Chapter Text
It starts with something ridiculous.
With an invitation.
The envelope lies open on the kitchen table. White. Plain. Harmless.
Caz stands beside it, his hands gripping the edge of the table. Rennick stands by the window, half-turned away from him.
“Ye said aye?” Rennick asks.
His voice is still calm.
“Aye.”
“Without talkin’ tae me first?”
“It’s my sister’s weddin’, Davey!”
“That’s no’ the point!”
“Then what is the point?!”
Rennick turns around. “The point is ye’ve planned an entire weekend for us without even askin’ if I want it!”
“It’s a weddin’!”
“With a hundred folk I dinnae ken!”
“It’s my family!”
“Aye, exactly!”
Caz stares at him. “What’s that supposed tae mean?”
Rennick drags a hand over his face. “It means I ken exactly how these nights go.”
“Oh aye? Tell me.”
“Small talk. Questions. ‘So when are ye two gettin’ married?’ ‘What do ye do for work?’ ‘How did ye meet?’ ‘Aren’t ye a wee bit too old for Caz?’”
“That’s called conversation!”
“That’s called exhaustin’!”
The tension snaps tight.
“Ye cannae run every time somethin’ gets social!”
“I’m no’ runnin’!”
“Aye, ye are! That’s exactly what ye do!”
“I’m settin’ boundaries!”
“Nah, ye’re hidin’!”
That lands.
“Watch it,” Rennick says sharply.
“No, you watch it!” Caz’s voice cracks. “I’ve endured your colleagues for years! Your company parties! Your stiff dinners! And I was there! I smiled! I introduced myself!”
“And I never forced ye!”
“Aye, ye did! By expectin’ me tae come along!”
“Because ye’re my partner!”
“Aye! And ye’re mine!”
Silence. Heavy.
“I want ye tae come,” Caz says now, quieter but more intense. “Because it matters tae me.”
“And I’m tellin’ ye it’s no’ good for me.”
“You’ve never even been tae a family thing with me!”
“Because I ken how I’ll be after!”
“And how will ye be, Rennick?!”
“Overstimulated! Irritated! Quiet!”
“Ye’re already like that!”
That escalates instantly.
“What’s that supposed tae mean?!”
“It means ye’ve been pullin’ away for weeks!”
“I’ve been workin’!”
“It’s no’ about work!”
“Then what is it about?!”
Caz’s eyes shine with frustration. “Ye’re barely here anymore! Ye sit next tae me, but ye’re no’ actually there!”
“That’s nonsense!”
“No! It’s how it feels!”
“Not every feelin’ is reality!”
“Stop analyzin’ me!”
“Stop dramatizin’ everything!”
“I’m no’ dramatizin’, I’m talkin’!”
“Ye’re shoutin’!”
“Because ye’re no’ listenin’!”
Rennick slams his hand on the table. Hard this time. The glass rattles.
“I AM LISTENIN’!”
“NO, YE’RE NO’!”
Their voices are loud enough now to echo through the walls.
“Ye always want more!” Rennick shouts, throwing his hands up. “More presence! More emotion! More involvement!”
“Because ye give less and less!”
“That’s no’ true!”
“It is!”
“What exactly is it ye’re missin’, Caz?!”
“That ye’re happy tae be part of my life!”
The sentence hits like a blow.
Rennick freezes. “That’s unfair.”
“Is it?!”
“Aye!”
“Then why does it feel like my world is just an obligation tae ye?!”
“Because I dinnae leap about in excitement at everythin’?!”
“Because ye dinnae leap about at anythin’!”
Rennick lets out a bitter laugh. “Maybe I’m just no’ like ye.”
“Maybe! But I dinnae want tae be the only one bringin’ emotion into this!”
“I bring plenty!”
“No’ where I need it!”
“Then tell me straight what ye need!”
“I want ye tae say, freely, ‘Aye, I’ll come.’ Because ye love me. No’ because ye feel cornered!”
“I do feel cornered!”
“Because ye back yersel’ into it!”
“No, because ye shove me there!”
They’re standing close now. Too close. The air crackles.
“Ye ken what?” Caz says, voice shaking with anger. “Maybe I just want ye tae be uncomfortable for me once! The way I am for ye!”
“That’s selfish!”
“No! That’s partnership!”
“Partnership doesnae mean losin’ yersel’!”
“I’m no’ askin’ ye tae lose yersel’! I’m askin’ for one weekend!”
“With yer family!”
“Aye!”
“The ones who’ll tear me apart!”
“They willnae!”
“Ye dinnae ken that!”
“Aye, I do!”
“Ye idealize them!”
“And ye demonize them!”
Rennick shoves the chair back. “I willnae go tae an event where I feel like an outsider the whole time!”
“Then stay here!”
“I will!”
Silence.
Wrong. Too far.
Caz’s face changes. Not just anger now.
Hurt.
“Wow,” he says quietly. “That’s how little I matter tae ye?”
“Dinnae twist this!”
“I’m no’ twistin’ anythin’! Ye’re sayin’ yer discomfort matters more than what I’m askin’!”
“I didnae say that!”
“Aye, ye did!”
“I SAID I CANNAE!”
“AND I’M TELLIN’ YE I NEED YE!”
The echo hangs between them.
They’re both breathing hard.
Then Caz says quietly, “Ye always ruin it when things get serious.”
“Maybe,” Rennick answers harshly, “ye need someone more like yersel’.”
It’s out before he can take it back.
The world goes still.
Caz blinks. “What?”
“That’s no’ how I meant it—”
“Nah. Go on. Say it again.”
“I was only—”
“Say it.”
Rennick says nothing.
And that silence breaks something.
Caz nods slowly. “Right.”
He walks to the coat rack. Pulls on his jacket in quick, sharp movements.
“Caz—”
“No.”
“Stay.”
“No!”
“We’re no’ done talkin’!”
“We weren’t talkin’! We were shoutin’! Ye just told me tae find someone else!”
“That’s no’ what I meant!”
“But it’s what ye said!”
Rennick’s voice nearly breaks with anger. “Dinnae walk away!”
Caz turns at the door. His eyes are openly shining now.
“I’m no’ walkin’ away,” he says hoarsely. “I’m leavin’ before I say somethin’ I cannae take back.”
“Caz—”
The door slams.
Not gently.
Not permanently.
But loud enough to echo in Rennick’s chest.
He remains standing alone in the kitchen. The table crooked. The glass half tipped. The envelope still there.
And suddenly it is frighteningly quiet.