Piece Three: These little things

Ma Dai sighed heavily, drawing his knees up to his chest as he thought over the past few days. His cousin was utterly depressed and he wasn't able to do anything about it. Really? What was he even good for? All he ever did was wash the clothes, cook, clean, cook some more and then attend to a few errands here and there. Today was Ma Chao's birthday. It just had to be the time of the month when money was tight.

"Ma... Dai..."

The young general didn't have to look up to know that Wei Yan was hovering around him. He wanted to be left alone but somehow didn't have the heart to tell the older man to go away. He just couldn't, so putting on his best smile he turned towards him.

"What's up, Wei Yan?" He asked.

Wei Yan walked in front of him, flopping down ungracefully onto the cold earth and balancing his weapon on his crossed legs before leaning back onto his hands. The posture was casual and it was difficult to tell whether the barbaric officer had detected anything.

"You... sad...?" He countered in his gruff manner of speaking but he spoke quietly, as though he intended it to be gentle.

Ma Dai's smile turned somewhat sad. He couldn't believe that Wei Yan out of all people was trying to comfort him. Was he really that terrible looking? Must have been.

"I'm not sad, just cold" He lied and saw his friend's mouth turn downwards in what he presumed was a frown or perhaps a scowl. He couldn't quite tell with that mask on but somehow he picked up determination in those dull hazel eyes as Wei Yan shifted from his seemingly comfortable seat, disappearing without another word and returning what could have been several minutes later with firewood.

Ma Dai watched as the older man arranged the logs into a small camp fire that sprung forward from small sparks and began to roar hungrily in upwards flickers. The heat reached him where he sat on a crate but he moved forward anyway, resting his back against it as he watched the flames lap away at the wood. It was quiet aside from the occasional fizz and splutter of the fire, crackling merrily against the grey morning atmosphere.

Wei Yan made a small sound of what could have been accomplishment and he sat himself beside Ma Dai, pushing a container in his laps.

"What's this?" The artisan questioned, opening it hesitantly as though he was expecting to find someone's fingers in there but it was an ordinary food container that held a good amount of sticky buns in there. The fresh smell of pastry made his stomach growl in hunger, as though to emphasise how the rice he had shovelled down his throat for breakfast was not enough.

Wei Yan laughed, a strange, short, sound that seemed to vibrate from his chest and Ma Dai couldn't help but stare at him in both embarrassment and shock. He had never heard the man laugh, in fact, Wei Yan was almost always angry or wild looking but it was somehow pleasant to know that he had prompted such a reaction albeit at the price of his own awkwardness.

Nervously, he took one, biting into it and allowing the warmth to settle in the bottom of his stomach without so much as attempting to chew.

"Mm, these are good... really good" He commented appreciatively as he continued to devour the rest of the treats until he noted Wei Yan staring at him with an unreadable sort of expression. Was there a flicker of sadness in those dull eyes? He might have just imagined it. "You hungry?" He asked, offering the container back but Wei Yan shook his head, mustering a smile of some description.

"Dai!" A cheerful sounding girl called out, the voice followed by running footsteps.

Ma Dai stood up quickly, thinking that there was something wrong but sighed heavily when his gaze fell upon Bao Sanniang. Wei Yan had stood up too, perhaps having thought the same thing.

"You're here too?" She acknowledged Wei Yan with a look that Ma Dai recognised as 'I don't know your name but I know you exist'. "Great!" Quick recovery. "You know how it's like Ma Chao's birthday today? Well, Lord Liu Bei said we should totally have a feast this evening since we're not on campaign or anything" She dove right into the explanation without so much as a pause for breath and Ma Dai just stood there trying to process the words that kept flowing out of her mouth.

Wei Yan looked equally confused and he scratched the back of his head in a manner that indicated he was stressed out.

"So yeah, you should totally help out with the organisation or something- Guan Suo~!" And she was off without so much as a 'goodbye', running after the poor boy.

"Lord Liu Bei is allowing us to throw a banquet for Ma Chao?" He asked, to no one in particular although he directed his gaze towards his friend who just shrugged and then paused before giving a subtle nod.

And that was how Ma Dai found himself peering into the kitchens as Yue Ying added the finishing touches to some sweets that looked like peaches. A symbol of longevity and good health. Xing Cai, who was standing by doing nothing in particular, shot him a glare that told him to get out and he backed out accidentally bumping into Guan Suo.

The boy smiled at him and Ma Dai couldn't help but smile back. Guan Suo was the type of person who had an air of quiet understanding that Ma Dai had taken an automatic liking to him although they hardly spent any time together.

"Need some help with those?" He offered, referring to the folded red drapes that Suo was balancing.

"Would you please?" Guan Suo nodded appreciatively as Ma Dai took half the pile, walking beside him as they made their way towards the hall where they would hold the party. It was actually the throne room but Shu's funding wasn't exactly the best so it was an ideal place for them to all gather.

The best of the wine had been placed upon the tables, much to Zhang Fei's chagrin. All manners of festive food had also been prepared and some dancers were practicing some move that looked the same to Ma Dai as all the rest of their dances.

"It's like a real celebration, isn't it?" Guan Suo remarked, setting down his load to one corner where some servants were preparing to put them up. Ma Dai mimicked his action before agreeing.

"Where is Mengqi anyway?" He inquired, shooting the son of Guan Yu a questioning glance when he chuckled.

"Well... Master Zhao Yun took him away on some hoax report of elephant sighting" The flower general admitted.

Ma Dai rolled his eyes at the illogical mission, completely believing that Ma Chao had fallen for it. His cousin wasn't the brightest of people despite being extremely fired up about serving his lord. Zhao Yun would have probably felt extremely guilty.

Zhao Yun felt terrible. Guilty. He was a horrible friend, a horrible, horrible friend. How had he even agreed to do this? Sure, Ma Chao had been eager to find those 'elephants' but when wasn't he eager to be up and riding?

"Zilong!" Ma Chao called, waving him over.

Zhao Yun mustered a nervous smile before making his horse pick up pace so that he could reach his friend, he halted the dark mare just at the top of the hill, shading his eyes from the bright rays of the sun as it set in the horizon.

"Don't you think it's beautiful?" Chao breathed.

"Yes" Zhao Yun agreed, lowering his hand so that he could catch the final rays before they would disappear for some hours and the night would take over. A gentle breeze seemed to have filtered through the forest below and sifted through his dark hair, a familiar almost nostalgic feeling settling in. He sighed, trying to ignore his guilty conscience as it gnawed on him how much Ma Chao trusted him.

It was nice... having someone who put so much faith in you without question and even after endless hours of searching for the giant mammals, Ma Chao had never once thought to question his false determination.

"Zilong" Ma Chao began and Zhao Yun turned, his stormy grey eyes seeking out Ma Chao's warm brown ones. There seemed to be some hesitance in them, uncertain emotions that weren't sad but fearful.

"Is there something wrong, Mengqi?" Zhao Yun asked in concern. "Do you wish to return?"

Ma Chao shrugged. It was nice being with Zhao Yun. The man genuinely cared for him and he always listened when Ma Chao had something to say even if he was just ranting about how much he hated Cao Cao. He wanted to say 'thank you', even though their hunt for those elephants was fruitless, he really needed to get away from home and the depressing memory of losing his father and the rest of his clan.

"Mengqi?" Had he been silent for that long?

"No, it's nothing, let's head back" He replied, turning his favoured white horse towards the direction where they came from. Even though he was not facing him, he felt Zhao Yun's concerned gaze on him but soon there was a black mare riding alongside him with his friend smiling in an uncharacteristically relaxed manner.

"You're right, it will get dark soon, Lord Liu Bei would be concerned"

Ma Chao almost sighed at Zhao Yun's apparent obsession with their lord. He had brought it up once, how Zhao Yun could not last an entire conversation without bringing the man up and Zhao Yun's reaction had been to splutter helplessly then turn a lovely shade of rose red, looking completely baffled and rather helpless.

Some people looked up when they heard rushed footsteps out in the hallway before Guan Yinping appeared, out of breath and carrying her unnecessarily large dual headed mace.

"Ma Chao and Zhao Yun are back!" She announced, sending people scurrying this way and that hurriedly and she joined in the rush, packing away things that weren't needed to help the servants. The candles were concealed beneath coloured cups, dimming the room like lanterns that were often seen during celebrations.

"Do we have to report back now?" They heard Ma Chao ask, followed by Zhao Yun's assistance.

Zhao Yun was the first in, followed by a frowning Ma Chao whose expression rapidly changed into surprised as a wall of noise suddenly erupted. A mixture of 'congratulations' and 'happy birthday' as well as other forms of greetings to the horse general, who seemed still frozen in shock. He sought out Zhao Yun who smiled at him apologetically.

"Happy birthday, Mengqi. I'm sorry for lying to you" The tiger general stated and it slowly dawned on Ma Chao what was going on. Zhao Yun almost yelped when he was suddenly tackled by his long time friend, finding himself in a headlock with a fired up Ma Chao mussing up his hair and the surrounding officers laughing.

"You made me chase the sun!" Ma Chao exclaimed, laughing as Zhao Yun continued to attempt escaping his grasp but he too was laughing, however, he stopped when he caught sight of his cousin smiling at him fondly.

"Dai! Was this your idea?" He asked, as he released his friend, moving towards his cousin who handed him a cup of wine.

Ma Dai shook his head. "Not really. We all wanted to do something for you together" He confessed, holding up his cup in a manner of toasting to his good health. Ma Chao held up his cup as well, several other generals joining in all with smiles on their face whilst others who weren't old enough to drink or simply didn't want to just cheered on.

But by the end of the night it was no surprise that they were all too wasted to go home and Liu Bei, amongst the other few who weren't beyond rational thinking took it upon themselves to get them settled down somewhere for the night.

"Zilong~" Ma Chao droned as Zhao Yun half hauled him through the badly lit corridor and into a room that was already occupied by Guan Ping who looked pale and ready to throw up and Guan Suo who was patting his back and offering him some water. No doubt the older men had encouraged him to drink; Guan Ping didn't look like he could hold his alcohol well at all.

"I love you man" The drunk man continued expressing his mindless affection for the older general and Zhao Yun merely replied with occasional hums of understanding.

"Lousy drunk?" Guan Suo asked.

"Aye" Zhao Yun answered, dumping Ma Chao in the nearest futon that Guan Suo had considerately laid out for him. "Thanks" He nodded his gratitude towards the younger man, all the while fighting Ma Chao's hugs away. He was used to his friend's drunken disaster but at least he slept quickly.

"No problem. You don't drink?" Guan Suo questioned out of curiosity.

Zhao Yun shook his head. "I tried it once, it was awful. Ended up like poor Guan Ping over there" He admitted, earning a groan from the sickly young man. Guan Suo chuckled, rubbing his brother's back comfortingly.

They heard stumbling and a loud crash accompanied by a growl out in the corridor and Guan Suo raised a brow at his companion. Zhao Yun did the least dignified thing Suo had ever seen him do. He face palmed just as Ma Dai came in, or rather just as Wei Yan came in with Ma Dai thrown over his shoulder.

"A rowdy drunk?" He asked.

"A soppy drunk" Zhao Yun corrected.

In all honesty, the Ma cousins were probably the worst drunk pair he had ever come across and Wei Yan shared the same silent opinion but Guan Suo wasn't too far behind in finding out despite not having been in the army for as long as them.

Wei Yan dumped Ma Dai onto the floor before rolling out a futon for him. Ma Dai howled in mock pain, which had Guan Suo crawling towards him in concern.

"Are you alright, Lord Ma Dai?" He gasped when he saw tears rolling down the grown man's face.

"I'm worthless. No one wants me" Ma Dai sounded more like he was making a poor attempt at composing a song than actually crying and Guan Suo backed up as the artist was hauled away yet again by Wei Yan, who seemed to display no particular pity upon Ma Dai's tears.

It took some time. A long time, for the two drunks to quiet down and eventually Ma Chao's loud snoring filled the room. Ma Dai had fallen asleep too it seemed and Zhao Yun had dozed off sitting with his back against the wall, a habit he probably picked up on guard duty, beside Ma Chao's futon.

"Wei Yan" Ma Dai muttered, turning onto his side and finding Wei Yan's mask next to him. He sat up uncertainly, finding that the man had practically disappeared beneath the sheets of his sleeping mat, his face well hidden much to Ma Dai's disappointment.

His head felt fuzzy as he straightened himself, glancing around to find that even Guan Ping had managed to sleep and beside him was Guan Suo who probably hadn't found the energy to set up a bed for himself or simply missed sharing a bed with his big brother.

Cute.

Wei Yan shifted around beneath his blanket, his face still half buried in the pillow but Ma Dai knew he was awake.

"Did I tire you out? Sorry" Ma Dai apologised, keeping his voice in a low whisper.

A hand crawled out from below the sheets, seizing the mask and disappearing before Wei Yan finally reappeared looking almost the same as he always did. Ma Dai couldn't help but laugh as he slowly realised that Wei Yan's hair wasn't as agreeable as it looked in the day time. It looked flat and stuck out at all manner of random angles, making it difficult to determine what direction it naturally grew in.

Wei Yan yawned, stretching his spine until he heard a disturbingly loud crack then settled on scratching the back of his head. Ma Dai wasn't sure what Wei Yan's morning mood was like, but he looked slower than usual and practically half asleep even though Ma Dai was the one with the headache.

"Breakfast?" Ma Dai offered, perhaps out of habit although he was certain that it was because he didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts after last night.

Please Read & Review~!

Thank you,

X Shay

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