Word Count: 3,006

t r o u b l e

"Why don't you like me?"

I blinked.

What?

"You're too straightforward sometimes, you know that?" I said, forcing a chuckle. Maybe I could try to lighten the situation and avoid the question at the same time. This really wasn't a conversation I wanted to have—ever.

Gan Ning jerked my chin forward. "Answer the question."

"I never said I don't like you," I replied, mirroring his low tone of voice.

"That doesn't mean anything."

My eyebrows furrowed at his statement. What the hell was his game, anyway?

"Before," Gan Ning began, his gaze still locked on my own, "when we were almost crushed by that mast… When I came back to help you up, it looked like you were about to cry." My heart froze. "You must've thought I was dead, right? So why would you mourn over someone you don't like?

"And then you kissed me," he went on; my chance to reply cut off. "You kissed me. I didn't initiate it, but you shoved me away like I did." His brow drew together and a stern expression crossed his features. I was positive I had stopped breathing at this point. "I just don't get you… Do you like me or not?"

I swallowed thickly. "I told you," I said, speaking slow in an attempt to buy myself some time. My thoughts were in a heated jumble; there was no way anything coherent or non-consequential was going to come out of my mouth. "I was worried about you."

Gan Ning's expression didn't falter, not for a second. It felt like he was looking right through me—like I couldn't hide anything even if I wanted to. I'd never felt so vulnerable before in my life. "Do you usually worry about people you don't like?"

The sick, twisted feeling from before—from when I thought the bastard was dead—started to work its way back as I recalled the memory. My stomach felt as though it was filling up with acid; something stung my eyes again. Did I forget to blink? Yeah—that must've been it. But…the feeling in my gut…it seemed to burn its way up to my heart.

It ached. It ached and I thought he had died. I was convinced I'd never see his face again—that we'd never have a conversation again, no matter how menial. In those few moments, I thought Gan Ning was dead and I felt…devastated.

But here he was now—here we were now, talking about something so strange. Yes, I'd kissed him. Yes, I was probably about to cry when I thought he'd died. So…so what was making this so difficult?

"I thought you were dead," I blurted. "I thought you were dead and I—I was just glad you weren't."

Gan Ning's lips quirked into a half-smile. "Heh… That's funny, coming from you of all people."

"You were an idiot," I said, a surge of anger welling up inside me. My eyes narrowed and I grabbed his wrist (the one he was using to hold my chin), squeezing it as I spoke. "You were a complete idiot for going out that far all by yourself. What would you've done if something serious happened? If you'd gotten hurt? You ass! You selfish ass! I was actually worried and you couldn't give a damn about anyone other than yourself."

The pirate was full-out smiling at me now, and oh, that pissed me off. My heart was ready to leap out of my throat as I drew another breath to continue my onslaught.

But then he kissed me.

At first I was furious. What gave him the goddamn right to cut me off like that? But some part of me was…glad. Happy, almost. Earlier—and I can't believe I actually had this thought at all—I was afraid I'd never have the chance to do this again. And this wasn't a stupid kiss like the one I'd (accidentally) given him; it was a real one, like the first he'd forced on me in the corridor, though this was surprisingly more gentle.

I thought Gan Ning had died before. But he hadn't. And here he was…and I was relieved. So, maybe I could…

Gan Ning tilted his head and moved in for another kiss, drawing my lower lip between his teeth and nipping at it ever so softly. My hands found their way to his mop of blond locks, fingers entwining between strands and giving them a small squeeze. His own hand drifted along my jaw as he kissed me again, the other snaking up behind my back, his nails clawing into my shoulder-blade. I groaned.

Another kiss after small, lingering kiss. I squeezed his hair harder, hoping he'd get the hint to move a little faster.

The pirate's tongue ghosted over the seam of my lips. Everything felt very warm; I lost sense of myself for a good minute. Gan Ning wasted no time in slipping his tongue into my mouth—nn, gods… I gave a shameless moan as one of his hands began palming my groin.

I broke from our kiss to hiss a warning, but the "don't" died on my lips as he suddenly squeezed—oh, fuck. This was starting to go too far—and he squeezed my groin again. I choked, moaned into his open mouth.

His lips moved from my own to the side of my neck; I tilted my head to accommodate him. Gan Ning nipped, sucked, and licked his way along the length of the exposed skin, spending more time on some areas to see if he'd hit a soft spot.

"Ah," I hissed aloud as his tongue ghosted over an especially sensitive area of skin; it was just above the scarf I wore. My actions didn't go unnoticed: I was positive I could feel Gan Ning smirk against my skin. He moved his tongue back over it and began to tease the area, sucking and licking with vigor.

I really had no idea as to why it was so sensitive—but damn it, when he kept running his tongue over the same spot over and over… I was sure it would leave a mark.

"Stop," I whispered raggedly, breathless. "Gan Ning—stop it, please." I was virtually begging at this point, between his hand groping and teasing my groin (which was getting uncomfortably hard at this point) and his tongue molesting the weak spot on my neck. "Gan Ning," I panted, "stop—you're taking this too far."

But he wouldn't stop.

I slipped my hands from his hair and placed them on his bare chest. Like last time, he almost seemed to purr into the touch. Trying to will the fog from my head, I shoved him off as best I could. Gan Ning rolled back and caught himself, pausing to cast me a dirty look. I was extremely pissed that he hadn't stopped when I'd asked him to, so, I did the first thing that came to mind. I leaned forward and punched him square in the jaw.

"Fuck!" Gan Ning howled, cradling the side of his face and sprawling onto his back. "Just what the fuck is wrong with you? You're like a goddamn schizophrenic or something!"

"So stop the next time I ask you to," I snapped, getting to my feet. "Pushy bastard…"

He promptly sat himself up, shooting a dark glare in my direction. "I really don't fucking get you, you know that?" The acidity of his tone really pissed me off.

"Good," I spat. "Don't try to." And with that said, I decided to leave. I did my job—the stupid asshole was still alive. He could walk back to camp by himself; I wasn't about to hold his hand and guide him back like a child.

"Hey! Don't you turn your back on me!"

He sounded angry. I smiled and kept walking. The sound of his footsteps reached my ears—I figured he was running to catch up, so I didn't think much about it.

I was wrong.

Gan Ning grabbed my shoulders and the next thing I knew, my face was in the dirt and the stupid—heavy—bastard was laying on my back. I coughed, trying to regain the wind that had been knocked out of my lungs.

"What the hell are you doing?" I snarled.

The pirate shoved my face into the ground. "What's your problem? Why do you keep pulling this shit on me?"

"Get the hell off me!" I tried to pull myself out from underneath him, but the bastard only pressed his chest against my back. The warmth of the contact reminded me of the uncomfortable twitching that still lingered in my groin from earlier.

Ah, hell…

"Why do you run away after every time I kiss you?" He demanded, his hot breath ghosting over my ear. I fought the urge to shiver.

"Maybe if you'd get off me I could give you an answer. I can't exactly breathe right now," I snapped back. "You're heavy."

With a frustrated grunt, Gan Ning slid off me. I wasted no time in getting to my feet, turning to cast him an icy look. As soon as I turned my head, though, I was met with something I didn't expect.

Gan Ning's fist in my face.

I staggered back, reeling from the pain that shot up from my jaw. Dirty bastard hit me in the same place I hit him! Talk about uncreative. I cradled my jaw with my hand, a coppery tang pouring over my taste-buds.

Fuck… I bit my tongue.

"What are you running from?" Gan Ning asked, tone low and unusually serious.

My eyes narrowed as my body trembled with anger. "You want me to stop 'running'? Then fine! How's this?" I leapt forward and wrapped my hands around his neck, knocking him onto his back. His hands locked onto my wrists, but it was too late—I already had him pinned. He began writhing underneath me as I tightened my grip on his neck.

"You killed my father!" I said, my voice laced with acid. I made sure he was looking at me as I continued. "You killed my father—did you forget that? And you piss me off! God, you piss me off!"

"Ling Tong!"

That voice…

"Ling Tong, get off him!"

My head snapped back in time to see Lu Meng running toward us, his horse not too far off. His expression was furious.

Oh, shit.

Quickly, I leapt off of Gan Ning and stepped away. The pirate rubbed his neck gingerly; I could see I'd left a mark. I…really hadn't intended to. Actually—what did I think I was going to do, squeezing his neck like that? I'd completely lost control of myself…

And Lu Meng had seen the entire thing.

"Just what the hell do you two think you're doing?" The elder strategist demanded as he approached. He stormed right past me (though not without chilling my very soul with his dark stare) and over toward Gan Ning. "Are you alright?"

The pirate nodded and coughed. "No big deal."

Then Lu Meng cracked him in the back of the head, no restraint whatsoever. I stared in disbelief.

What…?

"Yowch!" Gan Ning recoiled.

"Don't think you're the victim here!" Lu Meng barked. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him so angry. It was…scary, actually. "I saw you punch Ling Tong." Then he turned to me; I froze. "And you… What were you doing? Were you trying to kill Gan Ning?"

I stammered. "What? No—Lord Lu Meng—I swear I wasn't—"

"I thought you came out here to make sure he was okay," Lu Meng said. His tone was both disappointed and stern; I was suddenly very ashamed of myself. "And yet I find you two out here fighting. What am I supposed to think?" He reached down and grabbed Gan Ning's arm, pulling him up to his feet. "Come on, we're leaving. I'll decide your punishment later."

Gan Ning and I followed behind him, neither of us willing to lift our gazes higher than our feet. My heart was pounding inside my chest, my limbs felt numb. Honestly, for the life of me, I couldn't remember the last time Lu Meng had been this angry—at me, at least. And even with Gan Ning. Sure, he'd smack the pirate in the back of the head after an insolent comment, but never that hard. I kinda figured Lu Meng had a soft spot for the pirate…but he still cracked him in the back of the head like that?

So…what kind of punishment would I get?

Lu Meng told Lord Sun Quan about the fight Gan Ning and I had. If it wasn't bad enough getting lectured by Lu Meng, it was horrible receiving the same disappointed look from our lord. Lord Zhou Yu seemed let down by the news, too. It wasn't like we murdered someone, yet we were getting equivalent treatment to such an act.

My conscience was killing me. Not just because my superiors were unhappy with my actions (and that's quite the understatement), but I kept reliving that moment where I had my hands around Gan Ning's throat.

"You killed my father—did you forget that? And you piss me off! God, you piss me off!"

It wasn't so much what I said but how I said it—the way it came out. Lu Meng's misinterpretation was completely understandable: it looked like I was trying to kill Gan Ning. And maybe part of me was. Maybe, despite how devastated I'd felt at the thought of his death, my subconscious still wanted him dead…

He hadn't spoken to me since. And now, here we sat, waiting for our punishment. I was surprised anyone left us alone together after that. But…maybe they knew just how painfully awkward it would be. It felt like punishment enough, anyway.

Gan Ning sat a chair on the left side of the room, directly across from me. His arms were crossed and his head turned away, like he didn't even want to look in my general direction. My chest twinged.

It was early into the morning—and I mean early. We'd just got back from Chibi, and after our thorough lecture from Sun Quan, Gan Ning and I were sent here to await our punishment. My muscles burned with fatigue and my eyelids felt unnaturally heavy, but I wouldn't be getting any sleep anytime soon.

My gaze drifted back over to Gan Ning. He didn't look angry—he wasn't scowling or pouting or anything. Rather, he looked…deep in thought.

I wonder what could he be thinking about? Our punishment? How much he can't stand me now, maybe? Maybe he regrets having saved my life…twice.

Was this how I repaid the man who I owed my life to? (Regardless of the fact he was basically the reason I was in needless danger in the first place).

My father would be ashamed of me.

I lifted a hand and covered my eyes. That thought was worse than any number of lectures from Lu Meng and Sun Quan combined.

I can't disappoint him. Not now…especially not in his death.

The door to the room suddenly flew open. Moving my hand back to my side, the first thing my eyes locked on to were Gan Ning's.

He had been staring at me.

However, my gaze quickly took in Lu Meng's figure entering the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He seemed much more relaxed than he had earlier. Maybe we'd get off easy…

"Ling Tong. Gan Ning." He looked at both of us as he said our names. I gulped. "As punishment for your behavior at Chibi, starting today you will be in charge of cleaning the dungeons for the next two weeks."

Gan Ning's hands moved to the arms of his chair as though he was about to stand up and protest. A quick glare from Lu Meng, however, and he remained silent—and seated.

"Also," the elder strategist continued, "Lord Sun Quan will soon be hosting a ball to celebrate our victory at Chibi. Ling Tong, as punishment, you are not allowed to attend."

I blinked. Why would he only mention my name?

"Gan Ning, you will be forced to attend."

The pirate sputtered. "What! Old man, come on—you know I hate shit like that—!"

"And that is precisely why I am making your attendance mandatory," Lu Meng replied.

"Great," Gan Ning scoffed, falling back into his seat and crossing his arms once again. "When is the stupid thing, anyway?"

"In three days time," Lu Meng said. "But that's not all. Also starting tomorrow, you'll each be assigned to help a fellow Wu officer. Ling Tong, you're being assigned to Lu Xun." I swear I could almost feel the hate emanating off Gan Ning at this. Part of me wanted to smile. "And Gan Ning, you're assigned to Ding Feng. Both of you will do whatever is asked of you without complaint or hesitation. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," I replied.

"Yeah, yeah…" the pirate grumbled. He was pouting.

Lu Meng nodded. "Good. Now, go get some rest. You start cleaning the dungeons first thing in the morning."

"Isn't it morning already?" Gan Ning asked, not even bothering to hide his irritated tone.

"You can start working now if you're so eager," Lu Meng countered, his brow furrowing.

Shut up, Gan Ning, I thought angrily, trying to send the message over to the pirate. Shut the hell up so we can go get some damn sleep…

Gan Ning shrugged. "Fine. I told you before, there'll be plenty of time to sleep when we're all dead."

"Fine, then." Lu Meng turned and opened the door. "Both of you, follow me."

I sighed. Gan Ning, you really couldn't keep your mouth shut for a few minutes, could you?

I just wanted to go to bed, but now I'd be spending my entire morning with Gan Ning…

My life sucked.

A/N: Aaaaaand there's another half-assed chapter ending~ Seems like I'm pretty good at those ._.
I also seem to have gotten into the habit of updating every 2/3 days… I wonder how long this will last?

Sorry that this chapter was a little longer than usual. I got a bit carried away…

And about next chapter…that'll be the one with a cross-dressed Ling Tong. How, you might ask, since he's banned from attending? Well, let's just say Gan Ning's clever when he knows what he wants… ;D

I'd like to give a special thanks to Somniyo, Vovo, Megumi Kei, Niouyuki, and Red Queen of Spades for leaving reviews! I'm glad to hear you guys don't think I'm moving the relationship too fast ^-^; I say this every chapter, but I truly appreciate your feedback. Also, Red Queen of Spades, I hope this chapter 11 didn't disappoint you! Or any of you, for that matter. :3

Thanks, as always, for reading!