The Windborn boy ─ Venti x reader ✔

48.

"Gods, I'm glad Lumine allowed me to take a day off." You sighed into the book you held while the words only circled in your mind like a whirlwind. Unlike the stories that were supposed to be pictured, the letters' ink only drowned deeper in a never-ending spiral.

Venti held his right hand on top of yours and when you glanced up a slight smile curved over the corners of his lips. The anticipation of the result wouldn't nearly stop if it wasn't for your boyfriend, attempting to soothe your strained nerves—even if it had a poor effect on your side—simply by being there and trying.

You closed the book, to look around in the room. The white walls squished your heart together.  

You tried to wear a smile on your lips instead of a sad face, even if it were to be a mask, you'd prefer that over the weight of a heavy heart of your boyfriend. 

The children that ran around through the hall were quiet and swift, they passed without a hint of concern—and if they had one that moment, they concealed it well.

In the hall stood a big piano, black as ash, the top filled with dust, a long unused instrument. It would bring melodies of the nostalgic kind—so hauntingly beautiful as though it was standing in an abandoned building—the thought was cooling your racing pulse.

A little distraction as long as you were lingering your eyes on it. 

Venti nudged you in the side and stood up. "Remember what we used to do when we were waiting for big announcements?" he asked while he let his fingers brush over the top of the fall board. You tried to recall and it slipped swiftly to your memory. You nodded once you saw the faint images that appeared in front of you from a long time ago.

He bowed with a playful smirk while keeping his hand close to his stomach. "Mademoiselle~" he teased, "would you do me the honour of blessing us with some of your piano skills?" you gulped with wide eyes. You didn't expect him to ask that, but it wasn't a bad idea. 

After all, there weren't a lot of people around—people would play on this piano all the time. However, no one ever complained about the music. These rooms used to be filled with joyful and soft melodies that brought dancing and a lightened mood along.

Maybe you could bring that back and immerse yourself into the old nostalgia you felt familiar with.

"Okay." was all you replied before sitting down on the piano bench.

Your finger glided over the piano smoothly. When you pressed the keys down, it sounded eerily harmonic. 

The deep notes echoed through the room, then you found your rhythm in the old instrument. 

A certain song that always brought harmony to all your senses was—Soldier, Poet, King. 

Venti, who knew your taste in music like the back of his hand, immediately began to sing the lyrics to the song. 

As the two of you enjoyed the play, a tiny crowd of children was attracted by the harmony between the voice and the piano. 

Bright smiles rested on the kids' faces as though they were crowned. You smiled when watching them, the fact that Venti and you brought this feeling back.

——

The joy was temporary, but it was enough to keep you calm for the time being.

You smiled at Venti who managed to brighten your mood so simply—you were still as thankful as ever.

"You know I would've preferred it if the angel herself would've sung instead of playing the piano, but the fact you decided to play with me despite your anxiety was more worth than any word could describe." he hummed, you knew the angel he referred to was you—he used to call your voice angelic and over the years you improved, but you were never the type to show off the things that demanded you to be in the center of attention. When everyone has their eyes on you, you'd rather freeze and wait until it passed—but playing an instrument was sometimes a bit different.

"Thank you." you chuckled

Suddenly a person called your name, "ms. L/n?" they asked. You didn't hear it at first but then the muffled voice became clear at once.

"Ms L/n," a nurse addressed, with a smile that washed your worries away, "your mother's surgery was successful, the cancer has been removed and she's waking up now."

——✧･ﾟ: ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆
RAINEE's NOTE;
I drew inspiration from UnLuckyKitsune 's comment with the Soldier, Poet, King suggestion, besides, it's one of my favourite songs.

ALSO DOUBLE UPDATE this week hehe. (pshhh in my time zone it's a double update)

Be prepared we're getting close to the final chapters hahahahahahahah. Not only readers who liked following this will be sad, I will have emotional attachment problems because I wrote this for almost a year and a half 😭

But anyway, then I'll probably move on to the next ones, btw I'm already planning 2 out for certain (one for Venti, one for Albedo, possibly one for Xiao)

See y'all in the next chapter, and this one is a bit shorter than average because writer's block has caught up to me too rn, but I'm determined to entirely finish this and publish the last few chapters. I'm not gonna give up so close to the end.