Piece Number Two: Stealing Your First Laugh

The following morning Ma Dai was roused from his sleep later than usual, finding that Ma Chao had already disappeared.

Rolling onto his side, Ma Dai hugged his pillow against his chest, staring at the wall before him and tracing the scratched markings upon the wall before tiredly reaching out his fingers to touch the latest of them.

"... Almost there" He whispered, yawning lazily as he rolled onto his back and staring at the ceiling. A tired smile appeared on his lips yet it did not seem to reach his eyes, he was terribly exhausted and the weariness had long settled into his soft features with a seclusion of pertinent sorts that could not quite be described.

He could hardly believe that it had been seven years since the death of his uncle. Seven years since he had started to look after Ma Chao and only a few when he had joined Shu to fulfil Liu Bei's conquest.

No.

He had joined Shu to support his cousin and even now he was unsure to what extent he would go in order to make Ma Chao happy.

Grumbling in frustration, he hauled himself out of bed and decided it was about time he departed for the market square in order to buy some necessities for the house.

By the time that he had finished his duty, the sun was already at its highest point in the sky, its rays boring down mercilessly over his head yet it was by no means warm as the summer days began to approach their finality.

Shivering, Ma Dai readjusted his collar, shifting the brown paper bag of items against his hip as he bit into a freshly made dimsum and munching away contentedly.

He finally settled himself on the vacant stairs of some altar, the stone formation of old steps rather uncomfortable but it was well out of the way and he had a good view of the children of Shu playing happily near the fountain.

"Would you like a flower, sir?"

Ma Dai turned in shock at the unexpected voice, his cinnamon eyes focusing on the petite woman who had approached him with a handful of wild flowers. She looked dreadful, her skin was greying and her black hair was matted down and tangled but it seemed as though she had made her best attempt to make herself presentable. Her simple pink hanfu was poorly maintained; badly made stitches keeping a loose sleeve attached to the cloth and the general could not help but feel sorry for her despite not being very well off himself.

Thinking that he hadn't heard her, she repeated her question, pushing the flowers towards him as though to try and convince him to accept her request.

"Would you like one?" She asked.

Ma Dai's gaze shifted towards the unpleasant looking flowers, an undistinguishable mixture of scents that merged to create an allergy-inducing aroma. He would have- actually he should have- said no, but without even thinking he reached for his coin purse and dropped a silver piece into her small hand.

"Are you serious?" She gaped at him as though he was crazy, but Ma Dai just smiled at her nervously. "I can buy a whole bowl of rice with this!"

Ma Dai felt terribly sorry for her despite his own struggle to maintain his spending funds on necessities for him and his cousin.

"You can do more than buy a bowl of rice. How about you buy yourself new clothes?" He suggested quietly.

Still bewildered, the girl looked at him for a very long time, narrowing her wide brown eyes at him. "Why? I'm not one of those-"

"It's not like that!" Ma Dai quickly interrupted his face aflame at the awkwardness of her suspicion. "I just... well... I want those flowers" He muttered, not that he actually did but it was the first idea that came to his mind and he was actually surprised when she gave them to him. "Thanks"

"What's your name, sir?" She asked, dusting her dirt covered hands off on her hanfu.

"Ma Dai, pleased to meet you" The general answered, already regretting the fact he had wasted much needed money.

"Well, mister, I'm Chan-juan, thank you very much" She bowed.

Ma Dai almost laughed at the irony, her name (meaning graceful) really did not suit her.

"Bozhan!" Ma Chao called as he entered the house, kicking his muddy boots off near the door and removing his helmet. No one came to greet him.

"Oi! Ma Dai! I'm home!" He tried again as he made his way down the corridor, ruffling out his platinum hair.

"Ma Chao! Your boots are covered in mud; you should have left them outside!" Ma Dai called out in frustration as he walked in through the door, carrying a pile of newly cut fire wood. He led the way into the small tea room, dumping his armload into the corner with the rest of the logs before thumping down at the low table.

Ma Chao watched the small commotion wondering what drastic thing must have happened for his cousin to be in such a bad mood. It certainly wasn't the small mess he made; Dai wouldn't get angry about that... would he?

Worriedly, he sat down without bothering to change his clothes despite the need for a bath after the training session he had today.

"What's wrong, Dai?" He asked. It felt strange. For the first time in ages, he was asking about the other's personal feelings and he felt slightly disheartened when Ma Dai refused to talk to him. Getting up, Ma Chao walked towards his cousin, grabbing him in a bone crushing hug which finally prompted a reaction from the younger man.

"Ma Chao! I can't breathe!" He complained, pushing against his shoulder in an attempt to get him off.

"Tell me what's wrong and I'll let you go" Ma Chao wagered, earning a light kick in the shin.

"You smell terrible! Go bathe!" Ma Dai protested, continuing to struggle until the other let him go.

"Sorry, we had drills today" Ma Chao laughed.

Ma Dai stared at him.

"What?" The blond asked, confused.

"You laughed" Ma Dai replied, a sad kind of smile appearing on his lips.

Ma Chao's own smile fell almost guiltily and he grimaced slightly before turning to walk away. He heard his cousin's footsteps behind him but they soon came to a halt as he walked out into the back yard, heading for the small hot spring towards the furthest side of the house wall. The general picked up the bucket from nearby, dipping it into the pool of hot water before shedding his clothes and beginning to wash as best he could. He scrubbed away at his skin furiously, only realising when he rubbed his forearm's skin raw, angry red marks erupting over the irritated flesh and he gave up. Throwing the rag back in the bucket and slipping into the hot spring.

Mengqi almost jumped when he felt a hand kneading his shoulder, lifting his head to find his cousin leaning over him. His sleeves were rolled up and he was kneeling in the dirt, looking rather dejected.

"You don't need to" Ma Chao stated, turning his gaze back to the steam rising into the cold night air.

"You're really tense" Ma Dai commented.

"Dai... why won't you tell me what's wrong?" He insisted, but the dark haired man continued to ignore him.

"You've been working out a lot lately" The other noted.

Fed up with the act, Ma Chao turned towards him and grabbed his cousin's arm roughly, pulling him down to his level. "Why are you ignoring me?! Have I done something wrong?! Tell me for heaven's sake!" He yelled.

"You need to calm down" Ma Dai replied, eyeing the water warily, he really didn't want to get his clothes wet.

"Dai!" Ma Chao growled at him frustration but he knew he was right. He always had a short fuse and was so temperamental at times.

"Chao, let go you're hurting me" Ma Dai winced, trying to free his arm. Ma Chao let go but he reached for the scruff of his collar instead, pulling him further down and Ma Dai had to sink his fingers into the dirt to keep himself from toppling over. "Mengqi!" He whined, his tone sounding more playful now.

Ma Chao smirked confidently at him, pushing himself up onto the edge to steal a kiss, but the plan didn't go so well since Ma Dai was more focused on how close he was to the edge ending in a collision.

"Ow! What was that for?" Ma Dai complained, rubbing his chin in pain.

"You're the one who moved!" Ma Chao countered, nursing his forehead. He didn't know whether he was glad it didn't happen or a little disappointed. Did Ma Dai even know he... liked him?

"I'm going to get supper ready, don't stay out here too long or you'll catch a cold" The younger man warned as he stood up, brushing the dirt from his knees and cleaning his hands on the way in.

Ma Chao sunk lower in the pool of steam, watching silently until the man disappeared inside.

"Father... what do I do..?" He murmured, his gaze rising towards the evening sky.

Please Read & Review~!

Thank you,

X Shay

P.S. Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter, they really encouraged me to write more~!