Chapter One Hundred And Eighty Three - He always steals my breath away

The hidden garden within the depths of otherwise untamed wood had begun its transformation as the summer season slowly drifted into the past, while the autumn season quietly ushered into the present. While there was no difference amongst the common herbs such as the abundant sweet sun clover and the hardy purple spirit grass, certain others, such as the silver tea-tree were not quite the same. For instance, the leaves upon the mentioned tea sapling were no longer a vibrant silver, but slightly mottled as if tarnished by oxygen like the metal it was named for.

Otherwise, it was the vegetables that spoke of the greater change; certain fruits were ripening, while others grew steadily, but there were very few blossoms upon these food offering plants left to fertilise. Certain trees dotted about nearby were also burgeoned with not quite ripe fruit and a new wave of seasonal berries could be discovered in the ground foliage if one knew where to look.

As for the keeper of the garden, he was busying himself, inspecting his vegetables and herbs, looking for any ripe fruits to pluck while keeping an eye out for bugs and diseases. Have to say that his plants were ridiculously healthy and were seldom pestered by any insects other than those seeking nectar. Other gardeners would be most jealous and demand to know his secrets! Leon did not think anything of this; he was inexperienced and were he to try to explain it, should he be aware, he would only be able to say that he was just lucky.

The youth picked a strange looking fruit from a vine-like plant that needed much support for its heavy loads. The fruit was deep purple, somewhere between firm and plush to the touch and although they were shaped a bit like bell peppers, they were actually sweet and juicy like tomatoes. He'd learned in town before that these purple fruits were often served in stews and soups, they happened to compliment salted meats and tubers as well. Hence he wanted some for a stew tonight. It was the beginning of the weekend and he was expecting a rather prompt guest.

As expected, once his basket was full enough, his Martial Artist boyfriend dropped from a tree and landed close by. Leon was greeted by a smouldering kiss that left him quite dazed. Jin Li looked at the expression on his small alchemist's face with satisfaction. "I was ab-bout to m-make d-d-dinner," Leon said with a soft smile, "would you like a c-cup or t-tea?"

"This Lord will do something for you," Jin Li's eyes glinted like black diamonds as his slightly calloused hand brushed against the side of Leon's face.

"Alright," Leon felt a warmth spread from his core as happiness enveloped him. And so, he let Jin Li do as he pleased while he threw together a pot of meat and purple-fruit stew and boiled a kettle of water. Not long after he left the pot to simmer and poured the water into a teapot tea leaves to stew, Jin Li entered with a proud grin upon his lips.

"This Lord has done you the honour of personally preparing a bath for you," he said, smugly. "Go bathe and don't let the water get too cool."

He ran me a bath?! Jin Li was sharp-tongued, self-centred and narrow of view. This was his nature, that which he had been shaped to become due to the strict expectations and sense of familial responsibility placed upon him as his father's future heir. He was carved to be a hard, cold man, a strong martial artist and to be the new pillar of their family, if the pillar that his father happened to crumble. Who knew this inflexible Young Master would voluntarily lower himself and soften in the face of the one his heart had chosen.

Leon's smile could not be wider, his heart could not be more liquid, he served the tea before placing a kiss upon his lover's cheek and quickly rushing to wash in that gifted bath. Jin Li waited until Leon was long out of the small hut and into the rickety wooden shed, before almost shyly touching his cheek with his hand and smiling.

His small alchemist did not take a great deal of time washing, but still returned to the small hut with a lingering scent of freshness and cleanliness with just a hint of the unique scent that was him. The two young men then ate the fragrant stew and Jin Li went for a quick bath while Leon cleaned away the dishes and put out the fire within the stove.

When Jin Li returned, it was within loosened inner robes and trailing damp hair, untied and falling down his back like a cloak made of midnight. Leon seldom saw the tall youth in this less than composed fashion, but it proved to be just as distracting for young Leon as when he was standing proud and regal during other times. Leon could not help but stare openly at his man. Jin Li's lips curved as he noticed Leon's darkening eyes and quickened breath.

"Come here," Jin Li ordered him, his deep voice like a siren's call to Leon's ears. The smaller youth's throat became dry and his heart began to beat at a rapid pace. He could not stop his feet from stepping forward, his body succumbing to Jin Li's command and at this moment, he did not want to stop it either. He finally paused just a finger length apart from the other and glanced upward, his large eyes captivating Jin Li in the next moment. His glasses were removed from his face to be tossed upon the table before his whole body was lifted into Jin Li's strong arms. And then he was carried backwards, towards the bed.