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Ye Zun still sleeps more than he's awake, but at least he is awake some of the time. Even when he is awake he stays as a tiny white dragon, to the point where Zhao Yunlan actually finds himself wondering if he has another shape at all. Shen Wei probably wouldn't even think to mention it if that was the case.
So, Zhao Yunlan had actually asked Shen Wei about it—because Zhao Yunlan can learn from his mistakes and asking questions is a good thing. Shen Wei just blinks at him and gives him a slightly bewildered, "Of course he does."
Zhao Yunlan doesn't ask why Ye Zun isn't actually using that other form then. It's not like he has to, maybe he just likes being a tiny white dragon. Or maybe the change is tiring, and it takes more energy than Ye Zun has at the moment.
When he asks Shen Wei if it takes a lot of his energy to transform, Shen Wei tilts his head a bit and stays quiet for a moment, seeming to consider his answer. Then he smiles and says, "Not usually, no. Both of my forms are natural to me, and going from one to the other takes little effort. The obvious difference in mass makes very little difference." He sounds like he's actually slightly amazed at that last fact.
Zhao Yunlan just nods and then asks, "But sometimes it takes more effort?"
For a moment Shen Wei's gaze seems to look somewhere else entirely, the smile slipping away. "In some circumstances… Well, it can be tiring."
And then Zhao Yunlan snuggles up against his side and wraps his arms around Shen Wei, because clearly that last question made Shen Wei upset, and just because he's not a tiny dragon at the moment doesn't mean that he shouldn't get cuddles.
So maybe Ye Zun has a practical reason for staying a tiny dragon, and maybe he doesn't. In either case, it's not like Zhao Yunlan minds. His brother-in-law is almost as cute as Shen Wei after all, and far easier to take care of when he keeps staying tiny.
Ye Zun still isn't saying much, at least not to Zhao Yunlan. But even without words, he's made his order of preference when it comes to people to nap on rather clear. Of course, he prefers Shen Wei, that's a given, but Zhao Yunlan feels a bit perturbed that his cat is somehow better than him.
"You're better than nothing," Ye Zun says, opening one eye for a moment to look at Zhao Yunlan, interrupting his and Da Qing's quiet bickering about the subject. "Now be quiet and hand me over to the cat. He's warmer."
Zhao Yunlan huffs and then lifts Ye Zun carefully and settles him next to Da Qing, where Ye Zun promptly snuggles in against Da Qing's fur.
Da Qing gives Zhao Yunlan a smug look.
"You're just happy he's giving you an excuse not to work," Zhao Yunlan accuses him, but keeps his voice low. Ye Zun might already have fallen asleep.
"It's why he's my favourite dragon," Da Qing says, without an ounce of shame.
Zhao Yunlan shakes his head and then scratches Da Qing briefly behind the ears before going to see if there's any actual work that needs his attention, now that he's not cuddling a sleeping dragon.
Mostly when Ye Zun stays with him, awake or asleep, he's on Zhao Yunlan's shoulders. So, Zhao Yunlan has given up on the hoodies again, though he kind of regrets it at times because the hoodies were very comfortable. He especially regrets it right now, when his ear suddenly stings sharply.
Zhao Yunlan yelps, and then clenches his hands into fists to stop himself from instinctively slapping away the reason for said sting. Which happens to be a tiny white dragon biting his ear. Ye Zun lets go almost immediately and it's not like he bit very hard, a small nip really. It just took him by surprise.
"What was that for?" Zhao Yunlan asks indignantly, at least he's alone in his office at the moment. Otherwise, he'd probably never hear the end of it from some people.
"I always wanted to," Ye Zun declares somewhat haughtily. "You took gege."
Zhao Yunlan tries to look at the dragon on his shoulder, which is not that easy and makes him feel vaguely cross-eyed. If Ye Zun was serious, he could have done a lot more than just nip at Zhao Yunlan's ear.
"Okay, I need to look at you for this talk," Zhao Yunlan says and then hesitates. "Will you bite me again if I move you?"
There's a moment of silence, and Zhao Yunlan feels a bit uncomfortable about the fact that Ye Zun might actually be thinking it over.
"No. I won't," he says in the end, sounding a bit smug.
Or he'd just been trying to make Zhao Yunlan uncomfortable. Right.
Zhao Yunlan reaches up to take the dragon and settle him down on his desk. Even with Zhao Yunlan sitting down that doesn't exactly make them eye level, but at least he's not trying to squint at his own shoulders.
"Is that what you think? That I've taken Shen Wei away from you?" Zhao Yunlan asks. He cringes internally, and wonders if there wasn't some slightly more delicate way of asking that, but he's also had about enough of misunderstandings, so going straight to the point seems like the best idea.
Ye Zun makes a small churr, his head and long neck swaying back and forth in a slightly indecisive gesture. It's not like he has shoulders to shrug exactly.
"You wouldn't. I know," he says, sounding incredibly petulant. "And you better keep that promise."
Well, that pulls Zhao Yunlan up short. That's what he was about to say. "He's your gege," Zhao Yunlan says, after a moment's pause.
"Yes," Ye Zun agrees and glares at Zhao Yunlan. Then he chirps quietly and seems to slump down just a little. "I might do worse than bite you if I change," he mutters. Maybe Ye Zun hadn't been sleeping when Zhao Yunlan was talking to Shen Wei.
Zhao Yunlan opens his mouth to answer and then changes his mind because that didn't sound like Ye Zun wants to. He thinks about it for a moment before asking, "Why?"
Ye Zun's head jerks up a bit and he stares at Zhao Yunlan. He keeps looking at Zhao Yunlan in silence for long enough that Zhao Yunlan feels like squirming; long enough that Zhao Yunlan doesn't think he's going to answer.
Then he huffs suddenly, a dryly amused sound. "I don't know if I'll be in my right mind," Ye Zun says, while still looking intently at Zhao Yunlan.
Zhao Yunlan blinks, that's not what he'd expected. "Do you want to tell me why?"
That gets him another long stare. Zhao Yunlan shrugs.
"You don't have to. You can just say nothing and… I can drag Da Qing in here for you to cuddle if that'll make you feel better?" Zhao Yunlan suggests. He wants answers, might possibly need answers. But Ye Zun is… he's not going to force him to talk about something that's clearly making him uncomfortable. Not right now, at least.
Ye Zun's sigh sounds aggravated. "Gege was right about you," he says, sounding a bit annoyed at whatever thought led to that statement. And Zhao Yunlan has to admit that he's intensely curious about what Shen Wei might have been saying to his brother.
"There was someone who could… influence minds," Ye Zun says tersely.
Zhao Yunlan waits for a moment, to see if he's going to say anything more. But there's only silence.
"You don't know if… whatever they did is still… happening?" Zhao Yunlan asks, trying to get some kind of clarity into the issue.
Ye Zun nods shortly. "I'm fine like this. But I don't want to change around gege. Or Da Qing," he says quickly and then goes quiet again, looking challengingly at Zhao Yunlan.
Zhao Yunlan didn't miss the very obvious absence in that short list of people. "Oh," he says and then thinks about it for a second. "Now?"
"You're also an idiot," Ye Zun declares. And then he sighs. "Now, I want to nap. You can pet me," he says in a way that reminds Zhao Yunlan way too much of Da Qing. Maybe the cat is a bad influence. "And I'm hungry. But nap first," Ye Zun decides.
Zhao Yunlan smiles a bit and then reaches out for the tiny dragon, lifting his eyebrows in silent question. Ye Zun just huffs in answer, and Zhao Yunlan carefully lifts him up and settles him in Zhao Yunlan's lap.
Ye Zun curls up, tucking his muzzle slightly under one of his coils. Zhao Yunlan carefully runs his fingers along his spine, slowly feeling the tiny dragon relaxing.
"Ask gege about my powers," Ye Zun suddenly says. Zhao Yunlan stops his petting for a second, surprised at the sudden announcement from the dragon he'd been sure was well on his way to sleep.
"Alright," Zhao Yunlan agrees and keeps on petting him.