Rahi listens with quiet, incredulous care. He sees through Marsâs eyes and right into all that could have been. Thereâs nothing quite as valuable as a good heart, but it can too often make a victim. Ask him how he knows.Â
âWhat if you were the one meant to change the world?â He asks, not accusatory, but bravely inquisitive. âJackasses are really good at making themselves look like geniuses.â Donât ask him how he knows.Â
Rahi laughs, head bowing even if heâd been the one to bring it up. Itâs what happens when he drinks â the man whoâs already bold becomes bolder, all the thoughts he typically withholds beginning to flow freely. âBack then, yeah. He wanted to marry me, but he didnât want me to go away. He made sure I failed my test so I couldnât.â Six months to a year on missions â too great a compromise, for a man in love with an astronaut. âI just feel like, thereâs always something that will make us pull back from what we wanna do.â Flashforward to now, Rahi lives half of his life in zero gravity, and Arman does all of his in regret. He hopes, not all secretly, that Marsâs offender lives a reality just as incomplete.
ââŚAnd tiny bit of methane,â he smiles, âethane, and ammonia.â The most nit-picky of add-ons from Rahi, after a beat of being too in awe of what heâs hearing. âGod. Iâm so used to people just asking me why Pluto isnât a planet.â A roll of his eye, then â always impossible to tell whether itâs real, or humorous. âWere you even born then?â Rahiâs turn to joke, though God, he feels it dance too close to a harsh reality. He takes the whimsical napkin, places it between the center-pages of his notebook, and closes it again. The bartender interrupts only to liven up their space â and there they sit, with a new round of drinks and more intimacy than theyâd walked in with. Not bad for a Shakespearian night.
Mars attempted to bite back the grin that formed in response to Rahiâs query. âIâm leading a charmed life, Iâm pretty sure Iâll still be able to change the world one way or another.â Feigning humility wasnât Marsâ strong suit, but neither was feigning any other emotion either.Â
The smile faded as Rahi opened up about his past relationship, Marsâ eyes widening when Rahi mentioned failing his test. âThatâs fucked up, bro.â He clicked his tongue, picking up his drink and balancing the glass in the palm of his hand. He was insanely curious to ask how the ex had managed to sabotage Rahiâs test, but he didnât want to come across as nosey or insensitive (despite being very much both). âSounds like you guys were just at different places. Iâve seen it happen to a bunch of my friends- timing is a true bitch.â He was trying to be as sympathetic as he could without having any experience such himself. Mars had a temperamental attention span and little relationship experience to show for it, his own interests usually dominating too much of his time and energy to leave much for anyone else.
âI was born then.â Mars laughed lightly, grateful for an easier topic. âI was like, sleeping behind bars and shitting myself but yeah, I was alive.â He watched as Rahi placed the napkin inside his notebook. âYouâre not that old, though. I mean, I doubt you were exchanging numbers in bars that year, but good for you if you were.â