Chapter two

-Three years later-

Duo slowly moved his eyes over the long line of different shampoos standing on the shelf in front of him. There were so many to choose from, different brands, different functions, different smells. It was actually the smell that drove him not to buy his usual brand; he was getting sick of it and needed something new. There was one that was made to strengthen long hair, but it smelled like a flower shop, and another that smelled sharp and masculine but with no special functions. He moved on, looking for the perfect blend.

Absently he heard steps coming towards him, but he payed it no mind, his focus was on the shelves. With a hair like his, you couldn't buy just anything.

"Hello Duo." A voice spoke from behind him.

Duo turned around and looked at the young Chinese man who appeared next to him. He looked slightly familiar, but he couldn't for the life of him place how he knew him."Sorry, do I know you?" He asked, feeling embarrassed that he didn't recognize someone who obviously recognized him.

The man gave him a slow, pleased smile. "Yeah, but I might look a bit different since we met the last time."

Duo searched his memory, trying to place him. He went through old classmates, childhood friends, old work buddies, and neighbors. But in the end, it was the eyes that gave it away. Those dark brown eyes that he spent so much time gazing into.

"M- Meilan?" He stuttered in surprise.

The man grinned. "Yeah, it's me. ButI go by Wufei these days."

Duo had a feeling that he probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but he couldn't find the will to care as he stared at his ex-girlfriend...who was a guy.

"Holy Jesus fucking Christ on a stick." He breathed.

Meilan laughed. "It's nice to see you too, Duo."

"How? What? Mei?" Duo spat out irregularly, staring at the man in front of him.

A very male laughter rouse from her throat. "I see some things don't change."

"Mei?" Duo breathed, the world swaying slightly around him.

His ex flicked her - his, head towards the exit. "Come on, let's go somewhere so we can talk."

Duo nodded helplessly, following her... him, leaving his half-full shopping cart standing alone in the aisle.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

They ended up in a small coffee house just around the corner. Duo really could not take his eyes off his former girlfriend, marveling at the fact that she was no longer a girl.

They found a small table further away from the rest, just next to the back wall. The sound of people talking around them turned into a strange sort of background noise as they took a seat on ether side of the table.

Duo was the first to find his tongue. "So, you really did it."

It wasn't a question, but Meilan answered anyway. "Yeah."

Duo rubbed a hand over his mouth before leaning back the uncomfortable steel chair with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't know what to say, but one neutral question managed to make its way through his confusion. "So, what are you doing here? Do you live here, or what?" He couldn't remember hearing much news about his old girlfriend but he assumed that she would have stay in town with her family.

Meilan... Wufei nodded. "Yes, I moved here more or less as soon as I got out of the hospital. I just wanted to start a new life, the life I should have had all along. I wanted people to know me as Wufei and not 'that chick that got a sex change'. You know."

Duo nodded even thou he didn't.

Wufei put his elbows up on the table. "So what are you doing here? I heard that you moved but I didn't know where."

Duo startled slightly, shifting his long legs around under the table "Oh, I've been here since - since I... moved out. I became friends with this guy who wanted to start up his own repair shop. He hired me and a couple of other guys to work for him. We mostly fix up worn down classic cars and sell them off expensively."

Wufei tilted his head, putting it down on his raised hand with a small wishful smile. "Sounds like your life-long dream, except that you don't own the shop."

"Even better because I don't have to do the paperwork." Duo pulled on the edge of his ear, a nervous gesture he never managed to grow out off. "We're a pretty small shop, just four people, but we get by."

"I'm happy for you."

"Thanks... " There was an awkward pause where Duo tried both to think of something to say and to not pull his own ear off. "So, what are you up to?"

Meilan's back stretched slightly in pride, elbows sliding off the table. "Well I just graduated, so you are looking at a certified lawyer."

Duo grinned, knowing how much it meant for her. "Really? That's great, congratulations."

"Thank you. I even got a job at this small law firm. It doesn't pay all that much but it's better than nothing."

"Yes, I remember how well you handled being unemployed." He couldn't help but tease her.

A familiar half smile appeared on the man's face. "Yeah, yeah, but the apartment needed new wallpaper."

Duo felt his heart contract. He had missed her so much these last few years. More then he even thought possible. But the reason why it didn't work out was right before him, bringing back old feelings of confusion and sorrow.

Duo sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, ending the movement with a slight pull of his ear. "I still can't get over that we are sitting here, holding a civilized conversation."

Meilan - no- Wufei nodded. "Well, I was angry, but after the absolute hell that I went through, the anger just felt pointless."

"Oh... so how did the..." He cleared his throat and gesticulated vaguely over his own body."How did it go? How was it?"

Wufei was silent for a moment. "Well, hell is probably the best description. Painful, follows closely. Endless amount of testosterone, and surgery after surgery. The last three years have been more or less just a big blur of pain mixed with exams."

"So errr, are you like uhmm..." he trailed off.God this was awkward. He was talking to a guy that used to be his girlfriend about how she turned herself into a guy. He wondered just how much of a guy she was.

Wufei chuckled as he caught him looking at his lap.

"Yes, I have a dick now."

"Holy shit." He muttered faintly. "How did they do that? Did they like cut it off someone who didn't want it anymore?"

A loud snort took Duo back in time to when Meilan used to make fun of of him when she thought he was being naive. "No, they did not cut it off someone else. Believe me, you don't want to hear the details, but I can tell you that what used to be in the inside, is now on the outside."

Duo grimaced. "Ew."

"You asked."

"Next time, don't tell me." Duo rubbed the edge of the table, using it as a excuse to look away from those eyes just for a moment. "How much did all that cost anyway?"

Duo watched Wufei tilted his head slightly like he had seen Meilan do a thousand times when she was calculating something in her head. "85.000, if you count how much it took to get rid of the fat bags on my chest."

Duo choked. "Where the hell did you get all that money?"

"I had the inheritances from my grandparents and I borrowed the rest from my parents."

"Should have known, your parents are the greatest." They were another thing Duo had missed since they split up. He loved his own mother but she was far too busy with her own life to take any part in his. Meilan's big, welcoming family had taken him in and showed him what a family should be like. The loss of them left a hole almost as big as Meilan had." How are they by the way?"

"Oh, good, great even. I got another little sister a few months ago."

Duo lit up. "Really? That's great."

"Yeah, she's the cutest thing ever. Wait," He reached for his back pocket and got his wallet out. Flipping through several photos, he pulled out one of them and handed it over to Duo.

Duo smiled brightly at the small slightly pissed off looking baby on it. "Aw, that is so cute. And I think she got your hair." He snickered, pointing at the tussled black hair on the baby.

"Shut up, why do you think I wear it long now days?" Wufei said, pulling slightly at his own ponytail.

"Oh, you have long hair now." Duo repeated in mild surprise.

Wufei rolled his eyes. "You are such a guy."

"Welcome to the gang, here is your oblivious card. We meet every Thursday, it's a pretty great set-up." He said, pretending to hold out a membership card. He was feeling a strange sort of payback for all the times Meilan picked on him for not noticing when she cut her hair, when she changed the curtains or when she redecorated the living room.

"Well I'm a gay guy, I'm the best parts of both worlds." Wufei said with a smirk, making Duo chuckle.

With one last look at the baby, Duo handed the picture back. "Hey, Mei. I find it ironic that out of seven kids, you are the only guy."

Wufei laughed. "Believe me, I know."

Duo felt a warm, soft feeling spread inside of him as he smiled back.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Ah, now we are getting somewhere. Please review, I'm not as down as yesterday but I could use some inspiration.

Unfortunately I still can't open my documents. But luckily a friend of mine (Aniratac!") got me a (legal O.O) copy of Microsoft word so now I can at least start to re-write what I have lost. I'm just going to have to be able to think about it without starting to hyperventilate first.

A HUGE thank you to everyone that reviewed, you made my horrible day a bit brighter.

Mongose (lol, yes who else would start writing something like this? I hope you'l like it.), Kayya (lol, yes I'm finally back. Thank you for the compliment), DeceptiveInnocenceXIII (glad to know, I hope I won't disappoint you. I was about to say –'glad to know I'm not alone', but really that would be awful of me XD) Reniee Maxwell (Thank you, I'm holding my thumb that I will get it working again. I hope you liked the chapter) Tsukamei (and suddenly my problems doesn't seem so bad. Damn, you must have been crying blood when you realized it was all gone.)Shekinaah (it is a very interesting subject. I would recommend you an amazing book but my sister borrowed it a while back and I don't remember the name of the author. Let me know if you are interested and I'll give her a call to find out. It's about a woman who was born a man and her life. It's a true story and she is unbelievable. She has even been in James Bond movie XD) Shan Chan (The Wufei-Meilan blend is actually my biggest fear in this fiction and I was thrilled to now that you thought I succeeded. But I am wondering how you thought I managed with it now when Wufei is fully male. I hope I won't disappoint you with the rest of the fiction) Snowdragonct (So I sparked you curiosity did I? Glad to know and I hope you still find it interesting. It was nice to hear that you found it realistic, that was what I was trying to do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don't) Becce-chan'05( Now you got me all exited too XD, thank you. I hope you liked the chapter.) Spider-jen (Thank you, I hope that you still find it interesting.)