Work Text:
Meng Shao Fei stared into the black void, a reflection of his eyes. The pupils wide open. A blazing ember within. His fingers tingled, fire burning in his chest, enthusiastic and furious. The heaviness of his eyelids; the yawn stuck in his throat; the paralyzing limpness in his muscles - he ignored all of it. He knew he would solve the mystery. He was so close to solving this case. Perhaps tonight he would be able to apprehend the criminal. No amount of doubt from his colleagues could curb his optimism. Not if Meng Shao Fei was fully committed to the case. And he was. He had chased sleep, racked his brains, skipped meals. And now... now he was missing just one small piece of the puzzle in the confiscated files or the camera records. Everything was within his grasp. If only... yes, if only that cursed thing of computer wasn't there!
Wildly, Meng Shao Fei jerked the mouse around, randomly hitting the keys on the keyboard. Again and again he pressed the reset button, lightning fast in synch with his seething impatience.
"Come on!" he hissed, angry and tense. But the screen showed nothing but reflections of city lights shining in through office windows. And the fan in the corner hummed its mocking song to it.
Finally, Meng Shao Fei jumped up with a loud groan and gave the machine a hefty slap with his hand. Of course, even this was of no use in getting the technique to work, but it was very good for discharging his temper.
How could it be that he was thwarted just this close to the finish line? And not by smart and powerful opponents, but by a mindless energy eater, who was supposed to be a help to him?! Despair mingled with Meng Shao Fei's anger as he cast a sidelong glance at the window, and for a moment his own exhaustion flooded back into his consciousness. The sky outside the windows, the horizon above the city was as black as his screen. It was far too late to be sitting in a lonely office. Far too late to call anyone. Hotels and bars, a gas station and a snack bar, they might still be open. But in the IT department, surely only the answering machine was available. Probably he and the poor guys from the night shift two offices away, one of whom, judging by the light in the stairwell of the side wing, was just leaving for patrol, were the last human souls in this building.
Meng Shao Fei blinked wearily and sighed heavily. He was just about to turn back to the desk to dig out the manual from the back drawer (because giving up was out of the question) when suddenly something made him pause. A glow of light was ghosting across the window panes. In unison with the sound of the door. Puzzled, Meng Shao Fei turned around and found Zhao Zi's no less surprised face on the threshold. For a second, there was astonished silence.
"Meng Shao Fei, still at work this late?" asked Zhao Zi finally.
"I can't sleep until this case is solved," Meng Shao Fei replied tersely as he turned back to the computer. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Zhao Zi nodding in understanding, and for a moment his chest grew warm. Sometimes in his eagerness on nights like this, he forgot how good it was to have someone by his side. The darkness could become oppressive and the silence loud, even when he had his mind set on one thing.
"And what about you?" he asked.
Zhao Zi stepped past him and walked toward his own desk.
"I've been home for a long time. Then I realized I forgot my sneakers from sports practice and turned back," he replied as he fished something out of the blackness behind the office chair.
"But that's not important now," he continued, holding a pair of sneakers in his hands, "If you're still here at this hour, it usually means important findings. Tell me, what did you find out. I guess you're making good progress on the case?"
Meng Shao Fei sighed heavily and propped himself up on the desk while staring at the dark monitor.
"I would if this damn technology would let me!" he snorted in frustration. Over the edge of the screen, he saw Zhao Zi frowning.
"The computer crashed and has been dead as a doornail ever since," Meng Shao Fei explained resignedly.
Zhao Zi didn't answer right away, but to Meng Shao Fei's amazement, he immediately turned back to the desk and put down his sneakers.
"I guess I won't be needing these then," he muttered, putting the bag down as well.
Meng Shao Fei raised his eyebrow. "What are you up to?" he asked, puzzled.
"Taking care of technical problems," his counterpart replied soberly.
"You want to take a look at that thing?!" retorted Meng Shao Fei as if he was slow on the uptake. Of course he wasn't. He was just surprised by the rapid turn of events.
"Don't look at it, fix it," Zhao Zi objected, "And you... you better get us something to eat. My stomach is growling terribly and I could use a midnight snack. Or breakfast right now." He smiled, then turned serious again.
"And maybe some blankets for the couch over there. Until I know what I'm up against, we'll have to be prepared for anything. If I don't see my bed tonight, I'd rather have a couch than a subway chair after all."
Meng Shao Fei stared at him for what felt like an eternity until he finally realized what his friend was saying.
"I can't let you do that!" he then replied fiercely, "It's enough for one of us to spend the night. It wouldn't be fair to let you..."
"It's our case, isn't it? We're a team," Zhao Zi interrupted him. And Meng Shao Fei knew from his tone that Zhao Zi meant far more than their working together in this office. The warm spot in his chest swelled, flowing into his limbs as a thousand memories flooded into his tired mind. All the years of their training. All the hours in that office. All the critical situations, out chasing criminals, when they were afraid for each other and relieved to look each other in the eye again; All the hopeless musings within the walls of this building when they got stuck, reaching out to each other until one found the solution. All the small and big words in between, in the doorway, in the car, in front of the front door, in the apartment, that were not about the duty and the everyday police life. The small gestures and big favors. All the moments when he, Meng Shao Fei, had far more than a colleague by his side, but a friend. What had he done to deserve such loyalty? He didn't know. For a moment, he felt the urge to tell Zhao Zi what all this meant to him and how lucky he was to have such a person by his side. But all that passed his lips was, "Thank you."
Zhao Zi just nodded silently, stepped over to the computer and settled down on the chair.
"Now go on," he muttered when he noticed Meng Shao Fei still standing behind him, lost in thought, "Even if you order us something, the delivery guy still needs time to get here. And you're welcome to take a spin around the block to take your mind off things. I'll probably be busy here for a while."
A yawn escaped him with the last words. Then his head disappeared into the depths between the wastebasket and the computer tower.
Meng Shao Fei did not let himself be asked any longer. He didn't like at all to let his work rest when he was so dogged, but finally reason prevailed. And his stomach. For he had overheard his own stomach growl for too long in his eagerness. With Zhao Zi, his computer was in good hands, he knew that. So he went for a little walk, soaking up the cool night air that cleared his thoughts a bit, and made a stop at the snack restaurant around the corner. When he returned to the Bureau with two bags of steaming delicacies, he felt refreshed and relaxed again, although fatigue still sat in his bones. Yet it no longer bothered him. Soon the elevator stopped on their floor and Meng Shao Fei ran down the dark corridor. But the corridor was not so dark anymore. From the side wing, he could see that a small light was burning behind the windows of his office. As soon as he stood in front of the office door, he pulled it open.
To his surprise, his computer screen shone and next to it sat Zhao Zi, beaming.
"What, already done?!" it slipped out of Meng Shao Fei's mouth. He could hardly believe it. He himself had struggled on this thing for at least half an hour. However, Zhao Zi was simply much more talented at such things.
"It wasn't a big deal if you have a clue what the problem is," the latter also replied already as if to prove it, "But explaining the error right now would be too complicated. What good things did you actually bring? I'm dying of hunger by now!"
No sooner had Zhao Zis noticed the bags of food than he stretched his nose in the direction and sniffed as if he were a young dog. Meng Shao Fei grinned to himself.
"Come with me to the table by the couch and you'll see," Meng Shao Fei replied only mysteriously and began to make some space for them both. Zhao Zi followed at his heels.
"And what do we continue with after dinner?" he asked as Meng Shao Fei unpacked the meals.
"Well, maybe...," Meng Shao Fei explained headily, thinking, "Maybe I'll tell you what I found out!"
"Sounds good!" agreed Zhao Zi, taking a seat and greedily grabbing the bowl of rice to load up.
Meng Shao Fei couldn't help but smile.
The trail was hot. The solution to the case was within his grasp, and the computer was finally working again. Perhaps he would be able to apprehend the criminal this very night. But at the moment... at the moment, it didn't matter. Zhao Zi was here. And they were a team.