Mack’s Apartment
Seattle, WA
The United States of America
June 2017
“I’m not going to say much—but I will say that you overreacted.”
Aether said nothing. Mack heaved a sigh; getting up from his couch, he swept the empty glass of wine and set off to the kitchen to refill it. He honestly had no idea how to resolve the issue between Tadashi and Aether. While he knew that Peters was keeping the Korean company in the latter’s apartment, it wasn’t exactly enough to mend the rift between them. It was a bad fight. It was one of their worse arguments—hell, it was a rare incident of an argument to begin with. Aether and Tadashi weren’t the type of pair who fought.
But it happened just two days ago, and neither him nor Peters were sure on how they could make the two stand in the same room and apologize to one another. Mack exhaled as he gingerly refilled the wine glass; while he supported having an alcohol-induced night out Aether any day of the week, drowning one’s self in wine was never the best solution. He made a mental note to pry away the glass by the time she got pink.
Hell, he wasn’t even sure how he would approach Aether about the topic.
The argument ended with Aether leaving and Tadashi standing there with a look on his face that Mack hardly ever saw. It was more than ‘kicked puppy’; while Mack wasn’t one for emotions, seeing Tadashi like that made his chest hurt slightly.
He tried to see things from both parties’ perspectives. Aether was right in one way; Tadashi had to learn that she could take care of herself. Granted, he was fearful within reason, but it was something he himself had admitted. There was a need for Tadashi to let go of past fears and let whatever happen to happen. He couldn’t stop it.
But then again, Tadashi was also right. Aether hadn’t been caring for herself as much. It came to the point where she would enter the building with a bigger cup of coffee than usual, light circles threatening to appear under her eyes. Aether had assured them weeks back that Mathieu was keeping an eye on her, but that wasn’t enough assurance.
Of course Tadashi would be concerned.
Of course Aether would be frustrated.
The problem was getting them to see things in the other person’s perspective. Plopping down next to Aether, he handed her the wine glass without saying anything. “Thanks,” she mumbled. Mack said nothing, merely turning his attention back to the television screen. They were marathoning something on Netflix—a show Mack had convinced her to watched only a couple of days back. Normally she’d be excited for what would happen, but it was clear to see that her mind still lingered on the argument, on the tension, on Tadashi.
Aether swallowed down some wine, wiped the back of her mouth, and set the glass on his coffee table. She wasn’t pinking just yet, but at the rate she was going, Mack expected the flush on her cheeks to appear sometime soon. He was about to speak up, but there was a vibration that came from his pocket alongside a familiar song. Peters. Fishing it out, he made sure to keep an eye on her as he read the incoming messages from the American.
[From: Pete
Tad’s been venting for the past hour.]
[From: Pete
It’s a little worrying. I can hear the frustration in his voice.]
Venting. The word made Mack grimace; it wasn’t a term that was associated with Tadashi at all. Usually, it would be him or Peters or Aether doing the venting and the sharing with Tadashi willingly putting himself in the receiving position.
[From: Pete
‘I just want her to be safe, Peters.’
‘I trust her, but she really isn’t taking care of herself.’
‘I can’t…’]
[From: Mack
he can’t what?]
[From: Pete
Hold on]
[From: Pete
‘I can’t let that happen to her.’]
[From: Mack
…what the fuck are we gonna do now]
No response. Mack exhaled yet again and looked back at Aether, who only looked more sullen. She reached for the wine glass yet again and finished it, to which Mack sighed and moved closer to her. “Aether,” he said firmly. “We’re going to have to talk about this. Don’t be stubborn.”
“I just don’t understand why he can’t trust me.”
“He does—”
“Tad’s always worried, he’s always—he’s always worried, he’s always looking out for me the most. I’m the youngest, I know…but for Christ’s sake, Mack,” she managed, looking at him with tired eyes, “It feels a bit stifling. Like—like I can’t breathe right. And it feels…”
At that point, Aether released a shaky breath. Mack cautiously put rested a hand on her shoulder, prepared to take it away if she didn’t want touch, but she didn’t push him off. “He’s my best friend, not my dad. He knows that,” she went on. Aether’s voice broke a bit as she said those words, “But—but hell, he just…”
Aether stopped talking. Mack tried to connect the pieces together.
“He just came off like one?” A nod. “It feels like there’s more to it than just that, Aether.”
“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know.” She bit her lip, looking away; there were tears forming in her eyes and Mack could barely do much while she used her sleeve to wipe at her eyes. “The way he said all of that—that I can barely take care of myself, that things can happen—it sounds ridiculous, but it—it sounded like he was already putting the blame on me for not trying. But I am trying, I’m…I’m trying my best but he can’t—he can’t even see that,” she ended shakily, burying her face into her hands.
He was about to speak, but Aether was already sobbing and he couldn’t do much. Sighing, Mack merely rubbed her back for a moment before scooting closer and wrapping an arm around her. The action only made her sob harder into her hands, and Mack thought that the wine had finally gotten to her head before remembering that what he was doing at that very moment reminded her of him.
She didn’t need to say the words out loud for him to conclude that she missed her best friend. It was a complicated problem, he knew that. There was Aether feeling hurt that he couldn’t trust her, feeling discouraged because her efforts weren’t obvious enough to Tadashi.
(And Mack knew how much she valued Tadashi’s input, Tadashi’s validation—validation in general. Tadashi in general.)
The problem was out in the open. That was one thing he had managed.
The next was trying to make her recognize that there were moments where she was in the wrong, and that she had hurt him as much as he hurt her. That, however, would come after Aether would exhaust her tears. There was a mess of emotions inside of her, a swirling maelstrom of conflicting feelings and thoughts and whatnot. So he kept rubbing her back, kept staying at her side until her sobbing subsided and her sniffing came to a shaky halt.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. Mack merely shook his head and handed her tissues, to which she wiped her face and blew her nose. “I—I’ll text Mathieu and ask him to pick me up…”
“You could always stay,” he offered. “I’ve got extra blankets and your emergency overnight bag.” But Aether shook her head and reached for her phone from the table and called Mathieu, the curly-haired male only watching as she managed a weak smile. When the call ended, Aether sighed and wiped at her eyes for the nth time, leaving them red and puffy.
Neither of them said anything before Aether hung her head and admitted very quietly to herself, “…I wish I handled it better.”
“The argument?”
“Mm. I—I’m an idiot, Mack, I…” she cut herself off and released a shaky exhale, hugging her knees. “I’m such a fucking idiot, I shouldn’t have gone off at Tad like that and now—I bet he’s angry, I bet he doesn’t want to talk to me.”
“You could have handled it better,” he agreed. Aether nodded. “You know he just wants you to be safe, right?”
“I do, but…it’s more complicated.” She closed her eyes, “It’s…it’s complicated.”
He said nothing after that, only rising from the couch and bringing her wine glass to the sink where he rinsed it out.
She recognized, at least, that she was in the wrong.
But how could he (and Peters) bring Aether and Tadashi back together? He didn’t have an answer for that, not at that moment. Mack merely shook his head to himself before going back to her; at that point, she was rising from the couch and collecting her items, tucking them into her bag. On a usual Friday night, they’d be out and about, laughing with one another while looking for cute males to pair with him.
(He didn’t mind skipping their usual night out. Aether needed someone, after all.)
Aether left soon after, supported by Mathieu who wrapped an arm around her and sent a quiet, thankful smile to Mack who merely nodded his way. As soon as the door closed, he dug his phone from his pocket only to see a waiting message from Peters.
[From: Pete
Might have thought of something.
Text back when Aether’s gone.]
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