A/N: Hi! Kind of a short chappy this time. Next chapter is shaping up to be a big one, though, so unfortunately this installment will have to tide everyone over until it's done. ^.^ Thanks for the continued patience, and for those who are still reading (and reviewing) what I've brought back from the dead here.

As always, enjoy!


The harsh clang of metal colliding with metal reverberated through the castle grounds. Lu Meng, wielding his polearm, met with Gan Ning who had daggers in hand. After parrying a strike from Gan Ning, he pushed the pirate away with his weapon. With a booming cry, Lu Meng crashed his weapon down upon the pirate. At the last possible second, Gan Ning side-stepped the attack. The blade of the halberd embedded itself in the ground, and Gan Ning placed his foot on the weapon to hold it in place. He then used it as a springboard to launch himself at Lu Meng. Lu Meng, with his weapon pinned, had no choice but to release the handle and retreat.

As he stepped back, he older general laughed. "Very good, Gan Ning," he said. The pirate stopped and grinned.

"You ain't so bad yourself for your age, old man." Gan Ning sheathed his daggers in his belt. "I actually broke a sweat."

"'For my age'. Hah!" Lu Meng barked. He placed one hand on his hip, the other he used to scratch his beard as he studied Gan Ning for a beat. "How are you holding up?" he then asked.

"Huh? You go blind on me, old man? As you can see, I can take anything you dish out," Gan Ning said while flexing an arm.

Lu Meng chuckled and said, "I'm not talking physically, of course. However, I bet you wish you could spar with someone a little closer to your age right now." he said.

Gan Ning furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Ling Tong. You haven't been the same since his injury," Lu Meng replied.

"Eh?" Gan Ning rolled his eyes. "I've just been bored stupid is all. All this waiting around for a real fight drives me nuts."

Lu Meng yanked his halberd from the ground and swung it around to rest it on his shoulder. "I'd say your problem is more than boredom. Since we've been home these past few weeks, you've been sleeping too much and eating too little. Before you could hardly contain your gift of gab, but now you hardly speak to anyone, much less to brag. I rarely see you, except when we're both visiting Ling Tong. I'm told that you visit his room everyday." Gan Ning's eyes fell. "It's like your fire's gone out. So for your sake, I hope he gets better soon," Lu Meng finished.

Gan Ning sighed. "Whatever. Thanks for the spar, old man." The pirate then made his swift exit from the training grounds. Lu Meng was one of the only people he had ever met in his life who could read him so well, and he was right in that Gan Ning wasn't feeling like himself. Therefore, he had called Lu Meng out in the hopes that some exertion would lift his spirits-- it had, but only until Lu Meng negated it by pointing out his problems. He should have known. The older man usually used his powers of perception cut straight to the truth when Gan Ning preferred to avoid it.

"Damn it," Gan Ning muttered. The old man was right after all. He couldn't help it. Without a thought as to where he was going, he kept his head down and fumed silently. Ordinarily, he would rather fume out loud, but what would anyone do about his current agony? Lu Meng was too busy planning the next battle. Lu Xun would patronize him. He was rarely in the mood to play lofty mind games with Zhou Yu, and Zhou Tai's quiet disposition was simply oil to Gan Ning's water.

He respected his fellow generals for sure, but each had their way of turning him off after a while. He grew bored with them. Unfortunately, the alternative of being by himself turned him off even more. Inevitably, he would think about what else he could be doing, and thus end up daydreaming about his former life. The military had its benefits of better organization, funding, and leadership, of which Gan Ning could definitely appreciate compared to herding a ragtag bunch of lowlife thugs for an ungrateful leader. He never would truly miss that life, but the lengthy lulls between military campaigns he dealt with now were simply insufferable. As a pirate, he would never have to worry about a dull moment. Everyday there was a new ship to plunder, a new harbor to ransack. Each raid with the possibility of being his last. He was addicted to action, but moreso to the feeling of not knowing what to expect. Currently, the only semblance of that kind of sudden unpredictability in his life came from--

Gan Ning stopped suddenly and jerked his gaze up from the floor. He sighed. While in thought, he had automatically made a beeline through castle until he found himself in front of Ling Tong's door. He thought about cancelling the visit just to prove he could change, but the notion was fleeting. He lifted a fist and knocked once. A moment later, the door cracked open and a nurse stuck his head out.

"Master Gan Ning," the nurse said, fully exiting from the door in order to bow.

"He awake today?" Gan Ning asked.

"Yes, Sir..." the nurse began. "But..."

"Then lemme in!"

Gan Ning pushed the nurse aside and barged in. Stopping just inside the door, he smiled, seeing Ling Tong, in a thin white robe, sitting up on the edge of the bed facing him. Two other nurses were steadying him, while the third who had greeted Gan Ning quietly snuck by him and moved to help. Today, he was finally going to attempt to stand. Ling Tong looked up at his visitor, and furrowed his brow when he recognized him.

"What do you want, Gan Ning? Here for a laugh today?" Ling Tong said. Since he had been healing so rapidly, he had been looking forward to the day when he would finally test his legs. He was not about to let a friendly rival ruin his good mood.

"Well hello to you, too, sunshine," Gan Ning said, crossing his arms. He watched the nurses, one under each of Ling Tong's arms, pathetically trying to keep Ling Tong from swaying too much. After a few seconds, and not feeling a lot of confidence from Ling Tong, snorted and crossed over to him.

"Move," he ordered, shooing them with a wave of a hand. The nurses cowered and separated themselves from Ling Tong as Gan Ning roughly grabbed him by the shoulders. Suddenly, he was still and steady. Ling Tong glared at him.

"Yes. Please help me. Burden me with shame, why don't you?" Ling Tong spat.

"As you wish," Gan Ning said, grinning. He suddenly felt one of Ling Tong's fist jab him hard into his sternum. His amusement remained as he coughed, momentarily stunned by Ling Tong's assault, but he didn't let go of him. "Come on," Gan Ning said gently.

Sighing, Ling Tong's face softened, and he snaked his arms around and placed his hands on Gan Ning's shoulders. He locked eyes with the pirate and and pushed upwards. Gan Ning kept steadying him as Ling Tong slipped off the bed and his bare feet found their purchase on the carpet. Gan Ning kept Ling Tong steady as he tested his weight on each leg. He wobbled a little, but the healthy leg seemed to do just fine, and surprisingly to them both, the injured one held up firmly as well.

Ling Tong was delighted. "Maybe I'll be able to go with Lu Meng to Facheng after all."

"I'm sure the old man will be happy to have you," Gan Ning said. Still steadying him, Gan Ning stepped back so that Ling Tong could step forward. Right foot, left foot.

"And you?" Ling Tong asked.

"Well, duh," Gan Ning answered. "So long as you don't slow me down like you are now."

Ling Tong smirked and said, "Jerk. I'll make sure you die of embarrassment instead when I beat your tally."

"Hah! Fat fucking chance." Gan Ning smiled broadly. This is why he visited everyday. Just a couple of minutes had turned his mood completely around.

Ling Tong chuckled in return, refocusing his attention on his balance as he walked. Gan Ning could feel the gusts of his breath roll over him. Suddenly, he was keenly aware of Ling Tong and his proximity: the unique scent of his musk, the sight of his revealing state of dress, the warm firmness of muscle under his hands. An alien feeling returned like a stampede of horses. What felt like lava shooting through his veins caused him to recoil as if a snake around Ling Tong's shoulders had bit him. He ripped his hands away from him and stepped backward. "Gan-?" Ling Tong began, but stopped short when the sudden movement caused him to sway. He flailed his arms in order to regain his balance. "What the hell?" Ling Tong asked, relieved that his bad leg hadn't immediately given out.

However, in a mere few seconds, the muscles of Ling Tong's wounded thigh seized. He slapped his hand to it, the light cloth of his robe bunching in his tight grip, but it was no use. His leg spasmed and buckled. He grunted as his leg crumpled and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

The nurses who were standing by rushed to assist him. Shocked, furious, and embarrassed, Ling Tong bared his teeth and snapped, "What the fuck is the matter with you?" His eyes pierced him with hatred, burning with familiar intensity. "That was an disgusting prank, even for you. Get the fuck out of here, and you can just forget about tomorrow--"

A degree of Ling Tong's rage faded into confusion when he noted that Gan Ning's expression was devoid of any amusement. Instead, the pirate was covering his cheeks with a hand and staring at Ling Tong as if he had suddenly transformed into Cao Cao himself.

Despite Gan Ning's appearance, Ling Tong was still bitter. "Hello?" he said with irritation. "Anybody at home and feel like answering the door up there, moron?"

"Sorry," Gan Ning then muttered. He stepped forward and stooped to help the nurses - who had stopped to witness the argument unfold - lift Ling Tong up and off of the floor. He stared at the ground, avoiding all eye contact as he did so. "Sorry," he said again.

Ling Tong, who was now studying him cautiously, batted him away. "Seriously, what is wrong with you? You *never* apologize, unless it's to Lu Meng, and that's only after he slugs you. Multiple times."

Suddenly, Gan Ning snapped his head up and said, "Nothing's wrong, okay? Sorry, it was a bad prank." He then just as suddenly scooped Ling Tong up by the underarms and forced him to stand, nearly shaking off the nurses in the process.

Once on his feet, Ling Tong pushed him away, wobbling again but standing. "Then leave. As you can see, I'm not your plaything," he said firmly, wrapping each arm around a nurse just in case. "So go find someone else to torture." The nurses helped him turn around. He hobbled back to the bed, and behind him he heard Gan Ning say "Fine!" and the door to the room then opening and closing harshly. Ling Tong winced. He intended to call Gan Ning's bluff and provoke him into airing out what was on his mind. However, based on the silence that swiftly returned to Ling Tong's chamber, the discussion would have to wait.

And in just a couple of minutes, his good mood had turned completely around.