Title: The Cat is a Liar
Fandom: Guardian
Words: ~500
Content notes: flashfic, abrupt ending, pining; takes place more or less during Episode 11

Summary: "Either get over him or go talk to him; doesn't matter to me which," Da Qing says. "But you've got to take better care of me."



Notes: I am incredibly nervous about this one. It was supposed to be a drabble but got away from me; it really ought to have another thousand words, but I don't have the time to write it before the end of this round. And I'm still figuring out how names go in this fandom... So.

Also for the prompt: The Lost Hour on my bingo card. Also also, the title comes from a recent social media post about cats who howl to be let into places they don't actually live.





His head hurts.

Temples pounding, stomach churning, light striking daggers through his eyelids. Ah, that's right, Zhao Yunlan remembers. Too many bottles of wine last night.

A sharp jingle is all the warning he gets before a weight lands heavily on his chest.

"I know you're awake." Da Qing bats a paw at Yunlan's cheek.

Yunlan groans and weakly shoves at the cat. For once, Da Qing obliges and tumbles next to him onto the bed, shifting as he goes. Now Yunlan has an overly-warm human pinning down his shoulder, but at least he can breathe.

"I'm hungry."

Without opening his eyes, Yunlan fumbles next to the bed for his phone. When his fingers close on it, he tosses it blindly toward the cat. "Order something."

The words are mumbled into the pillow, but Da Qing is already tapping away. Even as a human, he wriggles happily at the thought of food. It makes a familiar tremor in the bed. Yunlan clutches at the bedclothes and groans again as the world spins.

Far too much wine last night.

"It's been a week." The mattress shifts as the cat rolls over and props his head firmly in the center of Yunlan's chest again. "Either get over him or go talk to him; doesn't matter to me which. But you've got to take better care of me."

Yunlan fights the urge to push the cat entirely off the bed; in his current state, he'd only embarrass himself. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Didn't I just buy you breakfast?"

"I could go scratch him for you." Da Qing shimmies again, probably miming the action. "He thinks I'm soft. I bet I could get his face!"

Yunlan's stomach lurches again. He's not sure which distresses him more: the idea that Shen Wei would let the beast scratch him to maintain his secret, or that he might not, and then utter another one of his stupidly blatant lies about it. "Damn Cat, save your claws for the Dixing and leave the poor Professor alone."

Da Qing's chuckle vibrates through Yunlan's chest. "So you do know who I'm talking about!"

This time, Yunlan does shove the cat off the bed. Skin shifts to fur under his hands and Da Qing lands on his feet; the benefit of being a cat. Yunlan blinks his eyes open as the bells jingle again as Da Qing jumps onto the window sill.

There's a sound of knocking in the hallway, but it's not at Yunlan's door.

"Oops. I think I gave them the wrong address for breakfast." Da Qing's tail twitches jauntily. "I hope Professor Shen likes dumplings!"

Yunlan throws the pillow at him, but misses as the cat leaps out onto the window ledge. "So mistreated!" Da Qing snickers again and stalks along the ledge toward a nearby tree, presumably to find another human to bother.

Yunlan lurches out of bed, swaying on his feet for a moment. The knocking has stopped; a very polite low-voiced conversation is happening in the hallway. Any minute now, Shen Wei will finish pointing the delivery boy to Yunlan's apartment and disappear back into his own. All Yunlan has to do is wait it out.

The ghost of Da Qing's laughter dances through Yunlan's head.

Fuck it, he's never been any good at waiting.