Aether had lost.

When humans feel sad or desperate, they react in many different ways. Some bury themselves in their work, or other activities, as a distraction. Others pour out their emotions around them wherever they go. Others, like Aether, just stay dumbfounded.
The blond was lying on his bed, well aware of his responsibilities, and even more aware of how he was going to ignore them. He had skipped class, missed his appointment with his therapist, and not talked to Ayaka in days. Great.

"The ceiling feels oddly hypnotic."

Aether had lost.

Was he grateful to her? Of course, she was always there for him. In fact, he owed her a lot. Not only because she provided a lawyer for Lumine, she had even stayed by his side through the whole legal process, and helped him talk to his sister again. A lot of work would have to be done, but their relationship could still be salvaged. And when he wanted to respond to her feelings, he was a selfish coward instead.

Aether deserved to lose.

"Aether?"

His body jerked a little when he heard his name being called. Ayaka had knocked gently on the door.

"I'm heading out for a bit. Make sure you eat something, okay?"

He didn't deserve her kindness. In fact, he didn't deserve a single thing.

"I'm going to see your sister. Is there something you want me to tell her?"

"…"

"Take care. I love you."

She just wouldn't stop saying these words, even though there was a certain sadness in her tone just now. Aether only wished he could enjoy them, and even say them back. Ayaka's footsteps slowly faded away, until he heard the door close behind her. She had done so much. So much, and he couldn't even afford to return the favor. He couldn't even afford to be happy.
Why could he not afford to be happy? Was he just too scared of being selfish? Had he never dropped this childish behavior of sacrificing himself for others, naively hoping to make the world a better place? Well he couldn't see if the world was doing better, the tears in his eyes made everything look blurry.

"When was the last time I gave myself a chance?"

Never. Never think about yourself. Work hard for others, be there for them. If you're responsible, you don't need to worry about getting hurt. Only worry about others. There is no you. You don't exist. You don't matter. You're a bridge. A tool. A helping hand with no body attached to it. You must make sacrifices.

Nah, fuck that.

Before his conscience could stop him, Aether got up. Before his conscience could stop him, Aether rushed out of his room and noticed that Ayaka's things were missing. Before his conscience could stop him, Aether grabbed his jacket. Before his conscience could stop him, Aether locked the door behind him and ran.

Aether had lost.

Aether didn't want to lose again.

"Visit."

Lumine walked silently down the hall. A visit? Aether, maybe? If she had an opportunity to talk to her brother, she'd take it. There was so much she wanted to apologize about, so many things that needed to be said. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and talk.

Except it wasn't Aether. In his stead, was his roommate.

"Good morning" Ayaka greeted sheepishly.

Lumine raised a brow but still sat down. "Morning... you're Aether's girlfriend, right?"

"Ah, I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Huh?

…

Lumine buried her head in her hands "I really don't know what to say. I love my brother, but I have to admit, he can be really problematic at times."

"Don't worry about it." she waved off. "He may be a bit chaotic, but I never get bored when he's around."

"Yeah, he tends to naturally attract people to him, both good and bad ones. That's why I'm always a bit worried about him."

'I'm literally talking to you in a prison's visiting room.' Ayaka didn't say.

But it sure felt refreshing to meet his sister in person after hearing so much about her. Unconsciously, she registered little details that the twins had in common. Like how they clicked their tongue when perplexed, or ruffled their own hair in frustration. Seeing this made her miss the times when Aether was just a funny and relaxed guy.
Hopefully, she would be able to see him like that again.

"I'm going to be honest, I came here to talk about your brother. Things haven't been at their best lately, so I was wondering if you knew anything that could help me reach out to him."

Lumine crossed her arms. "Honestly, his mental health is really complex. He always suffers for other people's sakes – myself included. I guess he just needs to feel like he's free to make his own choices. Whenever that happened, I always tried to give him some space." She gestured at the walls surrounding them. ''But as you can see, it's not easy to provide moral support to someone when you're in here."

Which more or less meant that it was up to Ayaka to look after him. That she could do, but for how long exactly?

"Lumine, I..." she sighed "I'm in love with your brother. There is nothing I want more than to be there for him. But just these past few weeks have been extremely draining for me, and I don't know just how much more I can take."

Just because you love someone doesn't mean you become a superhuman when something's wrong with them. Lumine was well aware that hitting your limit happened quicker than most people expected. After all, Ayaka wouldn't be able to help him if she ended up getting mentally exhausted herself. What scared her was the thought of her brother losing someone else, and spiraling into despair.

"So you're going to leave him? I know I just said to give him some space, but..."

"I'm only going away for a few weeks." She looked away. "Or maybe more, I'm not really sure. My brother already prepared everything for me to leave today."

But anything could happen in her life. There was a very small chance that she and Aether would lose touch, and even never speak to each other again. The probability was incredibly low, but it could still happen.

"Have you at least told him about it?" the blonde asked.

Ayaka shook her head. "I'm planning on texting him once I'm in my train. I feel terrible for doing this, but he might convince me to stay if I tell him in person."

"He'll probably respect your decision, but I do hope you know what you're doing." Lumine sighed. "If you really think putting some distance between you two is for the best, then go for it."

At least Lumine was understanding. Ayaka had no intention to burn a bridge, especially with someone who had helped her change so much. She had such fond memories of all the time she'd spent with him, she knew deep down that Aether would always hold a special place in her heart.

The guard signaled that their time was nearly up. Ayaka didn't want to cut the conversation short, but now she felt more at peace with her decision.

"Thank you for everything." she smiled. "I'm sure Aether will come visit you soon."

"Oh, don't worry about that. He's a huge softie, especially when it's about his sister."

"I guess all big brothers are the same."

They both giggled for a brief moment. But Lumine's smile disappeared first.

"Ayaka."

"Yes?"

"You're Aether's type, I can tell you that much. If everything you said is true, then he really loves you. And when my brother loves someone, he loves them with his body, heart and soul." She stared deep into her eyes. "No matter what happens from here on out, always remember that this man would bring the heavens down for you."

"Five missed calls and nine unread messages..."

Ayaka tightened her scarf and picked up the pace. She would apologize to him about everything later, as planned. It was a cowardly tactic, to not face him head on and be fully transparent, but she couldn't let her feelings hold her back. They both needed time to change, but if her love for Aether was going hurt the both of them, she'd have to not see him for a while.

The station's giant clock told her that she still had some time before her train left, but just as she was about to sit down and take it easy, she saw him. Knowing that there was simply no way he wouldn't spot her, she walked up to him.

"What are you doing here ?"

Aether did not seem surprised to see her in the slightest. "That's my line. You forgot to mention that you were going to leave the city after meeting up with Lumine."

Ayaka nervously bit her lower lip, as a wave of guilt washed over her. She could hide it behind fancy words and excuses, but she really was just abandoning him. Leaving him to fight his demons alone, because she was afraid that they might consume her. Ayaka was selfish and she knew it.

"Aether, I-"

She was quickly silenced by his lips. A few heads turned in their direction, but he couldn't care less about other people right now. Aether was kissing the woman he loved, and she was kissing him back. It just felt so right, he probably wouldn't have stopped if they both didn't need to breathe.
Ayaka broke the kiss, but did not want to leave his arms just yet.

"Why are you kissing me?'' she asked, her head buried in his torso. ''I'm literally running away from you."

"It was only when I realized I was going to lose you that I actually did something. I'd probably run from myself too. You don't have to apologize."

"I could've at least told you about my plans! I'm a terrible person."

He held her chin up. "Wrong. You're a terrible cook, but an amazing person. I'm genuinely curious about how you're going to survive without me or Thoma to make food for you."

"I can make chazuke!"

Aether rolled his eyes. "Girl, you don't even know how to prepare a fish. You're gonna starve to death."

He didn't laugh for quite as long as she would have liked. When she looked up, she noticed that his eyes were filled with tears.
And so were hers.

"Aether, you're crying..."

"I just laughed too hard, I promise."

He would have liked to hold her forever, but the dreaded announcement echoed around the entire station :

"All passengers taking the 72-B for Springvale, please begin boarding the train. We are leaving in five minutes."

"Springvale, huh? I guess it's a nice place to stay at." He smiled, but she could tell that he wanted to break down. "Come on, you only have five minutes left."

"I'm not sure if I actually want to go now..."

Golden eyes dove into light blue-gray ones. "Ayaka, you have to go. You need space, for your own good. Don't worry about me. I'll go see Lumine. I'll go see my therapist. I'm going to build myself back up, one step at a time. Go to Springvale and relax. I'm well aware of how much trouble I've caused you, and you need space to heal from that."

Aether was a broken down mess, but he would learn how to walk again. How to run again. How to jump again.

For her, he was going to learn how to fly.

"Aether..."

"Take the time that you need. It doesn't matter how long it takes. I'll wait for you for ten years if I have to. Just know that we'll see each other again, and I'll be a completely different person when that happens."

He did not say that they would be dating. He did not say that they were still going to be in love with each other. But one thing was certain.
They had just lost a roommate.

Ayaka reluctantly stepped into the car. "Take care of yourself, okay? I'll always lov-"

This time, his finger landed on her lips. "Don't make promises you're not sure you can keep."

Her eyes widened. "Aether, what does that mean?"

"Time flows and people change, Ayaka. We don't know what fate has in store for us. Maybe we're not meant to be together."

She saw right through him. "Aether, that's not going to work on me."

"Figured me out that quickly, huh?" he chuckled.

"I don't deserve to be with someone better than you, if that's what you were going to say."

"Exactly, you know me too well." He hesitated a bit before saying. "Promise me you're gonna have the time of your life in Springvale."

"Promise me you'll do something that makes you happy here."

"I will."

"I will."

Ayaka pouted. "I'm assuming you don't want me to kiss you goodbye?"

"Nope." he winked. "Save that for later."

''You just said that we don't know what fate has in store for us.'' she deadpanned.

"Yeah, but it's a fun gamble. Think of it as a contest. Who can become the better version of themselves first?" Aether felt the tears come, but he held them back at the last second. "I'm really going to miss you."

"Me too."

The sound of departure surprised them, but she heard what he asked, and he heard her answer. The doors closed and Aether beamed at her through the window. The train moved and gained speed, but he did not run dramatically after it. He just stood there, smiling and watching her leave, and she could imagine that he would stay like this forever.

He had no business in the station anymore, so he left, and as he stepped out he realized that rain was pouring down on him.
Even though the sun was shining bright.
Even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

It rained a lot on the way home.
It rained a lot inside the train as well.

But there was no way she could have said no to what he said right before the doors closed, and she would always cherish and hold on to these words:

"Will you be my roommate?"

"Ma'am, have you made your choice yet?"

"I don't know... every drink here looks tempting."

Jacob would beg to differ, because the woman wasn't even looking at the menu. Rather, she had been staring at her phone for the past five minutes, her finger hesitantly hovering above the call button. The young waiter didn't know who she wanted to call, and in all honesty he didn't care. He was waiting for her to order something so he could finally try out the pickup line he'd been working on for weeks.
It was a little goofy, but if it worked, he'd have a chance to go on a date with this absolute 10/10. Her beautiful light blue hair that reached her shoulders, her pretty eyes and cute face, her soft voice and attractive body were certainly worth the try. Hopefully the manager wouldn't catch him, otherwise he'd probably get skewered and served at the staff's next barbecue party.

"Please hurry up and order something so I can ask if you'd like my phone number with that, pleasepleaseplease!"

Oh well, he could always try to hurry up the process. "Ma'am, if I may, a refreshing drink would probably help you make a decision."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for wasting your time." Ayaka apologized. "There's someone I haven't seen or called in a long time, you see. Feel free to go to another table in the meantime."

Crap. If he stayed any longer, he was going to get told off by the manager. But at the same time, that pickup line was so perfect - at least by his standards... But the girl wasn't even paying attention to him anymore. Her finger still hovering, she gave him a questioning look, clearly wondering what he was still doing here. That was his cue to leave. Head hung low, he retreated to the break room.

The head bartender was just finishing his break. "Jake, you good? You look like you just saw a kitten get run over."

"Worse" He sat down, somehow exhausted. "I just missed a chance to ask a cute girl out. Girls hit on you all the time man, what's your secret?"

"They do hit on me, but we also have a policy about not flirting with customers." He finished tying up his blond ponytail. "The boss himself implemented it. To think my old dorm's janitor actually owns a place like this..."

Jacob raised a brow."Janitor? What are you talking about? Isn't mister Diluc super rich?"

"Long story." Aether waved off. "Anyway, I'm getting back to work."

At this exact moment, Ayaka pressed the call button.

At this exact moment, Aether's phone rang.

At this exact moment, their eyes met.

He should say something. He should walk up to her and say hi, after not seeing her for nearly a year. But his body refused to respond. Aether was frozen in place, held back by both confusion and disbelief. His phone was still ringing, though. Without a word, he walked to her table and tried his best to act professional.
Meet her for the first time all over again. A clean slate.

"Welcome to Angel's Share, may I take your order?" he somehow managed to voice out. "A table for one, perhaps? Wait, we're not a restaurant..."

"Mhm. You don't look very professional." She pretended to read his badge. "Mister Aether. Can I have an actual waiter?"

"Sorry, but my coworker just left for his break. You're stuck with me."

"I'll guess you'll have to do, then." she giggled. "It's strange, for some reason you look like the kind of guy to tie your hair into a braid."

"I used to have one, actually." he played along. "I changed it to a ponytail after landing a job here. I think it looks alright."

"It looks really good."

"Thank you. Your hair looks amazing too."

"Oh, this?'' Her finger played around with one of her bangs. ''I used to have a ponytail, but I decided to let my hair down and cut it a little shorter."

"Looks like a lot happened in your life. Been out of the city?"

"For a few months, yes. I actually only came back yesterday." She clasped her hands together. "But enough about that. Do you have a recommendation for a drink, mister handsome bartender?''

"Well, if you want my honest advice..." He leaned over her shoulder to read the menu. His warm breath tickled her neck, and his voice in her ear was certainly not helping Ayaka calm down. ''I'd recommend a Snow-Covered Kiss. It tastes nice, and there's a lingering flavor that hits you when you expect it the least. You know, kinda like dormant feelings for someone that reignite the second you lay eyes on them, even if you haven't seen them in months."

"Even in eight months?"

Their eyes met, but he did not look away. "Even in eight months and nineteen days exactly."

Maybe they never should have crossed paths. Maybe they never should have been roommates. Maybe it was all just a big mistake.
In that case, it was the best mistake of their entire lives.

"I guess I'll go with a Snow-Covered Kiss, then." Her voice became slightly more sensual. "If you're all out of snow, I'll be fine with just the kiss."

"You'll have to wait until the end of my shift for that, otherwise Charles is going to skin me alive."

"Don't worry, I have all the time in the world." She finally decided to break character. 'You look like you're in a much better place, Aether. I'm so glad to see the happy you again."

"Yeah, I missed him too." he smiled. "Things are really looking up. I have a nice new place, a job I like, my sister's coming out of jail in a few weeks... I wouldn't have been able to turn it all around without you, Ayaka. Because I made you a promise."

If they weren't at his workplace, she would have hugged him without a second thought. Seeing him doing so well made her incredibly happy, and made her feel something else as well.
He was right, giving each other some space was the right call. They had fought this battle together at first, but in the end, he'd claimed victory by himself.
Ayaka was proud of how far he had come.

"Looks like I missed out on a lot." she laughed. "I've been working on myself too, but you've clearly won our self-improvement challenge by a landslide. Your life's pretty much perfect now."

"I never would've gotten this far without you."

"No, there's still a little problem."

"Even after I left, I just couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Oh, what is it?"

"You helped me face and defeat my demons."

"Well, my new apartment's pretty spacious, and keeping everything clean is a lot of work."

"You helped me open up to others and make friends."

"I think I know where this is going..."

"I will never let you go again."

"I could really use a roommate, if you don't have plans at the Kamisato Estate of course."

"I will always be there for you."

"The cleanup argument sounds like a cheap excuse to live together."

"I've been looking for you my whole life."

"It is. You already promised we'd be roommates anyway."

"With you I am complete."

"I did promise that . Guess I have no other choice, then. Let's be roomates again."

Aether laughed and it sounded beautiful. Ayaka smiled and it looked gorgeous.
Both of their faces slowly drifted towards the other, because who cares about the establishment's policy anyway?
As long as they had each other, the rest of the world didn't matter.

"By the way, roommate." she said as her lips gently caressed his. "I love you."

"Guess you didn't forget to say it." His mouth slowly became one with hers. "I love you too, roommate."

...

They already knew how to fly.

It's an amazing feeling, writing the final words of a story that you created. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this final chapter. Maybe I'll write an epilogue one day, but I wouldn't be able to give you a date. For now, I'm just going to appreciate Ayaka and Aether being happy.
At first, this story wasn't going to be so focused on the characters' mental health, but it evolved into that and I'm glad it did. I think it's important to surround yourself with the right people, and when things are not going well in your life, to talk about it. It can be a relative, a therapist, or even a kind stranger on the internet.

Please teach me how to fly isn't my best story, because as long as I write, my best story will always be the next one. But it holds a very special place in my heart, and I hope it manages to touch yours as well. Thank you for accompanying me on my first non one-shot, thank you for the favs, the follows, the reviews and the PMs. You are all amazing, and I'm glad you took the time to read what I had to offer.

I'm going to keep writing, but for now, I'm going to bed. (I really shouldn't finish writing a story at 2am)
One last time, thank you.

- Huntaah