Work Text:
Morning
“Xiao Qiao looks like she's the proud mother herself!” Lu Su exclaimed, and instantly regreted his tactlessness. It was common knowledge in the court that General Yu was to have been Honoured Consort to Sun Ce, with Lady Qiao as their Morning wife; the engagement had not been officially announced only because they had wanted to take time and care in choosing an Evening woman they all liked. It would have been a love match, unusual for weddings in royal circles. After Ce's assassination it was rumoured that Zhou Yu had vowed never to marry another, and Xiao Qiao, often reputed to be the most beautiful Morning woman in the world, being caught up in the tragedy ensured that gossip about her pitiable situation spread quickly. Under the circumstances the two of them continuing to live together was viewed with indulgence, but illegitimate children would be another matter and they must both be keenly aware of it.
He cleared his throat anxiously, and glanced across at his neighbour. Zhuge Liang had clearly noticed a change in the atmosphere of the room, and was watching him; his intelligent gaze betrayed interest but not, Su was relieved to note, the kind born of knowledge. He smiled apologetically and turned back towards Zhou Yu, who took pity on him.
“Since Zhuge Liang is learned in music, why don't we play a tune together?” he asked.
~
“He's lonely,” Zhou Yu said, gently taking Xiao Qiao's hair down. “His music tells me that he needs friends.”
“Friends?” She twisted around to look at him, one eyebrow raised teasingly. “Don't pretend you only want to be a friend to him – Sun Ce has not been gone so long that I don't know what you look like when you admire a man.”
“Yes, he's attractive,” Yu conceded; Xiao Qiao was very seldom wrong in her observations, especially of him, and it seemed promising that she'd waited until this intimate moment to bring the subject up. He combed out her loosened hair with his fingers. “And intelligent and talented. I did admire him. But he's also dangerous. He's helped Liu Bei's army accomplish more than should have been possible, and whether or not his proposed alliance succeeds we cannot hope to be always on the same side.”
Xiao Qiao shrugged off her last few garments and lay down, beckoning him to join her. When he did, she twined her fingers through his.
“There is one tie stronger than allegiance to one's lord,” she said softly. Yu started; she had never mentioned sedoretu, even obliquely, since their first betrothal had been broken. He met her calm gaze.
“I'm sorry,” he said at last. “I never meant to keep you from marriage forever, and you know I never swore I would, no matter what anyone says. You have waited far too long for me as it is. But Liang is the first man I've met since Sun Ce who I've felt anything for – are you sure we should move so quickly?”
“His music speaks to you and yours answers. His music reaches for you and yours reaches back. And,” she hesitated for a second, then looked back up at him, “your music tells me that you need to fight this war.”
“I – you know it's not just because I want -”
“Shh. Of course I know. But if you're going to face Cao Cao, we might need to move fast – who knows how many peaceful days we have left?”
There was no answer to that but to kiss her, and lose himself in her sweetness all over again. But as he entered her slowly with his fingers, and she sighed and bucked against the heel of his hand, he found himself for the first time in years thinking not just of the present, but of a future.
Later, as she sprawled contentedly across his chest, he roused himself from his doze long enough to say, “I assume you still want - ?”
She nodded sleepily. “I'll talk to her as soon as I can.”
~
Day
“I know that you can't have invited me here just so that we could drink tea together,” Sun Shiangxiang said firmly, putting down her cup. “Not that it isn't always a pleasure to watch your mastery of the ceremony, of course. What's on your mind?”
Xiao Qiao tilted her head so that her hair fell forward and covered her eyes – a sure sign that she was embarassed. “Marriage.”
“Marriage! So Zhou Yu has decided to rescue you from your premature widowhood at last? I am very glad for you.” Shiangxiang looked at Xiao Qiao keenly. “I trust that you haven't asked me here to beg forgiveness for marrying someone other than my brother? I've wished for a long time now that you could be happy again, and Quan feels the same about Zhou Yu.” She smiled. “You are dear to me, you know.”
Xiao Qiao abruptly caught hold of one of her hands and pressed it. “I hope so. Because it's not your permission that I wanted to ask you for, exactly.”
“I – oh!” Shiangxiang blinked, but didn't withdraw her hand. “You mean -? I had no idea that you....”
Xiao Qiao shook her hair from her face and met Shiangxiang's eyes. “The most assiduous court gossip didn't know it, but we took so long to find our Evening wife because I didn't know any woman I wanted to marry as much as I want to marry you.” She smiled. “Even half as much, to be honest. And you were the only one I couldn't choose.”
“But now you can.” Shiangxiang's face was unreadable until she smiled, sudden, brilliant and infectious. “You're very lucky. Quan will certainly approve; he'd agree just to keep Zhou Yu close. If Ce had been an Evening man, though, and Yu of the Morning, I don't think I could have accepted you. It will be strange to have my brother's lover even as my Evening husband. But I would like to marry you – very much.”
She felt a little less bold than she sounded, and her breath hitched as Xiao Qiao cupped her face in both hands and brought their lips together. For the next few happy minutes she tasted the fire that she had always suspected lay banked beneath her friend's placid surface. They broke apart for the space of a breath and then began to kiss again, and before Shiangxiang knew it her hair was unbound and Xiao Qiao was pressed up behind her, breath hot on her neck and one arm wrapped possessively around her waist.
“Speaking of court gossips,” Xiao Qiao said, a wicked edge in her voice, “they've had you in bed with your maids for years. If they're to be believed, you must be very skilled at this by now.”
“I know the stories,” Shiangxiang panted, “but all my maids are same-moiety. I picked them specially, not wanting to be tempted. I've never actually -”
“Never?” Xiao Qiao sounded delighted. “I haven't avoided temptation so well, I'm afraid.” Her hand slipped down across Shiangxiang's collarbone and under her clothes; she found a nipple and fingered it delicately. “I look forward to teaching you some of what I've learned.”
~
Dusk
The third time they took a pass at each other, it was Zhou Yu who was unseated from his horse. As he landed on his back he smacked the ground firmly with both hands, and pushed himself onto his feet again.
“Congratulations, Princess!” he called up as his opponent turned her horse around and trotted back towards him, her smile far too smug for courtly manners. “I've known men to take days mastering that manoeuvre, and you have grasped it in one afternoon. I feel better about letting you lead the first sortie tomorrow. I only hope that your maids are as skillful as you.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Believe me, General, several of them are more so.”
As he shook the dust from his clothes, she slid down and took her horse by the reins. For a few moments, they walked towards the stables together in companionable silence.
“I believe that Xiao Qiao has spoken to you -” Yu began, just as Shiangxiang said “I visited Lady Qiao -”. She broke off first, flushing slightly, but then pressed on. “I am sure she told you what passed between us. I am happy to form a sedoretu with you, though I hope you will not be too offended when I say it is mostly for her that I accept.”
“Who could ever be offended by you, Princess?”
Shiangxiang grinned, taking his teasing in good part. More sincerely he added, “I'm glad that you make her so happy; I have denied her a true marriage for too long already.”
“If you would take my advice, you will not wait too much longer now you have made up your mind.” Shiangxiang glanced away; all traces of mirth faded from her. “You know what Cao Cao plans. Everybody south of Luoyang knows that he means to wed the young Emperor and make as much of a mockery of the title 'Honoured Consort' as he now makes of 'Prime Minister'. You know why he has waited. You know why he is here. He does not care who his Evening wife will be, but there is only one Morning woman in the world who could satisfy his vanity.” She looked at him seriously. “I know you do not plan to lose, General, but for Xiao Qiao's sake I hope we can marry before Cao Cao is within a hundred leagues of her.”
“I agree that it would be for the best.” Zhou Yu cleared his throat. “I know that you and Qiao didn't get round to speaking about it, but have you given any thought to your choice of a Morning husband...?” He trailed off, uncomfortable at the ease with which Shiangxiang had obviously read his features, and the arch look she was now giving him.
“I haven't, but clearly you have! My choice, indeed! Who is it that has finally replaced my brother in your affections?” Her tone showed that there was no malice in the question, only amusement.
“Zhuge Liang.”
For a moment, she was shocked into silence. Then she laughed, lightly and joyously. “Never let it be said that you took the easiest path when a more challenging one was available. Zhuge Liang! I think I approve.” Her eyes took on a more contemplative cast. “In fact, I think I approve very much.”
~
Evening
Shiangxiang had never enjoyed banquets very much, especially since the level of drunkenness her brother indulged in was never permitted to her; this one, however, was turning out worse than most.
“If we were all family, it wouldn't matter,” Sun Quan was saying. “And I understand that you, Honoured Consort Zilong and Lady Gan recently lost your Evening wife. My sister is of the Evening, you know, and she is so fierce that I despair of finding one spouse for her, let alone three. A sedoretu ready-made would be ideal.”
“I... would have to speak with my Honoured Consort,” Liu Bei said, a little startled. “But personally I would have no objection.” He attempted to smile at Shiangxiang, which was when she lost her temper.
“Fine! Then I will have a hundred of my armed maids guarding my bedroom, and I dare you to step in.” While Bei was still attempting to think of some reply, she hit the pressure points on his neck and stormed towards the door, pausing only to whirl around, point a finger at placid, inoffensive Lady Gan, and yell, “And that goes double for your wife!”
She was still shaking when Zhuge Liang found her.
“Whatever you do, don't kill my pigeons,” he said, a quiet, amused sympathy in his voice. “Their acupuncture points are different to those of men.”
“I hope I didn't hurt your lord,” she said quietly, and found that she meant it.
“He wouldn't blame you, even if you hurt him.”
“It was not truly him I was angry with. How dare my brother try to force me into a sedoretu not of my own making! And with that -” she caught herself. “Forgive me, I have been rude enough for one night.” The sight of his smile made her brave enough to say what she was thinking. “It would be different if it were you my brother wanted me to marry.”
“Because I am unattached?” There was a trace of humour in his voice. She took a deep breath.
“Because my intendeds, Zhou Yu and Lady Qiao, would like to marry you – and so would I.” When he didn't respond immediately, she added, “They thought I should be the one to ask.”
“Princess Sun – Shiangxiang -” He began again. “Shiangxiang, you are a lovely woman, one of great talent and sound judgement. General Yu is a peerless warrior and a noble man, and I could claim no Morning sister more gracious than Lady Qiao. Any man would be fortunate to be part of such a sedoretu. But I cannot simply marry Shiangxiang. I would be marrying Princess Sun, and that is not the same thing at all.” He held up his hand when she would have protested. “You take your duty to your people seriously, as you should. You take your duty to your brother seriously, and Zhou Yu is Sun Quan's vassal and almost a second brother to him. I would be your Honoured Consort, for you are of royal blood. How could I then act with honour if Liu Bei and your brother become enemies? Even if they do not, how could Liu Bei ever rely on my judgement again, knowing that my loyalties were divided? And I cannot break my oaths to him, Shiangxiang, not for no better reason than to pursue my own pleasure.”
“Then you will not have us?” She sensed his hesitation.
“I – do not want to refuse you. May I give it some more thought?”
“Of course.”
“And might we speak of something else? I believe I have a task that is worthy of your talents.”
~
Liang slept very little after Shiangxiang left him that night. He couldn't pretend that he didn't want what had been offered – but in such a case, mere desire could never be enough. Yet though his mind strayed occasionally to Zhou Yu's smiles, to the delicacy of his fingers on his qin, to the way Shiangxiang's riding callouses might feel against his skin, he dwelt more on a more dangerous fantasy: that of knowing that he would never be Zhou Yu's enemy, or Shiangxiang's, or even Sun Quan's; of being able to enjoy their company without an eye to their weaknesses – or to protecting his own.
He knew it was simply idle thought; a dream that might suit his own desires, but not Liu Bei's. If he wanted to form a sedoretu with a handful of peasants he could please himself, but this could not help but be a political marriage – and in a political marriage, his duty to his lord came first. Didn't it?
~
Night
It didn't, in the end.
In the end, it wasn't Yu's smile that won him over, or the boundless thrill of the moment when both their plans came to fruition at once. It wasn't Shiangxiang's courage, or the glimpses he saw of her body as she revealed her beautifully detailed map. In the end, Xiao Qiao came to him, and begged him not to let Zhou Yu confront Cao Cao without ever having truly been her husband, and he found that he could not refuse her.
And so on the day before the battle they were married in a small hillside temple, with the simplest of ribbon plaiting ceremonies to solemnise the occasion, and Lu Su as their only witness. Putting his mark to the last of the documents that required it, Liang found he couldn't make himself feel even the vaguest regret. Several officials had to be notified for the sedoretu to be recognised as legal, and as he sealed the papers and packed them away carefully Liang reflected with satisfaction that, travelling by carrier pigeon, most of them would be received before nightfall, and the rest by morning – whatever happened, Xiao Qiao would be granted her wish. He had assumed that their First Night would be for the Morning and Evening couples, and was honestly surprised when Qiao pressed his hand into Yu's. She smiled at him.
“Our Evening loves must ride into battle tomorrow, and you must stand and wait as I do, Chief Stategist. I wouldn't deny you this.”
He looked at Yu, half expecting an objection; Yu made none, but softly, very softly, ran a hand down his cheek.
So it was Yu he led to his tent, and he found that his mouth was just as warm as his smiles had promised, and his fingers just as talented as his music had boasted, and that though they could have talked, they barely needed to; they had always read each other near perfectly, after all.
It was only in the morning, when Shiangxiang woke alone and raised the alarm, that he realised it was not Zhou Yu that Xiao Qiao had wanted so desperately to be married before they confronted Cao Cao – it was herself.
~
Daybreak
“And here's your wedding gift, at last!” Shiangxiang laughed as Xiao Qiao led Meng Meng forward. He whickered and pushed his nose into Liang's hand, and graciously accepted a petting from the ladies and Yu as well.
“You must promise never to make him a warhorse.”
Liang grabbed Qiao's hand.
“I promise. And sister, if we are very, very lucky, then none of us will need warhorses any time soon.”
Liu Bei had not been best pleased at the marriage. He should perhaps not be blamed for this; spotting Zhuge Liang's family colours on Xiao Qiao's wrist in the middle of the battlefield, as Cao Cao held her arm up and ranted about her coming to him under false pretenses, was not the ideal way for him to find out. But at the last he had laughed ruefully and said he would have to work harder on keeping the peace.
“You know,” Liang said, pulling Shiangxiang snug against his side, “politically speaking, my dear, it would have been much more advantageous for you to marry Liu Bei. The peace that Qiao longs for would have been very nearly assured. And yet somehow, I can't bring myself to regret that you did not.”
Shiangxiang snorted. “Honoured Companion Zilong was killed in the fighting. Why doesn't my brother marry Liu Bei, if the alliance means so much to him?”
“Kings don't marry other kings -” Liang began to say, but at that moment he looked around at his sedoretu and thought, really thought, about all the things he would do for them if he had to; about what it would mean for two kings to work together the way he and Yu did. The possibilities were staggering. He met Yu's eyes, and read his own growing excitement reflected there.
“... but maybe they should.” It was Yu who finished his sentence for him, though it hardly mattered; they were all thinking it.