[ xichen takes a moment, glances up at the false sky above them. it is a sentiment he extends to others but is difficult to internalize in himself. ] A burden made heavier by circumstances of birth and the breadth of the consequences.
[ for himself, for others. ] In the end, I am to live with the ways we all destroyed something good.
What you have destroyed in the past has no bearing on what you may build in the future. You have the right to forgive yourself, Zewu-jun.
（ it is all right to want to live. itachi shakes his head at the last, and then begins gathering up their dishes. ）
Also... it is important to remember that the longer you carry guilt, the more it poisons you. You have accepted your wrong-doing, made no excuses for it, and cannot undo it. Being subsumed by guilt serves no one now but your own damaged ego.
（ harsh words, perhaps, but they are nevertheless true. guilt is not a salve to the dead. it is neither protection nor promise. it is only an anchor. ）
( the title ears a slight twitch of the hand, xichen has left both resting in his lap and he curls them into fists. ) Wise words I would repeat to another.
( he looks up after a moment. he understands those words are those spoken by someone who knows them to be true, who has let them seep into their being and bones. there is plenty of guilt between them, the thing is how do either move forward. ) But you are right.
We can only move forward. All of us here. ( that is the biggest lesson to learn in a place where they've come to undo the regrets of the past and their guilt. the irony is not lost on him. xichen moves to help with the dishes, does not leave itachi to do it alone. )
（ he says that with a faint, self-deprecatory amusement. to move forward... how could he hope to do anything else?
they tidy in relative silence, and once all the dishes have been gathered and the area erased of all traces of their mutual presence, he gives xichen a faint incline of his head. ）
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no subject
（ there isn't a trace of weariness in how he says it. the truth is, he used that to his own advantage on more than one occasion. ）
But I understand that it is a burden to carry.
no subject
[ for himself, for others. ] In the end, I am to live with the ways we all destroyed something good.
no subject
（ it is all right to want to live. itachi shakes his head at the last, and then begins gathering up their dishes. ）
Also... it is important to remember that the longer you carry guilt, the more it poisons you. You have accepted your wrong-doing, made no excuses for it, and cannot undo it. Being subsumed by guilt serves no one now but your own damaged ego.
（ harsh words, perhaps, but they are nevertheless true. guilt is not a salve to the dead. it is neither protection nor promise. it is only an anchor. ）
no subject
( he looks up after a moment. he understands those words are those spoken by someone who knows them to be true, who has let them seep into their being and bones. there is plenty of guilt between them, the thing is how do either move forward. ) But you are right.
We can only move forward. All of us here. ( that is the biggest lesson to learn in a place where they've come to undo the regrets of the past and their guilt. the irony is not lost on him. xichen moves to help with the dishes, does not leave itachi to do it alone. )
no subject
（ he says that with a faint, self-deprecatory amusement. to move forward... how could he hope to do anything else?
they tidy in relative silence, and once all the dishes have been gathered and the area erased of all traces of their mutual presence, he gives xichen a faint incline of his head. ）
If you will excuse me.
（ and just like that, he is gone. ）