（ trick of the light glinting off the snow? stubbornness? willful acknowledgement that a little snow has not, in fact, ever harmed anyone?
whatever the reason, the snow impacts against his dark jacket and itachi just sort of. tips his head down to look at the spatter. brushes it off faintly with one hand as if it's merely settling dust.
then he deliberately leans down, unhooks himself from his snowboard, tucks it up under one arm and with the other hand gathers a handful of snow which he rolls against his thigh to shape it.
and then he tosses it right back. the other patrons around them may or may not be looking at them both like they're complete lunatics.
[Entirely oblivious (or perhaps uncaring) of any eyes on them, Wei Wuxian lets out a shout that's far too delighted to be offended as the snowball hits his shoulder when he doesn't turn quickly enough. He nearly trips over himself in his haste to stumble away and grab his board, using it as a makeshift shield to guard his side before he sprints away to put space between them and to move away from the other patrons' path. (He might not care if they're being looked at, but he's at least polite enough to get out of the way.)
When he's a few feet and behind the cover of a tree, he drops the board and kneels on one knee to gather more snow. Instead of the perfectly rolled snowball that Itachi had thrown, his first few mostly fall apart mid-flight before he finally starts trying to be neater with them.
Snowball making talisman. New idea. Not that he could use it here with the ghost matter, but he files it away for later as he grins and continues flinging snowball after snowball. Very clearly he is favoring quantity over quality.]
[There is a yelp from behind the tree accompanied by a somewhat awed "How?"
Alright since the tree is doing nothing and shelter is clearly for cowards anyway, Wei Wuxian gives it up, dive rolling out from beneath his attempt at cover with a snowball in hand and throwing it with far more precision than the others at Itachi's chest. He should probably dive roll back out of the way, but he's way too invested in seeing if the snowball connects.]
in any case, he's ready for the snowball this time — having abandoned his snowboard to the nearby copse — and now with both hands free it gets summarily snatched out of thin air, hefted once or twice in thought, and then thrown back. what wei wuxian may be too preoccupied to notice is that he is hot on the (tail?) of that snowball, and when it's served its purpose as a distraction — regardless of having hit the other man or not — itachi neatly fists one hand in wei wuxian's jacket, hooks a foot behind his ankle and cleanly sweeps him off his feet.
which is altogether a rather abrupt motion, truncated by the fact that his fingers flex against the jacket and wei wuxian is lowered gingerly the last few inches into the powder snow. itachi stands back, pushes his goggles up on his forehead and, with the faintest of smiles more obvious by the crinkles at the corners of his eyes than any upturn of the mouth, says: ）
[As Itachi predicted, Wei Wuxian is indeed too busy bringing up his hands to guard against the snowball—that this ridiculous man had snatched out of the air—to pay attention to the man that follows. He doesn't go down hard at all thanks to Itachi's careful maneuvering, but he lets out a dramatic sounding "oof" anyway, mostly for show.
For a moment Wei Wuxian only lays there flat, his expression alight with joy and his face flushed from the cold, and then he pushes himself up onto his elbows, eyes narrowing in challenge.]
You wish! [Itachi is standing close enough that it's barely any work to spring up and catapult them both down into the snow together. The result is that they land on their backs with one of Wei Wuxian's hands still twisted in Itachi's coat, and Wei Wuxian turns his head to glance at Itachi before falling abruptly into laughter. As he laughs, he untwines his fingers from Itachi's coat to instinctively brush a few flakes of snow away from his hair, barely even noticing what he's doing before his hand is back at his own side.]
I'm calling this one a draw because I wanna go to the hot springs.
（ it is perhaps the first time in his life that the sudden attack draws no response. there is no instinctive twist of his body, no deflection, not even the barest whisper of the sharingan drawn up from the depths of dark eyes. he just lets the tackle happen and lands all but bonelessly in the snow.
wei wuxian touches his hair, and his eyes widen a fraction — not the first, nor even the most intimate thing the man has ever done, but certainly the first time within easy view and earshot of others — and once he draws back, itachi stands smoothly. ）
[The sight of the familiar sign shifts his smile from delighted to warmed and he mimics it with ease, taking the offered hand a second later and rising to his feet. He brushes snow from his pants as he moves to collect his board, and then tosses a grin over his shoulder.]
（ he makes a faint hm, and then retrieves his snowboard from the copse and gestures for wei wuxian to follow him.
the rest is lost in tedium — returning the boards, returning to itachi's rented room, stripping out of the cold weather gear and into something more appropriate for the labyrinthine hotsprings both beneath in beautiful, naturally-carved out caves and alcoves, and against the resort's northern-most wall. itachi leads wei wuxian through the complex to one of the natural springs in the lower levels — they're hotter than the ones that are fully outdoors, and are able to be rented privately and billed to the room itself.
the ritual of preparing for an onsen is a familiar comfort even now. there are a number of private shower stalls and he selects one, opting to slough off the grime and sweat from the day. afterwards, he does his hair up in a messy topknot before slipping to the water's edge with a small towel slung over one shoulder. being nude around wei wuxian is not new, and he's never been particularly self-conscious in that way anyway, so he just steps down into the hot water, finds a natural outcropping that seems to have been used over the centuries as a bench, and rests.
before too long, wei wuxian will come and fill the air with excitable conversation, and rather than find the prospect tiresome itachi is actually — somewhat looking forward to it. as much as he has a deep, abiding appreciation of silence, wei wuxian's breaking it has never felt like something lost or taken from him, merely something different. ）
[Wei Wuxian is only moments behind Itachi and he sinks into the springs with a soft hiss of satisfaction, the heat of the water immediately doing wonders for his much abused body. He might be fairly in shape, but as it turns out snowboarding uses muscles he hadn't even known he had.
It's a beautiful spring although it does have an eerie resemblance to the cave he and the others had fought the Xuanwu in as teens. He supposes those caves had been beautiful as well and he might have noticed then if he hadn't been so busy fighting a legendary monster. The thought makes him snort quietly under his breath before he raises his gaze to meet Itachi's, eyes crinkling in a smile.]
We should petition Miss Viveca to create a hot spring aboard the Ximilia. I bet she could do it. [It might not be the best use of space though. He lets out a soft sigh of contentment and shifts on his own makeshift seat, sinking down lower into the water.]
（ he is full of none of the effusive appreciation that wei wuxian is — at least not in the same overt sense. his singular concession to enjoyment is the faint upwards quirk at one corner of his mouth, fading only slightly when wei wuxian mentions viveca.
he gives the man a long, speculative look. then: ）
I am... considering remaining aboard the Ximilia. After our mission is concluded.
（ he could continue the small talk in the very same spirit in which it was offered, but he knows wei wuxian will forgive him the deviation from the pleasures of hotsprings to discuss a rather more serious discussion. ）
[Wei Wuxian’s eyes open and widen with surprise, his gaze resting plainly on Itachi.
Itachi has never said it, not exactly, but Wei Wuxian isn't unaware that they share a complete lack of desire to return to life in the worlds they knew. Wei Wuxian has been more open about his willingness to return to a new cycle of life, and of the joy he takes in the gift of life given to him aboard the Ximilia. He doesn't want to die even if he is content with the life he knew having met its end.
Itachi has never echoed the sentiment.
He hadn't presumed it's meaning. Not really. He'd wondered, but for as close as they are, there are some things that can't be asked after.
And this is the first time that question has had even a sliver of an answer.
(Because if he wanted to stay, then he would live.)]
[He goes quiet for a moment after that, contemplating what that would be like. Itachi living aboard the Ximilia alongside Viveca and Degar, traveling the (sometimes metaphorical) stars. Maybe he'd grow to tolerate or even like Degar's music, and he'd have Viveca's wit and quiet companionship to keep him company.
He can picture it. It would be peaceful. It feels right.
(He ignores the deep ache that the image provokes in his heart.)]
（ perhaps it's a warning, born of the peculiar tone wei wuxian has slipped into. not to put too much faith in the choice. the truth is, it will only ever be a stay of execution.
(but it would be nice, to put a little back into the universe before returning to jōdo) ）
It would certainly be interesting though. Sometimes. [He stops and starts, allowing his gaze to trail around the cave.]
Sometimes I can't believe where we are and what we're doing. The wonder of it all...I know our mission is serious, but the worlds we go to and all of the things we've seen—it feels like a gift.
（ his own thoughts have rarely been so hopeful, but something of the sentiment resonates. his expression softens, and he takes a moment in the heat of the water to wipe the towel across his face. ）
It is remarkable. I could not have imagined much of what I have come to see, or know.
（ he does not mourn his own life. he died as he had intended, a plan nearly a decade in the making. he had been living so long only to die.
but he has had experiences now that he is... wistful, perhaps, of having never known in his own world. the night with yennefer, making corndogs with gwen, stargazing with blue, seeing the enterprise with doctor mccoy, or the feeling of finn's nightmares quieting beneath his hand. even jake, who as a dog ought barely register at all to him — is still one who has brought him a certain measure of comfort and peace.
sasuke is never far from his mind. even now, everything he does is for the willful betterment of his brother's life.
but he's built one, perhaps, that does not only hinge on that one singular outcome. ）
I am glad the Ximilia afforded me the chance to meet you, Wei Ying.
（ he is too much an uchiha to take love for granted, even now. ）
[He's been getting used to the sound of his birth name in Itachi's voice, and it sounds right now, like it was always meant to reside there. He holds Itachi's gaze with an unflinching one of his own.]
I'm glad for having met you too, Itachi. [His gaze holds and his mouth softens into a smile.]
I don't know if fate's hands stretch this far into the universe. Maybe they don't. Maybe this is the first time our two souls have ever encountered each other. [It's a freeing thought, if he's honest. He doesn't begrudge fate its role, but to be outside of its grasp isn't something he ever thought possible.] What I know is that if I'm born into another life, I'll take a piece of you with me, imprinted on my soul.
[An unprovoked attack! Wei Wuxian sputters and instinctively flicks water back, his soft smile blooming into a laugh.]
We'll work on that part. [He grins.
If it takes dying to meet you again, I'll happily take my final breath he thinks to himself but doesn't say aloud. There is, he thinks, only so much sentiment either of them can handle.]
（ few moments in his life have ever given him the sense of settled rightness as this moment does. it spreads through him the way lifesblood stains snow — and he imagines it. a world where they might meet each other again. perhaps not a shinobi world, or a cultivator's. perhaps they would find themselves in a place like viveca's world, where circumstances would drive them together. perhaps one like xrisora, living in an era long-untouched by war.
(is it selfish, to want his family there? another life, another world, perhaps even another universe altogether.
is it selfish, to want wei wuxian's family there as well?) ）
Hm. I suppose.
（ a beat. then: ）
There are eighteen beds in the north wing, you know.
（ it is only a consideration, as he said. there are many miles between now and even the possibility of such a thing, and itachi is used to biding his time where his own desires are concerned. but the truth of it is, he can see it. safeguarding the orbs is a worthwhile task. he will fracture the fabric of his world's reality for sasuke's sake, and that timeline will carry on — that boy, that itachi might never waken the mangekyō at all. shisui may not die. the clan may learn humility, and patience, and perhaps one day...
(well, he knows full well that sasuke becomes powerful enough to rival a hokage, doesn't he?)
and it will be him, but it will not be him just the same — because the only choice he could ever have made is the one he chose to make. it is perhaps the only way he can rationalize to himself that a second chance is warranted at all for the boy uchiha itachi.
he does not object to being dead. but while there is useful work yet for him to do, and he so uniquely positioned to do it — how can he do anything else? ）
Yeah. [He says, voice warm. Interesting, exciting, breathtaking, terrifying, wonderful. It would be one hell of a ride, and with Itachi at his side, every moment would be worth it.
He doesn't deserve this second chance at life he's been given (however temporary it is) but it has been given, and he isn't going to stand by and let it pass by without holding onto every moment. If he can travel the stars for a while longer with Itachi, then he'll travel the stars.]
Another adventure, hmm? [His eyes drift upwards again and he smiles softly to himself.]
When I was young I made an oath to myself to uphold justice—real justice—and help those in need. I think...it'd be good to have a chance to do that before I go.
（ wei wuxian saw a cruel world, and thought only of how to fix it. there had never been a moment's concern for how he might bleed for it, how deeply the fixing may cut. ）
But you have already been doing that, well before I met you. There can be a point where you have given enough, you know.
（ his tone is gentle, and there is no judgment in it. perhaps he simply wants the man to make the choice for himself, because he deserves the opportunity to see the beauty and the wonder in the universe, not because there is some duty waiting for him that lurks beyond the veil of stars. ）
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whatever the reason, the snow impacts against his dark jacket and itachi just sort of. tips his head down to look at the spatter. brushes it off faintly with one hand as if it's merely settling dust.
then he deliberately leans down, unhooks himself from his snowboard, tucks it up under one arm and with the other hand gathers a handful of snow which he rolls against his thigh to shape it.
and then he tosses it right back. the other patrons around them may or may not be looking at them both like they're complete lunatics.
well, they can deal with it. ）
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When he's a few feet and behind the cover of a tree, he drops the board and kneels on one knee to gather more snow. Instead of the perfectly rolled snowball that Itachi had thrown, his first few mostly fall apart mid-flight before he finally starts trying to be neater with them.
Snowball making talisman. New idea. Not that he could use it here with the ghost matter, but he files it away for later as he grins and continues flinging snowball after snowball. Very clearly he is favoring quantity over quality.]
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the cover does n̸̮͊ó̷ͅt̸̪͑h̸̟͘ĩ̷̩n̷͇̾g̷̲̕.
hope you like this absolute jackass hitting a snowball with another snowball
to smack wei wuxian right in the back of the head. ）
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Alright since the tree is doing nothing and shelter is clearly for cowards anyway, Wei Wuxian gives it up, dive rolling out from beneath his attempt at cover with a snowball in hand and throwing it with far more precision than the others at Itachi's chest. He should probably dive roll back out of the way, but he's way too invested in seeing if the snowball connects.]
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or
#yolt in their respective cases?
hm.
in any case, he's ready for the snowball this time — having abandoned his snowboard to the nearby copse — and now with both hands free it gets summarily snatched out of thin air, hefted once or twice in thought, and then thrown back. what wei wuxian may be too preoccupied to notice is that he is hot on the (tail?) of that snowball, and when it's served its purpose as a distraction — regardless of having hit the other man or not — itachi neatly fists one hand in wei wuxian's jacket, hooks a foot behind his ankle and cleanly sweeps him off his feet.
which is altogether a rather abrupt motion, truncated by the fact that his fingers flex against the jacket and wei wuxian is lowered gingerly the last few inches into the powder snow. itachi stands back, pushes his goggles up on his forehead and, with the faintest of smiles more obvious by the crinkles at the corners of his eyes than any upturn of the mouth, says: ）
Do you yield?
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For a moment Wei Wuxian only lays there flat, his expression alight with joy and his face flushed from the cold, and then he pushes himself up onto his elbows, eyes narrowing in challenge.]
You wish! [Itachi is standing close enough that it's barely any work to spring up and catapult them both down into the snow together. The result is that they land on their backs with one of Wei Wuxian's hands still twisted in Itachi's coat, and Wei Wuxian turns his head to glance at Itachi before falling abruptly into laughter. As he laughs, he untwines his fingers from Itachi's coat to instinctively brush a few flakes of snow away from his hair, barely even noticing what he's doing before his hand is back at his own side.]
I'm calling this one a draw because I wanna go to the hot springs.
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wei wuxian touches his hair, and his eyes widen a fraction — not the first, nor even the most intimate thing the man has ever done, but certainly the first time within easy view and earshot of others — and once he draws back, itachi stands smoothly. ）
Of course. A draw.
（ he holds out a hand in an old, familiar sign. ）
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Now what was it about those hot springs?
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the rest is lost in tedium — returning the boards, returning to itachi's rented room, stripping out of the cold weather gear and into something more appropriate for the labyrinthine hotsprings both beneath in beautiful, naturally-carved out caves and alcoves, and against the resort's northern-most wall. itachi leads wei wuxian through the complex to one of the natural springs in the lower levels — they're hotter than the ones that are fully outdoors, and are able to be rented privately and billed to the room itself.
the ritual of preparing for an onsen is a familiar comfort even now. there are a number of private shower stalls and he selects one, opting to slough off the grime and sweat from the day. afterwards, he does his hair up in a messy topknot before slipping to the water's edge with a small towel slung over one shoulder. being nude around wei wuxian is not new, and he's never been particularly self-conscious in that way anyway, so he just steps down into the hot water, finds a natural outcropping that seems to have been used over the centuries as a bench, and rests.
before too long, wei wuxian will come and fill the air with excitable conversation, and rather than find the prospect tiresome itachi is actually — somewhat looking forward to it. as much as he has a deep, abiding appreciation of silence, wei wuxian's breaking it has never felt like something lost or taken from him, merely something different. ）
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It's a beautiful spring although it does have an eerie resemblance to the cave he and the others had fought the Xuanwu in as teens. He supposes those caves had been beautiful as well and he might have noticed then if he hadn't been so busy fighting a legendary monster. The thought makes him snort quietly under his breath before he raises his gaze to meet Itachi's, eyes crinkling in a smile.]
We should petition Miss Viveca to create a hot spring aboard the Ximilia. I bet she could do it. [It might not be the best use of space though. He lets out a soft sigh of contentment and shifts on his own makeshift seat, sinking down lower into the water.]
Ah, this is so nice. I miss this.
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he gives the man a long, speculative look. then: ）
I am... considering remaining aboard the Ximilia. After our mission is concluded.
（ he could continue the small talk in the very same spirit in which it was offered, but he knows wei wuxian will forgive him the deviation from the pleasures of hotsprings to discuss a rather more serious discussion. ）
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Itachi has never said it, not exactly, but Wei Wuxian isn't unaware that they share a complete lack of desire to return to life in the worlds they knew. Wei Wuxian has been more open about his willingness to return to a new cycle of life, and of the joy he takes in the gift of life given to him aboard the Ximilia. He doesn't want to die even if he is content with the life he knew having met its end.
Itachi has never echoed the sentiment.
He hadn't presumed it's meaning. Not really. He'd wondered, but for as close as they are, there are some things that can't be asked after.
And this is the first time that question has had even a sliver of an answer.
(Because if he wanted to stay, then he would live.)]
Is that—can you do that?
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Presumably. Viveca and Degar were members of the prior crew, after all. I have not voiced this... possibility to either of them as yet.
（ truthfully, he isn't certain why he is mentioning it to wei wuxian now. perhaps it is only — ）
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He can picture it. It would be peaceful. It feels right.
(He ignores the deep ache that the image provokes in his heart.)]
You should. It would suit you.
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（ perhaps it's a warning, born of the peculiar tone wei wuxian has slipped into. not to put too much faith in the choice. the truth is, it will only ever be a stay of execution.
(but it would be nice, to put a little back into the universe before returning to jōdo) ）
But it might prove interesting, for a time.
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It would certainly be interesting though. Sometimes. [He stops and starts, allowing his gaze to trail around the cave.]
Sometimes I can't believe where we are and what we're doing. The wonder of it all...I know our mission is serious, but the worlds we go to and all of the things we've seen—it feels like a gift.
How could it not be interesting to journey on?
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It is remarkable. I could not have imagined much of what I have come to see, or know.
（ he does not mourn his own life. he died as he had intended, a plan nearly a decade in the making. he had been living so long only to die.
but he has had experiences now that he is... wistful, perhaps, of having never known in his own world. the night with yennefer, making corndogs with gwen, stargazing with blue, seeing the enterprise with doctor mccoy, or the feeling of finn's nightmares quieting beneath his hand. even jake, who as a dog ought barely register at all to him — is still one who has brought him a certain measure of comfort and peace.
sasuke is never far from his mind. even now, everything he does is for the willful betterment of his brother's life.
but he's built one, perhaps, that does not only hinge on that one singular outcome. ）
I am glad the Ximilia afforded me the chance to meet you, Wei Ying.
（ he is too much an uchiha to take love for granted, even now. ）
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I'm glad for having met you too, Itachi. [His gaze holds and his mouth softens into a smile.]
I don't know if fate's hands stretch this far into the universe. Maybe they don't. Maybe this is the first time our two souls have ever encountered each other. [It's a freeing thought, if he's honest. He doesn't begrudge fate its role, but to be outside of its grasp isn't something he ever thought possible.] What I know is that if I'm born into another life, I'll take a piece of you with me, imprinted on my soul.
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And I, you. Let us hope it does not require death as the precipitating event next time, hm?
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We'll work on that part. [He grins.
If it takes dying to meet you again, I'll happily take my final breath he thinks to himself but doesn't say aloud. There is, he thinks, only so much sentiment either of them can handle.]
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(is it selfish, to want his family there? another life, another world, perhaps even another universe altogether.
is it selfish, to want wei wuxian's family there as well?) ）
Hm. I suppose.
（ a beat. then: ）
There are eighteen beds in the north wing, you know.
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That's a lot of empty beds. [He answers easily, affection threatening to overflow his heart.]
Maybe when you ask Viveca if it's possible, you can ask for both of us.
[Whether it is or not is something they'll figure out later. It only matters that Itachi wants him there and there's nowhere else he'd rather be.]
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（ it is only a consideration, as he said. there are many miles between now and even the possibility of such a thing, and itachi is used to biding his time where his own desires are concerned. but the truth of it is, he can see it. safeguarding the orbs is a worthwhile task. he will fracture the fabric of his world's reality for sasuke's sake, and that timeline will carry on — that boy, that itachi might never waken the mangekyō at all. shisui may not die. the clan may learn humility, and patience, and perhaps one day...
(well, he knows full well that sasuke becomes powerful enough to rival a hokage, doesn't he?)
and it will be him, but it will not be him just the same — because the only choice he could ever have made is the one he chose to make. it is perhaps the only way he can rationalize to himself that a second chance is warranted at all for the boy uchiha itachi.
he does not object to being dead. but while there is useful work yet for him to do, and he so uniquely positioned to do it — how can he do anything else? ）
It would be an interesting life, in any case.
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He doesn't deserve this second chance at life he's been given (however temporary it is) but it has been given, and he isn't going to stand by and let it pass by without holding onto every moment. If he can travel the stars for a while longer with Itachi, then he'll travel the stars.]
Another adventure, hmm? [His eyes drift upwards again and he smiles softly to himself.]
When I was young I made an oath to myself to uphold justice—real justice—and help those in need. I think...it'd be good to have a chance to do that before I go.
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（ wei wuxian saw a cruel world, and thought only of how to fix it. there had never been a moment's concern for how he might bleed for it, how deeply the fixing may cut. ）
But you have already been doing that, well before I met you. There can be a point where you have given enough, you know.
（ his tone is gentle, and there is no judgment in it. perhaps he simply wants the man to make the choice for himself, because he deserves the opportunity to see the beauty and the wonder in the universe, not because there is some duty waiting for him that lurks beyond the veil of stars. ）
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