Chapter Ten: Fields of Gold
Shang was pacing in the garden. He was, at this current moment, nervous as hell. He looked in the little stream, verifying his appearance. He looked alright. OK. He had no reason to fear. Mushu had assured him that he couldn't fail. OK. It would be alright.
She appeared. "Shang? Where are you?" She was carrying a lantern, lighting the garden. He turned to see her, and felt his nerves disappear.
"I'm here." He walked towards her. "I...Mulan...I've known you for a long time, now, and-"
"7 weeks or so is hardly a long time..."
"...It feels like I've known you forever, and over the time I've spent with you, I've discovered that I can't imagine my life without you." There. Part one was over with.
She was smiling broadly. "Thank you...I...I don't know what to say-"
"Oh, that's not all..." He replied hurriedly. Her eyes widened a little. "The thing is...part of the reason I can't imagine life without...the reason is...damnit, why did this have to be so difficult...I..."
Mulan looked into his eyes. "Shang...are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Deciding that he was, after all, a man of action, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I love you."
There. He'd said it. No fanfare. No fireworks. No great change in the world. In fact, even Mulan didn't seem to have changed. She didn't respond.
"Mulan?" He said softly, letting go of her. "I...I'm sorry. I'll...I'll leave tomorrow morning."
"Shang, wait, no!" She caught his hand in hers. "It's...a lot to take." She blushed. "I love you, too, Shang." She snuggled against him, and he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She sighed a little. "This does explain why you wanted to talk to me. And most of your behaviour."
"You mean like the shirt thing?"
"Yes...Not that I really minded." She laughed softly.
"That was Mushu's idea, in my defence...well. He gave me the idea. He mentioned your long lingering looks."
She blushed a little as they walked over and sat under the tree. "I stand by the fact that you were the first shirtless man I saw."
"But that doesn't explain why you kept looking."
"I liked what I saw!"
He smirked.
"That and you're a pretty boy."
"Why? Why does everyone make that judgement!"
She giggled. "But it's OK, Shang, because there are advantages to being a pretty boy." She kissed him slowly, leaning her forehead against his. He smirked.
"How do you do that, huh? You always get what you want..."
"It's just because you're a good man who wants to do the best for people. Mostly me." She grinned at him. He placed his arm around her, and she leant against him. "I mean that. You're a great man, Shang. Thank you for everything."
He closed his eyes, holding her tightly. "Well, you know they always say, behind every great man there's an even greater woman."
"I'm not sure that's what they say."
"It's what they should say."
"You're a lot easier to talk to now..."
"That was because I got so worried about you not feeling how I felt that I wanted to keep it secret."
"If you'd just told me how you felt at the Imperial City we wouldn't have been in this mess."
"But then I would've definitely had to sleep outside the tent." She raised her eyebrows. "I barely trusted me!"
"I knew you thought I was right."
"I didn't say that..."
"But I was right."
"Mmmm, I might still be sick, want to check my temperature?"
She gave him a look, and held a hand to his forehead. "You're warm, but I don't think that's anything to do with being ill..."
He chuckled softly, and simply held her there. "I promise to always keep you warm." He whispered softly in her ear.
She sighed. "Where did you learn to be romantic?"
"It comes naturally when I'm around you..."
"...crossed the line to cheesy, Shang."
"Oh, like I care." He looked around them. "Mulan, we have an audience..."
"I don't care if Mushu sees. I love you, and that's all that matters."
"It's not Mushu."
"Who is it?"
"It looks like most of your family..."
She turned around to see her parents and grandmother stood just inside the house, trying to look like they weren't spying on them. Mulan raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, no, I knew I forgot something..." Shang cried.
Mulan looked at him oddly. "What?"
"If I...If I were to ask you to marry me...would you say yes? I mean, not now, obviously-"
"Why not now?"
"Well...as you said...We've only known each other about 8 weeks...I mean..."
"I thought it felt like you'd known me forever? Besides, it was 7."
"It does...but-hang on. This means you want to marry me, doesn't it?"
She grinned. "You're so perceptive."
"I have to get your father's permission..." He kissed her tentatively on the forehead. "You're the only one I can see myself married to."
"Who else would do your hair in the mornings?" Mulan giggled. "Come on. Let's go inside, we can accuse my family of spying on us."
"Which they did."
"Are."
"...is it usual not to have any privacy in your home?"
"It depends on what's going on." Mulan smirked, taking his hand. They walked, hand in hand, to the house. She leant against him, and sighed happily. "Are you sure you want to end up in a family like this?"
"I want to end up with you." He replied quietly. "And your family doesn't seem that bad to me."
She smirked. "You won't be saying that after staying here for a few days."
He looked up. "Look. A shooting star. Make a wish!"
"Why? It's already come true..."
"Now that? That right there? That was cheesy."
She laughed. "It's better than 'you fight good'."
"...I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?"
"It was a monumentally bad line, Shang, I have every right to be irritated. I'd just saved China, and there was my commanding officer who I'd been besotted with pretty much since he took his shirt off, and what are his final words to me? 'You fight good.' That isn't even proper grammar!"
"Alright. Let me make up for it. You fight well."
She gave him a death glare. "I'm going to hurt you."
"And, you're the prettiest, most intelligent and best soldier I've ever met." He grinned.
"...you're forgiven. For now."
"What can I do to be forgiven forever?"
She smiled. "Love me."
"Already done." He whispered.
It was the same sky it had always been; it was the same air, the same world. But everything felt better now, more complete. They walked together, hand in hand, and though the hands would change, become old, frail, perhaps even not be able to hold one another, there would still be the connection. They would still be in love. And that was what mattered, even if the world fell around them. They'd be together. Forever.
I never made promises lightly
and there have been some that I've broken
but I swear in the days still left
we'll walk in fields of gold
we'll walk in fields of gold
many years have passed since those summer days
among the fields of barley
see the children run as the sun goes down
among the fields of gold
you'll remember me when the west wind moves
upon the fields of barley
you can tell the sun in his jealous sky
when we walked in fields of gold
when we walked in fields of gold
when we walked in fields of gold
fields of gold sting
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned apart from Leng, the random couple or Sakura and her family. The ideas are, generally speaking, my own, although I suspect a lot of it has been done. The bit about feeling safe was heavily inspired by one of my favourite parts of the webcomic, Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire, where Luna Travoia has this whole cute speech about having held fire in her hands etc, but she finally feels warm in her lover's arms. OhSoCute. Which is also, in part, where the bit about Shang being warm comes from, hehe. Read DD here: http/ Seriously, do it, you won't regret it Also, some of the techniques used (little kid, couples giving judgement etc.) are old standbys of stuff like this, so I suppose that they don't really belong to me…
Obviously the songs mentioned belong to whoever wrote them, I certainly didn't. Oh, and much as it seems daft to disclaimerise two words, the "Love me" bit from the end there is pretty much from "All I Ask Of You" from Phantom...which the bit waaaaaaay before ("He does all you ask of him!") refers to as well. I recommend all of the songs mentioned. They all make me happy.
As an interesting bit of trivia, songs considered to go at the end were All I Ask Of You and Come What May. However, when I wrote that drabbly bit at the end, Fields of Gold was a lot more fitting. And it's really, really pretty
Also trivia, this is the longest thing I've ever written. Which is kinda scary, ne? Especially since I wrote it over about a week or so. Which makes me feel kinda sad that it's over…But I enjoyed writing it, which is what matters the most. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. I'm not sure what I'll do next, I did have one idea, but I'm not sure…Bah. Something will happen, you've not heard the last of me! Lol
Take care, and if you've enjoyed this, please review…
-Sylvi