A/N: Re-uploaded to correct spelling mistakes. This story was originally a one-shot, but since a lot of people demanded me to continue, I added two more chapters. Hence the change of title. Since I wrote this story when I was 16 years old, you could say it's a bit fluffy (even if I tried to avoid unnecessary sap) and the characters suffer from a slight OC-ness. No major changes have been done, so that it conserves the original feel to it.
Chapter 1: Missing Him.
Little Brother went out running to the garden and started chasing after a butterfly. He was so immersed in his chase that he didn't notice the rock that was just before him and ended up crashing violently against it. I shock my head and smiled. He surely wasn't a smart dog, but he was funny.
My eyes turned unconsciously to the street. It had been eight weeks now since the last time I'd seen Shang leave. I wondered what was he doing now.
I sat down everyday by the lake, waiting for him, but he never came. What in the world was retaining him? We had never been so much time apart from each other ever since the day he gave me back my helmet.
Sure, he was General Li now, as his father before him, but it hadn't mattered the first months. He had been visiting the Fa family once two weeks. What had changed now?
I remember the first time we had dinner together. He had been nervous. I guess it probably was because of my father. I knew he admired my father. Ever since we met I had known he thought of my father as a great warrior. He had told me so one million times while training. Ok, so he hadn't told me exactly, he had told Ping, but still, I was Ping, wasn't I? Sometimes this double personality was troublesome.
Ever since the day he joined us for dinner after the war he had been visiting us frequently. I remember how hard he tried to help me and prepare me on my second chance with the Matchmaker. Even though I think his help was useless.
The second experience with the Matchmaker hadn't been better than the first and with her previous experience with me, the Matchmaker had been harder on me than before; but at the end at least she didn't have black ink on her face nor she had gone out of the house screaming.
One thing I knew since I heard the soldiers' talk about girls was that I didn't wanted to get married to a guy just because I was pretty. I wanted to get married with a man who wanted me for my intellect. I hadn't felt defeated after my second try in get married to a man I didn't even know. Not this time: I knew I had honored my family and I knew I was worth something. And if that wasn't enough, I had Shang by my side that day cursing the Matchmaker for rejecting me like that, even though he had a strange tingle on his eyes. I could swear it was of joy.
I heard a horse approaching. I turned to the street. It was not he. It was a neighbor: Deng, the young farmer who had asked my father to marry me some months ago. My father had denied it. I asked my father to do so.
Deng was not my type of man. He reminded me at some extent to Chi-Fu: Deng was always pretending to be a brave man but he was really a coward mouse. Shang had always made his way into scaring the poor guy off his pants. Shang was not very much into nasty jokes, but with Deng he made an exception. Shang hated him.
Shang had been there in good times and in hard ones too. I had received visits from Yao, Ling and Chien-Po but none of them was closer to my family or me than Shang. It had been like he was part of the family, like a new member.
The friendship between Shang and I have been growing in the last year and I must admit that my crush on him has grown too. Even though we are still friends, I can't see my life without him. I would have been nothing without him. China would be history without him. Each time I think of him I admire him more and more.
Where was he now? I would drive myself insane if I didn't see him soon. Maybe I could go look for him.
A second horse approached. I didn't pay any attention. It surely wasn't him. What was on with him lately? Last time I saw him he had felt so cold, so far…
'Mulan?' a familiar voice called me. I turned around.
'Shang!' It was all I could possibly say. He sat down beside me, quietly as he ever does. His helmet on his hand, he hates to wear it because of the feathers. He says he looks ridiculous with a feathered helmet.
'Mulan, I'm sorry,' he said, his voice steady, indicating something was wrong.
'For what?'
'I… I won't be able to visit you anymore.'
'WHAT?' I said loudly. He looked at me sideways and made a slow sly smile. Only I know that smile on him. The rest of the world might know him as "Workaholic Shang" but I've seen his prankster side. That's one of the things I'm glad of.
'You haven't changed,' he smiled
'What happened to you on the last 8 weeks?'
'Oh, I've been… I've been thinking… thinking a lot lately. And I got some extra work to do so I stayed with the Emperor a bit longer. He sends you his best regards. Actually, he was the one who forced me to come.'
'Hey. I know I'm not a very good at hospitality, but I never thought someone had to force you to come,' I joked. He smiled sadly. Something was wrong with him. Something was very wrong with him.
'There are many things lately that are keeping me away from this family. I'll have to choose not to visit you anymore.' he said, this time more honestly.
'You're joking again, aren't you?' I asked smilingly, but my face fell. He wasn't smiling back at me. 'What are you talking about? Are you being serious?'
'As serious as I can' he said looking straight at my eyes. He was. Why was he doing this?
'Why? I mean, what is the problem? Does it has something to do with me?'
'No, it's just… it's just…'
'Then what is it?'
'Ok. I guess you have the right to know. It does have something to do with you,' he looked at his hands and stood up then walked over to his horse.
'Then tell me and I'll help you out. You can't leave us like this.'
'Mulan, I guess you have the right to know that I… I have been in love with you for a long time.' he said, mounting his horse
'I… I didn't have any idea,' I admitted.
'Well, at least… now you know,' he pressed his hand against my cheek for a moment. 'I know you didn't. And I know how you feel,' he said, while mounting back his horse. Before I could reply, he had left at full speed.