[Lan Xichen catches him to stop him before he can even think of bowing. He holds him upright, gentle but firm.]
A-Yao.
[His tone is gentle, calm. He thinks his heart should be drumming in his chest, but he feels serene. Piece by piece, he is starting to understand - finally understand - how everything fell apart so terribly.]
My hands were never clean. And you were never the one who dirtied them.
[What horrors he has stood by and let happen? He has no business sitting on a moral pedestal when his complacency has hurt so many. From his sworn brothers, to his brother-in-law, to his own brother; how many close to him? How many more had he not even seen, because he'd been floating through life, heedless of those he'd stepped on to retain some thin semblance of peace?
How blind has he been that it took the events in Guanyin Temple to wake himself up to the realities of the world?]
A-Yao, if you really do not want me to apologize, then let me at least promise you something...?
no subject
A-Yao.
[His tone is gentle, calm. He thinks his heart should be drumming in his chest, but he feels serene. Piece by piece, he is starting to understand - finally understand - how everything fell apart so terribly.]
My hands were never clean. And you were never the one who dirtied them.
[What horrors he has stood by and let happen? He has no business sitting on a moral pedestal when his complacency has hurt so many. From his sworn brothers, to his brother-in-law, to his own brother; how many close to him? How many more had he not even seen, because he'd been floating through life, heedless of those he'd stepped on to retain some thin semblance of peace?
How blind has he been that it took the events in Guanyin Temple to wake himself up to the realities of the world?]
A-Yao, if you really do not want me to apologize, then let me at least promise you something...?