Pushover | Aether x Reader

The quiet hum of medical equipment filled the sterile hospital room as  Aether lay in his bed, both Lumine and him waiting for some news about the (h/c)-haired girl's conversation with her parents.

About an hour ago, (Y/n) finally got caught by Mr. and Mrs. (L/n) who coaxed her into entering a private room with them to discuss the details of the past few days.

At first, Lumine was reluctant to let (L/n) Junior and her parents speak. She tried to convince them there was no need to seek privacy, but in the end, the (L/n)'s had used their seniority to get their way.

"Is she getting yelled at?" Aether muttered, golden eyes staring at the bland, white ceiling.

"What makes you think that?" Lumine hummed, fixing her eyes on her phone. "(Y/n)'s not in some abusive relationship with her parents."

"But are her parents negligent?" Aether said. "I mean, good parents don't usually live in another country, leaving their child to shoulder the burning of living and striving for success on her own."

"Isn't that what our parents did?"

"Yeah, but we have our aunties and each other." Aether sighed. "(Y/n) doesn't have anyone..."

"She has Hu."

"But what if she was keeping things to herself? I mean, she does that a lot..."

Lumine closed her phone and then turned to her twin. "Aether, (Y/n) is much stronger than you think. I mean, no offense, but you're so much more sensitive than her."

Aether bit his lip, turning his body away from her. "I know that... It's just, I really don't want her to suffer anymore."

Lumine looked at him, her cheeky twin side immediately coming out as she leaned toward him with a knowing smirk. "When did you and (Y/n) get so close, huh?"

Aether's cheeks flushed, scooching further away. "We're not really close— it just so happened that circumstances brought us together at times. You know when you go through bad things with people, it just—"

"Creates an unexpected bond?" Lumine hummed. "Yeah, I get you."

"Yeah..." Aether trailed off before realizing what that meant. He immediately sat up, looking at her quizzically. "Did you meet someone when I was away?!"

"Why the sudden change of subject?" She burst out laughing. "And for your information, I'm the one that was away. Not you."

"Well, did you or did you not?"

"Perhaps I did.—" Lumine grinned, "—not."

She ruffled his hair, chuckling. "Come on! I skipped senior year; I have too much on my plate to go around looking for dates. Besides, we're talking about you and (Y/n)." She laid her cheek on her hand.

"No, we're not."

"Yes, we are."

Aether huffed, knowing he couldn't argue with her. Despite being the older twin, he somehow always gave in to her.

"Fine. What is it that you want me to say?"

"The truth." Lumine shrugged. "Do you like her?"

Aether grew silent, his heart beating so fast he could have sworn it would come flying out of his chest. Did he like her? It had been a while since he had feelings towards someone.

"... I don't know."

"I see." Lumine nodded. "I mean, you'll know when you do end up liking her." She winked. "Your heart will beat so fast around her and you'll find yourself always looking forward to seeing her."