Bi Han "Sub-Zero" x F!Reader

Thirteen

Wood splintered. Chairs flew through the air.

The few people who had not yet left decided to flee at that moment. Screaming in panic, they wandered through the restaurant. Some were stopped by the Lin Kuei.

You looked down at them warningly and, as if they felt the weight of your gaze, you let them all go without harming them.

For a brief moment, Smoke was careless. Maybe it was just his curiosity, but he looked away to look at Liu Kang's new champions.

Just like you, Kuai Liang and Bi Han, he had never had the honour of witnessing such a historic moment. In that tiny second, Madam Bo looked up at you and winked.

Your eyebrow raised in confusion.

Without explanation, she turned back to Smoke and took a swing. Just at the right moment, he noticed the movement and intercepted her blow.

Although she was quite old, the little lady was still very nimble on her feet. With three quick swipes, she had pushed him back to the edge of the balcony. All he could do was defend himself.

There was doubt in his eyes. He didn't want to hurt her, but the way she attacked him was more than just a threat. She wanted a real fight.

With a scream, she landed a blow directly in his face. Dazed, he threw his head back, but managed to keep his balance and punched her in the neck with the flat of his hand.

She flinched.

Seizing the moment, Smoke grabbed her arm, spun her round and threw her over the railing into the courtyard with all his strength. Screaming, the old lady fell, hit a table that split in two with full force and lay unconscious.

Inhaling sharply, you close your eyes.

"You weren't supposed to break her bones...", you mumbled and shook your head with a sigh.

"Madam Bo!", Liu Kang's champions jumped from their seats, worried.

A little too late to act, as you thought, but better late than never. Although that wasn't a good solution either. You would have to work on their timing. And teaching them how to recognise danger before it happened wouldn't hurt either.

Full of fighting courage, the two men charged towards the Lin Kuei, all dressed in black. Smoke threw a bomb to obscure their view.

A huge cloud exploded with a hiss and shrouded the restaurant in fog. The men hit the ninja surprisingly roughly.

Of course, everyone had been instructed only to test the new champions, not to hurt them. However, they went down a little too quickly.

Within a minute, only Smoke was left. But he was in his element. Hidden in fog, he seized the moment when the two men began to cough and lost their bearings.

From above, it was nothing but a dense cloud. Only dark outlines moved, black as shadows and fast as cats. The rasp that filled your lungs with every breath was so familiar.

You had helped him find someone to teach him how to build these special mist bombs. Now he had almost perfected it. Only the wind was his enemy.

That evening, however, it didn't seem as if it wanted to harm him. The sound of blows pricked your ears. Someone fell to the ground.

The wood shook under the force. Then someone fell again. Narrowing your eyes, you recognised the familiar outline of Lin Kuei's brother. So he wasn't defeated yet.

"Hmm.", interested, you let yourself fall back on the verses and watched the events.

The cloud slowly thinned. The man in the round straw hat got to his feet, coughing. Smoke approached him, not a single scratch on his tanned skin.

"You two are brave. But against us...", he straitened his shoulders. "...you are in over your head."

"We don't care who you are or who you are with!", the man with the hat approached, a fierce look of confidence in the brown of his eyes. "You will not menace Madam Bo!"

A red scarf was tied around his waist. It swayed in the wind as he faced Smoke. His stance was good, you noticed as he got into position to start the fight. However, he was very sure of himself. A little too much considering that he was actually just a student.

If it were serious, Smoke could sweep him off his feet with a swift kick. But this night was not meant for spilling blood. Smoke casually pulled one of his curved kunai out of his pocket and let it dance between his fingers.

Silence spread. The lights seemed to flicker with every breath.

Your gaze jumped to Bi Han. Completely unmoved, he was still standing in his place, at the edge of the roof, looking at everything.

Blows filled the silence. Feet trampled over wood and metal cut the air.

But your eyes would not leave the Grandmaster. The blue of his uniform looked regal in the darkness.

Although he was in many ways the more disciplined of himself and Kuai Liang, he wore the knot of hair at the back of his head looser than his brother. A few strands had strayed again and brushed against his angular cheek.

He moved slightly. And his back with him. Muscles contracted, arms twitched and veins pressed against his skin as if they were snakes.

As so often before, you suddenly felt the desire to touch him. Not the way you did it casually.

You wanted to press your palms on his chest and feel how he breathed. You wanted to be lifted up by the strength of his body between your legs.

In the past, when you were young and inexperienced, you had believed that it was normal for friends to lie close together and press themselves into each other's bodies.

You still remembered the heat of his breath on the back of your neck. To the taste of his lips.

When did you stop being like that?

When had Bi Han become a man and you a woman?

When had you no longer been allowed to be with each other?

You couldn't remember. Only that he had taken a step back then. All it would have taken was one step towards you and you would have been a couple.

Perhaps even happily married at the request of your parents and the late Grandmaster.

Suddenly, a heavy thud shook the wood. Torn from your thoughts, you cast a glance into the depths. Smoke had fallen to the ground.