Cal's never been good at waiting. Ever. Everything she did was rushed, and it wasn't hard to figure out that she was not a patient person. The sun had risen and set and she still hadn't heard a word from Sodo.
She'd done a million things to distract herself after Mary left. She showered, changed, paced her office to pieces and still... no sign of him. Calliope was seriously nearing the point of tearing her hair out.
Jesus, where the hell was he?
***
Sodo didn't know how to feel about Cal looking for him. I'm going with... annoyed.
She talked to Aether. She came down to the catacombs. Two things he explicitly asked her not to do.
"Alright, what's the deal with you two? Why is she looking for you?" Aether asked from where he was leaning against Sodo's dresser.
"It's nothing-"
"Bullshit. You're attitude and temper has been ten times worse since you and Swiss saw her in the mausoleum. What did she do to you?"
"What didn't she do to me?"Sodo scoffed before he could help it, turning away from Aether as he buttoned his shirt. "It's in your own best interest to stay far away from her."
"What did she do?" Aether repeated, earning a silent glare from Sodo. Aether rolled his eyes, motioning wildly. "You can't just give me a cryptic warning like that and not tell me what she did."
"Yes, I can. "
"Why do you insist on being so vague all the fucking time? We're really trying, you know." Aether scoffed, crossing his arms as he awaited an explanation.
"I never asked you to try. Use your head, Omega. Where is Terzo? Where are the former ghouls?" Sodo snapped, grabbing his mask and balaclava from the bedside table.
Aether stared at him, frowning sympathetically. As though the statement was enough to explain his behaviour. Sodo blinked at him in confusion, the confusion fading into something more akin to embarrassment as he noticed his mistake, scowling at the floor.
"Aether," He asserted, tying his hair into a loose knot behind his head all the while avoiding the larger ghoul's gaze. "I don't know what happened because I wasn't... there, but I know it wouldn't have gone the way it did if she wasn't involved. And she didn't even have the guts to tell me what was going on."
"How do you know?" Aether pried gently, his pale blue eyes not leaving Sodo's face. Fucking hell, will he just stop?
"I just do! Why are you defending her?"
"I'm not, I'm just trying to get the full story."
"Why do you need to know the full story? What's it to you?"
"Because that woman looks heartbroken, Dew. And, from what I can tell, I'm pretty fucking sure she's dead. Hasn't she paid enough for whatever she did? Maybe try to find out her side of things."
Sodo glared at him, not replying. He didn't want his advice. Moreover, he didn't want to admit that Aether was right... and he hated that more than anything.
He knew what Aether was thinking- hell, it wasn't that hard to figure out - and he knew this conversation to be something more to Aether than just helping Sodo.
He thinks I'm finally opening up to him.
What choice did he have? Who else does he have to confide in?
"Are you going to talk this through with her without yelling?" Aether asked after a few moments of silence. So, he heard.
"Maybe."
With that, he left the room, leaving Aether to his own thoughts.
***
Calliope was certain he wasn't going to show as she glanced at the clock on the mantelshelf. It was approaching the early morning hours way too quickly for her liking... Maybe it's time to turn in, and just accept that he doesn't want anything to do with me.
Her door creaked open, and she half-expected it to be Mary. It wasn't.
"Aether?" She asked, confusion easily seeping into her voice.
"I... he doesn't want to talk," He said awkwardly, not entering the room as he stood in the doorway, obscuring the hallway from view.
"I kind of gathered as much," She chuckled numbly, fidgeting with the sleeve of her silk nightgown. "I'm sorry that you had to play messenger. You don't... have to."
"I know," He nodded, pursing his lips. "I actually came here for personal reasons."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, if you don't mind," He asked, looking to her for assurance. She nodded, gesturing to the sofa across from her. Aether closed the door behind him and quickly sat down.
"So, what can I do for you?"
"I just... want to know what happened. He isn't saying much," He started, crossing his arms on his knees. "If that's okay with you- I know this has absolutely nothing to do with me."
"It's fine, I can give you the gist of it. You're going to think I'm stupid though," She warned half-heartedly.
Aether shook his head with a careful smile, silently urging her to continue.
"Well, the shorter version of it is... I made a deal I shouldn't have. I mean, I would've- you know, died either way if I didn't make it. But I wouldn't have come back. Basically, if the other person held up their end of the deal, I wouldn't be here."
"What was the deal?"
"Traded my 'life' for someone else's. I thought I was the cleverest little shit since I was already dying. But no. The devil woman lied, and killed him anyway."
"Where does Dew - Sodo - fit into this narrative?"
"When he... Terzo died, all the ghouls..." She couldn't finish the sentence, refusing to meet his eyes.
"But he didn't."
She nodded. "I don't know what happened to him, and he probably isn't going to tell me."
"Probably not, no."
There was a brief pause before Cal decided to speak again, changing the topic.
"Ironically, I was giving him space because I didn't know what he went through. And he was so different... I had no idea what to do or what to expect."
"Different? How?"
Cal shrugged, trying to find the words. "For one, he's so... mad. He had a temper before, too, but from what he said to me..." She sighed. "I suppose I can't blame him for that."
Aether nodded, chewing on his bottom lip, white fangs on full display as he stared at the fireplace in thought. Cal observed the way his mask glinted in the firelight, almost mirror-like, virtually the polar opposite of the former ghouls' masks...
Both of their heads snapped toward the door as a knock sounded through the room.
---𝔄𝔲𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔯'𝔰 𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢---
[fuck it, i'm talking to y'all because i simply can.]
sorry this took so long!
believe it or not, writing angst is emotionally draining lmfao
not complaining though, it's a good time
