Wo Ai Ni, Yong Yuan

By DragonMage

Chapter 2

Wufei dropped his bags on the carpeted floor beside queen size his hotel bed and collapsed on it. He was so tired! He swore he would never get used to using planes as a mode of transportation. He always felt jet lag and he hated it. Closing his eyes, Wufei willed himself to go to sleep. But he couldn't. In a day he was going to meet with the Gateway Inc. representative. Duo. Gods, he was going to see Duo again. His heart raced at the mere idea of seeing his former love again.

But then, it could be a mistake. It could be just another Duo Maxwell. Things like that always happened. Lots of people out there have the same first and last names. It's possible.

Then again, how many people are named Duo?

He was so confused; his whole mind was in a constant turmoil. There were so many things that could go wrong in one little meeting with Duo. So many things had happened in six years. How were they going to cope. And, Wufei knew perfectly well that he couldn't love Duo if the love was still there after all this time. He had to be faithful to Meiren. But it would be so hard with Duo...Gods, he still loved Duo so much that it ached not to touch him. He had thought he had made peace with his love for Duo but obviously he never did. He was just in deep denial.

Groaning, Wufei just laid there until he finally fell asleep when his body and mind gave in to complete oblivion.

~*~

"Duo? Did you take something this morning?" Hilde [1] asked curiously as she watched her friend tear napkins into little pieces of nothing and then start on a new one. Soon there was a white mess in front of him on the cafe table.

"Nothing," Duo said, shaking his head as he tore another napkin to shreds. <Only I'm gonna see Wufei again in less than 24 hours! Where was he staying again? Oh yeah, at the New World Plaza. That's only a couple of blocks from here...>

"Um, Duo, those napkins didn't do anything to you," Hilde said, smiling slightly as she sipped her latte. She had no idea what was wrong with her friend but something was obviously wrong. She had never seen him so nervous before. He was always so calm and in control all the time. It was kind of unnerving to see Duo like this.

"Do anything? Oh!" Duo stared at the mess he had made in shock and sighed. "I'm just working off nervous energy, that's all."

"Over what?" Hilde asked as she bit into a scone.

"Nothing," Duo said, shaking his head.

"That's a lot of nothing today, Duo. Come on, I'm your friend. Tell me what's the matter," Hilde urged.

"Sorry, Hilde, it's nothing really. I'm just nervous about meeting the new seller from China," Duo said, shrugging nonchalantly. Or at least as best as he could managed. Gods, he was so nervous! Just to see Wufei again, see that perfect Chinese face and those long strong limbs...Maybe to hold him again? Would that happen? Would they see each other and fall in love all over again?

"What's so bad about that? It's just the usual and the deals are closed with no trouble at all," Hilde said, smiling and shaking her head. "You've done this before. And, lucky you, he speaks English, right?"

"Yeah," Duo said, nodding. <I would know if he spoke English. He only lived here for fifteen years and had been my boyfriend and only love for a few weeks.>

"Then there's nothing to be nervous about. You don't have to say 'Nihao' or stuff like that," Hilde laughed.

"Thank god," Duo agreed, smiling a bit shakily.

Hilde stopped laughing. "Seriously, Duo. What's the matter? I've never seen you like this before. It's something else isn't it?"

"Sort of," Duo agreed reluctantly.

"So...What is it? Come on, Duo! I wanna help, seriously," Hilde said sincerely.

Duo sighed and stared down at the mess. Did he really want to tell Hilde what had happened *six* years ago? That was so long ago. Was Wufei even the same? Did he even...even love Duo at all? That was what he was afraid of, if the love wasn't there anymore. A lot of things can happen in six years and he was so scared that six years could wipe out their love completely. It would kill him if that was true.

"Duo?"

"Naw, Hilde, it ain't important," Duo said, waving his hand to dismiss the subject. "It happened a long time ago, no need to dwell on the past."

"If you believe that," Hilde snorted.

"What do you mean?"

"You're past is what makes you what you are now," Hilde said seriously. "The past is important, Duo."

"Sure, Hilde," Duo said, shrugging.

"I'm serious!"

"Well, I just want to leave the past as past, thank you very much," Duo said as he picked up another napkin and shredded it.

Hilde watched for a moment. "Sure, past is past."

~*~

Wufei woke up the next morning without much trouble. He got out of bed and walked over to the window. He pushed past the curtains and stared out of the window.

The sky was gray.

<Does this mean things won't turn out as I wish them to turn out? Is it a bad omen?>

Wufei decided not to dwell on such thoughts and turned away from the window. Then he headed for the bathroom and began to use the complimentary soaps and towels that were at every hotel. He showered and brushed his teeth and changed into a smart gray Armani suit. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed when he saw his long hair. He had never had enough heart to cut it and now it hung a little past his shoulders. <Oh yeah, long hair's really gonna help in a serious meeting. Why didn't I ever cut it?!>

Picking up an elastic band, Wufei quickly tied his hair back neatly and growled when the ever present lock of hair fell out of the ponytail and into his eyes [2].

"Okay, Chang, today is just another meeting day. Nothing biggie. You've done this hundreds of times," Wufei said to himself as he smoothed his suit and stared at himself in the mirror. He was still nervous. <So much for the self-pep talk.>

Picking up his briefcase, Wufei told himself that he could do this and it was nothing one more time. Then he left the hotel for the cafe where he would finally meet Duo Maxwell.

~*~

Duo nervously tapped his fingers on the counter table before glancing at his Rolex again [3]. He was too early; he knew that. He had came far too early and the only thing he had ordered so far was a pastry he wasn't gonna eat and some coffee. Where was Wufei? If he knew his ex-boyfriend good enough Wufei would be a bit earlier than the time set for the meeting. Wufei always liked to be early.

Taking a deep breath, Duo swallowed some coffee and grimaced when he found it cold. He ordered another cup, smiling charmingly at the slightly annoyed waitress as she went to fulfill his order.

<Where are you, Fei? Why aren't you here? I want to see you again,> Duo thought anxiously as he turned his attention at the door again.

He stopped breathing when the door opened and Wufei appeared.

The young Chinese man was dressed in a smart gray Armani suit that flattered his slim form tremendously with his longer hair tied back except for that one lock of hair that fell into his eyes that kind of ruined that professional look. He held a briefcase in one hand and his other hand was left calmly at his side. His face was completely smooth and serene as his dark eyes scanned the cafe.

Then he spotted Duo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*laughing* Okay, so I decided to be evil...Plus, my siblings are giving me hell right now and I just can't type anymore!

[1] I have no idea what's her last name!

[2] I love it when he has that lock of hair over his eyes. It's so cute!

[3] He's rich!