who are you? (Shang-Chi x OC)

6~afraid

Franny had been afraid when her father began to disappear. She had been afraid when her father raised his voice for the first time in front of her. She had been afraid when she almost fell out of a moving bus hours ago. However, nothing prepared her for the fear she felt when Shaun's father and his posse began to lead her away from her friends to god knows where. Franny could hear the screams of the crowd as glass shattering rung through the corridors. She turned to look but only got pushed forward by a guard.

"American girl, tell me about yourself?" He asked as he continued to walk. He looked back towards Franny giving her a nod to speak.

"Uhm-I- I'm from San Francisco and I work as a Valet driver. I-uh" The terrified girl stuttered as Shaun's father peered at her. She noticed how Shaun and his father shared the same eyes. He smiled and continued to down the corridor as his team continued to attack the building they were in. A voice comes through on one of the soldier's walkies and the group makes a turn down another hallway.

Franny began to space out as the group continued to walk through corridors. She was terrified, there was a reason Shawn had ran away from his home. There's a reason he kept his previous life a secret. That reason being his father. He had left sister though, surely he couldn't be that she thought.

The group continued to walk and immediately halted. There was a loud noise coming from the other side of the door in front of them, it sounded like a helicopter. The men in front of Franny whispered to each other. Franny didn't know what to do, she could try to run but she may die in the end. She could try to reason with him and convince him to let her and her friends go back to their normal lives. However, she knew he wouldn't let go of his son, not when he's close to having him back.

"Franny!" The curly haired girls turns quickly and see Katy and another women being led by another group. She begins to run towards her friend but is immediately stopped by one of the guards.

"Now, let's get my son and we'll return home." Wenwu explains as the girls get pushed into the room. Wenwu is just ahead of the group and Franny can hear the grunts of her best friend and another. When they enter room, Franny see him hovering over another man.

She watched as he pulled his hand back getting ready to kill the man underneath him. Without thinking, she opens her mouth and yells his name. At the same time, his father had stopped with rings that were placed around his arm. Wenwu throws his son across the room to separate him from his enemy and walks forward.

"I'll told my men they would not be able to kill you if they tried. Glad I was right." Wenwu says, he then whispers something to Shaun before turning back around.

"Let's go home." He exclaims and before they knew it, the group was put on a helicopter.

*****

The ride to the Ten Rings Compund was short and tense. Franny felt as if she had whiplash from all the events that occurred this past week. Shaun finally asking her out, then getting attacked on the bus, going to find his sister and finds out that she runs an illegal fighting ring. It was a lot and Franny didn't know how much more she could handle. All she wanted to do was go home and have another relaxing night in her tub. However, she was being taken hostage with her friends to a compound full of trained assassins.

In the helicopter, Franny watched the scenery change fast. She could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look at him. He almost killed someone and it scared. He looked as if he had done it before. Regret was in his eyes though but it was gone the second he began to bring his hand down. Her hands were placed on her lap and she played with her nails to calm her anxiety. She didn't want to pass out. Shaun could feel her nervousness, he always knew when she was anxious. He was hesitant at first but slowly reached his hand over to grab hers. She felt the slight brush of his fingertips but she quickly moved her hands away.

Katy noticed the growing distance between the two. The look on Shaun's face was one she hadn't seen before. She's seen him hurt but he looked broken. Franny has never rejected Shaun's embraces or comfort. She began to worry. Not just about their friendship but about Franny's mental state. She had always been the one who struggled the most to a changing environment. She knew Franny cared about Shaun but she witnessed the same thing Katy did. Their best friend almost killed someone. That was something that was going to be stuck in Katy's mind and Franny's.

The chopper finally landed and the group got out. In front of them stood hundreds of assassins. Wenwu had announced the return of his son and completely omitted his daughters arrival. He then ordered his men to take the girls to Xialing's room and Shaun was to go elsewhere.

When they entered the room, Franny took a seat on the bed. Her breathing beginning to get heavier. She worried if she was going to die. What would happen to Katie? What does Wenwu want with them in the first place? Everything began to overwhelm her and tears began to spill once more for her eyes.

"What's wrong with her?" Xialing asks, Katy looks over and rushes to her friend.

"She's having a panic attack." Katy squats in front of the teary eyed girl. She tells her that everything's is going to be fine. That they have nothing to worry about but they both knew that was a lie.

Katy didn't know what to do, Shaun was the one who was better at helping her through these. Katy then sat next to her and held her. It took a while but Franny's breathing began to slow and she had stopped crying.

"What do you think's going to happen to us?" Franny asks.

"Just don't say anything. He won't even know you're there. That's how I survived." Xialing explains.

"I need air." Franny says as she walks over to the balcony. She opens it slightly and looks over the square area of the compound. The fresh air calms her more and she takes a couple of deep breaths. She looks around and catches his eyes. He's standing next to a wooden pillar in one of the rooms. He smiles and waves at her but she does nothing. She wanted to wave back, she wanted to smile but right now she resented him for the chaos they've all been put through.

She hated herself for feeling that way. She didn't want to blame him, he couldn't control what his father did. She loved him but she couldn't trust him. He had already lied to her and she began to wonder if what he said to her on the plane was true.

****

After dinner, Franny and her friends found themselves locked away once more. Shaun had angered his father after rejecting his plan to save their mother. Shaun knew his mother was dead but his father was holding out hope that she was still somehow alive.

"Franny, can we talk?" Shaun asks as he nods his head for them to walk around.

Franny was hesitant but she agreed. The two walked in silence before they felt there space between them and the other two.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've put you through and I'm sorry for what's happened this last week. I shouldn't have kept my past from the both of you but it was the only way to make sure my father didn't find me. Just please talk to me, anything. Please don't shut me out Franny. You're all I have right now. " He finally says reaching out for her once more but he gets nothing.

"Did you go through with it?" Franny asks.

He looks at her and then realizes what's she's asking.

"This is your last chance Shaun, please don't lie to me again." She begs. She couldn't take his lies anymore, she didn't care if he was trying to protect her and her feelings. She needed to know who she was getting involved with. She knows he's still Shaun but he's also Shang-Chi. Son of the leader of the Ten Rings. A trained assassin. She looks into his eyes for the first time and waits for an answer.

He was scared. If he said yes, she could end their relationship right then and there. If he said no, that would definitely end their relationship. He never wanted to put her in this position. When he ran away , he never expected to have any friends. Let alone fall in love with someone. He thought he was incapable of loving someone until he met her. He loved Katie but like a sister. Franny had always been it for him and now he could lose her.

"Yes."
******

I'm sorry, I'm a terrible procrastinator and I got really overwhelmed with school and work. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter though!