Sour

Finnel couldn't believe what she saw. She meant to speak with Aoto for one of their nightly conversations, but as of late, Aoto visited her less frequently and seemed to be spending more and more time with Saki. Finnel decided that she would check out what Aoto was up to; he apologized for not seeing her as often and promised that he'd be able to talk with her again soon. Yet Finnel needed to put her mind at ease. She wanted to know something for sure.

One night while Aoto was talking with Saki, Finnel hovered just outside the door, cupping her ear against the wood. She heard some snatched pieces of conversation, which seemed innocuous enough. Finnel then scolded herself for being jealous; Saki was her friend, and Finnel knew that Saki also had romantic feelings towards Aoto. Aoto had been fair to both of them, showing no favoritism towards one or another. Even so…

Finnel heard shuffling behind the door, and Finnel grew suspicious. Just what exactly were those two doing anyway? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take a little peek inside…

Taking a deep breath, Finnel then slowly turned the knob so that a sliver of light shone out into the hallway. Finnel then focused her gaze between the crack, and her eyes widened. She saw Aoto and Saki kissing one another. Or more like Saki was kissing Aoto, but Aoto sure wasn't resisting Saki's kiss. Before Finnel could see what else happened, she ran down the hallway and into her room, uncaring if anybody else heard her.

Finnel made her way into her room, throwing herself onto the bed and grabbing fistfuls of the sheets, burying her head into the pillow to stifle her sobs. Stupid Aoto. Saki might have been the one kissing Aoto, but Aoto didn't have to act like he enjoyed it or anything. Finnel heard the dark undercurrents of Soma's thoughts, and she repressed them before they could come to surface. Even if that idiot Aoto hurt her, she wouldn't let Soma come out and hurt him. She loved Aoto, and she loved Saki like the sister she never had. If Aoto and Saki were meant to be together, then Finnel would try to be happy for them, even if she hated the sight of them locking lips with one another.

Stupid, she was so stupid. Wasn't it the natural order of things for Finnel to be unlucky? She was destined to be alone…as Soma always reminded her in the dark recesses of her mind. She didn't want it to be true, but the core part of her refused to let Finnel experience any form of happiness, even if it was a slight touch or glance from Aoto. Aoto, the one that she had her first time with, allowing him to Dive inside her. Maybe it was selfish of her to want more than she can have. She wasn't allowed to have happiness or freedom-maybe this was her punishment for being a bad girl.

Finnel heard a soft knock at the door. She buried her face deeper into the pillow. She couldn't let Aoto see her like this. "Aoto, you idiot! Go away!"

"Don't be like that, Finnel. It was all a misunderstanding!"

"You kissed Saki. That's the only thing I need to know. T-That you like Saki better than me. So go…go away and be happy with Saki and leave me here to die!"

Aoto let out a sigh, before he opened the door and came inside. "I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have stopped our nightly talks. I've been neglecting you. I feel terrible about it."

"There's no need," Finnel said while mumbling into her pillow. "You like Saki more, obviously, so…"

Aoto ran a hand through his hair. "I like Saki, but I like you too, Finnel. Y'see, I'm in a tough situation here, being part of a love triangle and all. But if it makes you feel any better, we…haven't gotten any farther than that."

"Are you saying that you can't choose between us?" Finnel said, finally sitting up and hugging her pillow to her chest. "Are you leading us on? F-For me, it's one thing, but with Saki-chan…"

"I'm probably not going about this the right way," Aoto said. "It's unfair to both you and Saki. I can't choose. But y'know…maybe I'm not really ready for a relationship just yet. I probably need to step back and grow up a bit before I can love someone with all my heart. But Finnel…do you remember when I dove into you the first time? Do you remember all the levels I went through in your Cosmosphere? Those were moments between us, and only us."

"Yeah, I remember…" Finnel said, wiping away the last of her tears. "H-Hey, you know…when do you think that you will be ready?"

Aoto considered for a moment, before he shook his head. "I really don't know. I have to think about it carefully, because I don't want to hurt you or Saki."

"Then…" Finnel said, crawling on the space of the bed and leaning towards Aoto. "Kiss me, Aoto."

Aoto reddened slightly, seeming hesitant at first, before he leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Finnel closed her eyes, enjoying this small, kind gesture that Aoto gave to her. Aoto may be an idiot sometimes, but he tried his hardest to make the both of them happy. After a long moment, Finnel pulled back slightly, her cheeks blushed a pretty pink. "H-How was it? Did you…was it like with Saki-chan?"

"It was nice," Aoto said. "I promise that I will talk with you more often, Finnel. I won't neglect you again."

Finnel smiled, wrapping her arms around Aoto and resting her head against his chest. "Even if it's just for one night…it'll be nice if we can pretend that we're lovers."