A/N: there is some new romance between Lu Xun and Àn Zhâng in this chapter so yah. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I only own Àn Zhâng. Nothing else.
After we had all eaten, (I made a stew; It was gone within thirty minutes) we had some time before curfew. I walked over to my tent and began check all my weapons. I put some fresh oil on my twin hooks and tested the drawstring on my bow twice. I had a bit of alcohol so I took a small sip to calm my thoughts down. When that didn't work I grabbed some regular arrows and went out to shot for a bit. The men had put up a few targets so thankfully I didn't need to use a tree. I was on my third round of arrows when Lu Xun walked up. I had noticed him walking up so I wasn't paying overly much attention when I released the arrow. I managed to snap back into focus when I heard the sound of wood splitting. "Ah man," I groaned. I had split another arrow. It always happened when I wasn't trying to do it.
"Remind me never to make you mad," Lu Xun smiled looking at my target. You couldn't see the center of it for how many arrows I had put in it grouping them really close together so that there was barley any space left. "So are you nervous about tomorrow?" he asked. I loaded another arrow into my bow and pulled back the string.
"Insanely," I told him truthfully. I released the string with a soft twang and then seconds later I heard a soft thwack as it buried itself into the center of the target. Lu Xun raised an eyebrow.
"And so you decided to come out here and murder the center of the target?" he questioned.
"Normally I don't have time to be nervous. I'm usually doing something but right now no one needs and healing, the horses are taken care of, supper's over the dishes are all clean, the troops are prepped and know what they have to do, my blades are all oiled and sitting in my tent was driving me nuts. I don't handle nerves well," I said releasing yet another arrow into the target.
"I hadn't noticed," Lu Xun replied looking pointedly at the target. I huffed impatiently.
"What do you suggest then?" I asked slightly annoyed.
"Dance with me," he said. I sucked in a breath and glanced at the ground.
"There's no music," I pointed out. Lu Xun smiled and pulled out a small music box. Gently he pulled me into the tree line. I followed without actually telling my feet to move. We came to a small clearing and Lu Xun set the music box on the tree stump. He wound it up and soft music gently floated through the small clearing.
"May I have this dance?" Lu Xun asked, holding out his hand. I placed my hand in his and he stepped closer putting his hand on my waist as I place my left hand on his shoulder. Slowly we started to move to the music, dancing in a small circle. I stared into his eyes and it was like the world fell away and nothing else existed. We spun and twirled gracefully around the clearing. When the music box finished its song we were both breathing hard and were back where we started in the center of the clearing.
His hand was warm on my hip, and we were so close that I could feel his breath on my cheek. Slowly he bent his head at the same moment that I reached up for him. Our lips brushed and I felt the zing all the way down my body. His arm slid around my waist pulling me closer. This time when our lips touched, it was long, soft and sweeter than honey.
Then we heard a branch snap a little ways off in the trees. Lu Xun and I jumped away from each other like two guilty kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. I turned and quickly grabbed the music box, shoving it into my pocket. Just as I was turning around to say something to Lu Xun, Xiahou Yuan walked through the trees. He looked at us questioningly. I went through possible reason why Lu Xun and I would be alone together in the clearing and the best I could come up with was; "Hey Xiahou Dun! Come to join our training session?" Both guys looked at me stunned and I discreetly (I hoped) elbowed Lu Xun in the side.
"Yah, right, training session." He said, sounding completely suspicious. I groaned inwardly but kept the smile on my face. Xiahou Dun just shook his head and said. "It's five minutes until lights out." he said then walked back into the tree line, leave us alone once again.
Lu Xun and I let out twin sighs of relief. "That was close," Lu Xun sighed. I nodded in agreement. We looked at each other then suddenly nervous. "so… um, Àn Zhâng, about the kiss," he murmured. "I'm sorry,"
"I'm not." I whispered. Then I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. "I should go. I'll see you in the morning." I felt his eyes on me as I walked away. I looked back at him and smiled shyly, then walked through the trees.
I walked back to my tent and felt his kiss on my lips the entire way.