Heal These Battle Scars | MxM

Chapter Twenty-Four - On The Road Again

When Wang Yi had kissed Xiao Fang on the lips, and on the neck, and fingers — and eyes and nose four days ago back in his dorm room, Xiao Fang thought nothing of it. However, it seemed Wang Yi had only been buttering him up so he could tell Xiao Fang he needed to travel south for a while. And by a while, he meant a month. And although Yi had to drag him along since he still provided medical assistance for the soldiers, he hadn't talked to the younger man since. Instead, he chose to ignore all trances of Yi's existence and sit in the back of one of the trucks, cramped between Bolin and Chen Yu, who eyed him warily, as if they had countless questions to ask.

Truth be told, it wouldn't have been a problem to come along. Nor would he have been angry at Yi if it had been for another circumstance, either. However, since the attack on Yi's base a week ago, a call came from Beijing.

Apparently, the soldiers who attacked Yi's base had also attacked a base down in Luoyang, a busy town some hundred kilometers drive. Unfortunately for the Red Army, the Kuomintang soldiers managed to seize control over Luoyang, so the communist headquarters down in Beijing ordered Yi to annihilate the soldiers occupying Luoyang before seizing back control over the town.

Because of this, he had not uttered a single word to his lover.

Although Xiao Fang must not allow his emotions to go haywire. He did not like the idea of tagging along to watch his comrades killed off by his lover's hand – not one bit, and he made it crystal clear by ignoring Yi's advancement. However, he must confess his displeasure about this entire situation because he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold off the silent treatment. Yi, his daring Yi, had an addicting touch, and he was afraid he might give in – possibly melt if Yi were to kiss him one more time on the lips or eyes or neck.

It seemed he had low willpower whenever Yi appeared.

It was the afternoon hours when the rain started pouring down heavily, flooding the tracks in deep slush, and causing shivers to run down Xiao Fang's back despite the thick leather coat Yi had wrapped him in earlier, contrary to his consistent silent treatment.

When the truck swayed to the right to avoid a pothole, his back collided against the iron bar from behind, and he bit his lower lip: God, he hated being here.

He really should've accepted Yi's offer to sit in the front seat.

The back of the truck wasn't the ideal place to be since they all wreak, smelling up the truck with bitter sweat. Although Xiao Fang would've gotten better if he had accepted Yi's gesture for him to sit up front, his stubbornness would not allow him such comfort. Besides, it wasn't any of their faults they stunk; the soldiers driving upfront hadn't come across any pond they could bathe in, and there were no villages to stop by to wash off.

"I'm fucking starving," Bolin complained from beside Xiao Fang. Although Xiao Fang pretended, he hadn't heard, the talkative soldier nudged him in the rib before repeating, "I'm fucking starving."

"Aren't we all?" Xiao Fang twisted an awkward smile in the soldier's direction. "I suppose that's what will happen since none of us had eaten all day." Of course, that was a lie, but he wasn't about to tell this nosy soldier Yi had stuffed a pack of crackers in his pocket this midday, and he'd been sneakily munching on it ever since.

"Uh-huh," Bolin hummed, eyeing Xiao Fang's pocket with curiosity. "I heard a crunching sound coming from your pocket earlier. Can it be – "

"You heard nothing," Xiao Fang interrupted, swallowing hard. If Bolin found his crackers, the soldiers in the truck would know Yi had given them to him, and they would question him.

"Well, can I see?" Bolin insisted.

"Um," Xiao Fang contemplated. "No?"

Bolin whined, "Come on – "