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"You taken to drinking now?"
"S–Shit!" Aries flinched violently back into reality, nearly knocking the bottle over in the process, and would've demolished it if not for his quick reflexes. "I never knew you could experience a heart attack in your teens," he muttered under his breath, trying to steady the wild beating of his heart before the realization hit him like a slap—Estella had caught him.
Caught him, of all people, illegally drinking. His first instinct, embarrassingly enough, was to hide the bottle behind his back, as if that would somehow erase what she clearly saw. He didn't need to look to recognize her voice; he'd rather be stuck in a philosophical debate with Iphigenia and Dennis than deal with her now. "...No?"
Estella raised a perfectly unimpressed eyebrow at his flimsy attempt to lie, her expression wordlessly screaming, "Really?" The TV behind him, of course, was only too happy to betray him, casting the half-empty bottle in high definition across the screen.
Without a word, she extended her hand toward him with the practiced air of someone who didn't need to raise her voice to get what she wanted. Aries groaned in protest, dragging it out in a dramatic sigh before handing the bottle over like a child surrendering contraband candy, then slumping into the couch, defeated.
She moved toward the nearby drinks cart, putting the bottle back where it belonged as she rummaged for something that might help sober him up, and spoke calmly through the silence of the moonlit room. "Why are you out here drinking? I hope this is the first time you've touched this stuff."
The only source of light came from the moon outside, casting silvery beams across the floor and onto Aries, who remained seated, his eyes fixed on the peaceful city far below them. The faint sound of glasses clinking behind him accompanied his voice as he answered, "I started drinking at fourteen. Maybe twelve, if we're being honest."
His words floated casually, but the weight they carried didn't escape Estella's ears. She sighed, slow and disappointed, not because she was shocked—nothing really surprised her anymore—but because it confirmed what she already suspected about the pain buried beneath Aries's surface.
She walked slowly over to the couch and handed him a whiskey glass filled with nothing but water, silently urging him to drink until it flushed out the alcohol poisoning his mind. As Aries took the glass and drank obediently, he allowed himself a moment to study Estella—the girl now standing quietly before him, calm and composed even in the dim light. The glow of the city behind her made her features stand out more vividly, more hauntingly beautiful than he was ready for.
His gaze dropped, then returned to her face. "I could hear you ruffling in bed from here," he murmured, setting the now-empty glass down on the ground and adjusting his seat, curling his legs up onto the couch. "Don't think I missed the thud." She sighed, not out of frustration, but because, of course, he noticed.
