I knew it was significant that Eri never seemed to be the one to proactively pursue a relationship in all the moments we've seen.
This would mark the first time she was, though - and it being for Fuyuki, makes perfect sense.
I don't know if there's "an orientation" that can be easily ascribed to Eri; it feels like some sort of mix of aro/ace and demi-for-Fuyuki, but she's clearly never been one to recognize romantic or sexual attraction of her own accord.
Which, as cruel and selfish as she admits to being in expressing her desire to keep Fuyuki in her life, I see the logic in what she's saying: if she has fallen for others in the past upon learning their own desires for her, then fully knowing that Fuyuki loves her, romantically in addition to as a friend, then the more Eri is made to focus on Fuyuki, the more that feeling will build up within her.
I do think it was significant when she said "I've never thought about kissing you, but I've never thought that about anyone before" for the same reason. She's obviously done things with partners in the past, but she's never instigated it, never felt that impulse without the other person initiating. And when they break up, she never seems....I guess "broken up" about it, insofar as she's devastated; she's always just moved forward.
Fuyuki is the outlier. Eri fully fell apart when Fuyuki left her side. We see it start slowly with Senpai's existence being revealed, we see her crumble completely after their big fight and Fuyuki walked out. She might have always thought "friend" when it came to Fuyuki, but I'm of the opinion that she only used "friend" because there didn't exist a word to describe the full immensity of what Fuyuki means to her.
It might not be "romantic love", at least not yet, but Eri considers Fuyuki the most important thing in the world to her, and she's decided that she'll try to shift her entire personality and sense of attraction and proximity if it means Fuyuki will stay by her side. It's incredibly selfish, because Fuyuki can only imagine that it might fall apart down the line, if their mutual desires never align, but I think Eri's asking that Fuyuki not focus on that, and simply give them both the chance, because Fuyuki is important enough to try.
And I think that's the key point. Whatever Eri's sexuality, or her romantic tendencies, or whether she truly believes it would work out between them in the long run - all of that is secondary to the fact that for her, Fuyuki is everything. Her most precious treasure, and I expect that she'd do anything to not lose that, including "faking it until she makes it", as it were.
It's very much not a "nice and tidy happy conclusion" to this buildup thus far, but it feels very appropriate for them both. Life isn't always sunshine and daisies, and even those most important to us can cause us immeasurable pain, even with the best of intentions.
They have been so close, and are so important to one another, that simply disregarding all tha we've seen up to this point to just say "and they lived happily ever after" would be a disservice to the effort that they've both sought to put into this relationship, both before and especially going forward.
What a fantastic chapter, and story. I very much look forward to where these two go from here.
Thanks for the translation and continued efforts in putting this together for us.
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EDIT
Thinking about it a bit more - I will say that I don't know if it will ultimately work out between them; Fuyuki clearly wants more than Eri might ever end up being able to give, but I also kind of think that Eri considers Fuyuki so important that, even if they don't end up on the same romantic wavelength, Fuyuki would effectively have Eri monopolized, all the same.
If their label is "girlfriends" or "partners" or "wives" or whatever, Eri's committed to keeping Fuyuki in her life, and that might just take the form of them being, if not explicitly intimate, then like "best friends who live together and maybe sometimes kiss and have sex or something". And even "best friends" feels insufficient for what Eri actually feels for Fuyuki.
Like, I'm not even sure if a label can be put to them, much less whether it's even necessary. Fuyuki is Eri's whole world, just like Eri is Fuyuki's. Even if the exact timbre of their feelings for one another don't align, the immensity of their feelings seems very much mutual, and that feels significant enough that Fuyuki might be able to find happiness with Eri after all.
