Chapter Eleven - Confession
Sun Ce sat facing the front of the room where Lu Meng was giving a talk on defensive strategies, basic stuff for him after relearning this information year after year. He was made to sit down there and listen to Lu Meng by his father as part of his punishment for what happened. His mind was not on Lu Meng though, but on the spiky-haired boy he'd been with for just over a month. Their relationship was running smoothly, although Gan Ning didn't want to tell anyone yet. Not that Sun Ce objected. He didn't want to say anything either.
There was only one flaw to the otherwise perfect relationship. Whenever they started to get a little serious Gan Ning would shy away, leaving Sun Ce frustrated. He wouldn't pressure Gan Ning though, he wouldn't be that stupid. He stopped when he was asked and would often end up just holding him as they lay in bed together. He often watched Gan Ning as he slept, the peaceful look on his face bringing calm to Sun Ce's troubled soul. He looked so cute when he was asleep, his unruly hair falling in strands across his face. Sun Ce often brushed them away and traced the tattoos on his arms, a habit he'd developed.
"That will be the end of this talk" Lu Meng announced.
As Sun Ce passed the door Lu Meng held onto his arm.
"Could I speak to you for a moment please Lord Sun Ce?"
Sun Ce followed him back into the room. No one else was there.
"What have I done this time?" he asked, sounding bored.
"Nothing. I just wanted to say that we've noticed your change of attitude. You've been getting good at your strategy assessments and I wanted to tell you to keep it up."
It was true. Sun Ces attitude had changed. The cause? Gan Ning. The ability to open up to him had left Sun Ce's mask cracked in places, letting him show through bit by bit. He was never praised like this before.
"I'll see what I can do" he replied, a smug grin finding it's way across his face.
**************************
"I" kick "wont" *swings sword* "give" *swings sword* "up" *swings sword* kick kick.
Gan Ning swings his sword across Lu Xun's body as an opening appeared in his defence.
Lu Xun fell to the ground, gripping the swords in his hands. He got to his knees and swung the swords upwards, making a thin slice through Gan Ning's protective cloth armor into his arm.
"God! I like, just got this armor" he whined, putting his other hand to the armor sleeve which was turning a dark shade of red.
"Sorry Gan Ning..." Lu Xun replied, bringing his swords around again, Gan Ning ducking away at the last moment.
"....Time up you guys. Good training session." announced Lu Meng.
Lu Xun stood up slowly.
"Are you alright Gan Ning?"
"Yeah, nothing a medicinal herb won't fix up."
"Good. You threw some pretty good kicks and sword technique."
"Thanks man" Gan Ning replied, a little taken back by the compliment. He hardly get any compliments from the young Wu strategist.
He quickly walked over and sat down on a wooden bench, still holding his bleeding arm. Two soldiers stepped into the fighting arena. Gan Ning watched as Lu Meng signalled for the fight to start, the two fighters coming to life at once. It was a special training day for the upcoming mission and Gan Ning had already been in three fights, his body in need of a well-earned rest.
"Hey Gan Ning! I saw you just now, you were great!"
Gan Ning turned to where the bouncy Xiao Qiao had sat next to him, her eyes bright with happiness.
"Thanks, I saw you fighting earlier, you weren't too bad yourself." he replied with a playful wink.
She blushed and noticed Gan Ning's crimson stained cloth armor.
"Whew! That must've hurt. Let me fix you up." She said, took out a small herbal patch and patched it on his arm. "Physical training blows sometimes."
"Right, tell me about it." Gan Ning replied, blowing a strand of hair from his face.
"Um...would you like to go get some lunch? You look like you could use a break." She asked after a moment.
"Sure, I need some energy. Let's check when our next fights are."
They walked over to Lu Meng and Xiao Qiao tugged at his arm to catch his attention.
"What d'ya want Xiao Qiao?" he asked bluntly, never let his eyes focused on other things except for the fight between the two fighting soldiers.
"Can we see the list please?"
He handed her the list without saying a word. Xiao Qiao scanned through the names and times, at last finding the ones she sought.
"Hey! We're up against each other this evening. That should be interesting, I've never fought you before." She said, eyeing Gan Ning's muscular frame, "Go easy on me."
"Anything for a lady like you," he winked, "But now we've got a short break so let's go get some food and get my arm fixed up, it's stopped bleeding but it's stinging like crazy."
Xiao Qiao handed the list back to Lu Meng, receiving a grunt of acknowledgement, then walked back to the bench to pick up her fans before leaving the training area, Gan Ning at her side.
**************************
"Nice room you've got Gan Ning, I never imagined you to be a so...neat." Xiao Qiao commented as she ran her hands along the dark red drapes that hung from the ceiling to the floor either side of the large full length windows.
Gan Ning smiled, remembering a similar comment made by Sun Ce.
"Well, aren't I just full of surprises?" he replied, pulling his blood- stained armor over his head and looking at the slice in his arm. He had been battered about a lot today but this was the only injury that could be the cause of any worry.
Xiao Qiao admired his muscled torso, her mind wandering.
"Xiao?"
Gan Ning's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm still here. Let me put a new medicine for you. Da Qiao made it for cases like your's"
She dripped some green liquid from a bottle to his arm, sending a warm sensation through Gan Ning's arm.
"Thank you." he said gratefully, touching lightly Xiao Qiao on the cheek before turning to the bathroom, "I'm just going to wash up then put on my old armor," he informed her, and after seeing her hand stained with some of his blood he added "you might wanna clean up too."
**************************
Gan Ning and Xiao Qiao grabbed some dim sum cooked in the main camp's kitchen and sat at a table.
"...And I was like, woah! You can't do that with a spear!"
Gan Ning laughed at Xiao Qiao's story. It was weird; Xiao Qiao had become his best friend ever since the white tiger incident. They were on the same wavelength, always happy and joking about. It was nice to have someone to relate to.
They carried on chatting, eating their dim sum. Finally there was a pause in the conversation. Xiao Qiao took this as her opportunity.
"Gan Ning?"
"Yeah?"
"Uh, are you like um, dating anyone?" she asked shyly, aware of the blush spreading across her cheeks.
Gan Ning looked up from his food, a calm but puzzled look on his face.
"You like me?"
She looked down at her hands, inspecting her nail varnish. The blush on her face darkened a little.
"Yeah, kinda."
Gan Ning bit his lip, then put his hand under her chin, lifting her face so she was looking at him.
"I'm really flattered that you like me," he remarked truthfully, "but I'm sort of...seeing someone."
Xiao Qiao shrugged, trying to hide her disappointment.
"Figures, all the good guys are taken!" she whined falsely.
Gan Ning smiled. "Hey! I am not THAT good. I was a pirate after all" he replied. Her mood was visibly far less happy than she'd been before but she still smiled and her eyes grew a little brighter.
Inside she felt close to tears. Her stomach tying in a knot.
"So, who's the lucky girl?" she asked, pretending not to care.
It was Gan Ning's turn to blush. Xiao Qiao noticed his cheeks darken as he looked away.
"Aw come on. Tell me, I can keep a secret."
He ran his options through in his mind. He could trust Xiao Qiao; she was one of the few people he did trust. He took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Well...It's not..."
"Come on! Tell me." she begged.
She needed to know.
"...It's not a girl." he confessed, his eyes fixed on the table.
Xiao Qiao's eyes widened, a confused looked of surprise on her face.
"You're...gay?"
Gan Ning looked up quickly, the blush still visible on his cheeks. His heart was beating fast. What if she didn't like him anymore? What if she rejected his friendship?
"No...Not exactly."
"You're bi?"
"Well, yeah." Gan Ning admitted, looking at her face for a reaction, disgust, loathing, happiness...anything.
Her face turned into a curious smile.
"I never would have guessed. You seem so...straight."
Somehow she didn't seem so threatened by this news. It was odd thinking about Gan Ning with this new information in her mind. She giggled and Gan Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
"I told you I was full of surprises." He replied, a smile starting to form on his face.
It was the best feeling, revealing how he felt. He had a newfound confidence and he felt like screaming it out to everyone. But he didn't.
"So, let me rephrase," Xiao Qiao began again, her mood lifting a little.
If it had been another girl Gan Ning had chosen her she would've been more upset. She didn't know why.
"Who is the lucky guy?"
Gan Ning leant his chin on his hands, his elbows resting on the table. The next words he uttered would some of the hardest he'd ever have to say.
"It's.... It's Lord Sun Ce," he said quietly.
"What?!?" Xiao Qiao shrieked as she jumped out of her seat, her jaw almost hitting the floor.
Sun Ce?! Sun Ce the arrogant son of Sun Jian that made everyone's lives miserable?
The few people at the surrounding tables turned around at the sudden outburst. Gan Ning looked down at the table, the blush returning darker than ever to his face. Xiao Qiao sat back down, her mouth still open.
"Are you kidding? You and Sun Ce?" she asked in a tone of disbelief.
Gan Ning looked up at her, a warm look on his face.
"Yeah...me and Sun Ce."
"Woah! This is hard to get my head around you know? I mean, Lord Sun Ce? Really? For how long?"
Gan Ning could hear the fascination in her voice; it was still blended with shock.
"Just over a month now."
"Wow! So Sun Ce's gay? Who would've thought" she mused, "So that's why he hasn't warmed up to my girlish charms."
When she thought about it they had seemed a lot friendlier towards each other, not arguing so much, but they were complete opposites. Sun Ce was tall and solemn unless he was pissing someone off and Gan Ning was shorter and hyper, laughing at nearly everything.
"Yeah, Sun Ce's as bent as they come." Gan Ning said, the words barely leaving his lips when he suddenly burst out laughing. If Sun Ce hadn't kissed him in the secret area that night he wouldn't have believed that sentence for one second. He just didn't seem...gay.
When he finished laughing after receiving odd looks from his peers at the tables nearby, he turned his attention back to Xiao Qiao.
"I'm really sorry about, you know. I'm already taken."
"Yeah, by our LORD Sun Ce. This is so hard to believe Gan Ning." she replied, holding back the giggle she wanted to let out.
"I know. I only figured that about myself recently," his face then turned to a look of panic, "Oh my god, don't say one word about this to anyone please? Sun Ce would kill me if he knew you knew, besides, you know Wu's policy on same-sex relationships, the stuck up.."
Gan Ning was cut off as Xiao Qiao's hand rested on his.
"I wont say anything you don't want me to. It must have been pretty hard to tell me."
"Yeah, easier than I thought though."
"So that's why Sun Ce's been acting so..un-Sun Ce recently."
"I guess so."
There was a pause.
"So," she began, a look of mischief on her face, "How big is his thing?"
Gan Ning's mouth opened wide, a smile mixed with surprise, "God Xiao Qiao, you have a mind like a swamp!"
"I can't help it if I'm nosey" she giggled, flicking her brown hair with her hand.
Gan Ning looked around. The room had gradually started to fill up. He looked outside.
"It's almost time, I think we'd better get going so I can whoop your ass already."
"Hey! Where did the idea of going easy on me go?" she elbowed him playfully in the ribs.
As they exited the lunchroom Gan Ning felt free. He'd told someone and they'd understood. Xiao Qiao felt happy for Gan Ning, after all, Sun Ce seemed to make him happy. But deep down she felt it. Her feelings would have to be kept in their box for some other time.
Sun Ce sat facing the front of the room where Lu Meng was giving a talk on defensive strategies, basic stuff for him after relearning this information year after year. He was made to sit down there and listen to Lu Meng by his father as part of his punishment for what happened. His mind was not on Lu Meng though, but on the spiky-haired boy he'd been with for just over a month. Their relationship was running smoothly, although Gan Ning didn't want to tell anyone yet. Not that Sun Ce objected. He didn't want to say anything either.
There was only one flaw to the otherwise perfect relationship. Whenever they started to get a little serious Gan Ning would shy away, leaving Sun Ce frustrated. He wouldn't pressure Gan Ning though, he wouldn't be that stupid. He stopped when he was asked and would often end up just holding him as they lay in bed together. He often watched Gan Ning as he slept, the peaceful look on his face bringing calm to Sun Ce's troubled soul. He looked so cute when he was asleep, his unruly hair falling in strands across his face. Sun Ce often brushed them away and traced the tattoos on his arms, a habit he'd developed.
"That will be the end of this talk" Lu Meng announced.
As Sun Ce passed the door Lu Meng held onto his arm.
"Could I speak to you for a moment please Lord Sun Ce?"
Sun Ce followed him back into the room. No one else was there.
"What have I done this time?" he asked, sounding bored.
"Nothing. I just wanted to say that we've noticed your change of attitude. You've been getting good at your strategy assessments and I wanted to tell you to keep it up."
It was true. Sun Ces attitude had changed. The cause? Gan Ning. The ability to open up to him had left Sun Ce's mask cracked in places, letting him show through bit by bit. He was never praised like this before.
"I'll see what I can do" he replied, a smug grin finding it's way across his face.
**************************
"I" kick "wont" *swings sword* "give" *swings sword* "up" *swings sword* kick kick.
Gan Ning swings his sword across Lu Xun's body as an opening appeared in his defence.
Lu Xun fell to the ground, gripping the swords in his hands. He got to his knees and swung the swords upwards, making a thin slice through Gan Ning's protective cloth armor into his arm.
"God! I like, just got this armor" he whined, putting his other hand to the armor sleeve which was turning a dark shade of red.
"Sorry Gan Ning..." Lu Xun replied, bringing his swords around again, Gan Ning ducking away at the last moment.
"....Time up you guys. Good training session." announced Lu Meng.
Lu Xun stood up slowly.
"Are you alright Gan Ning?"
"Yeah, nothing a medicinal herb won't fix up."
"Good. You threw some pretty good kicks and sword technique."
"Thanks man" Gan Ning replied, a little taken back by the compliment. He hardly get any compliments from the young Wu strategist.
He quickly walked over and sat down on a wooden bench, still holding his bleeding arm. Two soldiers stepped into the fighting arena. Gan Ning watched as Lu Meng signalled for the fight to start, the two fighters coming to life at once. It was a special training day for the upcoming mission and Gan Ning had already been in three fights, his body in need of a well-earned rest.
"Hey Gan Ning! I saw you just now, you were great!"
Gan Ning turned to where the bouncy Xiao Qiao had sat next to him, her eyes bright with happiness.
"Thanks, I saw you fighting earlier, you weren't too bad yourself." he replied with a playful wink.
She blushed and noticed Gan Ning's crimson stained cloth armor.
"Whew! That must've hurt. Let me fix you up." She said, took out a small herbal patch and patched it on his arm. "Physical training blows sometimes."
"Right, tell me about it." Gan Ning replied, blowing a strand of hair from his face.
"Um...would you like to go get some lunch? You look like you could use a break." She asked after a moment.
"Sure, I need some energy. Let's check when our next fights are."
They walked over to Lu Meng and Xiao Qiao tugged at his arm to catch his attention.
"What d'ya want Xiao Qiao?" he asked bluntly, never let his eyes focused on other things except for the fight between the two fighting soldiers.
"Can we see the list please?"
He handed her the list without saying a word. Xiao Qiao scanned through the names and times, at last finding the ones she sought.
"Hey! We're up against each other this evening. That should be interesting, I've never fought you before." She said, eyeing Gan Ning's muscular frame, "Go easy on me."
"Anything for a lady like you," he winked, "But now we've got a short break so let's go get some food and get my arm fixed up, it's stopped bleeding but it's stinging like crazy."
Xiao Qiao handed the list back to Lu Meng, receiving a grunt of acknowledgement, then walked back to the bench to pick up her fans before leaving the training area, Gan Ning at her side.
**************************
"Nice room you've got Gan Ning, I never imagined you to be a so...neat." Xiao Qiao commented as she ran her hands along the dark red drapes that hung from the ceiling to the floor either side of the large full length windows.
Gan Ning smiled, remembering a similar comment made by Sun Ce.
"Well, aren't I just full of surprises?" he replied, pulling his blood- stained armor over his head and looking at the slice in his arm. He had been battered about a lot today but this was the only injury that could be the cause of any worry.
Xiao Qiao admired his muscled torso, her mind wandering.
"Xiao?"
Gan Ning's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm still here. Let me put a new medicine for you. Da Qiao made it for cases like your's"
She dripped some green liquid from a bottle to his arm, sending a warm sensation through Gan Ning's arm.
"Thank you." he said gratefully, touching lightly Xiao Qiao on the cheek before turning to the bathroom, "I'm just going to wash up then put on my old armor," he informed her, and after seeing her hand stained with some of his blood he added "you might wanna clean up too."
**************************
Gan Ning and Xiao Qiao grabbed some dim sum cooked in the main camp's kitchen and sat at a table.
"...And I was like, woah! You can't do that with a spear!"
Gan Ning laughed at Xiao Qiao's story. It was weird; Xiao Qiao had become his best friend ever since the white tiger incident. They were on the same wavelength, always happy and joking about. It was nice to have someone to relate to.
They carried on chatting, eating their dim sum. Finally there was a pause in the conversation. Xiao Qiao took this as her opportunity.
"Gan Ning?"
"Yeah?"
"Uh, are you like um, dating anyone?" she asked shyly, aware of the blush spreading across her cheeks.
Gan Ning looked up from his food, a calm but puzzled look on his face.
"You like me?"
She looked down at her hands, inspecting her nail varnish. The blush on her face darkened a little.
"Yeah, kinda."
Gan Ning bit his lip, then put his hand under her chin, lifting her face so she was looking at him.
"I'm really flattered that you like me," he remarked truthfully, "but I'm sort of...seeing someone."
Xiao Qiao shrugged, trying to hide her disappointment.
"Figures, all the good guys are taken!" she whined falsely.
Gan Ning smiled. "Hey! I am not THAT good. I was a pirate after all" he replied. Her mood was visibly far less happy than she'd been before but she still smiled and her eyes grew a little brighter.
Inside she felt close to tears. Her stomach tying in a knot.
"So, who's the lucky girl?" she asked, pretending not to care.
It was Gan Ning's turn to blush. Xiao Qiao noticed his cheeks darken as he looked away.
"Aw come on. Tell me, I can keep a secret."
He ran his options through in his mind. He could trust Xiao Qiao; she was one of the few people he did trust. He took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Well...It's not..."
"Come on! Tell me." she begged.
She needed to know.
"...It's not a girl." he confessed, his eyes fixed on the table.
Xiao Qiao's eyes widened, a confused looked of surprise on her face.
"You're...gay?"
Gan Ning looked up quickly, the blush still visible on his cheeks. His heart was beating fast. What if she didn't like him anymore? What if she rejected his friendship?
"No...Not exactly."
"You're bi?"
"Well, yeah." Gan Ning admitted, looking at her face for a reaction, disgust, loathing, happiness...anything.
Her face turned into a curious smile.
"I never would have guessed. You seem so...straight."
Somehow she didn't seem so threatened by this news. It was odd thinking about Gan Ning with this new information in her mind. She giggled and Gan Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
"I told you I was full of surprises." He replied, a smile starting to form on his face.
It was the best feeling, revealing how he felt. He had a newfound confidence and he felt like screaming it out to everyone. But he didn't.
"So, let me rephrase," Xiao Qiao began again, her mood lifting a little.
If it had been another girl Gan Ning had chosen her she would've been more upset. She didn't know why.
"Who is the lucky guy?"
Gan Ning leant his chin on his hands, his elbows resting on the table. The next words he uttered would some of the hardest he'd ever have to say.
"It's.... It's Lord Sun Ce," he said quietly.
"What?!?" Xiao Qiao shrieked as she jumped out of her seat, her jaw almost hitting the floor.
Sun Ce?! Sun Ce the arrogant son of Sun Jian that made everyone's lives miserable?
The few people at the surrounding tables turned around at the sudden outburst. Gan Ning looked down at the table, the blush returning darker than ever to his face. Xiao Qiao sat back down, her mouth still open.
"Are you kidding? You and Sun Ce?" she asked in a tone of disbelief.
Gan Ning looked up at her, a warm look on his face.
"Yeah...me and Sun Ce."
"Woah! This is hard to get my head around you know? I mean, Lord Sun Ce? Really? For how long?"
Gan Ning could hear the fascination in her voice; it was still blended with shock.
"Just over a month now."
"Wow! So Sun Ce's gay? Who would've thought" she mused, "So that's why he hasn't warmed up to my girlish charms."
When she thought about it they had seemed a lot friendlier towards each other, not arguing so much, but they were complete opposites. Sun Ce was tall and solemn unless he was pissing someone off and Gan Ning was shorter and hyper, laughing at nearly everything.
"Yeah, Sun Ce's as bent as they come." Gan Ning said, the words barely leaving his lips when he suddenly burst out laughing. If Sun Ce hadn't kissed him in the secret area that night he wouldn't have believed that sentence for one second. He just didn't seem...gay.
When he finished laughing after receiving odd looks from his peers at the tables nearby, he turned his attention back to Xiao Qiao.
"I'm really sorry about, you know. I'm already taken."
"Yeah, by our LORD Sun Ce. This is so hard to believe Gan Ning." she replied, holding back the giggle she wanted to let out.
"I know. I only figured that about myself recently," his face then turned to a look of panic, "Oh my god, don't say one word about this to anyone please? Sun Ce would kill me if he knew you knew, besides, you know Wu's policy on same-sex relationships, the stuck up.."
Gan Ning was cut off as Xiao Qiao's hand rested on his.
"I wont say anything you don't want me to. It must have been pretty hard to tell me."
"Yeah, easier than I thought though."
"So that's why Sun Ce's been acting so..un-Sun Ce recently."
"I guess so."
There was a pause.
"So," she began, a look of mischief on her face, "How big is his thing?"
Gan Ning's mouth opened wide, a smile mixed with surprise, "God Xiao Qiao, you have a mind like a swamp!"
"I can't help it if I'm nosey" she giggled, flicking her brown hair with her hand.
Gan Ning looked around. The room had gradually started to fill up. He looked outside.
"It's almost time, I think we'd better get going so I can whoop your ass already."
"Hey! Where did the idea of going easy on me go?" she elbowed him playfully in the ribs.
As they exited the lunchroom Gan Ning felt free. He'd told someone and they'd understood. Xiao Qiao felt happy for Gan Ning, after all, Sun Ce seemed to make him happy. But deep down she felt it. Her feelings would have to be kept in their box for some other time.