"You should smile more. It looks really good on you."

Pairing: ZY/SC

Word Count: 4,490

Warnings: Slash and a bit of kissing.

Note: Zhou Yu's character is a mix of his Dynasty Warriors one and how he was portrayed in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so he's a little more irritable here. Also, this is set 7 years before the events of the game, at their main base. Sun Ce is 18 and Zhou Yu is had completed their latest campaign in victory, and in time for Sun Ce's birthday. The celebration would be held to rejoice in their win as well as the young master's eighteenth birthday. 'Scuse any historical inaccuracies here and there, I'm not too good at those types of things~

"Oh come on, Yu. It is my birthday, after all! I just want to spend time with you..." The tiger cub hummed, tugging relentlessly at the sleeve of his unamused strategist like a small child would do to their parent. Zhou Yu did his best to slap the other's hand away and squirm out of his grasp, opting to check on the kitchen to see how preparations for the celebration of said event were faring. "Yu..." Sun Ce whined as his stern friend briskly shrugged him off and shook his head to dismiss any further whining he'd have to endure. He was eventually going to have to lead the Sun family, and today he was turning 18, yet he still acted barely half his age.

"That's exactly why I've to check on the food." Was Zhou Yu's half-hearted excuse. It wasn't like he cared much for whatever the chefs were whipping up, he just wanted to escape the clutches of the tanned man. Sun Ce had been showing considerably less restraint when it came to public displays of affection, and they had almost been caught in rather compromising positions by servants, family members and fellow soldiers alike. He feared that if he stayed any longer that the worst person possible would walk in, knowing his sour luck. If Sun Jian were ever to find out about his rather unorthodox relationship with his beloved son, there would be hell.

Sun Ce grunted and his eyebrow twitched. "What's the point in that? It's not like you can cook, anyway. The last time you tried, I had food poisoning for a week-"

"I have no intention of cooking. I'm simply going to see how much progress the cooks have made." The young prodigy ignored the little jab at his culinary skills and bit back a sarcastic retort, knowing that it wasn't going to do either of them any good to begin one of their ridiculous arguments about the most trivial of issues.

His resistance was faltering given the pleading look Sun Ce had adopted - one rivaling that of his younger brother when he pleaded for more dessert. Zhou Yu let the features of his face soften in response, brushing his hair back over his shoulder and flipping his bangs over his forehead. "There isn't much time left until the banquet, you know." He groaned when he felt a pair of arms hold him in place at the waist and struggled briefly. Despite acting like a 9-year old, Sun Ce had an iron grip rivaling that of a war veteran. "Ce, get off. I need to help with..." Zhou Yu trailed off in thought and remembered what he was actually supposed to be doing and not his cover-up, "...gathering the fireworks for later tonight, after the feast. There are also a few barrels of extra wine that need to be transferred from the storehouse to the banquet hall."

The little conqueror gave a childish pout and peered up at him through a curtain of chestnut bangs. "Then how about I come help you-"

"No." The strategist snapped, quickly pulling himself away from the other's embrace when his grip slackened and began trudging off in the opposite direction, in search of said storehouse. "It's your birthday, stupid. Go relax and enjoy yourself."

"You're a jerk sometimes, you know that?" The young lord grumbled, folding his arms over his chest and watching the mesmerizing curtain of black hair bobbing away and swaying with each step his strategist took. "...I wanted to enjoy myself. I wanted to spend some time with you. We've been so busy up until the past few days, and I miss you." Zhou Yu froze and felt guilt beginning to creep into his mind. "...I just want to spend time with you." He repeated, "That's all I want for my birthday. Forget all the fancy gifts, fireworks and hell, even the food... I just want you all to myself for even a few minutes, Yu." At this, the antisocial prodigy felt a pang in his heart and rubbed his temple wearily. If it were anyone else, he could have laughed and brushed them off. But there was something about Sun Ce, his voice, his smile, his touch, the way he would let his name roll off the tip of his tongue - it really drove him up the wall, but at the same time he loved it.

"Shut up and leave." Zhou Yu sent his companion a backwards glance, watching as Sun Ce's face went from a hopeful grin to a crestfallen sulk. He looked truly hurt by the strategist's words. He sometimes wondered why out of all people, Sun Ce chose him. He wasn't kind, he wasn't friendly, and he most certainly wasn't affectionate. Zhou Yu always worked by himself, alone, and secluded himself from the rest of the world. He didn't like talking to people, he could be arrogant and full of himself... And he made Sun Ce sad. He hurt him. Not physically, no, but his tongue was sharper than the famed Blue Blade, and he could kill without drawing blood.

"Grow up, Ce." The Zhou prodigy scoffed and turned his face around enough to quickly brush his lips against the other, aiming for his lips. Their strange relationship had blossomed already a year or so ago, and yet the strategist only remembered initiating ten of the hundreds of kisses they had shared. But if a kiss would satisfy him and leave him alone, then so be it.

Instead, because of his quick movement, his lips found they completely missed their mark and collided with the edge of Sun Ce's eye, much to the other's amusement. The gesture wasn't much of a kiss, but it brought the bright grin back to the tiger cub's face. "You have terrible aim."

Zhou Yu shook his head and felt warmth rise to his cheeks and a scowl wormed onto his face. "S-Sorry. I won't try that again." He snapped as the other gave a few amused chuckles. "Just let me go."

"No, no. I thought it was cute." Zhou Yu only scowled further. He despised the word 'cute', and even more so when the word was associated with him. He was going to be 18 within the next few months, for heaven's sake. 'Cute' was reserved for small woodland creatures and Sun Quan, which he was neither. "Let me do it, then." Sun Ce tried to swoop in for an actual kiss but the strategist shook his head and tilted his head to the side to avoid any further form of contact. They were standing right in the middle of the hallway and anyone could easily spot them, and their current position wasn't hinting at something more than a platonic, brotherly relationship. He didn't want people to get the wrong idea about them - but then again, it was sort of the right idea. Regardless, he didn't want to be seen shoving his tongue down the heir to the Sun family.

He somehow squirmed out of the strong pair of arms and gently traced Sun Ce's jaw with a finger before letting his hand fall back limply to the side. The finger along his jaw made Sun Ce smile and he lolled his head to the side expectantly, to which Zhou Yu took a few steps away. "...Later. After the fireworks."

"Do you promise?" He was rather disappointed that he only got a half-assed kiss, but this was a good development. Normally, Zhou Yu would just tell him to buzz off and go back to his room and sulk under a massive storm cloud, hunched over maps filled with little dots and arrows and squares and filled with military mumbo-jumbo that he didn't understand.

Zhou Yu sighed and strode off at the childish tone in the tiger cub's voice. "I promise." He let his gaze finger on the chiseled jaw of the tanned man long enough to see his beautiful smile and his eyes shine with so much joyous light he was tempted to give him a proper kiss. Perhaps now wasn't an appropriate time to think about this, but the strategist had always loved Sun Ce's smile. The way his eyes would crease ever so slightly and twinkled with nothing but innocent and pure happiness, and how his mouth curved upwards in a little bit of a crooked grin, but that only made it rather endearing. Every time a smile was directed at him, no matter how sour his mood was, he couldn't help but return it or tear his gaze away so he didn't have to return it. With a final flourish of his robes, he was off before Sun Ce could catch the smile that ghosted over his own lips.

~X~X~X~X~X~

The banquet went exceedingly well. The food was absolutely delectable, and even Zhou Yu tipped his proverbial hat to the chefs for such a good meal. There was laughing, chatting, and a whole lot of drinking. The young strategist avoided drinking more than a few sips of alcohol for fear of him doing anything embarrassing in a drunken state, and he was surprised to see that Sun Ce had done the same, choosing instead to wolf down his foods with an appetite to shame a pack of starved wolves.

By the time they were finished, the sky had already turned a beautiful shade of navy and the stars twinkled in the sky against the dark background. The skies were clear of clouds, and there was a slight breeze that ruffled the grass and allowed it to sway back and forth - all in all, it was an absolutely breathtaking evening, and perfect for a fireworks display.

"Yu..." Sun Ce had crawled his way around the hill as a few officers were readying the fireworks until his eyes fixed on a familiar head of raven-black hair. He sat himself down right beside the strategist and smiled that infectious smile of his. As per usual, Zhou Yu had chosen to sit a bit further away from the rest of the crowd , leaning his back against the wall of the gazebo and sitting cross-legged. If it were anyone else who came to disturb his solitude, he would order them to leave him alone at once.

But not Sun Ce - no, he was the sole exception to so many rules that he had. He was the only one that wouldn't care if Zhou Yu chose to hole himself up and erect enormous stone walls around him. Anyone else would have called for him a few times and given up. Others would try to climb in with a ladder, but the ladder never reached high enough. The little conqueror on the other hand would call for him, yell, try climbing with and without a ladder, and when all else failed, he would break down the wall brick by brick to get to him. No one else was able to reach out to him the way Sun Ce did, and no one else bothered to try.

Perhaps that was why Zhou Yu had admittedly fallen in love with him - he was stubborn, but sometimes that reflected in his resolve. He never gave up and would stare death in the eye without so much as flinch. He was cocky, but his confidence made him strong and brave. He was intensely persistent, and thus he was determined. If he had a goal, he would accomplish it. If he wanted something, he would get it. Of course each of these factors had their consequences, but they were greatly overshadowed by one main aspect, the integral part of his character which was how loving he was.

He was a loving brother to his siblings, a loving son to his father, a loving leader and friend to his troops, and a loving... well, lover. He would remind Zhou Yu at least once a day that he loved him with all his heart, even after they had a spiteful argument. If Zhou Yu was feeling miserable, which wasn't too rare of an occurrence, he would be there to try and brighten his day. These attempts usually ended up with Zhou Yu having even more of a headache, but he knew that Sun Ce had good intentions. He cared, he truly did. When they were alone, he was littered in pecks and kisses, smothered with affection, and there was so much snuggling he thought he would gag. Yet he didn't usually push the tiger cub away, and he would rarely put up a real fight unless they were in public view. He made a show of disliking his constant barrage of love, but deep down, they both knew he enjoyed all the attention.

...They were polar opposites, that was for certain. Sun Ce was loud, brash, energetic and childish, while Zhou Yu was serious, aloof, quiet and mature. They shared being arrogant and determined, though, which made them extremely prone to fighting. The two of them clashed so violently with each other it was a wonder that they were able to even live under the same roof without clawing each other's throats out whenever the opportunity presented itself, let alone the hidden fact that they had fallen for each other. Maybe that old saying, 'opposite attract', was really true.

"Yu." He muttered the other's name once more and inched his hand forward to entwine their fingers together as the first firework set off, exploding in a plethora of colour in the sky. The soft call of his name snapped Zhou Yu out of his reverie and he looked to see that the object of his thoughts was being as loving as he always was. The little sparks from the fireworks flew out in all directions, captivating the stares of anyone who happened to glance over. Those little sparks, however, were nothing compared to the sparks in the strategist's chest from the contact of their hands and how his fingertips would gently graze over the back of his hand.

"...Yu..." Sun Ce wet his lips as yet another firework went off, illuminating the pale face of the young prodigy. He looked stunning, his skin glowing with a pale light and his eyes shining bright. Even his regular scowl was replaced with an almost serene, content... was that a smile? The tiger cub scooted closer and wrapped his arms around the other's back, leaning close and allowing his head to rest on his head of black hair. "Yu, what were you thinking about? You looked kinda pissed off, is there something important or serious going on that I should know about? You've off into space for the past ten minutes."

"I was just thinking about you." He answered honestly and much to Sun Ce's shock, "So...nothing important or serious." The strategist smirked, though his tone was joking. He was too prideful to reveal that his thoughts were still lingering on the handsome lord near him, and that indeed he had realized just how much Sun Ce meant to him. Sun Ce wasn't usually serious, but he was definitely exceedingly important to him.

"I was going to say that you were being surprisingly sweet, but forget that." The lord sighed with a lopsided grin, running a few fingers through his friend's hair. Said lord gave a surprised 'hm' when Zhou Yu allowed himself to snuggle a bit closer in the other's embrace instead of shrugging him away like he usually would.

"Idiot, get off of me, we can't do this right here." The young strategist protested lamely, only saying those words for the sake of maintaining his reputation. He flicked his gaze up at the fireworks in the sky, the corners of his lips turning up into a gentle smile.

Sun Ce ignored his words and brushed his nose against his cheek. "You should smile more. It looks really good on you." Zhou Yu scoffed lightly at that, though the smile remained on his face as much as he was trying to force his lips back into their regular grimace. "And it makes me happy to see you smile." The little conqueror admitted after a moment of silence. At this Zhou Yu tensed and lightly pushed him away, noting that his companion looked like he expected a kiss or something of the sort.

"Ce, not right here." He grunted, looking back up at the sky and trying to force a faint blush off his face. It didn't help much that he was rather pale and made the pink all the more noticeable.

The tiger cub made a noise of displeasure at the other's retreat. He took a moment to think and a small smirk adorned his features. "So...somewhere else?"

Zhou Yu's eye twitched and he smacked the back of his friend's head with his free hand and an open palm, but not entirely in earnest. Though he pushed away from his embrace, he continued keeping their fingers entwined, relishing the warmth of the other's palm against his own. Sun Ce took the hint and grinned, giving his hand a little squeeze as they both looked back up at the sky and the array of colours splattered against the dark backdrop of the sky.

He wasn't sure how long they had been gazing in silence. Even when the fireworks stopped, and everyone else had left to retreat back to their quarters and let sleep drag them off, they stayed, gazing up at the constellations and the stars twinkling like specks of fairy dust scattered along a the black cloak of night.

"Ce?" The strategist shifted, releasing the other's hand and letting both of his fall into his lap.

The tiger's cub jerked a bit at the noise, slightly startled as the silence was broken by a soft voice. "Yeah?"

"It's late. You should go back to your room." Zhou Yu nodded his head to the barracks, where he could hear a few voices chatting heartily. He considered heading back to his own room and retreating for the night, but today's sky was a rare view and a sight for sore eyes, of which his definitely were from countless hours of squinting at strategy manuals and maps.

"I don't want to." Zhou Yu gave him a questioning look and raised a thin eyebrow. "I like it out here, it's... well, it's nice."

The strategist gave a soft laugh and sat up straighter to dart his eyes around the sky and examine the constellations. The calm and peace was welcome after the loud explosions of fireworks, and the gentle chirping of crickets soothed his worries away. "So do I."

There was a long moment of silence, but it didn't feel awkward. "I love you." Sun Ce blurted out of the blue and looked to his right and at the handsome face he had watched mature since boyhood.

The young prodigy scoffed. Even with his little tiger cub, he rarely threw around 'I love you's without much thought and internal deliberation, and him openly voicing his feelings was as rare as hen's teeth. It was his birthday though... Ah, well. "..I-" He started but cut himself off. Zhou Yu sighed. Why did he find saying those three simple words so difficult? He knew that throughout their one year of being 'together', he had only said 'I love you' without any hint of sarcasm twice. The first time was when they first confessed and he was chock-full of adrenaline and fluttering with joy, and the second time he let it slip when Sun Ce had gotten almost fatally injured and he was about to break down from sheer anxiety and worry.

Zhou Yu bit his lip and the little conqueror patted his shoulder lightly, chuckling to himself. "T's okay, Yu. Don't force yourself-"

"I love you too." He finally stated, speaking a little hurriedly and with a tinge of embarrassment in his voice.

Sun Ce's face instantly lit up and he squeezed the smaller man. He pressed their bodies close together and let his cheek brush against soft strands of ebony hair. The strategist gave a startled grunt and tried to pry away. "Stop it Ce, I can't breathe-"

"Jeez, you don't know how happy you make me when you say that." The young lord ignore his protests and hugged him even closer, "That was a better birthday present than the new tonfas, the banquet, the fireworks and the new horse combined." His voice come out soft and there was so much affection in his voice that Zhou Yu felt his cold exterior melting away as each word escaped his lips and his struggling came to a halt.

"Don't exaggerate. It's not a big deal." The young strategist scoffed, hesitantly placing a hand on the other's back.

"It is to me! I love you... I love you a lot, you know. Truly." Sun Ce cocked his head to the side and lifted his arm. His hand cupped the other's pale, clean-shaven jaw and he gently rubbed his thumb along the outer edge of his lips. His voice cracked very obviously at the end of his sentence and Zhou Yu let his rare smile remain, leaning into his touch. Since Sun Ce threw 'I love you' around so frequently, he sometimes doubted his sincerity. Now that he heard this, the strategist kicked himself mentally for the mere thought - there was so much truth and honesty in his tone he wondered how he could be so cruel as to even consider that.

"Hm..." The man allowed his eyes to close and focused solely on the sparks that their close contact sent through his skin and the tingling sensation in his spine.

"So...? Don't I get a kiss?" The little conqueror darted his eyes to gaze at the beautiful face of the breathtaking man leaning on his shoulder. There was a bit of a playful twinkle in his eyes and he grinned invitingly.

The strategist cracked an eye open and gently punched his shoulder but complied, hesitantly leaning closer. He made the mistake of closing his eyes a few moments too early and his lips found Sun Ce's jaw, his nose awkwardly bumping up against the other's mouth. Zhou Yu pulled away and his smile quickly turned into a flustered frown. He flinched away as Sun Ce began laughing.

"You missed. Again." He poked the other's chest.

"Well, excuse me." The young prodigy deadpanned and he pushed away, scarlet pooling into both of his cheeks.

The tiger cub pouted and tugged his companion back. "Oh lighten up, would you? Come on."

"No." Zhou Yu scowled and tried to stand up. He wanted to leave. This was absolutely mortifying and his pride as already being crushed under Sun Ce's heel, destroying the small amount of dignity that remained in him with the constant teasing that he was subjected to. What did he think was so funny, anyway? Was it because he was so serious and so much of a perfectionist all the time and he was screwing something as simple as kissing up?

"Yu, don't go! Look, I'm sorry for teasing, but I can't help it. You... You're cute when you're embarrassed." Zhou Yu's eyebrow twitched, "And plus, those kisses aren't half-bad. Please... Just try once more." Sun Ce desperately clung onto his sleeve and pulled him down. The tanned man looked at the fading frown on his lover and best friend's face, cupping his cheek and rubbing his shoulder. After much internal deliberation and a few conflicted twitches of his hand, Zhou Yu gave in and seated himself back down, tugging the other closer by the collar of his robes.

"Don't miss this time."

Zhou Yu didn't. His lips found Sun Ce's and he kissed him with a little sigh of relief. Their lips meshed perfectly together, and the young strategist found himself addicted to the sparks that traveled down his spine from each little movement of his tiger cub's lips. His arms snaked to wrap around his neck and Sun Ce reciprocated the action around his waist. He had shifted their position around as to slowly but surely push the strategist against the grass, flat on his back. The lord curved his back inwards and tilted the other's head up with his hand. A smile tugged at Zhou Yu's lips and he couldn't help but let it do as it pleased. When they finally pulled away, Sun Ce chuckled lightly and pressed their foreheads together, grin only widening as he beheld the beautiful, but subtle, smile on Zhou Yu's face.

"Your smile is gorgeous." He breathed, and the strategist only realized now that firstly, he was, in fact, smiling and secondly, he was pinned against the ground. If this were any other occasion Sun Ce would be leaving for the storehouse to retrieve a block of ice to soothe the bruise on his face he would receive from a punch. But the moonlight was shining at just the right angle for Sun Ce to have a faint white glow, and his hair fell around his eyes at just the right places, and his breath was so warm... "You know, you smiled and said 'I love you' to me today. This has been a rather pleasant birthday."

The lord actually jerked away slightly and braced for a smack to the head as he was sure that was what he was going to get, along with a remark something along the likes of 'I'll be the judge of that'. Instead, Zhou Yu couldn't wipe the smile off his face and he gave an amused huff. "I love you, Ce." He muttered, leaning up to capture the man's lips as his skin flared up in heat, still smiling. Why was he doing this? Maybe he could hold his alcohol less well than he had initially thought and the few sips had already rendered him slightly drunk...? Sun Ce couldn't hide his shock or his pleased grin and he felt a numbing pleasant sensation settle in his chest.

"And now both at the same time. You're going to hate yourself tomorrow." He chuckled lightly into the kiss and deepened it, tilting his head more to the side. "Even if you do end up hating yourself, I'll still love you." Sun Ce almost cringed at how utterly sappy he sounded but the young strategist only muttered something under his breath that he couldn't quite catch and pull him down for another kiss.

Perhaps Zhou Yu would really hate himself the next morning and take out all his anger and embarrassment on Sun Ce. That seemed likely considering how he was so cuddly tonight, even allowing Sun Ce to pin him down outdoors and kiss him. Perhaps he would ignore him for the entire day, perhaps he would throw things at him or perhaps he would give him a few painful bruises.

But for now, Sun Ce didn't care. He had Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu was smiling without any hints of smugness or sarcasm. Zhou Yu was smiling a genuine smile and that was all that mattered.

A/N:Sappy ending is sappy. But whenever I write fluff I tend to sappify everything xD UFF, but this was much fine to write!

Anyone want a pervy follow up?

Ahem.

For some of you who know me through my Free! fanfic, Shallow Diving, I'm sorry I haven't updated! Dynasty Warriors is taking over my life, aaaahhh. I should be writing up a third chapter shortly, and maybe a fourth. I don't think it'll be more than 4 chapters though, considering I'm really bad at writing stories and updating consistently. Huh, I should work on it.

And I'm getting all depressed because of future events that will occur, now that I think about this pairing long term. ...Oh gods I'm going to start bawling. Then again, I am a 13, so I suppose it's only natural I'm overemotional?

Well, if you happen to read this authour's note, you now know my age, something which many aren't aware of. Ah well. T W T And by the by, if you're dedicated enough to be reading this whole load of bollocks, then feel free to shout a pairing request at me! I'm more fond of Wu, but Shu is right up my alley as well. Wei is eh. xD

Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! ^^

-Kaithau