"He lied to you about something important. I understand why you're upset." Even if he is secretly proud of Erik for not killing the man, it was still wrong to promise something and deliver trickery instead.
"Erik should have been honest with you, and I'm sorry he wasn't. But... you know you don't have to love him to feel like this, right? Not every relationship has to be that to be meaningful, and it does sound like what he was doing for you had more meaning than just, you know, business."
There are so many other ways to care about someone. Max can't help but think, with a reaction like this, that Pyotr was probably more than just a client to Erik. Maybe he's wrong, but he doesn't think he is.
"What do you think it would take for you to forgive him?"
"I really don't know." His lack of experience is telling -- but Max's approach is starting to work. Pyotr is at least thinking about it now, considering Max's words...and how they made him feel.
"At the very least," he says slowly, "I would appreciate real acknowledgement from him that he did wrong. I don't want to hear any more excuses related to his 'personal journey,'" the words, coming from him, drip with scorn, "Or whatever he wishes someone had once done for him. I'm not him, I will never be him." He groans, burying his face in one hand; even that faint show of pique is exhausting. "I wish he had just given me a plain 'no' and left me be, rather than entangling us both in all these dramatics."
"Not sure what he said or did exactly," Max cautions, as the plot only seems to thicken. Personal journey? What? Okay, so these two were definitely some kind of item. He's going to have to talk to Erik about this now, isn't he?
"But I do think that's a very reasonable ask. You want him to prove he knows what he did was wrong, so he won't do it again. He should apologize to you properly. What then? Would you want him to still leave you alone indefinitely, or would you want to try keeping things light between you for a while, mostly when you initiate?" Max kind of hopes it's the second one because that's a lot less awkward at holiday gatherings, but he won't try to influence one way or the other.
"No, I've had enough of him ignoring me," Pyotr says flatly. But, well aware of the irony, he adds, "But I suppose you'd call it unfair if I said I wanted to go on being an angry a while longer, with him there to see it? It's not that I want to make him my punching bag, it just..."
He groans faintly, frustrated with himself. Is saying what he thinks really so difficult? "It doesn't feel finished yet," he finally explains. "He walked away from me before either of us could reach catharsis. I feel as though...If we could just have it out properly, we'd understand each other better, and everything else would follow."
"If you want to have a real conversation about it, I think that's okay, but if all you want to do is keep yelling at him that won't really help." But Max can understand feeling like there's still things left unsaid. Erik might even feel the same.
"I'm really sorry, but I have to ask: how sure are you that he wants to... talk with you?"
The question surprises him; the blank look he gives Max makes that plain. "I suppose I'm not," he finally admits. "But why wouldn't he? I know he must be just as satisfied with the current state of our affairs as I am."
"I don't know either. I mean, he's probably upset about how things ended too, but he might think you really don't ever want to see him again so he's trying to stay away out of respect. That's what he was doing for me until I told him he didn't really need to avoid me like that when I caught him trying to leave the store out the back when I walked in. I think he kind of falls into doing that when he knows he fucked up but he doesn't know what to do to make it better."
"So it falls to me to get the two of us talking again," Pyotr sighs -- but then he throws a speculative glance Max's way. "Unless you'd perhaps be willing to act as an intermediary for us?"
Uh oh. Max doesn't like that look. Nope. Not at all.
"Me?? Oh, no no, I don't know. Erik and me have way too much history that might get in the way. And, um, you'd probably have to tell me more about what happened between you so I don't know if you really want that."
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(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-18 12:07 am (UTC)"Erik should have been honest with you, and I'm sorry he wasn't. But... you know you don't have to love him to feel like this, right? Not every relationship has to be that to be meaningful, and it does sound like what he was doing for you had more meaning than just, you know, business."
There are so many other ways to care about someone. Max can't help but think, with a reaction like this, that Pyotr was probably more than just a client to Erik. Maybe he's wrong, but he doesn't think he is.
"What do you think it would take for you to forgive him?"
(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-21 07:36 pm (UTC)"At the very least," he says slowly, "I would appreciate real acknowledgement from him that he did wrong. I don't want to hear any more excuses related to his 'personal journey,'" the words, coming from him, drip with scorn, "Or whatever he wishes someone had once done for him. I'm not him, I will never be him." He groans, burying his face in one hand; even that faint show of pique is exhausting. "I wish he had just given me a plain 'no' and left me be, rather than entangling us both in all these dramatics."
(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-25 03:32 am (UTC)"But I do think that's a very reasonable ask. You want him to prove he knows what he did was wrong, so he won't do it again. He should apologize to you properly. What then? Would you want him to still leave you alone indefinitely, or would you want to try keeping things light between you for a while, mostly when you initiate?" Max kind of hopes it's the second one because that's a lot less awkward at holiday gatherings, but he won't try to influence one way or the other.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-28 06:55 pm (UTC)He groans faintly, frustrated with himself. Is saying what he thinks really so difficult? "It doesn't feel finished yet," he finally explains. "He walked away from me before either of us could reach catharsis. I feel as though...If we could just have it out properly, we'd understand each other better, and everything else would follow."
(no subject)
Date: 2025-07-29 02:30 pm (UTC)"I'm really sorry, but I have to ask: how sure are you that he wants to... talk with you?"
(no subject)
Date: 2025-08-04 08:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-08-08 03:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-08-09 10:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-08-14 09:23 pm (UTC)"Me?? Oh, no no, I don't know. Erik and me have way too much history that might get in the way. And, um, you'd probably have to tell me more about what happened between you so I don't know if you really want that."