[ Years have passed since he's heard his name in that tone, in that voice, a sense memory so profound that it blindsides him with its intensity. He's stopped on the road before he even understands that he needs to and Little Apple continues without him, content to stray to the sweeter grasses ahead.
He knows this feeling. Knows it, as it crawls up the nape of his neck, creeps over his scalp, closes in around his shoulders. His fingers itch, grasping at nothing at his sides, and they curl into his palms as he turns, caught. Maybe he should have known better, maybe he should have read between the lines. His stomach lurches as the prickle of anxious fear spreads outward and even the laugh he forces just hangs between them, blatant and obtuse. He knows better. He should.
Speak your mind, but to what end? Which wrong has he caused? Which line has he crossed? Has he offended? Or is it something else, something deeper, something that might pin him to his secrets and flay them open one by one? ]
Lan Zhan, [ he tries, and the way Lan Wangji gleams in the dark is almost punishment now, something borderline celestial and out of reach. A taunt. He doesn't even bother trying to make a joke out of it. ] You'll have to forgive this one, he's used to being told otherwise. What am I speaking to?
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He knows this feeling. Knows it, as it crawls up the nape of his neck, creeps over his scalp, closes in around his shoulders. His fingers itch, grasping at nothing at his sides, and they curl into his palms as he turns, caught. Maybe he should have known better, maybe he should have read between the lines. His stomach lurches as the prickle of anxious fear spreads outward and even the laugh he forces just hangs between them, blatant and obtuse. He knows better. He should.
Speak your mind, but to what end? Which wrong has he caused? Which line has he crossed? Has he offended? Or is it something else, something deeper, something that might pin him to his secrets and flay them open one by one? ]
Lan Zhan, [ he tries, and the way Lan Wangji gleams in the dark is almost punishment now, something borderline celestial and out of reach. A taunt. He doesn't even bother trying to make a joke out of it. ] You'll have to forgive this one, he's used to being told otherwise. What am I speaking to?