I'll Make a Man Out Of You || Li Shang x Reader

03 - Off to Battle

'Hm? Oh, Ping.'

I chuckled nervously. 'Captain Li.'

'Shang.' he corrected.

'I - what?'

'Just call me Shang. That's my first name.'

'Oh, okay...'

Captain Li Shang. That's - that's actually a nice name.

His name isn't the only thing that was nice. I got a really good look at this man's features. He's fine... But why am I only realizing it now?

His skin reminds me of a hot sandy desert. His hair was down and drenched in water. And those muscles... he could crush a watermelon with those arms, I'm sure of it.

But wait, if he's naked right now then-

'Ahem.' Shang coughed.

I snapped back to reality once more. 'Sorry, it's just... Uhh... Do you come here? A lot? To uhh, you know..?' I asked randomly, just to keep him at bay.

'Not much.' Shang replied. 'But I do, whenever I get the chance.'

I strained a smile, trying to lower myself into the water without being suspicious. Shang's brown eyes locked on me, and his gaze softened as we held eye contact. A soft exhale escapes his lips.

'Ping, you've got something.' He says.

'Hm?' I hummed questionably, raising a brow.

'On your head, I mean.'

Shang raises a hand to my head, his fingers picking on my hair, but his gaze has never left me. I could feel myself getting hotter that the water didn't feel as cold as it did before.

A second later, his fingers pull away, revealing a little water beetle before swatting it off and into the water.

I mumbled a small 'Thank you', but it was hard to tell whether Shang had heard it. His eyes were focused on me, and only me. I couldn't help but blink, thinking that perhaps I might've been the one holding the stare, but no.

It was all him.

'Ping, I...'

He sounded so out of breath, as if holding this staring contest between ourselves was enough to tire him. Shang's hand reached to cup my face, his thumb brushed against my cheek.

My heart pounded. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I let the situation unfold. Shang was getting closer, I could inhale his scent.

A musky scent with a hint of cinnamon or vanilla. Maybe a bit of tobacco?

Whatever the case, he was getting too close...

Suddenly, I heard a loud call coming from the shore.

'Ping!' That voice, I had no trouble recognizing. 'Ping, c'mon. Where are ya, buddy?'

'Coming!' I yelled back at Mushu before turning back to Shang. 'Well, uh, I'll get going now. I'll see you tomorrow.'

I turned away. I could've sworn I saw Shang's face fall from the corner of my eye.

'Ping,' he called. Turning my head, Shang closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. 'I'm sorry.'

Wordlessly, I nodded. My lips pressed I to a thin line. Hurriedly, I waddled out of the water and slipped into the tall grass.

☃☃☃☃☃☃

I headed back to my tent and got properly dressed. With Mushu riding over my shoulder, I took us for a little walk around camp before bed.