fic_variations | Strength and Discipline (Mulan, Shang/Mulan)

Title: Strength and Discipline
Author: lightbird
Rating: T
fic_variations Prompt/Claim: sweet
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Word Count: 915
Disclaimer: Anything from the Disney movie belongs to Disney.

Cross posted to lightbird777

Li Shang stood silently, weight leaning on his back foot, arms folded, and observed the training. He noted with pride the way she skillfully demonstrated the exercises to the new recruits. Her voice was authoritative and confident as she addressed the men and showed them the best way to execute the moves.

“This represents strength. And this represents discipline.” She’d already shot an arrow into the top of the tall pole in the middle of camp and was now challenging the men to retrieve it, with bronze weights around their wrists. Back during his first campaign, when he was only a captain, Mulan had been the first soldier in his camp to beat this challenge. “You need both to reach the arrow.”

He would never tell her how proud he was of her accomplishments then and now, never even let on with a gesture or a glance. Instead, when she reported to him later on that evening, eagerly explaining her progress with the recruits, he would brush her off abruptly as he always did.

“Don’t get cocky, Lieutenant Fa,” he would tell her, his voice stern and patronizing. “You still have a long way to go.”

She always looked momentarily deflated on those occasions but he ignored the tugs at his heart that those expressions stirred. After all, many of her accomplishments were thanks to him and his excellent training.

Training was going well. He’d worked with several of the soldiers before, including Fa Mulan of course. Now the Emperor had promoted him to General and those ‘old hands’ were assisting him with the training of the new recruits. Mulan earned the rank of lieutenant and was quickly excelling. He had no doubt that before long she would make captain.

Last night’s drinking binge was still on his mind. Yao, Ling and Chien-po were all worse for wear today but Mulan, somehow, seemed unaffected. Perhaps it was because he’d allowed her to sleep in, having recanted his order that her shift be changed to the early morning. He still couldn’t figure out how she’d managed to out-drink Chien-po. Was there some secret to counteracting the effects to alcohol that she possessed?

Come to think of it, he’d often encountered her concocting teas and other herbal mixtures over the campfire. Though he was extremely curious he’d never asked her about them, assuming that they were merely teas that she liked to drink, maybe herbal remedies to help her sleep or fight off a cold. Maybe she had some trick up her sleeve about a potion of sorts that would help her fight the effects of the liquor.

It wouldn’t surprise him at all.

Things were much different when he thought she was Fa Ping, a boy recruit, he thought with a soft sigh. Now that he was conscious of her gender, everything was more difficult. It felt unnatural to speak with her as a friend, even to joke with her. If he felt more comfortable, he might have asked her with a laugh about her iron constitution, what her teas were for, if she possessed medical knowledge that he ought to know about. But when he sat beside her or stood with her, he found that he was unable to get the words out. Anything he said, any quip he tried to make would just seem heavy-handed and forced, so he said nothing.

Besides, what would the men think if he was friends with her? Seeing them together, even just acting friendly, they might infer something else about the relationship. For him that wouldn’t make a difference; but it could severely tarnish her reputation. Her friendship with Yao, Ling and Chien-po didn’t seem to cause any problem, but perhaps it was because they were a group. Shang sensed instinctively that it would be different with him. Especially after last night’s little scene in her tent…

He shook his head, needing to physically push away the memory of that. It didn’t seem the least bit awkward for her, as it was for him. Did she feel ashamed at all? She’d been awfully flirtatious. Not that she had control of herself. That was all the drink, of course. Or was it?

As much as he hated to admit it, she was a distraction. He’d always been a man of discipline and self-control, ingrained into him since he was a child. And every moment she was around him she threatened to undermine that. His world felt as if it had been turned upside down the moment the Emperor ordered her back into his camp, now revealed and recognized as a woman.

And so he was stern with her, the unbending, sour general reprimanding and cutting down his subordinate.

“General Li?”

Shang blinked his way out of his thoughts where the very lieutenant that he was musing on stood before him. Embarrassed and angry at getting caught woolgathering, and even worse by her, a blush began to creep through his body, face and across his scalp.

“The troop is ready, Sir. You wanted to inspect them?”

“I was just observing the training, Lieutenant,” he retorted brusquely. “Carry on.”

“Yes, Sir.” She bowed and saluted him hand over fist. “They’ve already mastered…”

“You can give me your report later, Lieutenant Fa,” he cut her off rudely. “I didn’t ask for it now.”

“Yes, General.”

Watching her jog back to the head of her troop and call them to order, he wondered if she even had any memory of the previous night.