closed starter for maki matsui @unsaccharine
asher’s not sure – has maybe never been sure – how to handle maki matsui. she’s older than him, but somehow in comparison to her older sister miwa ( may she rest in peace ), they have always thought maki seemed so young. maybe it’s her delicate aesthetics or maybe it’s the way miwa always seemed so much … more, nearly mythical in marrow – asher liked her plenty, but asher recognizes a kind of his own anxieties in maki. antsy, maybe even desperate, to be seen appreciated loved. they tried to give her that once, offered her a hand to hold – they still aren’t quite sure where it went wrong.
“ maki. ” they say, just loud enough to catch maki’s ear. “ sorry i didn't catch you at the potluck – how are you ? ”