grief
" Vyn and Ailine see each other again, almost a year after Giann's disappearance. "
relationships: giann/vyn, giann/ailine, ailine & vyn, ailine/vyn (if you squint), marius & vyn, ailine & marius (but for like a split second)
tws: hurt/comfort, angst, loss
wc: 878
extra: i am the ceo of giannovyn. pretend this fits the tot timeline correctly. vyn and ailine's relationship can be interpreted as romantic or platonic!
read on ao3!
Vyn wasn’t sure when they had drifted apart.
The last time he had seen Ailine was over 3 months ago; they didn’t really keep in touch anymore. Both of them had isolated themselves. The last few times he had seen her, she looked like a mere shell of her past self.
She tried to keep up the illusion that she was doing well. She tried to pretend that she was still optimistic. But Vyn was a psychiatrist, after all; and before that, he was her close friend.
He could see the eyebags growing deeper under her eyes each time they saw each other. He could see the red tint and slight puffiness of her face, most likely having been crying not long prior. He could see the way her body grew thinner, her skin paler, and he could see how she was shaking ever so slightly whenever he was brought up.
He couldn’t really blame her. She was his fiancée, after all; childhood sweethearts, engaged and ready to get married. They had even asked him to help plan their wedding. And now they couldn’t even be sure it would ever take place.
He knew he shouldn’t give up hope. But Vyn had never been an idealistic person, preferring to see things as they were, to the risk of coming off as rather pessimistic at times. Still, it wasn’t like he could simply give up on the thought of the person who meant the most to him being okay.
A person leant onto the railing next to him.
“You cut your hair.”
An observational statement. Vyn didn’t even need to look at her to know who spoke up; he could recognize that voice anywhere.
“I did.”
Silence fell onto the both of them. It had been like this before as well; Vyn and Ailine didn’t necessarily need to speak to spend a good time together. They had often spent hours basking in each other’s company in silence, simply appreciating the presence of the other.
The silence this time, however, held a different aura.
“You told me before that hair holds memories.”
His head lowered. Of course she could see through him, as much as he hated the idea. Or, well, the idea of anyone else seeing through him; Ailine being able to wasn’t so bad. He stayed silent for a little while. She knew not to rush him.
“It’s been almost a year.”
She nodded.
“It has.”
Vyn took a deep breath, before answering. Vulnerability had never been his strong suit.
“It reminded me too much of him. He’s the one who encouraged me to let my hair grow. He liked to play with it.”
A pause.
“Every time I looked at myself, I thought of him.”
Ailine looked at the scenery below them, quietly listening. The wind blew through her hair, sending it flying behind her.
“I get it. Everything I did reminded me of him in some way. I was miserable for a while.”
She paused as well, most likely to gather her thoughts. As Vyn shot her a glance, he could see that one look on her face; the one she harbored whenever she was thinking of words to say to cheer him up.
And perhaps to cheer herself up at the same time.
“I don’t think Giann would want us to be burdened by his disappearance like this.”
Vyn felt his chest tighten. So far, they had been dancing around the topic, not daring to speak his name or to say what happened out loud. He knew this wasn’t good. He was a psychiatrist, for god’s sake; he knew avoiding the topic forever was a terrible coping mechanism.
He shook his head to bring himself back to a proper emotional state, back to listening to Ailine’s words.
“I think… He’d want us to keep on living. So, I’d like to think he’d support us in our decisions.”
He tilted his head in confusion, a frown etching on his face. ‘ Our decisions’ ?
Ailine must have noticed - of course she did -, because she giggled lightly and answered him.
“I got rid of a lot of my belongings. Well- most of them I placed in boxes and hid somewhere in my house, but I did throw a few things away.”
She paused to look back at the sight below the railing, taking a shaky breath.
“Still, what I’m trying to say is, your decision is justified.”
Vyn nodded, a chuckle of his own escaping him.
“Thank you for the reassurance, Ailine.”
She moved closer to him, gently placing her hand over his. He allowed her, turning it around to intertwine their fingers together.
“You’re welcome, Vivi.”
They stood there in silence, their bodies close to each other as they stared into the distance. It would be hard to move on, Vyn knew that much, but at least, for that very moment, he could enjoy the comfort.
Vyn eventually broke the silence, his tone suddenly colder than it had been earlier.
“Oh, right. Marius has been whining forever that you haven’t been visiting him. Do me a favor and go see him, if only for the sake of my sanity.”
Ailine laughed, rubbing her thumb across the back of Vyn’s hand.
“I’ll make sure to do so, don’t worry.”
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