[Nie Huaisang listens to his brother's words, letting them seep into his consciousness. That Nie Mingjue understands the situation is enough to put some of his anxieties at ease. He's not an unreasonable man, at least not when he isn't being triggered or under the influence of his suit. It's also a little nostalgic talking to his older-now-little brother like this. It reminds him of when they were both younger, back when they could be just brothers instead of a strange combination of siblings, parent, and child.
He'd forgotten it was like to feel safe and accepted around Nie Mingjue. Their final days together had been ones of full of angry words and visceral fear for Nie Huaisang. The constant tension and anxiety that he's been holding so rigidly inside himself for many years is starting to slowly but surely drain away. There's still work to be done to truly repair everything that had broken and gone awry but this is a solid start. Nie Huaisang has far too much to say to his brother after this many years of painful silence between them, made permanent by death and desecration.
Even now, he's struggling to come up with an actual verbal response. For a long moment, he just stares, eyes filling with tears as the emotional armor he's crafted to protect himself with finally begins to crack and break down in earnest. It's doesn't take very long for those genuine tears hidden away for so long to start falling at last, sliding down his cheeks, his whole body starting to tremble like a leaf about to be torn off by the wind.
His movements are a little stiff and awkward and he hesitantly steps closer and places his arms around his brother in a tentative hug. He stands there, silently crying in a way completely unlike any of the melodramatic displays he's notorious for back home. This time the emotional release is real, not theatrics.
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He'd forgotten it was like to feel safe and accepted around Nie Mingjue. Their final days together had been ones of full of angry words and visceral fear for Nie Huaisang. The constant tension and anxiety that he's been holding so rigidly inside himself for many years is starting to slowly but surely drain away. There's still work to be done to truly repair everything that had broken and gone awry but this is a solid start. Nie Huaisang has far too much to say to his brother after this many years of painful silence between them, made permanent by death and desecration.
Even now, he's struggling to come up with an actual verbal response. For a long moment, he just stares, eyes filling with tears as the emotional armor he's crafted to protect himself with finally begins to crack and break down in earnest. It's doesn't take very long for those genuine tears hidden away for so long to start falling at last, sliding down his cheeks, his whole body starting to tremble like a leaf about to be torn off by the wind.
His movements are a little stiff and awkward and he hesitantly steps closer and places his arms around his brother in a tentative hug. He stands there, silently crying in a way completely unlike any of the melodramatic displays he's notorious for back home. This time the emotional release is real, not theatrics.
Finally, he speaks three quiet, loaded words.]
I missed you.