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astro-lmk-enjoyer · 3 months ago

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The Bull's Key

Summary: The most handsome man in town offers a challenge. Xiaotian ends up being more distracted by the bull. (A rewrite of my 2021 fic, The Cat's Key.) Notes: So @dragonblood1313 on Discord offered a version of my fic where Red takes the form of a bull instead- makes sense- and gave me permission to use the idea to rewrite my fic.

AO3/Ko-Fi

He was the most handsome man in town.

His name was Red, matching the mane of fiery curls that he tied back to reveal golden eyes. He was the son of a wealthy couple to boot, and he was smart. Qi Xiaotian had seen him many times in town, walking like a soldier, revealing his fine figure.

So had many others in town. Whenever Red showed his face in town, a crowd of men and women alike formed, following him. They all pleaded for him to be their spouse, to be theirs, to love them.

Xiaotian had been tempted once to ask the same when Red came in to pick up some noodles from Pigsy’s inn. He had barely been able to get through the greeting, entranced by the calluses on Red's hands, the way some of his hair started to drape over his shoulder, how delicate he looked despite the strength he held. But he had swallowed the pleading words of love back, allowing Pigsy to hand over the noodles. He was a simple delivery boy. What good could he offer the town’s prince?

(He didn’t want to answer the pitying looks his Dadsy and father figure gave him.)

One day, however, Red called a meeting.

Everyone came. Even those not interested in Red came, gathering around the wall that bordered his home, a small cottage near his family’s manor. Long Xiaojiao, Xiaotian's best friend, dragged him to the front. She had once been one of the many women who admired Red, but apparently had lost interest after a lengthy conversation with him. Still, her eyes were excited. "I wonder what he's going to be talking about?" she whispered.

"I don't know-"

"HELLO!"

Those callused hands hefted Red up onto the wall, and the crowd pressed closer, entranced by how the setting sun made Red's hair gleam. Xiaotian's breath caught in his throat, and his fingers twitched, longing to rush home and sketch the scene. Thankfully, he didn't make them wait.

“I’ve decided to marry,” Red announced, clapping his hands together with a smile. The crowd burst into gasps and whispers, several exchanging angry looks. Xiaojiao grabbed Xiaotian's shoulder hard enough to make him wince. “I have not chosen who yet.” The crowd fell silent, and the angry looks disappeared. For some reason, hope bloomed in Xiaotian’s chest. Red pulled out a golden key from his pocket, marked with the symbol of Red’s family. “So we’re going to play a game.”

The rules were simple: Red would tie the key to his home around the neck of his bull. When a man was brave enough to ask how they knew which cow belonged to Red, he simply said, "You'll know it when you see it." Red would marry whoever entered his home through the key, which hung on his bull. With that, he hopped off the wall and walked away, leaving people to whisper and shout.

The game started the next day.

Xiaotian was outside, hanging up some laundry that some guests had requested. In between the cloth, he saw glimpses of red. His heart skipped a beat and he pushed aside some of the clothes, hoping to see those fiery red curls…

That was a cow.

Xiaotian blinked. Nope, that was a bull. A handsome bull with golden horns, yes, but also bright red. He walked through the streets without a care, seemingly unaware of the golden key hanging around its neck. That was probably what Red meant when people would recognize the bull as his.

But the key was also glinting around its neck, right next to a little bell, gleaming like a teasing little star. Xiaotian felt himself freeze at the realization. It would be so easy to just walk up and take the key…

Someone shouted “There it is!”

It was like someone had screamed fire . A crowd of people immediately formed. The bull glanced back, snorted, and Xiaotian blinked. In that second, the bull took off like a shot, kicking up dust behind him. Xiaotian flattened himself against the wall, watching as the bull ran past and saving himself from being flattened by the crowd.

At first, people chased. The bull seemed to be a little bit of a tease, walking calmly around until people noticed him. And from there, the bull would run. It had to be the fastest bull Xiaotian had ever seen, kicking up clouds of dust that seemed to block out the sun for a moment as the pursuers were left behind.

Then traps and bribes came into play. The bribes came in the form of hay, fine cow feed, and other foods, all sbulltered around town. People thought that the richest farmer in town would win when he grew sweet cud, enough to make a giant mountain of it. The traps started out simple, with thread and bells next to the bribes. Slowly, they grew more elaborate as the bull seemed to ignore the bribes, to the point that Xiaotian found himself sore and bruised when he was running an errand, took one step, and found himself in essentially a giant mousetrap.

The bull fell for none of it.

“It’s all stupid,” Pigsy snorted that evening. He was cleaning up after dinner, scrubbing at the dish with a fierce look, as Xiaojiao patched up Xiaotian. “The kid clearly sent them on a wild goose chase so he could be left alone.”

“But what if someone gets the bull?” Tang challenged, glancing at Xiaotian.

“Are you kidding? That bull has to be the smartest thing alive. The only way someone’s getting that key is if it walks up and hands it over.”

“Yeah, Tang, Red’s not interested in marriage,” Xiaojiao said, giving Xiaotian an apologetic look when he winced as she tightened the bandage. “At least, to those bozos. They’re going about this all wrong.”

…huh.

The next day, Xiaotian took the day off.

It had been relatively quiet of any bull sightings that day. Nobody noticed him take the path down to Red’s cottage. An idea had been poking into his mind since Xiaojiao’s comment. Finally, he reached the wall that surrounded the cottage, the one Red had made his announcement on, and peeked his head over.

The cottage was a simple one for Red’s wealth. The nearby creek turned a waterwheel, and an open space revealed a blacksmith area. There was no sign of Red. Or the bull.

Not until a startled “Moo!” and a bell rang.

Xiaotian’s first thought was oh, one of those traps worked . Except, none of the traps had been set this close to Red’s property, out of some silent agreement. Curiosity nagged at him, and he followed, following the wall until he got to an open section. There, some lovely weeping willows had been planted. Normally, the lovely green leaves would gently flow with the wind, except today, there was a bull.

A bull who was clearly struggling.

As Xiaotian stepped closer, he realized that the bull’s golden horns had somehow gotten wrapped up in the willow branches, trapping him and locking him tight. His bell jingled as he frantically tried to free himself. As Xiaotian stepped closer, the bull’s eyes widened, and his struggles grew more desperate, to the point that there were audible small cricks and cracks . If this kept up, the bull would hurt himself.

“Hold on, hold on!” Xiaotian held up his hands, keeping them up to show that he wasn’t going for the key. The key was honestly the furthest thing from his thoughts at the moment. “Let me help you.” He reached to his side and pulled out the small knife Pigsy had given him for self-defense. It was for vegetables, but people tended to leave you alone if they thought you could defend yourself.

The bull’s struggles died down, but his eyes were still wide and frightened. Xiaotian kept his breathing calm and kept his eyes on the bull’s horns. He would have to be careful. One slip up, and those things could gore him. He reached up and gently gripped one horn. The bull made an unhappy noise, and he sighed. “I know, buddy.”

He reached up with the knife and started to cut at the willow. They weren’t clean and professional, like how Pigsy could cut, but Xiaotian did his best. Once one horn was free, he started cutting free the other. Willow leaves and branches settled around his feet and on the bull’s back, decorating the red fur with soft green.

Once the willow was away, Xiaotian reached out and gently gripped the back of the bull’s collar. The bull reared back, but Xiaotian held tight, leading him through the willow and to the other side. He released the collar to lift up the willow branches.

The bull blinked and then snorted, marching past him. The sun gleamed on his red fur, much like how it did on Red’s hair, as he shook off the willow leaves. Xiaotian sat down as the bull trotted around, enjoying his freedom, and pulled out his sketchbook from his bag. “I wonder where he got you,” he wondered as he grabbed his lunch, opening it to reveal his favorite noodles, packed with beef and veggies. He ignored the twinge of guilt at the meat to instead admire the bull. “You’re really beautiful.”

And troublemaking.

The bull eyed him from a few feet away. “I bet you’re having a lot of fun,” Xiaotian said, pulling out his chopsticks. “I certainly would. Running around and making a bunch of people look dumb? That sounds like a blast.” Well, not the making people look dumb part, he wasn’t that mean. The bull stepped closer and now Xiaotian could see that it was staring at his bowl. “Are you hungry?” The bull made a little moo and he chuckled. “Okay, hang on…” Which veggies did cows like?

And then the bull was sticking its face in his bowl.

“Woah, hey, wait-!” Xiaotian yelped as the bull’s mouth moved, sending broth spilling over him and narrowly avoiding him with the horns. Before he could grab him, the bull sprinted away with a mouthful of noodles.

“Wait, I-” Xiaotian got his feet, but the bull was already gone. He sighed, sitting back down. “Sorry, buddy.” Hopefully, the noodles wouldn’t make it sick.

The next afternoon, Red came into the inn.

Xiaotian was too focused to hear the silence pass over the dining hall. His eyes were locked on his sketchbook as he drew the bull. His paints and watercolors weren’t allowed in the business during business hours, but he could easily imagine how the light caught the red of the bull, setting it ablaze…

“-Noodle Boy!” He jolted at the name and stood up. Red stood on the other side of the counter. Was it his imagination, or did he look flustered? “May I please buy some noodles?” he said. “Veggie, please.”

“Uh…sure. Yeah, yeah, right on.” Xiaotian felt heat spread through his face as he scrambled to write down the order. Pigsy was glaring at him from the kitchen, he could feel it. But there was also something else, something that he dared to say once the order was in. “Um, I don’t mean to be weird, but you have a willow tree on your property, right?”

Red raised a brow. “Yes?”

“Well, uh, I kinda found your bull stuck in it.”

Red’s brows furrowed together. “Are you presenting the key?”

“No,” Xiaotian felt his brows furrow together. Didn’t he hear the part about his pet being stuck? “I was more focused on your bull being stuck and freeing him.” He took in a deep breath. “That’s really irresponsible.”

“...Excuse me.”

“I mean, what if I hadn’t found him?” The heat in his face drained down to his stomach, in a familiar feeling of anger. He loved animals, and he had grown fond of the beautiful scarlet bull. “Your poor bull could’ve hurt himself! I can’t believe you’re letting him do stuff like that!”

Silence drew throughout the inn. Red gaped at him, as if nobody had ever dared to speak like that to him. Not even the clink of a bowl dared to break the silence. Xiaotian did, letting out a huff before grabbing Red’s food. “Payment, sir,” he ground out.

Red, still gaping, reached into his pocket and pulled out money. As he did, Xiaotian realized that it was way more than that bowl was meant for. He opened his mouth to call out, but Red was already marching out of the door.

Xiaojiao broke the silence by drawing up, eyes wide. “That was really ballsy,” she whispered.

“I…It needed to be said,” He still had a bit of a crush on the guy, but that had dimmed a bit. “It needed to be said. Someone needs to defend that poor bull.”

The next day, when he could, he came to Red’s house and found that the willow tree had been trimmed down.

Weeks passed. Xiaotian found himself coming day after day to Red’s cottage when he could, always greeted by the poor bull in question, who watched him from the corner of his eye. Every day, he grew closer and closer. The bull didn’t like veggies, but he did like noodles and balls, he found, watching as the bull threw the ball with his horns. The rest of the town was starting to give up, sharing Pigsy’s thought that this was Red’s way of telling people to leave him alone.

Xiaotian... found he really didn’t care, especially after the willow tree scene.

The bull was rapidly taking up his care. He began to let him pet him, weaving small braids in his fur and even setting flower crowns on his head. He listened with ear flicks and tail flicks as Xiaotian talked about everything and nothing.

One evening, when the inn was closing for the evening and the bar was empty, there was a moo. Xiaotian looked up. “Hey little buddy!” he cooed when he saw the bull at the doorway. “Here, wait by the trough.”

“Kid, we- Woah!” Pigsy, from the kitchen doorway, stared. Tang poked his head around and stared. “Is that-”

Xiaotian shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “Yeah. Do we have any leftover noodles?”

“Kid. That’s Red’s bull.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why is the key still around its neck?”

“Wha- oh!” Right, the key. Once again, it glinted beckoningly. Xiaotian looked up from it, making eye contact with the bull. It stared steadily at him. “I... I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right, I guess.”

Pigsy stared, even as Xiaojiao’s head popped up and Tang reached over her and passed a pot of noodles to him. “What.”

The bartender shrugged as he took the pot from Pigsy’s limp hands. “It’s not the right time,” he said, a bit more confidently. His back turned to it, he didn’t notice the annoyed look that crossed the bull’s face. The others followed him to the door, watching as he poured the noodles into the trough. The bull bowed his head and ate, allowing Xiaotian to pet him.

However, his mind, for once, wasn’t on the bull.

The next day was a sunny day. Xiaotian found himself stretched out in the grass. The bull laid across from him, stretched out happily in the sun with his gleaming horns. “You sure are one lucky bull,” he admitted. Now that he had been reminded of the key, he remembered why he had been interested in the bull.

The bull let out a moo, turning those dark eyes to him. “You probably snuggle with him every night, I certainly would snuggle you, and... he’s so smart. And handsome. And clever.” Xiaotian couldn’t help but snicker reminded of a public incident where Red had verbally torn to shreds a suitor who had tried to grab him. “I mean, I’m still a little upset with him for the whole willow tree thing, but he fixed that.”

The bull stood.

“I wonder... if he would be disappointed if it was me. I mean, I yelled at him in public. I’m just some innkeeper’s boy. I’m not rich or smart like him” Xiaotian rolled over on his stomach with a sigh. “Please don’t tell anyone. It’s embarrassing-”

The bull knelt in front of him.

He froze.

The key gleamed at him.

“Are... you giving it to me?”

The bull didn’t respond. Xiaotian reached out. One hand rested between the bull’s horns, where he liked to be scratched, and scratched on instinct. The other reached for the key.

The string came undone, leaving the golden key in his hands. Xiaotian stared at it before he felt the bull rise, pulling him up with him. There was a gentle nudge from the bull before it moved forward, guiding him to the house. Soon enough, they were at the door.

He reached out and slid the key into the lock.

The door opened and Xiaotian stepped inside. The front room was decorated nicely, done in reds and purples and touches of gold. Little bulls decorations were here and there. He turned, wondering if the bull had inspired the decor, only for red smoke to engulf his vision.

“I hope you view me responsible enough to marry you.”

The smoke cleared and Xiaotian stared. Red stood there, with crossed arms, brows furrowed together.

“...what?”

“The willow tree.” Red coughed, looking away. “You were right. I should have made sure it was trimmed before trying to walk through it. If a real bull was in that, it could’ve gotten hurt.” He glanced at him. “I apologize for making you fret.”

Xiaotian blinked. “A…Apology accepted.”

“So, am I responsible enough to marry you?”

“...Yes.”

Red reached out. Xiaotian reached out, resting his hand on the top of Red’s head. His fiance- okay wow- paused before a pretty smile formed across his face and he leaned forward.

Their first kiss was sweet. Not as sweet as the day Red actually got a bull for a pet much to Xiaotian’s joy, but sweet enough.

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