Ch. 31
Disclaimer: "Does anyone else find it sad that our friendship is held together only by the joy we get from making fun of each other?"
Gan Ning winced guiltily as he noticed the slight limp in Lu Xun's walk. He should have been gentler with him. "Lu Xun… are you okay?" The boy turned and nodded brightly. "Oh yes, I'm fine! Please, don't worry about me." He continued walking, making a conscious effort to conceal his discomfort. Gan Ning was hit by another wave of guilt. It was bad enough he had used the kid, now it looked as though he'd hurt him as well. He thought about Lu Xun's words earlier that morning and mentally beat himself over the head. He had taken the boy to bed fully intending for it to be a one-night stand, and one look from those wide, puppy-dog eyes had completely wrapped him around Lu Xun's finger. Fantastic. It wasn't that he didn't like Lu Xun-- he was a great kid, and he certainly cared about him-- but he wasn't in love with him. And really, that was what Lu Xun had asked him to do, wasn't it? He'd wanted Gan Ning to love him, and like an idiot, Gan Ning had told him that he would. But it wasn't like he could just flip a switch! He couldn't fall in love on command! The fact that his thoughts kept wandering back to Zhang He certainly didn't help things, either. He shook his head, trying to clear it.
He decided that he should at least try to love Lu Xun; he owed it to the kid, after what he'd done. Besides, he already liked him, how hard could it to go from like to love? And no matter what that little voice in the back of his head tried to say, it was not cheating. You couldn't cheat on someone who was only pretending to be with you; therefore, sleeping with Lu Xun was not cheating on Zhang He. Not that he cared what Zhang He thought, not after everything the man had put him through. Not after…the dungeon. No, he had no more feelings left for the Butterfly General… at least, that was what he kept telling himself. Dammit! Why did his thoughts keep going back to him? Balling his fists, he forced his mind to go blank, when he noticed Lu Xun still struggling to walk normally. Ah, what the hell…
Lu Xun let out a rather endearing squeak as Gan Ning snuck up from behind and scooped him into his arms. "Geez, kid, you're light as a feather! What do you weigh?" A pair of gorgeous, golden, eyes, wide with shock, met his. "G-Gan Ning! What are you doing?" Gan Ning grinned. "I'm carryin' you to breakfast, kid. I couldn't watch you limp anymore." The boy blushed to the roots of his hair. "It…it doesn't hurt that much…it just looks bad. You shouldn't worry about it. I'm fine. Really." The pirate just shook his head. "Sorry, but I ain't buyin' it. Most people wish they could get someone to carry them around, shrimp. Don't complain."
"But…what about people in the breakfast hall? What if they see?" Gan Ning raised an eyebrow. "This early in the morning? Kid, we'll be the first ones there, and even if we're not, they'll be too sleepy to notice. Now quit arguing and enjoy the ride." Tentatively, Lu Xun put his arms around his carrier's neck, relaxing into Gan Ning's arms. The older man chuckled. "That's more like it." He said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Oh, shit. What are you two doing here?" This was directed at Shang Xiang and Ling Tong, who, much to the dismay of their friends, were waiting to greet them in the dining hall, sitting at their usual table and grinning like a pair of lunatics. "Waiting for you, of course. Hey, how come I never get to hitch any rides, huh? I'm way lazier than Xun…" Ling Tong's grin widened as Gan Ning groaned. "You're never going to let me forget about this, are you?" Tong's grin practically split his face in two. "Never in a million years, pirate. Say, do you also haul luggage, or just little boys?" Lu Xun, who was hiding his beet-red face by pressing it into Gan Ning's chest, called out indignantly, "I am not little! Why does everyone say that?" Though it came out rather muffled, which somewhat ruined the effect of his righteous fury. Gan Ning glowered at Shang Xiang. "Lemme guess—you told him everything."
"Of course I did! You can't expect me to leave poor Tong in the dark!" Still glowering, Gan Ning trudged over to the table, easing his cargo into a chair, and pulling up a seat next to him, directly across from his two… friends. "How." he began slowly, through gritted teeth, "Did you. Know we. Would be here. This. Freakin'. Early." The madwoman across the table merely smirked. "Call it feminine intuition." All three men at the table snorted and/or burst into laughter. "C'mon, Shang Xiang! You? Feminine? You have all the womanly charm of a wild boar!" Tong received one of Shang Xiang's patented I'm-going-to-eat-your-face-off glares before she spoke. "Screw. You. Dickhead." Ling Tong grinned. "Sorry, sweetheart, but your father would kill me." He narrowly avoided being punched in the face, but was unable to dodge a kick to the shins. "Ow! Damn, woman, I know you want me, but there's no need to get so upset…"
"Oh, that is IT! You're going down, you hear me?" "I'm sorry, what was that? You're going down on me?" That was the last straw—the Wu princess snapped. "DIE!" So saying, she leapt from her chair and immediately began chasing down Ling Tong, who was wise enough to take off immediately after finishing his sentence. Looking over his shoulder and seeing that he was way in the lead, he called back, "You know, it's really quite improper for a woman to chase after a man so shamelessly! I guess it's understandable, though, since I'm so sexy an' all—WAUGH!" Ling Tong had discovered that running while looking backwards can often result in accidents—in this case, slamming into a table. After the fifteen or so minutes of chaos and violence that ensued when Shang Xiang caught up with him, both returned to the table where Gan Ning and Lu Xun were laughing hysterically. Shang Xiang was disheveled but more or less unscathed, while Ling Tong had a black eye. He glared at her. "You only won because I hit that table and got winded. You never could have taken me on in peak form." Shang Xiang grinned evilly. "You keep telling yourself that, Tong." Before another fight could start, Gan Ning broke in. "No seriously, how did you know we would be here?" Shang Xiang turned her evil grin to Gan Ning. "I heard you guys through the walls last night. I figured you'd wanna have a romantic early-morning breakfast by yourselves." Lu Xun frowned. "And you just couldn't let that happen, could you, Lady Sun? …Wait a minute…you live two rooms away from us…" "I know," she said, darkly. "You guys wake me up again, and I swear, I will bust your door down. I will be fully armed, and I will be aiming to kill." Lu Xun blushed and shrunk into his seat. Gan Ning just smirked.
Okay, I know I said that another major plot point would pop up here, but I'm pushing it back to the next chapter. Why? Because I can! Speaking of the next Chappie: Zhen Ji pops up, and more from loopy Sima Yi! Before you ask, there's nothing going on between Shang Xiang and Ling Tong, they're just insane. Snarky, sarcastic Tong is dedicated to the wonderful Soukatsu. Super-cute Lu Xun is dedicated to Kuro.Neko, since you told me you liked him so much. Anyhoo, that's all for today. Toodles!
