The wounds heal.

Weird feelings.

Another month and a half passed, which was quite peculiar and unusual for both warriors. After what happened that night, they chose not to talk about it and pretend that nothing had happened, so there would be no tension between them and they could continue their friendship as they always had.

Unfortunately for them, doing so did nothing but add fuel to the fire. As the weeks passed, Liu Kang felt more and more uneasy when he was with Kung Lao, something he had never experienced. It wasn't a feeling of discomfort, because his presence had never caused him such a feeling, on the contrary, he has always felt quite comfortable with him. Still, it was undeniable that his body was telling him something when he was near him.

All these signs indicated that he had begun to feel something more for his best friend. However, the champion questioned whether that was really what he felt. During those weeks and after analyzing things in greater depth, he realized that these sensations were the same ones he experienced when he was with Kitana. However, that failed relationship made him realize the mistakes he had made.

One of those was that after having seen only twice, being for that moment only a physical attraction, they began their romance. Although they waited a few weeks before officially declaring themselves a couple, they didn't give enough time to get to know each other well. Besides, since Kitana took her role as the new ruler of Outworld, she was much busier than before. And although they had very beautiful moments, the Shaolin cannot deny that the relationship with her was nothing more than just an adventure that he felt lucky to have come out of.

After spending those months single, he accepted that what he felt for her was only a superficial attraction. Although he did love her more than any other person in the world, his love turned into an obsession and dependency that blinded him and made him delude himself too quickly. For her part, Kitana had other plans in mind that, not having developed full communication and trust with Liu Kang, it was difficult for her to clarify beforehand. Fortunately for both, the Edenian steeled herself and ended their bound before things got worse. Although they are on good terms, it doesn't take away everything the monk suffered for several weeks.

All of that made him feel insecure about these new feelings he was developing. Despite having overcome his failed romance, he definitely didn't want the experience with his ex-partner happen again. Because of this, he refused for several days to even have any interest in Kung Lao. However, and as the weeks passed, his desires did nothing but increase.

On the other hand, Kung Lao, like his fellow, felt increasingly strange in his presence and dreamed of him more often. Although not all his dreams involved compromising situations, he couldn't deny he had dreamed of kissing him more than once. After a few days of thinking about it, he quickly realized he was falling in love with his best friend. He knows himself quite well and knows what it means when he experiences such sensations perfectly.

However, he was unaware that his friend was feeling the same. So, sensing that he would receive a no as an answer from him to his feelings, he preferred not to say anything and keep it in his conscience. Since the champion looked nervous in his presence, he assumed that he put it that way because he looked at him and complimented him often. He never imagined these nerves were because he was feeling the same as him.

During that month, the two could feel the enormous tension and chemistry between them. Although they could talk about it, neither had the audacity to do so. However, it didn't prevent them from having moments in which, in one way or another, they showed their interest in each other.

In that last week, both Shaolin began to get fed up with this whole situation. Consequently, there was a point where they started drifting apart, especially Liu Kang. This one had a great fear he would repeat the same mistakes he made in his previous relationship, as a result, he would find any excuse not to run into Kung Lao too often; not ignoring him completely but taking a little distance. For his part, the other monk also began to move away because he thought that his company was making his friend uncomfortable.