There's no point is comparing this to "IRL couples with far more unhealthy imbalances." Each relationship should be analyzed on own merits. Personally, it's Fuyuki I'm worried about with this ending. She was very honest about her desires and her worries, and Eri can't be sure she will ever be able to respond to her feelings. It's kinda funny Eri calls Fuyuki's worries "vague," when really is Eri who's being vague about this whole thing.
I don't know if this relationship can work out. What I do can say is that this arrangement puts Fuyuki in a bad spot. She will always have to be the one to initite things, physically-speaking, and will always have to bear the anxiety of not knowing how Eri feels about it. To each their own, I guess, but I wouldn't want to be part of such a stressful relationship.
I dunno - I feel like that only comes true if you assume that they're both incapable of growth from this point forward.
Eri was ignorant of Fuyuki's true feelings all this time because Fuyuki was too afraid to say anything out loud. Eri has also put forth the effort to even have this conversation, so she's invested enough to try and figure things out with Fuyuki together, for the sake of being able to keep Fuyuki in her life because she's just that important to Eri.
Yes, it's not a sure thing, but Eri's capable of reciprocating affection, and if Fuyuki learns to communicate more openly, then Eri can know where they stand, and on top of all of that, they have a
deep foundation of connection and affection to build on, that Eri never shared with anyone else.
Fuyuki is Eri's everything, even if it's not currently in a romantic light. That's not
never going to change, especially if Fuyuki can be more communicative. Saying it won't work or that Fuyuki's the only one bearing the burden of potential heartbreak is kinda denying the growth Eri's done thus far, and the fact that they both care about each other as much as they do.
It'll take work, but then, everything that's worth it, does.
Edit - since you responded mid-me typing this:
She literally says that seeing someone in a romantic light doesn't mean you fell in love. And the reason she says this is probably because her idea of "seeing someone in a romantic light" is just her internalizing her partners feelings and conveying back like a mirror, without being emotionally (or sexually) invested in it. To me, that suggests she's pretty much asexual. Which is consistent with her claiming she has never felt like kissing someone else.
Can you point to what page (or what chapter) she "literally" says the part you referenced? The closest I could find in ch.23 was on p.43, where she says
It's only after someone tells me that they love me that I start to see them in a romantic light. That's the kind of person I am.
That doesn't sound like the same thing you said, so if you're referring to something else, then I'm happy to be corrected.
Never mind, I found the page (p.46).
But I think it does hinge on "guarantee" being the operative word, and she's asking that they bank on taking the chance, because the upside is worth even the potential of the downside.
Ultimately, it's up to the individual's interpretation on whether this will work out between them. But I don't think either are acting against their characters, or that this is even necessarily a bad call on the part of the author.
Eri and Fuyuki love one another, and while not the same kind in the moment, it's enough that Eri wants to make the effort and do her best, and she's asking Fuyuki to meet her partway.
And if Fuyuki can be honest and clear about what she wants, then Eri can reciprocate, and she
wants to reciprocate, because Fuyuki is important to her and she wants this to work out between them. It'll simply take work on both of their parts.
