Jasmine opened her eyes slowly, half-expecting to be blinded by the sun. Instead, she was met with the gentle glow of the full moon hanging over her head in the dark, Agrabah sky.
She shut her eyes again, her memories slowly returning to her. She sighed slightly and clung tighter to the bare chest of her treasured friend.
"Noctis is gonna kill me," Ventus said distantly before adding a chuckle. He looked down at Jasmine as she hugged his body, pulling the blanket further over hers, preventing her naked body from showing any more than it already was.
Jasmine nuzzled her head under his chin, a light blush staining her cheeks. "He'd kill both of us," she corrected.
Ventus thought about it for a moment before he agreed with Jasmine.
Of course the prince would be upset. Livid, even.
After all, Ventus and Jasmine had just slept together.
"I can't believe this happened," Jasmine said quietly, smiling as Ventus began stroking her hair.
Ventus broke out into a smile. "I can. I regret nothing."
Jasmine became silent, thinking back on how she ended up in this situation, how she had broken a major rule, and how if she were found out, Tseng would have her head.
"Tseng won't find out," Ventus said, interrupting her thoughts.
She repositioned herself on her bed in the guest room, rested her hand on Ventus' chest and looked him in his eyes.
"You looked worried for a second," Ventus explained.
"You're too good at reading my mind," Jasmine sighed.
He laughed uncomfortably and rolled on his side to face her. "I'm not that good at it actually. I can read your body language, but your mind? Hell no. I'd hurt myself trying."
Jasmine chuckled at the comment and stretched her arms out, yawning despite the fact that she had slept in most of the morning.
"Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah? Why are you asking me if I'm okay?" Jasmine asked curiously.
Ventus' expression softened and his expression showed concern. "You know...about what we did," he clarified. "How are you feeling?"
Jasmine was initially confused but after thinking on it, she realized what Ventus was hinting at.
"Are you asking me whether I liked…you?" Jasmine found herself fumbling around to find the proper response for Ventus. She had never been open about her sex life to anyone, even Naminé and Tifa, and so now, discussing this topic felt a little bit strange and slightly uncomfortable. "I feel fine, Ven," she answered. "It doesn't feel real...what we did…and it just happened…"
But neither one of them could deny how effortless it had been to put down their respective fronts and slip into the role of lovers. It was Jasmine's last night in Agrabah and she was going to leave the following morning. She and Ventus decided to stay in his room in the palace for the night and somehow, things escalated.
"Do you wanna know something?" Jasmine asked Ventus.
"What is it?"
She inhaled deeply, the realization of what she had to say carrying more meaning than she originally thought it would.
"That was the first time I've actually enjoyed sex," she openly admitted.
Ventus' eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
She nodded, her memories of the past resurfacing. "The first time it happened, Vanitas blackmailed me. After that, I just kept sleeping with him because I was afraid of what would happen - not counting the time I tricked him."
For a brief moment, Ventus' eyes hardened but then he tried to return his gaze to a neutral one for the sake of Jasmine.
Still, she caught it regardless.
"Why did you make that face?"
Ventus exhaled and looked over his shoulder, glancing at his wristwatch on the table next to his glasses. He turned back around. "I don't think I can forgive him...for what he did to you. And...even though I know you're not worried about him anymore, I just can't forget about the fact that he raped you. And that he's hurt you in other ways. Mental illness or not, I don't think I'll ever fully be okay with him."
Jasmine stiffened, pushing the memory to the back of her mind. She promised herself that she wouldn't give that part of her life that much thought anymore and she was going to try to keep her emotions in check. At least for now.
"And then there was Riku," Jasmine began slowly and distantly, as if she were in a daydream. "We loved each other so much. We'd gone through so much. But Tseng yanked me away so quickly...and Riku proposed...I hated myself through the whole thing. I don't think I'll ever not feel bad about that letter or how it all played out."
"I get why you feel bad about everything," Ventus responded, "and I hate that you've had to go through all of that. You don't deserve that...any of it."
Jasmine casually shrugged her shoulders as if the experiences were minor. "It is what it is, Ven. I can't change the past."
Ventus pushed himself up on his shoulders and sat straight up in bed, running a hand through his disheveled blond spikes. He stared at the wall ahead of them intently before he shut them, sighing to himself.
Jasmine sat up as well, letting the blanket covering her fall. There was no sense in being modest. Even before this night, Jasmine and Ventus had both seen each other naked on several occasions. It just seemed silly to try and cover herself at this point.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked him quietly.
He cocked his head to the side and broke out into a large grin from ear to ear, his cheeks slightly red. "That was really fun."
Jasmine's face flushed red and she rested her chin on his shoulder. "It was," she agreed. "I swear you're like night and day. For the most part you're like this playful puppy but I guess that's not always the case, is it?" She joked, gently nibbling on his shoulder. "Shoulda known you had a bit of devil in you…"
"Stop that," Ventus asked, his voice taking on a firmer, slightly husky tone.
She immediately stopped as he'd requested, a little bit confused.
He cocked his head to the side and kissed her forehead. "Keep biting me like that and we'll be up all night."
Jasmine huffed and sat up straight, running her hands through her own disheveled head of black hair. "We have to talk about this though," she stated in a more serious tone. "What did we just do, Ven?"
"We had sex," Ven deadpanned. "I think the kids today call it a "hook up" or something like that."
She elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm serious."
Ventus laughed. "I know." He pursed his lips and gave Jasmine's question a great deal of thought before answering. "Well I'd say we both got carried away."
"Yeah, really," Jasmine chimed in. "Friends don't typically screw each other."
"But we both wanted to do it, right?"
"Uh huh," Jasmine admitted sheepishly, remembering how they'd both asked for consent.
"So that means we both made the conscious decision to sleep with each other - which means that we crossed the friendship line way back there," Ventus reasoned. "Do you think that something might be there?"
Jasmine hesitated. She wasn't ready to have this conversation yet even though she needed to.
"I know that I care about you a lot," Jasmine mumbled.
"And it's a given that I care about you a lot too," Ventus added.
"But…" Jasmine clutched the covers underneath her, looking around at the room in the palace, remembering why she was here in the first place. She felt that familiar wave of dread wash over her, the thought of Master Xehanort and his plans causing her to tremble.
"But we don't have the luxury of a relationship right now," Ventus finished for her, noticing Jasmine's change in behavior. "If that's what we would both want. Even so…" Ventus pulled Jasmine's much too long bangs out of her eyes, "I think it's safe to admit that nothing between us has changed. Like, I feel like we could wake up the next morning like nothing happened and keep going on like any other day."
Jasmine, now forced to look into Ventus' eyes, relaxed her shoulders, trying to let the tension slip away. "We're still the same friends we were yesterday."
Ventus let her words sit with him for a minute before he answered. "So we should keep it that way," he concluded. "Are you okay with that?"
With a heavy heart, Jasmine nodded her head.
Truth be told, she was still healing from her old wounds on top of her other problems. And she was more than sure that Ventus was still trying his hardest to get over Aqua. No matter how close they were as friends, no matter how much they had both desired one another in this moment, their own personal feelings would have to be put on the back burner.
At least for now.
"It's not that I can't imagine anything with you," Ventus began, "but I know that we both have a lot on our plates. And I don't want to complicate things for you any more than I did already tonight."
Jasmine chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I appreciate it but I'm a big girl, Ven. We already talked about this so I'm good. And you actually have a good head on your shoulders. I don't think that what we did is gonna compromise our missions. At least not from where I'm sitting. But it's good that we're waiting to talk about this later. I'm just glad that this won't hurt our friendship."
"Of course it won't," Ventus said, almost surprised. "Before anything else, we are good friends. BEST friends even."
"I feel the same way," Jasmine told him.
Ventus fell silent again, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips.
"What?" This question came from Jasmine.
"As your friend, I have to admit that I enjoyed you more than anyone else."
Jasmine's blush deepened. "As YOUR friend, I'm going to go ahead and say the same thing." She laughed and laid back so her focus was on the ceiling. "Thanks for sending me out on a high note," Jasmine joked.
Ventus kissed the top of Jasmine's nose before he laid back down as well. As per the norm whenever they slept together, Ventus rested his head on Jasmine's chest, holding her body as if she were a pillow. "No," he argued. "Thank YOU. I think I'll actually get a good night's rest now."
"That's good," Jasmine stated, glancing at the clock on her laptop screen and the folder sitting on top of the keyboard, containing the journal pages. "Because you and I need to get up early. I have a few errands to run before the helicopter comes to pick me up and you have a web conference with Tseng."
Ven groaned out loud, noting how quickly she slipped back into business mode. "Well, that didn't last long. Goodnight, Miss Valentine."
Noticing the sarcasm in Ven's voice, Jasmine smiled and kissed the top of his head before she wrapped her arms around him. "Goodnight, Ven."
Journal Entry 3
Master Eraqus is no more.
My old friend is gone.
But it had to be this way. His ideas were much too rigid, too outdated. He could not have existed in the world I wish to create. One way or another he would have been destroyed. In fact, he should be happy that it was by my hand and not by way of one of my "heartless".
His pupil, Ventus, was rather distraught. I offered him the chance to join me but he refused. It's just as well. I have Vanitas: my greatest creation yet. I've trained him in science, psychology, business, and combat so that he could be of use to me in the future. He is the perfect weapon.
Still, he has one weakness: that girl.
I don't know what he sees in her. Every chance he gets, he runs off to the islands to see her and her wretched parents. But that goes to show how foolish they are. How could they have forgotten what happened all those years ago? She did, but they didn't.
And yet they've invited Vanitas so easily back into their lives. It's rather pathetic. They're clinging to the memory of Vanitas and his parents and what could have been.
They will not survive in my new world. Neither will their daughter.
M. X.
Author's Note: It's been a while guys but here is the last chapter of the first "Bridge" stories. What did you guys think?
Personally I'm happy that Jasmine and Ventus are friends before anything else and only see themselves as friends. It's so strange. The two of them are soulmates in a way and it's nice to see that. Sure they may have crossed over into other territories but at the root of it all they're platonic. Still, who knows what the future will bring for everyone?
What do you think will happen if Noctis or Riku find out?
hopefuldreamer1991: At this point, who really knows what the future holds for any of these characters? But there will be more of these side stories so eventually we'll revisit Jasmine and Ventus' "adventure" later on.
Well let me know what you guys thought about this story. I'm working on the main story as we speak. I'm not sure when I'll start that one though. Still, leave a review and I'll see you guys soon!
