"Really Mau? You could've just answered me when I asked if it was you!" Pia almost screeched when seeing Mau in his undies. "I was… worried? Scared to." Mau said while getting dressed again. "Why would you be? I'm your best friend." "Well… I… Because…" He stumbled. Then he blurted out what happened between him and Rum in the meadow. "... And I'm scared he'll tell everyone and get both my sister and I in trouble. She could die if they figure out she's a woman. And I don't know what would happen to me. Probably the same." He rushed out, tearing up. "Ok. Well, you need to give people the benefit of the doubt. Nobody is after you and your sister is off to war. If, and I do mean IF, someone comes for you, just ask for my dad, he'll pardon you. I'm literally gay AND his daughter. Do you think this is his first rodeo?"
Mau felt better after his visit with Pia, and stayed to collect berries with the kids until it was time to make the juice. That seemed to be the girls favorite part. He smiled and started walking home. On the way, he ran into the Matchmaker. She turned around to see Mulan and steamed up. She broke her clipboard and screeched in Mau's face. "YOU MESSED EVERYTHING UP! THERE'S NO MORE SUITORS FOR YOU! YOU'LL NOW BE A SPINSTER AND NO ONE WILL EVER LOVE YOU!" When she was done, she huffed in Mau's face. After the afternoon he just had, this broke him. He started laughing uncontrollably. He covered his mouth, but that didn't stop the laughter. This made the Matchmaker even more upset and she fell to the ground, shaking in pure rage. He then continued on his way home.
After getting home, Ama came up to him, said no words, but hugged him. This made him feel better. "Now come help me make potstickers." Ama said gently. "How did you know I just had the crappiest day of my life?" Mau asked. "I didn't really. Your soul just told me what you needed. My gift is reading. Reading the future, tea leaves, and souls. And I've seen the shield you made. It seems like your gift is sigils. The ones you used are very powerful, not a beginner level thing." This made Mau smile and feel safer knowing that his shield was stronger than what he thought it was.
As the soldiers made their way through the Tung-Shao Pass, they felt like they were sitting ducks. Some of the men were worriedly checking the mountain ridges on the sides for signs of movement. Some of the men were trying to rush the horses and supplies through as quickly as possible. And some looked like they were holding their breath as they walked.
After making what felt like a thousand potstickers, Ama asked Mau to make a delivery. "We made so many extra to give about half to the Li's. Mrs. Li had a surgery not too long ago, like three days, I think, and mundane tasks like cooking are not easy for her to do right now. So some of the older ladies, I included, signed up for food rotation, and we're taking turns cooking for their family. Their son is too busy working a full time job and their daughter is too young to learn and her husband is off at war." Ama explained. "Now, the Li's are not too far. They're the house on the corner." Ama said with a small wink. "Now go. And thank you."
Mau got closer to the Li's and saw how close it was to where the elderly men played pai-sho. "Wow. That close, huh?" He said while knocking on the door. He waited a minute and then knocked again. And was shocked when Rum answered. "I… um… you… Can I please talk with you?" Mau stammered out. "Did you stalk me just to talk to me?" Rum asked, arms crossed. "No. I was sent. By my Ama. We," he started unwrapping the basket of potstickers, "We made a big batch of these bad boys." "Oh. I'm sorry." Rum said, lowering his arms. "Yeah. We can talk. Let me just put these inside for everyone to start eating first." At the door, Mau could hear Rum shout out, "I'll be outside for a bit. Start eating without me. I'll be back in soon enough." and wondered how soon 'soon enough' was.
Three of the soldiers that had been scanning the edges of the mountains as they passed started shooting arrows. A dead hun slid down the side of the mountain. More huns popped their heads out and started running towards the soldiers. "It's an ambush!" Shang shouted out. The men started unpacking the rockets, bombs and weapons, preparing to fight. Mulan noticed a large snowbank above the huns and took a rocket, aiming at the snowbank. Most of the men managed to kill a hun or two with a single shot. Mulan's shot took out most of the Huns in a single swoop as the snow quickly engulfed them. That left Shan Yhu and a few others who were still atop the mountain. The ones still atop the mountain ran off, unable to be seen. Shan Yhu wielded his sword and engaged in a swordfight with Shang. In all the commotion, or maybe on purpose, Shan Yhu stabbed Shang's horse. While Shang tried to console his equestrian friend, Mulan stepped between him and Shan Yhu who was trying to strike Shang while his back was turned. Shan Yhu managed to pierce into Mulan's side while she was able to slice off an arm. Shan Yhu then kicked Mulan in the stomach causing her to fall into the snow and black out. The other soldiers started shooting Shan Yhu with their bows and arrows while he grabbed one of the horses. Three arrows made it into his body but he still managed to take off on a steed.
Mau and Rum sat outside on the porch speaking in hushed tones. "Why didn't you just tell me?" Rum asked. "Well. I'm sorry. I'm trying not to get my sister and I killed." Mau said, slightly upset. He took a deep breath. "There's a lot I haven't told anyone." Mau said, pulling his legs closer to him and putting his arms around his knees. "Like, I haven't even told my parents that I'm gay. Like, my sister went off to war, for me because I was too chickenshit to go and to avoid her being caught and killed, I started pretending to be her. Now I'm scared. And I don't know why. When she comes back, that means I can't be her anymore. And for some reason, over the past, what? Month she's been gone, I realize that I'm happier being seen as a woman than a coward of a man. And then today, you said you weren't interested in women and nothing made me happier. Until I saw your reaction to me, that is. I'm sorry to have disappointed you." Mau said as calmly as he could while wanting to cry. "You didn't disappoint me. You shocked me. Imagine having a best friend and thinking you know so much about them, you share everything, and then find out that they kept THIS BIG a secret and you think you know nothing about them anymore. It was just… a lot to take in." Rum explained while rocking slightly. "I… I was honest earlier… I do… I do like you." Mau stammered out, trying and failing to make eye contact with Rum. "I like you too." Rum said, grabbing Mau's face with one hand and turning his face to his and kissing him. Mau was shocked for a second, but then closed his eyes and started kissing back. 'This feels nice.' He thought. 'It feels right.'
When Mulan came to, she was in a medic tent, along with Shang. She smiled softly. He scowled. She looked confused for a second. Then Shang walked over and took the blanket off of Mulan, revealing the bandages around her midsection and womanly chest. Shang looked outraged and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her up. She grabbed the blanket and tried to cover herself while he led her out of the tent. "We have been deceived, men." He said, taking Mulan's hair out of her warrior's knot, making her hair fall to her shoulders. "It's a woman." ChiFu exclaimed. "Probably the first one he's ever seen up close." Yao giggled out at Ling and Chien Po. Shang took Mulan's sword from Khan's straps and Khan started going wild. Some of the men restrained him. "Please. You have to understand. I did this for my family." Mulan started. "But you have a brother." Shang spat out. "One that was too scared to come here. Heck, he's too scared to tell people who he truly is. I was the better choice." Mulan explained. "So, you admit you had a choice." Shang said bitterly. "Well, I have one too." He said, while raising Mulan's sword above his head. Mulan stretched her neck out, knowing what was to come. Yao, Chien Po, and Ling all tried running to her aid and Yao and Ling were pulled down and sat on by other soldiers, Chien Po was told "you know the law." and closed his eyes, chanting. Shang brought the sword down.
After getting his sigils complimented from Ama, Mau wanted to add some sigils to the rest of the house, so that the home could protect them just as much as the shield would. It made him feel better knowing that Rum liked him and wasn't going to spill his and Mulan's secret. And made him feel better protecting the family in any way that he could. 'Just like Mulan.' he thought as he carved sigils into the stone base of the house.
And threw the sword in Mulan's direction into the snow. "Take it. You'll need it to defend yourself." He said to her, "Move out!" He said to the rest of the troops. "But she's injured." "You can't just leave her." A few men piped up. "I SAID," Shang said loudly, "Move out." He said sinisterly.
That night, Mau had the best sleep that he ever had after carving a sigil into every stone that held the house. The next morning, he felt like a brand new person. He headed off to the Li's to gather Rum. "Would you like to meet my family? I'd have to introduce you as Mulan's friend… Or maybe… as Mau's boyfriend?" "I get to meet my boyfriend's parents? I'd love that." And just like that Mau got his answer.
That evening, 'Mulan' and Rum entered the Fa home. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Fa." Rum said, bowing. "And Hello Ama." He said, as Ama had just entered the room. Ama smiled brightly and then hugged the boy. Mau felt a little jealous ping, but smiled just as brightly. "This is the Li's boy." Ama said to Fa Li and Fa Zhou. "The respectful one that looks after the elderly in the village? He's a keeper. When's the wedding?" Fa Zhou asked. "Umm… When Mau gets back. For he is not mine." Mau said, giving everyone a moment to contemplate what he just said. "This is Mau's boyfriend. And I've been informed that I'm allowed to share his secret with you. He's attracted to men. He's gay. And I still love him. And Ama still loves him. And this boy right here loves him. And if you can't, then I…" Mau went on, getting cut off by Fa Li. "We love him with all our being. We knew there was something different about him for a while. But figured we'd be informed when the time was right." She took Rum's face in her hands and looked at him, really looked at him. "I'm happy for my boy. And he looks like he'll be a good man to our young man." Mau's lip trembled and he started tearing up. "Thank you guys. I lo… He loves you too."
Mulan was left, in the middle of the snowy nowhere. She was worried. Shan Yhu was still out there and still heading toward the Emperor. 'As a single unit, I could move faster than a battalion,' she thought, and headed in the direction of the Emperor's palace. Khan ran a good bit, and earned every treat Mulan had in her bag by time they made it to the Emperor's palace. They made it before the troops. But not before Shan Yhu.
Shan Yhu had the Emperor on a balcony, demanding that he kneel to him. The Emperor said, "No matter how mighty the wind howls, a mountain cannot bow to it." Which threw Shan Yhu into a rage. Mulan grabbed Mushu and her shawl and used it to start climbing up the pillar separating her from Shan Yhu, and thus the Emperor. She made it to the balcony just in time to shove the Emperor out of the way of Shan Yhu's crooked sword. She tied her shawl around a rope supporting lanterns and grabbed the Emperor. "You need to trust me." She said as she wrapped her shawl around his hands several times and then pushed him off the balcony. He slid all the way down and into the crowd where he was more or less safe. Then she avoided Shan Yhu's sword as he struck at her, causing him to cut the rope that the Emperor just slid down. The crowd cheered. Mulan tried to exit but the door was locked. At this point, Shang and the rest of the soldiers got to the palace. Shang attacked the Huns guarding the door to the balcony, unlocked it, and threw himself at Shan Yhu. "You're the one who cost me my victory!" Shan Yhu said, punching Shang anywhere he could reach. "NO!" Mulan said, throwing her show at Shan Yhu. "It was me." "The soldier from the mountain." Shan Yhu muttered and lunged an attack at Mulan. She jumped up and grabbed a piece of scaling and started climbing up the palace from the outside. Shan Yhu followed. When she made it to the roof, she saw the fireworks display set in a watchtower. "Mushu!" She cried out. "Way ahead of ya, girlie!" He said, running off to the watchtower. As Mulan lined up with the fireworks display she thought, 'this would be a beautiful sunset to watch if I wasn't fighting for my life.'
'Mulan' and Rum sat in the back garden. Just talking and watching the sunset. "I wish things would change." Rum said. "What kind of change?" Mau asked. "Like, a forever change. Like, something big. Like…" Rum started. "Like us being able to wed." Mau finished, holding Rum's hand. "Yeah. Something like that." Rum said, calming down.
When Shan Yhu made it to the top of the roof, he was pissed and started wildly swinging his crooked sword. Mulan took out her fan, caught his sword in it when he attempted to skewer her, and flipped his sword out of his hand. She then screamed, "NOW MUSHU!" while stabbing his leg into the roof. She ran and Mushu lit the fireworks, hitting Shan Yhu and blowing him up. Mulan made it down safely by sliding on a rope by a lantern, like the Emperor did.
Mulan landed on Shang as he was running up the steps of the palace to get to the Emperor once again. Mulan walked with Shang, Ling, Chien Po, and Ya towards the Emperor. He asked for Mulan to step forward and everyone but Shang jumped into a defense position around her. Shang sighed deeply and then grabbed Mulan's hand and led her to the Emperor. "Fa Mulan. You have run away from home, stolen your fathers armor, impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, destroyed my palace," he said getting slightly louder with each new offense listed, "and you have saved us all." He said, sounding a lot kinder. "Thank you." He said, bowing at the hips. Everyone else in the crowd started bowing too. And then Ling, Chien Po, and Yao teared up and bowed as low as they possibly could for their friend. Shang looked like 'what-am-I-chopped-liver?' and then bowed anyway.
After everyone straightened up, the Emperor said, "I give you my medallion, so your family will know what you've done for me. And I give you Shan Yhu's sword, so the world will know what you did for China." while bestowing her with the goods. "Is there anything you'd like from me? You can ask anything." Mulan bowed deeply and said, "Yes sir, there is. You can make same sex marriage a thing… and… and you can abolish gender norms, so any woman just trying to save her family can without fear of death. And… and… and you can abolish Matchmakers. Let people decide who they want to marry, themselves, for love." She said while looking in Shang's direction, trying not to make direct eye contact. "Well. That IS quite a list. Is there anything else you'd like? Gold? Fame? A job on my council?" "But there are no council positions open, your Majesty." ChiFu said when he finally made it to the top of the steps and scribbled all the things Mulan asked for down. "Very well then, you may have his job." The Emperor said while jabbing a thumb in ChiFu's direction. ChiFu passed out. Mulan giggled. "With all due respect, your Excellency, I've been away from home for quite some time. I'd like to go back home. And if the offer still stands in a year or two, I wouldn't mind taking you up on it." The Emperor winked and said, "The offer will always be open to the savior of China." and Mulan jumped up and hugged him. The Emperor smiled. "Is she allowed to do that?" Yao asked. Everyone else just shrugged their shoulders, smiling. After releasing their embrace, Mulan called out to Khan, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs after making his way through the crowd. She hugged Chien Po, Ling, and Yao while they all but cried. Then she came across Shang, who she tried to hug and then wound up awkwardly shaking hands. When she made it down to Khan she said "Come on boy. Let's go home." and he took off. "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful and rare of all." The Emperor said. Shang and the boys looked confused. "You don't meet a girl like her every dynasty." He said before he continued his announcements. "The soldiers I have here today will help me in bringing these new abolishments and new laws into place over the next couple months. Then they will be allowed to go wherever they'd like as decorated soldiers and live their lives to the fullest. This man," he started, turning in Shang's direction only to notice that Shang is already gone, "is already living his life to the fullest it seems." He muttered, smiling.
Ama wakes up in the middle of the night, happy and joyous. "MULAN IS COMING HOME!" She shouts through the house. "But Mulan is already here." Fa Li said, getting up and out of bed. "MULAN IS COMING HOME!" She shouts again through the house, which wakes Mau up. He jumps up, forgetting how he's dressed for bed and runs into the hall. "She is?" He says, still in Mulan's voice. The two start rejoicing right there, dancing and whooping. "Fa Li, do I need glasses? Or hearing aids? Did Mama just say that MULAN is coming home?" "Yes dear, she did. And you don't need either. That's Mau celebrating with her." "What? How? He… But we… Mulan… What?" "I know just as much as you do. Which is nothing." AHEM* Fa Li cleared her throat and the celebration stopped. "Care to explain how Mau is here and Mulan is coming home?" Mau started explaining all the things that took place between him and Mulan, and then explained that for the past month he'd been pretending to be her, and then explained how he felt while dressing as a woman. "I feel more like myself dressed as a woman than I do as a man." "Oh, dear. We love you. But how will the rest of the village take this?" Fa Li started. "Take what?" They all heard from the doorway. "MULAN!" everyone shouted. "Take what?" She repeated. "Well, Mau prefers dressing as a woman." "And that's great!" Mulan responded. "The Emperor is abolishing gender norms, and making same sex marriage legal, and making it so that people can marry for love, not marry who was chosen for them." "Wait. What?" Mau asked, his jaw dropping. "Real change? Forever change? Big change? I can marry Rum! Thank you, sister. I love you so much!" Mau said, flinging himself into a hug. "And I love you too. All of you." Fa Zhou scoffed. "Then you shouldn't have kept us in the dark." "Would it have made a difference if we didn't?" Mulan asked. "Either way, I'm sorry. I've brought gifts… to honor the Fa family. The crest of the Emperor and the sword of Shan Yhu." "Oh, Mulan. No need to be sorry. You two have never dishonored me. I'm just a little disappointed that you didn't trust us with your secret. But," He said, taking a deep breath, "I understand."
Within the next few days, an announcement is made, telling of what Mulan did, of what her wishes were/are, and of what the future will behold. People rejoice in the streets. Rum runs to Mau and kisses him. "We can get married now!" Mau said. "Yes we can… umm… question. Will you be wearing a dress for the occasion?" He asked while taking a look at Mau, in a dress. "Yes I will. This is the new me. I like wearing dresses." "And I like what makes you happy." Rum said, holding Mau's hand and now waving at the crowd who was gawking at them. Shang walked through the crowd and found Mulan. "Umm… You forgot your helmet." He started. Then Fa Zhou came over next to her. "Well… actually, your helmet, isn't it?" Fa Zhou and Mulan exchanged smiles. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" Mulan asked. "Would you like to stay forever?" Ama asked from behind her.
Mau and Rum continued to talk everyday, and date. Shang, after about a week of staying at the Fa's, finally asked Mulan to be his girlfriend, and they started dating. Fa Li and Fa Zhou were happy that their children were happy. And Ama smiled, knowing that everyone would be happy in the end.
While our trio, Ling, Yao, and Chien Po were at the palace, they met the Emperor's daughters. One was carefree and a romantic. One was stoic to hide her goofy nature. And one was kind hearted and the greatest cook.
One day, everyone went to get their tea leaves read by Ama. "But Ama… I thought Mau was supposed to die." Mulan said, more or less asking if she was wrong in her vision. "You're never wrong. How did this happen?" "That's because a part of her did. The male part. The person who asked me for the fortune, died. And was replaced by this beauty." Ama answered, looking at the four people in front of her and smiling. "I can tell you now, without any tea, that this Spring will be a lovely one." She said with a wink.
Our trio spent a lot of time with the Emperor's daughters and one by one, fell in love with the side of them that they never let the public see, their true selves. Yao started dating the carefree and romantic one, named MeiSu. Ling started dating the stoic but fun loving one, named Ting-Ting. And Chien Po started dating the most kind hearted woman he'd ever met, named SuMei.
Within a week, after Ama's 'reading' Shang proposed to Mulan. She said yes. She sent word to our trio and they replied that they'd be there, all with a plus one. This made Mulan's heart soar. Everyone deserves love.
A little longer than a week later, Mau was freaking out a little bit. "I want to propose, but he's technically the man." He was saying in the bathroom mirror to himself. "I didn't mean to overhear, but you do remember that we've abolished gender norms. Right?" Mulan said, making Mau perk up. "You're right." He said, as he took his box and walked over to where Rum usually is this time of day, taking care of the elderly gentlemen. "Rum." He said as he entered. "I have something important to ask you." "Well I do too. So wait there just a second." Rum responded as he took off his apron. Mau stood still, shaking in his spot, waiting. When Rum approached him, he dropped down to one knee, and didn't realize that Rum did the same thing until he was looking up and didn't see him, then looked forward and realized he was kneeling face to face with him. "Will you marry me?" They both said at the same time. "What?" They both asked. "OF COURSE!" They both shouted and threw their arms around each other. The elderly men who looked up from their pai-sho games clapped and cheered. The ones who were too into the game then looked up like 'huh,' saw them both hugging, then saw the rings in their boxes and "AWWWWWWWWWW"ed.
When Springtime came, there were two weddings. First was Mulan and Shang's. She wore a light pink dress with a train that a cat wound up laying on while she walked down the aisle. After they said their I DO's, Mulan threw the bouquet and then picked up the cat. "We're already a full family now." She said with a grin. "If that's your way of asking if we can keep the cat, the answer is a heck yeah. I love animals. But seeing as my dad was a captain, we were always traveling and training so I didn't get to have any. I'd love to have as many as you'd like." They walked to their seats, with their new cat, and waited.
Rum was waiting at the altar with the biggest smile he'd ever smiled. Today was the happiest of his life. Everyone waited with baited breath to see Mau. And they were not disappointed. He wore a pastel blue gown with a small train and a small slit up the thigh AND HEELS. Xia stood at the altar waiting for Mau as well. As he walked to the altar, he stopped by Mulan for a second, and gave her the sigil shield he created. "To protect you, like you've done for us." He said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. When he made it to the altar, Xia said, "You did it. You're a pretty great guy, and a beautiful woman, and I'm happy to leave you in his hands." before flying off into the distance.
Ling, Ting-Ting, Chien Po, Su, Yao, and Mei were all bawling at this point. When Mau threw his bouquet, Ting-Ting caught it and started blushing. Just then, the boys all dropped down to one knee. "Will you marry me?" They asked in unison. One by one, each of the sisters dropped down to hug their man. "Yes." They all three said.
A month later, Shang and Mulan, along with the rest of the Fa's, were invited to attend Ling, Ting-Ting, Chien Po, Su, Yao, and Mei's weddings, along with the rest of China. They wore the whitest dresses you've ever seen. The men waited at the altar, huddled in a group, nervous. But when they saw their beautiful brides-to-be, they stopped fretting. At the altar, the priest, who was Rum, asked Ting-Ting, "Do you take this man in holy matrimony?" "I do." And he turned to Ling, "Do you ta…" "I DO!" He practically screamed out of happiness. Rum smiled. He then turned to Su. "Do you take this man, in sickness and in health?" "Forever and always." She swooned, then shook herself and said, "I do." Rum then turned to Chien Po, who bowed deeply and said, "I will take her forever and always." Rum responded with, "Well, I do it is then." Then he turned to Mei. "Do you take this man, till death do you part?" "Our love will not waiver or stop, even after death. I do." She said. "And you, Yao?" "If I have my way, she'll never die. But the answer is yes. I do." "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you men and wives. You may kiss your bride." And the trio picked up their corresponding bride and kissed them with a passion Mulan and Shang never knew them to have. It was a beautiful wedding.
Years later, Mau now goes by Mei, Xiu-Ying is a head nurse at the warfront. Shang and Mulan's cat, Neko, had kittens, and so did Shang and Mulan. They had three daughters and one son, a fraternal twin to one of the girls. Their names were TyLee, LaMai, MayLin, and Mau, in honor of Mulan's 'used-to-be' brother. And Rum and Mei now live their lives, traveling the countryside, marrying people and other priestly things. And they all lived happily ever after.