Red Light

Dream, Know, Natural

Yiling had realized early on the odd dichotomy in a prostitute's life. Days were mostly routine. He could just glide through with a cursory glance. Nights were anything but. Every moment with a john he had to be alert. It only took a minute change for everything to go horribly wrong and if he couldn't salvage the situation, it was usually his body that paid the price. It was exhausting mentally, physically and emotionally.

Sleep was his friend for a variety of reasons.

Last night he had dreamed of the detective. Why his mind had chosen Lan Wangji he didn't know.  They had been walking in Ithilien. Barefoot on sunwarmed grass. Smiling. Talking and laughing together.

He had played his dizi for him. Not the simple one in his room. The one waiting in his home. A beautiful antique with jade beads on its red tassel. A black dizi with notes so clear it touched the heart. Sometimes,  when the moment was magical, it had brought tears to his eyes with its purity.

In the dream, he had played while standing in the sun with Lan Wangji beside him.

Safe. Clean. Whole.

He turned his alarm off and laid with his eyes closed. Reliving the dream.  Lovingly memorizing each cherished piece. He would hold this dream close in his heart of hearts.
~~~

When Lan Wangji first became a police officer, his inspector had just seen him as a handsome young man and made the mistake of sending him to an elementary school. It wasn't that he didn't like children.  He did. How to interact with them however was another matter entirely.

Children have an inate ability to sense who likes them and they usually respond with enthusiasm. The kindergarten class had been no different. Lan Wangji had sat stiffly on a chair almost painfully too small for someone of his height. He had very matter-of-factly talked about his job. He was there to help people and keep criminals off the street so everyone was safe.

The children had cheered and then swarmed Lan Wangji. All you could see was his head sticking out of the pile of little people hugging him. He had froze. It took the teacher ten minutes to get the pandemonium back under control. It was one of the longest ten minutes of Lan Wangji's life.

When the last child (a smiling boy asking if he was a super hero who could fly) was peeled off him, he had stood and smoothed his mauled uniform. He had thanked the teacher for the opportunity to talk to her students.  Thanked the children for listening and reminding them not to run in the hallways. He had then escaped as quickly as possible.

He had believed the experience was over.

He was wrong.

Within forty-eight hours he had the worst case of flu he had ever had. Apparently, kindergartners were adepts at germ warfare.

He had been stumbling to get to the bathroom to throw up yet again. Leaning on the wall for balance and to steady his shaking. Coughing in deep tearing convulsions. Peering through eyes that were hot, gritty and unfocused.

Yu Bin was showing him how to move when he was 'drunk'. Stumbling, leaning on the wall, coughing and looking at the world as if his eyes weren't working properly.

The light bulb went on.

The detective stood and walked shakily to the wall. Leaning his back against it, he pulled out his water bottle and took a swig. A cough as if he swallowed wrong. A swipe at his mouth and nose. Half open eyes gave Yu Bin a side long glance. Another swig and he slid down the wall with a grunt to sit awkwardly.

Yu Bin was watching with an open mouth. The detective looked, well, drunk. He couldn't believe it. All the work yesterday hadn't shown the results that today's fifteen minutes had.