For a fleeting moment, Claudius indulges himself (he can only think of it as self-indulgence) and wonders whether this is brotherhood. Lan Wangji is a wise friend, a confidante, a protector. He's all the roles that should've been a brother's -- but Claudius and Hamlet were born in the wrong time, to the wrong family, almost destined to despise each other. Otherwise, a brother might have been the one to remind Claudius what his worth was, and who was unworthy of him.

And so, when Claudius prods it, he recognizes this is an old pain. That misaligned feeling, the feeling that -- if he just broke his bones again and shoved them into place -- the fractured pieces of his history could heal. Some people will never apologize. Some, Claudius thinks dryly, can't apologize because they're dead -- but no, even coming back as a ghost, Hamlet had no regrets. Some things can't be fixed, and re-breaking them only adds pain and damage. "My thanks," he says after a moment, "for finding worth in it." With a shaky laugh, he adds, "I could've used thee earlier in my life. Gertrude would've found thee a stalwart ally in advising me through my misadventures."

When he actually imagines it, imagines the two of them gossiping and sharing concerns, he realizes how easily the two could've united to embarrass him. Perhaps it's for the best¹."

¹ Foreshadowing ...?