Breaking the Balance

By rese

Pairing: Mulan/Shang, Mulan/Ling

Summary: Admirers everywhere but how do you keep to your heart?

A/N: Disney owns Mulan, Shang and the gang.

This practiced stillness. His emotionless existence. Everything was broken when she was around him. Yet nothing seemed to work properly without her. She was his total opposite in every way but he had to find a place for her in his life. She completed him. It was that simple. Unfortunately nothing else was simple with Fa Mulan.

Mulan sighed as the sun hit her face. This was it. This was what she wanted to feel like for the rest of her life. Even if Shang never liked her more than a friend, this indescribable warmth and the happiness she felt from it, that's how she wanted to be. Like the sun.

A child's laughter startled her from her haze, she was still on the road and a cart was coming her way. Mulan jogged off the road and sat on the paddock's fence. The child smiled and waved at her as the cart went by and Mulan laughed. Everyone noticed her now.

She looked back up at the sky and thought how perfect everything was at that moment. Everything else was a brilliant reflection of this sunny day. Well, excepting the whole Shang thing. But she was determined to forget about it for today.

"Mulan!" someone shouted from behind her. She turned her head, looking into the paddock to see who wanted her. In this good a mood she hoped it wasn't about work. She could really do without that.

"Mulan!" they called again and at last she saw a wiry figure running towards her. Ling. She smiled brightly, and waved at him. Ling had come to visit two or three (she wasn't sure) weeks ago and had decided to stay with them for the unforeseeable future. Fa Zhou was pleased, he had a man to help till his fields, Grandma was radiant, she had another admirer and Fa Li was delighted to have another person to cook and wash for. Really she was. Mulan was just glad to have a friend.

"Hey Ling!" she grinned at him as he puffed his way too the fence, collapsing on it heavily. For a skinny guy he really couldn't carry his weight. He greeted her in between breaths and asked what she was doing all the way out here. Well that certainly shattered her elation.

"Nothing Ling. I just walked too far. That's all. Come on let's go." And she grabbed his arm, forcing him to drag along behind her. "What? Mulan, no." He yanked his arm free. And rubbed it with care, giving her a glare. "Ok, now I know it's something. You never do anymore than you have to. Come on Mulan. You'll have to tell someone sooner or later. It may as well be now and me."

Mulan sighed heavily and grinned at Ling's expression. What a friend. "Really Ling, it's ok. If it was something serious I would tell you. I promise." Ling scratched his head. "Well ok. So long as you promise."

Still smiling she climbed the fence and skipped down the road. She might have stopped if she had seen the look on Ling's face but with her head full of Shang, the sun and home, little could be spared for friends who cared too much. Maybe more than they should.