I Had To Find You

'I had to find you
Tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart...'

- "The Scientist", Coldplay

If there was one thing The Furious Five knew best about their fellow member, Master Crane, was how much of an infatuation he had on one certain mountain cat from his past. His not-so-well-hidden secret was shown to be quite obvious when he received word that his crush, his old friend was injured in battle, and immediately dropped everything he was doing, leaving the Valley of Peace, coming to her aid to make sure she was alright. When the words from the urgent letter had met his eyes and worked it's way into his brain, his reaction was immediate.

As much as he denied his feelings for her in front of his friends, Crane flew night and day for her, to get to her, far past the mountains on the outskirts of the Valley, pushing past borders and reaching limits that normally would have put a heavy amount of exhaustion on his body, sucking the energy out of him. But the urgency to see her, to be there for her to make up for years lost pushed him forward.

And when he was finally lead to the room where she was resting, -far, far away from the Valley of Peace in a small little village-, put on bed rest for a long while, her eyes meeting his the moment the door slid opened, he knew it was all worth it.

Lying propped up on a bed roll, Mei Ling brightened noticeably at the sight of her old friend. "... Jun... it's been awhile. Or should I say, Master Crane." She smiled weakly at him. "You've come such a long way."

He smiled sheepishly at her comment. "Yeah, I have..." He hated being such a bashful fool around her, but he couldn't help it. The normally graceful and focused Crane was now a shy and bumbling fool. He could bravely face fierce bandits, kidnappers, murderers, gangs an overlords-in-the-making and their armies, yet he could never gain the courage nor confidence to tell Mei Ling how he really felt about her.

He noticed the gauze wrapped around her stomach and cringed, making a hesitant step forward toward her. "Are you okay?" He mentally prepared himself for the worst even though she didn't seem to be dying. He couldn't help but fear the worst.

"I've been better." Crane relaxed noticeably. She reached forward and patted a spot before her on the bed roll. "Come. Sit."

For some reason beyond him, Crane hesitated.

Mei Ling grinned. "Come on, Crane. I won't bite."

He smiled. Same old Mei Ling, he thought, moving forward and sitting down in front of her. He could almost hear Mantis in his head, egging him on: Buddy, if the opportunity comes, make a move!

He felt rather odd being so close to her. His heart was racing and his cheeks felt noticeably warm, and he was sure his cheeks were tinted a deep shade of red.

To make matters worst for his bashful and nervous self, Mei Ling opened her arms out to him. "How about for old times sake?"

Yet, he didn't hesitate to engulf her in a gentle and firm embrace, being careful not to put to much pressure on her injured stomach. He was relieved that she seemed okay and wasn't missing any limbs or slowly dying or even in a coma from shock or blunt force to the head, but nonetheless the injury to her stomach still worried him. Then again, he always was a 'worry-wart'. Paranoid more than he should, like his mother always was when he was younger. He could hear Mantis mentally taunting him again: Go on and kiss the girl, buddy. You know you want toooooo.

Mantis, Crane responded, I'm going to ask you nicely this one time: Shut up.

Their embrace lasted for awhile, and Crane felt like he was on cloud nine. Though he'd never admit it, especially not to Mantis who constantly tried to get a confession out of him, he really wanted to make a move on Mei Ling. He would love to kiss her, even if just once. But aside from the fact he was much more embarrassed, clumsy and shy around the opposite sex than Mantis would ever be, he simply wouldn't want to put any pressure on her like that. It seemed unfair to him if he did something to her that she didn't agree with. If it were to happen, Crane wanted it to be on her terms. His heart was pounding faster than it ever had as he breathed in her sweet scent, the warmth and feel of her body against his... He was in heaven.

His hold on her tightened after a moment. "I missed you," he said quietly, hoping she wouldn't hear him for the sake of saving him from more embarrassment and blushes, yet at the same time hoping she would hear him so she would honestly know how much he's thought about her since leaving the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy all those years ago. How much he truly missed her.

And she did. "I missed you, too..." they parted after a moment, and she looked into his eyes, with Crane wishing he could drown in her big, beautiful eyes forever. "So, you're in the Furious Five, huh?"

He chuckled nervously, cheeks turning red again. "Yeah... No big deal though. Just... the usual."

She smiled. His heart fluttered once more. "You've always been such a humble guy. I always liked that about you. You're modest, and not even close to all the arrogant guys I've met over the past couple of years."

"I've never really met any other girl," he answered honestly. "Besides you." Sure there was Viper and Tigress, but those two were like sisters to him, and they always would be. Mei Ling always had a special place in his heart all those years, as a crush, a dream he hoped to one day be a reality. The dream his mother always wanted for her only son before she passed away.

She raised an eyebrow at him, seemingly surprised. "Really?"

He nodded sheepishly, avoiding her gaze.

She stared at him for the longest time, the two of them drowning in the silence of the small room as they both came to terms with their feelings. One that wasn't well-hidden from his friends, and one that only came to light for her after he left. She denied it mentally, but emotionally... Her heart always veered her toward him in her dreams during those long, sometimes sleepless nights after he left. Words never spoken yet so carefully planned for the both of them... If only they could say it. If only she could accept it, and if only he could gain the courage to say it. Acceptance and courage. That was all they needed.

Just then the door slid open, and a female rabbit, the nurse, poked her head into the room. "May I get you two anything?" she offered, watching the two intently.

Mei Ling came up with an answer after a long moment. Acceptance. "Some tea would be nice," she replied, nodding once while giving a small smile.

The nurse nodded back, closing the door shut, leaving the two alone once more.

Mei Ling glanced at Crane, smiling coyly. "I think we have some catching up to do. Don't you agree, Jun?"

Crane couldn't have agreed more.

A/N: A one-shot for my other favorite KFP pairing, Crane/Mei Ling! :D I'll try to come up with a one-shot for Po/Tigress, don't worry. ;)

I've always seen Crane as a shy and reserved character, and probably a clumsy, bumbling mess around a girl he likes. XD And he is probably a very humble and modest character. He'd probably be a shy, clumsy fool if he were head-over-heels in love. :)

I hoped I got the two of their personalities right. I've only seen SoTFF once. Read the transcript only once. But I wrote this after working on a KFP pairing prompt and the idea came to me. I hope I did okay.

Oh, and btw, Crane's real name (that I've chosen), Jun, means 'truthful'. It's fits him quite well, if you ask me. :)

Oh, and Coldplay: What an inspiration! Their song "The Scientist" fits Crane/Mei Ling very well. It's ironic seeing as how, in a recent interview, Coldplay's lead singer, Chris Martin, said that the KFP films is a big inspiration for Coldplay's work, and that he loved the positive message from KFP 2, about finding peace after tragedy, after truth. I love Coldplay. :) They're one of my favorite bands.

Please review!