Nathan ilusfm. also cw self-injury

[It's the scar tissue that catches his eye first on his way out the door, pulls him up fast in confusion and empathy. It reminds him of Zane and the electricity of their first meeting as equals, when Cassel caught the scars on Zane's forearms and asked if he was important enough to hurt. He was, in the end; was important enough not to. So in that split second he blinks, wide-eyed, at Nathan with the muscle-flayed vulnerability that only Zane sees.]

[There is a bottomless pain and inexplicable history in his eyes for that moment, the implication of trauma regurgitated, sins replayed. His lips shiver, and then he smirks, a little mean, transparently protective.]

[The vulnerability's gone. This isn't his brother.]

Help you?