Disclaimer: 1/2 Prince belongs to Yu Wo.

A/N: What? Chapter 9 already? Why, that's crazy talk!

Hi everyone, since chapter 8 was on the short side (and I can't say this one is much longer) this chapter gets posted sooner. :)

I hope I do not disappoint!

And once again, special thanks to my beta-reader Astroelvengoddess. I'm glad this is your fav chapter thus far. ^^


Chapter Nine

Detention Four.

Feng Lan took a deep breath as she looked up at the immaculately carved oak wooden door. The words "Min Gui Wen" were etched into a brass name plate placed perfectly center on the door's front. She hesitated a moment before knocking.

"Come in!" she heard the professor's voice call from inside.

She steeled herself as she turned the handle and stepped inside Professor Min Gui Wen's office for the first time. She gasped. The office was…words could barely describe it. Floor to ceiling was lined with bookshelves, all filled with hundreds of battered-looking tomes and half in languages she barely even recognized. Was that one wall entirely devoted to texts written in Sanskrit?

She was in awe; her eyes traveled from the amount of books capable of being owned by one individual to a large bay window from which sunlight streamed in, completely illuminating the room. "Amazing…" she breathed without thinking.

Professor Min's laughter brought her back to reality. "I suppose it is a pretty nice office."

Feng Lan immediately flushed. How could she have completely forgotten about him?

"Er…Professor!" she exclaimed as her eyes darted to the handsomely carved desk in the corner, behind which Professor Min sat with an amused glint in his eyes.

"Please, admire all you want. I rarely get to spend as much time in here as I'd like," the professor gave a reassuring smile. Feng Lan noted that he seemed much more in his element sitting behind his desk and surrounded by mountains of books. He appeared much calmer and almost serene. Stress and worry were still hidden in the depths of his eyes, but on the surface he looked completely relaxed.

Professor Min cleared his throat loudly. "Um…the room. Please admire the room."

Feng Lan's eyes widened. "I was! I am!" She exclaimed hurriedly and turned around abruptly to become extremely interested in a copy of the Analects of Confucius.

After an overly lengthened pause, during which both professor and student had matching pink faces, Professor Min finally spoke again. "Um, Ms. Lan, you may take a seat." Feng Lan slowly turned around but refused to meet the professor's eyes. From the corner of her eyes she saw him gesture to the seat placed before his desk. She sat down.

Feng Lan waited with baited breath. Professor Min shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "About last week…"

"It's alright!" Feng Lan eeped. "I know it was an accident."

Professor Min sighed. "Ms. Lan, you can't possibly know—"

"I do," she reiterated. She wanted this awkwardness to be over. She was sure he did too. As much as she didn't want to admit it, the situation between her and Professor Min in real life was completely affecting her gameplay and halting the much-needed resolution between Prince and Gui. She couldn't focus at all much less lead an entire city. And from what she'd seen this morning, Gui wasn't doing any better.

But then once things were resolved, wouldn't Prince and Gui need to talk about…

She didn't want to think about it. One thing at a time.

"I'm very sorry for embarrassing the both of us," Professor Min looked at Feng Lan with utmost sincerity. "I know it's a…delicate subject…for young women and the last thing I wanted to do was make you feel uncomfortable."

Feng Lan stared resolutely at her lap. "Can we please not talk about this anymore?"

Reminding her about how much Professor Min knew she was female was somehow making her not only feel uncomfortable but also irritated. What was it that Gui had said when he first met Prince? Something about how men are the best? She frowned. What was it about Prince that Gui liked so much? Was it because her avatar was male? What about a personality? Her personality? What was wrong with that?

"Will you at least accept my apology?" Professor Min looked on with eyes shining in hope.

Feng Lan felt irritated. Would he even be apologizing if Prince hadn't been angry? Somehow this upset her even more.

"Pleeeaaaaassse?" Professor Min repeated sounding even more like Gui. Feng Lan's arm itched with the want to pummel him just like she would in Second Life.

She decided to throw a wrench into his plans. "My brother said you were saying things about me in Second Life. Is that true?"

Professor Min looked affronted and slightly ashamed. "It was a mistake. I was frustrated about something else and inadvertently took my anger out on you." Feng Lan's eyes narrowed. "It was highly unprofessional of me."

Feng Lan scowled and crossed her arms. No doubt he was frustrated about the current situation between Prince and Gui. But Gui started it with his stupid drunkenness and amazing kissing skills coupled with his dashingly good looks…

Feng Lan paused in her train of thought. Nope. Nope. She definitely did not just think that.

"Ms. Lan, are you alright?" Professor Min had leaned over his desk to place a hand on her forehead, causing her to flush even more. She stared at him suddenly realizing how incredibly close his face was to hers. "Ms. Lan?" He looked worried and his face was filled with concern. She stared at his mouth as he spoke. She couldn't seem to stare anywhere else. "Ms. Lan?"

"I'm fine!" she squeaked, wrenching out of his grasp as she threw herself further back into her chair. "Just feeling a bit feverish."

He leaned back into his chair and continued staring at her in concern. "The school clinic is still open if you need to go."

Feng Lan shook her head. "Nope, I'm good," she smiled weakly. "I'll just take some medicine when I get home."

The clock ticked by in awkward silence.

"Are you sur—"

"Yes." Feng Lan smiled politely. "And I accept your apology."

Professor Min's face brightened immediately. It was almost the same idiotic smile he got when seeing Prince after an extended absence. "Ms. Lan, I also apologize for the things I said in-game—"

"Do you?" Feng Lan couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, of course, I—"

"But are you sincere?" She looked at him with a troubled face. Who was he apologizing for? Himself? For Prince?

Professor Min considered her for a moment. Then he leaned forward to stare directly into her eyes. "I wouldn't apologize if I didn't mean it."

"But I heard—"

"I don't care what you heard," Professor Min replied. Seeing the anxious look on her face made all selfish desires of even considering doing this for Prince fly out the window. He had wronged her. Plain and simple. And for some reason seeing the hurt and disbelief in her eyes made his heart clench. "I'm apologizing not because I should or even because I need to. I'm apologizing because I feel genuinely terrible about the situation and I want you to know that I would take it back if I could."

"Because of how others view you," Feng Lan couldn't help but add dejectedly.

"No!" Professor Min's eyes flashed with the slightest hint of anger. "Because of how you view me."

Feng Lan's world came crashing down the moment those words left the professor's mouth. Words failed her as she couldn't seem to do anything but stare at the man before her as he tried to save his dignity for her. Not for Prince. She was having a hard time grasping the concept.

Seeing that she wasn't going to say anything any time soon, Professor Min rose from his seat, strode across the room, grabbed a book off his shelf, and tossed it into the silent girl's lap.

"What's this?" Feng Lan asked quietly, picking it up.

"Your assignment," Professor Min responded smartly. She gave him a quizzical look. He rolled his eyes. "You didn't think I brought you to my office just to apologize, did you?"

She shook her head in confusion.

"You still have detention. Your next assignment, which should take the rest of your detentions, is to reorganize my bookshelves."

She stared at the book in her hands. It was a primer on the Dewey Decimal System.

"Eh? Professor! But isn't this system obsolete now?"

"Not anymore," he smirked. "Best get to work."

~o~0~o~

Needless to say, Feng Lan was fuming by the time Zhuo Ling Bin stopped by to pick her up. Professor Min decided he didn't care anymore. He'd said his piece. After all, she was a student. He was a teacher. And from the way the remainder of detention had progressed, things had returned to normal between the two of them.

"Zhuo-gege, you won't believe what Professor Min made me do!" He heard her voice faintly in the distance.

He smiled softly. That girl—he shook his head—she was something else. She was a total hot-headed spitfire that still had the grace to blush and retain her dignity even in the most unfortunate circumstances. In that way, he admired her. He admired that same unusual quality in Prince. She was also unusually honest to the point of being tactless. She blurted things without thinking, but her pain evoked the rawest feelings of guilt and compassion in others. Just like Prince.

He blinked. Feng Lan…was like Prince? He shook his head. That was absurd. They looked nothing alike. They were nothing alike. Except for those few highly unusual characteristics; traits that you normally don't find in people.

Professor Min had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Ugly Wolf's words from earlier in the week floated into his mind. Gui, I hope you make it through this next week. The sinking feeling only deepened.

~o~0~o~

Prince had readied himself. In real life, things had been resolved with Professor Min. Well, if you call returning back to angry muttering and constant bantering normal. It was now time to tackle Gui. He couldn't avoid the situation forever. He knew the mess was causing discontent and inconveniencing his fellow teammates, and most of them didn't even know what was going on!

He rounded the corner to come face to chest with the bard. He made a soft 'oofing' noise as he literally "tackled" the older man.

"Gui!" he squeaked, completely forgetting all the well-prepared words he'd spent practicing up in the tower as he realized who he was suddenly laying on. Prince leapt up almost immediately, frustrated with himself for instantly missing the warm contact of the bard's body.

"Prince," Gui blinked in shock as he rose to a standing position. "You're not in your bedroom."

Prince shook his head as he willed his heart to stop fluttering. Why was he feeling like this? This shouldn't be happening. All because Professor Min had said something nice and acknowledged her? No. That was stupid.

"And…you're…standing here. In front of me!" Gui sounded like he could barely believe what was happening. He suddenly looked uncertain. "Should I leave?" He got ready to make a run for it.

"Gui! No!" Prince grabbed the bard's arm.

Gui immediately froze on contact. His heart was beating rapidly. "Prince?" he turned confused eyes to the elf.

"I wanted to apologize," Prince spoke, "for the other day. I shouldn't have said what I did."

Gui looked even more confused. "Prince, what are you—"

"I said you didn't have a right to pity yourself over saying mean things about another person. I was wrong. You had every right." Even though in real life Feng Lan was still angry about detention, she couldn't get over the hurt she'd seen in Professor Min's eyes when she'd accused him of apologizing with ulterior motives. He looked genuinely hurt and troubled and his apology had been sincere if albeit a little harsher than intended.

Gui looked like he was about to cry. "My lord!"

"But," Prince emphasized, "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. About us, I mean."

"My lord, as long as I can stand beside your fair face and gaze into your captivating rose-red eyes that is enough for me."

Prince's hand twitched as he fought the urge to pummel Gui into the ground. "I just want things to go back to normal, ok? You say dumb things. I beat you up. Everyone's happy."

Gui bit his lip. Prince wished he hadn't noticed the action since it caused him to focus his attention on the one thing he least wanted to think about. He unconsciously mirrored Gui's action as he stared. "Prince, is there really no hope?"

Prince forced himself to flick his eyes up from Gui's mouth to his eyes and instantly regretted it. Gui stared at him with such sincerity and love and passion that Prince almost lost it. He almost leapt into Gui's arms. Was it possible to be seduced by someone's eyes alone?

"I'm sorry for confusing you," Prince forced himself to say. "But I can never be with you." He turned to leave.

"Why?" Gui choked out, grabbing Prince's hand desperately. Prince angrily shook him off.

"Because," Prince spat, "you don't even know me. You don't even know who I am."

"But I love you."

Prince stopped. Intense pain flitted across his face for the briefest moment. He shook it off but Gui didn't miss the expression. "No, you don't," Prince answered harshly.

"Prince!"

"Please," Prince looked at Gui desperately. "For my own sanity, please let me forget about a kiss you don't even remember. Please let everything go back to normal."

Those eyes. That hurt. How could Gui say no? "Of course, your highness," Gui heard his own voice from a distance. "I'd do anything for you."

"Thank you," he heard Prince whisper and the quiet sound of Prince's footsteps slowly fading into the distance followed.

He broke out of his reverie at Prince's sudden and startled exclamation. "Zhuo-gege!" the elf breathed out in surprise from the end of the hall.

Wicked's voice followed. "He kissed you?" He'd suspected since day one (more like known, really), but overhearing it confirmed straight from Prince's mouth in that sad and pleading tone set him off into an angry rage. "Kissed? How could you let him do that?"

"It was an accident!" Prince began to protest.

"That stupid bard! I'll kill him!"

"Wicked! No!"

The dark elf reached Gui's slowly blinking face. Gui didn't even fight back as his world turned black and Prince continued to scream in the background for Wicked to stop. One thought kept running through his head. Zhuo-gege. Where had he heard that before?

Before his mind went completely blank, he recalled the answer. Feng Lan.

~0~o~0~


A/N: I was so amazed at how quickly the reviews came in for the last chapter. I have to say, as readers you never fail to disappoint me! I'm so incredibly happy with all the comments and words of encouragement I've received. Chapter 10 will sadly not be as posted as quickly as this one. Then again, who knows? This story is incredibly addicting and fun to write.

Preview next chapter:

"What are you doing here?" Gui barely dared to breathe. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

"I had to make sure you were alright," Prince explained. "You can't die unless it's by my hands." The elf laughed jokingly.

Gui smiled and reached out to stroke the side of Prince's face. "You're perfect," Gui whispered quietly. The elf froze.

"Gui…" his voice wobbled.