Warnings: yaoi/slash, violence, language (Lu Bu makes an appearance…) and drunken craziness
Notes:
1. I'm finally starting to see where I want to head with this fic! The start may be a bit slow-paced, I'm having too much fun with the interactions of some characters, like Guan Suo. I just can't stop writing about him! And he's supposed to be really minor character…
2. I'm decidedly uncreative with chapter titles… Ehh….
Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Chinese history, just using the characters for my own perverse enjoyment.
Chapter 2 – Meet Your Flatmates
"With you, Zhou Yu and me, we have three people for the flat, which means we need one more. Any ideas?" Sun Ce asked, addressing his classmate and friend, Taishi Ci.
"I would suggest Gan Ning…" Taishi Ci started, but after seeing the horrified expression on Zhou Yu's face, changed his mind, "or we could ask one of the first years. Didn't you make friends with them in summer camp, Bofu?"
"Sure I did!" the Sun heir replied brightly, searching his brain for someone cool enough to invite into their flat. "How about-"
"Zhou Tai, have you signed up for a room already?" Sun Ce stopped short in his sentence when he heard his brother speak behind him. Quickly turning around he wrapped his arms around Quan's shoulders and exclaimed loudly, before Zhou Tai had a chance to reply.
"Hey, Zhongmou! I was just looking for you! We are short one person for our flat, you could join us." he smiled brightly, not even glancing in Zhou Tai's direction. As Quan opened his mouth to refuse politely, he interrupted him again.
"Cool! Now you won't have to worry about finding flatmates anymore, knowing you, you couldn't have made friends in such a short time." Sun Ce said cheerfully, looking up at Zhou Tai for the first time and staring at him pointedly while he said that. "We'll have such a blast this year! I'll make sure you come out of your shell, brother, and get to know some cool people!" he added, turning back to Quan and then dragged the embarrassed boy away to collect their keys.
As they walked away, Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci and Zhou Tai stood there in stunned silence at just what happened before them. Clearing his throat, Taishi Ci quickly excused himself from the growing awkwardness of the situation and went after the Sun brothers. Just as Zhou Yu was about to apologize on Sun Ce's behalf, the usually quite man broke the silence.
"He's very possessive of his brother." he stated.
Looking over at his companion, Zhou Yu studied the man's stoic expression. "Yes, he is. It seems Quan is the only one in the family without their trademark outgoing personality and it makes Ce believe that he needs protection."
"Hm." Zhou Tai grunted in acknowledgment and watched the brothers collecting their keys at the other side of the meeting room. "He's overprotective."
"He is." replied Zhou Yu with a sigh. "But please, don't let it deter you. Sun Ce needs to learn to let his brother go and Quan could use a friend too."
Not bothering to answer, Zhou Tai nodded to Zhou Yu in goodbye and walked away.
xxx
"Wow." Guan Suo exclaimed as he stepped into the room he'd live in for the next year. Placing his backpack on the bed, he looked around, admiring the bedroom.
"This is sweet!" he said as he opened the wardrobe and noticed how spacious it is. The room was moderately sized, comfortably fitting a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a bookshelf and a chest of drawers. He even had a comfortable-looking armchair in one corner as well as a high-backed office chair placed in front of the desk. There were plenty of shelves and storage units to place his belongings into without overcrowding the bedroom.
Too excited to start unpacking, Guan Suo instead left his room to tour his flat. They had two separate bathrooms, one with a bathtub and the other with a shower, a well-equipped kitchen with which Guan Suo fell in love with immediately and a spacious living room. Just as he flopped down on the couch he heard heavy footsteps coming from the entrance area where all rooms opened from. Kneeling up on the couch, Suo glanced out the open doorway to see who his new flatmate would be only to gasp at the sight before his eyes. The man was at least 6'10" tall with a strong built, dressed in all black instead of the green Shu uniform and carrying a sport bag over his shoulder. Even though Guan Suo never saw him personally, he heard enough of the man from his brother to recognize him from the unmistakable air of strength surrounding him.
Suo flinched as Lu Bu walked past the door of the living room without so much as a glance towards the smaller boy. Frozen in his place, Suo watched the spot Lu Bu disappeared from, not yet fully realizing that he'd be sharing a flat with the fearsome man. When a hand clamped down on his shoulder, Guan Suo cried out and jumped, not noticing the other student sneaking up on him.
"Woa, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" the man apologized quickly.
"Oh, no problem, I just… zoned out for a moment there." Suo explained sheepishly, taking in the other man's appearance. His long hair was tied into a high ponytail and he wore a long scarf on top of his uniform.
"I'm Zhao Yun." the man introduced, extending his hand to the younger man. "Second year."
"Hi, I'm Guan Suo, first year." Suo said, shaking Zhao Yun's hand with a smile. At least he'll have one normal flatmate.
"Then you must have heard about Lu Bu from your brother, Guan Ping." after the boy's nod, Yun continued, "Don't believe all he says, Lu Bu is not someone to be afraid of. As long as you don't bother him, he'll keep out of your way, trust me."
"Well… It's kinda unavoidable to run into each other with these living arrangements." Suo replied nervously, earning a chuckle from Yun.
"Don't worry, Lu Bu is not a bully; he's more of a lone wolf disobeying the rules. Although I wish Mr Liu Bei wasn't so lenient with him, he's none of our concerns. Just let the teachers handle him."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Suo smiled, grateful for the calming words of the older boy.
"Hello?" They both turned towards the entrance door of the flat at the timid voice, spotting a young boy in light colored pants and dark green jacket.
"Hey, Jiang Wei!" Guan Suo greeted, face shining with happiness. "I'm glad you made it into the Academy too! And look at you, student council member! Congrats!" Suo praised, making Jiang Wei blush at the compliment.
"You've met each other before?" Zhao Yun asked after watching the friendly exchange.
"Yes, we met in summer camp." Jiang Wei explained. "I don't believe we met there. My name is Jiang Wei. And you are…?"
"Zhao Yun." he supplied. "And no, I didn't go to the camp this year, I was busy. But to be honest, I don't really mind. It's painful making friends and then finding out that they weren't accepted in the end."
"Um, yes, that is a pain." Suo said, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, why invite all applicants to the summer camp and not just those who actually got in? Would save us a lot of trouble." he finished with a dramatic sigh.
"I believe it has to do with the lengthiness of the application procedure." Jiang Wei answered. "They wouldn't be able to finalize the selection before sending out the invitations, so they instead invite all final-round applicants. We did have one more interview a week after the camp after all."
"That's right." Zhao Yun said. "I talked with Mr Liu Bei once and he doesn't like having the camp before finalizing the results either but there's just no other way to do it."
"Well, at least you made it, Wei!" Suo beamed, slapping his friend's back gently. "I can see that this year'll be great!" he said, pumping his fist into the air.
The other two laughed at the boy's enthusiasm and after some more light chat, Zhao Yun suggested a tour of the campus. The first-years gladly agreed and Yun showed them important things like the shortest routes between classrooms and the best places in the garden for some quiet time. They've run into several other students on the way, like the fellow Shu first-years Liu Shan and Ma Dai and an enthusiastic Wei fresher, Xiahou Ba. Their group quickly increased in size and the tour ended in an outdoors get-to-know-each-other that lasted till late afternoon.
xxx
"What the hell?"
Zhang Liao looked up from the book he's been reading to see who has interrupted him in such a way. The hateful glare of the tall man dressed in black did not faze him though and he calmly returned to his studies.
Lu Bu growled at the other man ignoring him. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Studying. This is a study room after all." Liao replied seamlessly, without looking up.
"Go use another one."
"No. I like this one."
"This is mine!" Lu Bu growled and slammed his fist on the Wei student's table, making some papers flutter to the floor from the force.
Zhang Liao slowly raised his head to look into Lu Bu's eyes calmly, the display of strength not affecting him. "Is it, now?" he asked the enraged man.
Lu Bu glared at the younger man for a long moment, but after failing to intimidate him he straightened up with a growl and stalked over to the lone window of the study room. "Do as you wish." he said and opened the window before hopping onto the windowsill and getting comfortable with his back leaning against the frame and letting one leg hang outside. He fished out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket and without glancing at the other occupant of the room, he lit one.
After Zhang Liao gathered his fallen papers, they fell into silence and stayed like that for a few minutes, both men ignoring the other. Lu Bu gazed outside the window looking over the school's courtyard. It was on the fifth floor of the building, providing a good view yet being high enough not to be spotted easily from the ground.
Glancing at Liao from the corner of his eyes, Lu Bu contemplated the other man. He was surprised that there'd be someone studying so diligently even before classes started. Usually his threatening appearance was enough to drive anyone out from his room, but this one was surprisingly stubborn. Taking a long drag from his cigarette, Lu Bu wondered why he hadn't just kicked the man out as he usually did. He had to admit, it's been a while since he met such open defiance and it intrigued him. And it wouldn't do to get into trouble with Liu Bei on the very first day…
Zhang Liao glanced up from his book and their eyes met for a moment before the Wei student broke the contact and continued scribbling on his papers. Lu Bu however narrowed his eyes as he studied the other man's appearance. His uniform was worn properly with all the buttons done up, his shoulder-length hair was tied into a loose ponytail and his face was shaved perfectly apart from his beard and thin moustache. Noticing the taller man staring at him, Zhang Liao looked up with a scowl.
"What are you looking at?"
Ignoring him, Lu Bu continued to stare, that facial hair seemed awfully familiar and he could recall that someone had frowned at him in the very same way before… The first-year was about to comment on his behavior again when Lu Bu finally spoke.
"Zhang Liao, is it?" he remembered meeting the young boy a few months ago. He had attended some extracurricular activities in the academy and had been wandering the halls when Lu Bu spotted him. Their meeting was brief and Lu Bu's arrogance was met with a frown and cold dismissal.
"Yes. Have we met before?" Liao asked in suspicion, not recalling seeing the man before.
"Last year. You had some classes here." Lu Bu answered. Zhang Liao knitted his eyebrows at that and searched his memories for a clue about the tall man.
"You picked on me in the hallways." he said as he came upon that particular memory. "Haven't changed much, I see." Lu Bu just glared at Liao in answer. "But I don't seem to recall your name…"
Now that Lu Bu though about it, it must seem creepy to the other that he remembered his name even though they hadn't introduced themselves when they met. However, the defiant nature of the boy had interested him even then and he'd quickly found out his name from his classmates. But when his extra classes finished and Liao stopped going to the Academy, Lu Bu had quickly forgotten about him.
"Lu Bu." he said as he lit a new cigarette.
"I haven't seen you at the dormitory meeting."
Lu Bu looked at Liao in confusion, for once he did go to the dorm meeting. "Aren't you in Wei?" he asked, looking pointedly at the boy's purple uniform.
"Aren't you as well?" Liao frowned.
"No, I'm in Shu."
"You had a purple uniform when we met."
Now it was Lu Bu's turn to frown, it was very rare he wore his school uniform, no matter how many detentions the teachers gave him for it. Although there was a time when Cao Cao managed to force him into it and being the stubborn kid he was, Lu Bu reacted by picking a fight with anyone he'd run into in the corridors. Smirking at the memory, he turned to Liao, now remembering why he picked on him so many months ago.
"I used to be in Wei."
The man's blank expression clearly showed that he expected an explanation and being in a good mood, Lu Bu decided to humor him.
"Cao Cao had enough of me and kicked me out. But Liu Bei's such a soft-hearted fool, he took me in instead."
"Aren't you at least a bit fazed about being kicked out?" Liao frowned, he couldn't understand how the older boy could be so unaffected.
Lu Bu laughed at the question and took a drag of cigarette before answering. "No. I don't give a shit." he said, turning to gaze out the window.
"You are a fool."
The direct insult caught Bu by surprise and he turned back to glare at the younger man. However, his glare was returned by Liao with equal measure.
"So you plan on leeching off on other people's kindness through your whole life? I hear you're quite the ungrateful son." he mocked with a smirk.
"To hell with you!" Lu Bu growled, the mention of his adoptive father was enough to enrage him. He tossed the butt of his cigarette out the window and hopped off the windowsill, advancing on the seated man with determination. Grabbing the front of his uniform, Lu Bu pulled the other student from his chair and slammed him against the wall.
"Mind you words, bitch." he snarled, holding Liao up against the wall, his legs dangling in the air a good foot off the ground. He leaned into Liao's face, the other man's impassive expression further angering him.
They stared at each other for a long moment before Zhang Liao spoke slowly. "You smell." he said as he inhaled the scent of the cigarettes Lu Bu had smoked, still not bothering to push the larger man off him.
Insulted, Lu Bu threw the younger man across the room with a roar, grinning in satisfaction as he heard the loud crash of some furniture breaking under the Wei student. Not appeased so easily, Lu Bu stalked after him slowly as Liao gathered himself up from the floor. When he made a grab for the boy's neck, however, Liao caught his wrist and directed a hard kick to Lu Bu's shins followed by a punch to the gut. Surprised at the fight in him, Bu stayed unmoving, leaning over Zhang Liao's shoulder with his right wrist in a death grip and Liao's fist against his stomach.
Slowly, a grin made its way to his lips and he started to chuckle quietly in Liao's ears. With his free hand he grabbed the back of the boy's neck before Liao could react and pulled him off, trying to break his other hand free. Liao, however, put up quite a fight and they struggled against each other, Lu Bu greatly amused that he found someone who could prove to be a challenge.
However, even Zhang Liao's strength wasn't enough to defeat the fierce man and Lu Bu slowly overpowered him and slammed him onto the desk he's been studying at. Beaten, Liao still glared up at the man hatefully and was prepared to break his hold on him when an opening presented itself.
"Know your place." Bu rumbled as he tightened his grip on Liao's throat. Feeling his air being cut off, Liao made a desperate attempt to kick Lu Bu off but with his awkward angle his tries went ignored by the larger man. Enjoying the show, Lu Bu smirked in delight at the struggling man.
"Did you hear that?" Lu Bu snapped his head up at the sound of footsteps outside the room. Trying to make use of the situation, Liao pushed up against Bu's hold only to be slammed back down.
"Mr Cao Cao?...No, we heard a commotion…"
Scowling, Lu Bu released the other man and hurried over to the window. Hopping up onto the windowsill, he stopped and glanced back at the man sitting on the desk.
"I'll see you around, bitch." he smirked and jumped out the window just as Cao Cao slammed the door open. Ignoring the questions directed to him, Zhang Liao stared at the open window, the skin on his throat reddening to reveal a large hand mark.
xxx
The first-years quickly discovered the small pub near the school campus and dragging the two second-years with them, decided to end the evening getting wasted. Or at least Xiahou Ba and Guan Suo did.
"Hi there, how did you get with us?" Guan Ping asked as he sat down beside his brother and noticed a boy dressed in the Wei uniform on Suo's other side. "No offense, but why aren't you partying with the Wei people?" He only joined the group a few minutes ago, so he haven't seen the Wei fresher yet.
"Don't even mention it!" Xiahou Ba cried. "They're horrible! How did I end up with such a bunch of freaks?" he complained.
"Haha, I guess that's what you get for choosing Wei." Guan Ping mocked. It was well known that both Shu and Wu regarded Wei as their rival.
"Guan Ping, that's not nice." Zhao Yun scolded with a smile. "Shu Dorm is known for its kindness towards people from other dorms."
"That doesn't change that all students in Wei are creepy." Suo butted in. "Almost all students." he added after Ba's indignant whine.
"Have you met them already?" Ma Dai asked with interest. "My brother, Chao doesn't like them either but I can't imagine what could be so bad about them."
With a dramatic sigh, Xiahou Ba started to explain. "First, there are the girls. Zhen Ji and Wang Yuanji are both such ice queens! They're almost as scary as that fellow, Deng Ai! What happened to feminine gentleness?"
"I suppose they don't teach that in Wei." Suo laughed, holding his beer in hand.
"Exactly!" Ba agreed. "Or any kindness at all! Have you met Cao Pi? All he cares about is being the best at everything, not a hint of emotion in that man."
"At least he makes a good match with Zhen Ji." Jiang Wei added.
"They're going out?" Zhao Yun asked in surprise after almost chocking on his drink. "That was fast!"
"Yeah, they met in summer camp." said Ma Dai. "And became the star couple immediately."
Zhao Yun hummed in realization, as he not attended the camp this year, he forgot some people met before the start of school.
"The Ice King and Queen, how fitting." Ba muttered sourly. "The only kind one in the girls' flat seems to be that first year, Zhang He. When I accidently wandered in there, Zhen Ji and Wang Yuanji almost murdered me with their glares, only Zhang He was helpful. Although that didn't help ease his creepiness…"
"Zhang He? Who's that?" asked Guan Ping before taking a gulp from his beer.
"The gay guy." supplied his brother.
"That's not fair." Liu Shan added timidly. "He's just a bit… extravagant."
"Extravagance is something you'll get a lot of here." Zhao Yun laughed. "It's part of the package of being one of the most gifted students of China I suppose." he joked.
"And how are your flatmates? Have you met them already?" Ma Dai asked and took a swig of his beer.
"Well… This guy, Sima Zhao is kinda okay…" Ba answered, gulping down some of his beer. "But I wouldn't spend a minute with his friend, Zhuge Dan! That guy must have a huge stick up his ass and acts even more arrogant than Cao Pi! The other two seemed okay, Xu Huang and Xu Zhu I think. Though Xu Zhu seems to be the, erm… extravagant type."
"Like Zhang He?" asked Liu Shan, sipping his apple juice slowly.
"No, not at all." laughed Ba. "This guy's almost as wide as he's tall! And all he seems to think about is eating! I wonder how he got in at all!"
"I know the last two." said Zhao Yun. "They're second-years, Xu Huang is the captain of the local kendo team I think. And Xu Zhu is harmless – he just seems fierce, but once you get used to him, he's actually a nice guy."
"Who's obsessed with Cao Cao…" muttered Guan Ping, earning a laugh from the other second-year in the group.
"Isn't Sima Zhao the little brother of Sima Shi?" asked Jiang Wei, after their laughter died down.
"I think he is." Xiahou Ba replied with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I met Sima Shi at the student council meeting." Wei said. "I was surprised that Wei has two representatives when all the other dorms only have one."
"That's because of the Jin scholarship." Zhao Yun helped out. At the blank look of the first-years (minus Xiahou Ba), he decided to elaborate. "Wei has this weird scholarship awarded based on God-knows-what. That's why they have slightly more members than the other dorms. Jin people even have a completely different uniform and can send their own representative to the student council. Although I believe he has less authority than the Wei representative… Last year, the Jin council member wasn't very active so I don't know what he could have done."
"Were you a council member last year?" Jiang Wei asked with interest as he played with his glass.
"Yeah, I was. But we didn't have anyone like Cao Pi or Sima Shi then. I doubt it'll be so peaceful there this year…"
"Is this Sima guy so bad?" Ma Dai asked with his jug in his hand.
Guan Ping and Zhao Yun looked at each other before Ping decided to answer.
"Remember when we talked about Cao Pi? Well, from the sounds of it, Sima Shi is just like him. Cunning and heartless, people think he's planning with his cousin, Sima Yi, to make a separate dormitory for Jin scholarship holders. Or maybe just take over Wei's."
"Take over?" Xiahou Ba exclaimed in worry.
"Well, that's what they rumor." Ping answered nonchalantly. As the color drained from Ba's face, the people at the table laughed out and Suo patted his friend on the back.
"Don't worry, the same rumors have been going around even since I started my first year." Zhao Yun laughed. "I suppose it's just that Sima Yi looks like he's plotting something all the time…"
"He's the Chemistry teacher, right?" Guan Suo asked and took a gulp of his new jug of beer, though he didn't remember when they ordered a new round.
"Oh no, an evil Chemistry teacher?" Xiahou Ba asked, mortified. "We're doomed."
They all laughed out at that, the effect of the alcohol slowly setting in. "Uncle Fei hates him as well, he always uses him as the villain when he feels like storytelling." said Liu Shan.
"Uncle Zhang Fei?" asked Guan Suo. "Yeah, he told me those stories as well, although I somehow doubt Sima Yi is capable of summoning laser beams with a feather fan!" he said, earning another round of laughs.
"Speaking of Uncle Fei, how come Xing Cai didn't come?" Guan Ping asked from Shan.
Blushing at the mention of her, Liu Shan muttered with his eyes cast down. "Erm, I think she didn't feel like going out… I think she's not the partying type…"
"Aw, she doesn't know what she's missing." laughed Guan Suo.
And indeed, she missed out on a good night out with friends and although a lot of alcohol was consumed, an equal amount of stories were shared and the Shu first-years (plus Xiahou Ba) formed some of their first lasting friendships that night.
xxx
The very same night, in a bar much farther from the reach of the regular students, the teachers of Guanzhong Academy were celebrating the start of the new school year in a similar fashion.
"Cao Cao! Liu Bei!" Sun Jian called out to his fellow dorm leaders. "Look at the camera!" he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around the two men and pulled them close. Just as Liu Bei glanced towards where the Wu leader was looking, a camera flashed and he was blinded for a few seconds.
"I hope this doesn't end up on Facebook…" Bei muttered, trying to blink away the spots in his eyes.
Chuckling, Cao Cao helped the half-blind man to one of the couches at the back of the bar, Sun Jian having long disappeared in the crowd. "Are you afraid of what your nephews would think?" he asked once they sat down.
"I'm just afraid that they wouldn't let me live it down, especially Guan Yu's sons. I'm glad Liu Shan doesn't seem to follow their example." Liu Bei said with a small laugh, which Cao Cao refused to call a giggle.
"Liu Shan? Is he your son?" Cao Cao asked. He rarely talked with Liu Bei as they had some, well… idealistic differences. He knew of Guan Yu's sons, having taught one of them himself but didn't know much more of Liu Bei's family.
"Oh God, no!" Bei protested. "I'm not fit to raise kids." he said, eying the drink in his hand. "I think." he added as he lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
"So, is he another nephew?" the Wei leader pressed, finding it strangely amusing to converse with a drunken Liu Bei.
"Yeah, he's my older brother's son. My blood brother I mean. I do have some proper siblings, not just my sworn brothers." he said, almost accusingly as he looked up at Cao Cao.
"I imagined you would have." the older man replied with a chuckle. Thinking about it, he haven't seen any of Liu Bei's sworn brothers yet, which meant that the Shu leader had come alone. Otherwise, the brothers would have already swarmed around Liu Bei like mother hens protecting their chicks.
"Maybe I should get another one…" he heard the slurred speech of the younger man, whose glass was suddenly empty.
"Probably you shouldn't." Cao Cao tried, seeing as his companion was wasted enough. But he was ignored and Liu Bei made a move to stand up. Cao had half a mind to stop him but he decided that he didn't care if the other man ended up passed out on someone's bathroom floor, as long as it wasn't his bathroom floor.
However, Liu Bei's wobbly feet refused to carry him anywhere and with a yelp, he fell back onto the couch, hitting something hard in the process.
"Liu Bei…"
Looking up, the young man noticed that he ended up sprawled in Cao Cao's lap and the other man didn't seem too happy about it. Finding his indignant expression funny, Liu Bei chuckled (giggled) again and snuggled into the older man's chest, wrapping his arms around his waist.
"Maybe you should go home…" Cao Cao tried persuading the drunken man, clearly uncomfortable in the intimate position they ended up in.
"Maybe…" he answered with another of those giggles that frayed Cao Cao's nerves. With a sigh, he wondered if he should call Guan Yu. Though maybe not, the man would surely blame him for his brother's predicament.
"Cousin-" Xiahou Dun's eye widened at the sight before him: his cousin, seated in a shadowed area of the bar, was cuddling with his hated rival, Liu Bei. "I'm sorry for intruding on you." He said and fled quickly, not letting his hurt show on his face.
"Dun, wait!" Cao Cao called out but was too late as Xiahou Dun was already lost in the crowd. "Damn…" he muttered, trying his hardest to ignore the giggling man in his lap. "This night keeps getting worse and worse…"
xxx
Notes:
1. I know Xiahou Ba is in Jin but it just felt better to put him in Wei… His DLC costume is a fencing outfit anyway, so just imagine him in Zhang He's uniform :P
2. I changed some of the family relations as you might have noticed, for convenience. I can't help that Sima Yi doesn't look a day older than Shi, so making him Shi's father would be a bit…. strange. Same with Liu Bei.
3. Suggestions for pairings and/or plot elements are still welcome!