He headed back to where he'd tied the horse and turned its nose towards the road. Maybe they weren't traveling by the road, Wen Yu fretted. Maybe Mei Hua had some sort of dragon way of traveling. He tried to put those kinds of worries out of his mind. He could only search for them along the main road, so worrying about them being anywhere else was pointless.
The sky above him was becoming dark. Soon he would have to stop and make camp. He should have stayed at the last inn instead of pushing on ahead. The wind picked up, blowing straight at him, causing Wen Yu to pull his coat more tightly around himself.
"No," a voice came to him from up ahead. "I am not eating that. We should have stopped at that last inn."
Wen Yu kicked his horse into a canter.
Up ahead, two figures, obviously traveling on foot, stood by the edge of the road. Mei Hua was kneeling by the roadside, holding a handful of greens, while Liu Yi stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Both turned as Wen Yu approached. Wen Yu pulled his horse to a stop, facing them.
Liu Yi looked a little out of place in plain cotton trousers, robe, and coat with unadorned boots. His hair was hidden under a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, and a pack was settled on his back. Mei Hua looked the same as the last time Wen Yu had seen him, not that he paid him much attention. Liu Yi's mouth was open as he stared up at Wen Yu, who clambered off the horse, nearly falling in his haste.
"You came." Liu Yi voice was faint.
"I did." A wave of nerves washed over Wen Yu. He hadn't thought past finding them and seeing Liu Yi again.
"But why?" Liu Yi continued to stare at him. "The examination must have just ended, why come now?"
Wen Yu took a long, deep breath. "Because I don't want to work at the palace, I don't want to play politics and take examination after examination. I want to write and translate poetry, talk to animals, and go on journeys to places I've never been. But mostly I want to be with you."
"I …" Liu Yi's face crumpled as if he were about to cry. "You could have come from the beginning."
"I'm sorry," Wen Yu said, and Liu Yi lunged at him, pulling him close and holding him tight.
"You're here now," Liu Yi said with his face pressed against Wen Yu shoulder. "And you aren't going to leave, are you?"
"No." Wen Yu held him and kissed the curve of his ear.
"What good fortune." Mei Hua straightened up, brushing off his hands. "You brought a horse. That will surely come in handy."
"We should find somewhere to camp." Liu Yi pulled away from Wen Yu, but he kept their hands joined. "Or maybe an inn might be a better choice."
"And then tomorrow, we can begin our journey." There was a deepness, a resonance to Mei Hua's voice when he said it, that made the hair on Wen Yu's arms stand up, and he felt it all the way to his bones.
When he looked at Mei Hua, though, all he got was a wide, guileless smile.
"Yes." Liu Yi said, and in his voice, Wen Yu heard nothing but happiness.
The three of them turned and headed down the road. Where to, Wen Yu had no idea, but that didn't matter so much after all.
Fin
About the Author
E.E. Ottoman is a geek and a gentleman. Zie spends zier time mostly in libraries doing research, and sometimes, when there is no one else there, dancing in the aisles. E. has always adored speculative fiction, especially paperback fantasy and science fiction. Zie loves a good ghost story and thinks every story becomes automatically better if you add tentacles. Overall, though, zie just loves a story that is fun to read. E. is especially fond of writing and reading stories with geeky, queer people doing awesome and sexy things.
When not writing, E. loves cooking, knitting, cats, coffee, and looking dapper in menswear. Zie is actively trying to change the world (and maybe the past) one novel and work of history at a time.
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