"The Little Things"

The safest place

Zhao Yunlan woke up on the wooden floor. He moved and felt a dull pain in his back.

"You're awake," Shen Wei's quiet voice drew his attention. The professor was kneeling beside him, wearing only his undershirt. "You will be sore for a day, but you should be fine. I fixed what I could."

Zhao sat up and looked around, trying to figure out the objects in the dim light of the dying day. Then he glared at Shen Wei, who was using his shirt to wipe away the blood from the floor.

"What-"

"Oh, don't worry, it's not yours. It was mine. It got on your clothes to, I'm sorry."

"That's exactly why I'm worried!"

"Don't raise your voice. We don't want the security guard to find us. I will take us home in a minute. I just want to clean the blood first."

"Where exactly are we?" asked Zhao looking suspiciously at the tall bookcases on both sides. Shen Wei stopped cleaning and looked down sheepishly.

"I, um, needed to take us somewhere safe," he mumbled.

Zhao shook his head. "And we ended up in a library," he concluded, fighting back the urge to laugh.

"That..." Shen Wei fixed his glasses and blinked. "That was the first thing that came to my mind."

"Really you-" Yunlan didn't manage to finish when they heard a door open, and a light from a torch swept through the place. Shen Wei impulsively grabbed Zhao by the shoulders and pushed them both down to the floor. They stayed motionless, waiting for the guard to leave. Yunlan watched Wei's pale lips pursed together, a trail of sweat that ran down the man's chin and dripped onto his neck. They needed to get him to bed soon. When the guard finally went away, Zhao helped them sit up.

"I think the floor is clean enough. We need to figure out how to get out of here. Where is your jacket?" He asked.

Shen Wei pointed to the floor, where it lay folded as a makeshift pillow. Zhao grabbed it, and as he turned, he saw Shen Wei's outstretched arms reaching for him. "No, no, no, don't use your-"

They landed on his bed, and Shen Wei's muscles relaxed as he fell on Zhao for the second time that evening.

"Um," Zhao Yunlan shifted, dropped the blue jacket to the floor and gently touched Shen Wei's back. "Do you want to move?"

Shen Wei's face was buried in the crook of his neck, and Zhao felt soft lips brush his skin when the man tried to respond. Zhao looked at the ceiling and gulped. "Ok, you don't really have to." They were lying dangerously near the bed's edge, and he embraced Shen Wei to protect him from falling.

Zhao felt a steady breath on his neck, and it helped him slow down his racing heart. He couldn't believe how irresponsible he had been. Going anywhere with a back-up was the number one priority. Had any of his people behaved as he had, he would have given them an earnest tongue- lashing. Had it not been for Shen Wei, he would have died because of his own stupidity.

The thought of the monster-infested school chilled his bones. How long had those things been appearing there? Only because it was such a secluded area, there hadn't been more casualties. How many more beasts could there be? Today, he saw at least thirty. They were of different shapes and sizes. All focused on one thing only – killing.

He felt Shen Wei shift minutely, and he adjusted his hold. By going there alone, he nearly killed them both.

There were quick footsteps outside his apartment, then the door opened, and Da Qing stormed in. He didn't even turn on the light but headed straight for the bed.

"Where have you been?!" he demanded.

"Shh, don't wake him," pleaded Zhao.

"You two reek of blood."

"I know, but we aren't hurt. Not any more. Shen Wei saved the day. Can you help me get him to a more comfortable position?"

"No," said Da Qing. His fear gone, he was starting to feel irritated with his owner.

"You Damned cat, come help me right now." barked Zhao through gritted teeth.

Together they managed to settle Shen Wei on his back. Da Qing was staring at his boss. "How come you ended up like this?" he challenged.

"I saw some blood. Thought that maybe someone needed help. It was still daylight. I never considered that those things could appear before it got completely dark."

"Are you sure that you aren't hurt?" The amount of blood on Zhao's clothes was alarming.

"Yeah, I only hit my back. This, um. It's not mine." Zhao reached out and switched on the small light by the bed. He looked back at Shen Wei, who was lying motionless in his black undershirt. There weren't any visible wounds, but the man was dirty with dried blood. This was happening too damn often recently. Yunlan covered the professor with the duvet, taking a mental note of the coolness of his body.

"Will you watch him for me while I clean myself up?" Yunlan asked.

"Fine, let me just call Lin Jing. He's waiting downstairs. He said that I should check on you first. As he put it, he didn't want to walk in on you. Whatever that means. You, humans, are so silly. Are you ok?" Da Qing asked when Zhao started coughing.

"Yes." Yunlan cleared his throat. "Tell him to go, and inform that geek that I'll deal with him tomorrow."

After taking a shower and changing clothes, Zhao Yunlan felt much better. The pain in his back was fading away quickly, and with the adrenaline no longer surging through his veins, all he could feel was the fatigue. He moved towards the bed and halted, seeing a fat black cat sleeping soundly next to Shen Wei.

"Move, you Dead Cat," the detective hissed softly but getting no response, he picked up the animal and carried it to its blanket. Da Qing lifted his head and stared at his owner, annoyed. The man raised his finger threateningly. "Don't even say a word," he scowled, and the cat curled up after waving his tale twice.

Zhao sat on the bed and looked at the peaceful face of Shen Wei. He then lay down, covering them both with the comforter. Yunlan knew by now that Shen Wei's body temperature was much lower than human's. He had felt it before. Still, it made him want to move closer. He twisted to the side, reached out and put his left hand over Shen Wei's chest. He felt it rise and fall with every breath, and he also felt a steady heartbeat. Somewhat reassured, he closed his eyes. He was asleep the next instant.