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[Wei Wuxian huffs fondly, eyes warm when he meets Sizhui's gaze.]

Always so formal, [he teases, shaking his head.] Just like Lan Zhan. [What a good boy you raised, Lan Zhan he thinks to himself, affection filling him. He serves them both tea before Sizhui can do it just because he knows it'll make Sizhui fret a tiny bit—such a courteous boy too!—and then settles into his own seat.]

It's fine, it's fine, it was hardly a wait at all. Are you all packed for tomorrow?

Edited 2024-03-02 08:10 (UTC)

[hey now, he could've bowed all proper-like and such, too! credit where it's due, he's trying to be less formal around those he knows would understand and wei wuxian clearly doesn't mind, given his response.]

Ah, ah, that's good! I would've felt terrible if I'd taken too long and then you could've picked on me for that instead.

Yes, I am, [he confirms, reaching to pluck up his teacup.] Except for a few last-minute things and the extra stuff you told me about before I came over to visit. Are you prepared then, too?

I am. [He motions to his qiankun pouch on the bed.]

I leave one packed with mission essentials at all times. Too many weird things have happened so it's a habit. [He shakes his head, lightly amused.]

And I think Itachi's preparedness is rubbing off on me. [He laughs a little at that. He's been around the man for too long not to pick up on some of his mannerisms.]

It's too bad we won't be together on this one, but you know I'll find a way to you if you need it, so don't hesitate to ask, alright?

Oh... that's a great idea. I only have the one, but maybe I should just leave it packed like that. [one hand comes off his cup to thoughtfully tap his chin, he tilts his head then straightens again and takes a quick sip of his tea.]

Probably not a bad thing, [he remarks, his lips quirked behind his cup, eyes gently crinkling with mirthfulness.] And that is too bad, yes, but I will do so. The same goes for you, okay?

[maybe he's less experienced in some things, but he's strong, smart, and capable of adapting on the fly. besides, how else will he learn if he isn't brought into unknown situations?]

[His expression warms at the offer and he nods.]

I know. [Whether he'd be willing to ask for help is up in the air perhaps, but only because he would ask a dozen others before putting his son in harm's way. It's still an improvement from how he'd been in the past. But enough of that now, if this is the last rest they'll have before the last mission, then he isn't going to dwell on any of that. Instead—]

Sizhui, Zewu-jun had mentioned that your memory had been damaged, but it's slowly coming back now, is that right?

I wanted to know if you remember much of Wen Qing. [He knows now that Wen Ning lived and that Sizhui will have more time in the future to get to know him, but with Wen Qing...]

[‘i know,’ he says, and sizhui nods, giving an affirmative-sounding mm! afterward.

while he has no idea wei wuxian wouldn't ask him first, he still assumes that he would, mostly because he hopes that he can trust him to handle the problem. however, if he'd known there were others he'd ask first, it wouldn't offend him at all, he would just figure that exact reason: wei wuxian doesn't want to put him in harm's way. which he understands, but it'd also make him feel a little inadequate, the idea that maybe he couldn't handle himself.

regardless, that isn't what they're worrying about anymore.] My memory? Ah... yes, it comes back in bits and pieces.

Wen Qing, [he repeats, his eyes slipping closed, brow furrowing slightly with how hard he concentrates, yet there is something— one thing he does remember distinctly. he reopens his eyes, looking somewhat amused.] Was that her name? The woman who got angry at you for burying me in the dirt?

[Wei Wuxian almost spits out the tea in his mouth, barely managing to choke it down without making a complete fool of himself. It's such a delightfully perfect memory that the moment he's managed to choke down his tea, he throws back his head and laughs.]

Yes, yes, that's her, that could only be her! She was so mad at me that day! Complained about who was going to wash you now you were all covered in dirt. And trust me when I say I didn't want to be on her bad side!

[His grin and laughter soften into something calmer but no less affectionate.]

I know you've got Wen Ning to tell you more about her—about all of them, but I thought I could contribute a little. She was the best friend I ever had in that life. And Wen Ning is biased, she was never as mean to him as she was to me. [He grins.]

Would you like to hear about her?

[luckily, sizhui's able to get his own tea swallowed down before he ends up laughing as well. of course wen qing wasn't mean to wen ning. who could genuinely be mean to someone so soft? well, he can think of a few people, but that's only because they were never really nice to anyone? (or at least didn't show any sort of ‘weakness’ in front of others for fear of being taken advantage of.)

he sets his cup down, looking mirthful, clearly amused by the thought of wei wuxian having to bathe him after being the cause of the problem in the first place.]

Yes, please, I would like to hear more about her.

[especially from someone less biased because, while he thinks it's good that wen ning will tell him all the good things about her, it'd be nice to hear about her ferociousness and tenacity too.]

[He's talked about her before—to Itachi, to Gwen, to Doctor McCoy and a handful of others, but it's nothing like talking to Sizhui who had known and loved her once. It's different with Sizhui, heavier and more meaningful all at once. He doesn't skimp on any details either, immediately launching into memories of their time in the Burial Mounds. He talks about the good for the most part, about their bickering over which vegetables to plant, and the time she'd taken care of his lotus pond for a week because the resentful energy had him in bed for that long. He talks about her strength and her humor, and how she was one of the best people he'd ever known.

He talks too about how her face would sometimes soften when she took a-Yuan by the hand and told him stories—usually playful cautionary tales on how not to end up like his Xian-gege. He talks about how much she loved Sizhui as everyone had loved him.

It's cathartic and heartbreaking and wonderful, but he's careful to watch Sizhui's expressions to make sure it isn't too much.]

I'm so grateful I had her in my life. She loved so fiercely. [He grins, his heart aching but in a way that doesn't sting the way it used to.]

And she was the best damn doctor who ever lived. She saved me more than once, and in more ways than one.

[the fact that wei wuxian lays everything out plainly really hits home; it makes him feel happy, it makes him feel sad, for reasons he knows and those he has yet to completely understand. with the loss of his memories, emotions had faded, but the more that he hears, the more they come flooding back. he remembers the fighting over the vegetables, the time wei wuxian was down and out, and he vaguely recalls wen qing warning him in teasing tones, but he mostly remembers her.

his expression shifts between happy, melancholy, and amused, then eventually settles on a mournful-looking smile. what it might have been like to know her longer...

somehow, he's managed not to burst into tears, although that doesn't mean they haven't welled up in his eyes, which prompts him to reach up and wipe at his face with his sleeve.]

She sounds incredible. I wish I'd had more time with her, but hearing this... I'm happy to have gotten what I did.

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