Work Text:
Into the MCU Final Project
Xu Xialing lay on the soft grass of Tao Lo, taking in the soft warmth of the sunlight. Her rope and dagger lay beside her, the sunlight catching every scratch and dent, their imperfections seemingly a fleeting, glinting thing of beauty and silent power. Slain bamboo lay around her, cut into pieces just minutes earlier. She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction. Though it took far too long, she learned to rely on herself. When Wenwu confined her to a tiny, dusty room like a prisoner, she learned to take control of her own life. She built her own underground empire from scratch, forged from strength that was hers alone. Though it took her a few years too long, she even learned not to depend on Shang-Chi either.
After their mom died, Shang-Chi changed. He grew more distant. He couldn’t truly empathize with what she was saying. It was like he had forgotten all about their mom, forgotten all about their sibling bond. Then he completely abandoned her for six years after promising that he would be back in three days. At least she had gotten to punch him in the face for it, though. Small victories, she supposed.
She breathed out one last sigh before she stood up to resume her training to stop her father from possibly destroying the world, when she heard footsteps approaching.
It was Shang-Chi.
“Hey Xialing, are you…busy right now?”
She looked down at her weapon, slightly swaying in the breeze, then back at Shang-Chi. “What do you want.”
Shang-Chi let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. “I thought you and I could talk about, well…everything. About dad.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “He’s grieving. He’s definitely done bad things, but I know that there’s good in him. I’ve killed people in the past, and I’m not proud of it. But the prospect of killing dad…” Shang-Chi’s voice wavered. “I know he cares for us. And I tried talking to Aunt Nan, but she dosen’t really know him like we did growing up.”
“How we did?” Xialing snapped. “He locked me in a room for years. He isolated me from everyone. He wouldn’t even look at me because I reminded him of Mom. Apparently I was the wrong kind of reminder. Ha!” She laughed bitterly. “It’s funny because you’re more like mom than I ever was. What a hypocrite.”
Shang-Chi was silent for several moments. “I’m sorry about what he did to you. It wasn’t right.”
Xialing stared back poker-faced, her expression saying it all. Tell me something I don’t already know.
Shang-Chi sighed. “Back then, I was…lost. I was grieving and confused. I led Dad to the men who killed mom, and I watched him slaughter them all.” he paused, wincing at the memory. “I was terrified of him, but I wanted his approval so badly.” Shang-Chi’s fingers picked at the frayed edge of his tunic. “I thought maybe if I became everything he wanted, things would go back to how they were when Mom was alive. But no matter what I did, the comfort and happiness from when mom was there never returned. And while I was chasing that… I never really saw you.” He swallowed. “Not in the way that I should have.”
Xialing crossed her arms. “Back then, you were the only friend I had, Shang-Chi. No one else would talk to me. I used to wait all day to talk to you, though it was more like talking at you instead.” She huffed. “That whole time I was stuck in that dark, little, dusty room that dad confined me to, like I had done something wrong. The only window had bars on it, like a jail cell.” She stomped on one of the chopped pieces of bamboo in frustration. “I taught myself how to fight from scratch after watching everyone else getting to train together in the light, like I was lesser to them in some way. And no one, not even you, ever noticed.” she said coldly.
She looked at him. “And now you’re telling me that you forgot about me because you were chasing a memory that died with Mom. You’re telling me that you chose that over the sister standing right there, alive, for seven years.”
Shang-Chi gaze fell down. “You’re right. I was so wrapped up in my own grieving that at the time, I didn't have the bandwidth to think about anyone outside of myself. But it dosen’t excuse my actions, and I should have been there for you. I’m sorry that you had to endure the only family you had left fail you one by one.”
Xialing looked over at Shang-Chi again, and surprisingly, she didn’t feel the strong pang of anger and betrayal that tended to accompany anything to do with her family. She felt a sense of mutual understanding between the two of them, and maybe the beginnings of an actual sibling bond. A comfortable moment of silence stretched between them.
“Hey,” Xialing said to Shang-Chi, taking a step closer to him, “Father may be doing something stupid right now, but he’s still powerful. If we train together…our odds of stopping him increase.”
Shang-Chi smiled. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” he said, assuming a starter stance. This one was curiously different from the one their father had taught him. It was more free and looked less…angry. “Are you up for round one?” he asked.
Xialing turned while hiding a small, genuine smile, assuming her stance a few paces farther away. She smirked. “You didn’t have to ask.”