singlelogbridge | Inbox: Ximilia

（ this is the story of how itachi just stares at wei ying, love of his life, absolute buffoon, for a solid fifteen seconds.

and then he just cracks the dumbest smile, and reaches out to ruffle the man's hair. devoid of oxygen, all he succeeds in doing is stirring up a messy halo of long black tendrils drifting free of the tie he'd put it up in. ）

You are ridiculous. Please, never change.

[He can't even defend himself, he IS ridiculous. He lets out a soundless laugh and covers his face with his hands for a moment.]

It lasts for at least thirty minutes but I can always refresh it again. [He lowers his hands and steps towards Itachi, taking him by the hand and tugging him along.]

How soon do you need to be back? [They'll probably need to get out of the cold before then anyway, but it's helpful to know.]

Midnight is the longest I can be away before they miss me. However, I can send a clone. So long as they do not stray too far beyond the radius of my sensory abilities, it would fool them. I believe the captain's intention was to anchor not too far for the night.

（ so, you know. he's got time. ）

Good. [The Captain and the crew of the Silent Plunder have had enough of Itachi's time lately, now it's Wei Wuxian's turn.

As they walk along the bottom of the sea floor, a long snake like fish swims by and it takes him a moment to remember it's name. Eel he recalls. A name he wouldn't have known without how he'd read up on ocean life after Xrisora. Wei Wuxian follows the creature at a sedate pace, watching as it winds through the narrow tunnels of a structure of coral.

He only barely resists the urge to reach out and try to skim a hand along its spine. Eventually though, the eel winds out of the coral and around his legs, prompting Wei Wuxian to kneel to get a better look even as it darts away again.]

I think it's curious. [That makes two of them.

Wei Wuxian stays where he is and extends an arm, and after a while the eel approaches again, twining around his arm once before disappearing back into the coral for good this time. He lets his arm fall to his side again and resumes his spot at Itachi's side.]

Do you know what makes the water glow like this?

Yes.

（ and for a time it seems like that is all he has to say on the matter. wei ying asked if he knows, not to clarify that knowledge.

instead he watches, as the eel roams — makes its stop with wei ying, curiously encircling his arm before its retreat. red eyes track its progress as it dips back beneath the shadow of the coral.

he cannot help but wonder how, exactly, sharks might take to the man. he knows from long experience that they are neither as bloodthirsty nor as cruel as people say. would kisame object to that assertion, he wonders? or would he accept it as truth, now? four years of partnership no doubt resulted in considerable insights being made on both sides — although kisame would still despise him for the role he played as a double agent. if he had known, it would have come to blows long before his death.

finally — ）

There is an algae in the water. It produces a bioluminescent effect.

Algae! [Who would have thought? The world really is such a strange and amazing place. He doesn't know how something like algae can make an ocean come to life with light, and he makes a mental note to research it when they get back.

In the meantime Wei Wuxian continues to explore the ocean floor, investigating, picking up a handful of shells, and occasionally pausing to simply take in the view. Eventually he feels a chill beginning to settle into his skin and he motions for them to retreat back to the surface.]

（ ascending is a simple affair — and once they break the surface, he draws a long breath. the transition from breathing underwater to breathing above is ... not uncomfortable, explicitly, but certainly strange.

and then he hauls himself up out of the water, intending to walk across the lagoon to return to where they'd shucked their clothing, not terribly interested in troubling himself to swim the distance. the air is a cold chill against his skin and there's a faint involuntary twitch as he suppresses a shiver.

once they've returned to the shore — ）

May I use your Qiankun pouch?

（ he keeps rough stock of its contents — and is well aware that wei ying carries all manner of useful items out of habit besides. he will certainly have blankets, easily substituted for towels as they dry. ）

[Having followed Itachi out—likewise a little too cool to stay in the water—he nods his agreement but reaches for Itachi's hand to pause him in place.]

Here, let me. [He traces a symbol into the air in glowing red characters and it settles into Itachi's hair, drying it instantly. That one hasn't seen much use either, but it comes in handy now and he smiles at Itachi as he moves past him to retrieve his qiankun pouch. Instead of handing it over, he pulls a blanket from inside of it, easily able to figure out what Itachi might be looking for, and then sets a warming array on the blanket before handing it to him.

Itachi will find the blanket nice and toasty when he uses it, and Wei Wuxian returns to squeezing his hair out before using the same drying talisman on his own hair.]

（ it's such a simple thing. here, let me. yet — he does not remember the last time he heard such a thing, much less as far as rendering assistance to him has gone. he starts faintly when wei ying sets the talisman to warm him — he is aware of the ability so that is not what gives him pause — but had not expected...

ah, but it does not truly matter what he expects, does it? wei ying has proved him wrong at every step. somehow, neither personal betrayal nor learning of the massacre has driven him away. and here he is, thinking first of itachi's own comfort.

his fingers clutch at the blanket, curling into the warmth reflexively. his teeth click together, caging a sentiment he decides is better left unsaid.

ultimately, he sends a clone off to collect firewood, and he sinks down onto the black sand; for once contented with not doing anything especially useful or pressing in the moment. instead, he simply watches wei ying as the man dries himself and once he is acceptably devoid of water — ）

Come here.

（ he lifts one corner of the blanket, offering the spot beside him. ）

[Wei Wuxian pauses as he reaches for his trousers, glancing up to meet Itachi's gaze and immediately breaking into a smile. Cute definitely isn't the first word he associates with Itachi, but right now it's the only one that fits. Extremely cute even.

He leaves his pants on the floor and goes, kneeling to sit beside him and huddle into Itachi's side. Even without the warming talisman it would be cozy, but the combination of Itachi's body heat and the array warmed blanket have him sighing in contentment.]

This is much better than just getting dressed.

Don't get comfortable.

（ but even in contrast to the words, he folds the blanket in around them both, and tugs the man in against him, curling an arm across his shoulders.

the clone, meanwhile — fully dressed, thank you — returns and deposits an armful of driftwood before self-dismissing. itachi, in a languid manner better suited to a cat satisfied in a sunbeam, reaches out with one hand to do the flickering hand seals of a fire jutsu — and then the wood sparks to life. it's dry enough that it burns almost entirely without smoke, casting shadows in an ageless dance around them.

he does not speak for a long while, gaze fixed on the flames. then: ）

This is... pleasant. Thank you for joining me.

[Warmth suffuses him from head to toe and he closes his eyes, reveling in the peaceful contentment drifting over him. Even if it isn't as rare as it once was, this level of physical closeness with Itachi isn't common and he isn't going to take it for granted.

His eyes flutter back open at Itachi's words and he hums softly in agreement.]

Thank you for asking to meet. I really...ah, I really like spending time with you like this. You know I love exploring the worlds we visit. It's always better doing it with you.

I would like to posit the theory that you are, perhaps, somewhat biased in this.

（ but there's a hint of playfulness to his tone, accentuated in the way that he turns his head to press a kiss against the crown of the man's hair, dried now with the help of the talisman but still faintly tacky with salt. ）

[He lets out a boyish laugh and shakes his head once Itachi's lips have drawn away.]

Me? Biased? Slander! I have never been anything but completely just and unbiased in my entire life. [As he makes the claim, he slips one hand out of the blanket, just enough to hold three fingers up and cross them with his thumb on a swear.

His smile brightens if possible and he shuffles in the blanket, motioning for Itachi to lay back if he's willing. The blanket is big enough to still cover them entirely even if they lay down, and it seems a more comfortable position.]

It's going to be so annoying going back to the Hawking without you. Obviously you should just come back with me instead. I'll smuggle you in inside of my qiankun pouch.

（ there is a moment where it seems like he might refuse, stiffly upright despite wei ying's gesturing. then, by degrees, he eases back, settling with one hand behind his head and the blanket still tucked well around them both. ）

I would think that would almost be as uncomfortable as being sealed into a scroll. No, thank you. There is work to be done aboard the Silent Plunder.

[He lets out a dramatic sigh and then curls in towards Itachi to fix him with the full breadth of his feigned pout.]

Fine, fine, but only because I'm pretty sure people wouldn't actually survive in a qiankun pouch. [Though now that he's thinking about it...]

I wonder if someone had an air supply...[Hmm. Not for long of course, not without food or water. Would they even be able to access it? He probably shouldn't try crawling into a qiankun pouch, right?

He reaches down to catch Itachi's hand in his own, threading their fingers together.]

I'll settle for drawing you more pictures until this mission is over.

（ he sees that hamster wheel turning at mach speed, and he does not approve. at least for the moment. so itachi just puffs out an exasperated murmur, rolling his eyes faintly. out of the water, they're darkened again. it has been a long time since he felt the need to keep the sharingan active around his companion. ）

Very well. And it is difficult to say what will come next. If we can be reasonably certain the orb is on Dracness... mm.

From what Leixi said, it would have at least been there at some point. Maybe if there are dragons there, they can help us. Who knows, maybe the one that carried the High Queen's daughter is still alive. [It was a dragon after all, it must be long lived.

He reaches up to push back a few hairs that are about to fall into Itachi's face and smiles at him warmly.]

And if the dragons can't help us, we figure it out when we get there.

Yes.

（ they have done this more than a few times, now. it is not to say there are predictable throughlines — but the stories have, thus far, ended only one way.

itachi sighs faintly, lulled by the fire and the warmth of the blanket, and the nearness of his friend at his side. he turns his head, tucks his cheek against the man's shoulder. he has slept very poorly on the silent plunder, and it is easy to feel the weight of that now. it is rare he relaxes, or lets his guard down enough to invite the fleeting grasp of safety not borne of his own skill, but there is an awareness in the back of his mind that it is here to seize upon, if only he wished to do so.

pensively — ）

Tell me something of your world. I do not care if I have heard it before.

[He hums thoughtfully and instinctively reaches over again the moment Itachi turns into him, stroking a hand over his hair.]

When I was sixteen, I went with Jiang Cheng and Shijie to study at the Cloud Reccesses—the home of the Lan clan—it was considered a great honor to be among the disciples able to study under the noble Lans. [There's humor in his voice, but not derision. For all that he has some hang ups about the Lan clan now, this isn't that kind of story.]

They had three thousand rules, including when to rise and sleep, what and how to eat, not to run or be over excited, and most offensive to me personally, no drinking.

As you can imagine, I broke many of the rules. [There's humor in his voice now as he recalls those days.]

I was always waking up late too and arriving late to the lectures. Poor old man Qiren—that's Lan Zhan's and Zewu-jun's uncle and he assisted Xichen in running the clan—it's amazing I didn't give him a qi deviation.

The Cloud Recesses were beautiful though. They were up high on a mountain and in the winter I've heard they're blanketed entirely in snow and all of the streams and waterfalls freeze over then. I'll show you a drawing when we're back.

（ it's the sound and steadiness of his voice, more than anything, that lulls him like the gentle lap of water against the shore.

one arm is draped across wei ying's chest, and his head nods against the man's shoulder.

by the time the story is finished, he is asleep. ）

[It takes him a couple of minutes of talking before he realizes what's happened and though he pauses in his description, after a moment he resumes, keeping his voice steady but lowering the volume just a little.]

There are hot springs there, and cold springs too. I think you'd agree with me that cold springs are ridiculous though. Who would ever want such a thing?

[After a few more minutes of talking, eventually he grows quiet. It's tempting to join Itachi in sleep and he knows that he could if he closed his eyes and relaxed, but Itachi would feel better knowing someone had kept watch. Anyway, it's hardly a burden to remain awake and listen to the soft sounds of his breath occasionally interspersed with the crackle of their fire.

For all of the times they've slept near one another, barring injury, it is the first time he's actually seen the other man asleep. He savors the privilege of it now, continuing to skirt his hand through the other man's hair and simply existing in the peaceful quiet of it. There is, he knows, nowhere else in the entire multiverse that he would rather be than here in the cave with Itachi at his side.]

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