Marvel Imagines

Explanations (Shang-Chi X Reader)

A/N: Something different! And honestly, I think he'd give the best hugs.

****

Rain pounds against the window.

A bolt of white lightning crackles outside for a split second, illuminating the room in a bright light.

The thunder rumbles, physically shaking you and the bed you're hidden under the sheets of.

When is he gonna be back, already?

Shaun, or now, Shang-Chi, as he had informed you after nearly being killed by assassins on your usual bus to work yesterday, is the closest thing you've got to family.

You'd known each other since high school, and always gotten along, becoming quite close as time went on.

Even going as far as getting the same job - parking rich people's cars for them.

But that was yesterday.

Now, your entire world has been flipped upside down.

Turns out, your best friend's Father is out to get his son back, regardless if they bring him back dead or alive.

All because Shaun has that pendant... I wonder what's so special about it.

Yet another, much more violent sounding crack of lightning and rumble of thunder jolts you from your thoughts, your grip around the thin sheets swaddling you becoming tighter.

"Please just come back, please just come back..." You begin to chant beneath your breath, squeezing your eyes shut in a vain attempt to ward off the welling feeling of anxiousness within you.

Steadying your breathing, you work on sitting up, determining that maybe making some tea in the five dollar electric kettle you'd nabbed from a thrift store you both had passed by on your way to this hotel, might help your worried thoughts and feelings.

However, before your bare feet hit the cold yet oddly welcoming carpet floor, the front door to the small room swings open, a grinning familiar face following seconds later.

"It is really, really crazy out there!" Shaun chuckles, hastily slipping off his shoes and setting down the wet grocery bags on the counter of the kitchenette, beginning to unpack the items.

"I bet it is," You muse aloud with a shaky sigh, stumbling over your own feet slightly as you join him at his side.

Your friend must notice your shift in demeanour because instantly, he turns to you, setting aside a pre-packaged salad he'd been holding previously.

"You alright?" He questions softly, genuine compassion in his tone, a comforting hand being placed on your shoulder.

"Fine, I think..." You reply, laughing pathetically at your own words, lips forming into a thin smile that drops the second you meet Shaun's warm gaze.

"If it's the storm that's got you all shaken up, I'm sure maybe putting on some TV might help? Though I can't say I've ever known you to be scared of thunderstorms."

"It's not the storm - well, maybe it is - I don't know!" You protest in frustration, unsure of your own thoughts and feelings as they race through your head in a blink of an eye.

"Hey, hey, hey," The man in front of you soothes, placing his other hand on your vacant shoulder, instinctively pulling you close.

You allow yourself to simply melt into his compassionate touch, his arms wrapping around your slightly smaller frame securely, your own arms loosely grasping him.

"You know," You start with a breathy sigh of a chuckle, raising your gaze to meet his. "You always give the best hugs."

Shaun's lips twitch upward into a smile, his eyes shining with sincerity.

"I'm glad," He replies before stepping away from your much more composed figure, thoughts seeming to have slowed down to a manageable pace as you both continue unpacking the last of the groceries.

Some time passes, and after you both had eaten whatever sort of microwaveable pasta dish Shaun had managed to find, watched some ridiculously boring TV and attempted to have played some sort of board game the hotel had stashed away in the nightstand drawer, your eyes are beginning to become incredibly heavy, your muscles and entire body crying out for sleep.

But, you don't let yourself give in, too caught up in watching the green blinking light of the smoke detector mounted to the roof above where you lay, your friend at your side.

"That pendant those guys tried to take from you yesterday - why did they want it so bad?" You ask to the otherwise silent room, over the steady hum of the air conditioner and the rain.

The man beside you sighs heavily, rolling onto his side to face you.

The emerald green pendant hangs loose around his neck, dazzling a bit as a fresh bolt of lightning briefly illuminates the dark space.

"My mother gave it to me when I was young... said that if I ever feel lost, it will help guide me home... I'm not sure what that means, but it's the last thing I have of her..."

"I'm sorry about your Mom," You muse, becoming lost in thought once more, the blinking light above you mesmerizing your gaze.

"Thanks," Is his only response, a soft, rather timid sounding one.

Another beat of relative silence passes, only to be broken once more.

"You never really explained why you were all jittery when I got back," Shaun muses aloud, tearing your attention away from the smoke detector and your heavy eyelids. "I want to make sure you're okay, that's all."

"I'm not really sure if I'm okay, frankly," You yawn, blinking away the fatigue as best you can. "It's just sorta crazy that yesterday, life was somewhat normal until a group of assassins, sent by your own freaking Father no less, try and kill us in broad daylight!"

You exhale sharply, shaking your head with a sigh.

"It's just a lot to take in, that's all."

"I know," Your friend replies, a warm hand suddenly finding yours, causing your gaze to meet his. "But I'm glad you're sticking with me. I really am. I already did the whole 'lone gunslinger act,' ten years ago - it's nice to have someone by my side for a change."

All you can do is grin sleepily towards him, eyes finally unable to hold themselves open any longer.

"So, thank you."

"You're welcome, Shang-Chi."

Now it's his turn to grin, gently pulling you towards him for the second time in a matter of hours, arms wrapping around your torso and holding you close.

"I'm serious," He murmurs, breath tickling your ear. "Thank you, Y/N L/N. I owe you."

"You owe me nothing, freak," You hum contentedly, shifting away from Shaun's embrace and back to your own side of the shared bed. "You've just gotta keep me alive, okay?"

"I can work with that."

Sharing a rather awkward set of 'good nights,' you slip deeper beneath the covers, drifting off knowing that your best friend - and maybe a little something else, too - is by your side, and you by his.

And together; you'll face anything that comes your way.