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（ he snorts. ）

If our ships ever meet in combat, we will have a great many other concerns to deal with before you take it upon yourself to defend my honour, Wei Ying.

（ he reaches out, and gives a little tweak of his fingers to the man's forehead. ）

Enough.

I can multitask. [He quips back, but when he pops back up after that flick, there's amusement in his eyes as he clearly knows the ridiculousness in the suggestion. Not that it means he wouldn't actually do it.]

We've only fought with other ships a few times on the Hawking. Mostly we're just searching for a way to Dracness. [He pauses then, his thoughts drifting.]

I wish you could have met Warrior Leixi. I liked her a lot.

（ he has kept tabs on the hawking as much as he has been able — there are many people aboard for whom he cares too deeply to allow ignorance of its journey and fate.

he is glad, certainly, that it has been more peaceful for them. ）

Tell me of her.

[For a moment there is only the sound of the waves lapping softly against the cave walls as Wei Wuxian considers what to say about her.]

I know the falling of a kingdom is never simple. Whether the Kalains were entirely just and the rebellion a grave injustice, I don't know. It seems more likely to me that there were good and bad among them. But Warrior Leixi was good. She was a proud warrior. [Not arrogant, just proud.] And she was loyal to the end. She gave her life to protect the High Queen's retreat with the princess. She gave her life to protect her sister. [Itachi knows enough of Wei Wuxian's story to know why such a decision would land so heavily and why he would view it with such admiration.]

She was the general who led the High Queen's army. She fought to the last. There was a strength about her, and a calm too. And she loved her dragon partner.

I asked her if there was anything I could do to honor her, and she only thought of her dragon and protecting any surviving kin.

（ dragons, hm?

itachi closes his eyes briefly — it is not a difficult scene to imagine, for all that it is sparsely painted. he has toppled enough kingdoms to know.

he lifts a hand, then, and begins to take out the braids. leticia was trying to be kindly, as much as is tolerated aboard the plunder, but they are unpleasantly tight against his scalp. he cards his fingers through the hair as it is freed, ends dipped in the water like an inkbrush, the rest wavy with several days' captivity. ）

Will that be a possibility, do you think?

（ it is not in the man's nature to let such a request go unfulfilled — at least if it within his power to do so. and in all matters of wei ying setting his shoulder to the wheel of some task, itachi will take up beside him. ）

I think they're out there. [Because if any creatures are resilient then it must be dragons.]

The dragons didn't all live in the capital with the High Queen. Only the ones that were bonded to one of the warrior women stayed there, and once their human companion died, they returned to their nesting ground, Dracness. If that's true, then there's no reason they would have been wiped out.

They've probably been living on that island for all of these years. I can't imagine they'd want much to do with humans anymore.

And if the orb is on Dracness then an encounter is probably inevitable.

（ he makes a soft sound of agreement and then — with the last of his hair free of the braids, he ducks briefly underneath the water to dampen it. salt in one's hair is not exactly the same as the soaps and oils he customarily uses, but it is better than the stench of tar and tobacco and the sweet-smelling stench of the intoxicants consumed aboard the ship. ）

Have you ever considered what it may be like to fail in retrieving the orb?

（ itachi is not one for theoreticals, generally — but he is curious. ）

[The question surprises him and it shows in his face. He takes a moment before answering.]

I've wondered from time to time. Since the orb is the key to our return to the station, I'm not even sure how it would work. [He knows they've come pretty close to failing before so it isn't like he doesn't see it as a possibility.]

Do you think there's a higher chance we might fail this one? [As Itachi wets his hair, Wei Wuxian swims behind him and pulls his hair through his fingers, deftly working it through the water to thoroughly soak it and wash away any lingering grime.]

（ there is a bit of tension to his shoulders when wei ying circles behind him, gradually easing at the touch. ）

Not especially.

（ nothing of the actions they have undertaken has been incorrect. no one has jeopardized their ultimate goal that he is aware of.

he tilts his chin down, stretching out the muscles of his neck and back and giving wei ying better access to his hair. ）

But... we are playing a game of odds. Thus far, we have had a hundred percent success rate in retrieving the orbs, and only one death — that Sabriel then undid. The longer we go without serious mishap, the more concerned I become that we will grasp at failure.

[He hums in response, cupping one hand full of water to scrub at some of Itachi's hair resting above the water.]

It could happen. I like to think that we are learning as we go though. That what we've learned increases our odds at least a little. [Not always, not when they willingly spurn what they've learned like they did in Forsythe Heights, but when they use their knowledge of past missions to inform their decisions.]

Do you think we'd be sent back to the same planet another time if we fail?

（ the contented little sound that he makes, the subtle way he lists into the attention are probably indication enough that he is enjoying himself, frankly. ）

Knowledge is not always a stopgap against failure.

（ you can be the best shinobi alive, and still fail. he has seen it, time and again and again. ）

There would be no other choice but to return. Failure does not mean the orb would cease to occupy a planet.

Mmm. [His fingers scrub lightly at Itachi's scalp as he works before returning to his hair.]

There isn't anything we can do other than what we're already doing to prevent it. If we fail then we'll deal with it when it happens. The best we can do now is do our best to retrieve the orb.

Does it worry you?

Yes.

（ not something he would admit to readily to another. but he has borne up beneath the weight of his concern for some time now. the more deeply he cares for those around him, the more challenging it becomes to keep his goals in clear sight.

matters have... become muddied.

not to mention if they ever were to fail a mission, he is not entirely certain he could look viveca in the eye afterwards. ）

But worry is inconsequential. Events will happen regardless.

[He can't assuage that worry, and outside of trying to distract him—a tactic that he's sure Itachi wouldn't appreciate even if he tolerated it—Wei Wuxian hasn't ever been great at offering anyone solace. After a long pause, he speaks.]

If it happens, we'll face it together just like everything else. [This much at least, he can promise.]

I can hardly be the first person to find your optimism infuriating, Wei Ying.

（ there is a weary sigh, and then itachi shifts in the water like a dancer on steady ground — maintaining his balance in the water with one hand braced atop it, chakra making it seem like nothing else so much as earth. he turns to face the man, his friend, and then: ）

I have also missed you.

[That gets a soft snort from him. It isn't optimism, not really. He was optimistic once, but now, now this is pure stubbornness. It is all he has, the sheer determination to push through and face challenges as they come.

But he argues none of that as Itachi moves to face him, the movement impossibly graceful in a way that belies the use of his abilities. The words sink into his heart and it aches. He'd hoped Itachi had missed him just a little. Not for want to cause his friend suffering but to know that even when Itachi needed time away, that he still wanted Wei Wuxian.]

I'm here now.

（ he reaches out, and takes the man by his hand, pulling him forward just enough that leaning in to kiss him is not disruptive to his tenuous balance. the kiss is soft and chaste as anything — but it is undercut with a sort of lingering heat, soft and pleasant as summer rain. he laces their fingers together with a slow deliberation, and when the kiss breaks apart he draws a moment's breath before redoubling it to the back of wei ying's hand. ）

I have yet to thank you for the art.

（ the sketches pressed down into pages of their linked journals, each telling a little story. he has largely kept it tucked away — if for no other reason than the fact he would likely be forced to give it up if another discovered he had anything of value, but. when he is able to steal private moments... he has not been unaware of all that wei ying has drawn for him. ）

[He doesn't forget where they are or why, not really, but from the moment Itachi pulls him closer, the rest of it fades to background noise. The recent distance between them had made him more tentative than usual, but that all falls away now and he kisses back as softly, chasing Itachi's mouth when he pulls away. His eyes stay closed for a moment before fluttering open almost reluctantly.]

There's nothing to thank me for. [He says quietly into the space between them, meaning it.]

I like capturing the things we see on missions and I like being able to share them with you. If you aren't at my side, then at least I can share them like this. And I liked yours too. [He smiles and drapes his arms around Itachi's shoulders, as much for the closeness as to give his core muscles a small break.]

You only say that because you do not know how I weight the value of your actions.

（ it is not quite the man's usual deflection, but nevertheless. once wei ying puts an arm around him, and he can feel the pressure of his weight as the man rests against him, he shifts a little so he can hook one of his feet behind his ankle and bring wei ying's foot forward until it rests atop his own — giving him some semblance of solid ground. ）

[The combination of Itachi's assistance and the buoyancy of the water allow him to find his balance, and he ducks his head at Itachi's words. He is beyond protesting it or making a whiny fuss about it, but it's still hard to hear Itachi speak of his worth so plainly.]

Then I'm glad. [Is what he says eventually, resolving to make time for a few more sketches. It's rare he has time for the intricate paintings, but it's easy to find a few minutes for a simpler sketch.

One of his hands twines in Itachi's hair and he leans forward to kiss him again, reveling in the closeness and the quiet of the moment.]

Mm. How long can you hold your breath?

（ it's said with — just the faintest trace of mischief. a rare thing, in him. ）

[His brow furrows and he laughs.]

A little more than three minutes. Why?

（ he frees up one hand, and murmurs: ）

Then take a deep one.

（ he forms the signs for the suirō no jutsu, and water coalesces around them, enshrining them in its embrace before it drags them down beneath the surface.

with the bioluminescence, and the additional help from wei ying's talismans, the underwater world is as lush and alive as anything on the surface, visible even without the sharingan. fish dart by, jeweled in the light, curious at the intrusion into their territory. itachi curls an arm around his companion, as much to gauge his body language and discomfort as they descend — though the pressure is equalized by the barrier — until they gently touch the ocean floor.

Inform me when you need to ascend. ）

Edited 2023-09-04 23:21 (UTC)

[He's instantly reminded of Xrisora, though it's entirely different experiencing an underwater world in his regular human body. There is something to Itachi's jutsu no doubt that makes movement beneath the water easier he thinks then it would be normally and he takes full advantage. His eyes dart this way and that and for a long moment he simply gazes up at the bright swirl of water and light above them, mesmerized by the beauty of it.

He turns to smile at Itachi and then nods his head in the direction of a bright collection of coral that's caught his attention.]

This is amazing. You know, the last time we did this you were a dragon. [There's laughter in his eyes that doesn't breach his lips.] How long can you hold your breath?

（ he observes the coral with curious interest, and then with a faint curve to his mouth: ）

Longer than you.

（ he is plainly teasing. though the truth of it is — not by much. his lungs were too damaged, too long by the illness that ravaged his body, and short of a transplant — which he is certain mccoy would offer, and perform — there is not much to be done for the scar tissue. ）

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