Title: Belling the Cat
Author:
teru_bozu_ebi
Website:
http://teru-bozu-ebi.livejournal.com/
Pairings: Goujun/Kenren (Tenpou/Kenren/Goujun implied)
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Tenpou's gone, Kenren's climbing the walls, and Goujun
tests a theory.
Warnings: Kenren sans nicotine. Violence & blood play. Naughty
army boys.
Series: Part 8 of the Dream of the Butterfly series.
Disclaimer: Hers, not mine. Kenren the catnip is mine. Goujun's family
structure comes courtesy of Wu Cheng'en.
(Oh yes; I have finally
obtained an English copy of Journey to the West. Three volumes and over
15,000 pages long, and they still paraphrase whole sections of it.)
Belling the Cat
The hall boy was staring at him like he had just sprouted horns or
something. It wasn't like the kid hadn't ever seen him before; hell, he'd most
likely seen parts of him Kenren would rather not think about. Never saw him in
broad daylight before today, he'd give him that. After they stared at each
other for almost a full minute the kid finally stepped to the side and let him
through the door. About fucking time. Fortunately, staring down a page boy wasn't
all that hard.
"Is his majesty expecting you, sir?"
None too bright, though. If he had to ask whether the guy was in or not,
the odds were he wasn't expected. Too bad the kid already seemed to be at the
pinnacle of his viable career options. Maybe if he studied really hard he could
make it all the way to Royal Bath Towel Holder some day; the tips were better.
So was the view. Good to have goals. He briefly considered thinking 'good
help is so hard to find' but it sounded too much like the dragon when he
thought it.
Kenren had to admit he was in a pretty shitty mood today. The hall boy wasn't
helping matters, either.
"Yeah, sure he is."
"This way please, sir."
What a dolt. It amazed him sometimes just how easy it was for him to waltz
right into Goujun's house. They had security up the wazoo around here; a person
had to get past two door guards and the hall boy simply to step foot in the
place. But leer just a bit at the morons, wiggle a suggestive eyebrow, and they
all turned red as a beet and stepped to the side, and in he went. Hell, he
could see why the grand majority of political assassinations in Tenkai seemed
to come in through the bedroom door; everybody else would be so busy blushing
and averting their eyes that they'd never even notice the sword handle sticking
out of the negligee. Or maybe they just didn't friggin' care if it was there,
who could say. He doubted the household staff gave a rat's ass who they worked
for, as long as there was somebody around to sign their paychecks at the end of
the month.
They stopped in front of the library. After the kid poked his nose in the
door he came right back out again, so obviously Dragon Boy wasn't locked inside
with the books. Kenren pretended to study the pretty Confucius-quoting scroll
hanging at the end of the hall while the page asked a passing maid about Goujun's
current whereabouts. She didn't seem too sure of where he was, either, so maybe
he wasn't home after all. They corralled yet another servant into the
conversation. He kept pretending to read. Great, now while he waited for them
to get their collective act together, he'd have plenty of time to think this
whole thing through. Bad idea; these sorts of things never went well when he
had time to actually stop and think about them. Merciful Bitch, but he needed a
smoke. Something to occupy his hands and his thoughts while they took their
sweet time in kibitzing. He patted his pockets, searching for the pack. An "ahem"
from one of the henhouse three behind him politely reminded him for the
umpteenth time in his life about the in-house smoking ban. Yeah, well, fuck you
too. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and went back to looking at the
scroll. Just the thought of a lack of nicotine was beginning to make him go
jittery. He really needed to start bringing chewing gum along.
An innocent steward passing through became the next victim to be sucked
into the servant vortex. Kenren sighed. Pretty, pretty scroll… this was fucking
crazy. No, amend that; he was fucking crazy. He hadn't shown up alone
since… well, since that time ages ago, when Tenpou had forced him to do it. He
wasn't at all sure how Goujun would react to his being there now. Sure, he and
the dragon were on halfway decent terms and all, considering. But beyond the
sheets they could hardly be called pals or anything. He didn't think you
could call a dragon king a 'fuck-buddy,' so he wasn't quite sure what to call
him. Intercourse acquaintance? Copulation companion? There was probably some
flowery euphemism that Goujun would use, like they were 'pillow mates' or
something. Well, OK; if that was the case, he was looking for some pillow
mating, then. Tenpou still wasn't back from that asinine diplomatic mission he'd
been sent on, and Kenren had already fucked every chick in eyeglasses within a
50-mile radius. Twice over, in fact. He was running out of remotely attractive
options for his extra-curricular activities, and he was pretty damn sure that
getting that cute new boots noncom to wear a lab coat just so he could rip it
off and ravish the guy would be a bit too fucking obvious for even the morons
around here not to notice. Nope, since he and Tenpou were still and forever
officially not an item, he couldn't be quite that blatant about things.
Even if new boots could easily be convinced to do it; the guy had already given
him the eye on more than one occasion. Strangely enough, Kenren didn't feel
right about just doing him without the lab coat part. It felt like,
well… like he was cheating. Or something.
Official or not, it was a fucking relationship he and Tenpou had, end of
story. It had sort of snuck up on the two of them, not something exactly
planned, but it was a full-blown "no use in denying it now that you're in
the third trimester" kind of a relationship. Which neither of them could
even admit to, so it was all kind of frustrating. Yeah, yeah, he realized the
two of them would be unceremoniously booted if they ever 'fessed up, but it
still bugged him to no end that it had to be kept a secret, and then it bugged
him that it bugged him so much. He must be getting old or soft in the head or
something, because he was genuinely enjoying dragging the old ball and chain
around, and he kind of wanted to share the love. Only he couldn't. Not even
with the dragon, really. Not the best of ideas to rub the royal ex's snout into
the unmentionables, at least not any more than they were already doing. It wasn't
something he was really interested in, anyway. It gave him rather disturbing
images of the two of them gossiping about life and love over tea and cookies.
Still, he'd been enjoying it, this relationship thing. Up until now, that
is. Now it royally sucked, because he had to pretend nothing was wrong when
Darling Husband was gone on a fucking diplomatic mission for weeks on end. No
amount of tail seemed to help a hill of beans to make it all better, either.
All it did was remind him that it wasn't the right bit of tail, and it
made him itch for that right bit all that much more. Man, when Tenpou got back,
the little fucker was gonna be walking around with a serious limp for at least
a week. You want sitting? Add another week on top of that. The man was
definitely gonna pay, and pay heavily, for making his life a misery by not
being here. The only consolation Kenren had at this point was that Tenpou had
to be just as miserable as he was. They were making him wear his uniform for
the entire fucking trip.
The minions must have finally located Godzilla, because he had suddenly
been ditched to the maids and the two girls were now leading him down the hall
towards the kitchens. Now that he thought about it, for better or worse it was
just plain weird how much having a relationship with Tenpou had changed him.
Sex had always been about the novelty; someone or something new around every
corner, never hanging around for more than a few months before he got bored
with it and moved on. As long as he ignored that little snafu with his old C.O.
it had worked, and worked well in his life. But now that he had this
relationship thing going, sex was all about trying to get Tenpou to make that
little sound in the back of his throat, the one that meant you got him past the
point of thinking entirely. That thin, high moan that meant his entire fucking
universe had been narrowed down to just you, and what you were doing to him. It
was all about waking up with the man's arms still wrapped tightly around you,
and him still wanting you to be there. It gave Kenren the warm and fuzzies just
thinking about it and holy fucking crap but what a sap he had become, thinking
that kind of shit. This was exactly the problem he had with relationships, why
he had avoided them like the plague. Tenpou had turned him into a Flowers and
Moonbeams mush brain, and instead of running in fear, he was grinning like a
fucking idiot over it all. He couldn't believe just how much being with Tenpou
had ruined his sex life. His entire existence had been narrowed down to only
two people, not counting himself, and he actually didn't mind; how
fucking crazy was that? What was most horrifying about the whole thing was that
Tenpou had never even asked him to do it. In fact, the man was adamant that
Kenren kept the Flavor of the Day going, to help keep their reputations safe.
Nope; somehow, it just happened. As time went on, he became less and less
interested in the anonymous r&r. It made for a
real challenge in the pants department when the goddamned asshole left for
fucking weeks on end. A man had Certain Needs, after all. Nothing like an itch
you couldn't scratch. That was why he was here; he was kind of hoping that itch
was at a spot that the dragon could reach, because no one else had been able to
even touch it.
They walked past the kitchens and out across a courtyard. There were
feathers everywhere, so it looked like the man was having chicken tonight. How
the hell did he rate fresh chicken? Wasn't that illegal up here? Shit, but this
place just kept getting bigger and bigger every time… seriously; he'd been in
towns Down Below that were smaller than Goujun's house, with less of a
population than his household staff. Up some steps and into another building,
or maybe it was the other half of the same building, he couldn't really tell.
Yessir, he was really hoping that Goujun could scratch that itch for him, like
the guy had enough of Tenpou by Osmosis by now to be the Control Freak Once
Removed or something. Goujun refused to do some of the kinkier shit that Tenpou
had turned into a fucking art form, but that was more than OK with him; he
really wasn't interested in it if it wasn't Tenpou doing it, anyway. But hell,
the dragon had enough sharp pointy bits all on his lonesome to make up for any
lack of toys. That was part of the fun thing about dragons; always an instant
kink party. It was kind of like fucking a cutlery set; it did all sorts of
interesting things to your adrenaline rush, and afterwards you wanted to kiss
the ground in relief, thankful that you still had all your parts intact. Still,
considering that Goujun was no shrinking violet in the blood play department,
it was funny that he got so weirded out by the other stuff. In fact, the dragon
had gotten so freaked that night that Kenren really hit the stratosphere that
they hadn't brought the ropes back since. They kept those kinds of nights to
Tenpou's place now. A pity, since Goujun had such a nice big bed. Much easier
to work the ropes on that thing. He'd really have to talk Tenpou into getting a
new mattress.
Huh; he could've swore that they already passed that door once. Now he was
totally fucking lost; he had no clue which direction they were even heading
anymore. They really should put some maps up around here with "You Are
Here" on them; guests probably disappeared for weeks at a time after
trying to find their way to the bathrooms. Another turn, down another walkway.
Oh, yeah; then there was that dream last night. That put thoughts of dragon sex
into his head, if nothing else did. He couldn't remember much, but there'd been
lots of white scaly coils wrapping around him, sliding across his body all wet
and slippery, and it was fucking mind blowing was what it was. He hadn't had a
wet dream like that since… well, since he could remember, really. They just
didn't happen anymore. Anyway, add all that shit together and here he was at
Goujun's door, looking to beg for some dragon tail. When all that free kami ass
was walking around on the other side of these walls, just waiting for him to
quirk a finger at them. Merciful Bitch, but sometimes he swore he was a bigger
kink than Tenpou was.
Another turn, another hall. There were the muffled sounds of a swordfight
going on somewhere nearby. Well well, it seemed Goujun had his own sandbox to
play in, wasn't that a surprise. The maids stopped suddenly at an arbitrary
door that looked pretty much like every other door they had passed along the
way. He stopped behind them. They quietly stood there, waiting for a break in
the combat. He followed suit. Sure, he used to try drumming up conversations
with them, ages ago. But none of the servants would talk to him, or to Tenpou,
except to say things like "this way, sir," or "your pants have
been cleaned, sir," so he eventually gave up altogether. They all seemed
to prefer to do things like stare at doors instead. And stare, and stare… after
a few minutes, Kenren began to wonder if servants' brains went into some sort
of 'energy save' mode that they could just stand there and stare like that. It
would drive him friggin' crazy. Maybe they'd let him put the cigarette in his
mouth, if he promised not to light it… shit, who was he kidding? He was so
fucking hot and bothered at this point it would light itself off of his own
body heat.
Chewing gum. Needed it. Badly.
Instead, he studied the wood grain in front of him. There was that crest
again, carved into the door. It wasn't the first time he noticed it, since it
was carved all over the place, even in the toilets. But there wasn't much else
to do while he waited, so it was the first time he really stopped and thought
about it. The same pattern was embroidered on Goujun's clothes. Kuang's too, if
he remembered right, so it had to be the symbol of the Ao. For awhile he'd
actually contemplated the idea of working himself through the Four Ao, since he
was already halfway there. Two down, only two more to go. To make things
interesting, he'd try sleeping his way chronologically from the top; with Kuang
being the oldest and Goujun being Second Brother and all, it was already the
way he was heading; so, something to consider. Supposedly Qin had an even
nastier temper than Kuang, so it would really be playing with fire. Which made
it tempting, of course. Goujun would have conniptions if he ever actually tried
it. The guy still felt guilty as all hell about what Big Brother had pulled,
guiltier than Kuang had ever felt about it. Still the big, fat blotch on his
already blotchy record aside, he had to say it turned out OK in the end; it
brought him here, after all. Even if here was currently standing and
staring at a door, which wasn't exactly his favorite afternoon activity.
Had to be hard, though, being one of the Four Ao. Everyone wanting a piece
of you. From what he could gather, Big Daddy Ao died when Goujun was pretty
damn young. Not even old enough for horns yet, and there he was, a Dragon
Mucky-muck already. Well… antlers. They molted and he shed them occasionally,
so they technically had to be antlers, not horns. Whatever. Plus, there
were the wifely issues; all political marriages, forced upon him by the family.
Not much say in any of them one way or another. Shit, the guy had been married
off to Wife Numero Uno before he even had a full set of equipment to consummate
things. Kind of made you wonder just how well that worked out; they must have
spent their honeymoon playing Tiddly-winks or something. Sure as hell explained
why you never much saw any of the wives in Tenkai, though. What the guy had to
go through, just so he could have little Crown Prince Mo'ang ready to go on the
side lines. Sad, really. You wouldn't think that a king would have such a
shitty home life.
Not that he'd ever tell the guy, but Big Brother's territorial pissing
aside, Goujun did make up for it in the bedroom department. In spades. Ao Kuang
was always the "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" type. No finesse at all.
He probably didn't even like men; it was just the catnip thing that got to him,
the Irresistible Nature of Yours Truly. Goujun, though… even with the guy's
harem taken into account, one still got the feeling that Goujun really did
prefer the "yang relations" his advisor was always harping on him
about. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen ol' Bao the Asshole for quite some
time now. Whatever happened to that guy… well, he didn't really care one way or
another about any of it, but this was the kind of thing a person thought about
while standing behind comatose servants, staring at a door.
They had to have been standing there a good ten minutes before the two of
them deemed it the Most Auspicious Moment to open up said door. It was a
sandbox all right; a big one. A regular arsenal of shiny happy weaponry stood
glittering along the back wall, lined up all perfect and pretty. Goujun was in
the middle of the room with a sword in his hand, talking to a trainer. Not
someone that Kenren remotely recognized; definitely not part of the regular
army staff. Some older guy, really old. Hell, he didn't look like he was even a
kami. Not a dragon, either. Goujun stopped talking and looked towards the door,
staring at Kenren in surprise. The man had a pretty damn good view of him too;
the servants had already hit the floor. As usual.
"Your majesty, your guest has arrived."
Goujun didn't move. Kenren gave a little wave at the dragon, hoping to
break the weird mood. All this time, and he still couldn't figure out what the
hell the man was thinking about half of the time. After a long pause, Goujun
swung his sword around in a lazy arc and turned away from the door, following
the trainer towards the weapons racks.
"Come on in, General."
Kenren let go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and stepped
forward, only to find his way still blocked by bent-over servitude. They hadn't
moved yet, didn't look like they were planning to move any time soon. What, was
he supposed to step over them or something? Dime a dozen or no, that seemed
just plain wrong somehow.
"Um… Commander."
Goujun turned back around. Kenren pointed down at the kowtowing lumps in
front of him. The dragon huffed out a laugh before turning back towards the
racks.
"The two of you can stop torturing the General. They seem to be having
a joke with you, Kenren. They could have left at any time."
The two on the floor sniggered and started scuttling backwards on their
hands and knees like a couple of smarmy crabs. He jumped out of their way. They
got up a few feet beyond the doors and ran back down the hall, laughing. What
the fuck was that about? Maybe he should have stepped on the little
passive-aggressive assholes after all. It seemed that some people were easily
amused.
"Shut the door behind you, General. And take off your boots."
Now that he was in, he wasn't exactly sure what to do next; he couldn't
exactly jump the guy with grandpa in the room. Instead he took off his boots
and set them next to Goujun's. Above them was a shelf with the dragon's shirt
and cloak, folded so amazingly neatly that you swore you could hear choirs
singing as you gazed upon their immaculate pleats. Kenren wondered if Goujun
spent all that time folding them himself, or if he had some kind of 'Weapons
Training Room Clothing Folder Attendant' do it for him; one tended to think
about these sorts of things in Goujun's house. The dragon was still talking to
his trainer as Kenren walked across the mats to join them. When he got closer
the old man looked up at him and smiled. There was enough of a tilt to the guy's
head that you could technically call it a bow, but you could sure as hell tell
who was considered top dog here. Kenren crossed his arms in front of his chest
and nodded back.
"His majesty tells me, General, that you excel in the art of a neigong
sword form of which I believe I am unfamiliar. Such a young man, to have
acquired such internal skills. Who is your master?"
Odd accent; it made Kenren wonder just where the hell the guy came from.
So, it seemed that the lizard king was bragging about his lowly pillow mate's
sword form to his own personal trainer. Always nice to hear he was being
admired, but when the hell had the dragon ever seen his taolu?
"I've had quite a few teachers over the years, sir. Can't say that any
one of them is my master." Like hell he was giving anything away to this
geezer. Funny, he had looked much bigger from a distance. Close up he seemed to
come up to Kenren's chest at the most. In fact, he seemed about as wide as he
was tall; a regular little daruma doll. The old man looked Kenren up and down,
his face twisted into a smiling mass of wrinkles.
"I see. Yes, yes. You were quite right, Jun-kun. He is indeed as brash
and rude as you have described him."
Jun-kun? Holy crap, who was this guy,
that he could call Goujun something like that and get away with
it? The geezer reached up with a rickety hand and patted the dragon on the
shoulder.
"In any case, I am tired. We are finished for now, Jun-kun; why not
play a bit with your little friend here. I will speak to you again before I
leave. I think I might go and nap for awhile. You children have fun, now."
"Thank you for your patience, Chen Tzu."
Kenren felt utterly stunned. Old butter ball had managed to knock both of
them down a few notches without even blinking an eye, and now he was simply
waddling off like he had dismissed the kindergarten class or something. Goujun
didn't even seem to mind; he was actually smiling after gramps, giving the guy
a respectful, fist-holding bow. Chen Tzu… he wasn't the Chen from
That had been… interesting. Informative. Kenren wondered what the odds were
that he could work 'Jun-kun' somewhere into the conversation without getting
his balls ripped off in the process. He got his answer the second the door shut
behind the old man. The dragon's expression immediately hardened; he shot
Kenren a look that said I know exactly what's going on in your little pea
brain, don't even think about it.
"So, Kenren. What are you doing wandering about in the daylight hours?"
What was with these people and the daylight thing? "Who was that guy,
anyway?"
"A friend."
A friend? He turned his head back to look towards the door. Since
when did the dragon have friends? Kenren decided to press him on it a
bit more because hell, the guy was kind of interesting, and he couldn't
remember the last time he had met anyone who was remotely interesting.
Especially if this Chen guy turned out to be the Chen Xi Yi with the
caves and all. He turned back to Goujun to ask about the caves part, but his
brain stopped dead in mid-thought as he finally registered that the dragon had
nothing on but a pair of clingy silk training pants. Even his braid was undone
for once; white hair was sticking out wildly all over the place, like a lion
dancer's mane. Actually, it looked sexy as all fucking hell and it made Kenren
think about his dream again, those slippery coils sliding over him. Parts of
him began to stand at attention. Such a good little soldier he had, down below.
Well trained. Knew to salute his commander and everything.
"I again ask; Kenren, why are you here?"
"Just…visiting. Hadn't seen you in awhile. Got bored. One of those."
Goujun huffed. Yeah, well, he wouldn't have believed it either. At least
the dragon seemed to be in a fairly decent mood. He also sounded slightly
winded, so it had to have been quite a workout with the old geezer. Hard to
believe; grandpa hadn't broken a sweat as far as Kenren had noticed. Goujun
braced his hands up on the rack and leaned over, stretching out the backs of
his legs. The move gave Kenren a breathtaking view of a dragon's backside,
muscles penny-bouncing tight under the thin silk pants. It left him momentarily
speechless. His little soldier snapped himself up even straighter. He sure as
hell hoped Goujun was doing that for him intentionally.
"I see. In other words, Tenpou has yet to return."
"So you haven't heard how it's going, then."
"I am not attached to the diplomatic corps any more than you are. It
is a regrettable consequence of that damnable library of his that Tenpou
currently is."
"But you're attached to Tenpou. I mean, you're his commander. You'd
think they'd tell you something."
Goujun huffed again at the inadvertent innuendo as he switched to
stretching the other arm.
"Keeping the army informed has never been a priority, I'm afraid. I'm
sorry, but you came here for nothing."
"That's not why I came."
"Indeed?"
Goujun studied him silently for a moment as he continued with his cool
down. Dragons were hard to suss, but Kenren figured that his nose was probably
filling in the blanks of the conversation; those talented scent receptors of
his had to smell it off of him by now. Not to mention the obvious trouser tent
giving things away.
"I believe we've previously discussed as to why that might not be the
best of ideas."
Ah, so he was catching on. And not exactly saying no. Let's face it;
the man had to be missing Tenpou almost as much as he was. There had to be some
way of using that to his advantage. To both their advantages.
It was true enough; Goujun had a helluva lot more self control as of late.
You could see he was seriously thinking things over, too. The pause; he was
considering it. Looking intrigued, yes; going for the bait… the mouth opened,
good… no, bad. The mouth snapped shut again. Then the head shake. Damn it.
"I'm sorry, General, but I must decline…"
Kenren's heart sank. So did a few other things. What, was he gonna have to
literally beg for it? Whatever happened to that Irresistible Nature of
Yours Truly?
"However, I believe a spar would be quite enjoyable. You're right in
that I do need practice, at least in what I have learned today, before I lose
it entirely. Why not choose a long sword from the racks and join me. Show me
some of that famous technique of yours."
Now it was his turn to stare back at the dragon. He was beginning to wonder
if there wasn't some sort of game on if he said 'yes.' If there was, the dragon's
face wasn't giving anything away. Well, only one way to find out.
"Alllll-righty. I guess I'm up for that."
Well, at least he wouldn't be bored. If Goujun was itching to try a
different kind of foreplay, who was he to deny the man? Kenren walked back over
to shed his coat. The Clothing Folder Attendant Person was obviously slacking
on the job or maybe he just didn't rate, because no one was waiting there to
fold things all nice and pretty for him. He left his coat balled up on the
shelf along with the skull and his socks and padded back over the mats to the
sword rack. Long sword, the man said. He let his fingers wander over the tops
of the jian handles. Nice group of weapons. Helluva lot nicer than the
army's models. Seemed that dragons didn't bother with wooden practice swords;
every one of them were steel. Kenren took his time looking for one with a
decent balance while the rest of his brain chewed on what it was that Goujun
might be up to. He'd need a bit more information than the teensy smidgen he
currently had.
"If you're looking for me to do something spectacular with that neigong
form, you're gonna be disappointed. There's a lot of prep time for that you're
not gonna want to wait on."
"It's implied in the name, General. No, you needn't use that
particular technique, though I assume that after having been trained in it
enough of the effects remain that the results will be similar. But, whatever
you feel works for the day is fine."
True, enough of it stuck to be pretty damned effective at a moment's
notice. So maybe Goujun just wanted to watch it work from closer up or
something. Spy for the geezer. Kenren balanced another sword across his wrist
while he studied the dragon out of the corner of his eye. It looked like he
might be doing a centering exercise, though he was able to converse so it wasn't
particularly deep. Still, he'd bet money granddad was a neigong teacher
of some sort. Wasn't that interesting. For obvious reasons the army trained
solely in outward forms of combat, but who the hell knew what the Four Ao were
taught to use at home. Nice sword, real nice. Kenren swung it around a bit,
testing the feel of it in his hand. Yeah, this one felt real good. Nice balance
for a practice weapon. Straight as an arrow. Absolutely perfect… except for the
damned fucking phoenix on the blade. Well, that explained the pink tassel. The
dragon huffed at him again. The man had been a regular laugh riot today.
"Somehow it seems fitting that you have chosen my wife's sword,
Kenren."
"Yeah, you're a real funny guy. What, is she seven feet tall or
something?"
"About that, yes. Shall we begin?"
He took the phoenix blade anyway. His own equipment wasn't gonna shrink
into nothingness from using a girly sword just once. Especially one as nice as
this; this was quality work. And he could always hope that using wifey's sword
would be just suggestive enough that it would help push Goujun to take the
plunge earlier. Kenren swung it around a few more times, showboating a bit,
using the tassel as a lanyard. The thing was heavy enough. Goujun's wife must
be a regular porker to swing this thing around. Still satisfied with his choice
Kenren circled around to the far side of the mats, wanting the light to his
back. There had to be something else going on here; with that geezer around,
the dragon certainly didn't need him as a sparring partner, nap time or no. Red
eyes were tracking him keenly from across the room. He had already taken his
opening stance. Apparently Kenren didn't rate warm up time, or a formal bow, or
anything. He took his own place a few yards away.
"Sure, show me what you got."
He hadn't finished the sentence before the dragon came at him in a flying
blur. He struck hard and quick from above; Kenren barely had time to block the
blow and almost lost his footing right out of the chute. He rolled out of the
way and came back with a thrust to the shoulder which was easily warded off.
Another thrust, another strike deflected. Kenren went low, Goujun jumped and
retaliated. A blur of white flipped over him; hoping to surprise with an
offensive move Kenren snapped his sword around and thrust back. There was the
clang of metal as he felt the contact of the two blades push each other apart.
He twisted about and rolled out of the way. As quickly as it started, it was
over; they broke and resumed their spots on the opposite sides of the floor.
Apparently the man had just been feeling him out there. Shit. There hadn't been
any indication at all that he was gonna move until he'd already been halfway
across the room. Kenren didn't know what he was expecting, but that hadn't been
it. He should've realized that he'd need to bring his A
game into this; there had been some stupid assumptions on his part all
around. Goujun was better than he would have thought. Then again, the man came
from a family of warriors; some of it would of have to have rubbed off on him sooner
or later.
"Impressive, General. I'm surprised you managed to remain upright on
that opening attack."
"To be honest, so am I. Nice move. You've lost the element of
surprise, though. Won't be that easy again."
Goujun had an odd, searching expression on his face. Whatever this was, it
sure as hell wasn't a simple spar. The dragon shifted his stance and began to
circle. Kenren echoed it. The blur came at him again, but now Kenren knew what
to expect; he easily anticipated the move and took the offensive with a few
cuts. Goujun just as quickly disengaged and returned it. He countered. It went
back and forth between them evenly until they moved to break it up again. He
went back to the invisible circle they'd been walking. Well, that little
skirmish told him absolutely nothing at all. As much as he liked a good fight,
before they got any further into this he really wanted to know what the fuck
was up with the dragon. He knew well enough than to just come out and ask.
Across the mats Goujun seemed to be studying him, scowling. What, was he pissed
off about something? Maybe he was angry about his just showing up like this,
breaking up playtime with the geezer? No, couldn't be that. He'd have simply
been sent packing if that was the problem. This was something different,
something deeper… another attack. Another break. Another glare. He was
definitely being stared down here. There was some serious bug up the dragon's
butt.
Kenren chomped on it a bit more as he watched Goujun scent him from across
the room. Wait… this wasn't about Tenpou, was it? Some sort of love triangle
spat? Hell, it fucking took him long enough, if it was; you would have thought
Goujun would have called him out ages ago already. The dragon struck at him
again; Kenren parried but was a moment too slow, giving the man first blood.
Stupid; he needed to stop playing amateur shrink and just concentrate on the
fight, get the damn thing over with. He counter attacked; the dragon quickly
blocked and returned it. Nice move. Sparse, almost poetic. Kenren had to admit
he was thinking of almost being impressed. Finally, a halfway decent swordsman
to practice with. He let a little grin spread across his face briefly before he
dove in and really let loose. The dragon met him in full fury. Kenren emptied
his mind and let the training take over, until there was nothing but the dance
between himself, the opponent, and the weapons. It had been awhile. Things
would have actually been enjoyable if he felt he knew what the hell was really
going on.
After an eternity they broke and separated. Goujun began his circling
again, shaking his head. Kenren again matched the dragon's arc. The light from
the window seemed to have moved, so they'd been at it for awhile now. Explained
why he was feeling it; he rolled his shoulder a few times to lessen its ache.
He really should've stretched beforehand. Kenren began to wonder just how long
it would take before the catnip would start affecting things. They were both
breathing pretty heavily, so odds were Goujun was getting a pretty heavy dose
of the stuff right now. Kenren wiped his face with the back of his arm. Hard to
say with the sweat in his eyes, but it looked like he might be getting glared
at again. He took a few deep breaths to try and bring down his heart rate a bit
before the next round began. This had to be about Tenpou, it was the only thing
that made any sense. He had never fought the dragon before so he couldn't tell
if the guy was pulling punches or not, but it didn't seem like he was. It felt
like a real fight to him. The man was really trying to push the envelope for
some reason. The both of them would have been bleeding like stuck pigs by now
if the swords had any edge to them at all.
They changed directions. Great, this was just fucking great. He should have
seen this coming when the dragon had asked for the spar. It was obvious in
20/20 hindsight, but for some reason something as simple as jealousy hadn't
even occurred to him. It just didn't seem like Goujun's style. In any case,
they were both getting exhausted, so one of them had to give soon. He began to
wonder what the viable exit strategies were, beyond his getting beaten to a
pulp. He was pretty sure Goujun wouldn't take an 'uncle' out of him; one of
them had to claim a solid victory. He supposed he could end this now; he had to
say he was still the better fighter. Probably. But he was also outranked. Not
the best idea to seriously injure his commander, especially considering his
official record in the Eastern Army.
Goujun flew at him again with a few quick strikes before he went back to
circling. The skirmishes were getting shorter, more violent, meant to wear him
down. Well, it was working; he was getting pooped. But the dragon had to be
getting tired, too. He had been winded before this thing even began. The
circling was less about strategy and more about buying time while he caught his
breath again. He could see the man's chest heaving from across the room. That's
right, Dragon Boy. Breathe it in. Wait long enough and the catnip had to kick
in big time, and then he'd be out of this predicament and the real fun could
begin. Damn, the things he would do sometimes for a decent lay.
Another shift in direction, and with it the dragon
began to growl; a long, low continual grumble coming from deep within the man's
throat. It wasn't a sound Kenren had ever heard a dragon make before. The odd
tone made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and a shiver run down his
spine. He wasn't sure what the sound meant exactly, but he imagined it couldn't
be good. It was fucking creepy, to be honest. Maybe it was some sort of psych
out on the dragon's part. If it was, it was working, because it was sure as
hell giving him the willies. Suddenly the dragon stopped dead. The growl
stopped with him. He pointed his sword at Kenren in a challenge. Kenren swore
he wasn't hearing things right, because what he thought he heard in that cry of
hoarse desperation made no fucking sense whatsoever.
"Show yourself, tiger!"
What the fuck… he had no time to think as Goujun came at him again,
striking at Kenren with a redoubled ferocity. Fuck it all to hell, he'd had
enough; this had to stop, now. Kenren blocked then spun, hitting the man hard
with a round-house kick to the chest. Goujun grabbed the foot as it made
contact, twisting it to force him down, so he flipped up and hooked the dragon
in with his other leg and they hit the ground together, their weapons
clattering away across the mats. They rolled across the floor, grappling at
each other until they came to a stop with the dragon on top. Goujun's face was
right in his, his eyes wild with the catnip. Damn it, he was already fucking
high as a kite on the shit; the nip was probably what was making him so goddamn
aggressive in the first place. It was just like Big Brother used to get when he
tried to ignore the stuff. Kenren made sure his feet and hands had a fairly
good purchase before he pretended to let the man have the upper hand. Submit;
it was the only thing that ever got through to Kuang. The dragon had him by the
hair, his head pulled back to bare his throat. Kenren shifted his leg. One
wrong move, and the guy was getting it right the balls. Hopefully that would
give him enough time to flip him over if those big nasty teeth suddenly went
for the jugular. He stared up warily at the contorted face above him, watching
for any signs of attack. Belly up, I'm belly up, c'mon; let it register in that
little lizard brain of yours… the dragon stopped, scented him deeply, and did
that creepy growling thing again. What the fuck… things just couldn't get any
more bizarre today. He could feel the tickle of hair and hot breath as Goujun
leaned into his ear.
"Come on out, tiger. Come out and play."
Check that; it actually could get more bizarre. The guy was talking to the
tigers again. Goujun went back to studying his face, looking for something.
Sharp teeth hissed at him; Kenren tensed, knee ready for the strike. The dragon
growled and yanked at his hair again. Things were beginning to get frightening.
"Stop your hiding, beast. You forget that I have seen your face."
Kenren swallowed as best he could, wondering what the fuck a person was
supposed to say in response to something like that. He kept staring up at
Goujun's stoned eyes, looking for some clue as to what the hell was going on.
Maybe he was supposed to pretend to be a tiger or something, some sort of
weird-ass role-playing thing that the dragon was into. Goujun's nostril's
flared again, breathing his scent in. His pupils were already about as wide as
they could get. Kenren kept his lip good and buttoned and played dead. He got
the feeling that if gave the wrong answer with the whole tiger thing, he'd be
dead meat.
The dragon kept sniffing around Kenren's face, like he was hunting for
something he'd gotten a whiff of ages ago and couldn't find anymore. At least
he finally loosened the death grip on the hair. Kenren's neck relaxed a bit; he
struggled for breath as he laid there and let the man scent him. Play dead,
just play dead… he closed his eyes against the sting of sweat as he tried
taking in a few deep breaths to compensate for the dead weight of a dragon on
top of him. Goujun's sniffing suddenly changed into a stuttered gasp. Kenren's
heart leapt; he knew that sound. It was the same sound he'd hear in bed, just
before... his eyes snapped open to see if it was true. Goujun looked about as
far gone as he had ever seen him, so it was worth a try. Kenren ground his pelvis
up against the dragon's, staring up at him pointedly. The dragon stuttered some
more. He ground up against him again, and his heart hiccupped when he felt
Goujun's hips grind back. There it was, that unmistakable vibration starting in
the dragon's chest. He had the fucker now. Kenren reached up and pulled the man's
head down into a kiss as they began to dry hump each other there on the floor.
His cock hardened again in a matter of seconds, the massive overdose of
adrenaline in his veins making the whole thing feel much hotter than it had any
right to be. Goujun pulled his head away from the kiss, trying to regain the
upper hand, but the purr was on full volume; it was too late for him to stop
now, even if he wanted to. The Irresistible Nature finally had him by the
balls, and had him good. Still, that didn't mean the asshole couldn't try to
get the last fucking word in.
"Is this… this what you… need… to come out…"
Kenren kissed him hard to shut him up. The dragon bit down on Kenren's lip
and finally gave himself up to it, grumbling low as they increased the friction
between them. The leather of Kenren's pants rubbed roughly against his
sensitized skin, his cock so needy by now that it almost hurt. So good, so
good… the dragon moaned again, lapping at the blood, grinding their hips
together in a ragged rhythm. Already so close… he had to get their pants off,
now. Kenren pushed a hand between them and managed to undo his zipper but fuck
it just felt too good and he barely got his hand down inside before Goujun gave
a strangled cry, jerking against him. It took him only a few more strokes to
follow with a shout. His hand worked to wring out a couple extra spasms, just
one more, just… nope, that was it. Damn, but he'd needed that. He finally
collapsed, a sticky puddle of goo panting away in the
middle of the training room floor. A scaly white goo pile was lying panting on
top of him.
As usual, it took a moment for Kenren's brain to come back online. When the
cranium did finally power up his first thought was I can't believe I just
came in my pants. His body was still nothing but a floppy pile of limbs
that he could barely move. Fuck, he was so wiped… the dragon was still licking
away at his mouth. Kenren laid there and let him do it. It felt kind of nice, like
he was a dragon-puppy or something. It took another moment or two for a second
thought to form. Before he could voice it, he had to pull the dragon off his
lip. He grabbed a handful of hair and yanked. Goujun's head just sort of peeled
right up, dangling from his hand like a puppet.
"Holy shit, Dragon Boy. What the… fuck was that… about?"
He kind of lost the whole dramatic effect of the thing when he had to stop
in the middle to catch his breath like that, but at least it all came out. Had
to give him credit for that. He let go and the dragon's head flopped right back
down again. Goujun still wasn't moving, his chin digging a sharp divot into an
already sore shoulder. Kenren could feel it against his chest as the man
struggled to form a coherent sentence. It took a few tries before anything came
out. He still had to be pretty far gone to let the whole 'Dragon Boy' thing
slide.
"It was… an experiment."
An experiment. It was such a ludicrous answer; Kenren couldn't help but
laugh at its absurdity. His body thought otherwise and it came out mostly as a
coughing fit. He had to roll over to keep from choking. Goujun rolled off of
him onto his back and just lay where he landed about a foot away. Kenren wiped
the spittle from his mouth and let his hand flop onto the dragon's shoulder. He
patted it a few times before he rolled on his back again.