Enraptured in Ice Ch. 14

AN: Hey everyone, still working on my original book, Oracle. I'm glad everyone's been enjoying this story thus far, and I hope you continue to read on. I've started to play ranked on the PS4 and I'm presently in Platinum (I'd be higher if people would stop leaving games T-T). I hope you guys continue to enjoy. -Kiba

Jesse let out a low growl as he straightened his hat, following the two men through the Arizonedesert. He couldn't believe his mission was taking him so far out of the way. It didn't even make sense to him! The men the Americans hired weren't soldiers or mercenaries, they were hardly better than a pair of thieves. They weren't even American!

"Oy, why you starin' at us like that cowboy?" the smaller man demanded, turning back to flash him a jester like grin. "Ye ain't be fantasizin' about my friend here, are ya?"

The larger man whom he referred to turned to regard Jesse through his gasmask. Even without being able to see his features, McCree could tell that he was still contemplating just stabbing him with the giant hook he carried on his person. "You said that you heard rumors about a Talon stronghold here?" he asked, ignoring the smaller one's question.

"Eh? Wussat?"

The big man let out a wheezing cough.

"Oh! Right! Yeah, I heard that them Talon folks be sittin' out here."

Just as Jesse was about to question him further, his communicator let out an irritating beep. Sighing to himself, the cowboy glanced at the screen only for Dan's face to suddenly appear. "What do you want, kid?" he grumbled impatiently.

"Oh, sorry Jesse. Is now a bad time?"

"Not if this is important."

Junkrat scratched his head before leaning over to elbow his companion. "Ey. Didya know cowboy had a rugrat?" His partner remained silent simply continuing to stare at the man. "Yeah, me neither. Never thought he'd be the fatherly sort."

"Mei is...well, she's incredibly intoxicated," Dan explained in a hushed tone. "Right now she's fast asleep, but Winston needs us to work on the device for another mission. I need a way to sober her up quickly."

"And you called me because…?"

"I...assumed you'd have more experience," Dan explained nervously. Jesse gave a sigh.

"A glass of water, whole thing, and some aspirin. Any other questions?"

"Yeah, have you heard from Mercy lately? I've been trying to get in touch with her but she hasn't been responding. I'm really worried and last I heard on the news feeds she was heading to America. Just thought I'd ask if you'd seen her."

"Sorry, kid. Can't say I have. Looks like you're just out of luck for the time being. Focus on your mission at hand. Worry about the doc' later."

"Who's this then?" Junkrat asked, peering over Jesse's shoulder. "Wow, your son looks nothin' like ya. Are you sure he's yours? Maybe your girl has some extra on the side."

"Mind yer own business," Jesse growled shoving him away, "and he ain't my son. He's just a kid who works with me, now if ye don't mind…"

"Oh, McCree! One more thing!" Dan called out, causing him to let out a frustrated groan.

"Damn it, kid! This better be important!"

"Head back to base. Winston's orders."

Jesse frowned for a moment. "But he didn't…"

"Maybe your reception is bad out there. But it is very important that you get back to base, right away. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm goin'. But just remember kid, you're not my boss, it's the other way around. I'll see you back at Watchpoint, Talon's stronghold will just have to wait for now, I guess. Besides, they can't be doin' too much way out here anyway."

"Good. I'll see you then."

Jesse hung up on the call with a frown. Dan had been acting strangely just then. It wasn't like him to give commands. Not to mention that if reception had been bad, how would he have contacted him from China. Unless...he knew something Jesse didn't.

Turning back to the two men, the skinny one's unnerving smile was stretched across his face. "We ready to go then?" he asked with a cackle. The big one said nothing, only nodding to McCree and gesturing that they proceed.

"Unfortunately, gents, I fear I'm being called to business elsewhere. I appreciate the boys in Washington dropping us a line. Do apologize on our behalf." With that, he tipped his hat and began to walk away from the two.

"'OY! Ya can't just leave! We was about to rob ya of your loot! Don'tcha have any consideration for us thievin' folk?! I swear, you Americans are the rudest lot! Roadhog, make sure this cowboy doesn't saddle off, savvy?"

With a complying groan, the large enforcer roughly shoved some scrap into his scatter gun and prepared to throw his hook. Jesse's hand went to his hip, pulling back the hammer on the Peacemaker. Seemed like it was just going to be one of those days.

The moment Dan hung up, he looked to the dozing Mei. He thanked God she was asleep before immediately dialing into Watchpoint. "Access code?" Athena's voice chirped.

"In a rush Athena, it's Dan."

"Access code," she stated impatiently.

"Ugh...Access Code: 1337 Overwatch Liaison Daniel McQueen, Lab Assistant."

"Thank you. How may I help you Dan?"

"Patch me through to Winston."

"He may be busy…"

"EMERGENCY ATHENA!" he snapped, before remembering that Mei was still asleep and quieting himself. Turning to look at her, she let out a tired groan, but just rolled over in her slumber.

"What's the problem, Dan?" Winston asked as his face appeared on the screen.

"Jesse was lured into a trap. He was supposed to be with the Americans, but the people he's with are notorious Australian thieves. I saw a report on them not too long ago when they killed the CEO of a big corporation after blowing up his warehouse."

"I'll send Hana to him as back up. How is your mission coming?"

"Good and bad," Dan admitted. "I found Mei, but she's...out of sorts."

"Well put her back into sorts. We need that machine up and running by Saturday, understand? If not, Rio de Janeiro will be wiped off the map, as well as a few other crowded cities."

"Yes sir, understood."

"Good."

With that, the scientist hung up, leaving Dan in the dark with the beautiful woman. With a sigh, he went to prepare McCree's hangover cure in anticipation for her awaking. When he returned, she was just beginning to stir, the sunlight filtering in through the window.

"Nngh...why do I keep doing this to myself?" she groaned, rubbing her head.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Dan teased her, causing her to look at him in shock before scooting way and falling off the bed. "Whoa! Mei, are you okay?" he asked rushing to her side.

"How are you here?" she gasped. "When did you...how did you…"

"Mei, just calm down," he urged her, helping her back to her feet before handing her the glass of water and the aspirin. "Drink the entire thing, take the pill. I'll explain everything, okay?" She nodded, doing as instructed. "We have an emergency. Winston sent me to help you complete the machine and we need it by Saturday. When I got here last night, you were very drunk."

Mei blushed in embarrassment as she swallowed down the water and pill. "Yeah...well…"

"What happened to you, Mei?" Dan whispered finally. "First you left...then Tracer went missing...I don't understand. Why did you leave?"

"Tracer's missing?" Mei asked to avoid answering him.

"Yes, but I found her. Don't change the subject."

She frowned, running her finger over the rim of the glass. "You betrayed my trust, Dan," she whispered. "You hurt me."

"I'm sorry?"

"I know you're back with Hana again," she murmured. "I know that...when you were in the medbay, she was sleeping beside you and you let her. Fareeha told me everything, Dna. I cared about you, I blamed myself...I still blame myself, for what happened. I hurt you, again and maybe it's selfish of me but I couldn't handle it when you hurt me back."

Dan stood pacing away from her, running his hands through his hair roughly before cursing under his breath. "Damn that woman," he snarled. "God, I wish someone would just put a bullet in her and let me be done with her!"

"Dan!" Mei exclaimed in shock. She'd never heard him speak like that of anyone.

"No! I have every right to hate her!" he shot back, wheeling on Mei. "Do you know why Hana stayed with me in the medbay? She did it to keep me safe from her. Ever since I came back and found her in your bed, she's made it her mission to make me leave Overwatch and I won't do it! I won't leave Winston, I won't leave Tracer, and I won't leave you!"

"But...you and Hana…"

"Who gives a damn?!" he roared, his eyes full of fiery rage. "I didn't tell you this because I didn't want to worry you, but the day I came in to the lab to help you and got injured, the reason I was so distracted is because Fareeha had just kicked the absolute shit out of me! She beat me until the point where my leg and my ribs were broken and she put her gun to my head and threatened to blow my head off because she overheard Tracer telling me that she was proud of me for having sex with you! I wasn't distracted because of you, Mei! I was distracted because I was scared for my life and yet every time I turn around and think that I'm safe, it seems like while I continue to do my best to help Overwatch, Overwatch has no intention of helping me! Now you're telling me you left and it was my fault?! That's bullshit!"

"Dan, you need to calm down," Mei lectured him, going to stand up but and grasp his hand, but he quickly pulled away from her.

"I'm not with Hana!" he shouted, visibly shaking now. "I'm not with her and clearly, now I'm not with you, either! I'm here to save the innocent people of Brazil, so could you try for just one day to not continue to break my heart and just help save lives?!"

The climatologist began to tear up as his words speared through her. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"Stop," he demanded, his own tears starting to pool forth. "Don't do this to me. If you want to leave, I'm not going to stop you. You can stay here in Lijiang for all I care, but I'm not leaving without that machine. So swallow your sadness, save whatever pity you have for me for someone who needs it, get over yourself, and tell me how to finish this thing."

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. What had become of Dan? Where was the man she cared about so deeply, now? She placed her hand over her breast to try to calm her heartbeat. "Okay," she surrendered. "I'll help. Even if it means you hate me, I'll help you."

"Good," he grumbled, turning away from her to begin gathering up the tools and components. "Let's get to work."

"So explain to me one more time what happened," Mercy requested, dabbing at the wounds to his left biological shoulder. "You went to Hanamura to confront your brother and…"

"And I was foolish and decided to be dramatic," Genji surrendered before giving a weakened hiss at the stinging medicine. "He managed to actually get me with an arrow to my arm. My armor did a satisfactory job in saving it, but it still managed to cut me pretty deep. I didn't wish to get an infection, but not all doctors are willing to treat me. Besides, you're the only doctor I trust anyway."

"Well, I did put you together, I suppose," she mused with a grin. "How have you been, Genji? It's been some time since I last saw you."

"Much better," he admitted, flexing his mechanical arm. "I met a man, my new master, I suppose you could say. He helped me to become one with myself. I'm a whole man again doctor, even if I am part machine."

"I'm glad to hear it," she beamed at him, wrapping a cotton gauze around the wound. Just as she cut the bandage and taped it, her communicator began to ring again, causing her to sigh. "They just can't seem to leave well enough alone," she complained. "I told them, I was done with that life."

"They, Dr. Zeigler?"

"Please, Genji. We're friends. You can call me Mercy or Angela."

"Thank you for that, but I fear I'm far more comfortable calling you Doctor Ziegler, if it is all the same."

"Very well. I'm referring to Overwatch. I quit recently."

"I thought Overwatch was shut down."

"It was," she sighed. "However, you know Winston. The world is always in need of saving and for him Overwatch was more than just some task force. We were his family."

"So, why did you quit if you never wished to rejoin?"

"At first, I joined as a favor to Winston. Call it my nostalgia getting the better of me. Then I met a young boy who was working as his assistant. Then, what can I say, I fell for him. I've never had children of my own, you understand. My life was far too busy, and yet here was this young boy in need of guidance. So...I took it upon myself to be his 'mother', but of course, as all children do, he grew up before I even realized it. It wasn't until he told me himself that he was an adult that I realized how foolish I'd been acting."

"I don't believe it is foolish," Genji commented. "Rather, I think that you, more than anyone, are a perfect motherly figure for a child."

"Oh, he's not a child," she quickly rectified. "Perhaps I still view him as I once did, but he hasn't been a child in many years. He's nearly twenty seven now, I believe. He actually reminds me quite a bit of you, Genji. He's ambitious, to a fault. Yet he can't help but to blame himself when things don't go as he hoped they would."

The ninja chuckled to himself. "It seems like you were very happy. Why did you leave?"

"As I said, he grew up. He no longer has any need for a mother, much less a mother figure. It was time he learned to stand on his own, so I quit as I'd always intended to do."

Genji began to chuckle again, but this time he began to laugh, covering his mouth with his other hand in a polite attempt to hide it. When Mercy gave him a quizzical look, he nodded in apology. "Sorry. It's just that you don't seem to understand well the bond between mother and child. No offense. Family is family, regardless of age. I fear he will always see you as a motherly figure and no amount of distance will stop him from missing you. Such is the nature of such a bond."

This was not something she'd wanted to hear. "I suppose it is the same for you and your brother than?" she griped, hoping it would sting just enough to make him drop it.

"Of course," Genji replied, missing her tone. "Regardless of whatever conflicts my brother and I had, he will never cease to be my brother."

"Strange words coming from the man who betrayed his family," a voice commented behind them, causing both of them to look up. Genji quickly stepped between Mercy and the older man.

"Do not speak to me of betrayal, Hanzo. Why are you here? Whatever conflict has arisen between us, it does not concern Doctor Ziegler."

"I see. So you are the one who turned my brother into this...abomination?"

"He is not an abomination," she protested, but Genji quickly held his arm in front of her to indicate that she remain quiet.

"I have come brother, to discuss your sentiment. You may take your hand from your blade. I have no desire to battle you...for now."

"I will take my hand from my blade once you swear upon your honor that no harm will come to Doctor Ziegler."

"I swear on my honor I will not harm your pet harlot," Hanzo snorted in disdain.

"You will show her respect, brother. Now state your purpose."

"The Shimada clan is in need of aid."

"That is none of my concern anymore."

"It will always be your concern, regardless of how far you attempt to distance yourself from us."

"You turned your back on them as well."

"And it is time we returned to take our place as leaders of the family. An organization has taken something precious from our home in Hanamura. A scroll...one who dictates the leader of our family. I believe you are familiar with the one."

Images of the torn and blood splattered scroll flashed through Genji's mind, causing him to scowl beneath his mask. "Yes, I recall. So what? Why do you not go and get it back yourself."

"We are pressed for time and it is a mission that may even be far too dangerous for just myself. The fools who presently lead our clan have given the scroll to Talon, who now seek to use it as leverage to entice me back to my position at the head of the family in exchange for allegiance to their cause."

"You cannot mean to comply with them," Mercy suddenly blurted out. "You must understand, Talon is not a force of honor or good! They will use you and…"

"I already know this," Hanzo interrupted. "If I intended to agree to their proposal, I would not be here. They will most likely find some false heir to place at the head so that they may have control. I intend to steal the scroll back and remove that possibility." He hesitated for a moment, shifting from one leg to the other. "My concern is that I will not be able to do such a task alone. It is why I seek you out now brother."

"You have come to ask me for help, yet the first thing you do is to insult my honor?" the ninja scoffed.

"I have not come to ask for help!" he immediately snapped. "I have come to ask you to perform your duty to our family as you swore! It is your birthright, your place, your honor! You must assist me with this."

"Brother, you are very poor at this," Genji pointed out. "Do you not remember the wisdom of our ancestors? You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Truly, your bitterness knows no limits."

Mercy cleared her throat. "If I may..."

"No," Hanzo interrupted.

"If you wish for me to join you brother, you will allow her to speak freely. Go ahead, Doctor Ziegler."

"It seems that you and Overwatch may have a common enemy. Perhaps, if you were to go to them and request their aid, especially with information about Talon, they would gladly assist you in recovering their scroll."

"This business is none of their concern," Hanzo blithely stated. "This is the concern solely of the Shimada clan. None of them is to know about it."

"Odd, I've been sending this entire conversation to them," Mercy added wryly, a soft smirk coming to her lips. "Why, I'm certain they are seeking a way to track you right now in order to offer you their services."

Hanzo began to shake with fury as he reached for an arrow, but not before Genji dashed forward, his blade placed against his bow. "You swore, brother," he reminded him.

"You must learn to keep your pet on a shorter leash," he hissed, shoving the arrow back into the quiver before shoving his brother away. "Do what you like then, 'brother'. If you are not willing to save our family, than perhaps you have wasted your time in your return after all." The way he spat the word 'brother' stung Genji greatly, but still he let him leave the small apartment.

"Well, he's just a regular bundle of sunshine," Mercy commented with a sigh of relief. "I still don't know why you try so hard to win his love."

"It is not about that," Genji replied calmly. "My brother is a very prideful man, but even still, there is goodness in his heart. It is difficult to see, I know, but I assure you, he may yet be redeemed. I will not surrender until he sees the light that still resides within his darkened heart."

"You're a good man, Genji," Mercy smiled. "Your brother is lucky to have you."

"And Dan is lucky to have you, Doctor Ziegler. Perhaps you should take time to visit him again. I am certain he is eager to see you."

She looked at her phone for a moment before nodding. Scrolling through her messages, her eyes widened with every word. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Dan's hurt. Oh God, he's been laying in the med bay for over a week! There was an accident and I just…" Just as she began to tear up, Genji placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her.

"Go to him," he instructed her. "He will forgive you, I am certain of it. If you like, I will accompany you."

"You will?"

"Of course," he replied. "Anyone who is a friend of you, Doctor Ziegler is a friend of mine. Besides, I wish to meet this 'son' of yours. He sounds like a very interesting man."

Angela wrapped her arms tightly around the ninja, hugging him close to her. He said nothing, most likely too shocked by the sudden gesture to react, but even still she embraced him. "Thank you," she whispered to him before placing a kiss on his scarred cheek. "Let's get a plane, right away. We must go to Gibraltar."

"Dan," Mei started just as he was installing another part into the machine. "Can we please talk?"

"No," he stated coldly. "The people of Brazil don't have time for our drama. We have to save their lives."

"But Dan…"

"There are people's lives at stake, Mei."

"Right now, you're the only one at stake who matters to me," she whispered.

"Oh please," he chided. "I don't matter to you. If I had mattered to you, you'd have visited me in the hospital. You wouldn't have just ditched me to come to Lijiang, and you wouldn't have believed all of the nonsense that Fareeha said about me. Face it, Mei. You're looking for an out, and now I'm giving you one. I think it's obvious neither of us are getting what we deserve. You deserve a better guy than me, and I don't deserve to be led on. This is better for both of us."

Mei was certain he didn't actually believe that, but still she fell silent. Soon the only sound in the workshop was of Dan's ratchet as he continued to assemble different components of the machine. "Dan…"

"Mei, please. Let's just keep working on this. I don't want to get distracted again. We know what happened last time."

"That's not what I was going to talk about." She walked beside him, quickly doing some calculations on the board. "Look at this. The vibrations that are caused by this speaker aren't high enough. We need to find something that vibrates even faster than that. In order to cover an area as big as the storm we're going to need something that moves at a rate of…" she paused, scribbling out the numbers before coming to her figure. "Whoa."

Dan's eyes widened. "Are you serious? We're not going to be able to pull that off! Anything we use will just burn out when trying to vibrate at that frequency. That's so fast it may just superheat the air and spontaneously combust."

"So...what do we do, then?"

Dan bit his lip in thought, trying hard to come up with an idea. This was technology that has never existed. Worse, he wasn't sure what else to use. "Well, how did you do it last time?"

"It was just a prototype," she protested. "It barely covered our base!"

"Well still, what did you use?"

"I used...umm...I used…" her mind blanked as she tried to remember. "I...I can't remember."

"Mei!"

"I'm sorry!" she cried. "I can't remember!"

"There are people who are counting on us!"

"I know!"

"Then think!"

"I'm trying!" she bawled. As tears began to flow from her eyes, Dan could feel a tinge of guilt in his heart. He knew he was being hard on her, unfairly so. He was just so tired of it all. He was sick of people not trusting him and thinking the worst of him.

He turned to her and wrapped his arms around her affectionately. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be mean. This is really, really important. The people in Rio de Janeiro are counting on us."

"Why are you so angry at me?" she whispered.

He released her from his hug, turning away from her and staring down at his wrist display. "Athena, can you locate any sort of sonic technology capable of creating frequencies greater than 2,000,000 kilohertz?" Mei frowned. She was not happy to have her question avoided.

After a few moments the computer chirped to inform him that the technology in fact did exist. "Dan, the Sonic Amplifier developed by Vishkar Corporation is capable of producing vibrations at the requested frequency."

"Excellent. Anyway we can get our hands on it?"

"Afraid not," Athena quipped. "The only known prototype of the device was stolen by a citizen of Rio De Janeiro."

"Coincidence?" I asked Mei. She remained silent, and again I felt guilty about our exchange. "Do we know who stole it?" I questioned, turning back to the display.

"Possibly. Records indicate that the culprit is most likely musician, Lúcio Correia dos Santos. In fact, he's made little attempt to deny it, yet authorities refuse to charge him as he is seen as something of a folk hero."

I looked to Mei again. "Didn't you say you were first inspired by this machine because of him? The world seems to be shrinking. Thanks Athena."

"My pleasure, Dan."

With that she shut off, leaving Mei and Dan in an awkward silence. "Looks like we're going to Rio," Dan chuckled. "Too bad it's not for a vacation."

"Yeah," she whispered. "Too bad…"

"Are you okay?" Dan knew it was a stupid question, but he couldn't swallow his guilt anymore. He didn't want to hurt her...well he did, kind of, but not like this. She didn't respond, leaving Dan simply standing there in silence. "I'll...help you clean up," he offered, moving to pick up an empty bottle.

Just as he did, she gently rested her hand on his, causing him to stop. As he looked up at her, she kissed him sweetly on the lips. It only lasted a brief moment before she stood, taking the bottle with her and throwing it into the trash.

Dan empathized with the bottle. The previous night, she'd showed it affection in how she consumed it. She'd made it give all that it had inside and when there was nothing left to give, she just left it discarded on the floor. But the moment something else went to pick it up, there she was, ready to take it again, only this time to discard it elsewhere. "Why is it so hard for you?" Dan murmured.

"Do you really need me to answer that?" she asked.

"Yes. I want to know why it is so difficult for you to simply love me. Why do you have to play this crazy game of cat and mouse?"

"Because this is just how it works, Dan."

"That's not an answer!"

"I don't know what you want to hear."

"I want the truth, Mei. I don't want to believe you're the kind of girl who likes being fawned over by a guy, but only wants to lead him on if you have use for him. I need you to prove that to me. Please."

She stared down at her feet. "It's because I pushed you away."

"What? Are we still hung up on that? That was over a month ago!"

"It doesn't matter, I hurt you."

"But I've forgiven you," he explained exasperated. "There's no reason to keep being upset about this."

"I'm upset because you're upset."

"I'm upset because that doesn't make any sense!"

"Maybe not, but I can't help it."

"Of course, you can!"

It was then Mei became angry and frustrated, raising her voice at him. "Well what about you?! Why is it so hard for you to decide between Hana and me? You keep saying you love me and that you love her, but why is it that you can't decide which one you love more?!" She already knew the answer before asking the question. She knew it wasn't so simple, but still her fury had boiled over and she felt a strange entitlement to answers. "You once said that if you decide on me after you picked Hana, you'd be seeing me as second best. Well now, I don't think it matters, because I'm already sure you do see me as second best!"

"Are you serious? I've been over backwards for you! I've been trying to make you happy since I first pulled you out of the stupid ice! I came all the way to China to…"

"To get the damned machine. You didn't care about me, you made that abundantly clear!" She turned to start shoving her clothes into a duffel bag.

"Don't you dare turn this on me," he argued with a low growl. "I'm not the one who abandoned a friend in a hospital bed when they were blind and half-deaf."

"Well you seem fine to me," she contested.

"But you didn't know that! For all you know I could have been dead, and I'm starting to suspect that the one who wouldn't care if the other died isn't me, it's you."

Again tears began to flow and tempers began to flare. Mei just stared down the boy before sniffling and sipping up her bag. "Let's just go get the device."

"Wait," Dan called after her. "Why are you doing this? Seriously. Why do you want us to fight?"

"I don't want us to fight! I want us to be together, but I'm such a damned coward I can't even bring myself to tell you that that's how I feel! I can't just admit to your face that I hate myself every time you get hurt because of me! I never believed Fareeha. I know you, Dan, and I know you aren't the person she thinks you are. It hurts that you'd honestly think that I would believe the cruel things she's said."

Without a word, Dan pulled Mei into his arms and kissed her passionately. She squirmed out of his grip, however, and pushed him away.

"Stop!" she commanded. "You can't just kiss everything between us away. That's not how it works. From now on, unless you know that you don't intend to ever be with Hana again, you are not to kiss me, understand?"

"Mei…"

"Don't," she pleaded, crossing her arms under her chest and turning away from him. "Just don't." He wrapped his arms around her again, this time just holding her. "What did I just…"

"You didn't say anything about hugging," he interrupted, nuzzling his cheek against hers. "I may not know who i should be with. But I know I don't want to lose you, Mei."

"You're not losing me," she tried.

"Yes, I am. You ran off to China without me because you were scared you hurt me." When she didn't struggle or speak, he continued. "I love you, Mei. You know I do. I'm sorry for how I've been treating you. I know it's not fair. You have every right to go where you want." As he went to release her, her hands grabbed his, pulling them back around her.

"I've been dreaming about you," she whispered. "For many nights now, I've dreamt about what we did in the lab. I'm supposed to just pretend it didn't happen, but it's been stuck in my head on a loop since it did and I can't stop thinking about you that way."

Dan's eyes lowered as he pondered on her words. This wasn't how he'd wanted things. He wasn't looking for sex, he was looking for love. But what could he do when he'd found too much of it?

"What are you thinking?" Mei asked.

"I'm thinking about how, if I could go back in time, I'd do things differently. I ruined things between us. I feel like I've ruined everything."

"Don't say that," Mei lectured. "You haven't ruined anything." After a few more silent moments, he turned Mei to face him before kissing her again. "Dan," she whined, "you promised."

"I know now," he swore. "I don't want Hana, I want you. I know it will hurt her, and I'm not thrilled about that. I still care about her deeply, but in the end, I love you, not her."

"How can you know?"

"Because as guilty as I am about breaking up with Hana, not once did I regret loving you. I've never wished I hadn't fallen for you, Mei." With that he kissed her for a third time, only this time she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

The two melted into one another, soft purrs trailing from their throats in an irresistible expression of satisfied relief. They'd both been craving this, and now their desires were being sated by one another's lips.

"I want to be your boyfriend," Dan breathed when they'd parted.

"I want that, too," Mei replied, nuzzling into his chest.

The two stayed there, holding one another for a what felt like hours. "We should probably get ready for our trip to Rio," he whispered. "We're on something of a time crunch, you know?"

"Just a few more minutes," Mei pleaded. "I'm not ready to wake up from this dream, yet."

Dan just smiled at her and nodding, held her warm body against his. He could feel her tears of joy on the back of his neck and it made his own start to water. "Okay," he promised. "Just a few more minutes."

To be continued...