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The first time that Furina met Venti, she was at the playground in kindergarten. She was six at the time.
She was watching other kids play around with each other while she, herself, was just standing nearby and refusing to participate.
She gripped the hem of her dress as she quietly observes the lively scene in front of her. She was too nervous to come up to any of them, let alone play with any of them. Their teacher wasn't doing anything about it either, and it doesn't seem like she saw Furina just standing there shaking slightly, and if she did, she probably doesn't care enough.
She really, really wanted to go home.
“What’s wrong with your eyes?” a boy comes up to her.
“They look so weird!” a girl commented.
“Hey, everyone! Look at her eyes!” another one called the other children to come up to her.
The kids started to crowd around Furina's personal space, asking her about her eyes and laughing. The small child trembled slightly and was too scared to talk so she stayed silent, hoping they'd go away. But they didn’t, as more children started getting curious and going up to her. Furina gripped the hem of her dress more tightly as she takes a step back from them.
She never liked her eyes.
Ever since she was just a small baby, people were either surprised at the way she turned out or just in disbelief, or scared, so she came to hate it too. It was something she couldn’t bring herself to be proud of. She never liked the attention she got from her heterochromatic eyes and never liked her appearance as a whole. She never liked anything about herself. She wished she was just like the other kids, normal.
One of the kids tried to touch Furina’s other eye which caused her to panic. She immediately backed up a few steps to keep them away.
“Don’t touch me!” she yelled in a shaky voice, but regretting it after.
“What’s the big deal? We were just checking it out if it’s real.” a kid argued.
Oh, it was real alright, and she hated it with every fiber of her being.
“Tch. We were just trying to play with you since you look really lonely, you know?”
“Yeah! Don’t you like that?”
“You’re so sensitive.”
They started making weird comments about her eyes, saying they were “creepy”. That wasn’t the first time. She’s constantly hearing that her eyes are unusual, and that she’s a cursed child, and maybe she was. Not once has anyone said they look cool or good. Furina stayed still, hating herself for being too scared to say anything, too scared that things could escalate into something even worse.
At this point, Furina was ready to cry. She hated how the other kids were making fun of her appearance. Why was everyone so focused on her two different colored eyes? Can't they just leave her alone? She had no energy left to respond to their remarks.
“I think they’re beautiful though.” a new voice chimed in.
When they all looked to see who it was, Furina saw a little boy standing there that looked just around her height that has twin braids in each side of his cheek, smiling at them. He has the face of an angel, Furina thinks.
It’s weird though that she hasn’t seen him earlier. Was he here the whole time?
The little girl looked at the boy, surprised. She never thought anyone would say something nice about her eyes. Usually, they either don’t speak up or say something rude. But when he smiled at her, her anxiety slightly got alleviated a bit.
“Aren’t you scared?” one of kids asked, frowning.
“Right! My mom says that witches have those kinds of eyes!” the other girl from beside the boy said.
Furina looked down. It’s true, she has the eyes of witches. She’ll never… be beautiful.
“Wow, you guys still believe those stories?” the other boy chuckled. “Aren’t we, like, too old to be believing in those things? Don’t tell me you actually believe in Santa Claus.”
“W-What do you mean? He’s... he’s real!”
“Then why haven’t you seen him?” the twin-braided boy asks before answering his own question. “Oh, I know. It’s because you haven’t been a good boy, considering what you’re doing right now.”
“That’s- that’s not true!”
“Aww, it’s okay, even if you cry, Santa won’t be showing up for Christmas because you’ve been a naughty boy.”
“I’m telling you to mama!” with that, the little boy started running away, followed by other kids who gave him the stink eye while he just waved them goodbye happily.
He then walks up to Furina. “Are you okay?”
Furina watched the group of kids run off and when the other boy came up to her, she looked towards him. She gave out a small nod to his question, feeling awkward because she didn't know how to answer.
“What’s your name? I’m Venti!” the boy, Venti, greets her with a bright smile and an extended hand to shake.
Furina hesitated for a moment, wanting to refuse shaking his hand, but she eventually took the chance and gave a quick handshake.
“I’m Furina.” she mumbled out, too embarrassed to say more.
“Your name is as lovely as your eyes, you know that?” Venti hums.
She looked up to Venti, surprised by what he had just said. He was the first person to compliment her instead of giving some backhanded compliment. Furina was at a loss for words. She just stared at Venti, too surprised to even speak. She wasn’t expecting something like that. No one has ever complimented her eyes, not once.
“Why?” Furina looks down a bit, “Everyone thinks they’re scary. You should be scared too.”
At that, Venti laughs. “I know a pretty person when I see one! My twin tells me I have a sharp eye all the time.”
She felt her cheeks heat up from his words, feeling the urge to look away.
This was embarrassing and making her feel nervous. It’s only been a few minutes since she’s met Venti and he’s already complimenting her eyes. She’s not used to it… but she doesn’t dislike it either, at least.
Wait. Hold on.
Furina turns to him again. “You… you have a twin?”
“Yep!” Venti replies enthusiastically. “He’s homeschooled though, since he’s really sick.”
“So, you don’t get to see him much?” she tilted her head a bit, not thinking about his illness first. She should've thought about that when he said his twin was sick. “It must be hard for you to be without him.”
“I get to see him in the hospital every after school!” Venti says, “He tells me that other kids come to play with him all the time so he’s never lonely, and that he’s always surrounded by toys and candies. He says that there’s a playroom where he plays in at times, but he didn’t exactly tell me where it is.”
For some reason, Furina couldn’t help but sense that there was something off about what Venti said, but she decided to pay it no mind. It was probably nothing.
Venti then grabbed Furina’s hand, startling her. “Let’s play with the others!”
Furina averts his gaze. “I… I don’t want to. They’ll dislike me.”
“They’re really nice. And if they say a bad thing about you, then they’re not my friend anymore.” Venti says as he squeezes Furina’s hand.
“I don’t think…”
“We’re friends now, right?” Venti grins at her. “Friends protect friends.”
When Furina just stared at him, Venti smiles warmly at her.
“I’ll take care of you from now on, okay?”
There was something about Venti that Furina couldn’t quite point out. The way he smiled, the way he squeezed her hand, the way he guided her towards his group of friends, and the way he assured her, made Furina really happy- and for some unknown reason, it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Whatever it was, she likes it. She likes it a lot and she hoped that it doesn’t change.
By the end of the day, Furina came home wearing a big smile on her face, wondering if she’ll see Venti again tomorrow.
And she does.
____________________
Furina was in elementary when she considered Venti her best friend.
Her new classmates were surprisingly nice. She made more friends and became part of a group that is constantly together. Furina became more social and less scared of the world. Venti, on the other hand, didn’t change that much. He was still that same boy that she met during kindergarten, except he became an even greater person.
She’d always run towards him whenever she’d see the boy in school and spend most of her days with him. His group of friends welcomed her with open arms, but she always prefers to be by Venti’s side. She loves everything about him- his bubbly, upbeat personality, his sweet, kind attitude, his beautiful looks, and even his voice. Everything.
The best thing about being his friend is that he’ll never leave you out on anything and will take care of anything for you.
The worst thing? It’s when he acts like your mother when something bad happens to you.
“I told you not to do anything reckless.” Venti scolded Furina as he treated her wounds.
What happened was dumb, she’ll admit. Furina saw a cat in their school yard, tried to play with it, said cat avoided her and jump onto a tree. She climbed said tree, then fell, causing her injuries. But can you blame her? It was a cat! And it was all that cat’s fault that she ended up like this anyway so why is it that Venti made it sound like it was her fault?
She pouted as Venti put on the bandages. He was right, she shouldn’t have climbed that tree or tried to pet the cat. She knew it, yet she still refused to admit she was in the wrong.
“It was the cat’s fault, okay?” she whined, trying to make him ease up with her injuries. “Besides, you never told me to not climb trees.”
She hates it when Venti acts like a worrywart, and whenever she’d tell him that, he’d always tell her that he’ll worry regardless of her feelings. Furina doesn’t really like it when the boy acts like her mother. But she feels comforted knowing that someone is always looking out for her, no matter what. And if it’s Venti, then that feeling of comfort triples.
“Well, I didn’t tell you to go pet some random cat that would cause you disaster either.” Venti rebutted, deepening the cotton on her wound, making Furina wince in pain. She knows she made a dumb mistake, but she refuses to admit it for the sake of her pride.
“I get it already, ugh! Stop treating me like a kid, I’m twelve.” Furina pouts some more.
Venti’s eye twitches. “Furina, we are still kids.”
Furina rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah, but I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m almost a teenager.”
She feels dumb arguing over something so petty, but she really doesn’t want to be treated like a child. But since it’s Venti… well, that’s for another story.
“And I can’t believe you’re still a klutz.”
Furina’s cheeks flushed at the comment. “I’m not!”
“Deny it all you want,” Venti finishes patching her up. “Don’t do that again, you hear me? Next time, you’re getting even more than scolding.”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard you already.” she huffed, rubbing her cheeks. She didn’t like it when Venti speaks in a motherly tone, but at least he isn’t scolding her again.
“Just be careful next time, Furina. And try to pet a cat again, we’ll see how much your skin gets scratched.” Venti says sarcastically.
“You’re the worst.”
“You know you love me.”
Furina turns her back on Venti, covering her ears. “Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you.”
“I said, I brought some macarons.” Venti sighs, albeit dramatically as he grabs the basket full of it. “But I guess you don’t want them.”
Furina whips around to face Venti and her eyes widen when she sees the basket with the macarons.
“H-Hey, I didn’t say anything about not wanting them!” she quickly went over to the basket, grabbing a few.
“Can’t believe you’d choose macarons over me.” Venti crossed his arms.
“Well, macarons don’t scold me.” Furina huffs as she stuffs some macarons in her mouth. She made one of her rare childish comebacks, and she’s proud of herself. “And they taste delicious.”
Venti pinches her cheek, “You’re so cheeky that you forgot who takes care of you.”
Furina’s mouth was full, so she just made a grumbling sound to respond. She knows that Venti would scold her again if she made another witty comeback.
“I think someone needs to be taught some lesson.” Venti smiles devilishly and Furina gulped. Knowing what’s already going to happen.
“Wait, Venti-!”
Too late. Venti started tickling her.
“Eep!” she couldn’t speak and was barely able to breath as Venti’s fingers tormented her. “Stop it! Please! I surrender!”
Furina starts to wiggle around, laughing and giggling uncontrollably despite her efforts to stop herself. She flails her arms and legs wildly trying to fight Venti off. Even if it’s not as easy as it looks since Venti has the advantage in this position. Besides, she was laughing too hard to think straight.
The girl struggled to get away from Venti’s grasp, but her attempts were useless.
There was no use in resisting as she was giggling like crazy, all of her pride vanishing as she laughs like a little child again. Venti’s the only friend of hers that could always bring out the childlike version of Furina, and the boy knew it.
“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I give up! Venti...!” she wheezed out as he continued tickling her in all her sensitive spots.
“Make it sound more sincere and I'll let you off.” Venti stuck her tongue out, not considering to stop.
Despite the giggling, Venti’s tickles were quite intense. Furina could feel her side aches from the laughing, but she couldn’t help herself even if she wanted to.
“Agh! Ah-haha! I-I’m sorry, Venti! I mean it! Please, let me go…!”
Moments later, Venti stopped tickling her, both of them lying on the floor of her room beside each other.
Furina tried to catch her breath once again, but it was quite hard since she was still laughing. Venti was laying down beside her, looking at her amused.
“You’re evil…!” she punched Venti’s arm lightly.
“Yeah, I know.” Venti laughs lightly.
“I hate you. You’re the absolute worst.”
“You love me, Furina. You know you do.”
“Shut up.”
Venti smiles a little as he held her hand.
Furina feels her heart skip a beat when Venti holds her hand, feeling her face becoming a bit red. Why does a simple gesture like holding hands make her feel this way? Why… did it make her feel butterflies all in her stomach right now? Furina thinks there’s something wrong with her, and she hopes it’s not too serious.
She lets out a small sigh, calming herself a bit.
“I’ll get you back for this.” she mutters, her voice sounding a bit awkward.
“Looking forward to it.” Venti hums.
For the whole day, Furina couldn’t stop thinking about Venti’s hand, and how she finds herself wanting to hold it again.
____________________
Furina was in high school when she realized that she formed a crush on her best friend.
That small realization almost drove Furina crazy with how unbelievable it was.
Her? Being in love with Venti? Her own best friend? Her childhood friend? The only real friend she’s ever had her entire life? Hell no.
Yet, she couldn’t help but see everything about Venti in a new light. He was funny and sweet, his voice was beautiful, his smile was everything, his kindness was heartwarming, and just being with him brought her joy. She couldn’t let all of that go. All of those moments, those little things, her heart started to flutter the more she’d think about him.
He was always there for her, no matter what. He stayed by her side when she was sad, comforted her when she was alone, and protected her when she was too weak. She felt safe whenever Venti was around.
She’s not someone who falls easily for someone. Or at least, she thought she didn’t.
She always thought being in love is stupid and a waste of time.
But that never seemed to include Venti- she found herself loving the idea of being with Venti. She often looks at him and wonders what would it be like if the two are together.
And that scared Furina, a whole lot.
She doesn’t want to ruin their precious friendship that they both worked hard on building all these years, and she isn’t even sure if Venti likes her back. So, she keeps the feelings bottled up, never wanting to say it out loud.
But with that in mind, Furina started trying to do everything to get Venti off her mind. To get these feelings away from her heart. She started focusing hard on her club activities and her studies to the point that she cancelled her own plans with Venti and her other friends, not even sleeping a single wink to study whatever it is that needs to be studied.
And of course, her own stupid actions, had consequences.
“I can’t believe you.” Venti frowns as he places a wet towel on Furina’s burning forehead.
Apparently, she was studying from night to dawn during the weekdays, and from sunrise to midnight during weekends, causing some stress to her body.
Furina could barely keep her eyes open. She was too tired and too sick to say anything. She couldn’t even bother giving Venti a snarky comment.
“Shut up…” she replied tiredly, turning her head away from him.
Venti sighs, “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I thought I could just finish it in one night, or something like that.” Furina managed to mumble a small lie.
“You were supposed to study during the day, not up through the night.” Venti chides, shaking his head, “Look at you. You look terrible.”
Furina groaned as her head started to throb. “I’m fine. I just need some sleep…”
“That’s your definition of fine now?” Venti deadpanned.
“Yeah… fine as in I’m still alive.” Furina covers her head with her blanket, “Leave me alone.”
“I’m staying. You can’t force me away.” Venti says sharply.
Furina groaned again. She was trying so hard to avoid Venti and yet somehow, she still ended up in this position. The gods must hate her so much for this to happen.
“Shut up.” Furina grumbled, her voice barely noticeable due to the hoarseness in her throat.
With the blanket still over her head, she just couldn’t stop thinking about venti lying beside her. The idea of Venti lying by her bed, checking up on her…
She starts blushing and her heart skips a bear again, making Furina even more annoyed at herself.
Get a grip! You’re not supposed to think any of that!
“How much longer are you going to stay?” she asks quietly, hoping to shoo Venti away. She couldn’t take this any longer.
“Until you get better, at least.” Venti flips the wet towel on her forehead. “I won’t be here during the day since I have classes but I got permission from your mom to stay here during the night so I can watch over you.”
“Ugh…”
The idea of Venti being with her throughout the night did something to Furina. She couldn’t quite pinpoint why she felt this way, but it makes her anxious. She tries to cover her embarrassment by hiding under the blanket, though with a bit of a blush on her cheeks.
She wanted Venti to leave, yet, she didn’t. It’s like her mind is arguing with her heart, fighting for what it wants.
No, no, no! I have to stay strong! Furina thought to herself.
She felt so conflicted with herself, but she could tell that her heart is winning.
“Fine…” she mumbled again, her voice sounding more muffled with the blanket around her head, “Just know that I won’t allow you to baby me again once I fully recover.”
“I won’t baby you again if you stop doing dumb things.” Venti says flatly.
“I’m not a child.” Furina grumbled under her blanket, not even bothering to lift it off her head to see Venti because of how red she is on her cheeks.
If she wasn’t sick and tired, Furina would’ve definitely tried to push Venti away from her bed. But instead, she keeps thinking about how Venti’s voice could be so soothing, how Venti could always manage to make her smile even during her worst days.
This isn’t right, I shouldn’t get this infatuated with my own friend.
“Aw, but you love being my baby?” Venti had the actual nerve to even tease her, even in this state.
Furina wanted to deny it, but she knew that Venti would be able to see right through her.
She’s not sure what’s with Venti and teasing her, even in the most serious situations. It didn’t help with Furina’s easily flustered self.
“Ugh…” she covers her eyes with the blanket again, unable to handle Venti’s teasing, “Stop it...”
Venti just chuckled.
Later that midnight, Furina struggled to sleep, constantly tossing and turning in bed.
Her eyes would slowly shut, but it would open up again. She felt restless.
The girl slowly sat up on her bed, noticing that Venti was already sleeping on the floor. Furina wanted to tell Venti to sleep on the bed by her side, but she thinks that’s just way too much.
Damn it… I can’t sleep like this…
Furina looked over to Venti. She could see the faint lights of the moon on Venti’s face as he’s sleeping on the floor.
God, why does he look beautiful in every angle? It’s almost not fair.
The urge to kiss him right now was inevitable.
But Furina shakes her head, refusing to do it.
She won’t let those thoughts get to her. Venti is her friend, he’s her childhood friend and Furina needs to accept that.
She takes one look at Venti again, looking at him with those longing eyes.
...I think I’m going insane.
Furina lays back down on her bed, forcing her eyes shut, but her thoughts were racing with every possible scenario that she wants to happen, all of them involving Venti.
She wants to be in Venti’s arms right now.
To feel his warmth and comfort that she’s always felt since they were little.
She wants Venti to be by her side, comforting her and making sure she’s alright. She loves how Venti always understands her, even in the smallest things.
Stop. Stop this.
But her mind couldn’t stop thinking about Venti. It wouldn’t listen, no matter how hard she tried.
Furina thinks her fever is getting the best of her at the moment. She just needed rest, that’s it.
Sighing, the girl closed her eyes.
Her mind was too loud at this point. There was silence in her room, but Furina just couldn’t shut her mind up for a while. Every time, every single time her mind would just drift around Venti’s memories and moments that they had together. It always just ends up with her imagining Venti with her during nights like these.
Furina turns to face Venti again as she stares at him sleeping, wondering what to do on a night like this.
Fine. Whatever already.
Slowly, Furina got out of her bed and carefully lays beside Venti.
She’s unsure what she’s doing. That little childish side of her wants Venti to hold her, as if that would make everything alright again.
But the logical part of her is telling her otherwise.
Furina slowly moves closer to Venti.
Maybe if she could have a few hours of sleeping with Venti, maybe that would help with her restlessness.
It wouldn’t hurt to just lay next to him for a few hours, right?
She settles by Venti’s side, listening to his soft breathing.
This is fine… we’re friends… friends do this, right…?
Yeah. Okay. There’s no harm. It’s totally normal.
She moves even closer to Venti, burying her face in his chest.
She feels Venti’s heartbeat. It’s strangely both calming and exciting at the same time, a mix of warmness and tenderness. Her eyes shut tightly and Furina just lays completely still by Venti’s side. Even though her heart is beating really fast, she finds herself calm, almost at peace to be by Venti’s side.
Furina hopes she can stay like this forever. Be in Venti’s arms forever.
She hopes that she gets to stay with her best friend for as long as Venti allowed her to.
Furina’s eyes got heavier, and before she knew it, she fell asleep.
That night, she dreamt of the sweetest things.
Unbeknownst to her, Venti pressed a kiss to her head while she slept.
____________________
Furina was in college when she swore to herself that she’ll make it obvious to Venti.
She’s no longer a child.
She’s an adult and she knows exactly what she wants.
And what she wants is Venti.
Furina had enough of feeling her heart race every time Venti is near, of having so many fantasies in her head and doing so many childish things just to get Venti’s attention. She can’t keep holding back her feelings. She has to make it all obvious to her best friend that she loves him.
She decides that enough is enough.
Which went wrong in all ways that you could imagine.
She tried everything to get him to notice her feelings, even tried all of his friends’ suggestions. All of them ended up an epic fail.
Every. Single. Thing.
From wearing revealing clothes that she thinks Venti would like, to baking Venti’s favorite pastries, to even writing him a letter during literature class, to even writing him an entire poem. Hell, she even considered just blasting her feelings through the campus speakers so Venti would finally know.
But to her disappointment, it all turned out to be useless. Venti was clueless as ever. It was if Venti was just ignoring her feelings, as if her actions and hints were just flying over his head.
It was frustrating.
He’s not usually this oblivious, so all of this doesn’t make sense!
How can he be this clueless when Furina was practically shoving her feelings to Venti in the face?!
It eventually came to the point that some of her friends told her to just… give up.
But Furina’s stubborn, and giving up will never be part of her dictionary. Her feelings for Venti were too damn strong to give up just like that. Even with all that embarrassment and that feeling of wanting to dig a hole in the ground and never show your face to anyone again, Furina couldn’t bring herself to give up.
So instead, she tried doing even more ridiculous things that she never imagined she’d have to do for Venti’s attention.
She couldn’t give up. Not when she’s taken it this far anyway.
The girl loved Venti too much to just stop right here, and the thought that Venti could be with someone else is enough for Furina to try harder than ever before.
It can’t be helped, really. She’s fallen too hard to give up now.
And so, Furina still continued to try and try to get Venti’s attention.
She kept baking Venti’s favorite pastries, kept wearing her best-looking outfits to get Venti to compliment her, and consistently asking him to hang out after class.
Some days, Furina is more direct with her hints and tries to hold Venti’s hand or arm or anything.
She doesn’t exactly know what she expects to happen anymore with all the stuff she did. But one thing’s for sure.
She likes being around Venti.
She loves it.
She loves him.
“Hey Furina! Congrats on graduation night!” one of her classmates praised her.
“Mhm. You too.” Furina mumbles as she goes on with her 3rd drink of the night. Their graduation had just come to an end, and to celebrate, their class rented a private room at some bar.
As the night progresses, Furina gets into a drunken state.
She could barely feel her lips from how drunk she was.
She starts laughing too hard and too loud while she conversed with the others in the room, her voice echoing all around the room. At some point, she starts speaking gibberish, barely knowing what she was saying since the alcohol clouded her entire brain.
People started telling Furina to calm down, to quiet down, yet her drunkenness caused her not to care at all.
For god’s sake, people should just let her be. It was her night anyway. Why do they have to care? She can do whatever she wants. In fact, she can even yell at some rando that they’ll be single for the rest of their life. But she won’t do that of course! Not yet, at least.
Actually, you know what? Who cares.
“You’re going to be single for the rest of your life!” Furina yelled at some random student, startling them.
“F-Furina!” one of her friend tries to scold her.
“What?” Furina looks at her friend, a smirk plastered on her face, “I’m just being honest!”
The alcohol is seriously clouding her entire brain, causing her to act like a dumbass. Whatever it is she’s doing or saying, she didn’t care that much.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her waist.
“I’ll take care of this, don’t worry.” the newcomer assured Furina’s friend.
“Let go of me, pervert...!” Furina whined drunkenly.
“Well, this pervert is here to take you home. Let’s go.”
Furina looked up, and her drunken gaze was met with a concerned one.
...Venti.
Great.
Exactly what she wants to deal with right now.
“Let me go. I can take care of myself.” Furina groaned.
“Yeah, no.” Venti rolled his eyes before he walks towards the exit of the bar with a drunk Furina leaning against him. “How many glasses did you drink?”
Furina couldn’t remember the exact number of drinks she had, but she was damn close to just blacking out and passing out.
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” she mumbled, not knowing what to say or do anymore.
She can’t believe Venti was the one taking care of her now. She’s probably dreaming right now.
Furina heard Venti sigh before he called a taxi over.
Moments later, Furina feels Venti settling her inside the car before he too got inside and told the taxi where to drop them off.
She leans her head on Venti’s shoulder, feeling so tired suddenly.
There was silence, and the only thing she could hear was the car’s engine.
“I’m tired.” Furina mumbles.
“Sleep.” Venti tells her.
She should.
But she doesn’t.
Not yet.
“...why are you so dumb?” Furina asks quietly.
“...what?” Venti blinks, confused.
“You, Venti. You’re so freaking dumb sometimes.” she sighs, her thoughts running around in her drunk head right now. “I… why can’t you just see?”
“I… I don’t understand.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake.
“I hate you so much, you know that?” Furina grumbles.
“Why are you saying this…?” Venti frowns, his lips forming into a thin line.
God, how she desperately wants those lips on hers.
Those damn lips that makes her legs tremble every time she sees him.
How she wants those lips so badly right now.
She wants to hold Venti’s hand, to hold Venti’s arm, to be held by Venti as they lay in bed together…
“Just…” she groans, too drunk to even look into Venti’s eyes.
Venti looks at her, trying to see where she’s coming from. It makes Furina want to just jump out of the car right here and now.
“I don’t know, can you just… ugh.” she’s tired, so tired of this. “I don’t know how I can make this any clearer.”
“I can’t give you what you want if you’re not going to say it, Furina.” Venti says quietly.
Furina stays quiet at that.
I can’t believe this.
Furina couldn’t take it anymore.
Goddamn it. Whatever happens happen.
Without hesitation, Furina grabs Venti’s collar tightly and pulls him close until their lips touched for the first time her whole entire life. Venti makes a surprise noise, and Furina feels a little bit bad. But soon after, Venti places his hand on the back of Furina’s head and the other around her waist, pulling her closer.
She’s finally kissing Venti.
And Venti’s kissing back.
He’s kissing back.
Furina couldn’t control herself at this point. She was already intoxicated from her earlier drinks, she’s even more intoxicated now with what’s happening.
She kisses Venti with all of her pent-up feelings for her best friend.
Every movement that he makes Furina’s head spin.
She doesn’t care what’s gonna happen after this.
All she cares about is Venti right now.
They can’t help themselves anymore, their lips locked into a deep kiss, as a way to finally express it all. It could be considered too much for Furina, and yet she doesn’t care. She doesn’t want this to end, doesn’t want to be away from Venti. She’s afraid this will be the last time they’ll be this way towards each other.
Furina didn’t want to let go… not now or ever–
“...ahem.”
A cough interrupted their passionate moment.
Slowly, Furina came to her sense, realizing where they are right now.
Furina immediately pulls away from Venti, her cheeks flushed, and her whole body was filled with heat. She can’t believe that just happened.
Venti got out of the car first, helping Furina next.
Minutes later, they were in Furina’s room, with her awkwardly sitting on her bed while Venti handed her a glass of water to sober herself up with.
“How’re you feeling?” Venti asks as he takes a seat on her bed.
Furina takes the glass of water and gulps it down slowly.
She still feels a little bit tipsy, her mind still a mess and her body still hot because of the kiss, but she’s starting to calm down.
Furina doesn’t know what to say.
What does one say after kissing their best friend for the first time in their life?
“...I feel like crap.” Furina settles for the first answer that came to her mind.
Venti chuckles a bit. “You should rest.”
“But we…” Furina looked down, she’s too embarrassed to look Venti in the eye right now.
How can Venti act so calm right now? After- after everything that happened? Is he just… that cruel?
“I don’t get you sometimes.” it took everything for her to say that, and she doesn’t want to run away anymore.
“What do you mean?” Venti averts his gaze.
“Do you even realize what just happened between us?” Furina looks back up at Venti, wanting to hear his answer. “Are you just going to act as if what happened was meaningless?”
“Furina, I-”
“Don’t ‘Furina’ me!” she couldn’t help but snap, “You kissed me back, Venti. Did you think I'm that drunk to not notice?”
Venti stays quiet at that so Furina continues speaking.
“I know I’m just drunk. I get that. I get that I probably am a little out of my mind, but I know what I feel towards you, and I want an answer. I don’t care how bad it hurts me. I just need to hear it!” tears pricked Furina’s eyes. “That was my first time, Venti. I dreamt of this. I dreamt of us. I made a fool out of myself so many times just so I could get you to notice me, I forced myself out of my comfort zone in hopes that you’ll look at me and I didn’t do all that just so you could try and play my feelings- or take advantage of me while I’m drunk!”
Furina was fully crying now.
“You’re the worst.”
“Furina.”
“I can’t believe I-”
Venti shuts her up with a kiss.
Furina makes a noise of surprise, gasping against Venti's lips, bur she soon melts in it.
Furina moans softly as Venti’s lips meet hers again. She moves closer to Venti, pressing her body against his as she melts in his kiss.
It's crazy how Venti can make all of Furina's anger disappear in a second.
And it’s crazy how Furina can forgive him with just with one kiss.
She can’t explain it, but there was something different about Venti tonight. Something that made Furina’s heart beat faster than ever and made her feel dizzy. She doesn’t want this moment to end, she never wants this moment to end.
And oh gods, how she loves it.
Her lips can’t get enough of Venti’s. The moment he pulls away, Furina grips him by the collar and brings him close for another kiss. It was as if she couldn’t get enough of him, her hands sliding off of Venti’s collar and onto the back of his head, wanting to pull Venti even closer.
At some point, Furina finds herself in Venti’s lap, with Venti cradling him.
Venti gently bit Furina's lower lip, earning him a sweet noise from Furina as her lips parted, allowing the other’s tongue in.
Furina lets out a soft moan as Venti’s tongue explores her mouth.
She can’t help but cling onto Venti now, letting him take total control of the situation. She doesn’t want to be anywhere else right now, not even in the presence of anyone else. In this moment, Furina just wants to be in Venti’s embrace and to kiss him as much as possible.
She’s getting lost in it, getting lost in Venti.
When the kiss finally breaks, the two lays beside each other on Furina’s bed, catching their breaths.
Furina pulls herself closer to Venti, wanting to be as close to him as possible. She could do this forever if she could. No one else existed in the world aside from Venti and her.
“...don’t move.” Furina whispers as she buries herself in Venti’s chest.
“Hm?”
“Let’s… let’s just stay like this.”
Venti stares at her for a moment, before he wraps an arm around Furina, holding her close.
“Alright.”
“You still haven’t told me your answer.”
Venti smiles a bit.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow when you’re sober.”
“I am sober.” Furina pouts.
“When you’re sober enough to actually process it.”
“Fine. Just… just don’t leave me when I’m asleep.”
“I don’t plan to.”
“Good.”
Soon after, Furina finds herself falling asleep as Venti strokes her head.
For the first time in her life that night, she doesn’t dream.
____________________
“Sorry I haven’t been visiting frequently. Work’s been demanding lately.” Venti sighs as he places the basket of flowers on the ground just beside his brother.
A cold breeze tickles his skin.
“It’s almost christmas,” Venti says softly, “I wonder if you’re also celebrating it with the others.”
In that moment, Venti is hit by feelings of nostalgia. Memories of his past and his brother flood his mind. All the good times they've had together, all the fun they've had just being brothers, playing music together, talking, and spending time with the rest of their family.
Venti can't help but think about how much things have changed, how much he has changed. How much the world has changed. If he were here… he’d love it, Venti thinks.
Alas, everything about him was nothing more than a distant memory.
Venti misses him.
But that wouldn’t change a thing.
It’s a bittersweet feeling.
“I knew I’d find you here.”
Venti chuckles. “Did you really know or did I tell you?”
“You forgot to bring candles, you idiot.” Furina scolds as sets down some candles, lighting each one up.
“Sorry, sorry.” Venti says with a remorseful look.
He then lays down on Furina’s lap, looking a bit tired.
“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?” Furina mutters as she caresses Venti’s hair.
“Is it that obvious?” Venti looks at her curiously.
“Well, your eyebags definitely make it less obvious.” Furina replies sarcastically, to which Venti just laughed.
“I love you so much, you know that?”
Furina blushes and almost stopped stroking his hair. “What’s with you and your random affection?”
“You don’t like it?” Venti smiles playfully.
Furina flicks his forehead.
“H-Hey!” Venti whines.
A small, satisfied smile crosses Furina’s face.
“I don’t hate it. It’s just…” Furina trails off. “I have no idea what to do when you show it.”
“Hmm.” Venti hums, “But we’ve been dating for over 5 years.”
“I know that.” Furina pouts. “It’s just… sometimes, I can’t keep my thoughts straight when you hold me like that. Or when you cuddle me. Or when you kiss me like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Venti asks softly.
“Far from it.” Furina slightly plays with Venti’s hair. “I’m… scared of saying the wrong things. I don’t want to ruin anything, I don’t want to ruin us.”
Venti takes Furina’s hand in his before he presses a kiss to it.
“I love you. Nothing will change that. No matter how clumsy you are, no matter how awkward you are, no matter how stubborn you are. Those things just make me want to love you more. I want to be with you.”
Furina couldn’t help but smile.
“There goes Mr. Smooth talker.”
“You like it.”
“Oh, shut up.”
The two settles in a comfortable silence.
“You know, your brother wouldn’t want this.” Furina spoke.
“Wouldn’t like what?” Venti questions.
“This.” Furina says. “You overworking yourself. Grieving over him even after twenty-one years.”
Venti caresses Furina’s hand as he quietly replies, “I know.”
“Then why are you torturing yourself over it?”
Furina tries to keep her tone light but her words are serious, she wants Venti to stop beating himself over the fact that he can’t do anything for his brother anymore. She’s tired of seeing the person she loves the most be hurt. It hurts her too. More than he can imagine.
“If he were here right now seeing you in this state, what do you think would he say?”
“...he’d tell me that I’m an idiot and that I should live life even without him by my side.”
“Exactly.” Furina smiles lightly, “Can you do that? For him?”
Venti closes his eyes.
Can he?
It’s been years. So many things happened already.
He wasn’t alone anymore.
“I can.” Venti replies gently, “For you.”
“That was so cheesy, Venti.” Furina can’t help giggle. “But, thank you.”
“You know I’ll do anything for you.”
“I know.”
Just then, Venti remembers something.
“You know, speaking of which…” he sat up and turned to her. “I have something to give you.”
“Oh?” Furina tilts her head in curiosity. “What is it?”
“Well, before that…” Venti looked behind her. “Wait, isn’t that Lumine?”
“Huh? Where?” confused, Furina looked behind her. Venti quickly grabbed something from his bag.
“Venti, there’s no one-”
Furina’s eyes widened. Venti’s heart races. He hopes he hasn’t messed up.
The engagement ring rests comfortably in the small box as he held it out in front of her, a bit nervous.
“Venti...?” Furina says breathlessly.
“Furina.” Venti gulps but still feeling determined, “...will you marry me?”
They’ve known each other since they were little kids. Venti knew the things that makes Furina happy, he knew the things that she despises the most. He has seen her at her lowest, and he’s been there at her greatest. He’s been stuck to her side from the start. He wants to be stuck to her side forever. He wants to learn new things about her every day. He wants to spend every waking hour with her.
But only if Furina will allow him to.
“Yes… yes!” she hugged him tightly. “A million times yes!”
Venti hugs her back, his eyes already tearing up.
When she pulled back, he slides the ring into her finger. Furina then kisses him.
And Venti pulls her closer. He doesn’t want even a second to pass after she said ‘yes’. He’s hungry for her love, her affection, her warmth. He wants everything she can offer to him and he wants to give her everything in return.
“I love you.” Venti whispers when they part, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, so much.” Furina smiles back, teary-eyed. “I know I can be clumsy, awkward, and weird. But I’m grateful that you’re with me. I’m grateful that you know me, that you’re here, that you never gave up on me. I can’t explain how much I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”
Venti pulls her into an embrace. “I’m the happiest when I’m with you.”
“I am too.” tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. Venti wipes them away.
That afternoon, the two walked hand in hand, laughing and teasing each other.
For the first time, Venti finally realized what happiness really meant.
And he wouldn’t change it for anything else.