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125 » falling six feet underneath the floor now
[They'd been a cute couple at first. Sure, Aether pretended to tut disapprovingly at his sister's boyfriend, like any brother would — and sure, on some level he was a little hurt by the idea that he wasn't the most important man in his little sister's life anymore — but he didn't hate Childe, really. They seemed good for each other; they seemed well-matched. She'd looked like a princess on his arm, and he her gallant knight. He was gentlemanly, and handsome, and wealthy; she was loving and gentle and beautiful. She had him wrapped around her little finger, and she was always just stern enough to keep him in line when his more puppylike tendencies came out to play.
Maybe Aether had thought, once or twice, that it would have been nice to have someone like that. And yet, at the same time, maybe he'd also thought that he'd be better off alone.
When did the fighting start? Aether can't remember. At first, the disagreements were minor — things like the way Childe would stay out all night doing who-knows-what, and then Lumine wouldn't answer Childe's texts for days on end just to get back at him. They'd try to forgive each other, but the petty grievances would pile up; both were just as likely to let bygones be bygones as they were to hold grudges, and eventually, the relationship became a petty cycle of "forgiving" each other for perceived slights only to start fights over the same thing again.
It was mutually toxic for a while, Aether thinks, as he makes his way to a less-traveled street and smoothly parks his car. He doesn't want to think that about his sister, but it's true; part of the reason she and Childe would constantly fight with each other was that they both liked fighting, liked breaking up just to make up, and Aether wonders, sometimes, if he played his own role in the conflict. Growing up, he'd always given Lumine anything she wanted, always conceded that she was right even if he felt that she was wrong. At the time, he'd only wanted to be a supportive older brother, the kind of man who would always be by her side when the world would surely throw its share of obstacles in her path.
He meant to protect her. Maybe he only succeeded in sheltering her from compromise.]
Maybe Aether had thought, once or twice, that it would have been nice to have someone like that. And yet, at the same time, maybe he'd also thought that he'd be better off alone.
When did the fighting start? Aether can't remember. At first, the disagreements were minor — things like the way Childe would stay out all night doing who-knows-what, and then Lumine wouldn't answer Childe's texts for days on end just to get back at him. They'd try to forgive each other, but the petty grievances would pile up; both were just as likely to let bygones be bygones as they were to hold grudges, and eventually, the relationship became a petty cycle of "forgiving" each other for perceived slights only to start fights over the same thing again.
It was mutually toxic for a while, Aether thinks, as he makes his way to a less-traveled street and smoothly parks his car. He doesn't want to think that about his sister, but it's true; part of the reason she and Childe would constantly fight with each other was that they both liked fighting, liked breaking up just to make up, and Aether wonders, sometimes, if he played his own role in the conflict. Growing up, he'd always given Lumine anything she wanted, always conceded that she was right even if he felt that she was wrong. At the time, he'd only wanted to be a supportive older brother, the kind of man who would always be by her side when the world would surely throw its share of obstacles in her path.
He meant to protect her. Maybe he only succeeded in sheltering her from compromise.]