Daddy, you're blushing!

22

Venti completely moved in at Aether's house.

He figured that he felt safer in an environment he was familiar with... In a place he used to live in.

He went inside his room, and he could still smell the familiar scent... He admired everything that was inside. This is where he used to reside, where he used to do the things he needed to do...

It hurts him still, imagining that he was still here and doing the same usual.

He stared at his desk, still full of his things... His diaries... His sketchbooks. They were still in there.

This room was like a museum full of memories of him.

He opened Aether's closet and immediately went for his sweaters... He wore it, desperate to find comfort, desperate to smell him again... But there was still a part of him that was afraid that one day, the scent will fade... And he will completely forget about how he lived in this world.

He grabbed the perfume he would always use, this was something he could never lose.

Everything that Aether used to have meant so much to him, he will protect them all with his life.

He now sat on his bed, where he sleeps.

He hugged the pillow as he started crying again. How could he ever live in a house where all the memories exist? How could he ever move on when... Everything reminds him of Aether?

Anything he does, he would think of him.

It was something he couldn't escape, something he could not break through. This was a tough fight.

He was hugging himself.

He just needed someone to do it for him.

But who will, when the person who used to do it is already gone?

He refused to read the letter... Because it will only hurt more. He wanted to accept it and let him have a rest, he didn't want to think about it so much. But how could he not when everything leads back to him? He could not live his life anymore without him, it would be very new... And odd.

It doesn't feel the same anymore.

The world just seems like a lie to him

Nothing seems to make sense anymore, first Xiao... And now Aether?

How many people does he need to lose?

He flinched when he heard the doorbell ring, who would be in here at such time?

He wiped his tears and tried adjusting his hair. Fuck... His ugly hair. He doesn't recognize himself anymore. The beauty he had has faded with Aether.

What he looked like now was a total failure.

Eyebags were forming under his eyes from tiredness... Mostly from crying, he was getting quite wrinkly too because of stress. The most important thing was... His braids. They were now gone. But he wasn't even complaining about that. He did it in the honor of Aether, he will never regret cutting his hair.

It'll grow back.

He opened the door, surprised to see Xiao standing there with Hirang in his arms...

"Hirang wanted to see you... Zoe told me to drop her here,"

He furrowed his eyes for a little bit, seems quite suspicious.

"I miss you daddy!" she still calls him her father... Even though Venti knew for a fact that he would never be her father, he still felt his heart warming as he heard those words from her mouth.