33 Chapter 33- The Talk. Kind of.

After KO's ominous words outside the restaurant, the pair somehow ended up at Hao Mei's hotel room. Explaining the situation with his parents distracted Mei from his earlier discovery.

"Have they really 'bought' your apartment?"

"Hmm." Mei nodded. He was lying face down on the bed with his feet dangling over the end. KO leaned against the frame of the doorway.

"What will you do?"

"I have another place but it has tenants in it. I can wait until their lease is up, or I can use the money Pa transferred for the sale, and just buy somewhere else for me."

"What if they do the same thing again?"

"I'll talk to Xiao Nai, get him to buy part of it so it's a business investment. Then they can't touch it without his signature too."

KO considered that for a moment. "That could work." He wasn't too happy about the situation but right now there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Mei rolled over on the bed and threw his arm over his eyes. "As for the random women in my bed..."

He shuddered theatrically and KO watched his shirt ride up, exposing a sliver of creamy skin.

"Lesson learned. My mother is never getting a spare key to my place again."

Sunlight filtered through the gauzy hotel curtain, painting Mei in a soft, golden haze... fuck. KO shook his head. He was in a bad place if he was getting all fucking poetic over sunlight.

He cleared his throat. "It's only natural for them to want their son to marry and continue the family name."

Playing devil's advocate sucked.

Mei sat up on the bed and stared at him. "What did you just say?"

"Uh..." He looked at a spot in the wall behind the bed. The other man's face was clouding over and he looked fit to spit fire.

"Don't worry. I heard it." Mei scowled. "I'm giving you a chance to rethink what you said."

"As parents, its natural..."

"No. As parents, it should be natural for them to want the best for their only child. The best being him happy with the choices he has been strong enough to make for himself. The best being a mature, functioning, productive member of society. The best being a son who wants his parents to be proud of him and love him as much as he loves them instead of seeing him as an obedient clay doll that they can mould as they see fit." He rose to his knees on the bed as he spoke, face flushing with anger. KO watched him, heart swelling with pride even while it ached for Mei.

"If I didn't care about the company, I wouldn't have busted my arse through university. Yes, I majored in Computer Sciences against my father's wishes, but what he doesn't know- because he never bothered to come to graduation- was that I also minored in Business... because I care about his stupid company!" Mei sank down, kneeling in the middle of the bed as his energy left him.

"Mei..." KO's voice was rough with compassion as he left the doorway, standing next to the bed and cupping Mei's cheek. His thumb wiped away a single tear that had escaped during his outburst. "Why do you always have to choose the hardest path?"

Mei sniffled. "I don't deliberately choose it... I just chose what makes me happy." He looked up at KO and leaned his face in to the other man's hand. The brilliance of his smile made KO's knees weak. "Like you."

"Huh?"

"You make me happy. So I choose you..."

KO stared at Mei for a moment. Even with red rimmed eyes and a slightly glowing nose, the other man was fucking adorable. Even though he knew they still had more to talk about, he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Mei's forehead. His plan to keep it a chaste, comforting gesture was foiled when Mei tilted his head back and threw his arms around KO's neck, bringing their lips into contact and immediately sending them both soaring. He groaned when Mei's tongue flicked along his lips, seeking entrance to his mouth. Fuck it. They could talk later.

Gathering Mei in his arms, KO devoured his mouth. A frantic urgency gripped them and when sanity briefly returned, KO was pressing Mei to the bed- both shirtless and Mei fiddling with the button of KO's pants.

"E-Mei..." Panting, he peeled Mei's hands away from his pants and pinned them to the bed above his head. Mei smiled and squirmed beneath him. Fuck... the little minx was getting bolder. "Stop, Mei... we need to talk..."

"Talk after." Mei pulled against KO's hands, lifting himself off the bed enough that he could reach the man's neck with his teeth, biting down before gently lathing the sting with his tongue. All of a sudden, the man froze as KO's words sank in. "E-Mei?"

Aware that the shit was likely to hit the fan, KO kept his grip on Mei's hands, pinning him to the bed with the weight of his body. The ire on Mei's face, as he considered the implications of KO's earlier disclosure, made him smile. Mei was too open; his thoughts flickered across his face like a TV drama.

"Did you know it was me?"

"Marry me..." His breath caught in his throat as he said those two words and he forgot to finish

his sentence.

Beneath him, Mei stilled and his eyes went wide. "Huh?"

"In the game." Shit, this wasn't what he'd planned! "Marry me in the game and I'll explain it all."

Mei's face darkened. "Marry yourself. You buffalo. Get off me." He squirmed beneath KO, trying to free his hands. KO tightened his grip- he knew what would happen if Mei got his hands free while in this mood and he had no desire to block a punch to the face. Never mind that he deserved it for that clumsy interlude.

"Marry me in the game... to start with..." The spitfire beneath him stopped trying to escape and looked up at him.

"To start with?"

"It's too soon for anything more."

"Too soon for how much more?"

"Marry me in the game and find out."

Mei scowled once more. "Marry someone else in the game."

"Don't want to... just want you." KO kissed Mei's forehead, his nose, and then his chin before lightly pressing a kiss to his lips. When Mei tried to draw him in to a deeper kiss, he pulled back. "Say yes, first."

"Bastard. Who'll say yes to you?"

"Okay." KO let go of Mei's hands and was off the bed and heading out the door before the other man even realised he'd been released.

"What....? Seriously?" A very rumpled, delicious looking Mei sat up in the bed and stared incredulously at the retreating hacker.

"Say yes, first."

"Agreement received under coercion doesn't hold up in a court of law."

KO smiled. Thank goodness her had his back to Mei and the other man couldn't see how much he liked hearing those words. "I'll take what I can get."

"So you're not fussy. Great. Don't I feel special now."

KO turned around, eyes meeting Mei's. "I'll take you any way I can."

Mei pouted. "You could at least finish what you started."

"Not until you say yes. I'm an honourable man- I won't take your virtue without the sanctity of marriage." Pulling his shirt back on, he found Mei's and tossed it to him. "Get dressed. Let's go shopping so I can make you dinner tonight."

Mei grumbled under his breath but put the shirt back on. "I'm sure this is covered by the Geneva Convention under cruel and unusual punishment..."

KO threw his head back and laughed, making Mei stop and stare at him. "Oh Mei, you have no idea."

"Huh?"

KO simply shook his head. Teasing Mei about marrying him in the game was going to be a lot of fun.