"Mn. I suspected as much." This seems to follow, from what Lan Wangji knows of the type of person he tends to find himself loving. The closer something is, the more it hurts; the more personal and painful, the more likely they may be to deflect, to joke, to find ways not to care. Magnus has an easy affect and he is quick to smile and laugh, but Lan Wangji often finds him more difficult to understand than Galahad, even while he loves Magnus in a way that makes him unaccountably tender to think of it. He hopes that this -- the end of Aornis, and the upcoming conclusion of their collective responsibilities to Shen Yuan and his new body -- will ease Magnus' worries and grant him freedom. He lets more of his weight rest against Claudius, some of that fatigue tightening its claws around him afresh.