#dramatic reverb

[feyariel]

That moment when you thought a follower who came in the wake of various Collective blog/sideblog followers was a Collectivist but was, in fact, someone you were following before following the Collective:

[mommawolfyui]

Drunk

Sunset-wings said:

The clatter of an empty bottle falling to the floor drew Zelos’ bleary gaze for a brief moment and he gave his mostly empty glass a contemplative look. He tried to remember how many bottles that was, and how he had managed to go through them so quickly, even if he was drinking specifically to get drunk. The reflection of the light on the glass reminded him again of the reason he was downing glass after glass, a momentary golden glint just like the sunlight on her hair.

Across the room, his phone lay in shattered fragments, thrown in a fit of frustrated rage at how helpless he was. That smile wasn’t hers, not anymore, and seeing her face arranged in a shadowy mimicry of the smiles she used to give him only made it worse.  He downed the last of his glass and reached around for another bottle, thoroughly intent on blacking out before the night was through. The peace of oblivion was a welcome change from reality, a world where she was no longer there to walk by his side, as people instead of titles.

There was a sound that he could not place right away, and he looked around, hand rising automatically to support his head as the room swam before his eyes at the sudden motion. A familiar face stood in the doorway, illuminated by the light from the hallway. His own room was dark, the curtains drawn to shut out the light, and the world. For a long moment he stared at her, trying to pull up her name from the deep recesses he had sunk into.

“…Yuri” he managed sluggishly, and he pushed at the bottles beside him to clear a space, but the motion threw him off balance and he ended up falling nearly onto his face. “…why’re you here?” he slurred. A small part of his brain felt ashamed that she would catch him like this, drinking himself to forgetfulness. They were close in some aspects, but not close enough that he had really let her see him weak like this. He closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall. “‘m sorry…” he muttered. He didn’t want her to see him like this, fragile and broken.

“So your ex husband is a drunk” he mumbled. “Guess you got off easy, cuttin’ that marriage short, huh?” he laughed weakly. He realized there was wetness on his cheeks, the remnants of tears he did not even remember crying. Another droplet leaked from the corner of his eye and he wiped it guiltily away. It was bad enough to be drunk in front of Yuri, but now he was crying. He didn’t raise his head to meet her gaze, not wanting to see pity, or worse, contempt on her face. He couldn’t take rejection right now, not from her, the one he suddenly realized he had grown quite fond of. Her visits were a breath of fresh air, no expectations from his title. The idea of losing her in his life made his heart clench, and his fingers clenched involuntarily in response, tightening around the now empty glass.

He had no words to offer her, no excuses. He had done this to himself, and he was not proud of it, but that was the truth. Releasing the glass, he drew his legs closer to himself and rested his arm across them, dropping his head down to rest his forehead against it. His head was swimming, but there was one clear thought repeating in his mind. Yuri was important to him and he didn’t want her to walk out of his life. “I’m sorry” he whispered hoarsely, though he was not even sure what he was apologizing for at this point.

She had heard from Seles, who had begged her to speak with her older brother, that Zelos hadn't taken the divorce well. Then again, she couldn't blame him. They had been happy during that time, she had wormed her way into his life after appearing suddenly, just to abandon him as if she hadn't actually cared about him.

Now, watching him down another drink of glass of alcohol, she bit back the urge to walk over and slap the glass from his hand and yell at him for getting so drunk, but she had no right to tell him not to. At least, she didn't think she had any right to have any contact with Zelos, but his sister thought differently.

"Someone that's worried about you came and got me." she answered as she walked over, glancing over at the empty bottles before looking at him. "...why are you doing this?"

Like she didn't know the answer.

She knew how he didn't take to being rejected, in any form. The fake smile he could put on in front of others didn't fool her. She knew the pain of being rejected by a mother, the scare that made you distrust people and didn't let them in easily. She knew that she was the reason behind his drinking.

She was about to reply to his joke about cutting the marriage off short when she froze. Tears. She saw them fall from his face despite not being able to see them run down his cheeks. He was crying. She stood there for what felt like forever, contemplating her next move. She couldn't stand seeing him like this. They both had made mistakes yet it seemed she had gotten off scott free compared to Zelos. She knew his life, at least what he had spilled to her, she knew how he would react to the statement of wanting to separate yet she had still said it.

Of course, that wasn't the whole story. She doubt that the church ever told him the whole story, about their threats to her about attacking her friends and close ones on her world if she didn't separate herself from their Chosen. They would never tell him that. And telling him, that would put him and Seles in danger. She regretted coming back but it had been unconscious for her to, a spur of the moment thing, when she realized what she had done she was about to go back to her world when Seles caught her, crying and pleading with the dark haired woman to go see her older brother.

She hadn't been able to refuse and now she was in this predicament.

"Zelos..." she muttered weakly as she knelt down next to him.

Her hand reached out to touch him but frozen in the air. Would her trying to comfort him only make it worse? Probably. She hated this. This whole damn situation was messed up.

"...you're not the one that should be apologizing." she said as she let her hovering hand fall to her side.