"The Little Things"

The energy

They fell out onto the floor in SID headquarters and immediately were surrounded by worried faces. Zhao Yunlan sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in his abused body. Strong hands were helping him up, Da Qing and Zhu Hong. He turned to Shen Wei and was quite surprised to see him standing up on his own, refusing the help of Chu Shuzhi with a kind gesture.

"Boss, are you two all right?" Lin Jing came closer.

"Yeah, just tired. We need some rest. You guys did a great job here too." Zhao looked at tired faces then returned his attention to Shen Wei. "How are you feeling? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No." The dark robes vanished, changing into everyday clothes, and everyone gasped at the state they were in. Shen Wei smiled and raised his hand. "Please, you don't need to look alarmed. It's nothing, really."

"With all due respect," Old Chu was staring at his savour wide-eyed. "This does not look like nothing."

"It's only three days of accumulated fighting wounds. I successfully managed to heal most of them a long time ago. Unfortunately, I'm not a seamstress, so..."

"Only," snorted Zhao. "Ok, mistress, I'm dead beat. Let's go home."

"All right," responded Shen Wei. He grabbed Zhao by the hand and, without warning, teleported them into his apartment.

"Whoah, give the man a warning." Yunlan was barely standing and plopped on the bed, unable to move. He felt Shen Wei on his right and forced himself to raise his head.

"How are you still even conscious?" the detective asked feebly.

"The power of that man is still surging through me. It is making me restless and I crave for more beasts to slay. It may take time before I will be able to clean it completely." The professor's hands were twitching, his entire body shaking. Yunlan's hand went to his cheek.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you," he whispered, shocked by what he was hearing.

"I never even dared to think that you would. My only thought was to take with me as many of these beasts as I could."

"Don't say that!" Zhao felt his heart would burst any time soon. "Idiot," he added. Yunlan leaned in and softly brushed his lips against Shen Wei's. He suddenly felt the accumulated dark energy vibrating and twisting. It was strange and felt hostile, and he shivered, instinctively moving away. He cleared his throat, embarrassed, but Shen Wei's eyes were already half-closed ad he didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings any more.

"We need to get you to sleep. Here-" Zhao reached out. "Let me take those rags off of you." He slowly started taking off Shen Wei's torn garments. He bit his lip when he saw the state of his beloved man's torso, full of half-healed wounds. His left hand went intuitively to touch the wounded man's chest. Shen Wei caught it, his own hand moving at lightning speed. His other one reached out and entangled itself in Zhao's hair at the back of his head. Then he leaned in and kissed the restrained man ferociously. Yunlan felt the professor shake violently, and he put his right hand on the bed for support. Shen Wei moved closer and pushed them forcefully onto the pillows. Zhao's sudden noise of surprise was muffled by the lips, devouring his. Shen Wei's hand went from Zhao's hair to his right arm, pinning it to the bed above the surprised man's head. He moved the other hand there as well and shifted so that he could hold Yunlan's both arms with one hand. His lips finally moved away and ventured to Zhao's neck. The free hand ducked under Zhao's shirt and was slowly exploring all the muscles there.

"Shen Wei," Yunlan groaned and tried moving away, but the muscular body on top of him pressed him firmly to the mattress. He was breathing heavily, unable to escape the vicious hold. Shen Wei's lips returned to his, and he had no choice but to comply as an evasive tongue entered his mouth. Shen Wei shifted, and his hand moved down Yunlan's chest to the buckle of his belt, his other hand finally letting go and going to Zhao's thigh. Yunlan groaned in pain as strong fingers pressed on the wound, and he turned his head abruptly to the right, breaking the kiss.

"Stop." he pleaded and tried to push Shen Wei off of him and felt a bite on his earlobe. "No, please," he moaned. He was feeling lightheaded, losing his remaining energy fast. In his last feeble attempt, he touched Shen Wei's face. "Xiao Wei, please," he whispered.

There was a tug on his left wrist. He felt a sudden change, as if the whole dark energy that was so alien and repulsive vanished all at once, repelled by a magic force. Shen Wei's body arched back and then fell, slack, back on Yunlan. He was so stunned by a sudden change that it took him a few moments to react. He was panting and shivering as he tried to figure out what had just happened. "My Wei," he whispered finally, gently combing the unconscious man's hair with his shaky fingers. "What had happened to you?"

He didn't mind the ferocity of Shen Wei's actions, and in other circumstances, he would definitely welcome it gladly. But the energy the man was emitting was so horribly wrong that Zhao Yunlan felt pure dread almost paralyzing him. Did the power of that freak really influence him that much? He looked at his wrist and felt the wooden bracelet pulsing. It was darker than before. It might have been because of all the dirt they were covered in, but Zhao felt deep down that it had matured and saved him just now." Thanks," he muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed. "For saving this damsel in distress."

With some effort, he managed to move Shen Wei to the side, and the detective finally was able to take a deep breath. His leg was bleeding, the sheets already dirty with red dots. He lifted himself up to a sitting position and turned to look at Shen Wei. He carefully scrutinized every wound and bruise on the sleeping man's body, and he sighed in relief, seeing them slowly, gradually fading. He considered tending to his own injuries, but the simple thought of getting up for medical supplies was too much for him. He fell back on the bed and shifted to one side, facing Shen Wei. His eyes begin to close, and he forced them to remain open for as long as he could. He reached out and took Shen Wei's hand into his and interlaced their fingers. He got Shen Wei back. That was all that mattered to him. He would worry about the rest of the world tomorrow. His body finally gave up fighting, and he fell asleep.