Disclaimer: I literally wrote this seconds after Lu Su was confirmed for DW8. He is such an interesting character that I felt the need to write about him. For those who are familiar with my work, this is a pseudo-sequel to Dysfunctional Brotherhood and Turbulent Addiction. But the focus isn't Sun Ce or Zhou Yu, though they will appear, but it follows the timeline. Ultimately, since this is before the game is released and before I see his render, I will probably rewrite this to fit Lu Su's game personality. I used my interpretation of his historical personality. Oh well...enjoy!

Chapter One: Spring Fever Begins

Lu Su was bored. He should've been used to it by now since his friend and ally Zhou Yu is always more than willing to take the reigns of all the hard work and work his perfect ass off. Zhou Yu wasn't the problem. There haven't been much administrative or military work in the weeks of late, though he predicted that Sun Ce would start his expansion south. If that were the case, Lu Su was ready to take on the advisory position.

But that was later, this was now. The man sighed, staring blankly at the pond his feet were currently dipped in. He didn't even flinch when the blazing orange fish started nibbling at his toes. Those fish always found something to do, even in the confines of the pond.

"Lu Su, it's odd to see you look so dejected," a soft but powerful voice said behind him.

Immediately, Lu Su scrambled to his feet, adjusting his robes, shocked out of his reverie.

"Zhou Yu!" Lu Su smiled, "You scared me there. Dark robes really make you intimidating."

Zhou Yu's face didn't flicker as Lu Su dusted the grass from his bum.

"Is there something wrong?" Lu Su asked his comrade.

"Nothing is wrong, my friend. I just saw you sitting here lost in thought. You usually keep yourself busy."

Lu Su laughed. A deep, cheerful laugh.

"Indeed I do, Zhou Yu. It seems I am not within the mindset of such a thing today. What can I do you for?"

Zhou Yu was straight faced, his arms folded in the sleeves of his dark robe. He never ceased to amaze and intimidate Lu Su. But as of late, even the usually rigid Zhou Yu had began to find time to indulge in some of his favorite past times such as writing and music.

"You can do me a great favor," Zhou Yu said. "Walk with me."

Typical direct Zhou Yu. Lu Su hesitated for a moment, but walked after the refined man as he strolled through the garden.

"What is this favor?"

Zhou Yu was not looking at him, but he slowed his stride so Lu Su could keep pace.

"I…I am embarrassed to ask this of you. You see…you are very good at finances, no?"

"I know my way around personal economics yes," Lu Su answered, wondering where Zhou Yu was going with this.

"I recently tried going over personal assets, I'm not sure if everything is adding up. As it stands, the lands I partially own won't be nearly enough to pay for taxes and necessities."

"Are you sure? You took in account all the equities from last season, correct?" Lu Su was quickly forgetting himself. He had inadvertently raised his voice and cut Zhou Yu off. Zhou Yu paused, staring at Lu Su.

Lu Su scratched his head and cleared his throat, "My apologies."

"In answer to your question, yes. I think. Maybe I'm counting wrong," Zhou Yu replied. "Maybe you could—"

Even though Zhou Yu cut himself off, Lu Su smiled broadly, "Say no more. I will take a look."

Lu Su noticed with some dismay that Zhou Yu's shoulders visibly relaxed. It was never good to see Zhou Yu stressed. Well…whatever Lu Su could do to help a friend was enough.

Zhou Yu blessed him with a rare smile and cuffed him on the shoulder in gratitude, before strolling off. Lu Su stared off after the young man, rubbing his hands together.

Financial advice Lu Su could do. He was bred to do it. Even after Dong Zhuo ravaged his village, Lu Su managed to sell off his land and give the proceeds to his townspeople and suffering relatives. Still, he managed to live prosperously.

Lately though, he felt…he didn't know.

A little less than a year ago, Sun Ce's son was born. Recently Lu Meng had found a beautiful and kind-hearted soul for a wife and Sun Quan had learned to reconcile with his lady friend, Lian Shi.

But where was Lu Su in all of this? Stagnant. While it seemed everyone else was finding their light, he was stuck in a rut, a haze. It wasn't the first time he contemplated on returning to his hometown to his relatives. There, his grandmother would no doubt be prying into his personal life and finding women for him to marry. Bless her soul.

Lu Su ran his hand in his hair. Why should he let the life and happiness of others bring him down? It wasn't their fault that he had been feeling down. Everyone had so far treated him with nothing but kindness.

He approached the small stream that led into the pond and crouched beside it, watching the water calmly flow over the rocks. Such a simple act, he couldn't help but be entranced. With some relief, his mind treaded over that water, ignoring his own loneliness.

Later in the afternoon, Lu Su headed to Zhou Yu's rooms in order to go over his friend's financial accounts, but a boisterous Sun Ce stopped him.

"Hey, Lu Su."

"Master Sun Ce!," Lu Su replied, jumping a little as he didn't see the general coming.

"I thought you were heading home," he said.

Lu Su blinked. He hadn't meant for it to be a big deal. In fact, he hadn't meant it to be known across the compound. He didn't want to cause any trouble. Did Lu Xun, Lu Meng, and Zhou Yu also know?

"Well I…I don't know," Lu Su stammered, before hanging his head.

"Is there a problem with family?" Sun Ce asked.

"No, it's just…there's not much keeping me here."

A look of worry and shock flashed over Sun Ce's face. His mouth was hanging open.

Lu Su began tapping his feet, feeling nervous. He kept glancing over his shoulder in the direction of Zhou Yu's quarters. He didn't want to keep Zhou Yu waiting. Not after he promised to go over those reports.

"I'm sorry, Master Sun Ce, but I really must be going."

Sun Ce nodded, "Yeah…sure."

The Sun leader couldn't ignore the laughter inside his own head as he watched his advisor head down the hall. He always thought Lu Su to be a sort of an oddball. He had no personality pattern that he could pinpoint, with the exception that he was ungodly kind. Shaking his head, Sun Ce retreated to his own quarters.

Inside his cozy rooms, Sun Ce plopped on the red velvet upholstery, stretching out his long legs. Never had he thought that he would enjoy relaxing so much. Normally, he would be aching to go out there and fight. Maybe it was because everyone in the compound was settling down. Zhou Yu, Lu Meng…the exception to that rule was Ling Tong, Gan Ning, Shang Xiang and the young Lu Xun. Even though his younger brother, Sun Quan, was not yet married, he pretty much set his sights on the lovely, busty Lian Shi. Wait…was Lu Su married?

No, he couldn't recall meeting any woman of Lu Su's.

At that moment, his wife, Da Qiao entered in a thin brightly colored silk robe.

"Hi," she said lazily, airly before she sat on the chair across from him.

Sun Ce stared at her, "Are you? Are you high?"

Da Qiao rolled her eyes at her husband," I just returned from the baths with Xiao."

"Hrm. I don't really take baths."

"I know."

Sun Ce flinched, "I'm not the only one. No one really takes baths that often. At least the men don't."

"And that's the reason why I open the windows and burn a month's worth of incense in a week."

"Come on—"

"I'm not talking about cleaning anyway. Just casual relaxing baths. You should try it. Start a trend."

"Doesn't Zhou Yu take baths?"

"To clean himself," Da Qiao replied. "In an almost obsessive, compulsive way. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't relax."

Sun Ce leaned forward, "So you're saying, Da, that to have everyone relieve stress, I have to start taking frilly, bubbly baths? Doesn't sex do the trick?"

"Ce!" she blushed.

"It's true! Come on, if anything the collective…fornicating of this place is on the rise…thanks mostly to Zhou Yu. He needs another hobby."

Da Qiao laughed, "I know they haven't reconciled quite yet, but Xiao swears that ever since she got pregnant, he can't keep his hands off her."

"Figures…"

Da changed the subject, "You can always relax with me. You don't have to enjoy the bath…just the naked lady that is in it."

Sun Ce quirked an eyebrow.

Inside Zhou Yu's room, Lu Su and Zhou Yu sat at a small writing desk and poured over all the financial files that were collected for Zhou Yu's assets. Lu Su was glad Zhou Yu had kept diligent records, but the problem was finding anything that could be missing.

"I don't know what I am missing. I can't seem to make sense of it," Zhou Yu sighed in frustration.

"It makes perfect sense," Lu Su said, eyes traveling over the words.

"It does for you, my friend. You've been doing this since before you could walk."

Lu Su felt like he was complemented. Being complemented by the likes of Zhou Yu would make anyone feel good.

"Here," Lu Su said as he pulled the scrolls and sheets towards him. "You've got wheat proceeds and we take out the tax of that. Rice, flour, plus your meats…all in all it seems like a diverse portfolio of assets."

"I get that, then why am I worrying over nothing?"

"That is what you do," Lu Su said with a smile, but immediately bit his tongue. He wanted to take back those words, but luckily that response didn't sway Zhou Yu in the slightest.

"Still, you being away from this property may be where we are missing some things."

Zhou Yu groaned softly, "I cannot attend the farm when I am here all the time. My uncle gave this to me almost a year ago. I'm sure he was certain that my father wouldn't give me it when he finally rots in cold hell."

"Don't worry yet. Sometimes assets go up and sometimes they go down, depending on what merchants want. Where is this farm of yours anyway?"

"In the hills outside of Lujiang."

Lu Su stopped, as if a thought dawned on him, "Oh…"

Zhou Yu eyed him warily, his golden eyes wide in mild concern, "What?"

"Lujiang is under Yuan Shu's policies."

"And?"

"His tax rates are nearly double they are here. You're being taxed for your land, which is obvious, but you're also being taxed on an individual level."

"So basically I'm paying triple tax. Here and in Lujiang. Plus the amount for feeding and paying my workers."

"Yes."

Zhou Yu rubbed his forehead vigorously. Lu Su hated to see his friend so disheartened.

"When you sell your grain, do you add one percent to the price for foraging costs?"

Zhou Yu shook his head, "We do so via bargain. That is the proper way…"

"Not in the land of Yuan Shu. Merchants are selling and buying their goods with the addition of at least three percent in some areas. No more than pocket change for most of Yuan Shu's constituents, but you should've taken the cost of paying your workers into the price of your goods."

Lu Su eyed his friend, seeing the man shake his head in dismay.

The door to his rooms opened, and a very young woman entered in a light silk robe, her light brown hair wet. With her was a delicious smell of spring and berries.

"Oh, Lu Su. I didn't realize you were here," Xiao Qiao said, clearly embarrassed in her state of dress in front of him. Lu Su could only swallow his dry throat, taken aback by her youth and beauty. Of course, he had known her for a while, but both Qiaos were unparalleled in their beauty. And he did appreciate their beauty, like he could appreciate the beauty of the misty mountains.

As of late, Xiao Qiao only seemed to be even lovelier than ever. She had this soft, healthy glow about her that was greatly attributed to the bump of her belly where she carried her growing child.

Zhou Yu glanced at her with an appreciative gaze, breaking his world-weary, slightly haggard face.

Personally, Lu Su was glad that the two were seen in each other's company again. More than a month ago, Zhou Yu set on a path of destruction in a fit of madness that seemed the only happy result was his death. Though he was alive now, the journey caused both him and Xiao Qiao to analyze their relationship, which wasn't good behind closed doors. Lu Su heard Da Qiao call their relationship 'abusive'.

Although they were technically still married, thanks in part to the unborn child Xiao was carrying, they had to slowly work back into a normal formal marriage. Now Zhou Yu treated her as if she were life itself, with what could only be described as loving care. Still, although some emotional strings had yet to be connected, Xiao and Zhou Yu enjoyed physical connections frequently.

"Lu Su is helping me sort out some…er…details in these reports."

"Ah, well that's nice," she responded. "Do you want some of my tea?"

"Ummm," Lu Su paused, unsure if he was overstepping his boundaries.

"It's got a hint of honey," Zhou Yu said. "You should try it."

That does sound good, Lu Su thought. He shook his head anyway and quickly gathered the reports.

"I…er…I should be going," he stumbled to his feet. "I'll look over these reports and…uh…and get back to you."

He hurried past the two and out the door, holding the scrolls under his arm and rustling his hair.

Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao stared after him in confusion.

Zhou Yu got up from the table and stood next to Xiao, watching Lu Su leave in a hurry.

"What's up with him?" she asked.

Zhou Yu wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "I have no idea."

"Perhaps he's lonely," she suggested.

He shrugged, "Spring has come again. The earth is ripe with renewal. Animals and humans alike are experiencing a time of intimate bonding. Lu Meng is now enjoying the love of a bride, Sun Quan is experiencing the love of a lady and Sun Ce has the love of a wife and child. Seeing all this love in one place, perhaps he is caught with spring fever."

"Yeah and I unfortunately know how you get when spring fever hits you," Xiao glared at Zhou Yu. He laughed and pulled his face close to hers. She, however, stubbornly refused to meet his gaze.

"Come now, wife. Allow your husband to pamper and satisfy you well into next morning," Zhou Yu said with a mischievous smile as he allowed his hand to fall to her burgeoning waist.

Xiao smiled playfully, and eventually went about amusing her husband's whims.

Yup. Lu Su everyone. Genious, generous, and apparently terrified by his superiors. R&R.