Ch. 19
Disclaimer: "Where there's a will, there's a family fighting over it."
Gan Ning blinked as the door was thrown open and a gust of air sent his hair whooshing backwards and out of his eyes. This was followed by Zhang He rocketing into the room and tackling him to the ground in a whirlwind of excitement. Gan Ning was now on the floor and blinking up at the ceiling, brain still trying to process this sudden change of scenery. "She said YES!" Zhang He shouted joyously. "She's going to help! We're going to get you out of here! You're going to be alright! You're going…to…leave…" The elation slowly faded from his voice and face, and he lowered his eyes. It hurt something inside of Gan Ning to see him so upset. Before he could comfort him though, he would first like to get off the floor. "Butterfly?" He said, gently. "Yes?" "Do you think I could have my body back, now?" Zhang He nearly jumped off him, apparently astonished to realize that in his zeal, he had pinned Gan Ning's body immobile to the floor. "I-I'm terribly sorry," he stammered, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "I didn't realize what I was---" Gan Ning put a finger on Zhang He's lips, shushing him. "It's fine, love. The only reason I mentioned it is because I have difficulty talking while flat on my back."
Zhang He laughed, and it seemed to Gan Ning like the most beautiful sound in the world. He looked at him for a moment, really looked at him. Zhang He sat with his long legs tucked beneath him, hair pushed behind one ear and swept casually over his shoulder, spilling over his chest and into his lap. One long, elegant finger idly traced patterns on the Persian carpet, violet eyes downcast and framed by long lashes. He wore plain, white leggings that stopped just above his ankles, and his chest was bare. The darkly bruised bite mark on his shoulder was clearly visible, standing out against his pale flesh. He really was gorgeous, whether he knew it or not, especially when he was dressed so plainly. Without the distraction of gaudy clothes and finery, you could focus on how perfectly natural his attractiveness was. "You look like an angel," Gan Ning told him. Zhang He looked up and smiled at him, and it seemed to Gan Ning like a glimpse of paradise. "How would you know? Have you ever seen an angel before?" Gan Ning leaned forward and caressed his cheek. "I'm looking at one right now."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, my love." Zhang He stopped the other man's hand and held it against the side of his face. "I wish this didn't have to end," he whispered, shifting his eyes away again. Gan Ning raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about ending? Nothing has to end here, butterfly. Not for us." Those extraordinary violet eyes met his, puzzlement and hope filling them. "What are you saying?" "I'm saying that this doesn't have to be the end of our relationship. Of our love." Now he held Zhang Hands in his own, giving them an earnest, reassuring squeeze. "We can make this work, butterfly. Where there's a will, there's a way, right? I'm willing. Are you?" "You already know I am." Gan Ning smiled. "That's right, I do. So I know that we can still be together. Not all the time, mind you, but a little is better than nothing. We can meet in secret. In between fighting, there's always free time, isn't that so? We can use that time, love! We can just slip away for a while, meet together in some village in neutral territory, and spend some time with each other. We can be back before anyone misses us. If anyone does notice, just make up some excuse. And then there's always holidays, and requested time off. And of course there are letters, we can always write to each other in between! There's retirement to think about, too. We don't have to stay in this business forever, butterfly. Once this war is over, we can resign from the military and live together!"
"Assuming we're both still alive, you mean." Zhang He pointed out darkly. Oh. Yeah. He'd forgotten about that. Zhang He continued, "And what happens if we have to fight each other? What if I'm ordered to attack your camp? Will you just sit around while I kill officers who you've sworn loyalty to? Or let's say you're ordered to launch a naval assault. What am I supposed to do, watch while you destroy our ships? You can no more refuse orders than I. If our superiors tell us to kill each other, we'd—we'd—" and here his voice broke, and he was unable to finish. Gan Ning bit his lip. He had a point; they would be unable to refuse a direct command from higher up. Zhang He's shoulders slumped, all hope gone now. "Maybe we weren't meant to be." Those whispered words were like a shot through his heart. He grabbed Zhang He's shoulders and shook him. "Don't you say that! Of course we were! Do you think we would have met if it weren't meant to be so? Would the gods have put us through all this aggravation if there weren't some sort of destiny for the two of us? No! They're not that cruel, butterfly." Zhang He scoffed. "The last time I checked, my love, you weren't in direct contact with any deities I know of. How is it that you're so well informed on the will of the gods?"
Gan Ning drew back, hurt by the sardonic edge in Zhang He's voice. "You're angry with me." Gan Ning made it a statement, not a question. Zhang He sighed and stared at the carpet. "No, I'm not," he said. "Not with you, anyway." "But you are angry." Gan Ning prodded. The other man frowned. "Yes, I'm angry. Aren't you?" The pirate just shrugged. "Not particularly. Being angry won't help our situation any." Zhang He scowled. "Since when are you so damn rational?" Gan Ning quirked an eyebrow. "Since when are you so damn irrational? You're supposed to be the calm one, remember?" Zhang He gave a moody "Humph!" before turning his head away, tossing his hair angrily. Gan Ning laughed and grabbed him from behind, pulling the startled general into a loving embrace and leaving a trail of hot kisses down his bare neck. Zhang He flailed about for a moment or two, then sagged against him, submitting, though still quite irritated. "You'd better not have been laughing at me, Gan Ning of the Bells." This prompted more laughter, and the arms tightened around Zhang He's waist. "Wouldn't dream of it, butterfly. I'd be much too scared." He twisted around to give Gan Ning a death glare, but Gan Ning, using his amazing powers of persuasion, somehow managed to turn it into a kiss. He supposed he was just talented that way. "Damn you," Zhang He snarled through gritted teeth when they came up for air. "What did I do now?" Again, he received a death glare. "You ruined my bad mood, you…you…bad mood-ruiner! I happen to enjoy my bad moods, and you shot it all to hell."
Gan Ning clucked his tongue. "Goodness, butterfly, such language! Where'd you learn to talk like that? You curse like a pirate." Zhang He thwacked him upside the head, clearly not amused, and Gan Ning winced, rubbing at the sore spot. "I didn't deserve that, you know." Zhang He ignored him, having gotten up and started rummaging through a gigantic sack sitting by the door. "What are you do—" His question was cut off by something soft and silky smacking him in the face. Peeling it off, he saw that it was not underwear this time, but a bandanna, deep red, with snarling golden tigers in front of an emerald forest. He stared at it for a bit, unable to think of anything to say. "It's for you," Zhang He growled, sounding very grumpy indeed. "Not that you've earned it or anything. Bastard." He looked up to see Zhang He with his arms crossed and hip jutting out, lower lip in a sulky pout. He stared blackly at a very unfortunate spot on the wall, which, if it had been able to, would have trembled. Gan Ning briefly considered telling him that his bad mood seemed just fine, but decided that he really didn't want to be the target of his lover's wall-frightening glare. Instead, he opted for a more subtle approach.
"Buterfly," he called, softly. Zhang He tossed his hair again, but refused to stop glaring at the thoroughly terrified wall. Gan Ning rolled his eyes and sighed. Pushing the bangs off his forehead and out of his eyes, he tied the bandanna around his head with a practiced hand. He grinned to himself. It felt good to be wearing one again. Then he dragged himself to his feet and walked behind his sulking butterfly, placing calloused hands on the smooth, pale shoulders. "Butterfly," he said again, and this time, Zhang He's expression softened. Finally, he turned to face him, much to the relief of the wall. "What?" he snapped, or tried to snap, though it wasn't quite convincing. "It's perfect, butterfly. I can't thank you enough." Zhang He frowned. "Try anyway." He said. Gan Ning kissed him, pressing him up against the wardrobe and making Zhang He moan softly into his mouth. Eventually, they pulled apart. "Thank you," Gan Ning rasped, voice husky and out of breath. "How was that? Enough?" Zhang He smiled mischievously. "Try harder." He said.
Aww, they had their first fight! They kissed and made up, though. Big thank you to my newest reviewer, Violet Queen. We need more hard core Yaoi fangirls like you! You GO, girl! Also, thanks again to Crazy Insanity, who once again, made me feel all fuzzy inside with her nice review. Which worries me, 'cause you know, insides really aren't supposed to be fuzzy, so that's probably, like, a fungus or something. Crud. This was basically a filler chapter, and I'm sorry to say the next one will be too. I'm afraid there'll be nothing really big happening until the next Ling Yi POV, but when it rains, it pours (meaning that there will be a whole koala load of new plot twists in the very near future). Also, we'll be getting to play with Sima Yi soon, and everyone's favorite Wu princess, Sun Shiang. I think you guys will enjoy her in this. This fic originally wasn't intended to be more than thirty or forty chapters, but that figure seems to be rapidly increasing. I just hope this doesn't turn into "The Never Ending Fan Fiction", 'cause those are always a pain in the ass. Also, I want all of you to go read "It Started With An Elevator", by Hieirulesall. It will make you die laughing, and it's definitely one of the better comedies out there. Anyhoozles, I'm off!
P.S- The wall, while severely traumatized by all that glaring, was later able to recover with much counseling and therapy.
