Serenade | Venti x Male Reader

Hold You Close, Kiss Away Your Fears ~<|>~ Chapter 17

Venti walked you from your house, all the way to the Knights of Favonius' HQ. The entire time, he gripped your hand tightly, making sure that you knew he was there for you.

Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door to Jean's office. "Come in." A tired voice called.

Venti squeezed your hand reassuringly, and you opened the door. Jean was sitting at her desk, writing something on a piece of paper.

"Hello, Acting Grand Master." You said nervously. Sensing the tremble in your voice, Venti rubbed him thumb over your knuckles to calm you.

"Please, call me Jean." She said. "What do you need help with?"

Swallowing a lump in your throat, you answered. "I'd like to file for a restraining order."

"Against whom?" Jean asked, pausing her work.

"My... my father." You said. "His name is Aubrien."

"Your father?" Jean asked. "Are you a victim of abuse, by any chance?"

"No-" you started to respond, but Venti obviously disagreed with what you were saying, so he shushed you and answered instead.

"He is." Venti said.

"No, Venti-" You said, trying to convince him, "he wasn't abusing me, he's just a little strict-"

"Y/n, you know that's not true." Venti said softly. His free hand carressed your cheek. "He says he's strict, but I think you know that he's controlling. Unfortunately, it's not the same in other nations, but in Mond, that's abuse."

You bowed your head as you came to terms with the fact that your father had not only been controlling, but he was also gaslighting you into believing it was normal.

"You were so brave a few minutes ago." Venti continued. "Can you be brave for just a while longer? Please, so that you don't have to be brave again?"

You nodded, taking shaky breaths.

Jean cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "That indeed sounds worthy of a restraining order." She said. "Can you give us some examples of his behavior?"

You described how he looked through your backpack, how he didn't ever let you go to a friend's house, and how he treated you more like a slave than a son. About how he made you heed his every command. You had to clean the house, do schoolwork that was too advanced for you, sneak into the kitchen at midnight to eat.

"Wait, was he not feeding you?" Venti asked, concerned. "Is that why you had to sneak into your kitchen?"

"No no, he gave me three meals a day." You said. "I just have a really big appetite, and soup isn't enough to hold me over for ten hours, hehe..."

Venti nodded, letting out a breath of relief.

"Well, I'll get to work with that restraining order." Jean said. "Can you write down his full name, appearence, and age?"

You did as Jean said, thanked her, and left the HQ. You and Venti ambled aimlessly, eventually ending up at the city gates.

"Hey, do you still wanna come over to my house?" Venti asked. You nodded. "Alright, hold on to me. This might be a bit disorienting."

You wrapped your arms around Venti's waist, leaning against him trustingly. The aquamarine swirls of Anemo soon surrounded you distorting the image of reality, until they dispersed and left you with the beautiful view of the sea.

"Woah..." You said, looking around. "Did we just teleport?" Venti smiled, nodding, and turned you around.

"Woah, Venti, is this your house?" You asked, looking up at him.

"Yep." Venti said, giggling. "You wanna come in?"

You nodded, and Venti opened the door, letting the two of you in.

Venti's house was small, but cozy. There was a small kitchen, a couple of couches, and two doors that you assumed led to a bathroom and a bedroom.

You seemed to be correct, as Venti opened one door to reveal his bedroom, so the other could only be a bathroom.

Venti led you into the bedroom, and you noticed two giant stuffed animals sitting on his bed.

"So are these the toys you wanted to show me?" You asked curiously.

"Yes, they are!" Venti said. He picked up both of them, showing them to you. "This is Dvalin and Boreas, which you probably know as the Wolf of the North."

"Actually, I know him as Andrius." You said, smiling. "I have a friend, Razor, who was adopted by him. So we've met."

"Well, that's something I didn't know." Venti said. "Do you have any other interesting stories to tell?"

"You know I do, but most of them are made up." You said. "But, we could make a story together."

"Hm? Do you mean that you wanna keep working on the book?" Venti asked.

You nodded, smiling. "But first..." You jumped on Venti, hugging him liek a koala, refusing to let go.

"Woah- Y/n?" Venti asked, startled. He staggered under your weight for a moment, before falling on the bed with you on top of him.

"CUDDLES." You said fiercely, tucking your head under Venti's chin.

Venti laughed, adoring the way that you were so affectionate. "You can have all the cuddles you want, for the small price of a few kisses thrown into the mix." He whispered, carding his fingers through your hair.

You happily agreed to the deal, lifting your head up to meet Venti's lips. Contrary to last night, you took you time, exploring each others lips and expeirimenting with how you fit together.

For you, this was perfect. Your arms were around Venti's neck, his around your waist, and your legs were tangled together. You lay close to him, close enough to feel his heartbeat through your own chest, but not so close that you were uncomfortable.

You loved this. You loved Venti.