#i guess fuzzy gifs are my specialty lol

[i-platypus]

Answer all of the 50 questions

Challenge Accepted. Because I need a break from editing this book.

50 Questions Just Because

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to? Barry; I need to finish SpyxFamily; and I need to start Poker Face.

Describe your favorite pair of socks: I confess, I am not much of a sock person... that said, shout out to Bombas for lasting forever.

Do you like smoothies? Yes.

What do you wear when you have to dress nicely? No sweatshirts and no sneakers... although I do own sparkly sneakers that I like to pair with dresses.

How do you like your eggs? "I like mine with a kiss. Boiled or fried, I'm satisfied, as long as I get my kiss."

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book? Bookmarks -- my memory is no longer doing the trick.

What color dominates your closet? Um... I do wear all the colors, so no one-color-to-rule-them-all-thing. Shades of blue and green, I guess?

Do you collect anything? If so, what? Phantom of the Opera memorabilia, colored glass bottles, playbills/concert tickets, and assorted pieces of bric-a-brac that I place on my books.

What sounds or scents calm you down? Fresh laundry, hot chocolate, tea being stirred, a hint of brine from the sea upon the air, someone laughing from far away, the rustling of leaves on a tree, the scent of rain after a storm.

What’s your favorite kind of uquiz question? (Lyric, color, aesthetic, etc) Aesthetic.

Do you wear glasses or contacts? Both, but I prefer contacts.

What’s something about your best friend that you love? She is a killer babe who takes no prisoners.

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil? Pencil, although when I write with pen and make a mistake, I turn my scribbled-out words into drawings of rainclouds.

What are some places where you feel most at home? A bookstore café, by the seaside, walking through a farmer's market, on a stage or in a darkened theatre, on the bus listening to my music in my headphones, out to a meal with friends...

Do you have any houseplants? Do any of them have names? I keep killing them, so my mum rescues and adopts them: Dolores and Hector.

Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique? I have a Sprite hoodie (as in, it's green, with the Sprite logo across the chest). I've had it now for three years. Everyone goes out of their way (it seems) to compliment it and say that it makes them happy. How cool is that?

What’s the last thing you ordered online? Bed bracers --- it's not what it suggests.

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed? The debut of electric light in cities -- must have felt magical.

What’s your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid? Darkwing Duck... my mum made me white, fuzzy shorts with a fluffy duck tail :D

What kind of math are you best at? None.

What’s your favorite period in art history, your favorite famous work and/or your favorite style of art? If you don’t know any that’s ok! I love impressionism, especially Degas. My favorite famous work, however? I love Starry Night by Van Gogh (don't care if that's basic).

Iced or hot drinks? Hot drinks - good for the gut.

Which songs do you like to sing in the shower? Whatever pops into my head -- usually something with a good melody.

Are you a good driver? I'm better than most in Washington state, it seems.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want? I have two piercings in my earlobe. When I turn forty, I'll probably get another one, or a small tattoo to celebrate.

Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties? Baking - I love baking fruit pies.

Do you have any keychains on your home or car keys? Describe them! I have a Gudetama-lava-lamp keychain from @oddarette on my house keys. On my car keys, I have a Marvin-the-Martian keychain.

Can you swim very well? Do you like swimming? Yes and yes. I love the water.

Did you play with Legos as a kid? What was your favorite set? Nope, never had the patience. I like helping my sister with her sets, however.

Is your closet organized? If so, how? Have we met? Sorry, maybe not. I'll just say: there's a very good reason why Hal Yorke is my profile picture -- and it's not because I'm a vampire.

What’s the last music video you watched? Saint Motel: My Type

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose? What I currently rock: Blue-teal balayage

Headphones or earbuds? Earbuds

Can you read analog clocks? Yes. I'm an elder-millennial.

Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid: Buddy the Bear (I've had him since I was two or three, I think). Grey bear, kid-sized, looks like Baloo.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at? I am good at air-hockey (arm-span).

Do you mind if others are in the kitchen when you’re cooking or baking? Yes. I have a teeny-a$$ kitchen. One butt only.

What’s one show you watch or musician you listen to that your friends know nothing about? Ripper Street (unless you count my sister, @deweymydecimal ... she can never escape my hyper fixations).

What was the best part of your day today? The sun coming out in the afternoon.

What’s your favorite kind of tree? Weeping Willows are wonderfully wistful.

What scent is your deodorant? Degree Clinical (SO sexy)

Do you have any games on your phone? If so, which one(s) is/are your favorite? I used to really like Match-3 games... but then I realized that I was wasting my time on them.

Do you shower with the lights on or off? Uh, on. I prefer to see Norman Bates creeping up on me, thanks.

What do you do with spare change? Donate it or spend it at wishing wells.

Do you have good handwriting? No - average and legible.

What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked? Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

Do you like to go on walks? Yes. My mental health depends on it.

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl? Nope -- I'm not precious about that.

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining? Read a book and sip tea.

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions: Fresh from the shower, nearly-naked, and cooling off from the steam in my nice clean sheets -- drifting off to sleep as I listen to a podcast.

[crazycookiecrumbles]

Scream For Me (4)

A/N: 4th part after Scream For Me (3)

Would totally appreciate some feedback and comments on this series, that way I know to continue it if people actually like it, lol.

Masterlist

Pairings/ Characters: Shang-Chi x Avenger!Reader (Shaun x Reader, takes place before events of Shang-Chi movie), Katy Chen, Xu Xialing, Wenwu

Warnings: fighting, angst, spoilers from the movie

Summary:  In your fit of rage you decided to beat Shaun (Shangqi) to his sister’s side. You bond with Xialing, and then you find yourself pulled into the whole mess that is his traumatic superhero origin story.

WC: 5,960

You weren’t sure what to expect by coming to see Xialing early, nor did you have any idea what you were going to do for these two days. At first, in your anger, showing up to see her before Shangqi was a great idea. Now that you’re actually here with your boyfriend’s little — if he even was still that to you — sister was making you a little nervous. You knew nothing about her and had no way to prepare yourself to meet her, but, to your surprise, this wasn’t so bad.

“Have you ever been to China before?” Xialing asked you that evening as you both left the club.

“Once, I was 16. I came on a mission,” you explained to her as you two walked down the street. 

“Wow. You started after my brother.”

“That’s just when I came here, I was working before then,” you explained. “ I started training at around 11, first mission was at 12. Nothing crazy, but what else is there to do with a kid that has unexplainable powers?”

Xialing shook her head, “Another child without a childhood. And what of your parents?”

You hummed to yourself as you thought about it, “Honestly? It’s a little fuzzy. I can’t remember.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Nothing at all? You don’t remember your life before age 11?”

You shrugged, “That’s totally normal. Trauma makes you repress stuff, right?”

“I don’t think it should repress 11 years of your life,” Xialing stared at you in shock. “How do you even know if your parents are dead? Is that what SHIELD told you? An organization that was muddled with Hydra? They could’ve been lying to you this entire time.”

You laughed for a few seconds before realizing that she could absolutely be right. You would be none the wiser to anything being different because you, truthfully, had no idea. It made you wonder if you were even Inhuman like they told you. Were you human at all? Well, now that was just silly. You knew part of you had to be. Hell, Bucky’s blood (and in the past, Steve’s or Natasha’s) worked on you because they all had a super soldier serum (whether American-made or a Soviet Specialty) embedded in their DNA. The alterations to their blood was the only way you could accept someone else’s blood. 

Oh, god. Xialing made a point that you had never once questioned in your life. And what did you have to show for it? No understanding of who you truly were or where you came from, just a lifetime of murder and mayhem and secrets that never benefitted anyone in the long run.

“It’s okay,” Xialing said quietly. “You were a child, none the wiser. Now you know.”

“I, I guess I do,” you mumbled to yourself. “Well, that’s going to keep me up for a month. Uh, where are we going?”

“To eat. We are going to eat, then you will stay with me. I have space.”

“Oh, I’m not trying to impose on you. I can get a hotel — “

“Well, if I am in danger of my father and you are as heroic as you claim to be, don’t you think staying with me would make your job easier?” She raised a perfect eyebrow in your direction. “Not that I need anyone’s protection. I can handle myself, but it seems counterproductive to be away from me.”

You pursed your lips and nodded, “You’re absolutely correct. Okay, then.”

“You did not bring clothes.”

“Did not think that far ahead,” you admitted.

She nodded her head once, “We will shop tomorrow.”

You thought about this briefly, “I could do with some retail therapy.”

“And I suspect I’m going to need retail therapy soon as well, so we’ll get it done tomorrow,” Xialing told you as she opened the door to the restaurant, “Right now, we eat. We’ll tell teach other stories. I’ll fill you in on my life and you can tell me about that cool scar on your neck.”

Your hand instinctively went up to your neck and you chuckled, “Oh, you know, the usual. Just someone trying to assassinate me.”

“How fun.”

—~*~—

You learned that after their mother’s death, which led to you expressing your sincere apologies to Xialing and prompting you to make a mental note to speak to Shangqi about that as well, that Shangqi was raised as the favored son. He was the one being groomed to take over their father’s legacy, who was doted on and trained night and day, while Xialing was left feeling incredibly alone.

It explained a lot about him, now that you thought about it.

It also explained his relationship with Katy. He had abandoned his little sister, but the way Shangqi and Katy were together, well, he was like her big brother with the way he cared for her and how they bonded so well together. It also explained why he was usually so docile. That night outside the bar, you distinctly remember him saying that he didn’t want any trouble. 

That figured. Someone raised to kill a man in every way possible and ran from that life, the last thing he’d want to do was be forced to fight someone. It also explained the look in his eyes when you refused to tell him who was behind the hit on you, which went to your next point that you did not share with Xialing.

Her father was the leader of the Ten Rings, and you knew, thanks to Sam finding a dagger that had been left behind almost like a calling card, that they were responsible for the hit. According to the work Bucky and Sam had done, the assassination attempt had sought out the Ten Rings to do the job. They had a few possible sources of who it could have been, but as of right now, none of those leads had checked out.

It bothered you very, very much, but not as much as thinking that your boyfriend’s father could’ve been behind your near death. Really, what a small world, the organization that he runs being the reason why Shangqi found out who you were, the reason why you nearly died. What a mess.

You had been enjoying your time with Xialing, at least. Watching her work was fascinating. Younger than you, but such a powerful force. You could see it. Even her walk exuded power, a presence that few people could master. You’d seen it before, Steve and Tony both had commanding presences, but both for such very different reasons. Xialing’s was different as well, when she walked, when she spoke to others, you could see ruthlessness within her, that was just what she exuded, but you could also, faintly, see a softer side to her, mercy, maybe. Perhaps the title of a merciful queen suited her on most occasions.

In the club, you were leaning against the glass wall and staring into the main area, watching the scores of people gather around and watch the fights.

“You can have a go, if you’d like,” Xialing said from behind her desk as she typed on her computer. “Any pick you’d like....after I’ve picked the contenders.”

You snorted, “As nice as that sounds, I’m going to decline.”

“Why?”

“I don’t hold back,” you explained. “Plus, it would be a shame to ruin this outfit.”

Ah, yes, the outfit. Let’s just say that you really, really envied Xialing’s sense of style, and she had rubbed off on you a little bit when you went shopping together. She was very influential, and you didn’t mind it at all.

“Right, you have to look your best for when my brother comes. Eat his own heart, no?” Xialing teased.

You snickered, “I like you, Xialing, you get me.”

“I like the taste of revenge,” she smirked and glanced at her set of monitors that held security camera footage. “Ah, I believe this is him approaching right now. The woman with long hair and the bright pants, that’s —“

“Are they parachute pants?”

“Yes.”

“Katy,” you nodded and went over to look at the feed. “That’s them.”

“Perfect,” Xialing pressed a button on her desk. The two of you watched as he signed a document without reading it at all.

“This idiot,” you sighed. “Who signs a contract without a lawyer present?”

“My brother,” Xialing sighed, already seemingly tired of this interaction she had yet to actually have.

Jon Jon entered Xialing’s office, “You rang, boss?”

Xialing smirked, “Greet my brother and his friend at the door. You pretend you don’t know my name and never heard of me. Just prepare him for my fight.”

He beamed, “You got it boss. Any chance you want in on this, Siren? Huh? Boost your brand, your street cred, make some serious money.”

“How about next time?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” He grinned and left the office.

Yeah, putting yourself on the dark web where tons of people who probably hated you and wanted to kill you could see you was probably not the brightest plan at the moment.

Xialing stood up and turned off her main computer before grabbing her cloak, “Any special requests before I go and kick my brother’s ass?”

“Testicles.”

“Done,” she giggled. “I was going to do that anyway. Coming to watch? You can stand by Jon Jon.  He announces from the top. Security will let you up.”

You thought about it. Watching him get his ass kicked in person would be so nice and satisfying.

“Sure.”

You grabbed your bright red leather jacket and slipped it on. It had a grey hoodie attached to it, so you slipped the hood on over your head and followed Xialing out the door. She went to prepare for her entrance, and you went to watch the fight near Jon Jon. You could see Katy far down below nursing her drink, and part of you wished you had gone down to join her.

As the fight commenced, you relished this moment. Xialing was incredibly badass, and the way she fought against her brother was incredibly impressive. You were in awe at the way she fought, and now you wondered if you had wasted an opportunity to learn a few moves from her.

When she kicked him in the face to end the fight you found yourself cringing and holding your own face as Shangqi hit the ground. She destroyed her brother, and it was brutal to watch. You even saw blood on the glass after they took him away, and you felt a pang of guilt for enjoying his beating so much.

Jon Jon nodded to you and gestured with his chin on where to go. You walked away and went to Xialing’s private locker room. You waited a few minutes before knocking. Xialing opened the door and stared at you with a smirk on her face.

“Worth it?”

“Definitely amazing,” you agreed. “Are you okay?”

“Not a scratch. He was easy.”

“I meant emotionally,” you replied.

She stared at you for a moment. This took her by surprise.  Sure, you both had trauma bonded.  You both were mad at her brother, but she did not think there would be genuine care and feelings attached to this. 

She was quiet as an empty stare met your eyes, and you knew she was anywhere but with you in that moment.

“I’ll be fine. I always am,” she nodded her head. “You can go to my office. I have a few things to take care of, and I will be there soon. I’m sure Shangqi will be thrilled.”

“Here’s hoping,” You snorted and left the locker room.

Walking to her office was scarier than the first time you went there. You were going to face Shangqi for the first time since you found out his secret, since you yelled at him and ran across the globe to get to his sister before he did, just to prove a point.

And what point was that? That you could be helpful too? The more you thought about it, the more you wondered if you were just being really, really stupid. Maybe he was looking out for you by not asking you to go with him to Macau. Maybe he was just trying to make sure you were safe, because he didn’t do that for you the last time you needed someone to.

But, of course, you were stubborn. More than that, you’d been raised for this life. You could handle anything that came your way.

You entered the office and saw that Shangqi still hadn’t arrived. You sat on a chair first before realizing you were too anxious to do that. You then moved over and stood by the windows and stared at the nightlife outside. With hands shoved into your pockets, you zoned out completely and wondered if you were making a stupid, childish mistake, but you had no time to change your mind.

The door opened and you heard shuffling as someone told Shangqi to sit down. You could see through the reflection that he was holding a tissue up to his face to catch the blood that his sister drew from him. He stopped walking and glanced at you, confused as to who you were for a moment before he chalked it up to you being another member of her security team in the room.

You turned around just as he was about to sit down. The action made him stumble over his two feet and nearly fall over the bench completely.

“(Y/N),” his name fell from your lips and you felt your heart ache as you stared at him. He looked you over from head to toe. He’d never seen you dress this way, and he was absolutely not expecting to see you here, not after the way you two had left things back home. “What, what are you doing here?”

“You said your sister was in danger,” you said quietly. “So I came to be of assistance.”

He sputtered, “But, but how? I mean —“

“I have great friends, Shaun,” you said. “Or should I say Shangqi?”

His chest tightened as he stared at you,” She told you.”

“Yup,” you crossed your arms over your chest and walked towards him, meeting him halfway in the middle of the room as he stepped towards you as well. You tilted your head back and stared up at him, “She told me quite a lot.”

“Babe — “

“I’m sorry for your mother, Shangqi,” you said quietly. “I’m so sorry for the life you’ve lived since that happened.”

He didn’t expect to hear this. He bowed his head slightly before nodding, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you replied. “But I can’t believe that after all  we went through together, after everything I told you, you couldn’t come clean with me.”

“I was trying to leave it behind. Like you — “

“I wasn’t trying to leave it behind or escape it,” you told him. “I was just following my heart. I made the choice to move because I wanted to be with you and see if everything I had felt over these last couple of years was real, but if I had to do my duty, if something happened, I would have. You were the one that was running, Shangqi. I was just trying to live.”

There was so much he wanted to say. He wanted to tell you that he wanted to live too. He just wanted to be away from his father, be away from that place where his mother had been murdered, be away from all those horrific memories and live a new life that he wanted to make his own, to live the way he wanted to and enjoy it. 

The two of you had secrets for different reasons, but neither one of you were very different from the other. Trained as children, parental issues, made to serve a higher purpose. The only difference was that you steered into the skid. You went with it from day one, and Shangqi eventually resisted and fled the second he could.

But he thought it was so interesting to say you weren’t running away from your life as an Avenger, and you know what, maybe you weren’t, and he just never saw it. You clearly were in contact with all of them and had a good relationship with them. You never tried hiding or changing your looks at all. People came up to you for pictures and you took them. He assumed all this time it was because you sang at the club, not once did it ever occur to him it was for a different reason.

Still, though, Shangqi loved you. He knew he screwed up. He had all the time in the world to tell you who he really was, what happened to him in his life, and he waited too long to do it. But this was not what he wanted, to lose you due to this secret. He wished you’d, sort of, be like Katy and just roll with it, but he didn’t yell at Katy for hiding a secret. He didn’t think Katy was working with his father, willing to sell him out and do his bidding regardless of hurting his feelings.

At this moment, he just wanted to tell you that he loved you, that he wanted to be with you, and that he wanted to work this out. He didn’t know where the two of you stood, and he didn’t want that to be left up in the air, but before he could say anything, Xialing was strolling through her office doors and smirking at the two of you.

“It was a pleasure to meet your girlfriend, Shangqi. She’s a delight. We had fun talking about you,” Xialing said.

“Great,” he muttered under his breath. He said something to her Mandarin which prompted a response from her rather quickly that made his face change in an instant. You, naturally, had no idea what it was, and part of you wished you did just to really understand the look on his face.

Katy entered after while stuffing money into her fanny pack. You snorted at the sight as Shangqi questioned where she got the money from, “Did you bet against me?”

“No,” she lied and looked to Xialing.” Hi, Xialing. I’m Katy. You’re, like, such a badass. Everything that you do is, like, so cool. That was really cool.” she gushed.

Xialing smiled, ”I like your pants.”

“Thank you, thanks. Yeah.” There was a genuine grin on Katy’s face as she spoke to her, and the two women could not stop smiling at one another. It had you raising an eyebrow and wondering if this was a side plot you could possibly embark on: get Xialing and Katy to romance one another.

It was at this moment Katy spotted you after she smoothed down her pants. She gasped and pointed at you, “No freaking way! How did you get here?”

“Wong. Portal. We’re friends,” you explained quickly.

Katy sighed happily, “I am so glad to see you. This guy would not shut the fuck up about you on the plane. I mean, really. He was just so melancholic and  — “

“Can we not?” Shangqi interrupted Katy. “We don’t have time for that right now.”

Xialing cut right to the chase, “Fine. What do you want?” She asked as she returned to her business.

As Shangqi launched into the conversation with Xialing and Katy listened intently, you zoned out. You knew where this was going, This was something between the two of them that they needed to discuss. You stood up and excused yourself from the area, from Shangqi’s side, and went to gaze out the window. You caught part of their conversation as you looked around, that their pendant was stolen for some reason, and that their father was coming for hers.

It was when Xialing confessed that she never sent that postcard that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Just as you spun around to say something, an explosion went off and a hand tugged on your arm.

You were led right to a back exit while Shaun was looking around. You glanced outward and saw Katy staring at you with a look of betrayal while Shanqi was screaming at you all. Jon Jon gave him the middle finger, for what reason you had no idea, and Xialing was dragging you.

“How could you leave them?” You snapped. “I’m going back —“

Xialing whipped around and faced you, “You were an agent, right? This is strategy — and I want to scare him and have him know what it feels like to be left for dead. We will circle back. We are getting them out first,” Xialing said, gesturing to Jon Jon and a few others of her team. “They will be killed without prejudice. I won’t let that happen.”

Okay. A mission. You understood that.

You and Xialing escorted the rest of her team to safety and made sure they were free to leave. As you were heading back you could hear screaming. You were able to look through the many windows and see Katy screaming for help.

“How good’s your balance?” You asked quickly.

Xialing understood, “I’ll get Katy.”

“I’ll take the stairs and handle them from inside,” you said. “They can’t keep meeting you on the scaffolding if they never make it.”

Xialing nodded to you and went for the first window she could to break it open and head out to save Katy. You ran towards the stairs and started running up, taking them two or three at a time  until you found a group of henchmen dart into a room. You quickly ran into that room as well and saw them heading towards the window to climb up and attack. Quickly, you ran forward and screamed at them. They grabbed their heads and doubled over in agony, and the force of your scream sent them out the window, too far to be able to grab a bamboo pole and hang on.

You then ran to another floor and another, fighting any man you saw that could go out there and hurt Xialing, Katy, Shangqi. The last thing you wanted was for something to happen to any of them. They’d been through enough and, quite frankly, if someone hurt Katy, you were going to murder them.

An explosion went off that had you stumbling. You quickly ran to a window and stuck your head out to see your boyfriend racing inside to chase someone. You looked around until you spotted Katy and Xialing with each other.

“Are you okay?” You shouted.

“We’re fine! Go to Shaun!” Katy shouted. “He’s chasing that creepy guy!”

You had no idea what she meant by “creepy guy,” but you were going to find out soon, you assumed. You told them to be careful and spun around to find out where Shangqi had run off to.  All you had to do was listen in closely to the sound of fighting, especially since you had already counted how many floors up Shangqi was from you.

Another explosion went off, and you knew that you were still a little ways off, you just hoped that you weren’t going to be too late — but you saw something else on the way that made you stop. You could see the backs of more men and quickly realized by the brightly colored pants in the forefront that Katy and Xialing had been caught.

Since you were behind them, you knew you had to do something. You just couldn’t use your full powers at the moment. You didn’t want to risk hurting their ears. Maybe now would be a good time to try something new?

Rather than your loud shriek, you did as Jemma once told you to do. You lowered your voice, picked a target. With your mouth in the form of an ‘o’, you released a low, quiet noise that had one of the men grabbing his skull and dropping to the ground. It surprised you for only a second, before you started to pick up your speed. You did it again and dropped another. This time his fall was noticed, but by the time they looked up to see what caused it, you were running knee-first into one of them and hearing a satisfying crunch as a result of it.

You landed on the ground and reached up to grab one of their weapons, your fist jabbing into his ribs before you struck the side of his knee, then swept his leg out from under him.

“(Y/N), don’t!” Xialing shouted, and you had no idea why she wanted you to stop. 

You ignored her and kept fighting. That massive, hulking man you saw from the bus video stood in front of you, who you’d later learn to be Razor Fist, and you smirked as you realized that you finally had a real challenge in front of you. 

Before you could strike him, a blue light and a series of rings struck you like a whip on your rib cage. You slammed into the dry wall hard, the wall indenting from the sheer impact. As you fell to the ground, someone stood before you saying, “Enough.” You first noticed the sandals and wondered who wore sandals to an ambush like this.

You were then grabbed by two pairs of arms and lifted to your feet. You came face to face with an older man, perfectly poised and clean-shaven, and he wore ten rings on his arms. Oh. This was their father.

“Don’t,” Xialing said quietly. You weren’t sure who it was directed to,  her father, who probably felt like he had no reason to keep you alive, or you, who had the ability to scream in her father’s face right now and end it all.

This was their father, though. Even you wouldn’t cross that line.

“Bring her, too,” was all he said as he eyed your face for a moment. You weren’t sure if he was just taking  in your features to remember who he was going to kill or if he realized that you were a job of his.

When you finally got to see Shangqi again, it was because his father had just ripped him off of someone with the same motion he used to slam you into a wall. As he was greeting his son, curiosity got the better of you. You glanced over to see who Shangqi was about to kill, and you suddenly felt sick to your stomach as the air rushed out of you.

Flashback:

You were so exhausted. You shoved the keys into the lock of your apartment door and pushed it open with the barest amount of effort you could spare. You were so tired, and sad, and stressed out from the night you had. You just wanted to go to bed, pretend you were fine, and deal with everything the following afternoon. You had lazily shut the door behind you and walked inside to drop your bag down. You realized you never fully shut your door, and so you spin around to do so.

That’s where you saw him. Death Dealer was right in front of you the second you turned around and it scared the shit out of you. That mask in the darkness was terrifying. You were so tired, so unaware, you didn’t see this coming. Even you didn’t piece together this happening after taking out two ambushes that night. You’d been living so carefree the last few months, you’d let yourself become a little too vulnerable.

You dodged a stab to the guts, then another, and another before your arm was grabbed and you were twisted around. You wriggled away, the two of you grappling with one another before you opened your mouth to scream. You were so tired, you just wanted to get this over with. 

The second your mouth opened you felt a sharp pain on your neck. You saw blood shoot out and splatter across Death Dealer’s mask, suit, and your living room furniture. You screamed in pain, your scream taking out your back wall, some of your kitchen and living room, and sending Death Dealer out through the new opening of your apartment.

 You held on to your neck but nothing was helping you as blood poured from your wound. You pulled your phone out of your pocket with the intent to call for help, but you felt so woozy. You collapsed on the ground, your phone clattering just a few feet away from you. Laying on your back, you stared up at your ceiling as you felt the life drain out of you, your grip on your neck becoming looser as you lost your strength. You could do nothing but lay there and try to hang on as you heard your phone start vibrating against the floor. Was this how your life ended? Alone, choking on your own blood in your living room? Who would find you? When? What would Shaun do when he found out? Would he mourn you, or find some bitter pleasure in it because you were a liar and you betrayed him?

End Flashback

A hand grabbed your shoulder to move you along. You flinched out of your flashback after the memory of an event you couldn’t remember suddenly found its way to the front of your mind. Your shoulder was grabbed tighter and you were shoved forward, the sudden movement making you stumble forward.

Another hand grabbed you, this time around your bicep as you were yanked backwards. You looked up to see the giant man from before glaring at you and raising his hand to strike. Your eyes narrowed, ready to get a second chance at fighting him, but Shangqi pulled you into his side.

“Don’t touch her,” he snarled as he glared up at him. “Don’t lay a single finger on her.”

Razor First smirked in amusement and lifted his other arm with a sword attached to it, “Well, how about this?”

“Enough,” Wenwu said as he placed his hand between the both of them. “Let him keep his toy, for now. Come, we’re going home.”

You glanced up at Shangqi. You expected anger on his face. Rage for having to be near his father again, for being caught by him, stopped for killing one of his men, but this was surprising. The way he looked at you reminded you of when you had been attacked, of when you were in the hospital. He looked scared, he looked worried, concerned, and it was directed at you.

“Are you okay?” He whispered. 

You nodded, “I’m fine, yeah. I’m fine.”

“I’m right here,” he whispered, hand slipping down your bicep to slip his fingers through yours and hold your hand tightly. “I won’t let him hurt you. You have my word.”

Wow. And to think you purposely wanted to make Shangqi feel like shit the way you had felt, and here he was supporting you, holding your hand, looking after you. All the while, his father watched this interaction silently behind the both of you. 

What an interesting sight for him to see. At first he didn’t recognize you. There was something familiar about your face, but he couldn’t quite place it because your hair was different today, as was your makeup and clothing choice. You looked different than usual, than what he had been given at first, but his son helped him figure out who you were.

It was an easy tell. With the way Shangqi looked at you, he knew immediately who you were. The way Shangqi looked at you reminded him of how he looked at his mother, which could only mean one thing, You were the girl he’d been obsessed over for years after he ran away from the Compound. You were the girl who had his son wrapped around his finger, who turned Shangqi into a hopeless romantic with a feral tendency to protect someone, a trait that reminded him of himself.

Yet, most importantly, you were the distraction in his son’s life, and you were the woman that Death Dealer failed to kill, it seems. My, my, how life took such an interesting turn.

~*~

During the helicopter ride, you sat between Wenwu and Razor Fist.

Such a dumb name.

While you could’ve reach across to hold Shangqi’s hand to support him as you noticed how he stared at his former home, you decided you were going to slip your foot across and tap his. It seemed the more subtle thing to do, what with his father right next to you and likely not enjoying your presence. Shangqi glanced at you, and you offered a soft smile and a nod. He nodded as well, and ignored the fact that his father was staring hard at him.

Upon landing, you all stepped out, and it was obvious that Wenwu praised his son with how he announced his arrival, ignoring Xialing in the background who stayed with Katy. Even you stood back as Wenwu had guided his son forward and away from them. 

Wenwu waved his hand dismissively, “Take the girls to their room,” he said. But when you started walking away with them, Shanqi protested.

“She’s coming with me,” he said.

He’d ordinarily feel fine with you going with his sister and Katy. He’d prefer it, actually, but there was something about the way he caught his father looking at you that made him feel afraid, and he did not want you out of his sight.

“Actually, my son,” Wenwu approached you as two men stood at your sides in case you tried to make a run for it or attack him. Wenwu stood before you, a cold smile on his face as he reached up and pushed your hair back behind your ear. You turned your head away from him, but his other hand came up to grab your jaw and force you to look at him. Shangqi shouted at him not to do that, but his father snapped and told him to relax.

“I just want to see something,” Wenwu said, pushing your hair back again. His eyes locked in on your neck, and you felt one of his fingers trail across your scar. Your eyes looked over his shoulder at Shangqi, who was a mix between horrified and curious. “Such a pretty, pretty girl with such a big, ugly, scar.”

Big, ugly scar? Well, that’s just rude. It wasn’t that big and ugly, that was the entire point of SHIELD tech, you know, the superhero life-saving shit? Now this man was just being rude.

You scoffed, “You should’ve seen the wound,” you remarked. “I’m surprised you haven’t actually. What, no photo evidence?”

Shangqi was confused, but Wenwu wasn’t. He knew that you knew, and he smirked. Well, at least his son wasn’t consorting with a slow one.

“Take her to my study. We have something to discuss.”

Shangqi protested, pushing through the two guards blocking him as he charged at is father, “She’s not going anywhere alone with you!”

Wenwu flipped him far too easily. With Shangqi on the ground, you glanced down and held your hand up, not wanting him to start a fight and risk him getting hurt, you said, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I can handle myself.”

“Yes, Shangqi. Apparently, she is a big girl. She can handle herself,” Wenwu said mockingly.

Shangqi glared up at him, “If you hurt her —“

“What? You’ll kill me? He laughed. “You will try, my son. Come, now. Go to your room. She and I have much to discuss.”