Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When they arrived in the city that afternoon, a few things happened one after the other. 

Firstly, Hu Tao had broken off from the group after realizing they didn’t have any cages to keep Venti in, stating that she would find the ‘sturdiest, least escapable cage possibly made,’ for which Venti would love to see them even try keeping him contained. 

As for the other things that happened upon stepping into the city…

“Okay, I’ll see you later, ta ta!” With that, Hu Tao dashed off in the opposite direction of where they were headed.

Zhongli watched her retreating form for a few long moments before shaking his head fondly and starting to walk down the street. 

Admittedly by this point in time, Venti had resigned himself to the fate of being carried under the other man’s arm like some sort of object. So much so, that he had more or less gotten used to and then subsequently ignored the sensation of an arm wrapping around his body.

Of course, nothing lasts forever.

From the side of the street, Venti could hear a small gasp and frantic footsteps. “Is that a bird, Mister Zhongli?” 

A young boy ran up and pointed a finger directly into Venti’s face. He flinched back and made a small squawk at the sudden action.

“Ah yes. You would be correct.” The man sounded almost equally intrigued, as if he somehow forgot he was even carrying Venti in the first place. “I am helping watch over him.”

Without any warning, he then shifted Venti out from under his arm and held him toward the child with both hands wrapped firmly around his body. Venti yelped at the action despite the fact that his grip was not nearly intense enough to be painful.

“I don’t appreciate being cohorted around like some sort of-”

“Can I pet him?” The boy asked innocently, his eyes wide with curiosity.

It took no hesitation at all for Zhongli to answer, “Yes, you may.”

“Hey! I never-”

The boy reached out with a tentative hand and ran a finger down Venti’s head feathers. 

A shiver went down his spine as he chirped pleasedly.

Oh no.

The boy repeated the action again and it was just as pleasing of a sensation the second, third, and fourth times, and with all his effort to stay quiet, he still let out another low warble. He was lucky that he was only a child, or else Venti would have bitten him hard by now in order to make him stop…though it’s not like he was exactly suffering with the attention.

(Okay, so maybe he was little touched starved. Sue him.)

“He’s super soft.” The boy commented, still petting his head. “You’re really lucky”

“Hm. Perhaps I am.” Zhongli smiled kindly before finally bringing Venti up and away from the kid. “I must be off now.” He nodded and kept walking as the boy waved happily.

Since Venti was trying to fully erase that mortifying interaction from his head, he wasn’t paying attention to Zhongli, because assumedly, he would just tuck Venti back under his arm like before and be on his way. Plus, he couldn’t care less about what the oaf did because soon enough he would find a way to escape from this horrid place entirely.

However…

Still keeping a firm grip as to not let him go, Zhongli turned the bird around toward him and held him upright against his chest; one arm underneath his tail and one arm around his back in the same fashion that one might hold a baby.

Upon this shift in positioning, Venti rested his head on Zhongli’s shoulder without really thinking about it and sighed contentedly.

This was actually really nice.

…

…

“Gah! No!” It took all of two seconds for Venti to suddenly and very violently register what he was doing. His head shot straight up as if it were burned and out of some form of animalistic panic, he started kicking his legs at Zhongli’s chest and trying to flap his wings, even though they were slightly pinned under his arm. 

To all his credit, Zhongli handled this panic surprisingly well. With a “Calm yourself,” And an annoyed grunt, he held the bird away from his body, making sure not to hold his wings down. It took about half a minute for Venti to calm down enough to realize that he was perhaps overreacting just a touch, and once he did, he just hung his head in embarrassment.

A few passersby looked curiously at this display, but none stopped or said anything.

Zhongli sighed and went back to holding Venti to his chest as soon as he stopped flailing, but this time, Venti made extra sure to keep his head from touching the man’s shoulder. 

Venti didn’t know why he even did that in the first place, and he equally didn’t know why he reacted so intensely when he realized. It felt perfectly natural to rest his head like that, but something within him seemed panicked at the thought. As if merely touching Zhongli made his heart speed up and his stomach flip.

It embarrassed him to think that he could be so reactionary. Perhaps it was a side effect of his current form.

The rest of the walk went by incredibly fast, though that was probably due in part to the fact that Venti was trying his best to erase everything about this situation out of his mind.

They arrived at the funeral parlor, and as Zhongli brought him inside, Venti realized that he had never actually seen the interior of the building before. It admittedly looked a lot more normal than he expected. He had half-assumed that the entire place would be gloomy and depressing but it just looked like the lobby of any other business around Liyue.

Venti was then brought to what he assumed was an office room. When it was unlocked it looked similarly boring, matching Zhongli’s personality perfectly. 

Zhongli then sat down behind the desk and didn’t move for a few long moments, saying something aloud that Venti didn’t care to listen to. Then, without warning, he dumped Venti atop the wooden surface and observed him wordlessly.

For a few seconds, Venti didn’t even process that this happened. He sat dazedly until he realized that there were no arms wrapped around him anymore. As soon as he did, he briefly considered how odd this was considering the lengths Zhongli had taken to prevent his escape before this but he shook it off quickly, knowing to take an opportunity when he had one.

Taking off with a small burst of anemo, he looked quickly around the room to assess his easiest escape route.

The window looked promising at first but it didn’t look to open very wide, so he decided to beeline for the door.

Gripping the door knob from above, Venti put his full weight atop it, but instead of turning like it was supposed to, it made a dull clicking noise and stayed in place.

Zhongli had locked it behind him. With a key.

Why does an office in a funeral parlor need double-sided door locks? What kind of person does that?

Maybe he could try his luck with the window after all…

Jumping from the door knob, he aimed for the sill and unlatched it as soon as he landed. Quickly, he pushed it open with his head and carefully started to make his way through the admittedly very thin gap.

He got the front part of his body through with ease, but found that once he got further through, it became more difficult to push on, and it didn’t help that the window sill was rather smooth, causing his nails to slip along the smooth surface every time he tried to push.

Still, he pushed.

And slipped.

…And pushed.

And…slipped.

…And…pushed….

……And……slipped……..

And…

And…

And he surely couldn’t be stuck, right?

He tried to brace his feet on the lip at the bottom of the window and pull himself backwards rather than push forward.

He still didn’t budge.

It was at this point that Venti started to panic. Kicking his legs against the sill, he tried to move his body. Whether it was forward or back, it didn’t matter. He just needed to get out. He started cursing it very loudly, spouting any insults he could come up with.

“This stupid godforsaken window just had to be built like a slit in the wall huh? Who even designed such a horrible fu-grhck!”

He flinched harshly as a hand found its way onto his stomach, and another slid on top of his back. He started kicking his legs backwards, stretching them as far as they could reach in order to deter his assailant because he could unstick himself, thank you very much. He even started slowly moving the long feathers of his tail up and down to act as further deterrent. 

“Stop it!” He said it loud and clear, making sure that he could actually be understood for once.

Zhongli made an aggravated growl. “You stop your panicking. You are only making it worse.”

Venti didn’t listen, still continuing to wriggle and squawk.

“Don’t touch me, I got this I swear!”

The man behind him still clearly could not understand him as he not only continued to grab him, he also tightened his grip and began to gently pull.

“Stop it you dolt!”

“I am starting to believe you do not actually understand basic human speech.” He said exasperatedly as he still tried pulling him backwards despite Venti’s best efforts. “I am trying to help.”

Venti started shrieking, his avian voice really letting him hit the high notes. “You’re not helping. Just let go!”

Wincing but still continuing on, Zhongli huffed. “This is why I specifically said it was no use escaping before I set you free. Yet you clearly did not hear me-”

“Lalala I’m not listening! Remove your hands!”

“Stop. Moving.” He still kept trying to carefully maneuver Venti from his spot, but it proved difficult as the bird would not stop its wiggling and kicking.

Venti tried to stick out his tongue but since his head was on the other side of the window, it didn’t have the intended effect. “Step back first!”

This back and forth went on for an embarrassingly long amount of time, but eventually, Venti realized that if he didn’t just let Zhongli help him, he would probably be stuck forever. So as embarrassing as it was, he let himself go limp and tried not to focus on the pleasant pressure of firm hands around his body.

His head drooped down as Zhongli very gently managed to work him from out of the thin opening of the window. Once he was finally freed, Zhongli care turned him to look Venti straight in the eye. “Let this be a lesson.”

He walked back over to the desk and sat down. This time, he placed Venti in his lap and did not remove the heavy hand from his back, effectively pinning him down. “You are lucky that I decided to help you.” He scooted his chair closer to the desk, though not so close that Venti would be squashed under the edge. “Should you ignore my warnings again, you will not be quite so fortunate.”

Venti rolled his eyes. As if he’d ever listen to him.

Zhongli then started to work on paperwork of some kind. Venti’s neck wasn’t quite long enough to stretch and get a good look at what he was doing, and the hand on his back made sure that he couldn’t even shift to get a better position. All he could do was look around the room while listening to the shuffling of papers and the scratching of a pen. 

The noise was admittedly rather soothing. The steady strokes on top of the table had the same effect as rain on a roof above him.

And the hand on his back almost felt comforting. Like a weighted blanket that provided even pressure and some faint warmth on the feathers of his back.

He took a calming breath, feeling the lingering embarrassment and panic slowly draining out of himself as he listened to the scratching of paperwork.

At some point, though he didn’t know when, Venti could feel a thumb slowly stroking his feathers back and forth while the rest of the hand stayed stationary on his back.

It felt nice.

So nice in fact, that it almost made him feel a little sleepy after all the excitement and effort of the day.

He curled up his neck into a comfortable position and focused on the sound and sensation around him. Coming up with an escape plan could wait for just a few moments.

Perhaps he could just…

Rest his eyes for a short while…

———————

“…leeps rath…ard doesn…e?”

“…haps…omething…tired him out?”

“…that would make sense.”

Venti squeezed his eyes tighter as his consciousness gradually returned to him. He felt so well rested that it almost looped back around to making him still tired; he just wanted to go back to sleep. However, he figured he should probably wake himself up. He had things to do after all. Such as escaping his captors.

In order to keep conscious, he listened closer to the voices having a conversation around him, trying to work up the effort to actually open his eyes.

“Did anything happen while I was gone?” That was…Hu Tao’s voice if he wasn’t mistaken. “He seemed quite full of energy before I left you alone.”

“Hm yeah, and I’m no expert but…” This was a feminine voice that Venti couldn’t quite place. “I don’t think most birds sleep so…sprawled out.”

“I suppose there was an escape attempt of sorts.” Venti could identify Zhongli’s annoying voice anywhere. “Though it proved to be quite unsuccessful.”

The unknown voice spoke up once more. “How so?”

“He was too round to escape through the window, and got quite stuck in the process.”

Hu Tao snorted and started laughing and the other person started chuckling as well.

At that, Venti’s eyes shot open and he sat up from the hard surface that he was laying on. “You didn’t have to go and tell them…my…” Venti looked around and noticed that he was in the bottom of a large cage. “…secrets…” He finished lamely. 

“Oh look, he’s finally awake!” Hu Tao pointed a finger at Venti’s annoyed chirping.

“So he is.” Zhongli stared at him through the bars of the cage almost smugly.

He took this opportunity to look around at his surroundings. The cage itself was resting in the main entrance area of the funeral parlor; the trio of people stood around it like Venti was some sort of exhibition. He immediately scanned for a way out, only to see that the door near the top of the cage had a sliding lock, two ropes tying the top and bottom, and a heavy duty padlock. It seemed excessive, but if Venti simply bided his time, he was confident he could escape when they were distracted.

The third person whose voice he couldn’t  place bent down in front of the cage. She had pink hair and horns coming down from the side of her head. “I still can’t quite believe how vibrant he is. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen.”

“I know right?” Hu Tao bent down next to her. “We think he’s from Mondstadt.”

“Interesting…” The girl’s expression became very inquisitive. “And you said that it can talk and mimic sound earlier?”

Hu Tao picked up on the shift of her tone and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, why?”

She stood up straight and let out a humored noise from the back of her throat. “Well, if the rumors are correct, I think that you might’ve caught the Angel of Mondstadt.”

Venti hung his head and let out a warbling groan. It had been one day and somehow that weird rumor had already reached Liyue?

“The…what?” Hu Tao asked tentatively. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that before.”

“Neither have I.” Zhongli looked somewhere between vexed and amused. “To my knowledge, Barbatos does not have any angels to speak of. Where have you heard such a thing, Miss Yanfei?”

The girl, Yanfei apparently, looked off to the side in thought. “Well…I can’t speak on the validity of the claim, but I had some clients from Mondstadt talking about it this morning.” She pointed at Venti with her palm facing upward. “Allegedly, this bird was seen in the middle of Mondstadt City mimicking ancient tunes with the perfect clarity of a lyre.”

The trio then proceeded to stare in silence at Venti for a few moments as if they were expecting him to suddenly break out in song and dance or something.

“You people expect too much of me.” He rolled his eyes.

Zhongli had a hand on his chin. “I see…so it has earned this moniker through the simple act of mimicry.” He paused. “With a name like that, I would have assumed this creature would be more impressive than it actually is.”

“Do you find joy in slandering innocent animals? Is that it?”

Yanfei shrugged. “I think he also apparently brings good luck and romantic prospects, though I have no clue where that particular part of the myth comes from. It was only spotted twice after all.”

“Weird.” Hu Tao commented. “So…should we let him go? Since he’s a local legend and all…”

“I still do not think that is a good idea.” Zhongli shook his head.

Venti then proceeded to let loose a series of expletives that he just barely held back from translating into the human tongue. Even without speaking though, it was abundantly clear that Venti was not satisfied with this decision.

Yanfei raised an eyebrow. “Can he understand us?”

“No.” Venti was the first to reply, staring directly up at her from the bars of his cage. 

She put a hand over face to cover her smile, squatting down right in front of where Venti sat. “You’re a funny one, you know that?” She waved at him. ”Maybe I’ll see you later Birdie.”

“You’re leaving?” Hu Tao sounded disappointed.

She stood up smoothly and smiled softly at her. “I have things to do before it gets too late, and you know I like to wake up early.”

Hu Tao more or less pouted. 

“Don’t act as if you can’t see me tomorrow.” She started walking toward the front door, the other two followed. “I’m in the same place every day.”

Seeing the group move away and start to exchange goodbyes, Venti hopped up the side of the cage and immediately started to work on the ropes while they were distracted. Having a beak and claws somehow made it both easier and harder to undo the knots on the door. Next went the sliding door lock which was obviously easy, and then he directed his attention to the large padlock.

Trying to be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible, he closed his eyes and used anemo energy to feel the inside of the lock and press the pins inside it. Then, with a claw, he pulled it open with a loud click.

He paused, looking over to see that none of them appeared to notice the noise. Not even Zhongli, who stood the closest, turned to look at him.

Perfect.

“Alright, buh-bye now. You know where to find me.” Yanfei kissed Hu Tao on the cheek and they lightly pressed their foreheads together for a short moment. Then, at the same time that Yanfei pushed the door to the parlor open, Venti jumped out of his cage and took flight seamlessly.

“So long suckers! You’ll never-Ow!”

Venti’s entire world flipped upside down as a painful pulling sensation came from his tail.

“These escape attempts get more pathetic with every failure.” Zhongli stood proudly with Venti’s long tail feathers bunched messily in his hand. “You couldn’t even make it to the door this time.”

“I wish you pain and despair every second of your life you stupid old man.” Venti started trying his hardest to swing like a pendulum and bite Zhongli with as much force as possible, but he was being held just out of reach.

Yanfei and Hu Tao still stood at the open door, both watching this display with varying levels of amusement.

“Have fun dealing with that.” Yanfei chuckled.

Hu Tao shook her head exasperatedly. “Oh I definitely will…Take care.”

Once her girlfriend left, Hu Tao approached the two with disappointment. They both were still embroiled in whatever weird back and forth was going on between them, with the bird swinging from side to side with a murderous expression as Zhongli held him as far away from himself as possible.

She stood in front of them silently for a few moments, wondering how long it would take either of the pair to notice her. The answer was ‘entirely too long’ so eventually she cleared her throat and held back a snort as they turned with matching expressions of surprise.

“Sooo…” She tilted her head in the bird’s direction. “I guess our cage didn’t really work like it was supposed to.”

Zhongli sighed. “No. It evidently did not.” He eyed the bird warily. “I cannot say I didn’t expect this unfortunately.”

The bird made some sort of squawking noise. From her perspective, Hu Tao could only assume it was grave disapproval of the situation, probably because he was being held upside down by the tail.

“Right...” She walked over and made a move to grab the bird in her arms.

Zhongli moved it away. “I do not think it is wise to-”

“Nonsense.” She bent down slightly and cradled the bird like a newborn, flipping it right side up. It wiggled for a few moments before sighing and resolving itself to its fate. “See? Isn’t he cute?” She tilted him so that Zhongli could see, and she could’ve sworn that the bird stuck its tongue out at him.

He raised an eyebrow. “…I suppose so…” 

“Liar.” The bird spoke quickly.

Hu Tao laughed and adjusted the bird in her arms. “Anyways, um…” She looked around the room. “How are we going to keep the little Birdie overnight? Because he’s kind of an escape artist…”

“Ah. Indeed.” Zhongli put a hand to his chin and thought for a few long moments, despite this display however, it seem as if he already made a decision before she asked. “I do not mind taking him home for tonight.”

“No!” The bird was very adamant in his protest. “No go!”

They both ignored it. “Are you sure?” Hu Tao tightened her hold on the bird slightly so that it couldn’t wiggle from her grasp. “We’ve both seen how mischievous this Birdie can be, and though I’m normally all for that, this may be a step too far…”

He kept squirming. “Stop! No go! Stay!”

Zhongli made a dismissive gesture. “I am confident in my ability to contain this creature.” He eyed the loudly protesting bundle of feathers in Hu Tao’s arms. “And in the event I cannot, there is little chance he will evade my capture.”

“No! Stop! Help! Please!” 

Hu Tao felt slightly bad handing the struggling bird over to Zhongli’s waiting arms, and she felt even worse when she couldn’t help but laugh loudly at the creature’s expression during the transaction. The bird immediately tried to bite Zhongli’s hand, only for his beak to be held closed with the same hand he tried to attack.

Still, that didn’t stop a muffled shrieking noise to work its way out of the bird’s closed mouth.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” Hu Tao raised an eyebrow.

“I am certain.” Zhongli spoke gravely, adjusting the bird’s body under his arm. “I shall take my leave now. Do send my best regards to the night crew if you see them.”

And with that, he left into the night carrying a very unwilling bird in his arms. Hu Tao finally allowed herself to roll her eyes at the absurdity of this entire situation.