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Martin stood nervously in front of the apartment door. He took a deep breath, already feeling guilty for bothering Marc on his free day but something told him that he should accept the invitation. He stood nervously in front of the doors to Marc’s apartment, hearing Marc’s voice calling out that he was on his way.
He smiled softly when the doors opened and Marc welcomed him in. There was an odd sense of comfort when Martin walked in and saw the few bags with trash laying near the wall that led to the room where Marc spent his time streaming.
"Do you want something to drink? I have wine if it’s that bad," Marc offered to Martin who thought about it for less than a second.
"Honestly, I could use some," he answered and sat down on the couch. He looked up at Marc who was grabbing glasses for them. "Sorry for bothering you on your free day."
Marc looked confused by that statement since he was the one who invited the Swede over. "I mean if I didn’t want you here, I would not invite you," he explained and brought the glasses and the wine. Marc sat down next to Martin. He attempted to open the wine bottle.
"Here let me open it up," Martin offered and opened the bottle with ease, way too much ease. "Once again sorry for bothering you."
Marc gave Martin a sympathetic smile. "I’ve told you, I invited you here so I want you to be here with me today," he told him. He saw the stream. He saw what everyone else saw. One of the most well known players in the European scene breaking down in tears.
Martin took a small sip from his glass. "How are you holding up?" That question alone nearly made Martin tear up. He looked around the apartment, hoping that there could be anything he could pay attention to instead of Marc.
He knew it was pointless. There were already tears forming in his eyes. "They were talking with Upset today." Hearing this Marc frowned and quickly moved closer to the Swede so he could offer him a hug. Martin accepted the offer, feeling scared and most importantly betrayed by what he considered his second home.
Martin pulled away from the hug and sighed. "You know what hurts the most?" Marc saw the absolute pain and sorrow in Martin’s eyes to the point where he felt hurt by the organization as well. "They promised me that they would not do it. I even made them put it in my contract that they would not reach out to him and yet he was there chatting with Dardo all day."
Marc just listened to Martin, knowing that he needed that the most. He knew Martin needed a shoulder to cry on and he was willing to be that for the Swede. "Sorry, sorry. I should maybe go."
Marc stopped Martin before he could even get up and gave him a warm, comforting smile. "Hey, I invited you here for this purpose, okay? I don’t know how you feel right now but I can bet that it will be better for us to talk it out than you crying alone about it."
Martin felt unsure what to think. That’s what he has always done if there was a problem. He always dealt with it alone, crying his feelings away while drinking some cheap wine brand. Martin never considered that there could be anyone wanting to be there for him, wanting to help him through his struggles. "I mean I cannot force you to stay, but I think it would be better if we spend today together."
There was a short moment of silence. Martin was waiting for Marc to say that he was just joking but nothing happened. He looked at Marc. He wiped his tears away and gave Marc a shaky smile. "I’d like to stay here if you don’t mind."
"Come one, I told you that you are invited here today. If you want we can play something. That can help you get things off your mind," Marc offered but Martin shook his head.
"I am not really in the mood to play something right now. I just want to talk I guess," Martin told him and Marc just smiled.
"Alright then we just talk." Martin felt at ease with that simple sentence. Martin noticed the way Marc held his wine glass and he chuckled. "Hey what’s funny?" Marc looked confused as Martin just started laughing at the tight grip Marc had on the glass.
"Why do you hold it like that?" Martin let out another chuckle unable to stop himself from laughing more.
"Oh come one man, I just hold it like that," Marc defended himself. "It’s enough that twitch chat makes fun of me that I don’t need you to join them."
Martin simply shrugged. "You wouldn’t want me to be one of your…how do you call your chat again?"
"Oh they are my rats," Martin raised his eyebrows trying not to chuckle again. They kept on talking about random topics that came to their head until Martin took a deep breath, wondering if he should ask Marc for advice with his idea.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Marc looked at Martin, noticing how suddenly his expression changed with that question. He nodded, knowing that he had to be there for Martin if he needed any help. "Do you think I should role swap to support?"
The question certainly caught Marc off guard but he quickly composed himself and he smiled. "I mean if that’s what will make you more comfortable go for it man. You know you will have to grind a lot, right?" Martin nodded with a polite smile. "But you regardless of what you do, I will be here for you, got it?"
Those words resonated with Martin, he felt like he didn’t need to pretend that he was okay in front of Marc, he felt like he could be himself again after putting on the mask of perfection that was more broken with each failure. "Thanks Marc."