Work Text:
“Do you remember?” Jiang Cheng stops to take a breath. It’s harder than he expected, even after all this time, to talk about the time before the war.
“You know how my memory is, my love,” Huaisang says. It’s a trick he uses to great effect, giving Jiang Cheng the option to either say the thing or back out.
Jiang Cheng loves him so damn much.
He takes something from his pocket and hands it to Huaisang.
“A jade frog,” Huaisang says. “Oh, A-Cheng. Who found it?”
Huaisang has been painting. He sets his brush down and makes room for Jiang Cheng beside him.
“One of the little juniors visiting from Gusu. Lan Ziyi. They were out shooting kites.” He stops and grips his robes as the memories of the afternoon the Wens swept into Yunmeng, the little Lin Chenyu caught by Wang Lingjiao, the day they murdered him and so many others.
Huaisang eases Jiang Cheng’s grip so he can hold his hand.
“The meadow where they practice is near a dump site for the leftover dirt and debris removed when we rebuilt the dormitories. It must have gotten picked up then. Lan Ziyi was retrieving an errant kite, and she found it, along with some pieces of Mother’s jewelry. They must have been uncovered by the rains.” He draws a shuddering breath and leans into Huaisang’s side. “I sent the jewelry to Jiejie.”
“And your little froggy now has its mate after all these years,” Huaisang says as he runs his thumb over the weathered jade.
Jiang Cheng stops trying to be brave now. He curls into Huaisang’s embrace and cries. He cries for a long time, until he’s scraped out and hollow. When he’s finished, he allows Huaisang to take down his hair, remove his heavy outer robes, and tuck him into bed with a cool, damp cloth over his eyes. He rests while Huaisang arranges to have dinner brought to their pavilion and sends word to his second in command to take care of his meetings tomorrow.
He loves Huaisang so damn much.
Later, he rests in Huaisang’s arms and listens to the strong and steady beat of his heart.
“Why,” he asks, “why is it still so sharp?”
Huaisang strokes Jiang Cheng’s hair as he considers his answer.
“I don’t know,” he says. “I really don’t.”
It makes Jiang Cheng laugh, as intended, but it’s also true. Huaisang kisses the top of Jiang Cheng’s head.
“Do you want to go out there tomorrow and see if we can uncover anything else?” he asks.
“I feel like I should,” Jiang Cheng says. “At the very least, I should have the mess cleaned up. It shouldn’t have been left like that.”
“Maybe it can wait until spring. You could invite your brother and sister to come. Maybe you’ll find more that you can share.”
Jiang Cheng glances at the two jade frogs who sit together on a shelf by the bed, together at last.
“I’d like that.”