𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 ➣ {𝕤•𝕔} ❘ [𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌-𝖈𝖍𝖎 𝖝 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗]

˗ 𝜋𝜄𝜋𝜀𝜏𝜀𝜀𝜋ˏˋ 𝐶𝛳𝛱𝑆𝛳𝐿𝛥𝑇𝐼𝛳𝛱 ˎˊ ˗

⍣ ೋ

Dusk had settled pretty fast in the village of Ta Lo, the gentle graze of the wind calming the frenzied atmosphere of Wenwu's arrival the next day.

"Been looking everywhere for ya," Katy joined Shang-Chi at the bank of the lake where he was seated on a rock and stared ahead blankly.

"You okay?" Y/N questioned, carefully sitting beside him when he didn't reply and Katy sat on his other side.

"I'm not who you think I am," Shang-Chi uttered, glancing at Katy.

"You already apologized for that," Katy brushed it off, "We're good—"

"That's not what I'm talking about," he cut in.

"Okay," she nodded with a pause, "What—What is it?"

"When my dad sent me to find the man who killed my mom and Mayleen— I told you I couldn't go through with it. I lied," Shang-Chi paused, "I thought that I could change my name, start a new life, pretend like it never happened. But—she would hate the person I've become," his tone was coated with grief and shame, each word feeling bitter on his tongue.

"Your dad trained you both to be an assassin when you were seven," Katy spoke, "He sent you on a hit at 14," she added to Shang-Chi, "You realize how messed up that is, right?"

"My mom and Mayleen are dead because of him. And now he's coming to destroy their home," he set his jaw, "A blood debt has to be paid by blood,"

"What are you saying?" Katy asked while Y/N's head snapped to him at the familiar phrase.

"I'm gonna do what he trained me to do," he sniffed, "I'm gonna kill him,"

Y/N and Katy watched him get up to his feet and walk away, quite appalled at the severity of his words.

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With a worried sigh, Y/N knocked on the door of Shang-Chi's room, standing alone in the hallway of the residential hut.

The door swung open and Shang-Chi blinked, surprised by her appearance but glad nonetheless, "Hey," the corner of his lips lifted into a small smile.

"Hi," she mumbled back at him, "Just wanted to check in on you," she rubbed her hands together in an attempt to keep warm, "You didn't seem well out there, so,"

"I—um, his throat felt dry, his conversation with Katy earlier coming back to his mind, "I'm fine—wait—what am I doing—" he shook his head, "Come in," he stepped aside to let her in when Y/N shivered as the wind blew in through the window nearby.

Y/N thanked him and quickly hurried in, huffing a breath as the warmth of the room engulfed her. She sat on the edge of the bed in the middle, watching him close the door and walk over to sit next to her.

"Y/N," Shang-Chi spoke, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again, "I wanted to apologize,"

"What for?" she adjusted in her place, turning to face him and folding one leg under her.

"For whatever my father did to you," he gulped, breathing deeply, "For turning you into a killer after your mom died, which I did nothing about and just stood aside like an idiot—"he rambled.

"Hey, hey, hey," Y/N caught either side of his face, forcing to make eye contact with him, "It's not your fault. I never blamed you, and I never will," she spoke truthfully, as Shang-Chi let her speak, relaxing into her palms.

"At that casino, I made my choice," Y/N continued, "Sure, I have regrets, maybe a little bit of grudge," she winced slightly.

"I don't blame you," Shang-Chi grinned, shrugging slightly; Y/N's palms still on both the sides of his face.

"But," she paused, "As much as I have grown to hate it, I got to be with you and Xialing," she offered, "And later met Katy, so yeah. I do miss Mom, sometimes," she grimaced, "But it's okay,"

Shang-Chi felt himself smile as he locked eyes with her; suddenly, the atmosphere in the room was thick with tension; both Y/N and Shang-Chi blinked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Feeling this, Y/N pursed her lips, "I should—" she tried to pull her hands back.

But Shang-Chi caught her wrist gently, holding her palms against his face, as though her touch was the only form of comfort for his gnawing guilt at the moment, which it was.

Y/N's eyes darted down to her lips and back to his eyes, catching him doing the same.

Shang-Chi leaned in and he briefly hesitated as both of them gaze at one another, his hand raising to trace along her lips.

Y/N was taken aback by his gentleness, realizing that what was about to happen will change the course of their friendship forever.

He tilted her chin up and leaned in for a kiss. He hesitated at first, of course, stopping halfway while his lips are hers were millimeters away from touching. She could feel his breath brushing against her nose while her heart raced heavily against her chest, anticipating his next move. Then as if it's a flip of the switch, his lips crashed on hers; unrestraint.

Y/N kissed him back with the same ferocity, furrowing her eyebrows as both their lips devoured each other. Shang-Chi cupped her face with both hands as her own ones slid up his sculpted arms.

He tore his lips away as he pressed his forehead against hers. A soft, content sigh fell from Y/N's mouth as she gazed into his warm, brown eyes once more.

She was met with a small lazy smile, as his arms went around her waist to pull her closer, a finger lazily tracing down her spine, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he admitted bashfully, making her grin.

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