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[singlelogbridge]

// Wei Wuxian

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XIMILIA

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[singlelogbridge]

[He isn't startled as much as he is confused, especially when Itachi proves impossible to shake off.]

If you know that name, then there's only one discussion to be had. What did she tell you? [Was she playing it down? Maybe she didn't want Itachi to know all of the details. He doesn't plan on sharing Gwen's personal information, but he doesn't need to in order to make Itachi see that Murdock has to go.]

He's dangerous. To Gwen.

[blackfire]

（ and he knows that physicality is not the point in this sense. that wei wuxian is not worried about gwen getting punched. there are other things about her more fragile than her body.

his expression softens faintly. ）

It isn't the same man as from her world. I understand you are angry, and you have a right to be. But acting impulsively and harming an innocent because you think you are acting in defense of her would only would only wound her. You need to be better than that.

[singlelogbridge]

An innocent? [Gwen has spoken of the multiverse before and he's faintly aware of its existence, but it's not something that Wei Wuxian fully grasps or that he understands the intricacies of. That this Matt could possibly be someone else despite sharing his name and image isn't something that even crosses his mind.

He yanks on his wrist again.]

I saw him. I saw what he did to her.

You don't have to come with me but I'm not just letting him go.

[It is perhaps the first time Wei Wuxian has been so dismissive of Itachi, seeming not even to take in what he's saying at all. He's too angry to listen—and too sure of himself.]

[blackfire]

I apologize for this.

（ it is not tsukuyomi this time. simple genjutsu. there is no eye contact. not even the sharingan, as he was skilled with genjutsu long before he woke the red haze of its sharp tomoe. he simply lifts a hand, and the man slumps unconscious in his arms.

when wei wuxian wakes, he will find himself bound — albeit comfortably, and in a way that impedes neither bloodflow nor breathing — on his bed. a message waits in his earpiece when he accesses it, a simple:

The ropes will burn away if you can reduce your resting heartrate.

We will speak later. ）

baton pass.

[construing]

〈 gwen gives wei wuxian a few seconds upon awakening to orient himself (and get out his cursing of itachi) before moving into his line of sight. exhaustion lies heavily upon her head and shoulders. 〉

You really are a pain in the ass, 〈 she observes flatly.

any number of emotional responses might follow. she leaves for him to dictate exactly how fucking pissed she is about to be. 〉

[singlelogbridge]

[He does in fact use that moment to immediately curse out Itachi via text, if only for a moment because Gwen is in front of him. He doesn't glare at her, but he is glaring, his gaze fixed somewhere over her shoulder, perhaps at the door and in whatever direction Matt lays beyond it. He lifts his chin, defiant, and there is a righteous fury in his eyes. Still, when he speaks it's easy to hear the repressed emotion, and when he finally drags his eyes over to hers, behind the anger there is obvious concern.]

He hurt you. [And hidden within the words, confusion. Why are you stopping me?]

I wasn't going to kill him. I remember E23-b. [He knows it would weigh on her. But he doesn't understand why she and Itachi are stopping him.]

[construing]

Right. 〈 a tiny, dragged out exhalation of skepticism: riiiight.

she sinks down into a crouch that they might be somewhat level, her arms balanced on her knees. her anger is better hidden, its edges reflected only in her stillness. when she smiles, it is not reassuring. 〉

So, leaving aside how you just decided!—by yourself!—what was the best course of action here… 〈 she holds up a finger. 〉 Quick question.

In your efforts to valiantly and very violently defend me—again, without checking what I want—did you notice his eyes are different? I mean, he usually wears glasses so maybe you didn’t. But you must have seen his hair color is different. And his cane. And a whole host of other tiny details!

〈 the timbre of mockery in her voice drops. 〉

Almost like he’s a different Matt.

[singlelogbridge]

[The skepticism stings, and he puts it aside for another time. She'd seen him angry before after all, why shouldn't she doubt?

The rest of her words leave him frowning though. He hadn't in fact noticed anything that she's talking about and he's not even sure why it matters. He's never been one for details when it comes to people, and though he'd memorized Matt's face well in that school, he'd hardly paid attention to anything like his eye color.

Her tone lacerates as much as the skepticism, and this too he folds neatly into a box and tucks away.]

What are you trying to say? Just say it. [Because he doesn't understand.]

[construing]

Let me be crystal.

〈 not for the first time do black threads weave through the air around her neck. it happens during times of intense emotion, especially when she feels threatened or angry. this is anger, and it is aimed only at wei wuxian. 〉

The man you saw at the school is not the man on the station. He shares a name, a face, a few other traits. But he is not Murderdock.

[singlelogbridge]

How? [He fires back almost immediately, his confusion and irritation growing in time with Gwen's.

Gwen has told him of the multiverse and of her many selves, and it doesn't even occur to him. He believes in her multiverse, but it's as foreign a concept now as it ever was. That this man who looks almost exactly the same as the one from Gwen's life could be a different man feels impossible.

And Gwen's anger at him is sinking into him like a brand.]

[construing]

Same way Cindy-616 is my friend and ally, while Cindy-65 both gave and took away my powers. Same way in Spider-Ham's universe, I'm a penguin. Same way that nine times out of ten, Peter becomes Spider-Man.

〈 she arches an eyebrow. 〉

Ringing a bell, maybe?

[singlelogbridge]

[His frown deepens and he puts the pieces together but nothing in him settles.]

And his hair is different so you just believe him? [Which isn't even to touch on the rest. Nine times out of ten, Peter becomes Spider-Man. Nine times out of ten.

How often does Matt Murdock hurt people? He wants to know those odds. Even if this isn't the one from her world, what if he's not any better?]

[construing]

Oh. Wow. 〈 her laugh is humorless. 〉

Here I thought that you considered me too emotional to consult. Turns out, you just think I'm stupid!

[singlelogbridge]

[The whole conversation has been digging under his skin, but something about her words and laugh makes him go hot and then cold all over, his heartbeat skyrocketing and thumping away fast and loud in his ears. There's something about her words—something about the way she's saying them that makes him want to argue back as much as it makes him want to hide.

Do you think I'm stupid? Is that it?

He goes silent then, not answering. He knows already there is no safe way to answer this.]

[construing]

〈 even wei wuxian's silences are loud.

robbed of further argument, gwen gets to her feet with a sharp huff of breath. her footsteps carry her out of his line of sight. only the lack of the distinctive sliding of the door opening suggests she is still in the room. a second later, the bed dips.

itachi mentioned the ropes would fall away on their own, but she doesn't feel right fighting with someone who literally cannot escape. she tosses the bindings to the floor where they vanish. 〉

Feeling in your fingers and toes?

[singlelogbridge]

[He twitches in answer, a jerk of his head that passes for a nod. Eventually, he readjusts himself into a more comfortable position, but he doesn't move from his spot.

His eyes slip to the bed and stay there.

He's waiting for something. He isn't sure what, only knows that he's waiting.]

[construing]

〈 gwen's eyes roll to the ceiling as if praying. for patience? enlightenment? this morning before everything went to hell? (answer d: all of the above.)

she lets out another breath. 〉

Okay. Okay, 〈 she repeats. 〉 What exactly were you trying to do?

[singlelogbridge]

[The laughter doesn't return and the thing beginning to suck the air from his lungs relinquishes its grip. Wei Wuxian unfolds and raises his eyes to Gwen's. They're tired, but the distance has retreated.]

He needed to know he isn't in charge here. [He needed to know he'd be watched. That if he stepped out of line, Wei Wuxian would be there. That if he hurt anyone, Wei Wuxian would be there.]

[construing]

〈 oh, yeah. there goes the migraine. 〉Lord, love a duck.

And that was absolutely necessary for you to do?

[singlelogbridge]

[He frowns and doesn't answer for a while.]

I thought he was the one from your memory. [So, yes in short.]

[construing]

He's not.

〈 just to make sure this particular point is absolutely fucking clear. 〉

Which you would have known if, instead of running off to nail his hide to the wall, you had come to me first.

Why didn't you, by the way?

[singlelogbridge]

[That's not in his nature is the thing and he shakes his head, unsure of how to answer.]

He was right in front of me. [It occurs to him that maybe she doesn't know that's how he found out.] I ran into Itachi after. [When he'd changed his mind about letting him off with a single punch and was on his way back.]

[construing]

He was—

〈 her face drops into her hands.

it is official: she will need a stronger, charmingly southern interjection for this conversation than "lord, love a duck".

knowing she will be disappointed, but also being an indefatigable optimist, gwen begs, 〉 Please tell me you didn't threaten him.

[singlelogbridge]

I punched him. [He admits immediately. No point in trying to pretend otherwise.]

And I told him not to hurt anyone. [His expression twists as he remembers it.]

Then he tried to give me legal advice.

[construing]

You punched a blind man?