snarky_panda (snarky_panda) wrote in mulanficspace, @ 2007-07-21 01:07:00 |
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Current mood: | content |
Current music: | Psyche |
30 Kisses: Mulan and Shang, Part Eleven
Written for the 30_kisses challenge.
Title: Celebrations, Part 2: Family
Author: snarky_panda
Fandom: Mulan
Pairing: Li Shang/Fa Mulan
Theme: #4, our distance and that person
Disclaimer: All characters, etc. from the Disney movie belong to Disney.
“Your mother hates me,” his wife sighed in frustration.
“She’s traditional,” Shang responded, rolling onto his side and raising himself up to lean on one elbow. “And she’s upset that we spent the Double Ninth Festival alone instead of with the entire family. Holidays are for family.”
“Yes,” she replied with a bitter laugh. “And I instigated you to go along with spending the day alone.”
Mulan lay flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling, her expression tense and deeply troubled. The lantern cast very dim light in the room and threw shadows over her face, making her appear darker, sadder.
“Besides, it’s not only the Double Ninth Festival. She’s hated me since the moment you brought me here.”
He propped his head against his hand and reached over, caressing her cheek with his free hand.
“I guess she’s like all mothers,” he suggested with a slight chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood. “No woman is good enough for her son.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s me. I’m not a traditional woman who stayed at home and learned domestic duties for the day I became a wife.”
“You’re much more than that,” he murmured gently, doing his best to soothe her. He became unhappy when she was; and he also really didn’t want to have an argument with her over his mother, especially in their bed of all places.
“Shang, you don’t see it. The way she regards me with such disgust…I’m miserable around her…it’s so obvious how she disapproves of me. During Qi Xi she was sending me death glares when I went out with your sisters to perform the ritual…”
“Mulan,” he interrupted her with an exasperated sigh. “Please. Let’s not argue about my mother.”
“We’re not arguing, but…”
She fell silent at the stern look that he gave her. His face softened and he leaned over, kissing her tenderly. He didn’t know why he had become so nettled all of a sudden and a part of him did notice that his mother was somewhat unfair to Mulan. But he tried not to think about it; she was his mother and the woman of highest status in the household. This was a subject he hated. And now she was crying. Reaching out, he gently brushed away the tears that had begun to spill from her eyes.
“Come on, Mulan, don’t sulk. Look, from now on we’ll just keep her happy and make sure to spend all of the holidays with family, celebrating as she wishes. It’s the way it should be.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Shang kissed her again and went to take her into his arms, but she turned away from him, rolling onto her side and giving him her back.
“I’m not in the mood,” she muttered.
Closing his eyes, he rolled onto his back with a sigh of frustration. This was a perfect example of why he hated for this subject to be dredged up when they were in bed together. She wasn’t done sulking. He knew that she was upset, not only about his mother, but that he’d become cross with her all of a sudden. And the truth was that it hadn’t taken much to convince him that day. He’d been as anxious, and as horny, as she was. And he had just as selfishly longed to spend the holiday alone with her, exactly as they had. Was he feeling guilty then? Was that why he’d suddenly become so irritated, even before she turned away from him?
The bed shifted as she got up and his eyes opened.
“Mulan?”
“I think I’m going to walk in the garden. Maybe I’ll feel like sleeping afterward.”
His wife stepped out of the room and Shang sat up, easing himself out of bed and drifting over to the window.
As he watched her strolling alone in the moonlight he pondered the situation in the Li household, recollecting the events that had occurred since the Double Ninth Festival; he’d had plenty of arguments with his mother since that day.
He sighed. Shang loved his new wife deeply; and he knew how much she loved him in return. They were content, happy, and a promising life together lay ahead of them.
No matter what happened, he didn’t want anything, not even family, to cause a rift between them.
(Link here to continue)