Love or Law

I've Got to Go!

Mulan lay awake in their tent trying desperately to ignore the fact that there was a half-naked man lying about a foot or so away from her. She had seen her Captain (and plenty of other men) without a shirt on before. But laying here in the dark, close enough to feel his warmth and hear his breathing as it deepened in sleep, felt so much more intimate. Her heart wouldn't stop racing and her face felt so hot she was surprised she didn't have smoke coming out of her ears! How in the world was she supposed to get any sleep? What in the world was wrong with her?!

She smothered a frustrated growl then decided that she didn't have to put up with this. She didn't have to stay in the tent. She would leave and find a better, more comfortable, place to sleep. One that didn't contain a certain disturbing, half-naked Captain! After all, what was the worst he could do to her? Drag her back? Embarrass her in front of the whole company? Well, he had already done that so it couldn't possibly get any worse. With a final nod of determination Mulan made up her mind, sat up, and began to slowly ease herself away from Shang. When she deemed she was out of grabbing range, she stood and went to dart out of the tent.

What she didn't expect was for one of her legs to be very suddenly and forcefully yanked out from under her. Mulan toppled to the ground, half in the tent and half out, entirely confused as to how she had gotten there. Turning over with a small groan (that ground was HARD!) she reached back to discover what had tripped her. Her fingers brushed a rough, prickly surface wrapped around her ankle. Rope! How the heck had he managed to tie her up!? When had he done it?

"Going somewhere?" An all too familiar, deep voice asked. She closed her eyes in anger and embarrassment. He was laughing at her. After a moment she tilted her head back and looked way, way up until she met his gaze.

"As a matter of fact, yes." She answered sharply, shooting him a glare for good measure.

"Really?" Shang asked sarcastically, "And where did you need to go in such a hurry in the middle of the night?"

Mulan's thoughts raced as she frantically tried to come up with a viable excuse for her behavior. Her mind latched onto one but she automatically shrank back from saying it aloud. It was so embarrassing...but what other choice was there? Besides, he thought she was a man so it couldn't be that bad to admit...

Taking a breath she stuttered out, "I-I needed to..." her voice dropped in volume, "...relieve...myself." Immediately her face blazed up in embarrassment and she ducked her head, waiting for his response. There was a long, extremely awkward, pause.

"Oh." Shang finally said, "Oh, right...um." He quickly crouched and untied the knot around her ankle.

"Sorry...there..." He reached down and helped her to her feet. There was another awkward pause.

"Not planning on running off, are you?" Shang joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Mulan flushed slightly, "No!" She answered a little too quickly and a little too vehemently.

"Really?" Shang asked, not believing her for a moment, "Well, in that case I think I might join you." He made to take a step past her and Mulan acted without thinking. She threw an arm out and caught Shang across the waist yelling, "NO!"

"No? Are you telling a superior officer what he can and cannot do?" Shang asked, hiding his amusement at her reaction behind a stern mask.

Instantly she removed her arm and took a step back, "No! No, not at all! I...I just...um..."

As she tried to come up with a plausible excuse for her actions Shang decided to take pity on her. "Relax! I'm just teasing."

"Oh...then...um...I'm gonna...go...yeah." Mulan quickly spun around and took off into the darkness. She didn't get far before Shang's words made her pause.

"If you're taking too long I will come and find you!"

The thought of her Captain tracking her down and finding her in a compromising situation made Mulan pick up her pace. She didn't know if he was still teasing or not but there was no way she was going to allow that to happen!

When Mulan made it back to the tent in record time it was to find Shang had already lain down on his mat and was fast asleep. All her worrying had been for nothing. With a huff of annoyance Mulan lay down on her mat with her back to him, pulled her blanket over her head and decided that she would do her absolute best to ignore him from then on out.

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Shang heard the rustle of the tent flap when Ping re-entered the tent and let out a small sigh of relief, feeling himself relax. He hadn't wanted to chase after her but if she had forced his hand he would have. He didn't know why she had such a problem being around him these last few days. It had never been a problem before. Of course, they hadn't been sharing a tent before.

He listened in slight amusement as she huffed in apparent annoyance, then settled down behind him on her mat. He heard her shift a few times before she finally settled down but it was a long while before her breathing slowed down and deepened into her sleep pattern. It was an even longer while before he risked turning over and coming up on an elbow to watch her.

In that time, she had shifted again until she was on her stomach facing his direction. She hadn't bothered to pull her hair out of its topknot. Shang had a feeling she didn't want to risk anyone seeing her with her hair down in case it made her look more feminine. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and gave the ribbon that held her hair in place a gentle tug. The knot was already loose so the ribbon came away in his hand with ridiculous ease. With nothing to hold it in place, her dark hair tumbled down onto her shoulders and across her face.

Shang bit back a laugh seeing her hair puff out with every breath she exhaled. Gingerly, he reached out and began to slowly move the hair out of her face until he could see her again. The dark mass felt like silk slipping through his fingers. Shang couldn't help but marvel at its softness.

Ping sighed and shifted slightly in her sleep, causing Shang to freeze in panic. Ping only turned slightly so she was laying more comfortably on her side, facing him, before sighing again and sinking back into a deep sleep. It was only then that Shang realized just what exactly he had been doing. Muttering curses, he rolled over so his back was to her once more. What was it about this woman that tempted him into being a complete idiot?! Shang decided there and then that he would ignore her for the rest of the time that they shared a tent, treating her like he would any other soldier.

*Snicker* I smell drama!