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（ he already has a cup of tea, thank u, and he raises it idly for a drink. ）

It is not any stranger than being on another world.

（ not wei wuxian's point, but it's how he chooses to answer, said as he turns another page in his textbook. ）

Hmm. [It affirms a little of his theory, maybe, but it's hard to know with him. Still.]

Perhaps not to you, but to count birthdays after my life has ended...I was already living on borrowed time, I just never expected to make it so literal. [He chuckles quietly under his breath and then tilts his head at Itachi.]

If we were on the Ximilia and you could do something fun, what would you do?

Read.

（ is the turn of the next page perhaps a bit pointed?

perhaps. ）

I do not see why people make a to-do over such a thing. It is only a date.

[His lips curve up into a smile because yes, that page flip was in fact very pointed. Electing to ignore that—]

Where I'm from, many people see birthdays as markers of time that count down our dwindling days. As cultivators are long lived, that sentiment isn't shared among them as much. For them...hmm. I'm not sure how they see it.

[Then, after a pause.] I just know I enjoy celebrating my friends and I've had very little opportunity to do so before now. I'm afraid you have to suffer now as a result.

Is that what we're doing?

（ 'celebrating' him? gross, not a fan. ）

I would ask that you please refrain from announcing it to the others.

I won't tell anyone. [He raises his hand with three fingers up in what looks to be some sort of salute.]

And I think that's what I'm trying to do, yes. But my options here are extremely limited! Hmm. I could play for you. Would you like a song? Before you answer, remember that if I am playing, I'm not talking!

（ his hand stills on the book, and he just. gives wei wuxian a very flat look, one eyebrow arched faintly. ）

Why do you act as if that is a positive thing?

（ he doesn't care about music. he's annoyed at the self-deprecation. ）

My playing? [He's not being obtuse or intentionally misunderstanding and there's a clear question in his eyes. The self-deprecation isn't even something he gives a second thought so it doesn't occur to him that it's what Itachi is talking about.]

That it prevents your speaking.

（ for all that he is presently annoyed, he sounds only patient. one eyebrow lifted faintly in query as he studies the man. ）

[He stares at Itachi for a moment before a smile breaks open on his face.]

Because I am annoying. I'm sure you'd enjoy the melody much more than my endless chatter, hmm?

If I objected to your endless chatter, I would leave.

（ is wei wuxian annoying? occasionally. but it is hardly his defining characteristic, not when it lives alongside such things as clever and brave and compassionate. ）

[He opens his mouth and then closes it again, and for a moment something distinctly uncomfortable flashes across his eyes before the grin returns.}

I'm sure it would be nicer for you if you didn't reach that point, wouldn't it?

（ yes, he knows all about your discomfort with validation. itachi does not give him the relief of looking away — instead, his dark eyes are intent on him a moment longer, and then: ）

You vastly overestimate your ability to annoy me.

（ that's said rather drily, as he returns his attention to his book. ）

[At that, Wei Wuxian's expression brightens and he lets out a loud laugh. It's easier to accept that it's Itachi's tolerance that makes the difference here than anything else.]

I guess so. Still, I actually do enjoy playing. And if I play, you can continue reading. Well, unless it's distracting. What are you reading anyway?

（ because you aren't annoying, you muppet.

but that's an argument for another time.

wordless, he tips the book so that wei wuxian can read its cover. it's a biochemical textbook, clearly quite old. most books these days are digital copies checked out of the library via the holonet, but this one was the real deal. ）

[His eyebrows shoot way up and then he huffs, fixing Itachi with a pout.]

Do you know how unfair it is that you can read so fast? My books for class might as well still be in another language for as much as I understand. It would have been pretty cool to actually understand some of the engineering lessons.

[He sighs dramatically.] Do you like studying this stuff too?

（ all his life, the sharingan has been called an unfair advantage. unfair, because it is a kekkei genkai. unfair because it allows one to perceive movement at a far greater level of acuity than the normal eye. it touches on an old, raw nerve — because it is that whisper of envy that brought his clan to their knees. it is not wei wuxian's fault that it draws those feelings up like an ugly poison, but for a moment he is borne under by the furious resentment of generational trauma, and the fingers of his right hand spasm very faintly as he reaches to turn the page.

at length, with a faint gesture to his eyes, back to their dark, rich red, ）

It is called the Sharingan. That which permits me to read more quickly than most.

（ it is the first time he has so much as said the word aloud. the venom coursing in his veins does not reach his tone. ）

And yes — I have always enjoyed the opportunity to learn things beyond my customary purview.

[Oblivious to the trigger he's hit on and to Itachi's internal reaction, Wei Wuxian's eyes only widen with fascination and he glances at him thoughtfully.]

The red is when the ability is activated? [He's seen both and when they'd met, they had always been red, but more recently he's seen Itachi's black eyes. Given how often they're red, it's not difficult to guess the ability must serve other purposes too.]

Do you memorize the material you take in? If you're reading that quickly, you must, right?

Yes.

（ to all three questions. ）

It gives one perfect recall. It is also a means by which I can duplicate an opponent's movements in a fight.

[His eyes widen and his mouth falls open in an "O" of surprise before closing into a smile.]

That's amazing. Does this mean you can steal all of my best and coolest moves? Wait. Have you already? [He's grinning still, incredibly aware of the fact that he has nothing worth stealing.]

I'm joking, I know you wouldn't because I'm just too out of your league even with this "Sharingan." Don't feel bad, there are many who wish they could move as smoothly as me. I'm just too much of a genius. [He winks.]

（ he says absolutely nothing to that, just gives the man a very flat look. ）

[He beams back in response.

And then—]

It must be a useful ability if you love learning. [He'd been too distracted teasing him to respond to that before, but he'd wanted to come back to it, largely because it's one of the few times he's ever heard Itachi admit to "enjoying" anything.]

Do you have a favorite area of study? I told Gwen I'd try to rope you into a study group, did she tell you?

History.

（ he lifts one shoulder with a faint shrug. he has always enjoyed sifting through accounts of things long past by those long dead, and divining truth in their words. it was in this way that he found the totsuka blade, and the yata mirror when even orochimaru could not. ）

I have been learning the sciences as they pertain to medicine.

（ and he is still frustrated that some six months of study have not yielded the usual result for him when he throws himself into learning some new skill. medical ninjutsu does not come naturally to him, so he is supplementing his lack of natural talent with intensive research. ）

[He makes a face at "history," scrunching his nose. He doesn't have any particular distaste in the subject, but too many of his teachers focused on history and tradition at the expense of practical application and progress. His face immediately softens at the mention of medicine though.]

Are you studying to be a healer?

[Given what he knows of Itachi's past, the notion makes something inside of him ache a little. Criminal, terrorist, healer.]

( the word healer is an odd distinction, and it catches him just enough off his guard that the cup he had been raising to his mouth hesitates for the span of a heartbeat. he has not thought of it that way. he is learning healing. but 'healer' makes it sound as if it would be a thing indivisible from who he is, that lives alongside his nature.

he thinks of a man laying injured on a battlefield once, calling out for help, and how warm his blood had been. would anything have gone differently then, if he had turned his hand to healing before he had learned to wield a knife? yet, there had been no other path.

his expression remains blank, and after a moment he shakes his head and lowers the cup back to the countertop. )

No. Medical ninjutsu — healing — is a powerful and useful discipline. I am learning some relevant techniques, but it will never be an area in which I specialize.

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