[ His instinct has turned brittle and cautious. He stills under the words; before he might have taken them and twisted them, teased the wrong intent from them. But he's grown now and he's older, he's aware of his shortcomings, he understands his value isn't something so easily dismissed. And he's working on it! Really he is! But it's still hard not to withdraw, to retreat, to shutter himself off lest Lan Wangji realize that Wei Wuxian would all too gladly drag him down into the dirt with him, given the opportunity.
But. They are not those people now. They've aged beyond misinterpreted words. He stills and then he breathes and he squeezes Lan Zhan's wrist once more before he allows him loose again, untethered in the world. He feels shapeless, for a moment. Windswept and free-floating. He works the knuckles of his other hand in their grip on Little Apple's lead and forces a laugh like it might take some of the weight off his chest with it (it doesn't). ]
Humble even in your wisdom, [ he muses, refusing to look at Lan Wangji as he tugs the donkey into a walk again, putting distance between them. ] Pity you're wrong.
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But. They are not those people now. They've aged beyond misinterpreted words. He stills and then he breathes and he squeezes Lan Zhan's wrist once more before he allows him loose again, untethered in the world. He feels shapeless, for a moment. Windswept and free-floating. He works the knuckles of his other hand in their grip on Little Apple's lead and forces a laugh like it might take some of the weight off his chest with it (it doesn't). ]
Humble even in your wisdom, [ he muses, refusing to look at Lan Wangji as he tugs the donkey into a walk again, putting distance between them. ] Pity you're wrong.