Work Text:
Several weeks of Near and Matt dating have gone by. Luckily, Kai has learned to deal with it, and he is happy that Near appears to be happy, but he is conflicted— he would never wish the happy couple ill, but he desperately wants to be hopeful for his future with Near.
Near and Kai are texting, as they do almost every night.
Near: “We had a fight.”
Kai responds, “What happened?”
Near: “We got in an argument over who was paying for the movie. I had a coupon, which I forgot, and he was upset because he wanted to pay but he was short on cash.”
Near: “ I felt responsible because I had forgotten the coupon so I just paid for the whole thing.”
Near: “Which is the dumbest thing. I could tell he was upset, but he wouldn’t talk about it. I think it spoiled the whole experience for him.”
Near: “He was grumpy afterwards, and wouldn’t talk to me in words larger than one syllable until the date was almost over.”
Near: “I don’t know. I never fought with anybody like that before.”
Near: “I’m not sure if my mom and dad ever fight. I know that I’ve never seen them fight.”
Near: “I like the fact that we never ever fight about anything.”
Kai: “Do you still like the guy?”
Near: “Yes, I do.”
Kai: “Then you should call him and apologize.”
Kai: “Mom says you’ll always feel better after apologizing. It takes a weight off your shoulders.”
Near: “The thing is, I feel funny apologizing when I don’t feel I did anything wrong.”
Kai: “Yeah, but it can open things up so you can discuss it. You have to discuss it or it won’t ever get resolved.”
Near: “I can give it a try, but I don’t know if he will respond to it.”
Kai: “You’ve got this. You’re tough and I have faith in you.”
Near: “Thanks, I really appreciate that you have my back.”
Kai: “Always.”
—————
Near: “We went to a pretty fancy restaurant in Darling Harbour, which is a touristy part of town.”
Near: “Dinner was expensive, I knew it was much more than Matt’s allowance.”
Near: “My dad gives me a pretty generous allowance, especially compared to Matt, so I just basically handed my card to the waiter.”
Near: “When I did that, he got upset because he had intended to pay.”
Near: “He didn’t tell me he planned on paying, or that he had been saving for this reason, and I knew he had paid last time.”
Near: “On the other hand, if we’re going to be partners, I don’t see what the issue is with me paying the bill sometimes.”
Near: “I’m a little upset that he got so angry about this.”
Kai: ”Did you get mad at him at the time?”
Near: “No, actually I stayed quiet. I was worried about escalating things, and I guess it was my fault for not asking him first. I apologized for not asking, but it feels funny apologizing for trying to be thoughtful.”
Near: “I’m getting frustrated more and more about his temper, and I’m not sure I know what to do.”
Near: “He never acted this way before we started dating.”
Kai: ”I’m not going to suggest that you should break up with him because I don’t want you ever to think that I told you to do that because of my own self interests.”
Near: “I would never think that.”
Kai: ”I didn’t want to go there, but I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think he’s making you very happy. Lately I always hear about the fights you have, not about the fun parts.”
Kai: ”Sometimes, Kaya makes me angry too, but I know she’s my sister and she loves me. I know that she would never ever hurt me.“
Kai: ”if she does something doofus, well, I know she didn’t mean it.”
Kai: “Still, it makes her feel better if she apologizes to me, and apologizing also makes me feel better if I’m rude to her.”
Near: “I also apologized for paying for dinner, but, quite frankly, I don't feel I should have to. I don't think I did anything wrong by paying.”
Near: “There shouldn't be an issue regarding who pays, especially if we're going to be together.”
Near: “l I'm just taking it one day at a time. If we continue to have fights though, I have to do something about this.”
Kai: ”You know you've always got me to talk to, right? You can tell me everything. Don't worry about it.”
Near: “Thanks, Kai, you're really helpful. Sometimes I really miss you.”
Kai: “Me too.”
—————
Near: “Well, that was the last straw. we officially broke up last night. I like him a lot, but he gets so angry at things and then I got upset because he was all pissed off.”
Near: “We went bowling. Everything was going great, we were having a lot of fun. Then a guy accidentally rolled a ball down our alley and screwed up our game.”
Near: “Matt had been bowling a 300 game at the time. He bowls a lot, but he's never had one. Then the staff screwed up the scoring and lost the game, and he got so upset.”
Near: “I tried to get him to calm down and he yelled at me. I just said I can't handle this any more and I laughed out of frustration and walked out. Luckily I wasn't far from home.”
Near: “I’m glad my mom and dad didn't see me because I’d been crying all the way home. It really shows because the fur on my cheeks gets all matted.”
Kai: “Near, I'm so sorry. Nobody should have to go through that.”
Near: “Well, I told myself that I shouldn't have to put up with it, but it still hurts.”
Near: “It was so nice holding hands with him and kissing him and it was nice to have somebody to talk to.“
Kai: “You've always got me, at least for the talking part.”
Near: “Yeah I do. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate you.”
Near: “I would do a video call, but I'm a mess right now and I don't want my parents to hear. I don't want them to be worried about me.”
Kai: ”Are you worried that he might do something?”
Near: “No, I know he's upset. He's probably sad like me. He would never hurt me, so don't worry about that.”
———
Near: “School was really awkward today. I have Matt in three of my classes.”
Near: “Luckily, two of them don't have assigned seating so I can sit anywhere I want and I kind of pointedly sat far away from him. I think he noticed and I don't think it made him happy.”
Kai: ”Well of course not, I wouldn't be happy either. I hope we never break up. I would never want to go through that after having known you.”
Near: “Why, Mr. Romero, if I didn't know better I would think that you're thinking about us long-term. Are you interested in me that much?”
Kai: ”I think you already know the answer to that. Let's see how things go if you ever get here.”
They continue to talk for several hours before they hang up.
Kai asks Near, “Do you feel better now?”
She says, “Yes, thanks. Talking to you always makes me feel better.”
Kai says, “Happy to be of service.”
She says, “I think you're probably my best friend.”
Kai respond back with, “Same.”
Luckily Near felt much better and was able to get to sleep.