10,000 Years of Longing

***

"I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world." 

Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

***

There is nobility in sacrifice and responsibility, the poets say, while they glorify the misery and suffering for the gawkers and their armchairs.

Hei Pao Shi sacrificed – ten thousand years of longing and loneliness.

The Lord of Guardians had a responsibility. A great and terrible responsibility, according to Zhao Yunlan's father, but everything he said about it, Dixing, and Dixingren was always colored with enough bias that his son had always taken it with a grain of salt.

If his father had, at any point, said, "You will be stuck burning for an eternity," he might have listened more closely.

If he'd said, "You will lose the love of your life," he would have fought harder.

But like most things, there was never any warning. What little guidance came from his father was meager and laced enough with disapproval and disappointment that he had to stand in an ice-cold shower to recalibrate.

Otherwise, he has to drink, and believe it or not, he does that as little as possible.

Regardless, it's not like Zhao Yunlan didn't realize or understand or comprehend the idea of responsibility. Or the possibility that it could be the end of him. 

That's fine. 

That's acceptable. 

Say a few nice things at his funeral, serve decent food at the wake, and call it good. Zhao Yunlan is just one man. One inconsequential man at that. If he has to die to protect the world, so be it. He is not such a pillar that it will fall apart without him. 

The Universe will not notice if Zhao Yunlan dies.

Or gets trapped in a lamp.

Which is the same thing, really.

What it does notice- 

Correction: what Zhao Yunlan notices and then makes sure the Universe notices as well is Shen Wei.

Shen Wei is gone.

Hei Pao Shi who held the world together for ten thousand years.

Hei Pao Shi who held the world together for ten thousand years alone.

Zhao Yunlan cannot stress enough to everyone exactly how much of a debt they all owe the Black Robed Envoy.

How they can never repay him.

How much he deserves better than to get shunted off to the god knows where with a brother that hated him for ten thousand years.

Where the fuck did they even go?!?

What was the harm in letting Shen Wei stay in the lamp with Yunlan? For fucks sake, the Universe could have shoved Ye Zun in there with them, and Yunlan wouldn't have complained (much).

But he's getting off-topic. 

Back to the nobility of sacrifice and responsibility that really only exists for all those lucky people who have neither responsibility nor the requirement to sacrifice.

If you ask someone who is required of one or both, the answer is a lot less clear. 

A lot less clean cut. 

A lot less romantic.

There is nothing noble about rotting blood. About the smell of burning flesh and the shearing heat as your muscle melts away. Nothing romantic about the kind of pain that lingers. When you can't even get out of bed or brush your teeth or just exist without the constant ache that never lets you forget any of it.

Zhao Yunlan could have lived with that.

He could have lived with the constant pain. The constant burning.

If he'd had Shen Wei.

But he doesn't, and an eternity in the lantern without Shen Wei….

Well, Zhao Yunlan is noble, but he's not that noble.

Shen Wei isn't here.

He realizes this several days into his existence in the lantern, at which point Zhao Yunlan screams at the universe, "Give him back!" and proceeds to put all toddlers in all dimensions to shame with his tantrum.

In his madder moments, he thinks he hears a distant voice screaming back, "No."

Well, fuck the fucking Universe if she thinks he's going to accept that.

***

Zhao Yunlan lasts approximately one week.

Approximately, because he hasn't quite gotten the hang of how time works inside the lantern, and he's not paying attention until he is.

The first few days are a haze of pride, love, and pain as he learns to bear the constant burning of the lantern and this false dream world it put him in that doesn't have any of the people he actually loves and wants around.

How is this supposed to be a reward for his sacrifice?

After the -nth award ceremony and crying women and his father's false pride, all Zhao Yunlan's willingness to sacrifice evaporates into loneliness and then rage as it occurs to him that the reason Shen Wei isn't here with him is because he's now stuck with his brother in the infinite wherever the fuck.

Shen Wei, who held the world together for ten thousand years and then saved the whole freaking thing, and all the thanks he gets is disappeared somewhere into the ether.

Reunion aside, Ye Zun hated him for ten thousand years; they have nothing in common, and the universe decided Shen Wei is better off at the side of the guy who put serious effort into killing him rather than with the man who loved him more than anything.

Never mind that Zhao Yunlan never worked up the courage to actually tell Shen Wei that. 

But he was getting there.

Would have gotten there very soon.

He would have made him the happiest fucking man on the planet if they'd only had a little bit more time. And isn't that just what all the fools say?

If only I had a little more time, I could fix everything.

I could make everything right.

After all of Shen Wei's sacrifices, all those years of loneliness and duty and justice and this is the reward Shen Wei gets?!?!?

Fuck that!

Zhao Yunlan is enraged on his behalf because he knows Shen Wei would never be that selfish.

Shen Wei deserves a life of leisure and luxury where he can read any book any time he wants, and Zhao Yunlan will feed him by hand when he's hungry (he won't cook because he doesn't want to kill Shen Wei, just make him feel good. Besides, there are enough takeout restaurants in Dragon City that it would take them decades to get through them all).

He had a list of the top ten started before they, you know, died.

Top of the list was Dragon City's beloved Jade Teahouse, an upscale restaurant that Zhao Yunlan would never set foot in by himself, but the low light and black and jade color scheme would look amazing around Shen Wei with his pearlescent skin and dark, dark eyes.

And the new take on traditional cuisine was right up his alley.

Zhao Yunlan was prepared to save up for months to be able to afford it. 

Had even started, and then they'd died.

He'd never gotten to take Shen Wei out to the fancy, romantic dinner he deserved. One with candlelight and wine so fine Yunlan can't pronounce the name and a sommelier that makes Shen Wei taste it before he pours the glasses. Where they can linger over decadent food for hours, and Yunlan can just stare at Shen Wei in candlelight, and no one will think it's weird.

And then they could go home to the house they share and indulge in one another all night long. 

Yunlan had plans.

He cannot stress that enough.

Lots and lots of plans. To finally find out what Shen Wei's skin felt like against his. His hands were always cold, but something told Zhao Yunlan that the rest of him wouldn't be. The warmth generated by a heart capable of loving two entire worlds had to be immense.

He wanted to find out what it felt like to be pressed down by Hei Pao Shi and made to scream.

He wanted to find out what it felt like to press down Hei Pao Shi and make him scream.

Wanted to bring him coffee in bed and watch him cook dinner after work. Wanted to fuss when he stayed up too late grading papers and beg him to stay in bed just a few minutes longer on workdays.

He's pretty sure he could get him to do it. As long as Zhao Yunlan's safety wasn't a concern, Shen Wei didn't seem to have much willpower when it came to denying him.

He wants to build Shen Wei a cozy little nook so he can watch him read.

Scratch that. He wants to build him a decent-sized nook so he can curl up next to him while he reads.

But instead of books and candlelight and Zhao Yunlun lounging around in nothing so it's less work for Shen Wei when he decides he wants him, Shen Wei's stuck with his fucking brother, and Zhao Yunlan is stuck in this fucking lamp, burning from the inside out.

He comes to the erroneous (not that he cares) conclusion that Shen Wei and Ye Zun have already run out of things to talk about. There's only so much small talk people can make and only so many apologies Shen Wei has the patience for. And they clearly didn't have much in common before they were separated by ten millennia.

He deserves more than having to listen to half-baked apologies and ignorant explanations from someone who only changed his mind because he lost the fight for all time.

And, just to note, Zhao Yunlan doesn't buy for one second that Ye Zun had a change of heart just like that after ten thousand years of hatred.

And what the fuck did Ye Zun do to deserve to get to stay with Shen Wei for eternity? He's not the one who agreed to power a stupid lamp for god knows how long to save the world. 

Why does the bad guy get the hero, and the other hero gets nothing?

He loses it when his not-father comes around again to pat him on the back, and since it's a fake world, he doesn't feel bad about breaking a chair over his head at all.

It's actually rather cathartic.

He spends another period (maybe another week? He should probably start keeping track) just fucking up this fake existence as much as he can -acting insulting, rude, and thuggish, completely disrespectful to everyone, and outright violent on a few occasions. 

Nothing changes. 

They shower him with praise and awards and approval (apparently, it only takes a few weeks in the lantern to cure Zhao Yunlan of the desire for his father's approval that's haunted him his entire life) even when he laughs in their faces and tells them it wasn't worth it because Shen Wei isn't here.

Zhao Yunlan was a good person, a good protector, right up until they took Shen Wei away from him.

Now they can all burn for all he cares.

The realization that Shen Wei would be upset if he learned this pulls him back from the edge.

Shen Wei didn't waver in his duty from that first day of the war, through ten thousand years of waiting, to that final day when he lost everything.

There's no way Zhao Yunlan is going to become anything that disappoints Shen Wei.

Instead, he comes back to himself as much as he can and focuses in on the one glaring problem he has.

Shen Wei is not here.

Shen Wei is not with Kunlun.

Shen Wei is not with Zhao Yunlan.

Shen Wei is not with the love he waited ten thousand years for.

In what universe is that fair?!?

He dies for the world and gets stuck with his asshole brother?

Shen Wei has been done wrong by the universe, the fates, the gods, whoever the fuck was in charge of this nonsense, and the more Zhao Yunlan thinks about it, the more determined he becomes to find some way to fix it.

Shen Wei deserves so much more. 

Everything he sacrificed for this world, and he deserved better.

It's an injustice of the highest offense.

Zhao Yunlan is a weapon of justice, and it is his duty to see that Shen Wei gets the justice he deserves, even if it's the last thing he ever does.

But first, he has to figure out how to get out of this damn lamp.

***

Fuck this lamp.

Fuck this world.

Fuck Ye Zun who just had to be a bad guy.

Fuck the fucking chieftain that brainwashed him and started all this fucking nonsense.

Fuck his father for volunteering him up as tribute.

But most of all, fuck this fucking lamp that takes him months (he thinks) to get out of.

He does manage it, eventually, because he's Zhao Yunlan, who was Kunlun, who is the Lord of Guardians.

Who has always been the Beloved of Hei Pao Shi.

....

He does escape….

He just accidentally sends himself back in time in the process.

***

He imagines he can hear a distant voice screaming, "Fine!" in that distinct way his mother had when she was at the end of her rope with him and which usually didn't bode when for Zhao Yunlan, even if he was finally getting his way.

***

He's very, very confused for a few hours. Until he runs into Guo Changcheng, shaking, holding up a paper and stumbling over his words to explain that he's been assigned to the SID.

He swears up and down that he has no idea who Shen Wei is, and by the time Zhao Yunlan believes him and has pieced together what happened, he definitely thinks his new boss is even crazier than he did in that first timeline? Lifetime?

Zhao Yunlan's not sure what to call it, but he's at least glad he didn't send himself even further back. 

He's going to meet Shen Wei in less than twenty-four hours.

…..

HE'S GOING TO MEET SHEN WEI IN LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AND HE HAS NO PLAN.

He'd been so focused on getting out of the lamp he hadn't actually stopped to think about the situation after that. 

He knows Shen Wei well enough to know that walking up to him and spilling everything won't end well. They haven't even met yet, although maybe Shen Wei will remember?

His power of learning means there's no telling what he can do that just hasn't come up yet.

But also, he might not. 

This might be some random timeline where he doesn't remember Kunlun at all.

Maybe Ye Zun doesn't exist either, and Zhao Yunlan can just worry about wooing Shen Wei and not about the possibility of losing him to his psycho brother.

Or it's exactly the same as the first one, and Shen Wei will be cautious and responsible and wary, and Zhao Yunlan will need allies to convince him to listen.

Well, Zhao Yunlan could convince him without help. Shen Wei will never ignore him, but he's smart enough to realize he could save a lot of time with help, and frankly, the less time he spends without Shen Wei, the better.

He's not making that mistake twice.

He chucks Little Changcheng at his new co-workers and locks himself in his office. With on eye on the clock and an internal countdown screaming in the back of his mind, he works out the list of people that could help him.

Guo Changcheng

Chu Shuzhi

Zhu Hong

Da Qing

Wang Zheng

Lin Jing

Sang Zen

Old Li

Li Qian

Cheng Xinyan

Wu Tian'en & Wu Xiaojun

Cong Bo

Zhang Shi

It's a very short list.

And it gets shorter as he devotes a few minutes to actually considering each name on the list.

Guo Changcheng – Currently faints at everything. Hasn't awoken powers yet. Useless.

Chu Shuzhi – Ugh, but also loves Hei Pao Shi?

Zhu Hong – In love with me. Too awkward. Mean to ask.

Da Qing – Lost memories, but reliable??

Wang Zheng – MUST SAVE.

Lin Jing – Too flighty. Will spill the beans.

Sang Zen – Not here yet, but also MUST SAVE.

Old Li – What could he do?

Li Qian – Going through a very traumatic time, probably doesn't need more trouble. Shen Wei would be very upset if she was hurt.

Cheng Xinyan – Won't meet for a while. Might assume brain damage and set the plan back.

Wu Tian'en & Wu Xiaojun – Haven't met yet; also, shouldn't they be estranged right now?

Cong Bo – Headache.

Zhang Shi – …would mean dealing with father.

One by one, as he watches a terrified Guo Changcheng faint again at the site of Wang Zheng (and he maybe cries a bit when she comes down the stairs), he crosses off names until there's only one left.

There's only one person who loves Shen Wei anywhere near as much as Zhao Yunlan does.

Ugh.

***

Top on the list of things Zhao Yunlan wanted to do with Shen Wei was holding hands.

Simple.

Easy.

Maybe a bit childish, but holding hands has always struck Zhao Yunlan as one of the most intimate things two people could do together. 

The warmth of another palm, of someone's fingers tangled with his own as they walked, seemed terribly intimate. A sign of a truly committed couple.

In other relationships before Shen Wei, because there would be no other relationships after him, Zhao Yunlan had always been afraid to be the one to ask to hold hands. 

To take that step. 

Maybe a part of him had always known he was waiting for Shen Wei long before he'd even known the other man existed.

He's not sure what's worse, not knowing who you're waiting for….

….Or knowing.

***

He has to see to the investigation before he can do anything else, though (he might have thrown a tantrum over Shen Wei, but he does take his job seriously), but he's maybe a little too gleeful as he orders Guo Changcheng out the window because he knows what's coming.

Guo Changcheng is halfway out and fully in tears when something occurs to Zhao Yunlan, and he yanks him back in.

He sticks his head out, spots Shen Wei across the field and headed towards them. 

He's whistling as he climbs out the window, demonstrating the hold to a shaking Guo Changcheng and reminding him to collect the evidence on the windowsill as he watches Shen Wei's approach from the corner of his eye.

There's a small window for this to work out best case, and a much larger one for it to work out just okay. 

Either way, he gets Shen Wei's undivided attention (totally worth the potential maiming).

Why commiserate over Da Qing's behavior when he can just fall into Shen Wei's arms instead?

Only a few seconds away.

It feels like it's been ages since Zhao Yunlan got to see him. Got to touch him and talk to him and just exist somewhere in the same world as him.

He probably owes Guo Changcheng a bonus for scaring him like this, but no one, no one, is getting between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei this time.

And there he is.

It's a perfect summer day. Warm but not too hot. The air sweet but not too heavy. The flowers are in full bloom, and there's Shen Wei, not a hair out of place, with those elegant glasses, and those delicious arm garters, and a crisp white shirt that Yunlan wants to yank on. 

He gleams like a polished sword in the sunlight as he approaches. Zhao Yunlan's personal white knight.

Or Black Robed Knight. 

Royal Brother Black.

Whichever, as long as it's Shen Wei.

His foot slips, and he just remembers to stop smiling and yell like he's actually scared as he lets go. 

***

Guo Changcheng yells louder than his boss' does when suddenly lets go of the window and falls, which is what actually gets Shen Wei's attention.

***

There is a man in Shen Wei's arms.

That's a first. 

Outside of comforting the troubled people he meets from time to time, Shen Wei has lived a monk's life waiting for the one he lost to return, and he has no intention of taking anyone into his arms until that happens.

But right at this moment, there is a man in his arms. A bit scrawny, but there is some muscle. Jeans, boots, and a leather jacket that would be too young for anyone else that age. 

A man who fell from the sky. 

Or, more accurately, from the third-floor window of the Biological Sciences Building. 

His comrade had screamed, which had made Shen Wei look up in time to register the body falling, the height, and the speed he needed to catch him.

And now his arms were full and there was another set wrapped tightly around his shoulders and warm breath on his neck. 

Whoever it was was clearly terrified from their fall and clinging to Shen Wei. It had happened before. A normal trauma response.

"There's no need to be scared. I have you." 

The murmurs of the crowd are dying down, the drama over with since no one was hurt. That reaction always makes his heart hurt a bit, but it's simply nature, above and below, and he has learned not to let it bother him too much. It's more important to ensure this person is okay. 

He's quite sure he's not a student; he would have gotten a talking-to for dressing like that at the university, but there aren't a lot of people allowed on university grounds who aren't students, teachers, or maintenance. All of whom Shen Wei knows relatively well. 

Instead, this person is-

His heart stops, misses a beat, and then makes up for it by hammering against his ribcage like it's trying to escape when the man finally removes his face from Shen Wei's neck and grins up at him.

Kunlun.

***

Shen Wei had caught him. 

Of course, he had. Shen Wei was too good not to.

He'd never held Zhao Yunlan before. Not really. A few brief hugs and helping one another after they were injured, but it wasn't the same. Zhao Yunlan had always been too afraid of taking that final step until he wasn't, and then when he finally wasn't, they were in a fight for the universe, and his chance was gone.

Well, not anymore. 

The strength in Shen Wei's arms, in all of him really, sparks a heat that's both comforting and tantalizing in Zhao Yunlan, and there is a very large part of him that wants desperately to fake an injury to stay in those arms for just a few seconds longer, but that's not the kind of behavior Shen Wei would approve of and more than anything, Zhao Yunlan wants a relationship of equals like they were building before. He doesn't want to be the damsel in distress that Shen Wei has to rescue and worry about, although occasionally getting rescued would be pretty hot.

He gives in and hugs him once more before pulling back and allowing Shen Wei to set him on his feet.

Now that he knows what to look for, the dumbfounded look on Shen Wei's face as he sees him for the first time is adorable. Eyes wide behind his glasses, lips parted, it's enough that Zhao Yunlan has to seriously resist the urge to just kiss him right there.

How scandalized would poor Professor Shen be if he laid one on him in front of all his students? 

Angry enough to punish Zhao Yunlan? To tie him down? Make him stay still while Shen Wei did as he pleased? While he ran his hands over every inch of Zhao Yunlan, because Professor Shen Wei is very, very thorough and Hei Pao Shi is very, very dedicated.

How long would it take one of them to go mad?

Who would break first?

Could Yunlan talk Shen Wei into losing control?

Could he make Shen Wei scream?

Is that even really a punishment? 

Probably not, but Zhao Yunlan is willing to suffer it. 

For good and justice and everything righteous. 

Willing to suffer Hei Pao Shi's justice and heavy, heavy hand running along his spine and dipping lower and lower. Those long, dexterous fingers, equally capable with a pen as they are with a blade, burrowing deeper and deeper under Shen Wei's singular focus.

Is he drooling? 

He might be drooling.

Either way, he comes back from his fantasy punishment at the sight of a vicious blush crawling across Shen Wei's face and the horrified, stunned looks on Guo Changcheng and Da Qing.

Oops.

Apparently, he wasn't as subtle as he thought.

"Ah, haha, ah, well, this is awkward." He runs a hand through his hair, glances up at Shen Wei through his lashes the way he used to when he was trying to wheedle information out of him, and watches the blush spread.

Score one for Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei is still attracted to him in this timeline.

"Of course not," Proper Professor as always. "Are you okay?" He even reaches for Zhao Yunlan but stops himself halfway (not okay, but there's time to fix it).

"How could I not be okay after falling into the arms of an angel?"

There's a strangled sound from Da Qing, which is impressive since he's still a cat.

Shen Wei actually ducks his head and fidgets with his glasses at that one, but he doesn't actually seem upset despite the fact that they're in broad daylight and a few students are still within earshot. 

He waits for Shen Wei to say something else (like ask him out), but his precious Envoy is too shy (ADORABLE, his brain screams), and he digs out a business card and steps way too close to be appropriate. "My card. You saved my life, so I definitely owe you dinner."

"That's not necessary," Shen Wei even stutters a bit (So Cute!), but he practically yanks the card out of Zhao Yunlan's hand and immediately puts it in the breast pocket of his vest.

"Oh, it's so very necessary, Professor. I won't sleep well until I know I've paid you back." He blinks all wide-eyed innocence, and only a year of intensive Shen Wei study lets him see the shift in Shen Wei's eyes from wariness to want.

"I believe I have time this evening." No stutter that time.

"I'm free however you want me, Professor." Okay, that came out with way more innuendo than he actually intended.

Off to the side, Guo Changcheng faints dead away, and Da Qing shrieks when he's nearly crushed by the falling body.

"Dinner, then." Shen Wei decides, and Zhao Yunlan nods along, and no one is under the illusion he was ever going to say anything but yes.

They stand there, stupidly smiling at one another, until a brave officer inches over and asks Zhao Yunlan if they need to keep the police tape up. 

At which point, Zhao Yunlan remembers there is, in fact, a crime he needs to solve, and that Shen Wei's favorite student is at the center of it.

***

The rest of the day goes very similar to the first time, aside from Zhao Yunlan being unable to keep the grin off his face. Da Qing and Guo Changcheng are both giving him a wide berth, and apparently, they told Lin Jing and Zhu Hong because they're both giving him less than subtle side-eye as he sets up the murder board.

He has five hours before dinner with Shen Wei and three before Chu Shuzhi returns, a tight timeline but not impossible.

He just needs to come up with a very convincing argument to get Old Chu on his side.

***

Chu Shuzhi does not like Zhao Yunlan.

But he respects Hei Pao Shi. Loves him like a soldier loves the commander who actually cares. Like a starving man loves the one who gives him food.

He owes him a life debt according to the old ways.

He's too good for Zhao Yunlan, but even Chu Shuzhi can admit that Hei Pao Shi chose Zhao Yunlan. 

At least, according to Zhao Yunlan's ridiculous story.

Inexplicably, according to his idiot boss, the idiot makes the Black Cloaked Envoy happy.

The only reason Chu Shuzhi even kind of possibly believes him is because he's never heard Zhao Yunlan talk so badly about himself and so well about someone else. 

Also, he knows enough about Hei Pao Shi and Dixingren that there's no way he hasn't been to Dixing, and Chu Shuzhi can't think of any reason other than Zhao Yunlan's cockamamie story to explain why he would have been down there.

Also, he described Hei Pao Shi's robe and glaive and smile in a disturbing level of detail.

It's just annoying because Chu Shuzhi was really looking forward to beating the crap out of him one of these days, and now it looks like he's never going to get the chance.

If Hei Pao Shi loves Zhao Yunlan in this go around too –which, that's a whole nother issue that Chu Shuzhi is not ready to deal with- but he might not. 

Chu Shuzhi can hope.

Except there's a knot in his stomach, gut instinct sparked by the desperation in Yunlan's eyes, the crack in his voice that says the story of Shen Wei and Kunlun is not going to change no matter how many universes there are.

And Chu Shuzhi will do a lot if it means making the man who saved him happy.

Even work with his stupid boss, who he wants to punch in the face more often than not.

It is absolutely insulting that Hei Pao Shi is destined to be with this fool, but if this fool makes Hei Pao Shi happy, Chu Shuzhi decides he will do whatever he can to help.

That said, he draws the line at listening to Zhao Yunlan's depraved fantasies and walks away while he's in the middle of describing the exact color he wants for the walls of their bedroom.

Hei Pao Shi deserves more than bland blue walls, but Chu Shuzhi can take care of that when the time comes.

***

Chu Shuzhi sends Zhao Yunlan to change three times before his dinner with Shen Wei because he refuses to let Hei Pao Shi be insulted by a badly dressed date.

They barely have a functional plan by the time Zhao Yunlan actually leaves for dinner, and he's a nervous wreck, slightly worried that Old Chu is going to take out some of his frustration on poor Guo Changcheng. 

They agreed that Zhao Yunlan needed to focus on convincing Shen Wei and Chu Shuzhi will dig into Zhu Jiu and Yu Zun, dragging the rookie along now that they know what he's going to become. They know where the holy artifacts are but still have little idea of what to actually do with them aside from hiding them in the office.

Zhao Yunlan hasn't said it out loud yet, but he's desperately trying to think of a way to free Shen Wei from Ye Zun and his tie to the pillar forever, but he doesn't think asking your future husband how to murder his brother is good first date etiquette. 

Besides, this is his first date with Shen Wei in two timelines/lifetimes, and he and Old Chu agreed that the best thing to do tonight is to just focus on convincing (wooing) Shen Wei.

Well, Old Chu worded it differently, but "Put away the crazy for one night so he doesn't run away screaming" sounds way worse.

He ends up being a half hour early and resigns himself to waiting forlornly at the bar.

He's only there for a few minutes before there's a warm body at his elbow, and he gears up to politely decline another drink before turning and finding an immaculately dressed Shen Wei watching him.

He drops his drink.

Well, he fumbles his beer, but he catches it before it spills everywhere.

Thankfully, Shen Wei seems amused (the bartender isn't, but Zhao Yunlan's not trying to impress her, so he doesn't really care).

He tipped the hostess for a good table earlier, and the waiter led them to a dimly lit corner table with curtains.

It vaguely occurs to him that he didn't check his bank account, and he legitimately might not be able to afford food at this place, but if the choice is giving Shen Wei a great meal and eating ramen for the rest of the month (maybe more than one), he's going to eat a whole lot of ramen.

He sets the menu aside and just watches Shen Wei. He hadn't expected to get to the lit by candlelight moment so quickly. It feels almost like a dream, and for a moment, he's terrified he'll wake up tomorrow morning to find himself still stuck in the lamp.

"You already know what you'd like?" Shen Wei asks, eyes bright behind his glasses.

Zhao Yunlan smiles like a besotted fool, content for the moment, even if this is a horrible dream. "The special."

Which must be code for "I can't afford this place" because Shen Wei immediately looks concerned. 

"It's fine. Order whatever you'd like. Order the whole damn menu if you want."

"Zhao Yunlan," and that's his Professor voice. "Why did you choose this place if you can't afford it."

"I can afford it. On certain days of the month," He adds. Namely, payday, and that's it.

Shen Wei frowns, upset, which makes Zhao Yunlan reach across the table for his hand. "Hey, I'll be fine. Really. I was just…I really wanted to impress you."

Shen Wei softens at that. His forehead smooths out and laugh lines beside his eyes appear. "You may have tried too hard, Zhao Yunlan."

"Probably."

And they laugh together as the waiter comes to take their order. Two specials and a bottle of moderately priced bottle of wine Shen Wei insists is his favorite.

It's not because Shen Wei told him his favorite in the first timeline, but Zhao Yunlan is so touched he loses the argument. 

The food is divine, and the wine is good, but neither of them compares to Shen Wei glowing in candlelight, smiling as he tells Zhao Yunlan the most ridiculous stories about his student's antics. He keeps putting servings of his own dinner on Zhao Yunlan's plate because even in this timeline, he's still worried he doesn't eat enough.

They never got to this point in that first go. There was always a case, and so many secrets and they both kept waiting for the right time until suddenly, there was no time at all.

Chu Shuzhi was right. 

Tonight was just for tonight and nothing else.

The next time Shen Wei goes to put food on his plate, Zhao Yunlan catches his wrist and takes the bite right from his chopsticks.

The heat that erupts in Shen Wei's eyes as his lips wrap around the chopsticks is nearly enough to immolate him on the spot.

"Zhao Yunlan," It's half plea, half demand, and Zhao Yunlan is not the one of the two of them with self-control.

Or shame.

He climbs around the booth and into Shen Wei's lap.

Chu Shuzhi had been very clear that Yunlan shouldn't offend the Black Cloaked Envoy's sensibilities. He wasn't known for wavering, being fickle, or frivolous, but Shen Wei's grip is just as tight as Zhao Yunlan's.

His eyes are wide as Zhao Yunlan picks up a piece of grilled meat with his fingers. it's brave and a little crazy, and skipping a whole lot of steps, but when he holds it up to Shen Wei's lips, he takes it.

Licking Zhao Yunlan's fingers clean in the process.

If there was ever a sign they were meant to be together in any universe, Zhao Yunlan thinks, it's this. 

***

Their waiter would like to stress that every couple that books that table thinks the same thing.

And does the same thing, and the only reason the staff puts up with it is the fantastic tips people stupidly in love and vaguely guilty about the PDA leave.

***

Zhao Yunlan feeds Shen Wei the rest of his meal and then the discreetly delivered desert that neither of them noticed until they were eating it.

There are bruises on Zhao Yunlan's hips from Shen Wei's fingers, and he's never going to be able to look at him licking anything without getting hard again. Shen Wei's own length is throbbing and pressed against Zhao Yunlan, and it's pretty impressive, even trapped in his pants.

Maybe being the bottom won't be so bad if he gets that in him. He can picture Shen Wei's wild eyes when he's inside him, the strength of his grip as he tries to maintain control.

Like Zhao Yunlan would ever let him.

It's a miracle he's not being fucked over this table right now.

A miracle…

And a little bit disappointing, but if Shen Wei's will was that weak, the whole universe would be fucked, so he can't really complain.

When Shen Wei finally speaks, after the last bite of yuzu jelly, too sharp and not sweet enough for Yunlan, but apparently Shen Wei's favorite has disappeared, his eyes have an almost glazed look. "What do you want, Zhao Yunlan?"

He doesn't even sound like he knows what he's saying, lost in their shared existence and Yunlan's warmth.

Yunlan meant to ask for a kiss. Their first, but instead, what came out, per his usual standard, is a lot more embarrassing but much more truthful. "I want to marry you."

It might be the line for Shen Wei, though. Since, as far as he's concerned, they met this afternoon, and he probably isn't certain Zhao Yunlan is Kunlun yet.

Or maybe not.

Definitely not, based on the kiss Yunlan gets in response.

Apparently, their crazy matches up, and everything devolves into the hottest make-out session Zhao Yunlan has ever had. Shen Wei's got his tongue in Zhao Yunlan's mouth and his hands on his ass, and Zhao Yunlan's got a grip on Shen Wei's perfect hair and the other cradling that perfect cheek. They're grinding together with enough force that there will be bruises tomorrow, but neither of them cares. The heat between them is growing and growing, and they'd probably be making a hell of a lot of noise if they could stand to pry their mouths apart.

But they can't, so there's at least some semblance of control. Or…desperation masked as control.

There's really not, but neither of them care.

There's something tragically wild in the strength of Shen Wei's grip. Zhao Yunlan couldn't make it one lifetime without Shen Wei (for fucks sake, he couldn't even make it a couple months), but Shen Wei was forced to wait ten thousand years.

He probably should have waited. Should have taken things slow, but he did that the first time around, and they ended up missing their chance.

He's not making that mistake twice.

He presses down, rolls his hips, and feels Shen Wei's fingers spasm. Their grip becomes painful for a moment as Shen Wei gasps into his mouth and comes in his pants.

One look at a disheveled, kiss-bruised Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan follows him.

A very polite waiter informs them through the curtain that the restaurant closes in fifteen minutes, and they spend those fifteen minutes quietly. Zhao Yunlan running a hand through Shen Wei's hair under the guise of trying to put it to rights and kissing every part of his face he can.

It's a little bubble that pops as soon as they're outside. The crowded street forces enough space to break it, and they share awkward glances as they try to walk far enough to avoid the crowd.

Before they can reunite, Zhao Yunlan's phone rings.

***

To say Zhao Yunlan is in a bad mood the next morning is putting things very, very lightly. 

He didn't have a chance to talk with Shen Wei after the call to the crime scene came in.

And then he spent the morning getting chewed out by Chu Shuzhi after telling him what happened at dinner.

Apparently, mauling and proposing to Hei Pao Shi on the first date does not fall under Chu Shuzhi's list of appropriate behaviors. 

Since when does a necromancer care about what's proper and acceptable behavior?

Yunlan's covered for him enough that he knows Old Chu likes to operate in a grey area; he really doesn't have any grounds to tell Yunlan that his behavior is too much.

They're still glaring at each other, Little Guo following them awkwardly down the hall, when they come around a corner and nearly collide with Shen Wai and a shaken Li Qian. 

Yunlan didn't notice in that first go around, but it's painfully obvious the girl is in a bad place, and Shen Wei is worried. 

Shen Wei's eyes flick from person to person, unable to rest, and maybe Chu Shuzhi was right. Maybe it was too much too fast, but before he can say anything, Old Chu realizes who's in front of him and shoves Zhao Yunlan and Guo Changcheng aside in his eagerness to greet Hei Pao Shi (Such a fucking fanboy, though Zhao Yunlan's not crazy enough to say this out loud. He does have some survival instincts).

Shen Wei looks off balance for all of a second, and Old Chu, to his credit, doesn't actually say anything that would give Shen Wei away, 

….He's just very enthusiastically shaking Shen Wei's hand. Like someone meeting their favorite idol for the first time. Zhao Yunlan would be embarrassed if he wasn't mostly annoyed that Chu Shuzhi had beaten him to it.

Shen Wei has a better poker face than Zhao Yunlan had ever given him credit for. In that first go around, Shen Wei had had so much of his attention immediately it was overwhelming, and Yunlan had never stopped to admire how well Shen Wei had hidden himself. 

Just been upset he was hiding from Zhao Yunlan as well.

Ten thousand years have given Shen Wei some skills.

And one of them is avoidance. He manages to stay out of arms reach for the rest of the case surrounding Lin Qian and the Dial, and it feels painfully like that first time, with Yunlan reaching out desperately and a tormented Shen Wei curling tighter inside his shell.

He rants about it to Chu Shuzhi, who gets more homicidal by degrees every time Yunlan whines that he just wants to be married to Hei Pao Shi already.

He actually tries to strangle Zhao Yunlan once, but Guo Changcheng walked in at just the right moment (the worst moment if you ask Little Guo), so Zhao Yunlan survived lunch that day, and it all worked out.

Guo Changcheng seems to set off Chu Zhushi's temper even worse this time around. Even Yunlan is taken aback by the amount of snarling he does.

But he still pulls Guo Changcheng out of harm's way every time, so maybe he's just more repressed?

***

He is not repressed, or however the fuck Yunlan put it.

Chu Shuzhi is just very aware that he is very alone, while his annoying boss and his idol are on their way to eternal happiness. 

If Yunlan doesn't fuck it up first.

And he's just alone with an empty apartment and none of his own kind he can trust except the Black Cloaked Envoy, and he's so far above Old Chu that he doesn't deserve to be bothered with his stupid feelings.

And this new idiot just keeps getting himself into trouble. He's going to actually die one of these times when Old Chu's too slow, and then they'll all be fucked when the Minister comes after them, and Shuzhi will feel guilty for the rest of his miserable life.

…..

He's going to protect Little Idiot even if it kills him.

***

Unfortunately, before Zhao Yunla,n can come up with a plan to convince Shen Wei that the whole night wasn't just a desperate fever dream, he remembers what day it is.

Shen Wei's colleague, Zhang Ruonan, was going to be attacked and raped by the three students she failed in about seven hours, and Zhao Yunlan could not, in good conscience, allow that to happen.

Fuck the timeline.

He'd never be able to live with himself. Though he'd be just fine letting Wang Yike do her thing.

Shen Wei would never approve of letting it happen either, so timeline be damned, he leaves a somewhat vague message for Shen Wei at school and sets out trying to find where the attack took place. He sends Chu Shuzhi to find Wang Yike because Teacher Zhang is going to need all the support she can get and Yunlan has been in law enforcement long enough to know to keep the most dangerous element in sight.

By the time he finds the right street, he's pretty sure he only has minutes and Old Chu and Yike catch up with him as he's desperately trying to find the right alley. Chu must have told Yike what Yunlan told him because the girl is beside herself trying to find Teacher Zhang, who stumbles out of the next alley, and for one terrifying second, Zhao Yunlan thinks they're too late. 

She's pale and unsteady, but she straightens up and catches Wang Yike when the younger girl throws herself at her.

"Teacher Zhang-"

She interrupts him, pointing to the alley, "Teacher Shen-"

Yunlan and Chu are running before she finishes.

Shen Wei did get Zhao Yunlan's message, and he understood it well enough to immediately go after Teacher Zhang and put himself between her and the three students.

According to Shen Wei, which he explains after Zhao Yunlan and Chu Shuzhi demonstrated an extremely violent offender takedown three times, the three students did show remorse when he first showed up, but when it became clear he wasn't going to allow the matter to be brushed aside, they turned their rage on him.

He's more than happy to step aside and let Yunlan and Chu take care of them, although later they both lament missing the chance to watch him fight.

Teacher Zhang is severally shaken but resists making a report that Yunlan can action until Shen Wei pulls her aside and talks to her privately, while Yunlan pointedly ignores whatever Wang Yike and Chu Shuzhi are doing to the three idiots now.

Whatever he says to her works because they come back a few minutes later, and she's ready to talk. Yunlan takes her statement at the SID and assures her the students will be punished, and she doesn't have to worry. Shen Wei is on the phone with the head of the school while they talk, and Zhu Hong follows Chu Shuzhi to help process the three. 

He's kind of surprised they can't hear screaming from the cells.

It is unfortunate that it's unlikely they'll do much time in prison since Dragon City tends to go easy on first-time offenders, and they didn't actually get to carry out the crime. But Yunlan does happen to know a very good Police Captain at one of the nearby precincts who's more than capable of making sure young offenders know what they did and why it was wrong.

He's been married to his poet wife for almost thirty years now, and they have four beautiful daughters. His wife is equally famous for her words as she is for being the first woman in Dragon City to demand the prosecution of her boss after he raped her during a late night at the office. It had been a sensational case that had seen her dragged through the mud before being vindicated by a truly horrifying surveillance video and had a significant impact on the laws concerning rape in Dragon City.

Her old boss is still in prison as far as Yunlan knows.

Needless to say, Captain Yi takes any case of rape or assault very, very seriously.

Yunlan gives him a brief rundown over the phone and doesn't have to get more than the basics out before the Chief and his men are on their way over.

The handover takes a minute, and some very obviously not looking too closely at the shape the three students are in, and Chief Yi decides to escort Teacher Zhang and Wang Yike home personally.

It's only then that Yunlan thinks to ask Shen Wei what he said that made Teacher Zhang change her mind.

"I told her to think of Miss Wang." He says, having deduced that she wouldn't be able to let what happened go, even if, by some miracle, Teacher Zhang was.

"You're just brilliant," Yunlan tells him while the rest of his squad stares at him like he's grown a second head.

Shen Wei adjusts his glasses, briefly glancing at the rest of the stunned squad.

Well, aside from Chu Shuzhi, who looks like a soldier standing ready to receive orders, except he's grinning like a fool at Shen Wei.

"Ignore them," Zhao Yunlan insists, "They're just happy to see you."

"Who is he?" Wang Zheng asks.

"The poor guy chief's making a fool of himself over," Da Qing answers and Yunlan can feel the heat of the blush across his cheeks.

"Oh, the one he-"

"Okay! That's enough, good work team. Bonuses for everyone. Time to go home."

Thankfully, going home early wins out over making fun of their boss, and everyone skips out, leaving a blushing Yunlan alone with an intoxicatingly attentive Shen Wei.

"Are you allowed to give bonuses out like that?" Shen Wei asks, apparently content to watch as Yunlan sidles closer.

"No fucking in the office!" Lin Jing suddenly yells back through the door and Yunlan turns to snarl at him and misses Shen Wei opening a portal.

He's pulled through to Shen Wei's apartment before he finishes yelling that he's taking Lin Jing's bonus away. 

It takes Yunlan a moment to get his bearings, it always does after going through one of Shen Wei's portals, and then he turns to Shen Wei and stops dead.

Up close, the Professor is a bit roughed up from his run-in. Well, his clothes are, the man himself probably didn't even notice, he seems much more concerned about Zhao Yunlan.

"Kunlun?" His voice breaks just a bit at the end, and the desperation in his eyes makes Yunlan's heart break a little bit.

"Yeah, Shen Wei like the towering mountain, not the rugged peak."

The sound Shen Wei lets out is a little broken, a little bit sob and a whole lot of disbelief, but he still stops himself when he reaches for Yunlan.

His hands are shaking.

The great Hei Pao Shi and his hands are shaking. 

Yunlan reaches for him, and suddenly, he has Shen Wei pressed against the wall, swallowing his next sounds with his own mouth, and then they're right back to where they were in the curtained-off booth in the restaurant. With Shen Wei's grip tight enough to bruise and Zhao Yunlan intent on swallowing the other man whole.

They do their best to crawl inside one another until Yunlan's patience snaps, and he comes in his pants while sucking the disheveled professor off against the wall.

Rumpled and flushed is an amazing look on Shen Wei. Like every other look but somehow better. He won't let Yunlan move away, following every step like he's controlled by some magnetic force, but Yunlan feels the same, so it's not much of a fight, and they trade surprisingly chaste kisses as Yunlan leads him toward the bedroom.

They stumble a few times; shoving clothes off while walking is a skill they both need to work on, and it makes Yunlan laugh, and Shen Wei smile, although he is still a little fragile around the edges.

Like all of this, and he's still not convinced it's real.

Zhao Yunlan can fix that. 

"Can I take you, or do you want to take me this time?"

Shen Wei freezes. Then, a heat erupts in his eyes that makes Zhao Yunlan shiver.

"Alright then. Next time, I get you."

And then Shen Wei shoves him down on the bed, and there's no room left to talk except to moan and curse when Shen Wei rolls him over. 

He is a bit mean, but Zhao Yunlan always suspected he would be. Too devoted, too dedicated, too deep not to be. He forces pleasure on Zhao Yunlan relentlessly until Yunlan can't do anything but lay there and sob and shake and cling with the last of his strength as Shen Wei finally chases his own release.

Yunlan refuses to let go after, not that Shen Wei makes much of an effort to get away. 

"I'm sorry I took so long," Yunlan says into the darkness of Shen Wei's bedroom.

"I would have waited another ten thousand years if it meant we would be reunited." Shen Wei answers, slightly muffled by the fact that his face is tucked against Yunlan's chest.

Happiness wells in Yunlan, and it takes everything he has not to giggle like a teenage girl at the declaration. He had worried, deep down where he didn't have to face it, that he'd imagined things. 

That time trapped in the lamp is a muddled haze of an existence recognizable enough to be familiar yet utterly alien, and it has tainted everything Zhao Yunlan thinks he remembers from before.

Did his father know that was a possible outcome? Did he have any idea what it was like inside the lamp? Maybe it didn't bother him. Zhao Zinxi's existence is so simple and focused that it might not have felt any different inside the lamp than it did outside, but to Yunlan, it was like an open wound that couldn't heal.

He'd almost missed out on this.

On Shen Wei curled around him, beside him, inside him. Missed the warmth of his skin and the chill of his touch.

Shen Wei puts his hand over Zhao Yunlan's heart, a comforting weight that also sees him shift and slide and awaken.

"Aiyo baobai, a second round already? It's my turn to be on top."

"Zhao Yunlan."

Uh-oh. That's the tone that means Zhao Yunlan is in trouble. Under Shen Wei's hand, the Guardian Lamp blazes to life in his chest.

"Uh…."

Shen Wei's eyes are dark when he sits up, hair in disarray, and glasses askew. "Explain." He demands.

And, well, it's not like Zhao Yunlan wants any ability to tell Shen Wei no.

***

It all spills out in the dark under Shen Wei's sheets. Yunlan holds his hands so tightly his knuckles turn white as the words fall over themselves to come out. 

A part of him is terrified if he lets go Shen Wei will leave. Terrified that if he doesn't explain it well enough, Shen Wei will walk away.

Terrified that it might be too much, and Shen Wei will tell him there's no other ending than the one Zhao Yunlan has already suffered through.

It's all irrational, of course. In his heart, Zhao Yunlan knows Shen Wei will not leave him. He waited ten thousand years. He's not going to run now that Zhao Yunlan has climbed into his lap and refused to leave.

But the fear is there, and surely, it's something a psychologist would love to talk about, but Yunlan would rather endure another awkward marriage interview with another daughter of his father's friend than even begin to contemplate that.

Shen Wei's face is impressively smooth for most of it. 

Right up until Yunlan gets to the blindness, and he starts squeezing Yunlan's hands back. His grip is a lot more impressive.

Zhao Yunlan needs to get to the gym more.

When Yunlan tells him about the end, Shen Wei actually gets angry, and Yunlan gets angry right back because Shen Wei had gone and left him behind and been tied to that pillar like a sacrifice for days because he refused to let anyone help him.

"It's not going to happen twice, Baobei. If you go, I go."

"I won't allow you to be hurt, Zhao Yunlan."

"I won't let you be hurt, Shen Wei."

Their face-off is probably more amusing than it should be. They're naked, barely bothered to wipe off the evidence of their earlier activities, and haphazardly wrapped in Shen Wei's dark sheets.

And they won't let go of each other.

"There has to be a way we can both come out of this," Zhao Yunlan insists, pulling Shen Wei close to kiss away the tears on his cheeks. "We'll find a way. I won't lose you twice."

***

Guo Changcheng likes his new job despite the danger. He likes his new comrades despite their….uniqueness.

He's just not entirely sure they aren't the triad instead of law enforcement. They work odd hours, there are no uniforms, Old Chu gets a little….testy.

Zhu Hong occasionally has a tail instead of legs and red eyes.

His second boss is a cat.

The regular cops give them a wide berth.

Some of his co-workers aren't human.

Old Chu is very, very intimidating.

And very, very handsome. Not that Guo Changcheng will ever, ever say that out loud.

Especially not right now, while cowering behind a garbage can as Old Chu and some guy with purple streaks in his hair battle it out in a dank alleyway in the bad neighborhood of Dragon City that his Aunt always warns him to avoid. 

On the upside, it looks like Old Chu is winning. 

On the downside, if this is what they expect of the employees at the SID, Guo Changcheng is never, ever going to cut it. 

He barely manages to dodge the purple-haired guy when Chu Shuzhi sends him flying right into the trashcan he's hiding behind.

He doesn't get back up, and Chu Shuzhi definitely has a swagger as he stomps over, grabs Guo Changcheng by the back of his shirt and the unconscious man by his arm, and drags them both back to the SID.

He doesn't need to drag Guo Changcheng; at this point, he'd follow the older man anywhere (it's only been a week), but that's also the only way he touches Guo Changcheng, so he'll take it. 

At least until he works up the courage to ask the older man to dinner. Which…based on what he's seen of this job, needs to be sooner rather than later, or he might honestly die before he gets the chance. 

That would be disappointing. In the extreme. 

Like…he'd die with serious regrets if he never worked up the courage to ask out his eternally peeved partner.

He should do it now. Old Chu is actually smiling while he chucks his battered opponent into a cell.

He looks fantastic. A little bruised but high on victory and all in black.

All in black.

…Guo Changcheng's interests have definitely changed since his awkward attempts to date in high school.

He's kind of concerned about what his Aunt and Uncle will think, but despite the cutthroat nature of the government to which his Uncle has dedicated his life to, they've only ever wanted the best for him.

They'll get used to Chu Shuzhi…or at least they'll fake it well enough.

He doubts Old Chu would care as long as everyone could be polite through the weekly family dinner.

If he'd even be okay with weekly dinners? Maybe he'll leave him at home those nights. 

"Oi, idiot, pay attention!" Changcheng jumps out of his thoughts when a clipboard suddenly appears in front of his face. "I'm only going to explain this once."

This is the third time, but Guo Changcheng wisely doesn't mention that and dutifully re-writes the same notes he wrote the first two times, having realized by now that Old Chu is never going to let him fill out the form himself.

He's so lost in listening to Old Chu that he completely misses his opportunity.

***

With Shen Wei now in the know, worried, thoughtful, and determined in a way that Zhao Yunlan is convinced isn't necessarily good because Shen Wei won't admit what he's thoughtful about, Zhao Yunlan takes blatant advantage of the situation.

He starts calling Hei Pao Shi for every little thing he can think of, including interrogating Zhu Jiu the day he walks into the SID HQ to an unrepentant, smug Chu Shuzhi and an awed Guo Changcheng.

The only reason he gets away with it is because Chu Shuzhi is equally excited to see him, and the rest of the department is still afraid of making Old Chu angry and a little bit in awe of Hei Pao Shi.

Shen Wei plays along and seems honestly pleased to see Chu Shuzhi each time. Now that he knows the history between the two of them, the intermittent jealousy that plagued Zhao Yunlan in that first go fades away, and it becomes easier to tease Chu Shuzhi about being Hei Pao Shi's fanboy.

They spend one lunch hour arguing over who's the president of the fan club before Zhu Hong loses her patience and calls Hei Pao Shi herself and blatantly lies about them abusing department resources until Shen Wei scolds them both.

He's absolutely cutting her bonus this month.

When it comes time to recover the Mountain River Awl, Zhu Jiu is already locked up and not doing well health-wise. Not even Shen Wei has found a way to treat him other than healing him every time he comes to the SID, which is not sustainable.

Zhao Yunlan debates not telling Wang Zheng, just in case it all goes wrong, but in the end, he can't, and she demands to go along even though they already know what's going to happen.

The Mountain River Awl pulls her out of the car when they're halfway up the mountain, and they abandon the plan to rest overnight in the village and head straight to the chamber. The Yashou can't do much to Wang Zheng, but there's a tiny chance Ye Zun's already got someone else after the Hallow, and none of them want to take the risk. 

Fighting their way through the Yashou is simultaneously more difficult than before, because there are more of them, but easier because Shen Wei doesn't bother to hold back, and Chu Shuzhi is eager to keep up.

The rest of them don't really have to do much other than stay out of the way.

Wang Zheng and Sang Zan are waiting for them when they finally make it inside, and Shen Wei does something complicated with the Hallow (Zhao Yunlan has given up truly understanding the depth of Shen Wei's power) and when they walk out to the sunrise, the SID has a new member, a new Hallow, and a new hope for the future.

***

The Merit Brush is a more challenging issue. Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei, and Chu Shuzhi go back and forth over how to deal with it, while Da Qing goes to Doctor Cheng to work on getting his memory back earlier than last time.

Eventually, Old Chu gets tired of the round-and-round debate and just tells Guo Changcheng a very exaggerated horror story about what the brush does to its owner, complete with detailed drawings of what it looks like, and two days later, Guo Changcheng charges (more like vibrates in terror) into the SID with the brush in hand and a very confused couple on his heels.

Wang Xiangyang and his wife are more than happy to hand off the brush when Zhao Yunlan backs up what Guo Changchen told them and promise a shaken Little Guo a lifetime of free groceries.

Unable to help himself, Zhao Yunlan suggests they go to Doctor Cheng for a detailed checkup, and he and Guo Changcheng get named godfathers for Little Mianmian when she's born a few days later. 

With three Hallows under lock and key in the SID and the burning of the lantern dulled to the lowest it's been so far, it feels like Zhao Yunlan can finally breathe. 

And turn his attention to more pleasurable things. 

He does not succeed in convincing Shen Wei to let him fuck him over his desk at the university, but Shen Wei does bend Zhao Yunlan over his desk at work.

And then he has to hear nothing but complaints for the next week from his team, even though NONE OF THEM WERE THERE, AND THEY WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW IF LIN JING WASN'T A PERVERT WHO CHECKED THE SECURITY FOOTAGE.

Zhao Yunlan does not need Shen Wei pointing out that he's definitely not the righteous one in that argument, and no, he can't take away their bonus for that month.

He takes Shen Wei for the first time not long after that, and it's a revelation to watch Hei Pao Shi fall apart around him. All that tightly wound control slipping away into unabashed, wanton pleasure, fingers digging into Yunlan's shoulders, his cute little toes curling as he choked, mewled, and came.

It also gets regulated to a weekends/holidays-only event because it's intense for Shen Wei, and it takes him hours to come back to himself.

He and Da Qing move into Shen Wei's apartment. Well, Zhao Yunlan just kind of stays one night and never leaves, and Da Qing follows the food a few days later.

He leaves a few days after that to stay with Lin Jing until, in his words, they're out of the honeymoon phase. Walking in on Zhao Yunlan on his knees one too many times isn't good for a fat cat's heart, apparently.

Zhao Yunlan is upset for the five seconds it takes him to realize that with no one else in the apartment, there is literally no reason not to indulge in every fantasy he's ever had about Shen Wei. 

It'd go better if Shen Wei didn't insist on keeping his day job instead of becoming Zhao Yunlan's stay-at-home wife, though that word does set him off in a spectacular manner when they're fooling around. He also starts making trips to Dixing to oversee the ascension of a new king. Zhao Yunlan worries endlessly, but Shen Wei absolutely refuses to let him come, and it actually results in their first real fight (it doesn't stop them from trying out one of Yunlan's fantasies later that night, but it's a very angry fantasy that involves Yunlan holding Shen Wei down and making him take it until he's in tears from the oversensitivity).

Zhao Yunlan sulks all day at work the next day, and Chu Shuzhi is spitting mad at him for upsetting Shen Wei. The rest of the team stuck between the two of them, leave for lunch and just don't come back, so Zhao Yunlan and Chu Shuzhi are forced to eat lunch alone together by Old Li, who guilts them into acting like adults and talking.

The next time Shen Wei travels to Dixing, Chu Shuzhi goes with him.

Zhao Yunlan doesn't sulk.

Too much, anyway. 

He shouldn't have been honest with Shen Wei about how bad things got in that battle against Ye Zun. Now, he freaks out every time Zhao Yunlan even comes close to getting hurt, and they haven't had time to sit down and talk through it.

Zhao Yunlan loves his job, has big dreams about building a respectable office that protects the citizens of Haxigren and Dixing on the foundations of what his father started. He'll never be safe behind a desk.

And neither will Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan couldn't articulate it when they were fighting, but he feels the same level of fear over Shen Wei's safety. Granted, he feels a bit more ridiculous given Shen Wei's sheer power and experience, but he's also certain he's justified, given that he's lived the one scenario where Shen Wei doesn't survive.

Although, now that he thinks about it, Shen Wei did, technically, win that one too.

His wife is a beast on the battlefield as much as he is in the bedroom.

Da Qing walks into his office, takes one look at his face, and walks back out. 

Zhao Yunlan has to chase him down and promise not to daydream about Shen Wei while Da Qing tells him about a new case.

A full day of questioning useless witnesses leaves him exhausted when he finally gets home. Da Qing has decamped to Lin Jing's for some gaming marathon since they have no leads to follow first thing, so Zhao Yunlan has nothing but an empty apartment to share his thoughts with.

He makes an effort to clean up his dirty clothes, not that there are many since Shen Wei never lets them linger for more than a day.

Shen Wei also left enough pre-cooked meals to last Zhao Yunlan a week and stocked up on his favorite brand of lollipops as well (that one's just a bribe, though, because he knew Yunlan would be upset about Shen Wei returning to Dixing).

He eats that night's dinner on the couch since Shen Wei isn't there to make him eat at the table and watches TV mindlessly while he tries to think of an argument that will stop Shen Wei from ever leaving him for such a long time again (it's only been two days at this point).

Here in their empty apartment, as the darkness falls outside, he feels abandoned. It's ridiculous because he knows Shen Wei would move heaven and earth to return to him, but they're still growing together and a bit behind where they were that first time, despite having reached the physical part of their relationship a lot sooner. 

He hasn't had a chance to drop by Shen Wei's office to steal the pastries his students gifted him. Shen Wei hasn't introduced him to his colleagues. Zhao Yunlan hasn't taken him to meet his mother.

He needs to find a house for them. With space to grow. Somewhere that starts and ends as theirs instead of Zhao Yunlan's or Shen Wei's. 

Chu Shuzhi had nearly been frothing at the mouth with rage when Zhao Yunlan suggested asking Shen Wei to move into his apartment. Going so far as to threaten to report him to Health Services (his apartment was not that bad, but apparently, nothing short of a palace is good enough for Hei Pao Shi).

Alone on the couch, Zhao Yunlan comes to the erroneous conclusion that Chu Shuzhi needs to get laid so he has someone's love life to worry about besides Zhao Yunlan's.

Maybe he can ask Guo Changcheng for some ideas. He spends the most time with Old Chu, even training with him during their off hours.

Wang Zheng even mentioned he introduced Chu Shuzhi to his Aunt and Uncle.

….

Wait….

Holy shit.

Was Little Guo interested in Old Chu?

Was there a more mismatched couple anywhere else in the Universe?

Although, it was also kind of adorable.

He wonders if either of them will ever work up the courage to actually try?

It would have to be Guo Changcheng, wouldn't it? He may be a coward now, but he can grow out of that. Chu Shuzhi still carries an immense amount of guilt and a decent service sentence he still needs to complete. 

It's going to be interesting to see where that goes.

***

Shen Wei and Chu Shuzhi return five days after they left.

Five days.

Which Zhao Yunlan has discovered is the maximum amount of time he can be separated from Shen Wei without losing his mind (the rest of his team laughs at him when he says this, but he ignores it and magnanimously doesn't take away their bonus').

As it is, he practically tackles Shen Wei the minute he steps out of the portal, gratified when Shen Wei holds him tight enough to make breathing difficult.

He doesn't realize they're blocking the way until Chu Shuzhi, tired of waiting, plants his hand on Shen Wei's back and shoves, and they go careening out of the way.

Clearly, Shuzhi is getting more comfortable with Shen Wei. He never would have dared to do that before.

"I'm sorry it took so long," Shen Wei murmurs as he straightens.

"We were doing a service for the universe, it takes as long as it takes," Chu Shuzhi snaps. He still doesn't like it when he hears Hei Pao Shi apologizing for anything.

Zhao Yunlan puts on his best pout anyway, "Anytime away from you is too long, Baobei,"

In the background, Da Qing and Lin Jing pretend to puke.

"Zhao Yunlan, we must speak," Shen Wei says, turning serious.

"I don't like the sound of that," Yunlan, wary.

Chu Shuzhi reaches back and drags another body through the portal.

Zhao Yunlan doesn't quite manage to control his expression when he sees Ye Zun, freed from the pillar and looking mutinous. He tries to shrug off Old Chu's hand, but Shuzhi is ready for him, and after a moment of struggle, Shen Wei's white-haired twin gives up and settles for glaring at all of them like a petulant teenager. 

It's enough to make Zhao Yunlan relax.

Just a bit.

Still, "You couldn't have left him down there?" Yunlan mutters and then immediately feels bad at the flash of pain in Shen Wei's eyes.

"They would have killed him," Shen Wei quietly explains.

Zhao Yunlan takes a deep breath, reminds himself not to be a child, and says, "Well, it's a good thing I started looking for a house."

***

It's definitely a good thing he started looking for a house.

It's an even better thing that he'd looked obsessively for two days and pretty much narrowed it down to two.

And one only made the cut because it was closer to both their places of work. Shen Wei wears his carefully polite, will show nothing face the entire time they're looking at it. 

Yunlan will never admit that the only reason he even bothered to show him this one is because he wanted to tease the Professor.

Shen Wei must have realized it because the second he sets foot in the second house, he shoots Yunlan a look that manages to seem both amused and promise punishment at the same time. 

***

One of Zhao Yunlan's most cherished dreams was the chance to live with Shen Wei. To inhabit the same space, to put the foundation stones of a home in place together, and watch it grow over a warm pot of tea and a colorful sunset.

He wanted to see what Shen Wei looked like when he first woke, the expression he wore after a long day of work, what it would take to get him to play hooky, where he bought those arm garters….

He'd looked long and hard (two days really, but he hadn't done anything but look at houses for two days. Not even slept). Imaging Shen Wei in the kitchen (nothing too modern; Shen Wei looked best against warm-toned wood), reading in a small library (next to a warm fire and a chair big enough for Yunlan to curl up next to him), eating together at the beginning and end of every day (needed east and west windows, because Shen Wei looked best in changing hours), a big closet for all Shen Wei's suits (and the one's Yunlan would have to buy him to replace the one's he planned to destroy)….a magnificent bedroom because…

Well, obviously.

Something in darker shades, so they could disappear into their own little world together, but with plenty of windows so Yunlan could watch the light break across Shen Wei's skin.

Lots and lots of windows was the note the realtor had written down after listening to Zhao Yunlan wax poetic about this home for hours. 

She'd then asked his price range and very politely not laughed. 

Yunlan had had to assure her that between his meager salary and Shen Wei's more than decent one, he did, in fact, have enough money to buy a house. 

Da Qing had called him shameless for spending Shen Wei's money without asking him but had grudgingly helped assure her that Shen Wei would indeed let Yunlan spend his money however he wanted, and there was more than enough for a house.

After that, they'd been off to the races, although she'd definitely tried slipping in a couple that even Shen Wei couldn't afford.

Yunlan had been expecting a much longer, more tiring search, but the second house she'd shown him was the one.

She insisted he cross the threshold himself and dragged him out of bed before the sun was even up, timing it so he walked in in the early morning light and was immediately assaulted with the image of Shen Wei, sleepy-eyed and warm, sipping coffee at the small kitchen table surrounded by windows.

Yunlan had told her he'd take it right then and there, though she'd made him walk through the entire house anyway. The garden needed some work, and the bedroom walls needed to be painted, but it was big enough, shaped well enough, and had enough windows that it just made him cry.

She'd politely ignored him.

He made her keep a second house on the list for viewing, just in case Shen Wei needed some coaxing over the price, but she'd definitely earned her commission. 

Yunlan had started online shopping for furniture the next day at work. Until they'd gotten called out for a suspicious death at an underground fighting ring. Since Chu Shuzhi was still gone, he'd taken Da Qing and Guo Changcheng straight to Fire and managed to put that whole thing to bed in an hour.

The death itself turned out to be natural causes at a bad time, making it look more suspicious than it actually was and unrelated to the happenings the first time. He tipped off the regular police to Zhu Jui's old contact anyway. If he was willing to supply that psycho with victims, who knew what else he was supplying to others, and then all he could do was wait.

And visit Little Mianmian, but he mostly talks to her about Shen Wei, so that doesn't always help.

***

It's not Chu Shuzhi who works up the courage for the first step.

Guo Changcheng asks him over for dinner after training and doesn't realize Old Chu thinks it's a working dinner until he stops dead at the sight of the candles Changcheng has set out.

He doesn't leave, though.

And after a few initial moments of awkwardness, they managed to push forward.

Actually, they don't push forward as much as jump ahead a few steps (yards, and won't Chu Shuzhi hate to realize he's doing the same thing Zhao Yunlan did).

The first time he sees Guo Changcheng's cock (a mere two hours after he saw the candles), all his plans take a wild leap off a cliff.

"Just how many merits do you earn in your last life?" He asks while ripping off his clothes and leaping onto the bed.

***

Zhu Hong's confession never comes in this lifetime. Whether it's because she just isn't interested this time or his less-than-subtle affection for Shen Wei clues her in much earlier, he's not sure, and he's definitely not going to ask.

She takes him to meet Fourth Uncle to discuss the Hallows, and there's never any awkwardness, just a few thoughtful gazes, and she seems to listen when he tells her to consider taking a more active leadership role in her tribe. She'll be a good leader; she was already getting there in the first go, and Yunlan finds he's eager to see her succeed this time, too. 

He treats his team to lunch whenever Shen Wei is gone because he has no excuse to eat elsewhere. Guo Changcheng always takes him up on it, even if the others come and go. They seem to sense that he's lonely and do their best to help; a few times, Da Qing toes the line of asking for the truth, but Yunlan has already decided that it won't do any good to tell them. Chu Shuzhi was an exception due to his unique situation, and Shen Wei would have figured it out sooner rather than later. 

Plus, he was never not going to tell Shen Wei. 

It's on the list of things he's dreamed about doing with Shen Wei the most.

Sharing everything. The dark, the deep, the stupid, and the simple. 

He's going to get Shen Wei a cellphone and convince him to use it if for no other reason than to get stupid texts from Zhao Yunlan during all hours.

He still needs to convince him to become a consultant this time, too. 

Needs to figure out what to do about his father…That one can wait. Zhao Yunlan is not looking forward to dealing with Zhao Xinci again, not when he can't kick the dreams about his father in the lantern and the approval and the fake fondness. 

His gut clenches when he thinks about it. He starts to sweat, and his hands shake. 

Is their relationship really so bad that it makes him physically ill? Why has he never noticed before? Is it worse than in that first go around? But so little else is different; how is this one thing….

He has to force his attention to other things before he makes himself sick. 

He asks Da Qing to move in with them and gets a loud, voracious, slightly insulting no. 

Da Qing's way of congratulating him.

To say he'd rather have Da Qing as a roommate, as opposed to Ye Zun, is an understatement, but he's not going to tell Shen Wei no.

Thankfully, Chu Shuzhi doesn't seem any fonder of Hei Pao Shi's twin, and Zhao Yunlan has someone to commiserate with since Guo Changcheng is insisting on giving Ye Zun a second chance.

Guo Changcheng really is the best of them.

The rest of the SID, without the knowledge that Ye Zun actually tried to kill them all before, don't exactly shun him, but they aren't that friendly, either. They've got enough sense to realize Ye Zun has done some terrible things, and this is his last chance.

Also, Shen Wei said that exact thing to them when he introduced Ye Zun and told them not to let him get away with anything.

Zhao Yunlan drags him to work at the SID every day, pushing through paperwork to make him an intern despite Ye Zun loudly refusing to do any work.

Surprisingly, it's Zhu Hong that takes to him the most.

Well….

Take too isn't the right way to say it….

She may be taking her anger about Zhao Yunlan's affections out on the person that happens to be identical to the one Yunlan chose…

He doesn't feel bad about it at all.

Having been trapped in a pillar for ten thousand years, Ye Zun doesn't have many skills that translate into the modern world.

And the skills he does have….well, he's a bit too angry and a bit too violent to be unleashed on the city as a police officer or anything similar at the moment.

Yunlan assigns him to assist Zhu Hong in an attempt to teach him some basic office skills.

The first day, Ye Zun refused to respond to anyone speaking to him, let alone do any actual work, until Zhu Hong wrapped his long, long hair around her fist and physically dragged him around the office while Yunlan and the others watched in horrified wonder.

Lin Jing even called Cong Bo, who thoroughly documented the entire day.

Yunlan sent Shen Wei more than a few updates.

Ye Zun tried to take his bad temper out on Sang Zan, who proved that despite being a ghost who was still learning to speak properly, he had been a warrior once. 

Yunlan's never seen someone trip over a ghost's foot so many times in one day before.

Ye Zun drags Shen Wei out their next day off, despite them being in the middle of moving, and Yunlan doesn't see him until he shows up at work the next morning with a buzz cut and an air of victory. 

Shen Wei apologizes as he leaves; he has an early class he can't miss, so he doesn't see Zhu Hong arrive to find Ye Zun waiting for her in her seat and the rest of them watching from Yunlan's office. 

Zhu Hong approaches slowly, head tilting in a way that is distinctly cobra-like.

Ye Zun sneers and crosses his feet on her desk.

Zhu Hong examines her nails, then runs a hand through Ye Zun's close-cropped hair and yanks.

Ye Zun howls.

"I'll get the workplace accident forms," Wang Ziang says and floats out as the rest of them watch as Zhu Hong proves that no hair is too short to pull with enough effort.

Yunlan nearly asphyxiates laughing when he tells Shen Wei over dinner, Ye Zun sulking in his room and refusing to come out.

It's the perfect opportunity to check off one of Yunlan's fantasies, and it takes surprisingly little coaxing to get Shen Wei to bend him over the table.

Ye Zun glares with a new level of fury on the way to work in the morning, but Yunlan is too well fucked to care.

***

Shen Wei eventually explains what he did with the Hallows, but it involves a lot of complicated science that sounds more like magic that Zhao Yunlan can't really follow without getting a headache.

In essence, he returned them to Dixing and merged them with Dixing itself. As a result, Dixing is much more stable, the darkness is beginning to recede, and the new king has opened talks with the Haxigren government about opening the borders.

Shen Wei literally saved an entire world, and he doesn't get why Zhao Yunlan is so impressed. 

And this is it, isn't it?

The big threat, the one that ruined everything, is gone. Ye Zun is still an angry, arrogant man-boy, but he is growing.

Slowly, but even Yunlan can't deny it's happening.

The Yashou tribes have repaired their break without Ye Zun there to make it bigger.

The new king has the Regent well in hand with Shen Wei's backing. 

And every day, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei go home to one another.

Zhao Yunlan's so caught up in his happiness that he forgets there are still other things to deal with. 

Namely his father.

Who shows up unannounced at work one day when Shen Wei has stopped by for lunch. 

He's not happy to see a civilian behaving so casually in the SID office and even less happy to see Yunlan doing the same.

"Zhao Yunlan, letting civilians in without the proper paperwork? Who is this?"

"His fiancée," Shen Wei answers, because right…Yunlan proposed at that first dinner, didn't he? He'd figured Shen Wei hadn't taken it seriously, but apparently, he'd been wrong.

The look Chu Shuzhi gives Zhao Yunlan could kill.

Likewise, the look his father gives Shen Wei could kill.

Zhao Yunlan's not sure which one he needs to deal with first.

Zhao Xinci demands Zhao Yunlan speak to him privately in his office, but Shen Wei takes off his glasses. Zhao Xinci's eyes flash gold, and then Zhao Yunlan has the pleasure of seeing his father (his body, at least) hit his knees in supplication. 

Zhang Shi knows what's appropriate, even if Zhao Xinci doesn't, and he quickly makes apologies and runs away.

At least, that's what Zhao Yunlan is calling it whenever he thinks about this moment in the future. More accurately, he left at a respectable pace after warning Zhao Yunlan that Zhao Xinci wasn't going to take this well. And while Yunlan appreciates the warning, he (a) already knows that and (b) doesn't particularly care what his father thinks about it anymore.

He's more concerned with the ear-splitting lecture he knows is coming from Chu Shuzhi.

And it doesn't disappoint.

Yunlan's not sure he could have made a better argument himself about how Shen Wei deserves better than a half-assed, impulsive, dick-driven (Shuzhi's words) proposal. 

Yes, Zhao Yunlan knows that he doesn't need Chu Shuzhi screaming it in his ear.

RIGHT IN FRONT OF SHEN WEI.

Thankfully, Little Guo has apparently grown a pair because he grabs Old Chu and actually drags him out of the room. 

"Aiya, how embarrassing, a boss getting lectured by his employee." 

Shen Wei is calmly packing up the remains of their lunch when he turns around. 

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Professor Shen. Don't let this scare you from coming by again." He's mostly joking. He knows the one thing that actually scares Shen Wei, and none of this is it.

Shen Wei tucks away the last container and glances at Yunlan from under his bangs.

The look ignites a frisson of heat through Yunlan. Shen Wei so rarely indulges in flirty behavior in private, let alone in public.

"On the contrary, Zhao Yunlan, an employer willing to listen to his employee's wisdom is a rare thing. And quite worth respecting."

He leaves before Zhao Yunlan can recover from the look.

….

Wait.

"Ow!" He turns to see what Zhu Hong threw at him- her nail file, the monster.

"Zhao Yunlan!" She hisses at him, and Wang Zheng, Sang Zan, Da Qing, Lin Jing, and Old Li are all staring at him with varying levels of incredulity.

"Did that sound like-"

"YES!" They all scream at him.

No wonder Ye Zun, off to the side, looks like he wants to puke.

"Right, I need to go plan a proposal." 

***

The members of Zhao Yunlan's late-night (it's not actually that late because Yunlan doesn't want to miss dinner with Shen Wei) Epic Proposal strategy meeting are: Zhu Hong and Ye Zun, who are only there because Zhu Hong is taking revenge for paperwork Ye Zun messed up, Wang Zheng and Sang Zan, arguably the only two present with any idea how to actually, successful propose to someone, Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi, because Chu Shuzhi has let Heo Pao Shi suffer one embarrassing proposal already and isn't about to let it happen again, and Little Guo's the only one that can keep him in line anymore, and interestingly enough Little Guo's Aunt, the only one in the room who's successfully been proposed to and actually made it to and through the wedding alive.

She also, Yunlan notes, does not seem surprised or bothered with how close Little Guo and Old Chu are sitting.

She laughs hysterically when Chu Shuzhi tells her about Zhao Yunlan's first proposal. And don't they seem very comfortable with each other?? Yunlan's taking notes.

Da Qing, Lin Jing, and Cong Bo all politely excused themselves when they realized they had nothing useful to add to the conversation.

Old Li is making snacks.

All of Yunlan's first ideas are shut down rather decisively by the women in the room because apparently over-the-top ridiculous, expensive proposals that include hot air balloons and large wild animals are not actually what normal people want.

He tries to argue that Shen Wei isn't exactly normal, but Wang Zheng gently points out that Shen Wei's lived a more normal life than anyone else in the room (Little Guo's Aunt aside, although apparently, she has some stories) by his own accord so maybe she has a point.

They go round and round with ideas until Little Guo's Aunt asks Yunlan what he thinks Shen Wei's most defining memory of Zhao Yunlan is.

"I fell out of the sky into his arms," Yunlan responds instantly because he's still proud of himself for that maneuver.

"No!" Chu Shuzhi leaps to his feet, and Yunlan throws his arms up, expecting to get hit, "No, before! Kunlun!"

"Oh. Oh!" Yunlan leaps to his feet, "Yes, right!" Because he'd told Old Chu about that first life/first-time travel experience, and Shen Wei doesn't bother hiding the amulet he still wears anymore.

He tells the others the story, and they unanimously vote that that's it; that night under the stars when Kunlun gave Shen Wei his name set him on this path he's held true to for ten thousand years; that's the one.

There's a beautiful mountain park famous for its stargazing just outside the city, Little Guo says.

I have an excellent tailor, his aunt says, a gift for taking care of our Changcheng.

Getting fitted ends up being more like torture, but Yunlan doesn't tell her that. He'll wear this suit for the proposal and then his wedding and never again. Maybe Shen Wei will tear it off him on their wedding night and he won't even have to make up an excuse about where it went.

You better not get him a cheap ring, Zhu Hong says. I can talk to the tribes; they'll have something in market.

Stupid, you know what it should be made from, Ye Zun counters, just to argue with her.

Yunlan spends a week carefully braiding together lollipop wrappers into two delicate rings (it takes a lot more effort and skill than he's comfortable admitting) and then gives them to Fourth Uncle to set in amber.

Candles, flowers, and food are all picked out by Wang Zheng and Sang Zan, and they tell him how to set them all up for maximum effect (they actually draw a diagram because Yunlan couldn't tell the difference between asters and marigolds, and he could actually see the moment they'd lost faith he'd do it correctly).

So judgmental.

Chu Shuzhi approves the final plan with the air of a spinster aunt giving away her only family and starts to give Zhao Yunlan a truly terrifying shovel talk before Little Guo cuts him off.

Yunlan's not the only one that gives the two of them a suspicious look when Chu Shuzhi lets Guo Changcheng drag him away with surprisingly little force, heads bent so close together they're practically sharing air.

Little Guo's Aunt winks at Yunlan when he looks at her.

***

Yunlan picks Shen Wei up from their house on a Friday and makes him wear a blindfold for the drive.

He ignores Ye Zun's threats if they're not back by the curfew he made up and texts Zhu Hong, who responds that she'll handle Ye Zun and doesn't feel bad about it at all.

On the drive, he and Shen Wei talk about their days, like they both don't know what's going to happen this evening. Because Yunlan doesn't want to hide anything from Shen Wei and because Shen Wei has been so painfully, obviously excited. All bashful smiles and innocent questions that he's all too happy to let Yunlan distract him from.

His favorite method so far is when Yunlan abandons all attempts at subtlety and just shoves him against the nearest surface to make out until Shen Wei forgets what he was asking about.

Shen Wei likes kissing almost more than he likes sex, Yunlan has discovered. 

Almost. 

But there's something about being able to kiss whenever they want. Just because. It doesn't even have to lead to anything else. Just a quick press of lips because Yunlan felt an impulse or Shen Wei saw him in just the right light.

Just because they wanted to.

They hold hands whenever they want to and sit way too close to be appropriate when they want to. Shen Wei's presence seems to calm the lantern in Yunlan's chest. Shen Wei can actually sleep in Yunlan's arms.

Yunlan has written all the wrongs he remembers from that first life, and with Hei Pao Shi's backing, he's gotten approval to recruit Wang Yike and Wu Xiaojun as new SID members. Li Qian refused because she wanted to work in the lab, and she's now Yunlan and Shen Wei's eyes and ears for anything Dixing-related behind those guarded doors.

All he needs to do now is put a ring on it.

Officially, anyway, because he's become pretty fond of that first proposal and already has plans to recreate it every anniversary. 

He reaches over and takes Shen Wei's hand as they reach the turn-off for the park, smiling when the other man laces their fingers together and squeezes.

It takes another hour to get up to the mountain. Da Qing, Lin Jing, and Cong Bo have done their part by setting up the campsite per Wang Zheng and Sang Zan's instructions because they both eventually deemed Yunlan hopeless even with the diagram. 

He has to give it to them. It looks great. Nice tent, comfy chairs, warm fire, and champagne on ice. The cooler is full of their favorite foods and every romantic sweet the team could come up with.

….He's kind of afraid to see how they set up the inside of the tent, and he makes sure to take a peak before removing Shen Wei's blindfold. To his relief, it's surprisingly tasteful, although the amount of flower petals seems a tad ridiculous. 

He makes a mental note to find a way to allow Wang Zheng and Sang Zan to leave the SID. There has to be a token or something that can allow them more freedom. It's the least they deserve.

The sun's just setting, and Yunlan's plan is to propose once the stars are out, so he takes off Shen Wei's blindfold to let him enjoy the view, and for a few minutes, they just stand there, wrapped around one another as the sun sets. 

There's no rush, he realizes. This isn't a dream he's suddenly going to wake up from. It's not the false world of the lantern or some nightmarish reality some enemy thought up. Yunlan's refusal to accept his fate has actually worked out.

He finally screamed loud enough that the universe couldn't ignore him.

Even if she did stick it to him in the end with Ye Zun.

He decides it's never too early for champagne, and he needs the distraction, if he'd nuzzled Shen Wei's neck any longer, they would have ended up rutting in the grass and ruining all of Zhao Yunlan's plans.

He turns around with the champagne to find Shen Wei already on one knee.

"You!"

"Zhao Yunlan-"

"No, I'm supposed to propose to you under the stars!"

"Zhao Yunlan," Shen Wei smiles, but he clearly has no plans to stop and let Yunlan go through with his plan. "I have loved you for ten thousand years, and I will love you for ten thousand more. And then ten thousand after that. And then ten thousand more."

"Okay, I get it," Yunlan scrubs away the tears, almost upending the champagne all over himself.

"You saved me then. I know you don't think so, but you did. I was fighting for peace, but I had no idea what peace was until you showed me. You named me, you changed me, you challenge me. I never know what you're going to do next, and I have never felt more alive, more excited than I have with you in my life. I waited-" He choked up then and held up a hand to stop Yunlan from reaching for him, "I waited so long with an idea of what you would be when I found you, and you were nothing like it. You are so much better than I ever imagined, and I will spend the rest of my life by your side if you'll have me?"

"I was supposed to propose to you," Yunlan mutters, abandoning the champagne to the grass and climbing into Shen Wei's lap, letting him put the black ring, made from pieces of Hei Pao Shi's glaive, on his finger.

"You still can," Shen Wei promises, and then he cries when Zhao Yunlan does.

Black obsidian and golden amber look beautiful next to one another on their fingers.

***

Someone attempts to kidnap Shen Wei the day before the wedding.

It's a toss-up who takes it worse, Zhao Yunlan or Chu Shuzhi.

Or the SID as a whole, who have to deal with them in the aftermath.

Shen Wei rescues himself, naturally, because nothing could make him miss his wedding to Zhao Yunlan.

He doesn't even look rumpled when he steps out of the portal to the altar, dumping his unconscious kidnappers off to the side.

The kiss Yunlan gives him in response is absolutely not appropriate, according to the officiant, but neither of them cares.

***

One day, not long after their honeymoon, Yunlan works up the courage to ask Chu Shuzhi about his relationship with Guo Changcheng.

He is not expecting to learn that Little Guo made the first move or the smug look on Chu Shizui's face when he describes Little Guo's rather blessed size and shape as revenge for having to sit through all of Yunlan's pining over Hei Pao Shi.

When Yunlan expresses his surprise that Chu Shuzhi, of all people, is willing to bend over and take it, all Old Chu says is, "Energizer. Bunny." and then walks away with the air of a very, very satisfied man.

Shen Wei laughs at him when he tells him later because, of course, Shen Wei already knew.

Chu Shuzhi tells him everything.

***

And, as it turns out, Zhao Yunlan cannot stay still for hours. He barely makes it a few minutes before he breaks down and begs Shen Wei to touch him. Thankfully, Shen Wei is no fonder of the no-touching rule and they mutually agree to never try it again. Instead, they bet on who can stay still longer with Shen Wei sheathed inside Zhao Yunlan.

Hint: it's not Zhao Yunlan. Who finds being impaled on Shen Wei's cock and unable to move way too hot for his own good.

Shen Wei has ten thousand years of waiting under his belt, Kunlun never stood a chance.

***

Shen Wei last's half as long when it's Zhao Yunlan inside of him.

***

Ye Zun would like to go back into his pillar now.

~fin~