Author's note: Another VanVen story, like I said.
Nothing special, really...orz. It ended up a lot different than my original idea for this. Which wasn't very fleshed out in the first place, but.. y'know. Still didn't actually turn out as planned, haha.
This really isn't very good at all, but I feel like it's incomplete, so I might continue it? I'm not sure though.
We'll see, I suppose.
In the meantime, I'll be writing other VanVen stuff and whatever other pairings I feel like =w=..
But yes. Anyway. Enjoy.
"You're late," I complained, as soon as I heard the door open. My arms were spread across the back and side of the couch on which I was sitting, where I'd been waiting for Ven to return from class. He was actually bothering to take college classes. I, on the other hand, opted to avoid extra schooling, since I have no large ambitions. We live together.
In addition to that, he's my boyfriend.
"I've had a rough day," was his response. I hadn't yet turned to look at the blond, seeing as the couch was faced away from the front entrance, but his tired voice caught my attention. It was rare that his words weren't full of energy, at the very least, if not happy. When I turned to look, Ven was rubbing the bridge of his nose, as one would do to alleviate a headache. He really did look exhausted.
"What?" I asked, a mocking tone slipping into my own words. "Accidentally fail a test?" Doubtful, really. Ven was the type to actually care about his studies, normally an A or B student. There wasn't often much for him to complain about.
"If you must know," Ven began, his voice full of rare frustration. "I was threatened by some homophobic bastards, today."
That genuinely surprised me. He hadn't come home complaining about being harassed, before. Then again, we hadn't discussed the topic much - it would make sense if the offenders hadn't known about our living situation and only just found out, but I didn't know if he'd been hiding that or not. Our avoidance of the topic probably wasn't a good thing. I don't know if we'd been avoiding it subconsciously, or it was just because it hadn't come up. Perhaps a bit of both.
"Have they bothered you before?" I kept my voice mostly flat, trying not to overreact. Homophobia pissed me off often. General acts of hate toward gays were annoying enough. They were someone else's business, so I always stay out of it. But the thought of Ventus having to deal with it nearly put me on edge. "Or was it just today?"
"It doesn't matter, does it?" He nearly spat in response. This was the most worked up I'd seen him in ages. What he murmured last, I barely caught. "You don't even care.."
He was about to walk off, so I grabbed his wrist to stop him. I gestured, with the arm that was rested on the couch's back, to the empty spot beside me. It was obvious enough to him that I was telling him to take a seat - and he obliged, letting out a deep sigh as he sat where I'd indicated. The same arm that I'd motioned with then wrapped around his waist, pulling him a bit closer. He didn't protest.
"Explain," I commanded. I wanted to know the details. We never talked about anything like this. And we really needed to. Yes, I come off as a jerk, even to him - but I wasn't going to let this slide, just because of that. I still wanted to know.
Ventus let out a sigh. "They found out that I'm gay. I don't know how. They asked about a million questions, and they would not get off my back about it. It was just two people, a couple guys who ... I don't know. They're classmates; I haven't really talked to them before. Somehow they found me at lunch, too, and bothered me there. Almost made a big scene, but I left." Ven seemed to be trying to resist squirming. He shifted a couple times, eventually settling on resting his head on my shoulder.
"But when they threatened me.. they said to watch my back. I mean - not just that, but.. they said something about.. burning my home to make it more like hell or some shit. They said they'd make sure I never forget that I'm a faggot, in their words. That I don't belong at school. All kinds of - it's messed up. I don't know what they're going to do or when they're going to do it. They sounded serious. I don't know.."
After ranting for a bit, he eventually calmed down. Seemed to, anyway. I, on the other hand, wanted immediately to know who the hell the assholes were who were threatening Ventus.
Despite that, I kept up my usual attitude. Why bother changing? "They're not going to do anything," I stated plainly. An edge of irritation was in my voice, and I wasn't sure if he'd noticed. "They're going to leave you the fuck alone unless they want their heads bent backward and shoved up their asses. I will personally pay them each a visit if they don't stop." My anger was becoming more apparent, but I didn't try too hard to stop it. "And you need to avoid them."
"I wish I could!" Ven immediately argued. "But I have two classes with them, and if they can find me at lunch-"
"You're worrying too much." I wrapped my arm slightly tighter, closing off the small amount of space that was remaining between the two of us. "People like that are all talk - they're weak, stupid, and are not going to do anything. Just relax." It was, despite what I was telling Ven, definitely a possibility that something could happen. But I wouldn't allow it.
"You don't know that.." the blond murmured, but he turned to bury his face in my shirt, slightly clingy.
I hated when people acted clingy. Having anyone attached to me was one thing that irritated me the most. Ven had either forgotten that, or somehow knew that, in this case, I wouldn't force him away. I wanted to, yes. But I decided to refrain, just for now. He'd have no reason not to completely and totally leave if I were a shitty boyfriend all the time.
Not having the slightest idea what to say next, however, I remained quiet. Ventus needed time to calm down or whatever. Comforting people wasn't my thing - there was nothing I could do. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to do anything. Despite that, though, I wrapped both arms around his waist, holding him closer.
That was the best he'd get from me. The best I could manage. I wasn't going to tell him that everything was okay - because it wasn't. But my threat remained. They'd regret it if they tried anything on either of us.
For a few moments we remained in silence before he finally pulled away. Not completely; just enough that I could see his face. Up close, it was even more apparent how drained he was. That was really unusual. The whole situation was unusual. New. It was strange. Unsettling. Differrent. Definitely not something that needed to happen every day.
"You be careful, too." After he said that, I felt his lips caress my cheek briefly before he pulled completely away, heading down the hallway, presumably to the bedroom.
Be careful? A quiet sound of disgust escaped my lips. I had little reason to be cautious - Ven needed to worry more about himself. The fact that he was actually concerned about me would have been touching, almost, if it weren't for the fact that he was already a target. I wasn't.
Despite his small words of warning, though, he didn't seem to be in as bad a mood as he'd been upon his return home. I hadn't done anything but be with him. Listen. Whatever. It had all been nothing, seemed like nothing. Maybe spending time together had more effect than I thought. It was hard even to find time for a small conversation, sometimes.
I blame myself for that. I'm a shit boyfriend. But if stuff like this helps, even a little, maybe we'll make some progress.
I guess I'll just have to find out.