A ficlet. Even a super-sleuth like Lu Yao gets nightmares. Fortunately someone’s watching over him.
No spoilers. But it helps to have watched episode 22-23
He’s running. His breathing uneven and rough. His footsteps are clumsy, and he hits a loose tile. Like slow motion, he feels himself losing balance as he tumbles into a half stumble, but just as quickly he picks himself up again. His feet move automatically forward. The sound of his heartbeat drums loudly in his ears, like loud waves crashing against the seashore. He doesn’t look behind, but he knows they are close. His chest tightens. Exhaustion assaults his senses. But still he keeps on running.
Lu Yao awakens with a start; his pyjamas drenched in sweat. He blinks, barely focused on the scene in front of him. The pale moonlight streams through the window and his mind registers his bedroom.
‘I’m home’. A question. Or a statement. He doesn’t even know himself. His temples ache a dull pain, his body feels heavy. Finally, he gets up, his feet search clumsily for his bedroom slippers. He wonders momentarily if he left his copy of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in the living room; after all, there will be no more sleep for what’s left of the night.
“You look like crap. Just how much did you drink last night? Or did you stay up reading your silly mysteries again?”
There is bite in Youning’s voice, but also concern. She knows Lu Yao would sense something amiss if she didn’t greet him with their usual barb.
“I think, that maybe I had a bad dream.”
Youning waits, wondering how much Lu Yao remembers. But Lu Yao offers nothing more but a barely perceptible shake of the head, as if clearing the cobwebs of last night’s memories.
Youning forces a laugh, “Aww, little Santu had a nightmare. Did you overeat at Heping Hotel; you know that indigestion can give you nightmares.”
Lu Yao gives her a look, opens his mouth, then closes. Without responding further, he turns his attention back to his plate of bacon and eggs. Visibly alarmed, Youning was about to charge another verbal attack when Chusheng stroll purposefully into the living room. He pretends he doesn’t notice Lu Yao’s pale pallor or Youning’s gaping mouth.
“Let’s go. There’s been a murder.”
Lu Yao is quiet during the car ride. Even his usual dramatic flair was visibly subdued at the crime scene; so much so that Ah Dou and Salim looked concern. But Chusheng’s hard stare stopped them from verbalising their worry aloud.
With Lu Yao preoccupied with questioning an eye witness, Chusheng raised an eyebrow pointedly towards Youning, his voice quiet, “Did you tell him what happened last night?”
She kept her eyes on Lu Yao, before answering, “He says he had a nightmare.”
Chusheng cocks his head sideway as a cloud of confusion passes through – the egotistic Lu Yao frightened by a nightmare? It made little sense to Chusheng. Only when Lu Yao gestured to them impatiently did he break out of his stupor.
“This isn’t the primary crime scene. The body was moved here afterwards.”
Chusheng nods. “So where do we go now?”
The bodies started piling. What appeared to be a simple murder case turned into a serial murder, taking the trio all over town. Lu Yao seemed oddly subdued as the case dragged out, neither once whining to Chusheng for the multiple late nights and lack of fixed meals, nor did he resort to exchanging barbs with Youning. While Chusheng was pleased over the absence of nonsensical bickering, he couldn’t help but notice Lu Yao nodding off at random moments, once even in the middle of questioning a suspect. It doesn’t take a detective to deduce that Lu Yao hadn’t been sleeping well - the dark circles under his eye-bags were a dead giveaway.
“I want to go through the files again. We must have missed something,” ventured Lu Yao after yet another lead gone south. As they went through the documents in Chusheng’s office, Youning suddenly gasped, “My dinner plans!”
She gave both men a curt nod and picked up her bag, “Don’t wait up!” she called out merrily before marching out.
With a disbelief look on his face, Chusheng then turned automatically towards Lu Yao. If he was expecting a fiery retort, he was sorely disappointed; Lu Yao was fully engrossed in the document before him, and didn’t shift his attention to look at Youning as she exited the room.
Chusheng rubbed his temples; as much as he appreciates the calm, he couldn’t help but miss the old Lu Yao.
Chusheng moved. Waving a hand in front of Lu Yao’s face, he realised that his consultant had fallen asleep. Chusheng shook the young man’s shoulder, raising a sudden gasp of alarm as Lu Yao jumped in his seat.
“What the –“ He slapped the hand away, “Are you trying to send me to an early death?”
Chusheng looked worriedly at Lu Yao, “You fell asleep.”
The usual pout and a hard shake of the head, “I was thinking.”
Chusheng sighed but didn’t call his bluff, “Why don’t we take a break and grab some dinner? We can continue later.”
Chusheng was sure he heard a low grumble. To his surprise, Lu Yao took a long deep breath before answering firmly, “No, I’m fine. You go ahead.”
Chusheng moved his hand towards Lu Yao’s brow, half teasing, “Did you just say ‘no’ to food? Is Mao Mao having a fever? Or did he hit his head getting out of bed this morning?”
For the second time that evening, Lu Yao swiped the hand away irritably, his reply terse, “Stop calling me Mao Mao. I’m not a child.”
Burying his worry, Chusheng sighed dramatically, “Well if you’re going to stay here, be my guest. I’m going to the Western Hotel for a bite.”
An expected pause but Lu Yao merely turned a page, not rising to the bait.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Chusheng asked again as he grabbed his jacket.
“I’m fine.” Came the gruff reply.
At the door, Chusheng looked back once more at his desk where Lu Yao remained seated. A worried frown passed his features. Ah Dou who had jogged up to the stairs looked expectedly at Chusheng.
Chusheng shook his head, “Nothing.”
He had no intention of staying out long; just a quick bowl of noodle soup at the open stall downstairs. But a colleague from a neighbouring district happened to pass by and Chusheng ended up staying to listen to the elder’s rant. By the time he stood up, at least three hours had passed. Chusheng gestured for the owner to wrap up some buns – just in case.
The police station was quiet; but the light in his room was still on. As he opened the door, he found Lu Yao asleep on his couch, documents littered around the coffee table, the couch and on Lu Yao himself. Chusheng gave a half smile as he placed the buns on the coffee table, before bending to pick up the littered documents.
Whether it was the scent of the buns, or the movement in the room, Lu Yao shifted uneasily in his sleep as a half moan escaped his lips. The brows furrowed deep as a sudden twitch in Lu Yao’s left hand resulted in a noticeable paper crinkle in the document. Chusheng moved hesitantly forward, his left hand balanced against the head of the couch as his right hand reach steadily towards the paper still in Lu Yao’s hand.
A sudden shout as Lu Yao sat up without warning, his forehead slam right into Chusheng’s chest, his right hand reached out and grip tight onto Chusheng’s arm.
Lu Yao’s sudden momentum had knocked Chusheng off balance as he slipped, landing squarely against Lu Yao’s legs.
A tangle of hands and legs as Chusheng tried to sit up, a feat rendered somewhat difficult by the fact that Lu Yao still had his arm in a death grip.
“Santu, you’re hurting me.”
Lu Yao released the arm as if it burned his fingers, but his eyes remained confused at the scene before him. It was rare to find Lu Yao in a befuddled state and Chusheng found his lips twitching upwards as he teased, “Is Mao Mao still dreaming?”
Eyes blazing, Lu Yao gave him an unceremonious kick against the ribs, and pulled his knees close to his chest, “What are you doing here Chusheng?”
He inwardly rolled his eyes; did Lu Yao forget this was his office? Seeing the space opened up, Chusheng chose instead to settle himself comfortably on the couch before responding airily, “Rescue mission.”
Lu Yao’s eyes followed Chusheng’s towards his own hand, the paper now crumbled into a tight ball. The fingers loosen as Lu Yao mumbled incoherently under his breath. Taking advantage of Lu Yao’s discomfort, Chusheng inched closer.
The eyes looked up warily. Holding Lu Yao’s eyes, Chusheng breathed out, “I won’t leave you.”
The baby doe eyes widened as a slight pink brought colour to the pale cheeks, “Wait what?”
Chusheng smirked, “Just now, when you screamed in my ear, remember?”
A tinge of red marked Lu Yao’s ears as he averted Chusheng’s eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Chusheng stretched lazily, a playful dance on his lips as he observes Lu Yao’s poor attempts to curl himself into a ball, further against the other side of the couch.
He reached out a hand tentatively towards Lu Yao’s cheek. A slight quiver but Lu Yao stayed his place. After a moment, Lu Yao finally turned towards Chusheng. He breathed in deeply against Chusheng’s palm, like a cat waiting to be petted.
“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
Lu Yao nodded. That night, he slept without dreams.
