day he'd have Ling Tong. He'd wipe that lacklustre look from his face and replace it with pleasure. The things he'd do...
"Hey, idiot! Lu Meng's talking to you!"
Gan Ning blinked rapidly, looking at Ling Tong who was frowning at him impatiently. "Oh... Right. What'd you say, old man?"
Lu Meng scowled. "Stop calling me that. I asked if you had any suggestions for the next battle."
Not even having the vaguest clue what battle that might be, Gan Ning shrugged. "Nope."
Ling Tong scoffed quietly, obviously seeing right through the pirate.
"Very well. In that case, you're dismissed. You too, Ling Tong. Lu Xun, you stay here with Lord Sun Quan and I. We have much to discuss," Lu Meng instructed, already opening various scrolls on the desk.
Both Gan Ning and Ling Tong got up from their seats and left the tent, careful not to brush against each other on the way out.
"What were you drooling about in there, moron? Do you have to dream your impure thoughts in front of everyone? It gives me the creeps," Ling Tong ranted in his usual, sardonic way.
Gan Ning ignored him, trying not to smirk.
"I actually feel sorry for the poor woman you're lusting after, you know. Imagine being fantasised about by you? Hardly flattering," Tong went on. He finally noticed that he was being ignored, and planted himself firmly in front of the pirate, stopping him in his tracks. He folded his arms across his chest crossly. "Not gonna say anything? Can't refute the truth, huh?"
"Shut it, Ling Tong."
"Come on, you can do better than that," Tong goaded him, smirking condescendingly.
Gan Ning mimicked the other man's pose. "Your prudish, delicate little mind couldn't handle the things in my head. You're too much of a girl." Hah!
Tong merely arched an eyebrow, unfazed by the insult. "In other words, it's something too filthy for words? Can't say I'm surprised; everything about you is filthy." With that, Ling Tong turned and ambled away, presumably to his own tent.
Gan Ning leered after him. If only you knew, hehe.
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It was raining heavily, later that night.
Ling Tong didn't mind the rain at all, which was why he was strolling around in it. Some of the troops were giving him strange looks, but he didn't care. The change in weather was a damn sight better than the heat, earlier.
The Wu general made his way into the nearby woods, casually running his gloved hand across the tree trunks as he passed them. The wet bark flaked off on his fingers but he didn't mind that, either.
He stopped dead when he saw his rival/enemy leaning against a large tree, further in. He tutted and rolled his eyes. The damn pirate was everywhere!
Gan Ning saw Ling Tong at the same time. "Hey! Did you miss me that much?" The insufferable man grinned.
"Pah! As if!" Ling Tong retorted, walking slowly towards the pirate. "I was just minding my own business. Why are you here?"
Ning scratched the back of his neck. "I was fishing at the lake, then it started pouring down. Thought I'd take shelter here 'til it stopped."
Tong ran his eyes up and down the other man. "I don't see any fish," he said archly.
Gan Ning scowled at that. "Mind your own business, pal."
The tall man laughed, amused at how defensive Ning got over his fishing. He took a moment to appraise the former pirate, huddled up against the tree.
Technically, Gan Ning wasn't unattractive. His long, untamed blonde hair was somewhat stylish even though it was considered barbaric by some. His bare upper torso was impressive, the tattoos, only seeming to enhance the muscles there. His face was fierce but handsome, though Tong would never admit it, and the way he talked and carried himself certainly seemed to inspire the other troops.
At the end of the day, though, Gan Ning was still a brute, and a thug. And apparently a letch.
Ling Tong looked away in disgust.
"Hey, Ling Tong."
The ponytailed-man grudgingly directed his attention back to Gan Ning. "What?"
"Would you still hate me, even if I hadn't killed your Father?"
Well, that was out of the blue. Ling Tong frowned slightly. "What...? Why bring something like that up?"
Gan Ning said nothing, looking oddly uncertain as he waited for Tong's answer.
Tong thought about it briefly, then shrugged. "I dunno. Probably."
"That so? So what is it about me that really pisses you off, then?" He said it offhandedly enough, but Ling Tong had the feeling it all actually mattered.
"You're arrogant and careless. You gain too much enjoyment from annoying people- namely, me."
"Heh. Seems like we have a lot in common, then."
"What?" Ling Tong clenched a fist and marched over to Gan Ning. "We are nothing alike!"
"If you say so," Gan Ning said breezily, toying with the hoops in his left earlobe.
Ling Tong's frown deepened. "If you actually want me to start liking you, you're sure as hell going about it the wrong way."
Ning smiled at that. "You know what they say about love and hate," he surprised Tong by reaching over and tilting his chin up with one finger. "Imagine we put all that passion to good use, eh?"
Ling Tong's mouth fell open. "You're kidding... Right?" Please tell me he's kidding...
"Am I?" Ning narrowed his eyes, leaning closer to Ling Tong's face. "Am I really?"
"You're crazy! I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Tong cried, swatting Ning's hand away.
"Sure, say what you want. But if you don't wanna know these things, don't ask what I'm thinking about in council meetings. Like I said, doubt you could handle it. Heh, later," Gan Ning winked at him and sauntered away, twirling a dagger in his fingers as he went.
Ling Tong rubbed his face firmly, as if trying to snap himself out of a messed-up dream. Surely his enemy did not just suggest that they 'make love, not war'; it was too much for him. The very idea.
Unbidden, he allowed himself to conjure up an image in his mind of sex with Gan Ning, and nearly reeled. Oh, he is the worst. How can he say such a thing? I'm going to have nightmares...
Unfortunately, the image wouldn't go away, and Tong's face was beginning to burn up as a result. From shame, of course. Definitely shame.
He hurried back to his tent, trying to think about something -anything!- else.
But the mental image of Gan Ning's naked body pressing him into the floor simply would not die. Neither did the feral smile on the pirate's sweat-damp face.
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A/N: I'll probably avoid referring to major battles, as it's been done in many fics, and I don't want to seem like I'm jumping on the bandwagon... That, and I'm less likely to make idiot mistakes. XD Please R&R, I'll love you forever.