Chapter Text
“Here,” Zhao Yunlan says. There’s something in his closed hand.
Shen Wei holds out his hand carefully; they both wince as his fingers tremble. He’s reliably conscious now, able to sit up, to drink the surprisingly delicate fish broth Da Qing has been making for him, to hold a coherent conversation. It’s still taking so very long for his physical strength and his black energy to recover, not to mention his spirits.
Zhao Yunlan cups Shen Wei’s hand with his own free one, half supporting, half caressing, and Shen Wei closes his eyes for a moment to savor the gentle touch.
“Xiao Wei,” Zhao Yunlan says quietly, and he opens his eyes to find something in his palm—rounded, smooth, heavy, intimately familiar—
His jade pendant.
Shen Wei breathes deep, turns years of experience—his whole life—to the work of keeping his face calm and still. His voice betrays him instantly, though, shaking and plangent on the single word. “Yunlan...”
Zhao Yunlan is holding Shen Wei’s hand in both of his, now, the jade drop and its contents at the heart of their fingers. “Wan bi gui Shen,” he says, and winks.
It takes a moment for Shen Wei to understand, and then he laughs for the first time since...since...It feels like the first time since Kunlun, even though he knows better.
Zhao Yunlan grins at him, the sunlit warmth that Shen Wei has been turning toward forever. “Zhao here already has his jade back,” he murmurs, and takes Shen Wei in his arms until the laugh-tears run dry.