Unrelated 91 Days Oneshots

the boy and the man- Vanno x Fio

Of course she knew that he loved her.

Of course she did, and of course she had known for years. They had known each other for years, she could hardly remember a time when Vanno wasn't a part of her life, and so they were quite close. Really, he was like another brother to her, but he wasn't her brother and, naturally, it was quite obvious that he was in love with her.

When they were younger, he was always spouting off about protecting her, with a bravado that she found amusing- and a bit charming, though she kept that part to herself. He liked to play at being a man, but even when he became one, Fio couldn't see him as anything but the boy she had always known. And even though she was becoming a woman herself, the idea of marriage, of pledging herself to anyone, seemed so grown up and so far away that she never stopped to consider there being anything between them.

She always knew that he loved her, and that there was a possibility, one day, that he would say something about it to her, but she never thought about what her own feelings would be then, or what she wanted from a marriage or from a husband. When her father introduced her to Ronaldo, began leaving the two of them alone together, sending them off together, she realized what he was doing, but she was surprised.

It was obvious that her father wanted her to marry this man, but she had always assumed that Vanno would have made a move by now, would have done something to try and prove himself so her father would arrange the very same thing with him. Had he really said nothing yet? And did he have nothing to say now that there was another man pursuing her? Had he ever really been pursuing her to begin with?

She expected him to say something to her, but Ronaldo eventually proposed and still there was nothing direct. Every now and then, there were remarks about how he did not like her fiance, or about how he would be there for her should Ronaldo do anything to hurt her, but he never told her what she already knew. She found herself more and more frustrated with Vanno, wondering what on earth gave him the right to behave in this way when he had never even tried! What had she been worth to him all these years?

She was married, and he had the gall to make a scene on her wedding day, after it was much too late for him to show her any sort of affection. He had still not told her that he loved her, and even if she already knew, it was so frustrating. Vanno was nothing more than the boy who had always played at being a man, and she knew that she was better off without having to worry about having him for a husband.

Fio was sure, that day, that she would be much happier if she never had to see Vanno again, and yet when the news came that he had been killed, she missed the boy- the man- who had loved her more than she could possibly say.