Title: You are missing from me
Fandom: Guardian
Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Rating: G
Length: 1516 words
Content notes: No powers AU. No warnings applicable.
Author notes: For the 'pin or pen' prompt and also 'variation' on my bingo card.



He wasn't moping. Who cared what his minions at the station thought, he definitely wasn't moping just because Shen Wei was away overnight for the first time since he'd moved in. He wasn't. Da Qing, now. Da Qing was moping, curled up in Shen Wei's seat on the couch, tail twitching sullenly. Reaching out to scritch his ears, Zhao Yunlan snatched his fingers back with a yelp as Da Qing took a swipe at him.

"Hey!" he protested. "Don't take it out on me just because your favourite's not here." Not that he could talk, because Shen Wei was his favourite person too. "And anyway, he was mine first! He spoils you too much." All that cooking and petting had gone to the Damn Cat's head if he was missing it after only a day. Not to mention he was Zhao Yunlan's cat, not Shen Wei's, not that anyone would believe that if they saw how the furball acted around them.

Six more days to go.

---

Zhao Yunlan woke up to an empty bed for the second morning in a row and allowed himself a solid five minutes of feeling sorry for himself before climbing out of bed resentfully, if only to make Da Qing stop crying for food even though his food bowl was undoubtedly still half full. This was ridiculous. He'd managed just fine on his own ever since he left his parents' house and now he couldn't handle a couple of nights alone anymore? No. No, he was Zhao Yunlan, he'd be fine. He carefully didn't think about the fact that there was still the better part of a week to go without Shen Wei because that would just be depressing.

A faint clink caught his attention and he looked down at Da Qing's wriggling butt, tail swishing along the floor as the cat swiped at something that made another clinking sound. Narrowing his eyes, Zhao Yunlan got down on his knees to see what mischief the cat had found now and promptly swore under his breath as he realised just what the Damn Cat was playing with.

He grabbed the collar pin out of Da Qing's reach and wagged a finger at the cat's face, ignoring the growl he got for making off with Da Qing's newest play thing. "Are you a cat or a crow?" he demanded. "Always after the shiny things. You could get stabbed with that if you're not careful."

Da Qing's tail lashed, like he thought Zhao Yunlan was spouting bullshit just to take his toys away - which had been known to happen, he had to admit - but this was a thing that could actually hurt him, since the pin wasn't secured, and even though Da Qing could be an irritating pain in the ass he was still his cat and Zhao Yunlan didn't want anything to hurt him, even accidentally.

"How did this even get under the bed anyway?" he muttered, then paused and grinned when he remembered how exactly it had gotten under there. Shen Wei had been annoyed when he couldn't find it, but it had been worth it and now Zhao Yunlan would have good news for him when he got back from the damn conference about biological and environmental and who knew whatever else variations in species. He spared a happy moment for all the kisses he could milk for finding this before concluding that Shen Wei was more likely to say it was his responsibility to find it anyway, seeing as it was his fault it had been lost in the first place. Ah well, a guy could dream.

Four days still to go.

---

He would absolutely never admit to anyone - not even Da Qing because if a cat could find a way to tattle, it would be Da Qing - that hearing Shen Wei's voice on the phone at the end of the day, catching up on the things they'd done, Shen Wei prodding him about eating properly and going to bed at a reasonable hour, was what kept him going through this period of cruel separation. So naturally the universe conspired against him to make sure he didn't even get that.

Three days to go.

---

The case that had been dropped into his team's lap four days ago had not ended well. About the only good thing you could say about it was that at least the fucker was behind bars now and couldn't hurt anyone else, but damn the cost had been high. He was running on caffeine and fumes and now that everything was done he just wanted to collapse into his own bed and get more than half an hour of uninterrupted sleep.

His jacket missed the coatstand and he stared at the stand blankly, hand still hovering in the air before deciding he could just pick the jacket up in the morning and headed for the bed with the single-minded determination of the sleep deprived.

"Zhao Yunlan."

He paused, too tired to figure out why hearing that voice in his apartment was odd, before a hand landed lightly on his shoulder. "Yunlan?"

He blinked, turned, and took in the most beautiful sight he had ever seen in his life. Slipping his arms round Shen Wei's waist, he buried his face in the crook of Shen Wei's neck and just breathed. "You're back."

"Yes."

"Good."

Shen Wei's fingers combed gently through his hair, while his other hand was splayed out across Zhao Yunlan's back. "Are you hungry? I can reheat dinner."

He shook his head, even the thought of food enough to turn his stomach.

"Okay. A shower, then?"

He smiled a little in spite of himself. "You saying I smell?"

"I wasn't going to say anything," came the prim response, "but since you mention it..."

"Fine, fine," he muttered, pulling away from his Xiao Wei reluctantly. "I'll take a shower."

Shen Wei, however, seemed to decide he wasn't in any shape to shower unsupervised and when he almost tripped over his own feet getting into said shower, Zhao Yunlan couldn't really argue with that assessment. He'd feel guilty later about having Shen Wei taking care of him when he had to be tired himself from travelling all day, but in the moment it was simply bliss to have Shen Wei's hands on him, cleaning him up and massaging his scalp as he washed his hair.

"S'good you're back," he managed as Shen Wei's fingers slid along the back of his neck. "Da Qing missed you."

"Did he." Shen Wei sounded amused as he reached for the shower head. "Mind your eyes."

He scrunched them shut as warm water ran down his face. "Mmmm. Was cranky as anything while you were gone."

"I'll have to make it up to him then. Maybe cook some of his favourite foods. Have a proper petting session on the couch."

Zhao Yunlan tilted his head up and opened his eyes to smile at him. "He'd like that. You spoil him, you know. Definitely too good for him."

"No such thing."

The water stopped and he almost whined before being wrapped in a towel and manoeuvred out the shower. Catching hold of Shen Wei's hands, Zhao Yunlan pressed his forehead against him, Shen Wei's breath warm on his skin. "I missed you, Xiao Wei."

He didn't need anything more than this, Shen Wei beside him with his calm and steady presence, a security he hadn't felt in longer than he could remember. He never wanted to be without it again. Soft lips pressed against his, fingers tightening in the damp curls at the nape of his neck, and it was a testament to how tired he was that his body couldn't manage anything other than 'cling' in response.

"I'm here," Shen Wei murmured against his mouth. "I'm not going anywhere, Yunlan. I promise."

"Mmmmmm. Found your collar pin, by the way."

There was a soft chuckle in reply and Shen Wei pressed another kiss against his temple. "You did? Where?"

"Under the bed."

"I wonder how it got there," Shen Wei said dryly.

"No idea." He stifled a yawn, which he regretted a moment later because it meant Shen Wei stepped back slightly to start drying him off properly before hustling him off to bed. "Coming to bed?" he asked as sleep tugged at him.

"In a minute. I just need to tidy a couple of things."

"Xiao Weiiii."

"You left your jacket on the floor," Shen Wei replied pointedly. "And the bathroom-"

"Will keep. Come to bed."

"In a minute."

That was the tone that meant the more Zhao Yunlan argued, the longer this would take, so he grudgingly shut his mouth. True to his word, though, Shen Wei was back a few minutes later, already changing out of his shirt and suit trousers into his pyjamas. Curling up beside him the moment he was under the covers, Zhao Yunlan didn't even care when Da Qing jumped up onto the bed and made himself comfortable on his pillow.

Days until Shen Wei was home: zero.