welcome home

[outofoffice]

Who: Venti, Yuri, Saya, Lumine, and Kantera
What: A moment of respite
When: March 4th
Where: A house at the far edge of Blossomcrown
Warnings: Probably mentions of previous game trauma/violence


[ Venti has always been the type who wanders to the beat of his own drum, dipping in and out of people's lives as easily as the blowing wind. But Tokyo-F . . . changed things, somewhat.

Though his initial instinct had been to sleep under a tree and call it "home," an invitation to live with old friends put a halt to those plans. For starters, it would be protection from the unpredictable weather in the segments. For another, maybe he did get used to having a bed and a room to call "home," in no small part because of the teammates and friends who inhabited it with him. Now that solitary tree feels . . . lonely, in a way it didn't before.

And so here he is, standing at the threshold of a house full of people he loves and trusts, who asked him to stay . . . it makes him feel his age, but not in a bad way, for once. Nor does he feel that nagging urge to disappear into the wind.

Should he catch anyone watching him, the pensive expression dissolves into a smile. ]

Hehe, is this the part where we fight over bedrooms?

Comments

[sangreine]

[ For a long moment, only sniffling. ]

You don't want to hear what I have to say right now. [ She sounds pissed, though not at Yuri. Obviously. ]

[at_heart]

Why, did I do something wrong?

[ The gentlest tease you've ever heard. ]

[sangreine]

I know you probably want to stay neutral and I'm not in that sort of mood.

[at_heart]

[ Eyebrows lift mildly. ]

Think it's a little early to decide that for me.

[sangreine]

I'm just trying not to be an ass here, okay? I'm angry and upset but I don't want his friendships to suffer.

[at_heart]

Doc's a big boy. He can take care of himself in that regard.

[sangreine]

[ oh well in that case -- ]

He knew. Before he asked me to get married here, he knew that he had doubts about being able to stay with me. And he didn't have a good answer about why he didn't think I had a right to know that before making that commitment.

As if the fact that he might leave me isn't important information for me to have.

[at_heart]

[ ...Low whistle. ]

Yeah, that's a pretty big screw up.

[sangreine]

[ She looks at Yuri for the first time. Somehow hearing that she's not entirely overreacting helps. ]

I'm not sure how I trust him again. And if I don't trust him, what are we even doing?

It's not like I don't know how hard it is to tell people something I'm ashamed of. I made him watch the memory of my massacre before I agreed to even see him officially. It was awful, but I did it because he had a right to know what he was getting into.

[at_heart]

[ Mmmmm. ]

I don't know. [ Gently. ] I know if it were me, I'd try to find a way, but it's not me.

[ His gaze finds the sky overhead. ]

—Whatever you decide to do, I'll have your back.

[sangreine]

[ Something about that phrasing nags at her. Why does she feel like he's saying that she'd be the one making the mistake if she decides not to stick with someone who is willing and ready to abandon her? ]

I'm tired of losing people. [ Usually that's because they died, which at least wasn't their choice. ]

But I don't know if I'm tired enough to accept this. And if I do decide to accept it I don't think I'll be any less exhausted. [ The whole "he might leave me" thing would still be hanging over her head. ]

[at_heart]

[ Well, not viewing Doc that way probably helps. ]

It's not really something I can imagine, honestly. In... any way.

[ Can't imagine it happening to him, can't imagine it actually happening to you. It's so hard to wrap his head around except sympathetically. ]

But I don't think you should stick with anyone just because you're tired of losing people in general. S'not fair to either of you.

[sangreine]

[ She thinks in black and white sometimes. This is unfortunately one of them. ]

I didn't agree to commit myself to him just to abandon him. But he evidently didn't have the same thoughts on the matter.

...Probably I should think about it more when I'm not this miserable. Right now, I'm not sure I can get past it. But then again, I'm not sure anyone could get past my hibernation cycle better than he is, either.

[at_heart]

[ Statements that are just unfair: that, in Yuri's mind. ]

You know the plan isn't to abandon you. You know it's not something he wants to do or something he intends to do. It's just something he's afraid he'll do anyway.

[ Half a beat, then: ]

I'd think you, of all people, would understand the difference.

[sangreine]

[ Her shutting down is so immediate that the change is visible. ]

I told him about my berserk state and my turning abilities and my hibernation from the very beginning, he chose to hide his fear until after we were married despite knowing about it. He hid it from me.

Don't you dare compare things I can't control to something he absolutely could.

[at_heart]

[ Okay, that's not the part he was talking about, but he pivots easily enough. ]

Chose to hide his fear until after you were married.

[ Just. Repeating your own words back to you, in the hopes that you'll hear the contradiction. ]

[sangreine]

Yes. I had a perfect right to know before we got married that he might not be able to stay with me, so I could decide for myself if I was okay with it. He used his words fine a few minutes ago when he told me the truth, they would have been just as easy to say before we were married.

You don't think I was scared, telling him about all that? I still did it, because he deserved to know what he was getting into. I've never hid anything from him, never. And this is a huge thing to not tell me, and it's unfair that he didn't, I don't care how hard it was to say.

[at_heart]

[ Sorry, Saya, but he's — sighing. ]

I think you're comparing something you did when your relationship was still brand new with something he did after you'd been engaged for... how long, again?

It'd be different if these were memories he'd had back in Tokyo-F, but they aren't, are they. They're memories that slammed into his head after he woke up here, same as me. When you two were already engaged, already planning a life together.

[ Smallest pause, then, ]

I'm not saying you don't have a right to be hurt. I'm not saying you don't have a right to end things.

[ He is expressly not encouraging you to stay with Doc unless you decide you want to; not wanting to is all the reason you need, in his estimation, but then — what does he know about long-term relationships? ]

I'm just saying: if you're trying to compare your apples to his oranges, he had a lot more to lose when he came clean with you.

[sangreine]

Fine. [ Her tone could not be less fine. She just wants to be done hearing an exhaustive defense of the man who lied to her, especially when she started this conversation saying she wasn't in the mood for neutrality. ]

I came out here to be alone. [ so, you know ]

[at_heart]

[ ...Wasn't really neutrality, and he doesn't move. ]

I can shut up, but I'm not going anywhere.

[sangreine]

[ She wants to hear people scold her and take his side even less. Saya gets to her feet. ]

Feel free to stay here as long as you like.

[ She starts walking. She could easily just be gone given her blinding speed, which he well knows, and she'll consider that if he forces it. ]

[at_heart]

[ It wasn't that, either. Raising his voice: ]

Head back into town, if you won't stay here with me.

[sangreine]

Why. It's not like anything can happen to me.

[ What's going to happen, some big monster want to try and make a meal out of her? Any such creature can make her fucking night. ]

1/2

[at_heart]

[at_heart]

Because I won't be able to sleep if I know you're out there, by yourself, because of something I said.