*DISCLAIMER: I don't know how to write chinese and I use it throughout the fic, so please comment about errors. I try to use google translate as least as possible.*
The Cowboy in Beijing
有沒有 梅 , 我们走吧! (Come on Mei, let's go!). Mei sighed as her friends dragged her by the hand through the rainy night in Beijing. Her head was throbbing, probably because she had too much 白酒 (Baijiu). It was never dark in Beijing; neon multicolored signs lit the streets more than the actual street lights themselves. Mei was praying for a buddhist temple to escape the hustle and bustle of the noisy, relentless, and lethargic hordes of workers, families, and tourists. Suddenly, her body hurled sideways as her friend took her down a stairway that led to an ominous back street. Several men were lined up near the walls, their eyes feasting on the new appearances: " 哎 ! 辣妹, 过来 ! " (Oi! Sexy ladies, come here!). Mei rolled her eyes as she dodged their drunken banter. " 哦 ! 她很胖 ! 她最好在床上 . . . " (Oh! That one's bigger! She'd be better in bed) Mei stopped, contemplating whether to take out her pepper spray and singe his eyes. Mei took a deep breath, and instead continued down the alleyway. After about 5 more minutes of walking and meeting the lustful gazes, they finally had reached the place their friend was dragging on about. " 我也是醉了 ! 这是与性感的牛仔的地方 ! " (OMG! This is the place with the sexy cowboy!). " 什么 ? ! " (What?!) Mei said in confusion, squeezing herself with her hands. 'A cowboy in China?' she thought, shaking her head as she blushed at the thought of a man with a cowboy hat and boots gliding and grinding on a metal pole. 'Stop it!' she told herself, a final chill being sent down her spine before she took a big gulp and walked into the strip club.
She stepped in, a wave of aromas wafting around her. She disconnected from her friends hands as she focused on the dim purple lights that filled the leather and red furred hallway. As she continued down the hallway, a bouncer stood attentively next to a forked pathway leading to two separate hallways, music blasting from both ends. On the left, the sign read: ' 男人 ' (Male) and the right: ' 女人 ' (Female). A familiar hand grasped onto hers somewhat forcibly as she was pulled into the 男人 line. Once they got to the front of the line, the bouncer contemptuously stared down at Mei. " 身份识别卡 " (I.D.) he said sternly, occasionally checking his watch. Mei was paralyzed. " 妈了个巴子 ! " (Fuck) she muttered under her breath. She had asked her friend to hold her wallet while they were at the bar and she still had it and they were already inside. " 呃呃呃... 稍等一会儿 ! " (Uh… wait one moment please!) she answered, fake-checking her bag to buy time. After an awkward two minutes of no luck, she gave up. " 下一个 " (Next) the bouncer said blandly, shoving Mei towards the exit. She sighed disappointedly as she took a seat on a flabby wooden chair next to the renovated reception room. " 呃.. 请问 女士, 我忍不住发现你在这里很伤心 " (Uh.. excuse me miss, it pains to see such a lovely lady like yourself sitting here alone) an unknown voice said, speaking Chinese but with an unfamiliar accent. It took Mei a minute to comprehend the language barrier before she blushed. She turned to face the voice to find a man wearing blue levi skinny jeans with a belt wrapped around his waist and—like she expected—a cowboy hat. She gawked at his rippling pectoral muscles and his bulging biceps, however only being able to look at his body briefly before staring up at his face. The man even thought she was drooling at one point. 'Wait… he isn't Asian?' Mei thought to herself, wondering why a foreigner would be working at a strip club in Beijing. The money, she guessed. "哦 ! 呃... 当然 ? " (Oh! Uh… sure?) She said awkwardly. She saw the man's face brighten up as he extended his hand. " 我叫乔尔 ,
很高兴见到你 ..." (My name's Joel, a pleasure to meet you) She blushed, deciding to stay silent. Gentler than the previous hand, Joel took her back towards the line and up to the bouncer. Several eyes diced the shape and beauty of the exotic dancer, including Mei's. "
让她进来, 她和我在一起 " (Let her in, she's with me) he said calmly, squeezing her hand. He turned over and winked smoothly. She was baffled; this man whom she had never met before was treating her so kindly. Promptly, the bouncer opened the red velvet rope barrier, guiding them into the 男人 hallway. Mei felt her heart rate skyrocket as she approached the exhibition. As they were walking, she noticed at least 6 private rooms labeled with '
请别打扰' (Please do not disturb) . Despite the sign, a door had been left slightly ajar and Mei saw it all; a patron was resting with his legs spread on the circled cushioned couch as the dancer gyrated his hips and shook his ass back and forth in a hypnotic pattern. The situation escalated from there; the dancer took off his last bit of clothing, exposing exactly what you'd expect. Even though she saw just a split second of what had occurred, she knew that this night would be wild. Her cheeks heavily flushed a dark red as they reached the main room.
The air was filled with the scent of dirty shoes, body oil, and cheap air fresheners. Mei wanted to plug her nose, turn around, and never come back to this place, but she felt a calling; something here mattered. Was it love? Was it friendship? Was it just desire? Was it- "Are you alright, miss?" Joel said in english, making Mei flustered. "对不- I mean, pardon me… I was just thinking about something" she said with her thick accent, trying to adjust herself to the other language. It had been so long since she last spoke English, not since Ecopoint. "So darlin', what brings ya' here?" Joel asked, gesturing her to continue following him. "Well, I came here with my friends thinking that this was another bar. But it turns out that it is a…" "Strip club." Joel finished. "Yes" she uttered awkwardly. "Well little missy, have you ever heard of bull riding?" "Yes! It is a very exciting event!" "It sure is excitin', how about I show you some tricks" "Oh… how would that work? Do you have a bull?" she says blatantly. Joel's calm and collected expression suddenly erupted into laughter as he starting hugging his chest and fell to his knees. "Oh god Mei, yer even funnier than I remember." Mei froze. Joel continued laughing, not giving notice to Mei's realization. "What… what do you mean 'funnier than you remember'?" she said judgingly, reaching for her pepper spray in her bag. Joel's laughter subsided as he quickly stood up and backed towards the wall slowly. "Darlin'... it's not what it sounds like" he rasped, "I can explain". "Ok, Mister 'Cowboy', who are you truly?" she said, pulling the pepper spray out of her bag and pointing it in his direction. "Wait don't shoot!" he barked out, covering his eyes with his arms. At that moment, Mei understood. She immediately dropped the pepper spray to the ground and gave him a big tight squeeze. "Oh my goodness Mcree! It has been 9 years since I have last seen yo-" Mcree quickly covered her mouth with his hand, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulls her into his private room. "Bless yer' soul Mei.. but for the love of God don't blow my cover!" he said in a hushed tone, glaring through the tinted windows to see if anyone was coming to check the commotion. Mei was in pure jubilation; "I apologize for being so loud… but it is just so exciting to see someone from Overwatch! I thought I was the only one left, my entire team did not make it and I was so scared and I-" Mei stopped mid sentence as the tears began to well up in her eyes; she had been harboring many of her emotions ever since the loss of her team at Ecopoint. She fell to her knees, the makeup and mascara running down her face. Her hair pins fell out, the volumes of hair releasing towards the floor as the tears started forming a puddle under her. Mcree could only watch as Mei, a person she thought was an endless source of happiness, violently cried and coughed into the floor and into her sleeves. The acid started to rise from her throat, her drinks came back to haunt her. "M-Mei… please darlin'... let's get ya' cleaned up" Mcree said, kneeling down and placing a hand on Mei's arched back. "D-DO NOT TOUCH ME!" she said violently, swiping his hand away weakly. She couldn't stand looking at Mcree anymore, or herself. She hated everything. Why did she join Overwatch? Why did she befriend those people? Why did she lose everything? Why does she have to conceal her emotions? Why di- Mei's thought process slowly dwindled as her vision became dizzy and she passed out. "Mei?!" Mcree yelped, scrambling to pick her up in his arms and take her to the bed.
This truly would be a wild night.