Chapter Thirty - Two New Beginnings
Sun Ce was packing his bags again, but thankfully this time he wasn't the only one.
"Gan Ning? Have you seen my black robe?"
Gan Ning came in through the door of his room, holding it in his hand casually before throwing it over to Sun Ce who folded it and placed it in his bag.
Gan Ning stood there watching him for a moment, and then he turned back into the next room and finished packing his own bag. The last week had been pretty hard, but it was getting easier with Sun Ce there, and despite how Xiao Qiao felt towards the "dumbass jerk off" as she so colourfully put it, she had helped them pick a place to stay. After all, Xiao Qiao loved organising things and a vacation was no exception. Gan Ning decided that she was the best in looking for a vacation spot for them.
He'd stayed at the house in town, and Sun Ce had stayed in the main camp but they'd seen each other nearly everyday. Sun Ce had explained their situation to Sun Jian and being the understanding man that he was he excused his absence and allowed him to take a month off. Besides, all the main forces of Wei, Shu and Wu were on an alliance against Lu Bu and the mission will not be that soon. Gan Ning took the opportunity to take a month leave too, even though he felt that he hadn't earned it after being out of mission for so long. Sun Jian seemed surprisingly understanding though. It seems that Sun Quan and Sun Shang Xiang confronted Sun Jian and tried to make him understand the situation of Sun Ce and Gan Ning, and they succeeded.
Gan Ning felt arms wrapping around his waist from behind him and Sun Ce's lips kissing the top of his head.
"Are you alright?"
Gan Ning nodded silently, leaning back into the warmth of Sun Ce's body. He'd noticed something different about Sun Ce, about the way he acted around him. He spent more time worrying about how Gan Ning was than how he was himself, and treated Gan Ning as if he were fragile. But then again Gan Ning supposed he was.
"Mmm...Two weeks in the sun huh?"
"Yeah" Gan Ning replied dreamily.
Xiao Qiao, never one to do anything by halves, had found them a nice villa in Luo Yang, which lay on the coastline of the Wu area. Maybe things were looking up after all. Gan Ning was sure a week or two away would probably do him good, and that seemed to be everyone's intentions anyway. He knew that they needed to work hard on their relationship, which was far from perfect...and he couldn't quite forgive him, not yet, but he was learning to, and with Sun Ce to lean on it was becoming easier.
Sun Ce noticed that Gan Ning was going into one of his trances, and turned him around by the shoulders gently, running his bare hand along Gan Ning's neck and up to his cheek. Gan Ning leaned against his open palm, closing his eyes as Sun Ce pulled him a little closer.
"Everything's going to be fine, okay?" Sun Ce said reassuringly, brushing away the few stray strands of hair that fell onto Gan Ning's forehead.
Gan Ning smiled, and for the first time in a long while it wasn't forced, it came naturally. Sun Ce smiled back, leaning down to kiss Gan Ning once on the lips before pulling away and looked back up at Gan Ning regretfully.
"We've got two hours till the ship leaves. We'd better hurry."
"Fine." Gan Ning replied, watching as Sun Ce left the room before running his finger across the polished bells that was strung at his neck. Everything *was* going to be fine.
*********************************************
"I'mgonnamissyousomuchhaveasafejourneywritemewheneveryoucan, okay?"
Xiao Qiao could talk at hyper speed when excited, and right now was no exception.
"Um, okay...what did you ask me again?"
Xiao Qiao shook her head, sticking her tongue out at Gan Ning before pulling him into a tight hug. Before she let him go she whispered into his ear.
"Make sure he treats you right, okay?"
Gan Ning nodded silently and smiled back.
Da Qiao had also come along to the jetty to see Gan Ning and Sun Ce off, and Gan Ning hugged her next, making the disciplined young lady go a light shade of red. She wasn't used to much affection and Gan Ning and Xiao Qiao were frequent givers of it and often caught her off guard. Gan Ning heard dull clunking come from behind him and turned to see Sun Ce dragging their bags and weapons up the stone steps. He walked past Xiao Qiao, acknowledging her with a nod. Xiao Qiao simply put on a forced grin and waved back at him. Even Da Qiao noticed the tension between them, but she didn't comment.
Sun Ce walked up to Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, gave them a hug each. They were shocked.
"I'll see you around ladies."
Xiao Qiao smiled, "Have a safe journey, my Lord."
Sun Ce shrugged "Xiao Qiao, call me Sun Ce okay?"
She didn't know why but her name in his voice sounded strange. He probably had never said much before in his life. Maybe Sun Ce was changing after all...
"Well, we've gotta go." Gan Ning said, indicating to the impatient ship captain with his thumb, "See ya."
Sun Ce was already in the doorway of the ship, hauling luggage onto the ship to their room inside. Gan Ning ran over, picking up the last bag before following Sun Ce inside. From the platform the two girls could see them. The ship started to move.
"Have fun!" Xiao Qiao shouted, and Gan Ning waved back, "Go and get a nice tan for when you come baaaaaack!"
Gan Ning smiled as the platform faded out of view, and he leant his head against Sun Ce's chest, the things in the room rocking slightly with the movements of the ship. He felt Sun Ce squeeze his arm, but he didn't say anything. What was there to be said? It was going to be hard...but they'd get there. Somehow.
***********************************************
Xiao Qiao waved her arms frantically until the ship was just a dot in the distance. It was going to be dull without Gan Ning around, and she'd miss him so much. It was all for the best though she figured.
Da Qiao tugged on her arm. "We should go. Lu Meng wants me to discuss something with him later."
"Sis, I want to get some food for dinner later. I will go back on my own okay?"
"Okay. Be sure to come back before the sun sets."
They went separate ways.
Xiao Qiao walked out from the jetty, started down the steps until she stopped dead, listening to something.
"Watch where you're going fool!"
"Sorry old man, gotta run!"
There was some mild cursing and the patter of boots on stone, running towards her. And there he was, running around the corner, his hair flying crazily as he ran, his long red and white robe flapping behind him like a bizarre cloak.
Xiao Qiao looked at him, totally clueless. Zhou Yu caught sight of her and walked over to her breathlessly, straightening out his clothes. After all, there was a lady present and his heart skipped a little with the presence of this particular lady.
"Xiao Qiao, has the ship left yet?"
"Just did." Xiao Qiao replied.
"Damn it!" he punched the air angrily, cursing his bad luck.
Xiao Qiao hesitated before asking, "Are you looking for Gan Ning and Sun Ce?"
Zhou Yu's face lit up considerably at this question, his regular predatory smile appearing on his face.
"Well yes I am, how did you guess?"
'Because I knew about *everything*' Xiao Qiao thought.
"They just left. Sun Ce and Gan Ning that is."
He looked at her, a little smile on his face, "I just wanted to wish them off. So what are you doing here?"
"I wanna get some food for dinner" she stated matter of factly.
"Xiao Qiao..." Zhou Yu rolled the two syllables around in his mouth thoughtfully before smiling sexily at her, "Can I buy you dinner?"
He looked down at Xiao Qiao. Her face had dropped its grin and she was staring blankly at Zhou Yu, blinking several times before making and attempt to speak, but her mouth didn't seem to work. Zhou Yu didn't seem to notice, since his gaze was fixed on her, his expression equally as blank and waiting for an answer.
Why was he getting so nervous around Xiao Qiao all of a sudden for crying out loud? He knew he was attracted to her before and he dealt with girls on a day-to-day basis...but there was something different about her, something mischievous in her eyes, yet she seemed so innocent. And so pretty, *god* she was pretty...
"Um...I...sure." she managed to say eventually.
Why was she getting like this? Zhou Yu was just a *normal* guy after all...this guy had slept with Sun Ce for god's sake. Yet the way he was looking at her, the strands of black hair falling across his cheeks, and his eyes...those eyes, such an amazing glow in them. She smiled up at him without realising it, and Zhou Yu smiled back, a different kind of smile than he usually wore, and one that Xiao Qiao has never seen before which she finds pretty attractive.
'Maybe life without Gan Ning around for a while wouldn't be so dull after all. Just maybe... ' Xiao Qiao thought to herself, a smile on her face.
- THE END -
**Note: So there you have it, "Heart on Fire" in all its glory (pff, I wish). This story has been so fun to write, as twisted as it may sound, what with suicide attempts and rape occurring and a big fat load of sadness sprinkled on top for good measure, but it was fun to write none the less. And you know what made it all worthwhile? YOU. The reader.
I've got so many supportive emails and they are what have made me carry on this fic. At some points I felt like giving up and just throwing it in the bin but I didn't, and I'm so glad I didn't ^_^ It seems to me that this is the first Sun Ce and Gan Ning pairing fic and I'm glad, since they're one of my favourite pairings!
Thank you for the reviews and thank you for not leaving it despite its sadness.
DEDICATION:
Firstly, I wanna dedicate this fic to Koei, because without them I wouldn't have written this and there would be no Dynasty Warriors series (NO! THE HORROR!)
Next, I wanna dedicate this fic to everyone who's stuck with it. Basically everyone who reviewed it or emailed me, I thank you all ^_^
Lastly (almost done!) I wanted to say that I'm not sure if I'm quite through with Sun Ce and Gan Ning yet...I'm very tempted to find out what happens on that vacation myself. All I can say is be on the lookout ^_~
**COMING SOON from RainyMysteria: Also if you like this fic, and you wanna see more of my fics. You can submit your suggestions in the Review section of this fic. I am now working on a Zhou Yun and Jiang Wei fic, would anyone be interested? Look out for it (no title given yet) in Dynasty Warriors section in Fanfiction.net.
Sun Ce was packing his bags again, but thankfully this time he wasn't the only one.
"Gan Ning? Have you seen my black robe?"
Gan Ning came in through the door of his room, holding it in his hand casually before throwing it over to Sun Ce who folded it and placed it in his bag.
Gan Ning stood there watching him for a moment, and then he turned back into the next room and finished packing his own bag. The last week had been pretty hard, but it was getting easier with Sun Ce there, and despite how Xiao Qiao felt towards the "dumbass jerk off" as she so colourfully put it, she had helped them pick a place to stay. After all, Xiao Qiao loved organising things and a vacation was no exception. Gan Ning decided that she was the best in looking for a vacation spot for them.
He'd stayed at the house in town, and Sun Ce had stayed in the main camp but they'd seen each other nearly everyday. Sun Ce had explained their situation to Sun Jian and being the understanding man that he was he excused his absence and allowed him to take a month off. Besides, all the main forces of Wei, Shu and Wu were on an alliance against Lu Bu and the mission will not be that soon. Gan Ning took the opportunity to take a month leave too, even though he felt that he hadn't earned it after being out of mission for so long. Sun Jian seemed surprisingly understanding though. It seems that Sun Quan and Sun Shang Xiang confronted Sun Jian and tried to make him understand the situation of Sun Ce and Gan Ning, and they succeeded.
Gan Ning felt arms wrapping around his waist from behind him and Sun Ce's lips kissing the top of his head.
"Are you alright?"
Gan Ning nodded silently, leaning back into the warmth of Sun Ce's body. He'd noticed something different about Sun Ce, about the way he acted around him. He spent more time worrying about how Gan Ning was than how he was himself, and treated Gan Ning as if he were fragile. But then again Gan Ning supposed he was.
"Mmm...Two weeks in the sun huh?"
"Yeah" Gan Ning replied dreamily.
Xiao Qiao, never one to do anything by halves, had found them a nice villa in Luo Yang, which lay on the coastline of the Wu area. Maybe things were looking up after all. Gan Ning was sure a week or two away would probably do him good, and that seemed to be everyone's intentions anyway. He knew that they needed to work hard on their relationship, which was far from perfect...and he couldn't quite forgive him, not yet, but he was learning to, and with Sun Ce to lean on it was becoming easier.
Sun Ce noticed that Gan Ning was going into one of his trances, and turned him around by the shoulders gently, running his bare hand along Gan Ning's neck and up to his cheek. Gan Ning leaned against his open palm, closing his eyes as Sun Ce pulled him a little closer.
"Everything's going to be fine, okay?" Sun Ce said reassuringly, brushing away the few stray strands of hair that fell onto Gan Ning's forehead.
Gan Ning smiled, and for the first time in a long while it wasn't forced, it came naturally. Sun Ce smiled back, leaning down to kiss Gan Ning once on the lips before pulling away and looked back up at Gan Ning regretfully.
"We've got two hours till the ship leaves. We'd better hurry."
"Fine." Gan Ning replied, watching as Sun Ce left the room before running his finger across the polished bells that was strung at his neck. Everything *was* going to be fine.
*********************************************
"I'mgonnamissyousomuchhaveasafejourneywritemewheneveryoucan, okay?"
Xiao Qiao could talk at hyper speed when excited, and right now was no exception.
"Um, okay...what did you ask me again?"
Xiao Qiao shook her head, sticking her tongue out at Gan Ning before pulling him into a tight hug. Before she let him go she whispered into his ear.
"Make sure he treats you right, okay?"
Gan Ning nodded silently and smiled back.
Da Qiao had also come along to the jetty to see Gan Ning and Sun Ce off, and Gan Ning hugged her next, making the disciplined young lady go a light shade of red. She wasn't used to much affection and Gan Ning and Xiao Qiao were frequent givers of it and often caught her off guard. Gan Ning heard dull clunking come from behind him and turned to see Sun Ce dragging their bags and weapons up the stone steps. He walked past Xiao Qiao, acknowledging her with a nod. Xiao Qiao simply put on a forced grin and waved back at him. Even Da Qiao noticed the tension between them, but she didn't comment.
Sun Ce walked up to Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, gave them a hug each. They were shocked.
"I'll see you around ladies."
Xiao Qiao smiled, "Have a safe journey, my Lord."
Sun Ce shrugged "Xiao Qiao, call me Sun Ce okay?"
She didn't know why but her name in his voice sounded strange. He probably had never said much before in his life. Maybe Sun Ce was changing after all...
"Well, we've gotta go." Gan Ning said, indicating to the impatient ship captain with his thumb, "See ya."
Sun Ce was already in the doorway of the ship, hauling luggage onto the ship to their room inside. Gan Ning ran over, picking up the last bag before following Sun Ce inside. From the platform the two girls could see them. The ship started to move.
"Have fun!" Xiao Qiao shouted, and Gan Ning waved back, "Go and get a nice tan for when you come baaaaaack!"
Gan Ning smiled as the platform faded out of view, and he leant his head against Sun Ce's chest, the things in the room rocking slightly with the movements of the ship. He felt Sun Ce squeeze his arm, but he didn't say anything. What was there to be said? It was going to be hard...but they'd get there. Somehow.
***********************************************
Xiao Qiao waved her arms frantically until the ship was just a dot in the distance. It was going to be dull without Gan Ning around, and she'd miss him so much. It was all for the best though she figured.
Da Qiao tugged on her arm. "We should go. Lu Meng wants me to discuss something with him later."
"Sis, I want to get some food for dinner later. I will go back on my own okay?"
"Okay. Be sure to come back before the sun sets."
They went separate ways.
Xiao Qiao walked out from the jetty, started down the steps until she stopped dead, listening to something.
"Watch where you're going fool!"
"Sorry old man, gotta run!"
There was some mild cursing and the patter of boots on stone, running towards her. And there he was, running around the corner, his hair flying crazily as he ran, his long red and white robe flapping behind him like a bizarre cloak.
Xiao Qiao looked at him, totally clueless. Zhou Yu caught sight of her and walked over to her breathlessly, straightening out his clothes. After all, there was a lady present and his heart skipped a little with the presence of this particular lady.
"Xiao Qiao, has the ship left yet?"
"Just did." Xiao Qiao replied.
"Damn it!" he punched the air angrily, cursing his bad luck.
Xiao Qiao hesitated before asking, "Are you looking for Gan Ning and Sun Ce?"
Zhou Yu's face lit up considerably at this question, his regular predatory smile appearing on his face.
"Well yes I am, how did you guess?"
'Because I knew about *everything*' Xiao Qiao thought.
"They just left. Sun Ce and Gan Ning that is."
He looked at her, a little smile on his face, "I just wanted to wish them off. So what are you doing here?"
"I wanna get some food for dinner" she stated matter of factly.
"Xiao Qiao..." Zhou Yu rolled the two syllables around in his mouth thoughtfully before smiling sexily at her, "Can I buy you dinner?"
He looked down at Xiao Qiao. Her face had dropped its grin and she was staring blankly at Zhou Yu, blinking several times before making and attempt to speak, but her mouth didn't seem to work. Zhou Yu didn't seem to notice, since his gaze was fixed on her, his expression equally as blank and waiting for an answer.
Why was he getting so nervous around Xiao Qiao all of a sudden for crying out loud? He knew he was attracted to her before and he dealt with girls on a day-to-day basis...but there was something different about her, something mischievous in her eyes, yet she seemed so innocent. And so pretty, *god* she was pretty...
"Um...I...sure." she managed to say eventually.
Why was she getting like this? Zhou Yu was just a *normal* guy after all...this guy had slept with Sun Ce for god's sake. Yet the way he was looking at her, the strands of black hair falling across his cheeks, and his eyes...those eyes, such an amazing glow in them. She smiled up at him without realising it, and Zhou Yu smiled back, a different kind of smile than he usually wore, and one that Xiao Qiao has never seen before which she finds pretty attractive.
'Maybe life without Gan Ning around for a while wouldn't be so dull after all. Just maybe... ' Xiao Qiao thought to herself, a smile on her face.
- THE END -
**Note: So there you have it, "Heart on Fire" in all its glory (pff, I wish). This story has been so fun to write, as twisted as it may sound, what with suicide attempts and rape occurring and a big fat load of sadness sprinkled on top for good measure, but it was fun to write none the less. And you know what made it all worthwhile? YOU. The reader.
I've got so many supportive emails and they are what have made me carry on this fic. At some points I felt like giving up and just throwing it in the bin but I didn't, and I'm so glad I didn't ^_^ It seems to me that this is the first Sun Ce and Gan Ning pairing fic and I'm glad, since they're one of my favourite pairings!
Thank you for the reviews and thank you for not leaving it despite its sadness.
DEDICATION:
Firstly, I wanna dedicate this fic to Koei, because without them I wouldn't have written this and there would be no Dynasty Warriors series (NO! THE HORROR!)
Next, I wanna dedicate this fic to everyone who's stuck with it. Basically everyone who reviewed it or emailed me, I thank you all ^_^
Lastly (almost done!) I wanted to say that I'm not sure if I'm quite through with Sun Ce and Gan Ning yet...I'm very tempted to find out what happens on that vacation myself. All I can say is be on the lookout ^_~
**COMING SOON from RainyMysteria: Also if you like this fic, and you wanna see more of my fics. You can submit your suggestions in the Review section of this fic. I am now working on a Zhou Yun and Jiang Wei fic, would anyone be interested? Look out for it (no title given yet) in Dynasty Warriors section in Fanfiction.net.