down on the west coast, they love their movies
their golden gods and rock and roll groupies
and you've got the music, you've got the music
in you, don't you?
— LANA DEL REY
CHAPTER 33 CLOSURE
tw: sad , mentions of death
while you were loading the necessary materials into the shopping cart, a short twin-braided boy trailed behind you like a lost puppy.
you sighed as your grandparents were left with your club members and tasked you with going grocery shopping, which caused venti to volunteer first to accompany you.
"is this your first time?" you asked after stopping at a different aisle where the vegetables are located. venti took his focus away from the many types of food and nodded.
"yeah! it's like an adventure, i never thought you folks came to this place to buy essential supplies." he replied honestly, while you deadpanned. it felt like these rich spoiled brats live under a rock and have no idea what it's like to live like average people.
you shook off your thoughts and began scrutinizing the carrots in the basket. you placed the carrot in your basket as you were about to walk away after determining its quality.
you spotted venti who stopped in his tracks and was staring at something with an unreadable expression on his face. you definitely became perplexed by this and focused your attention on whatever he was staring at.
'til her e/c-eyes focused on a mother and her son bonding together, the mother checking if the things they received were needed, while the son asked if he may have the sweets, to which the mother consented.
the kid grinned brightly and approached his mother for an embrace. y/n then returned her attention to venti, and she could finally determine what he was thinking at the time. longing.
after obtaining the necessities and placing them in plastic bags, you and venti finally exited the supermarket, the boy clutching a lollipop in hand.
"do you want to go sit on the bench for a while? to rest before we walk back?" you asked, capturing his attention, and he grinned, "of course! though i could just call one of our servants to fetch us."
you shook your head and said, "absolutely not, let's go." you declined the offer and walked over to one of the empty benches, venti close behind you.
as the frigid air swept past them, the twin-braided boy flopped down along with you and likewise placed the grocery bags down.
the moon was sparkling so brightly beside the sparkly stars twinkling from the dull sky. "y/n, do you realize how precious you are to us?" venti asked abruptly, making you gaze at him confusedly.
"no? and besides, shouldn't you be the precious one? you're the one who was there for them, and you founded this club." y/n pointed out, plainly perplexed by his comment, despite his belief otherwise.
"fair, but you already meant a lot to us and i'm glad you came onto this club!" he exclaimed, shaking his head and curling his lips. he entirely ignored the reason you had to join this host club in the first place.
sneering at this, she huffed, "definitely i wonder why," she snidely commented, prompting venti to chuckle. when venti was ready to say something further, y/n abruptly pointed out, "why were you looking at the mother and his child like that earlier?"
venti hastily shut his mouth, evidently surprised by the blunt question. "it's nice to see a family like that, don't you think? especially experiencing a mother's love," he stated after a brief pause.
your eyes widened slightly as he explained, and you observed a sorrowful smile carved on his lips as he went on.
"did you know i once had a twin?" he confessed, but he didn't let you respond, "of course you don't, why would I mention that? silly me," he chuckled faintly as memories from his past began to flood his head.
memories he'd rather forget and keep locked away in a box where no one could get the key and unlock it, or so he thought.
you set your hand on top of his hand, causing venti to rapidly look up at you and he observed as a delicate grin faltered over your lips. "if you need to vent, i'll be here, but i'm not going to force you, okay?" your voice sounded so sincere to him.
venti remained astonished at his location for a few seconds before hurriedly looking away, his cheeks flushed from y/n's behavior.
this plainly perplexed the girl, and she released his hand, believing she had made him uncomfortable. "sorry! i shouldn't have done that." she apologized immediately once.
venti, on the other hand, grasped her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, regaining the warmth from her.
"i hope you don't mind me holding your hand because i need it for what i'm about to say," he said honestly, returning his gaze to her face. the crimson flush on his cheeks became visible to her, and all she did was nod, allowing him to continue.
he cleared his throat and soon began to let that box out that he never wanted anyone to know about, the box that he had been hiding within him for years.
"i once had a twin but he tragically passed away when we were young. it brought tremendous grief to my parents as they continuously favored him over me," he started, a faint crack in his voice in spite of the fact that he held his tears in, "not just my parents but as well as my relatives, he passed away for unclear reasons, hence they blamed me for his passing,"
his grip on your hand tightened as he said, "i always tried to please my mother and be the best son that she had ever wished for, but it never seemed to work," his expression was dejected.
"every time i tried, she would just never look at me or even notice me. my dad was constantly traveling overseas, so i never had much contact with him. i always had to put up with the nasty things my mother would say to me, including that she wished i had died rather than my twin."
yes, that was it; his unshed tears began to fall as a result of the words that had come out of his mouth, and his smile had now cracked.
you promptly hugged the boy and comforted him, "i'm sorry you had to go through that, it's not your fault okay? i know your twin must be so proud of you for keeping strong, and i and the others are here for you. you did not deserve that kind of treatment, you're valid just like the rest of us."
venti choked out a sob, and he quickly reciprocated the embrace, which was exactly what he needed. he felt reassured by her warmth and presence, melting into her arms.
"do not tell anybody about this, this is just between us. i-i do not think i'm prepared to tell the others about this." he talked up, sniffing mid-sentence. you nodded in response, "of course, thank you for opening up to me venti."
he gave her the key, and she used it to open the box that he had intended to preserve sealed for all time.
"you are very special to me, too, y/n."
↷ ⁞ END OF CHAPTER 33!
⟶ chapter written; october 30 2022
playing francis forever by mitski while writing this entire chapter. it has been a while guys ! and i lowkey wrote each of them a sad backstory < 3