Silent Night: A Coalesce Short

Headquarters

Seattle, WA

December 2017

8:12 PM

It's late.

Aether peeks at the time on the upper corner of her laptop screen. She needs to go home. The rest of her time had gone an hour back (with Tad trying to convince her to come with him), and the rest of the office followed. At this time, Aether expects that she's pretty much the last one there. It's Christmas Eve, after all; hardly anyone would pass up the chance to go home and sleep (Tad), or party and hook up with someone (Peters), or curl up in bed and binge something on Netflix (Mack). But she doesn't. Soon, maybe. She knows Theo's waiting back at home, but she needs to get this report done and emailed.

“What are you doing here?”

Aether yelps. One of the folders in her hands falls to the floor and she jumps, looking up and looking for the source of the voice. Audra gives a small chuckle and Aether flushes in embarrassment. She didn't know Audra was still there, still working just like she was. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Gesturing to Aether’s work, “But I’m curious, Agent. What are you doing here? It’s late.”

It takes a moment for Aether’s heart rate to return to its normal pace. She stares at Audra for a moment before managing to collect herself, balling her hands into fists in attempt to calm herself down and stop the trembling. “Ma’am--I--I was busy coming up with another report for the Kim case,” she explains. Audra blinks and Aether continues, “My other teammates were busy tonight and I wanted to get the report done as soon as possible so that it wouldn’t interfere with tomorrow.”

Addiction: On Aether Maxwell

i.

arabella likes holding you in her arms.

you still couldn’t believe that you were actually dating her. it had come off as a shock, really; you had thought that she was just being friendly with all the one-on-one tutorials at different coffee shops and restaurants. you had also thought that all her compliments and sweet words were meant in a friendly manner, but apparently not.

it’s not like you were complaining, though. arabella is pretty. arabella has long, red hair that falls straight down her back. arabella has freckles in her cheeks and her brown eyes are the prettiest ones you’ve seen. arabella is pretty, smug, and smart. arabella makes you feel warm on the inside and it’s almost as if you’re experiencing a crush for the first time all over again.

the only thing is that she actually likes you back this time.

you burrow yourself further into her chest. you didn’t know what time it was, and you didn’t actually want to know. never mind that both of you probably have early-morning lectures to attend or any extra-curricular duties you have to get to. all that matters is arabella, arabella’s arms around you, and the sound of her laughter when she sees you move closer for her warmth.

you like her. you like her a lot.

Girls/Girls/Boys: A Coalesce Graphic

"and love is not a choice."

Three: A Coalesce Graphic

[x]

Doorway: A Coalesce Short (3/3)

(+1)

Tadashi doesn't know how to react upon seeing Aether for the first time in weeks.

Aether's bedroom is eerily dark. The curtains are drawn shut, lights switched off. Squinting his eyes in the dark, it takes him a moment to adjust until he manages to make out a figure lying on the bed. There's a quiet body under the blankets that remains unmoving despite his entrance. Provided that it was only Mathieu in the living room alongside a man whose name he remembers as Anthony, Tadashi finds that his worst fears are confirmed.

The scenario is too similar, as is the lighting and the mood. It nearly makes his chest constrict but he pushes the feeling down and swallows away the lump forming in his throat. The last thing Tadashi wanted to see was his worst assumptions, but there was nothing more he could do now that he was inside as well. He opens his mouth, tests the waters.

"...Aether?"

There's almost no response aside from the twitching of what he guesses is her leg. Pressing his lips together, he takes step after step forward, approaching the right side of the bed. It takes him a moment longer; the lack of light in the room makes it near impossible to properly navigate. The thought makes him wonder about Mathieu, and the feeling in his chest is only made even heavier.

Red Like Roses: A Birthday Graphic

red like roses

fills my dreams

and brings me to

the place you rest

Doorway: A Coalesce Short (2/3)

04.

Despite her numerous attempts to convince herself that she was ready, the truth is that Aether is not and would never be ready to bear Tadashi’s hurt.

But there she is, anyway, bearing it. “I’m sorry,” he croaks. “You—you weren’t supposed to see this, you weren’t…” He’s unable to finish his sentence as he buries his face into his hands once again, and Aether shushes him quietly. She rubs his back. It’s a continuous motion, one that she keeps up the more he crumbles beneath her touch. “You weren’t supposed to see this.”

“Shh.”

Tadashi keeps speaking about how Aether didn’t deserve to see him like this. She considers opening her mouth but keeps it shut, decides to listen as he purges every single nasty thing he had kept in for god-knows-how-long. He repeats certain phrases here and there. Aether catches the words “toxic” and “tired” and pieces them together. She learns about his unwillingness to be toxic, his desire to not have her—or anyone—tire of him. She wonders about how he had gotten that kind of mindset and who had even implanted those kinds of thoughts into his head in the first place, but again, she remains silent. Aether keeps silent as he admits fragmented truths, as he attempts to keep all the shards from spilling.

“I’ve been trying to get better.”

Doorway: A Coalesce Short (1/3)

01. 

The first time she meets him, Aether notices the weary look in his eyes and the way the first few buttons of his shirt remain undone. 

She nearly brings herself to pointing it out, but she finds herself distracted by the unkempt stubble on his jaw and the way he smells lightly of a previous night’s liquor. It’s a little unnerving, but Aether decides to take it. All she can think of is how desperately she needs to talk to someone, provided that the ‘someone’ isn’t part of the airport staff. She can’t help it. Aether’s an introvert, and she knows that well. After suffering more than nine hours in the sky and one hour attempting to navigate through Seattle-Tacoma, she finds that a conversation about anything but her flight would do her some good. 

Unfortunately, however, the first conversation concerns her flight. She forces a thin smile and responds with a tired voice. It was okay seemed to be the best answer for any query, from the in-flight entertainment to the food that had been served. Her companion—Tadashi, that’s what his name is—merely nods at her answers, and any hope that she would have literally any other conversation seems to extinguish itself from that point onwards. 

She doesn’t like the feeling. 

Aether attempts at starting conversation about anything else and tries to engage him about Seattle, about the airport, even about the car that they were riding on the way back to where she would be sleeping for the first couple of nights. She brings up certain details here and there, tries to compliment the interior of the car, attempts at asking about the picture of the pretty lady on the dashboard. Aether tries to talk to him about where she would be studying and does her best to ask him about the university she would attend for the time being, but Tadashi’s lips remain tightly shut. Her enthusiasm fizzles once more, and Aether finds herself mumbling a quiet “okay” as she resorts to glancing out the window. 

(From the corner of her eye, she spots him glancing at her with an apologetic look. Aether almost wants to believe that he’s sorry for not engaging in conversation. But then again, nine hours of tossing and turning in her seat with little to no sleep tended to cause one to see and imagine things that might have not been.) 

Discussion: Aether

Hi, everyone! Apologies for posting this pretty late—I might have ended the week by going out and having a fun time with my friends. And yes, that did include some drinking here and there. [winks] But I’m fine now, and that’s what matters!

Anyway, here’s the last post for August’s celebration. Before anything else, thank you guys so much for being with me for the past month and eing there as I took a look back and compared-slash-contrasted to what I have now versus what I had then. It’s pretty humbling to see, and I definitely know that there’s more room to grow. Regardless, I’m happy about the steps I’ve made to somewhat better both myself and the stories I’ve gotten to create over the years.

For this final 5B post, I’ll be talking about Coalesce’s Aether Maxwell. Feel free to click the “read more” down there if you’re interested in knowing more about my baby.

"I'm a little camera-shy."

Coalesce Spread: Aether

Parental: A Coalesce Short (4/4)

Peters’ Apartment

Seattle, WA

United States of America

June 2017

Aether and Tadashi sit as far away from the other as they possibly can.

It’s a bit hard to keep away from the other inside Peters’ apartment; while his is relatively larger than Mack’s cozier pad a couple of blocks down, there isn’t as much space within his combined dining and living rooms unless either of them would move to his bedroom. While Aether and Tadashi were good friends with Peters, neither of them felt exactly comfortable doing that. That left them in each other’s company, Aether making herself as small as possible on one of the armchairs while Tadashi kept his eyes averted at the dining table.

Neither of them knew beforehand that the other was coming. Peters had told Tadashi that Aether would have a date with Mathieu, while Mack assured Aether that Tadashi would be visiting his younger sisters. Because of that, they ended up where they were at the present: uncomfortably waiting for Peters and Mack in the former’s apartment.

It had been at least a week, less than two weeks since their argument. Aether didn’t want to think of it, and neither did Tadashi. For the days leading up to that one, Aether merely kept herself busy at the office with reports while Tadashi busied himself in other ways. There had been an instance where both ran into each other in the middle of the day, and Aether was about to say something before Tadashi merely brushed past her and muttered an ‘excuse me’.

(Needless to say, Mack had to comfort Aether in her office while Peters mustered all the energy he had to not yell at his two arguing teammates to stop being immature. But he didn’t—not when Aether was in tears and when Tadashi looked just as troubled.)

Parental: A Coalesce Short (2/4)

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.

Parental: A Coalesce Short (1/4)

Headquarters

Seattle, WA

The United States of America

June 2017

Peters and Mack didn’t know how the argument had escalated that badly.

All four members of Squad A were gathered in Aether’s office for debriefing purposes; after Aether had recounted the events of the day, Tadashi followed up with his usual spiel concerning their own personal safety. “Put yourselves first,” he reminded them. Throwing a glance in Aether’s direction, he continued: “We’re not going to get anything done if we don’t try and take care of ourselves. And that goes for all of us.”

“I can’t help but feel that you’re only targeting one of us,” Peters quipped. Tadashi said nothing; Mack tried not to look at Aether. The female merely glanced away and folded her arms over her chest. Looking unaffected was not one of her strengths; Mack could tell by the look in her eyes that she had gotten Tadashi’s message loud and clear. “So let’s address the elephant in the room—”

“No need.” Aether waved it off. Tadashi gave a frown and was about to speak up, to contest, but Aether carried on quickly. “I get it. I need to rest.”

“It’s not that simple, Aether,” he responded. The two of them looked at each other, Tadashi only looking more upset and Aether clearly trying not to get agitated. Peters muttered a yikes under his breath and Mack inhaled deeply. It was rare that the two ever got into arguments—if anything, the two who bickered the most were Aether and Peters, but a fight as serious as the storm that was brewing had last occurred long ago.

Pride: A Coalesce Graphic

"I sing Vanessa's symphony; Eliza tells her story.

Now fill the world with music, love, and pride."

(Lin-Manuel Miranda)

Just Like You: A Coalesce Graphic

you're fighting dirty

not your pawn

i'm just playing your game

Pleasantries: A Coalesce Short (1/2)

Aether’s Apartment

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

June 2016

It had been two months since Mathieu had come back to Atlanta. 

He and Aether were still on rocky terms; she treated him civilly, at least, but he could still see the pain in her eye whenever she had to look at him. She regarded him carefully, setting out a hot cup of coffee for him in the mornings and greeting him whenever she came home from work, but that was about it. At nights he would try to reach out to her in bed, but Aether would curl even further into herself, try to avoid any contact initiated by him. 

He hated it. Mathieu hated the coldness between them; it felt less like a relationship and more like some kind of acquaintanceship with them sharing a bed for two. Reaching out towards Aether ended up with her even moving further away. She had built walls to keep him out. As much as he wanted to call her out on it, deep down he knew that she wasn’t at fault. Not at all. It was something that Jin-ho advised him as well when he told the Korean what had happened a few days after; shaking his head, Jin-ho only told him to give it time. 

“You’re lucky that she decided to take you back.” He closed his eyes. Mathieu tried to avoid the dark circles under them. “Let her heal, Mathieu. See where things go from that point onwards.” 

Lately, however, Aether seemed to be reaching out on her own. She had stopped leaving much earlier than usual, staying in the kitchen and drinking her coffee while reading the news. His usual mug would be next to her. They wouldn’t exchange words, but Aether’s expression wouldn’t be as closed-off, not as cold as in the beginning. 

There was that, at least. Maybe Jin-ho was right; all Aether needed was time. 

"Princess": A Coalesce Graphic

Traditions: A Coalesce Short (2/2)

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 25, 2016

9:54 AM

“We better make this quick,” Peters groused. “I have a flight at 2PM and I definitely don’t want to be late like what happened last year.” 

“You weren’t late last year,” Aether told him, waving it off. Peters, in turn, gave her a look. “Calm down, Peters, you’ll make it—we’ll just have our usual brunch and then you can get to the airport. Who’s bringing you, anyway, and where are your things?” the male gestured outside the office, wherein his luggage was comfortably resting right by her office door. “And how long are you staying?” 

“Just until Friday. I’ll make it back for Mack’s birthday,” he promised. “I had to save my vacation days for this one. Surprisingly, a lot of HQ went back to see their family this year,” he pointed out. Aether nodded slowly. 

Both of them were in her office, waiting for Tadashi and Mack to arrive. It was one of their traditions; the squad met up in her office to exchange gifts, and would then celebrate nearby by having a brunch out. Peters would leave the earliest, as he had a flight to catch, while Aether would leave to spend the remainder of the day with Mathieu. Tadashi’s plans for Christmas depended on the availability of his sisters, while Mack was perfectly content staying in and gifting himself as much sleep as possible. 

Despite it being a holiday, they still caught some of the others catching up on work. Aether had passed by Ross, who wished her a Merry Christmas and explained that he had to pass something along to Forensics; Sol, on another hand, was busy finishing up a report that she had due on the very day. “It’s grueling,” she said with a weary smile. “But I’ll finish it.” 

And it was a pretty okay Christmas so far, Aether reflected. She and Mathieu woke up together, had a light breakfast, and agreed to meet after lunch so that they could go out and have a small date of their own. He was busy visiting Jin-ho and Tony in the former’s residences; most likely giving his gifts and picking up the ones from the Korean. 

“Merry Christmas! Or happy holidays, depending on your beliefs,” a voice came. Aether looked up to see Tadashi standing there with Mack behind him, the latter shaking his head as he ducked into the office. 

Rekindle: A Valentine's Short

Atlanta, Georgia

United States of America

February 14, 2017

“I can’t believe you have plans for tonight,” Mack complained. “And to think that it would just be the two of us before, hooking each other up and being the other’s wing-person.” Aether couldn’t help but laugh, she reached over and gave Mack’s hair a ruffle before reclining into her seat and taking her phone. There was a hint of a smile on her face that the other saw, and as pouty as the other was being, he had to admit that seeing Aether happy was enough for him. Despite his teasing, he managed to put a smirk on his face. “Gonna get freaky tonight, Aether?”

“Shut up,” she laughed. “Nothing freaky’s happening tonight. Mathieu just told me that he wanted to take me out, probably somewhere fancy. You’d think that he’d stop with the surprises, honestly, considering that he took me to Tokyo for my birthday.” 

“Don’t complain. It looks like you’ve got him around your finger, and that might come to your advantage if you two do things tonight.” Mack threw her an exaggerated wink and she snorted, balling up a piece of spare paper and throwing it at him. He dodged, “Is he picking you up here, or are you going home early to prepare?” 

“I’m leaving soon.” She glanced at her phone, “No overtimes for me today, Mack. Which is a good change,” she admitted. He nodded. “How about you, though? Any plans?” 

“Pete’s my wingman for tonight, and that’s going to go so well.” He rolled his eyes, “We’ll be each other’s wingman, if that makes sense. But I’m already preparing for disappointment.” 

“Tinder’s calling you back.” 

Tokyo Narita (4/?): A Coalesce Short

Chuo, Tokyo

Japan

January 2018

11:23 AM

“Taking you to Ginza might have been a mistake,” Mathieu laughed. Huffing, Aether merely dragged him out of the third shop that way, one hand holding his and the other holding on to three separate shopping bags. “Aren’t you hungry yet, chérie? The last time we ate breakfast was at the hotel,” he mused. Aether, still dragging him, merely shook her head. 

“Not hungry. I’m shopping until I can’t walk,” she replied without looking back, to which Mathieu could only smirk at. He knew that she didn’t mean that (at least he hoped); it had been a couple of hours since they had last eaten. She’d have to be hungry somehow in another hour, or else he’d have to put his foot down. 

But then again, he thought, this is one of the times I’ll get to spoil her somehow. His eyes fell one of the shopping bags she grasped. He had bought her the coat she had seen in the second shop with a lot of coaxing; and if he had to be honest with himself, then that wasn’t going to be the last time he’d be spending money on her while they were in Japan. Not exactly. One of the things he loved was to spoil her rotten, and when coaxed enough, Aether would relent. At least until she starts insisting that she pay for her clothes and things herself.

Before he knew it, Aether stopped in front of yet another shop. She looked at him with a pleading look in her green eyes, and was about to open her mouth. Mathieu, however, gently took the shopping bags from her arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. That was enough to send her racing inside, the redhead smirking in amusement as he followed after her.