Hold on to Him

"Fei Yu, are you okay?" They were sitting in front of a campfire. 

He nodded. The essential first aid was already applied.

"You don't look okay…" He was taking heavy breaths as if his throat had narrowed.

"I'm fine."

The girl couldn't forgive herself if something happened to him. "Let me check. Sometimes battle can cause internal bleeding." She knew better how a legionary could cause injuries beyond repair. The girl crawled towards him and raised her hands to remove his armor.

"You shouldn't move your left arm."

Red almost rolled her eyes. "Alright. I won't apply force on it." She stripped his clothes one by one with his help. "My arm feels way better now. I'm a bit weaker than usual; that's it."

Fei Yu watched her undressing him and blushed. There was no point in feeling coy. They had seen each other naked, did a lot of things, and exchanged dirty words in the middle of the night. But that was when they weren't in their right mind. Now it was somewhat different. 

Red had no trace of arousal except the professionalism on her face. Fei Yu was the only one who was lusting for her touch and suppressed an insane urge to kiss her. 

As she peeled off the last clothes from his body, she saw a huge bruise on his ribcage. Her gaze quickly traveled through his lithe figure for more injury. No, nothing else. She gently brushed her fingers on the bruise. "Does it hurt?"

"Not much…"

Examining the wound, she said, "Either way your rib is broken, or your lung is bruised." She pressed hard on the bruise. "Do you feel any sharp pain?"

"No." His eyes were fixed on her. The light of the campfire dazzled her hair, making it look like a mini bone fire on her head.

"Where does it hurt?" She stared into his eyes.

"Between my chest…" It slipped out of his tongue. It was both metaphoric and literal. Every breath took a toll on him.

Red gently lifted his chin with her fingers and brushed her thumbs on his lower lip. He closed his eyes, ready to be kissed.

"Your lips turned blue… Probably you have bruised lung."

He opened his eyes, a bit embarrassed. "It's okay."

"Sit upright and take shallow breaths. Are you feeling dizzy?"

"No, no. I'm fine… just feeling exhausted…" and aroused… It was an inappropriate place and time to make love with a wounded person. He convinced himself.

Red warped her arm around him. "Come on… Sleep. I'll be on guard." 

"Wake me up after some hours." He laid his head on her shoulder. He could smell a faint scent on her sweaty neck. Something in that scent was so compelling to him that he couldn't resist kissing her neck. He glided his lips to her chin. His hand found its way to her chest. But those soft fleshes were covered with hard armor.

He couldn't kiss for long. He fell asleep due to a lack of oxygen.

The girl held him upright and checked his breath frequently. It felt like a long night, worrying about him.

June's thought was replaced by Greta and Fei Yu… and how he risked his life to save her. What if his injury was serious? They needed to get to a doctor as soon as possible. Guilt bit her hard because she dragged him into trouble. 

She spent countless nights awake, thinking about the people around her, knowing herself, watching the enormous sky, or reading a book—it came to her as a surprise that she could read.

However, this night felt both worse and somewhat great. She gazed at the details of Fei Yu's face and stroked his hair. She wasn't lusting for him. But she liked the touch of his skin under her lips. 

***

Morning light broke Fei Yu's sleep. He saw the girl had dozed off, leaning against the tree. He settled her body against the tree, careful not to break her slumber.

Fei Yu was feeling better than the previous night. His breathing was almost normal. He planned to do some chores like feeding Greta's horse and preparing something to eat.

Red woke up, feeling the absence of Fei Yu's body. "Sorry, I fell asleep…," she drawled.

"It's okay… as we're both alive and well." He was stroking the horse while it ate some plants.

"Hey, you shouldn't hop around…"

He scoffed mildly. "Really? Perhaps you better elongate your nap."

"I had enough. What's our plan now? Let's find a doctor."

"Doctor?" He frowned. "Are you… er… Have you seen that lake? I can help you to change your bandage and clean up."

"No, dummy, it's not about me. It's about you."

"I'm feeling fine," he spoke sarcastically in a monotonous tone. "I'll take a shower and take you to your precious princess June. Then I might consult a doctor."

"Wait, you know she is a princess! And you're telling me NOW?"

"What? You don't know she is a princess?"

"You knew the whole time!"

"What? I'm surprised you didn't know that. You two seemed to be good friends!" The horse flinched and backed off with a small jump. 

"Forget it. It came to me the day before yesterday." She pitched down her tone.

Fei Yu finally realized why Red was looking out of the blue while taking the trophy. "June doesn't like to be treated as someone special," he said softly, stroking the horse's mane. 

"Do you know her?"

"I've seen her… from my childhood. Not a friend…. We didn't get along well."

"Mm, that made sense." That made sense to why June could speak about him with confidence.

"What?" 

"How many women have you dated, Fei Yu?" She raised an eyebrow.

He let out a nervous laugh. "Never counted…"

"Why June is bitter about you?" she spoke with playful suspicion. "Did you ditch her?"

"WHAT? NO! What do you mean? I dare not to stick my dick into the Dynasty throne!"

The horse whinnied. Red tried to suppress her laughter.

"Moreover! She's a senior to me."

"Well, I'm your senior too. Did you know that?"

Fei Yu buried his face on the horse's mane. "Red. Your case is different… You look different, your hair is different, you talk differently, you're from a different origin… umm unknown origin…" He paused. Their silence was filled with morning birds' songs. "I don't mind… dating… older women. But it would be hard to think about someone 'that way' when you have grown up seeing them taller than you and felt like being younger."