The Silent Guard (mxm)

Chapter 12

Feeling a faint tug against a length of his hair pulled Zen from his deep sleep. He was alert almost immediately, but when the tugging remained calm and consistent, and nothing else seemed out of place, he realized that there was no danger. He quickly but carefully went back over the previous day's happenings, then as he got toward the end of the evening, he jerked his eyes open.

Qi was smiling at him from only a few inches away, a partially braided length of Zen's hair between his fingertips.

"Sorry, my Zen. I didn't mean to wake you," he said, drawing a few blinks from him as he tried to figure out how they had gotten to such a situation.

He was completely okay with his master braiding his hair. The man could do whatever he wished, whenever he wished to do it, but... how had he come to be in bed with him? It was absolutely not appropriate for a servant and master to share such things!

"It's fine," Qi said as he grabbed hold of Zen's ear gently but firmly, keeping him right where he was. He'd probably anticipated that he might have tried to remove himself from the inappropriate situation immediately... and he was absolutely correct!

When he stopped trying to get out of the bed, Qi released his ear, allowing him to return that hand to working with the other on the braid. Since he was currently stuck, Zen turned his attention back to what had happened the previous night instead of focusing on his panicking heartbeat. He had hushed his master while he'd been speaking, yet instead of being reprimanded, he had been praised.

Afterward, they had washed themselves, then soaked for a short time before getting out of the water. He'd brushed his master's hair after they had both dried off, like he always did, but then Qi had requested to do the same for him. He'd done so previously, several times, but it was still not frequent enough to seem right.

He had said that he'd wanted Zen to move his injured shoulder as little as possible and that he could easily take care of his hair for him. Granted, he'd already brushed out his master's, so he didn't buy the request about not using his scraped shoulder... but of course, he did not argue.

"A little closer, please," Qi said quietly as he gently tugged the braid he was working on.

Zen hesitated for a moment, but then relented and leaned his head closer on the pillow. Unfortunately for his heart, Qi tugged a little more, eventually luring Zen forward until his forehead was nearly pressed against his master's.

There was just barely enough room between them for Qi to continue his work, and every so often his fingertips would brush Zen's nose as they moved.

Why could he not remember how they had gotten into such a situation? It was beginning to feel quite detrimental to his health.

"I had requested that you lie down in my bed so that I could apply some healing salve to your shoulder, then bandage it properly. You fell asleep before I was finished," Qi said with a lilt of humor to his words that made Zen blush.

He had fallen asleep while being tended to? How terribly unprofessional. And in his master's bed, no less!

Feeling several tugs on his braided length of hair, Zen refocused his attention on Qi nervously.

"If I did not want you right where you are, I could have simply woken you up, or moved you myself. Am I not correct?" he asked, making Zen's mind stop running about in a panic and settle down... for the most part.

He nodded slightly, not wanting to move too much for fear of ruining his master's work. The look in the man's eyes seemed a little warmer than usual, though he couldn't bring himself to ask why.

"Then there is nothing to worry about. I was actually quite cold by myself the night you had slept on the floor. I think, from here on, that you should rest right where you are."