Serenade | Venti x Male Reader

Am I...? ~<|>~ Chapter 2

Venti woke up earlier than usual. He would usually stay in bed until 10 am, but today he was walking up the steps to the Favonius HQ before 8.

"Halt!" One of the guards commanded. "What brings you to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters?"

"Ehe, I'm just here to visit the library." Venti replied.

"Oh, you're that bard that always preforms at the Cathedral courtyard, right?" The guard asked.

"Mhm!" Venti said, nodding.

"Apologies for the rudeness. I didn't recognize you at first." The guard said.

"It's alright! You were just doing you're job after all." Venti said.

The guard let Venti through the doors of the HQ, and Venti headed straight for the library. He walked up to the front desk, carefully quieting his footsteps. He had learned his lesson about being loud in Lisa's library several years ago.

"Lisa?" Venti whispered, catching the librarian's attention.

"Oh, it's the cutie bard!" Lisa said, smiling.

Venti let out an exasperated sigh. "I told you to stop calling me that..." he muttered.

"Yes, yes. Unfortunately, old habits don't change that soon. Anyways, what brings you to the library? You aren't the type to read." Lisa said.

"I wanted to borrow a book." Venti said.

"What kind of book?" Lisa asked. She was curious on what Venti would ever read.

"I... don't know." Venti admitted.

"Oh? Do you need a recommendation?" Lisa said.

"No, I need a book to know what's wrong with me, but I don't know what book it would be in." Venti said, frowning.

"Wrong with you? If you're sick, you should go to Barbara." Lisa said.

"No no no, I'm not sick." Venti said. "At least, I don't think I am...?"

"We'll then what could be the matter?" Lisa said, overly curious now.

"I need a book that will tell me why a heart would be faster than normal, or why someone's temperature rises at an action. Or why I can have a bubbly feeling in my stomach." Venti said.

"Oh? Well that's interesting. Here's a book that might have your answers, if it doesn't work there is another option." Lisa said, pulling a book out from the counter and giving it to Venti.

"Secrets of Love?!" Venti whisper-shouted. "I-I'm not in l-love!"

But despite what Venti said, there was a small part of him...

'Am I? Am I... in love with Y/n?'  Venti thought. 'I mean... he's kind, has a sweet smile, always somehow makes me feel happy just by existing... and I always find myself wanting to actually talk to him, to spend time with him... and every night when I sing to him, his peaceful sleeping face just makes me feel as if I'm at peace, too...'

"Read it, there's still a chance that's not it." Lisa said. "It's just the least concerning option, the others would all be dangerous physical conditions."

Venti nodded and sat in a hammock in the sun, in a corner of the library. It was honestly his favorite napping spot, and he often snuck out here to sleep. It was a miracle that no one else seemed aware of it's existence.

Venti opened the book, and started reading it aloud to himself.

"Chapter 1... the 5 Stages of Love, according to Yin Lin." Venti muttered. "Stage 1... Denial. Humans tend to think the idea of love is weak, and if they don't, they have fallen for their friend and are too shy to admit it to themselves. There are a rare few that skip this stage."

"Stage 2. Confusion. The human tries to figure out why they have fallen in love, or if they are confusing love for friendship or admiration. For some individuals this is the case, and they do not proceed to the other stages."

"Stage 3- Acceptance. The human comes to terms with their feelings, and start thinking romantically about their love.

Stage 4... Dreaming. The human starts to daydream about random activities and interactions with their love... oh no..." 

Venti trailed off. He suddenly realized how often he himself did that. It was as if he couldn't get you out of his head, couldn't stop wishing to befriend you and talk to you everyday... to hug you and to make you laugh... yearning for you to stroke his hair, kiss his forehead, anything that would make his heart flutter the way it always did when you were involved.

Venti snapped out of his thoughts. Realizing that he was doing it again. He kept reading.

"The human will go to sleep dreaming about it, wake up thinking about it, and do something everyday that would be closest to what they dream of. This stage can last anywhere from a few weeks, to years, to forever if the human never gathers the courage to confess."

"Stage 5. Confession. The human... confesses..."

Venti closed the book. If this is true, then Venti is already on stage four. 

Venti silently walked back up I to the front desk, were Lisa was sitting with her legs crossed on the table, reading a book.

Venti gave the book back to Lisa without saying a word, and walked out of the library.

"Hm? I must've been right~" Lisa said to herself, giggling.

As soon as Venti was outside, he took a deep breath. This realization was a lot for him to handle, but he knew it was true. What other explanation was there, when his heart yearned to be with you always and forever?

Venti walked in silence to the plaza next to the Cathedral. Once he got there, he started to tell the tale of the Dandelion Sea, a tale he hadn't told in a while.

Once he caught sight of you, though, his heart skipped a beat and he started to feel nervous. He wanted to impress you, but he wouldn't be able to do that if your presence stole away all of his attention and he didn't focus on his ballad.

Venti managed to complete his performance as per usual, and held out his hat to collect the donations.

When it was your turn, you gave him your usual friendly smile, while Venti smiled back. His heart threatened to beat out of his chest, just from your smile, and his braids were glowing slightly. Thankfully, the sunlight hid that fact.

'I really am in love...'  Venti thought.

Once everyone, including you, had left the plaza, Venti teleported back to his house. He flopped on his bed like a dead fish, completely drained of energy.

Venti read your note, a smile on his face as well as a dusting of red as he did so. By the time he was done, he yawned, and decided to take a small power nap before visiting you at midnight.