๏ผ he is carrying a bin of books, which as wei wuxian works he begins to set out on his desk and sort through diligently. the books are a motley collection. english, russian, a few in chinese. one in ravkan. one in spanish. pattern recognition and thus the learning of written language is accelerated with the sharingan, of course, but itachi also just genuinely enjoys the art of perfecting something new, and these novels are very much a reflection of that desire. as his hand stills on a copy of romance of the three kingdoms when wei wuxian speaks, and he gives him a sideways look. ๏ผ
Difficult to say. It may not, as it expends none of a user's current powers or ability to use, it is a thing innate to the bag itself. However, it may attract ghost matter in and of itself.
Mmm. [He agrees noncommittally, his eyes trailing thoughtlessly to the stack of books. They catch on a few familiar characters and he looks up at Itachi in surprise.]
Sanguo Yanyi? Are you reading that? [He can't be, can he? He pauses with the thought and dismisses it as quickly as it had come. It's Itachi, of course he can.]
๏ผ speaking in mandarin, of course, is more difficult without a regular partner to practice with. much of his learning has been on the written form of the language alone, or from videos or audiobooks obtained by viveca for the crew. while he has been carefully and attentively paying mind to the nuances of tone and cadence, the sharingan and his own personal tendency to be a perfectionist can only do so much in the face of actual practice.
when he replies, it is perhaps a little slow and ginger, over-enunciated if nothing else. ๏ผ
It is adequate to this point. Better than if you had asked me two months prior.
[Wei Wuxian's answering smile is blinding, and he continues, still in Mandarin.]
Practice with me then. Not right now, but when we have time. [He snorts then, realizing something.] If you do, you'll pick up a Yunmeng accent.
[He tries to imagine it and feels his heartbeat stutter a few times for more reasons than he himself understands. He hasn't heard someone else speak the Yunmeng dialect since he died.]
I'm going to be so bored without you for a whole month. [He won't actually be bored of course, not when there's mission work to do. What he will be is missing the companionship of the person on the Ximilia who understands him best.]
Anyway, that's easy for you to say! You don't have to experience it. [He huffs under his breath, and there's amusement in the sound. The sentiment is sincere, but the level of distress about it at least is exaggerated.]
๏ผ quite unbidden, wei wuxian gets an amused exhalation that isn't quite a laugh, and isn't quite anything else either. it's true that he won't need to endure the absence — but it's equally true that it would not trouble him the same way it will inevitably trouble wei wuxian. ๏ผ
You could take the opportunity to study your Japanese, I suppose.
Aiya, I knew you were gonna say that! I knew it! [He groans and shoves the rest of his things into the pouch before shaking a finger in Itachi's direction.]
Study your Japanese. Just wait, by the time you get there, I'll be more fluent than you! I'll be writing poetry. I'm gonna be so good at Japanese! [Spoilers from the future: He was not.]
Maybe I'll even work on my Japanese calligraphy, hmm?
[He groans and drops his pouch, collapsing backwards on the bed with a huff.]
[He laughs again, shaking his head. The knowledge of their impending separation still stings a little, but it's difficult for his heart not to feel lighter at Itachi's gentle ribbing.]
Hmm. I can use my imagination for that well enough I guess.
[He lapses into silence for a moment before he speaks again.]
If your arrival allows, will you contact me when you get there?
๏ผ he is both mindful and respectful enough of wei wuxian's issues to take none of his own with informing him. ๏ผ
Offhand, I do not think there will be an impediment to my doing so. However, that may change if our arrival is preceded by some sort of combat altercation or external threat to the world on which we arrive.
Mmm. [Wei Wuxian agrees with a nod, mindful of how quickly missions can turn if something goes wrong or something out of their control happens. In that case, he wouldn't expect that making contact would be high on either of their lists of priorities. But it's nice to have the reassurance that he'll reach out if he can.]
I don't know where I'll be staying yet. [A pause.] Sizhui will be with me at least. [He sighs quietly and then sits up in bed, running a hand through his slightly disheveled hair.]
I need to go and grab a bag from my room in case this won't work. [He gestures to the qiankun pouch.] I hate not being able to bring it. It means no snacks. [That isn't really his biggest complaint, but it's funny so.]
[At the question, Wei Wuxian's expression softens, the pout fading into a sweet smile.]
You should. I told him about you. Not a lot, just that you're someone here that I trust. [And if there's anyone else here that he trusts with Sizhui's well-being, it's Itachi.]
Will you help me look out for him here? If something ever happens and I'm not there. It shouldn't come to that, but you know how missions can be.
[It isn't the first time Itachi has strung those words together at a request of his, but he feels the misstep in that pause, and his expression turns chagrined.
When he speaks after a pregnant pause, his words are quiet and apologetic.]
No, I didn't.
[And then] It's a habit. [The same as apologizing for existing in Itachi's space or insinuating how annoying he is. He won't dwell on it though.]
I think you'll like him. I hope you will. I'm only getting to know him myself now, really, it's been so many years, but he's kind. I can see it in his eyes and in everything he does. Kind, and sweet and funny.
๏ผ it is notable, how that barely perceptible modicum of hurt in his expression bleeds away, subsumed instead by a soft, warm pride. recognition of that progress, hard-won as it has been. he reaches out, fingers skimming across the soft fabric at wei wuxian's shoulder, hooking in just against the blade of it and then pulling him in for a hug.
there is no need to voice the sentiment. it will be understood regardless. ๏ผ
He doesn't expect the hug and he sags into it just a little, always warmed by Itachi's rare initiation of physical affection. The smile on his face goes a bit stupid and he snorts at Itachi's words, shaking his head. The instinct to deny them comes and goes, and he allows it to pass without comment. Itachi would bully him if he denied it anyway.]
He's cuter though. That's not self deprecation, I'm very cute! It's a testament to just how adorable he is.
๏ผ the hug is brief — though he is more willing (and perhaps more importantly: able) — to embrace a perilously select few, his tolerance for the act itself is still low. when he withdraws, he leaves one hand briefly on wei wuxian's shoulder. his fingers tighten just slightly, gaze drawn to the curve of the man's mouth as he speaks. for a moment he does not parse the words themselves, caught somewhere between a half-decent comprehension of mandarin and the earpiece's translatory shift of the words into japanese.
and then he blinks, and the moment is lost.
his hand falls away, and he busies himself with his own packing. ๏ผ
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Difficult to say. It may not, as it expends none of a user's current powers or ability to use, it is a thing innate to the bag itself. However, it may attract ghost matter in and of itself.
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Sanguo Yanyi? Are you reading that? [He can't be, can he? He pauses with the thought and dismisses it as quickly as it had come. It's Itachi, of course he can.]
Did you—can you read Chinese?
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๏ผ his tone is so very, very dry. ๏ผ
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I wish it did! [With excitement] How fluent are you? Have you been practicing for long? [And then, in Mandarin] How's your speaking?
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when he replies, it is perhaps a little slow and ginger, over-enunciated if nothing else. ๏ผ
It is adequate to this point. Better than if you had asked me two months prior.
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Practice with me then. Not right now, but when we have time. [He snorts then, realizing something.] If you do, you'll pick up a Yunmeng accent.
[He tries to imagine it and feels his heartbeat stutter a few times for more reasons than he himself understands. He hasn't heard someone else speak the Yunmeng dialect since he died.]
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๏ผ bland agreement, perhaps, but the truth remains — that he would agree to most anything wei wuxian asks of him. ๏ผ
Perhaps when we return from the mission.
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Yeah, after that. [He sighs loudly and begins to put things back into his pouch. He'll ask Viveca later whether he can take it or not.]
I understand the reasoning, but a month is so long.
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๏ผ still in his stilted mandarin, though he switches back thereafter to japanese. ๏ผ
You'll be so busy you barely recognize the passage of time.
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I'm going to be so bored without you for a whole month. [He won't actually be bored of course, not when there's mission work to do. What he will be is missing the companionship of the person on the Ximilia who understands him best.]
Anyway, that's easy for you to say! You don't have to experience it. [He huffs under his breath, and there's amusement in the sound. The sentiment is sincere, but the level of distress about it at least is exaggerated.]
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You could take the opportunity to study your Japanese, I suppose.
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Study your Japanese. Just wait, by the time you get there, I'll be more fluent than you! I'll be writing poetry. I'm gonna be so good at Japanese! [Spoilers from the future: He was not.]
Maybe I'll even work on my Japanese calligraphy, hmm?
[He groans and drops his pouch, collapsing backwards on the bed with a huff.]
Can't believe I'm going to miss this abuse.
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๏ผ this roast tbh??? ๏ผ
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Yes. I would! How many of them are just going to be weighty judgmental silence?
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๏ผ but there's an undercurrent of affection there, soft and playful in a way that burns for how hard-won it was. ๏ผ
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Hmm. I can use my imagination for that well enough I guess.
[He lapses into silence for a moment before he speaks again.]
If your arrival allows, will you contact me when you get there?
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๏ผ he is both mindful and respectful enough of wei wuxian's issues to take none of his own with informing him. ๏ผ
Offhand, I do not think there will be an impediment to my doing so. However, that may change if our arrival is preceded by some sort of combat altercation or external threat to the world on which we arrive.
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I don't know where I'll be staying yet. [A pause.] Sizhui will be with me at least. [He sighs quietly and then sits up in bed, running a hand through his slightly disheveled hair.]
I need to go and grab a bag from my room in case this won't work. [He gestures to the qiankun pouch.] I hate not being able to bring it. It means no snacks. [That isn't really his biggest complaint, but it's funny so.]
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๏ผ he's hilarious. but after a moment, he does reach out and put a hand gently on the man's shoulder. ๏ผ
I haven't spoken with him yet. ๏ผ sizhui, in case it isn't obvious. ๏ผ Should I?
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You should. I told him about you. Not a lot, just that you're someone here that I trust. [And if there's anyone else here that he trusts with Sizhui's well-being, it's Itachi.]
Will you help me look out for him here? If something ever happens and I'm not there. It shouldn't come to that, but you know how missions can be.
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then: )
You did not need to ask.
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When he speaks after a pregnant pause, his words are quiet and apologetic.]
No, I didn't.
[And then] It's a habit. [The same as apologizing for existing in Itachi's space or insinuating how annoying he is. He won't dwell on it though.]
I think you'll like him. I hope you will. I'm only getting to know him myself now, really, it's been so many years, but he's kind. I can see it in his eyes and in everything he does. Kind, and sweet and funny.
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there is no need to voice the sentiment. it will be understood regardless. ๏ผ
It sounds as though he takes after you.
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He doesn't expect the hug and he sags into it just a little, always warmed by Itachi's rare initiation of physical affection. The smile on his face goes a bit stupid and he snorts at Itachi's words, shaking his head. The instinct to deny them comes and goes, and he allows it to pass without comment. Itachi would bully him if he denied it anyway.]
He's cuter though. That's not self deprecation, I'm very cute! It's a testament to just how adorable he is.
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and then he blinks, and the moment is lost.
his hand falls away, and he busies himself with his own packing. ๏ผ
I will speak to him before we leave, then.
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