First Times

.

"Very well. Go up a little more. More, more."

Chifeng-zun looked excited, but his disciple did not share that excitement. He didn't like heights, he had already decided. But this is still better than horses, a high-pitched voice said in the back of his mind.

The memory of the beasts served as an excellent encouragement. He needed to learn how to ride the saber.

Continuing to climb, he looked down inquisitively, but Chifeng-zun gave no indication that he would stop him. The man followed his trajectory, amused, and he looked unfairly handsome with that expression. Even with the distance, you could see how bright his eyes were.

Meng Yao's heart beat too hard and his saber responded to that. He narrowly missed it. He regained his balance relatively quickly, but

Chifeng-zun was already in the air with him, having gone up at a vertiginous speed.

The man's hands were raised around Meng Yao as a precaution, without touching him. They faced each other, eye to eye, something that could never happen on land because of the considerable height difference between them.

Meng Yao witnessed the concern to give way to approval in those eyes.

"You are doing great," Chifeng-zun assured. “Much better than me the first time.”

"Do you still remember your first time?", Meng Yao couldn't help asking.

It was to be expected that after doing it so many times, fly would be something trivial for that man, but his eyes lit up even more.

"I do, but I hope I'm the only one."

Meng Yao couldn't help but laugh, and therefore couldn't help the loss of balance that followed, but Chifeng-zun held his shoulders until he was stable again.

The way this man managed to mess with him, taking and balancing, as if he were the swordsman and Meng Yao was the saber under his control, responding to his intentions...

"No more distractions," Chifeng-zun said, very close, his huge hands still firmly on his shoulders. "We are going to start moving horizontally."

"In what direction?"

Chifeng-zun looked around, and his gaze went to a plum tree not far from them, on the edge of the woods.

"Up there," he indicated with a nod, without looking away from the juicy-looking fruits.

Meng Yao knew what he needed to do. He tilted his body to the side only slightly, and then slightly forward, knowing that what really moved the saber was his intention, not his body. It was just easier that way.

He struggled to stay on the blade, but moving horizontally was not as simple as vertically. He had the impression that he was going to fall everywhere, but especially backwards.

His big mistake was trying to redistribute his weight.

His left foot slipped from the blade and he found himself in free fall, his eyes fixed on the tree that a fraction of a second ago was within reach of his hands.

Just before hitting the ground, strong arms grabbed him sharply and he blew out the air in his lungs painfully. His saber hit the grass while he alternated his feet with Chifeng-zun's on top of Baxia.

"Are you okay?", his master asked urgently.

With a livid face, Meng Yao nodded, trying to formulate his apology.

Chifeng-zun cut him off before he could finish the first word.

"It's my fault," he said with the same firmness that governed his entire existence. "The right thing was to make you practice a few inches from the floor, but I was excited to see you go up. I'm sorry."

Having Chifeng-zun, Nie-zongzhu, apologize to him was too absurd to be real.

Meng Yao shook his head vehemently, unable to formulate a word. Was this the time when his famous eloquence chose to abandon him?

Chifeng-zun put him on the ground, but did not release him.

"What a scare did you get ..."

He commented, atypical to his character, while contemplating the other’s pale face. Totally in contrast to his lips, which now looked too red, and the dark hand that he placed delicately on the soft cheek, as if Meng Yao was something to be treasured...

Neither of them would know who started the kiss.

***

I should have posted this ages ago... it's just a little thing I write for our yaoyao month, but I confess I'm out of practice, and English isn't my first language. Buuut I like it anyway, and I hope yall enjoyed it too.