Chapter Four - Painful Recall
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"I..I didn't mean to"
"How dare you come to this territory?! A young boy like you aren't allowed in. What the hell are you doing in here?!"
"I was...I..."
"Shut up. Now you've found this secret place we're gonna have to make you pay."
The older boy, accompanied by his friend, walked towards the small boy.
"But I..."
The boy shielded his face, prepared for a blow that would send him flying against the wall of a nearby hut.
"Stop!"
Sun Ce looked up.
"Gan Ning...?"
"You leave him alone or else!" He snarled at the two older boys.
The boys looked at each other, a smirk on their faces.
"Or else what, shrimp?"
Gan Ning spoke with a deadly calm. "Or else I will punch your fucking heads in."
The look of disbelief on their faces was surprising to Sun Ce; the fact that Gan Ning was even here was surprising.
"Yeah right, if you wanna join your friend in getting beaten up then be our guest."
The first boy moved forward to punch Gan Ning straight in the face but Gan Ning's arm moved up and he held the fist in his hand tightly.
"I warned you." He said coldly.
In one swift movement Gan Ning pulled the arm around. A loud click came from the damaged joint. The older boy screamed in pain, desperately trying to pull his injured arm away. After a long moment of struggling Gan Ning let go, leaving the older boy crying in pain.
Sun Ce looked on, his face bearing a look of disbelief. Gan Ning, his Gan Ning, was saving him. Why?
"Let's get out of here," said the older boy quickly to his friend and the two hastily left the area.
Sun Ce was left alone with Gan Ning. There was a long pause before he spoke.
"Why did you help me?"
Gan Ning turned to face him.
"Because I don't like seeing people being picked on. Though I was tempted to let you see how I feel..."
Sun Ce's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Gan Ning was referring to the way he treated him and it made him feel ashamed.
"Well.... Thank you."
Gan Ning looked surprised. 'The son of Sun Jian would utter such words from his mouth?' He hesitated then quickly replied, "You're welcome" and with that he turned and left the place.
**************************
Sun Ce awoke to find himself fully dressed, draped lazily over his bed. His last thoughts were of the older boys incident and Gan Ning leaving. Why had he dreamt about that incident? His head pounded which cut off any more thought on the subject. He didn't want to open his eyes but knew he would have to eventually.
"How much did I drink last night?" He asked himself, his voice sounding low and alien to him.
He looked outside, the sun has risen.
"Oh fuck!"
He stood up as quickly as he could, rushing as he tried to find his left boot, the only item of clothing he had managed to take off the following night. He was late for training with Sun Quan and the others, which, in basic terms, meant he was in a whole lot of shit.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...." he chanted to himself while he combed his hair hastily, not bothering to change his clothes.
He grabbed a small medical potion for headache, swallowed the liquid and ran groggily to class.
************************
"Nice of you to turn up, brother" said Sun Quan in a cold voice as he ran in through the door into a huge training hall.
All eyes in the room were on him except one pair. Gan Ning's. He didn't want to look at Sun Ce. He was feeling confused about what had happened and above all very pissed off. He stood at the front of the room, in the middle of giving a talk about some strategy against Lu Bu.
Sun Ce bowed slowly, "The pleasure's all mine, I'm sure."
He quickly took his position, noticing the look of anger and curiosity of the people there that were thrown his way. He saw some girls look over to him and whisper amongst themselves. What exactly had he done last night?
"I'd like to see you after training brother, and father would too." said Sun Quan once he took his position.
Sun Ce shrugged, "Sure, whatever."
"Right, now where was I? Please continue your speech General Gan Ning"
"Just call me Gan Ning, please."
He grinned at Sun Quan but his heart wasn't in it, he was still feeling numb inside.
'Why would Sun Ce kiss me? Well, with the amount of wine he had in him I wouldn't be surprised if he kissed Zhou Yu, but he seemed almost...gentle.'
That was the one thing that had puzzled Gan Ning the most, the gentleness of his kiss. He decided to block the thought out of his mind and he hastily continued with his speech.
Sun Ce wasn't listening to the speech; he was just gazing up at Gan Ning. What had he done last night that had provoked such a reaction? He stared at Gan Ning as if his face was the key that could unlock the memories. His head was still throbbing and his hangover must have been evident since the girls training in front of him giggled as he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. Suddenly a fragment of a memory washed over him.
"Hey! What are you doing?!?!"
Sun Ce closed his eyes. He could see Gan Ning in his mind's eye, standing in the main hall the previous night. A black haired girl was standing next to him. It was Pei Lin.
"Sun Ce? What the fuck are you doing?"
Sun Ce's mind then flashed an image of Gan Ning, being kissed by Pei Lin.
"Oh god..." he whispered to himself
"Why the fuck are you kissing him?! You broke up soooooooo ago. Wha...what's up with that?"
Oh shit. He'd got drunk and unleashed his temper on Gan Ning's ex. The thought that nagged at his mind was that maybe she wasn't his ex anymore.
He saw his hands reaching across the table, throwing cups of wine to the ground in one movement.
"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! You don't know the HALF of it!"
Sun Ce closed his eyes. So that was what had happened. He'd got wasted, seen them kissing and had decided to make an ass of himself in front of the entire Wu forces. He wanted to curl up and die.
He decided that the only thing he could do now was to be his fake self again, pretending not to care. Still feeling groggy and unable to move his arms to practise with his weapons, he walked to the nearest chair and sat on it. He closed his eyes and placed his hands under his chin, holding up his aching head. He started to drift off to sleep but the next image that filled his mind soon changed that.
"Don't you ever think that I am jealous of you GAN NING. Not ever."
He remembered the feel of Gan Ning against him as he kissed him.
"Oh no..."
The memory that followed that was suddenly etched on his mind. The look of shock on Gan Ning's face and the feel of his ribs being bruised echoed painfully through his body.
Sun Ce looked over to where Gan Ning was standing, mouth in motion as he talked on and on. His eyes gazed through the rows of soldiers and when they came to Sun Ce, Gan Ning quickly turned away, a small blush upon his cheeks which was only noticeable to a few. Sun Ce sat there till the lesson bell rang, his mind playing over the events from the previous night.
'Why did I drink so frickin' much?' he thought bitterly, 'Now my chances of anything happening with Gan Ning are ruined and he thinks I'm a fucking freak.'
He sighed, gathered up his weapon and walked to the door, ignoring the whispers and looks he got.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"I..I didn't mean to"
"How dare you come to this territory?! A young boy like you aren't allowed in. What the hell are you doing in here?!"
"I was...I..."
"Shut up. Now you've found this secret place we're gonna have to make you pay."
The older boy, accompanied by his friend, walked towards the small boy.
"But I..."
The boy shielded his face, prepared for a blow that would send him flying against the wall of a nearby hut.
"Stop!"
Sun Ce looked up.
"Gan Ning...?"
"You leave him alone or else!" He snarled at the two older boys.
The boys looked at each other, a smirk on their faces.
"Or else what, shrimp?"
Gan Ning spoke with a deadly calm. "Or else I will punch your fucking heads in."
The look of disbelief on their faces was surprising to Sun Ce; the fact that Gan Ning was even here was surprising.
"Yeah right, if you wanna join your friend in getting beaten up then be our guest."
The first boy moved forward to punch Gan Ning straight in the face but Gan Ning's arm moved up and he held the fist in his hand tightly.
"I warned you." He said coldly.
In one swift movement Gan Ning pulled the arm around. A loud click came from the damaged joint. The older boy screamed in pain, desperately trying to pull his injured arm away. After a long moment of struggling Gan Ning let go, leaving the older boy crying in pain.
Sun Ce looked on, his face bearing a look of disbelief. Gan Ning, his Gan Ning, was saving him. Why?
"Let's get out of here," said the older boy quickly to his friend and the two hastily left the area.
Sun Ce was left alone with Gan Ning. There was a long pause before he spoke.
"Why did you help me?"
Gan Ning turned to face him.
"Because I don't like seeing people being picked on. Though I was tempted to let you see how I feel..."
Sun Ce's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Gan Ning was referring to the way he treated him and it made him feel ashamed.
"Well.... Thank you."
Gan Ning looked surprised. 'The son of Sun Jian would utter such words from his mouth?' He hesitated then quickly replied, "You're welcome" and with that he turned and left the place.
**************************
Sun Ce awoke to find himself fully dressed, draped lazily over his bed. His last thoughts were of the older boys incident and Gan Ning leaving. Why had he dreamt about that incident? His head pounded which cut off any more thought on the subject. He didn't want to open his eyes but knew he would have to eventually.
"How much did I drink last night?" He asked himself, his voice sounding low and alien to him.
He looked outside, the sun has risen.
"Oh fuck!"
He stood up as quickly as he could, rushing as he tried to find his left boot, the only item of clothing he had managed to take off the following night. He was late for training with Sun Quan and the others, which, in basic terms, meant he was in a whole lot of shit.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...." he chanted to himself while he combed his hair hastily, not bothering to change his clothes.
He grabbed a small medical potion for headache, swallowed the liquid and ran groggily to class.
************************
"Nice of you to turn up, brother" said Sun Quan in a cold voice as he ran in through the door into a huge training hall.
All eyes in the room were on him except one pair. Gan Ning's. He didn't want to look at Sun Ce. He was feeling confused about what had happened and above all very pissed off. He stood at the front of the room, in the middle of giving a talk about some strategy against Lu Bu.
Sun Ce bowed slowly, "The pleasure's all mine, I'm sure."
He quickly took his position, noticing the look of anger and curiosity of the people there that were thrown his way. He saw some girls look over to him and whisper amongst themselves. What exactly had he done last night?
"I'd like to see you after training brother, and father would too." said Sun Quan once he took his position.
Sun Ce shrugged, "Sure, whatever."
"Right, now where was I? Please continue your speech General Gan Ning"
"Just call me Gan Ning, please."
He grinned at Sun Quan but his heart wasn't in it, he was still feeling numb inside.
'Why would Sun Ce kiss me? Well, with the amount of wine he had in him I wouldn't be surprised if he kissed Zhou Yu, but he seemed almost...gentle.'
That was the one thing that had puzzled Gan Ning the most, the gentleness of his kiss. He decided to block the thought out of his mind and he hastily continued with his speech.
Sun Ce wasn't listening to the speech; he was just gazing up at Gan Ning. What had he done last night that had provoked such a reaction? He stared at Gan Ning as if his face was the key that could unlock the memories. His head was still throbbing and his hangover must have been evident since the girls training in front of him giggled as he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. Suddenly a fragment of a memory washed over him.
"Hey! What are you doing?!?!"
Sun Ce closed his eyes. He could see Gan Ning in his mind's eye, standing in the main hall the previous night. A black haired girl was standing next to him. It was Pei Lin.
"Sun Ce? What the fuck are you doing?"
Sun Ce's mind then flashed an image of Gan Ning, being kissed by Pei Lin.
"Oh god..." he whispered to himself
"Why the fuck are you kissing him?! You broke up soooooooo ago. Wha...what's up with that?"
Oh shit. He'd got drunk and unleashed his temper on Gan Ning's ex. The thought that nagged at his mind was that maybe she wasn't his ex anymore.
He saw his hands reaching across the table, throwing cups of wine to the ground in one movement.
"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! You don't know the HALF of it!"
Sun Ce closed his eyes. So that was what had happened. He'd got wasted, seen them kissing and had decided to make an ass of himself in front of the entire Wu forces. He wanted to curl up and die.
He decided that the only thing he could do now was to be his fake self again, pretending not to care. Still feeling groggy and unable to move his arms to practise with his weapons, he walked to the nearest chair and sat on it. He closed his eyes and placed his hands under his chin, holding up his aching head. He started to drift off to sleep but the next image that filled his mind soon changed that.
"Don't you ever think that I am jealous of you GAN NING. Not ever."
He remembered the feel of Gan Ning against him as he kissed him.
"Oh no..."
The memory that followed that was suddenly etched on his mind. The look of shock on Gan Ning's face and the feel of his ribs being bruised echoed painfully through his body.
Sun Ce looked over to where Gan Ning was standing, mouth in motion as he talked on and on. His eyes gazed through the rows of soldiers and when they came to Sun Ce, Gan Ning quickly turned away, a small blush upon his cheeks which was only noticeable to a few. Sun Ce sat there till the lesson bell rang, his mind playing over the events from the previous night.
'Why did I drink so frickin' much?' he thought bitterly, 'Now my chances of anything happening with Gan Ning are ruined and he thinks I'm a fucking freak.'
He sighed, gathered up his weapon and walked to the door, ignoring the whispers and looks he got.